When Cyrus had first mentioned this matter to Morgans, Morgans had honestly thought there was something wrong with his head.
But then Cyrus made such a big show of it and even officially issued the task inside the Hunter Guild.
That made Morgans start thinking.
Cyrus was openly sending people to search for other spaces, or even other worlds. Did that mean…?
Or rather, was that the real reason Cyrus had suddenly appeared and climbed to the top of the world in such a short time?
Of course, guessing was one thing. Morgans did not dare ask Cyrus directly.
He was afraid of stepping on some enormous secret he was not supposed to touch.
Instead of asking now, it would be better to wait until something was truly found and gather information then.
"Cyrus, there's still no real lead on what you mentioned. My people and my News Coos haven't found any places that seem to match. Can you give me any more specific features?"
Morgans asked tentatively.
"Features?"
Cyrus thought about it for a moment, then shook his head.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you. I honestly don't know either."
Cyrus sounded a little helpless.
He was not trying to fool Morgans.
Before crossing over, Straw Hat Luffy had crossed over with quite a few different worlds in special collaborations.
If even one of those worlds was truly connected to this one, then it meant more worlds might connect here in the future.
If that happened, things would become genuinely interesting.
If they really could not find anything, then he could only wait a few years.
"If even you don't know, then this really won't be easy."
Morgans's voice carried obvious speechlessness.
"Keep looking slowly. There's no rush for now."
"That works. I'll notify the Marines as soon as possible, but I can't guarantee they'll listen."
"That's enough."
After saying this, Cyrus hung up the Den Den Mushi.
He could already imagine that once he made his move this time, the World Government would definitely use the chance to spread the news that he had destroyed a country.
It would be a public opinion attack meant to damage his reputation.
But to Cyrus, the Marines were still worth winning over.
Compared with the Hunter Guild, the Marines were actually better suited to maintaining world order in the future.
If he truly defeated Imu and destroyed the World Government one day, the Marines could become a tool in his hands.
Of course, that was assuming he won.
If he lost, then none of it would matter.
To put it simply, both Cyrus and Imu had the ability to drag the other down with them.
If Imu went all out, she could at most target the people and forces around Cyrus, or perhaps truly destroy the world.
But if Cyrus went all out against Imu and stopped caring about the consequences, he could also destroy the world, and in a much more literal sense.
For now, though, both of them still had too much to lose, so neither side was going to take things that far yet.
Cyrus picked up the Den Den Mushi and contacted Robin.
"Done?"
The moment the call connected, Robin's voice came through.
"Mm."
"There doesn't seem to be much news this time. You didn't attack Mary Geoise?"
There was clear curiosity in Robin's voice.
"I did. Just not too violently."
"Really? I don't believe you."
The Den Den Mushi in Cyrus's hand very clearly shook its head.
"For now, go notify Crocodile. From this point on, he's to push the Hunter Exam forward with everything he has. At the same time, tell him to coordinate with Morgans. I want the entire world to know about it in the shortest time possible."
Cyrus spoke directly.
"Hm? All right, understood."
Robin was clearly startled for a second after hearing him, but she reacted quickly.
"Use every available force. Anyone or any power that tries to stop the exam from proceeding can be dealt with first." Cyrus continued.
"In that case, the Marines and the World Government…" Robin hesitated slightly.
"Same applies." Cyrus answered into the Den Den Mushi.
"I understand."
"Good. You don't need to return to Candy Island either. Head straight back to Dressrosa and meet up with Enel, assuming that kid is still there."
"What about the New World?"
This time, Robin clearly heard the meaning behind his words. Cyrus did not seem to be planning to do much in the New World for now.
And looking at the current situation, there really was nothing he absolutely had to handle there.
Perhaps Laugh Tale counted, but Cyrus clearly did not have much interest in it.
"The World Government won't just sit back and watch the exam proceed. But if they make any targeted moves, there's no need to be polite.
Tell Crocodile that he's allowed to use any force necessary to counter them."
"Cyrus, that could lead to all-out war."
"That monster Imu has too many vessels. If we go after her alone, it won't be that different from all-out war anyway."
Cyrus's words made Robin pause.
On the Rose Hunter, Robin turned and glanced at Issho.
Issho's pale eyes were open as he listened carefully.
"It may be that King of the World's ability. From what Cyrus is saying, it sounds rather troublesome."
Issho gave his guess.
Not far away, Blackbeard Teach pretended to be very busy, but his ears were practically standing up.
He had heard Robin and Cyrus's entire call.
Excitement stirred in his chest.
This was definitely a major event!
What he absolutely did not know yet was that Cyrus had already obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit.
If Teach knew that, he probably would not be able to laugh anymore.
No.
He would force himself to smile!
...
Cyrus naturally heard Robin and Issho talking on the other end.
"Part of it is because of Imu's ability, yes," he said into the Den Den Mushi.
He had no intention of hiding it.
After briefly explaining the rough nature of Imu's power, the other end of the call fell silent.
"A demonic power that can control other people and even transfer her consciousness into another body…" Robin's surprised voice finally came through. "If that's true, doesn't that mean she can live forever?"
"She can change into a younger body, but the soul is different. The soul doesn't become young again."
Cyrus paused for a moment, then continued after thinking it over.
"There are abilities in this world that involve the soul, so a person's soul can be treated as something separate. Even if the body becomes young again, the exhaustion of the soul won't just disappear."
"That is an extremely troublesome ability," Issho said after a brief silence. "Judging from what you've described, she is almost impossible to truly defeat."
Putting aside everything else, the fact that Imu's demonic power had parasitized countless people and turned them into spare vessels was already horrifying enough.
It was a terrifying ability.
"If that's the case, then to kill her, we'd need a place where she can't transfer her consciousness—or her soul," Robin said, already thinking through possible counters. "Brûlée's Mirro-World might work."
"Probably not. Even if it's the Mirror-World, it still exists within this world. Her consciousness transfer likely wouldn't be interrupted. Besides, she's very wary of me now."
"If you put it that way, haven't you been asking people to search for other worlds or special spaces?" Robin said. "If we actually find one, maybe we can use it."
The corner of Cyrus's mouth lifted.
"We're thinking the same thing. If she's no longer in the same world, then transferring her consciousness naturally becomes impossible. As long as her ability can't parasitize another body in time, death becomes unavoidable."
"Pardon the interruption," Issho said, calmly pouring cold water over the idea, "but while your method does sound highly promising, you still have not found this so-called other world."
"That's reality, Issho. Which is why we handle what's in front of us first. You all should carry out the orders I gave you. If possible, meet up with Boa Hancock afterward and have Crocodile send you to Sky Island.
"That place needs someone strong watching over it. I don't want anything major going wrong there."
"Then you'd better be careful of the World Government's weapon."
Robin reminded Cyrus to watch out for the Ancient Weapon in the sky, the one suspected to be Uranus.
It was located at an altitude even Cyrus's Observation Haki could not reach.
By now, Cyrus was starting to suspect it might be something like an outer-space vessel.
However, as a hidden trump card, Imu would not hand it over easily, nor would she casually display it.
And even if she used it against Cyrus, it would not be able to show its full power.
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