After Cyrus finished speaking, Crocodile fell silent, clearly trying to understand what he was planning.
Ever since Cyrus first ordered him to investigate islands that appeared and disappeared without warning, Crocodile had wondered what he was really looking for.
Now, though, he could not tell how important the matter actually was.
If Cyrus did not care about it, he would never have assigned people to investigate in the first place.
But if it was truly important, why would he deliberately allow World Government spies to get involved?
"Chairman, what exactly are you planning?"
Unable to make sense of it, Crocodile decided to ask directly.
"I'm using the opportunity to send someone a message," Cyrus replied after a moment's thought.
"There's something else I want you to spread as well."
"What is it?"
Crocodile was still wondering who could possibly be important enough for Cyrus to send a message in such a roundabout way when Cyrus continued.
"Tell people that I came to this world through one of those strange islands."
The Den Den Mushi in Cyrus's hand went completely still.
Crocodile had clearly been caught off guard.
Cyrus had entered this world through one of those islands?
If that was true, the implications were enormous!
Crocodile was no fool. He immediately understood how many questions such a revelation would raise, though he could not tell whether Cyrus was telling the truth.
"Is that real?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse.
"No. But it could be."
Cyrus's answer was perfectly calm.
It was a lie, of course. He had come from another world, but not through one of those islands.
No one else knew that.
By now, plenty of people had investigated his appearance in this world. Cyrus had arrived out of nowhere, without a past, family, or any trace of his existence before East Blue.
That mystery had probably frustrated quite a few powerful people.
Now he was giving them an answer to chase.
Especially the person sitting at the top of Mary Geoise.
"I understand."
Crocodile did not ask any more questions. Whether Cyrus's story was true or false would become clear eventually.
"I'll handle it as quickly as possible. Sky Island is almost ready as well. The soil transported from below has been used to build a solid island roughly one-third the size of the original sky island. Some of the Skypieans have also asked for permission to travel down to the Blue Sea."
"There's no need to stop them."
Cyrus nodded.
People on the Blue Sea had legends about islands in the sky, while those living above had their own stories about the world below.
It was only natural that some Skypieans would want to see it for themselves.
"I'll be going to Wano first. After that, I'll head to Sky Island and oversee the exam personally. I'll leave everything else to you."
Once he had finished giving his instructions, Cyrus ended the call.
A blue door appeared in midair before him, and he stepped through it before it vanished.
…
Hunter Guild Headquarters, Sabaody Archipelago.
Crocodile could feel how wary the Marines and the World Government had become of the Guild, so he had abandoned the idea of relocating headquarters.
The conflict between the two sides was already out in the open anyway.
The sea was no longer defined by the struggle between Marines and pirates.
Pirates had become the weakest of the major powers, while the newly risen Hunter Guild now stood against both the Marines and the World Government.
Keeping their headquarters openly on Sabaody sent a very clear message.
After all, the archipelago sat far too close to both Marine Headquarters and Mary Geoise for anyone to misunderstand what it meant.
Crocodile set down the Den Den Mushi and bit down on his cigar, his eyes narrowing in thought.
The heavy dark circles beneath them made it difficult for him to look particularly intimidating.
"Vice-Chairman."
A muscular figure leaned his head through the doorway.
Crocodile looked up at Daz Bonez and frowned.
"If you have something to report, come inside."
Daz stepped into the room.
"I called out earlier, but you didn't hear me," he explained.
Crocodile chose not to comment on that.
"What happened?"
"There's been some trouble on Sky Island."
Daz sounded hesitant.
Crocodile's eyes sharpened, and he almost rose from his chair before forcing himself to sit back down.
"What kind of trouble?"
Sky Island was far too important for anything to go wrong there, but Daz's reaction suggested the problem was not yet a disaster.
"A kid with a Devil Fruit has been causing chaos. He's already gotten into several fights with people who arrived early."
"Then arrest him."
Crocodile's temper immediately flared.
If someone was causing trouble before the exam had even begun, locking them up should have been the obvious solution.
"The kid's name is Luffy, and he apparently has some connection to the chairman. The people who brought him there said Cyrus personally ordered them to deliver him to Sky Island."
Crocodile paused.
"What's special about him?"
Anyone Cyrus had personally ordered transported to Sky Island had to be unusual somehow.
"Monkey D. Luffy. Grandson of Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, son of Revolutionary Army leader Monkey D. Dragon, and a Paramecia user with the Gum-Gum Fruit. He's still young, but apparently he's extremely difficult to control."
As Daz listed everything, Crocodile's expression grew increasingly complicated.
The grandson of the Hero of the Marines, the son of the Revolutionary Army's leader, and someone Cyrus had personally taken an interest in.
That was quite a background for one troublesome kid.
"Interesting."
Crocodile considered it for a moment before looking back at Daz.
"Tell everyone to leave him alone unless he causes a serious problem."
"Understood."
Daz nodded and turned to leave, but Crocodile stopped him.
"Wait. If he does cause serious trouble, deal with it. And have someone keep an eye on him. Don't let him get himself killed up there."
"All right."
The corner of Daz's mouth twitched.
"One more thing. Issho and Robin's group will be returning early, and they should head to Sky Island before the exam begins. The chairman will be there personally afterward, so tell everyone to stay alert. Contact Boa Hancock as well, and ask that old man to get moving."
"You mean Dark King Rayleigh?" Daz asked instinctively.
"Exactly."
Daz nodded and left.
Crocodile still could not tell where Rayleigh's loyalties truly lay, but since Cyrus had neither warned him nor objected to involving the man, Crocodile would make the decision himself.
To him, this Hunter Exam was the Guild's formal announcement to the entire world.
It would mark the moment the Hunter Guild truly stepped forward as a superpower capable of facing the World Government directly.
The World Government would surely understand that too, which meant they were bound to interfere.
Still, with Cyrus personally overseeing the exam and so many powerful people gathering on Sky Island, Crocodile doubted they could cause any real damage.
He pushed the thought aside and stood up.
Cyrus had just given him another task, and since he had been told to spread the story personally and assign the spies himself, he could hardly leave it to someone else.
…
Sky Island had changed beyond recognition since Cyrus's first visit.
The Skypieans had become a minority in their own home, outnumbered by visitors from the Blue Sea.
Some were pirates hiding their names and motives, others were loud and proud Pirate Hunters, while merchants and all sorts of opportunists had come along with them.
The actual examination grounds remained sealed off for now.
"Damn brat! Get back here!"
A furious roar rang through the streets, and the people ahead calmly moved aside as though they had already seen this happen several times.
A small boy wearing a straw hat raced through the path they opened, looking back over his shoulder and pulling a face at the men chasing him.
That only made them angrier.
The swordsman at the front swung his blade, sending a flying slash tearing through the ground toward the boy.
Luffy's rubber body twisted sideways, bending just far enough to let the slash pass.
Once it was gone, he patted his chest in relief.
Then, instead of continuing to run, he stopped and turned to face his pursuers with his hands planted on his hips.
"I only took some of your meat! Why are you still chasing me?"
He sounded genuinely confused by their anger.
The men slowed when they saw him stop, but his shameless complaint nearly made them explode.
Prices on Sky Island were dozens of times higher than they were on the Blue Sea.
While they had been eating, the straw-hatted brat had stolen their money, bought every piece of meat he could find, and devoured it right in front of them before they even realized what had happened.
There was no chance they were letting that go.
A brawl broke out in the middle of the street, but rather than running away, the surrounding crowd gathered to watch.
Anyone capable of reaching Sky Island had at least some skill. To them, the fight was free entertainment.
"That's your brother?"
On the roof of a strange building nearby, another boy in a hat sat watching the fight.
Two people stood on either side of him.
"Yeah. That's Luffy."
The boy was Ace.
He held one hand against his hat and watched the fight below with obvious excitement.
"That swordsman's technique is a mess. How did someone that bad ever become a swordsman?"
Zoro held his swords against his side, looking at Luffy's opponent with open disdain.
A moment later, Kuina smacked him on the back of his green head.
She had little interest in the fight below.
As far as she was concerned, it was just a group of children brawling in the street.
"Is Cyrus really coming?"
She was not asking Zoro or Ace, but the man standing a short distance away, surveying the island.
"He will. This exam matters to him." Mihawk answered without turning around.
"It's a shame we haven't had much time. I'm still not strong enough." Kuina spoke almost without thinking.
"You're both already quite capable."
Mihawk finally looked back at her, then at Zoro.
He had originally accompanied them because Cyrus asked him to, but after spending time with the two young swordsmen, he had found himself remembering his own early years with a blade.
Both Kuina and Zoro had excellent talent.
At least their swordsmanship was not the chaotic mess Cyrus called a fighting style.
Just thinking about Cyrus's swordsmanship made a vein pulse on Mihawk's forehead.
His technique was crude beyond belief, yet when combined with his monstrous physical strength, there was almost no one in the world who could withstand it.
It felt like an insult to swordsmanship itself.
Then again, swordsmanship had always been a means of killing and defeating an opponent.
Whether the technique was crude or refined, its purpose remained the same.
Cyrus's crude swings could defeat nearly anyone with ease, which made it difficult to argue that his swordsmanship was not first-rate.
Mihawk understood the logic.
It still annoyed him!
"Your brother's about to lose," Zoro suddenly said, having kept his attention on the fight below.
A thunderous explosion followed almost immediately.
Boom!
A powerful shockwave erupted in front of Luffy, blasting every man surrounding him off his feet.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Luffy threw his head back and laughed, clutching a large Dial in both hands.
The spectators stared at him in disbelief.
The kid looked reckless and dumb, yet he had been hiding an Impact Dial the entire time.
Impact Dials were unique to Sky Island.
They could release a powerful shockwave in an instant and were often used as weapons, though anyone who recognized one could usually prepare for it.
"You little bastard! This isn't over!"
The men Luffy had blasted away staggered to their feet, dizzy and barely able to stand, but still determined to threaten him.
Luffy was already running.
He ignored every shout behind him.
All he cared about was that he would not be going hungry today.
After weaving through several streets, Luffy decided to find somewhere quiet and sleep. Then he heard the rush of wind above his head.
He tried to dodge, but he was already too late.
Thump!
A moment later, the boy who had been laughing so proudly was rolling across the ground with both hands pressed to his head.
The enormous lump rising from his skull had even knocked his straw hat aside.
"Grandpa!"
The word escaped him instinctively.
That punch had felt far too familiar!
"Luffy, I'm not that bastard Grandpa."
At the sound of the familiar voice, Luffy stopped rolling.
He opened his eyes and saw Ace standing nearby.
His eyes bulged so far out of his head they nearly left their sockets.
"A-A-A-Ace!"
Luffy sprang to his feet and pointed at him, stumbling over the name.
"What are you doing here?!"
He could barely process what he was seeing.
"What are you doing here?"
Ace had been about to answer, but the hardship he had suffered on the way to Sky Island could not possibly be explained in a sentence or two, so he threw the question back instead.
He never got an answer.
Luffy's fists were already flying toward his face.
Ace had not been expecting an attack, and his head snapped backward when the punch landed.
"You bastard! You left without me! We promised we'd go to sea together and become Pirate King!"
Luffy shouted as he launched himself at Ace.
Pirate King?
Ace flinched.
He still had not abandoned his dream of going to sea as a pirate, but there were two people standing nearby whom he definitely did not want hearing that particular declaration!
With dark bruises already forming around his eyes, Ace watched Luffy charge at him and drove a fist straight into his open mouth, cutting off the rest of his shouting.