"Uranus!?"
"Nika!?"
Staring at the intelligence in their hands, Red and Luffy both showed unmistakable looks of shock.
The two of them quickly refocused their attention on the text itself.
As for the truth that the Devil Fruit he had eaten was not the Gum-Gum Fruit but the Nika Fruit, Luffy had known about it for a long time already.
In his eyes, however, that was nothing more than a trivial technicality.
The name of a fruit wouldn't affect him in the slightest—Luffy still habitually called it the Gum-Gum Fruit.
But…
Names were names. Power was power.
If digging deeper into the fruit could make him stronger, then Luffy certainly wouldn't refuse to explore its hidden potential.
It was just that…
"So you really are here!"
Just as Robin and the others finished organizing the duplicated Poneglyph rubbings, a cold, sinister voice suddenly echoed throughout the Flower Room.
In the next instant, a massive and bizarre magic circle appeared between Red and Robin's group.
Pitch-black lightning tore through the void, releasing a terrifying aura.
"Damn it!"
Having just seen the operational method of Uranus, Red's expression immediately changed.
He placed a hand on Luffy's shoulder, and with a flash of teleportation, brought him instantly to Robin's side.
At the same time, a powerful psychic barrier sprang up in front of them, firmly protecting everyone inside.
Within the magic circle, black mist-like flames surged, and a gigantic horned head slowly emerged from within.
"Saint Saturn!!!"
Even though only half of the figure had appeared, Red recognized him instantly.
The very next second, without any startup delay at all, Red summoned a massive Hyperspace Hole, directly enveloping the space above the magic circle.
"…?"
Looking at the suddenly appearing crimson stone walls, the furious and imposing Saint Saturn froze in confusion.
What was going on!?
Hadn't he locked onto Imu-sama's Flower Room!?
Since when did Pangaea Castle have a place like this!?
As Saint Saturn continued rising from the magic circle, he instinctively glanced downward.
A thin layer of clouds appeared beneath him.
At that moment, realization finally dawned in his eyes.
But before he could fully react, the void beneath him suddenly contracted.
Like a perfectly clean slash, it swept across his body.
In an instant, bright red blood sprayed out like a torrential rain, splashing down onto the clouds below.
"Damn you!"
The sudden pain made Saint Saturn's mouth twitch violently. In the next moment, boundless fury erupted from his eyes, and the black flames behind him flared violently.
"You wretched parasites! How dare you—!"
Looking at his body, now severed at the waist, Saint Saturn discarded his cane, letting it fall straight into the sea below.
From the bloody wound, grotesque flesh buds began to wriggle and expand.
In the blink of an eye, Saint Saturn's lower body regenerated completely.
Black flame clouds surged beneath his massive spider-like form, carrying him rapidly toward the summit of the Red Line.
…
…
Meanwhile—
Inside the Flower Room of Pangaea Castle.
Luffy and the others stared in stunned silence at the lower half of Saint Saturn's body, which dissolved into black smoke and slowly faded away.
After blinking twice, Luffy looked at Red with awe-filled eyes.
"Red!!! Did you kill him!?"
"How could that be?"
As much as Red would've liked to make Luffy's amazement a reality, the Five Elders weren't enemies that could be killed so easily.
In the manga, even being smashed to pieces by Gear Fifth Luffy didn't stop them from instantly regenerating.
At least for now, Red had no means of killing a member of the Five Elders.
Still, buying time with a Hyperspace Hole was already within expectations—and more importantly, it gave them precious reaction time.
Though such a trick would likely only work once, and it also exposed some of his abilities.
"Worth it… or not?"
The thought flashed through Red's mind, before he immediately spoke through the telepathic channel to everyone:
"This place is no longer safe. Prepare to evacuate Mary Geoise!"
"All personnel, regroup immediately around Usopp and Capone!!!"
"Supernovas—inform your crews and subordinates. Get ready!"
"The moment we reach the Sabaody Archipelago, we dive straight down and head for Fish-Man Island!!!"
"Roger that!!!"
As Red's rapid-fire orders echoed across the public channel, a chorus of confirmations answered back.
Having witnessed the Straw Hat crew's overwhelming strength firsthand, the Supernovas wasted no time and followed his instructions without hesitation.
Even Sanji—who had been midair discussing Zoro's attribute awakening—immediately abandoned his train of thought and flew toward Usopp's position.
But just then, Zoro suddenly froze.
He looked downward.
Noticing his reaction, Sanji followed his gaze.
In the next instant, a monstrous figure appeared in their sight—huge horns atop its head, its lower body a massive spider.
"Red! We found a strange guy near the edge of the Red Line!"
"He looks exactly like one of the Five Elders you mentioned!!!"
Sanji immediately relayed the scene to Red.
Red responded at once:
"That's right—that's a member of the Five Elders."
"I'm the one who threw him down there."
"Our actions in Pangaea Castle have been exposed. We need to move fast!"
"Got it!"
Sanji responded grimly, realizing the severity of the situation. He grabbed Zoro by the collar.
Before Zoro could react, Sanji suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hold on tight, moss-head!"
"You may have beaten me to attribute awakening…"
"But when it comes to speed—"
"You'll never catch up to me in a million years!!!"
Whoosh!!!
Flames suddenly erupted around Sanji's body.
They weren't searing hot, but they radiated surging energy with every pulse.
Perhaps influenced by his Devil Fruit, even the light around him seemed to accelerate, violently twitching as if fast-forwarded.
BOOM!!!
A roar like a nitrous jet exploded through the air.
Dragging Zoro along, Sanji transformed into a blazing meteor, carving a crimson arc across the sky as he shot toward Mary Geoise at full speed!
Under the crushing wind pressure, Zoro's facial skin rippled violently, crackling loudly as if it were about to peel off.
"Hodaaaa—!"
Zoro's head snapped backward, his words mangled by the wind, saliva spraying everywhere.
He immediately clamped his mouth shut, swearing silently in his heart—
One day, he would pay this back.
…
…
"Hmm?!"
Saint Saturn, who was ascending rapidly, naturally noticed Sanji and Zoro streaking across the sky above.
He slammed down the Den Den Mushi he'd been using to communicate with the other Elders and looked up sharply.
The flame clouds were fast.
But compared to that fleeting meteor—
It was like comparing a rocket to a Formula One race car.
"Intruders!?"
"Why are they here!?"
"What the hell is the God's Knights doing!?"
Saint Saturn's eyes turned blood-red.
He had only discovered that the Devil Fruits stored on his experimental floor had vanished, prompting an immediate search of Pangaea Castle.
Yet after reviewing all surveillance footage multiple times with no intruders found, he realized how dire the situation was.
He immediately sought out Imu-sama, who had been staring silently at a massive straw hat in the cold chamber.
With Imu's approval, Saint Saturn rushed to the Flower Room—only to be toyed with, injured, and nearly thrown off the Red Line.
The more he thought about it, the more fury burned on his face.
He barked into the Den Den Mushi:
"The God's Knights have been defeated! The castle sector may have completely fallen!"
"The intruders appear to possess long-range spatial movement abilities—they're likely preparing to evacuate!!!"
"They must not be allowed to escape alive—otherwise…"
"The consequences will be unimaginable!!!"
"..."
"..."
No response came from the Den Den Mushi.
Only the sound of raging winds howled through the receiver.
Clearly—
Upon hearing Saint Saturn's report, the other Five Elders had already transformed and launched a full-scale assault in their strongest forms.
…
…
Seconds later.
The castle district of Mary Geoise.
Despite a night of chaos, great care had been taken to prevent detection from Pangaea Castle.
From the outside, the district appeared largely intact—aside from extensive damage inside certain Celestial Dragon residences.
Everything still looked luxurious and prosperous.
Within the Celestial Dragons' opulent central park—
A black spatial wormhole suddenly opened.
Red and the others emerged, carrying the Poneglyph rubbings and vital intelligence.
Around them, Supernovas shouted orders at their crews, scrambling to prepare for departure.
If anything, the Supernovas were even more anxious than the Straw Hats.
After all—
They didn't possess the Straw Hats' overwhelming power or miraculous abilities.
It was obvious—
In the near future, these Supernova crews would have no choice but to rely on the Straw Hat Pirates.
Otherwise, what awaited them would be the World Government's merciless annihilation.
"Everyone! Gather here immediately!!!"
The moment Red stepped into the plaza, he raised his arm and shouted.
"Red!"
Usopp, Chopper, and Franky rushed over.
Nearby, Supernovas still barking orders over Den Den Mushi also began closing in.
At the same time—
A blazing meteor plummeted from the sky, slamming into the park's perimeter and carving a massive crater.
Before the dust could even rise fully, two figures burst out.
Sanji—pushing his Devil Fruit ability to the absolute limit—and Zoro, covered in dust and looking utterly battered.
"Everything ready!?"
Red asked quickly.
After receiving confirmation, he counted heads once more.
Satisfied, he summoned a massive psychic barrier, enclosing everyone inside.
Just then—
Four terrifying magic circles suddenly appeared around them.
Black lightning. Scorching flames. Freezing frost. Creeping poison.
Before the Five Elders themselves even emerged, waves of bizarre power surged forth.
"Oh? They're pretty quick, huh?"
Red showed no surprise at the sight.
After all, they'd already infiltrated Imu's private chambers—this hardly qualified as shocking anymore.
The next instant—
Red waved his hand again.
Four Hyperspace Holes appeared above the four magic circles.
Encore performance.
Before the stunned eyes of the Straw Hats and Supernovas—
The four Five Elders ended up colliding headfirst with one another in pairs.
Bam! Bam!
Four colossal beastly heads slammed together.
Though the damage was negligible, the absurd sight sent Luffy and the others into uncontrollable laughter.
"Pff—HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Luffy and Usopp pointed at them, laughing mockingly.
Even the tense Supernovas felt their nerves ease.
Click. Click…
A camera shutter suddenly sounded.
Red casually snapped photos with a portable camera, capturing the Elders' humiliating poses.
Before the Five Elders could react, Red waved cheerfully.
"Looks like that big spider was too embarrassed to tell you what happened to him, huh?"
"Hmm… that's great."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten such fantastic pictures!"
He shook the camera.
"Well then—until we meet again!"
"Next time, it'll be time to take your heads!!!"
With that final provocation, Red activated teleportation and whisked everyone out of Mary Geoise.
The Five Elders roared in fury.
"Damn you, intruders!!!"
The bald Elder, Saint Nusjuro, transformed into his skeletal horse form and leapt into a Hyperspace Hole, bursting out from another above an Elder's head and slamming into the ground to escape the spatial lock!
Without even stabilizing himself, Saint Nusjuro drew the Shodai Kitetsu and unleashed a furious slash toward Red's escaping group.
In an instant—
The land froze for miles.
Bone-chilling cold swept across half the city.
The other Elders followed suit, breaking free and attacking.
But by the time their strikes landed, Red had already teleported again, racing toward the edge of the Red Line.
His taunts were done.
Now, he was in a full sprint against time.
Psychic power surged wildly, spent without restraint.
In the blink of an eye, they reached the edge.
At that exact moment, Saint Saturn flew up—and narrowly missed colliding with Red's psychic barrier.
"Bye-bye, big spider!!!"
"Blehhh~!"
Luffy stuck out his tongue and made a face.
The next second, they vanished again, reappearing far out in the sky.
A Hyperspace Hole opened.
Pulled by gravity, Red and the others disappeared before Saint Saturn's eyes.
Left behind, Saint Saturn stood at the edge of the Red Line, black mist raging around him—unable to go forward, unable to go back.
"..."
(End of Chapter)