Kuina and Zoro exchanged a glance as Luffy and Ace rolled around on the ground fighting, then quietly decided to pretend they had not heard any of that.
Since leaving Shimotsuki Village, the two of them had seen enough of the world to understand that not every pirate was the same.
Most pirates on the sea were vicious criminals who deserved whatever end they met, but there were exceptions.
Some had certainly broken the law and caused trouble, yet their crimes were nowhere near serious enough to justify death.
The two loudmouthed idiots brawling below were perfect examples.
"Are we still supposed to watch him?" Zoro asked, holding his swords against his side as he stared down at them with growing boredom.
"No. We need to focus on training now."
Kuina thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"Right. I'm not letting that guy look down on me!"
Zoro immediately perked up once he understood what came next.
They could not afford to waste a single moment of training. Otherwise, they would never catch up to Cyrus.
"Come on. We should make use of the teacher Cyrus found for us while he's still here."
Kuina turned away, and Zoro followed.
Ace, who was still wrestling with Luffy, noticed the two of them leaving and quietly breathed a little easier.
Before long, both brothers were lying on the ground, bruised and swollen as they struggled to catch their breath.
"Ace, you bastard… why do your punches hurt just like Grandpa's?"
Luffy's face was so swollen that his words came out badly slurred.
"It's Haki. I'll be staying here for a while anyway, so I can teach you." Ace answered, then suddenly remembered the obvious question.
"Luffy, how did you even get here?"
Ace had spent quite a while on Little Garden, but Luffy had still reached Sky Island before him.
Surely the idiot had not set sail the moment Ace left and somehow caught up that quickly.
Luffy had no reason to hide anything, so he explained how three strange people had grabbed him and brought him here.
Ace could only stare at him in disbelief.
"Come on! Something big is about to happen here. We might even see some of the most famous people on the sea."
Ace stood, grabbed Luffy off the ground, and carried him away in the opposite direction from Kuina and the others.
…
The Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
After repeated attacks from Cyrus, the Holy Land had changed beyond recognition.
The enormous canyon was one thing, but even within Mary Geoise itself, the damage left by Cyrus's previous slash had still not been fully repaired. Workers were everywhere, trying to restore what remained.
There was at least one advantage.
They no longer had nearly as many buildings to rebuild, since most of their owners were dead.
Even the surviving Celestial Dragons had shut themselves inside their homes and refused to come out.
They were nothing like the arrogant nobles who had once gone wherever they pleased.
The Celestial Dragons had lost the courage to leave their houses.
Even while living within the Holy Land, they spent every day terrified.
The Five Elders were not particularly concerned about that.
As far as they were concerned, everything would return to normal once Cyrus was eliminated.
The real problem was how to eliminate him.
Killing him in a direct confrontation had already been rejected several times.
At Cyrus's level, facing him head-on was suicide. Anyone below a certain level of strength could not even approach him.
Haki could reduce the heat generated by his Devil Fruit to some extent, but that changed very little.
Numbers were useless, and gathering powerful fighters to surround him was no more realistic.
What confused the Five Elders most was Imu's lack of action.
Despite the danger Cyrus posed, Imu had done little beyond several earlier attempts to test him.
Why had Imu stopped?
No matter how difficult Cyrus was to handle, they would never know the outcome unless they tried.
At worst, Mary Geoise would be destroyed again.
Of course, none of them dared ask Imu that question.
"The Marines are not following their orders."
"That is hardly surprising. The Marines have always had ideas of their own."
"We already reported it to Lord Imu, but no further instructions were given."
"Then leave them alone for now."
While the five men quietly discussed the matter inside the Room of Authority, a report was delivered.
"What?!"
After reading it, Saint Warcury, the Warrior God of Justice, shot to his feet so abruptly that his round body nearly bounced.
His eyes widened as he stared at the page, and even his thick white mustache began to twitch.
"What happened?"
The other four immediately turned toward him, startled by his reaction.
"It concerns Cyrus. The information came from within the Hunter Guild."
Warcury answered without taking his eyes off the report.
"What has that man done now?"
At the sound of Cyrus's name, the others visibly tensed, immediately assuming he had caused yet another disaster.
"Nothing. This concerns his origins."
Warcury drew a deep breath and passed the page to the Elder beside him.
"What?"
The remaining four inhaled sharply.
The World Government had naturally investigated Cyrus's background.
They had even sent people to the island in East Blue where he had first appeared.
Yet everything before that moment remained unknown.
They had searched for his birthplace, his bloodline, his family, and any trace of his past, but found nothing.
It was as if Cyrus had simply appeared from nowhere in East Blue.
No other region had any record of him either.
After he became famous, no one across the sea came forward claiming to know where he had come from.
Over time, most people had simply assumed he was born somewhere in East Blue.
"This information…"
The Five Elders read the report in turn, their expressions growing increasingly grave.
Once the other possibilities were ruled out, the claim did not seem entirely impossible.
They had ruled the world for hundreds of years and knew that strange islands occasionally appeared across the sea.
Such places rarely remained for long.
Unless someone happened to encounter one at exactly the right moment, finding it deliberately was nearly impossible.
"There were already reports that the Hunter Guild was investigating this phenomenon. So this was the reason? Did Cyrus come from one of those disappearing islands?"
Saint Nusjuro adjusted his glasses as he spoke in a low voice.
"We cannot confirm it, but his past truly is blank. At least for now, there is no record of him existing before he appeared in East Blue."
"This matter is too important to ignore."
The five exchanged a look, then rose together.
This information mattered more than anything else currently before them.
…
When the Five Elders met Imu, she looked as she always did, wrapped in a black robe and seated upon the Empty Throne, gazing down at them from above.
"I see."
After hearing their report, Imu's voice drifted through the chamber. It was faint and distant, but unmistakably female.
"Lord Imu, we cannot currently confirm whether the information is true."
"I understand."
The five men knelt on one knee and waited, but Imu said nothing more.
They immediately understood the dismissal and withdrew.
"Watch the matter closely. If it is true, we may be able to find a way to deal with him."
The Five Elders reached their decision after leaving.
Even if it was only a possibility, it was worth investigating.
For them, issuing the order would take no effort at all. If the information turned out to be false, they would only have wasted some manpower.
…
East Blue, Shimotsuki Village.
CP agents arrived quietly on the island, only to find the entire village deserted.
The dojo was empty, and so was every house around it.
"We're too late. They left, just like the others."
The agents sent to capture them were not especially surprised.
The same thing had already happened in several other locations.
The Revolutionary Army had evacuated the targets in advance.
The moment CP began preparing its operations, the Revolutionary Army noticed.
Using the Hunter Guild's network, they moved a large number of people before the agents could arrive.
...
At Revolutionary Army headquarters, Koushirou looked at Dragon with a helpless smile and sighed.
"Seems I've been dragged into this too."
Dragon shook his head.
"Only slightly. There still hasn't been a full confrontation, but the conflict between Cyrus and the World Government can no longer be resolved unless one side surrenders—or Cyrus joins the World Government."
"That won't happen."
Koushirou shook his head.
"I did not spend much time with Cyrus, but I understood enough of his personality. He would never accept someone standing above him and giving him orders."
"Oh?"
Belo Betty, commander of the Eastern Army, became curious.
"What if the World Government invited Cyrus to join and put him in charge?"
Her question brought a brief silence.
"That is possible," Koushirou admitted after a pause, "but I still don't believe he would agree."
"Either way, the situation is unusual. The Revolutionary Army's progress has been excellent lately, and now that you're here, you may as well help."
Dragon waved the matter aside.
By using the Hunter Guild's influence, the Revolutionary Army had spread its seeds throughout the sea.
There were countless kingdoms across the world, including many that were not affiliated with the World Government.
Most of their rulers were hardly good people, and life in those countries was rarely pleasant.
That gave the Revolutionary Army plenty of room to act.
Koushirou did not refuse.
"What is Cyrus doing now?"
After agreeing to help, he asked out of curiosity.
"Him? I have no idea."
Dragon shook his head without hesitation.
Despite Cyrus's influence now reaching across the entire world, even the Revolutionary Army had little idea where he went from day to day.
The Hunter Guild itself was not much better informed, aside from Crocodile and a handful of others.
"There is something very strange about him."
Vegapunk arrived while they were speaking, immediately drawing everyone's attention.
"What do you mean?"
Koushirou looked curiously at the man with the apple-shaped head.
"Cyrus's growth is far too fast. It defies everything I understand. I was reviewing the Revolutionary Army's records on him, and not long ago, he was nowhere near this powerful."
Vegapunk glanced at Dragon.
Dragon nodded.
Although they had never conducted a complete investigation, the Revolutionary Army knew quite a bit about Cyrus.
Dragon had even met him personally in East Blue, back when Cyrus was much weaker, and had helped guide him in the use of Armament Haki.
"Talent differs from person to person," Koushirou said. "The same is true of abilities."
"No, no. You don't understand. There are limits to human strength, and Devil Fruits have limits as well."
Vegapunk immediately shook his head.
"I have studied Devil Fruits and the Lineage Factor. Cyrus no longer fits within the rules of either."
He began to explain, but when he saw the blank expressions around him, he opened his mouth, hesitated, then gave up.
"Can you arrange for me to meet him?"
Vegapunk turned to Dragon.
"That…"
Dragon fell silent for a moment before sighing.
"I can't arrange it directly. But he should go to Sky Island later. You may be able to meet him there."
"Then I'll go to Sky Island." Vegapunk answered immediately.
"That would be unwise."
Dragon shook his head.
"You understand your situation. If the World Government discovers you, they'll act immediately. This time, they may not care whether you survive."
"That doesn't matter. I need to know."
Vegapunk held Dragon's gaze.
For a scientist, the chance to study Cyrus might be worth dying for.
Curiosity was part of a scientist's nature.
"Sky Island is about to become the focus of the entire world. It may even become the place where Cyrus and the World Government openly go to war. It will be far too dangerous."
Dragon continued to refuse.
"Then I'll go by myself." Vegapunk answered without hesitation.
Dragon went quiet, visibly exasperated.
"You aren't planning to imprison me here too, are you?" Vegapunk asked.
"Fine. Since you insist, I'll take you there when the time comes."
Dragon finally gave in.
"Chief, are we going as well?"
Belo Betty and several other commanders looked toward him.
Sabo, standing nearby, was clearly eager to go too.
"This is the Hunter Guild's exam, but the World Government will never simply watch it happen. They may even use that weapon."
Dragon looked toward Vegapunk.
"They now have an energy source, but because the Mother Flame was taken before it was finished, the weapon cannot fire repeatedly. Cyrus can also withstand its attack himself."
Vegapunk knew that much.
If anyone in the world could block the so-called ultimate weapon in the sky with their own strength, it was Cyrus.
He had already done it once before.
The unfinished Mother Flame might increase the weapon's output, but not by an overwhelming amount.
"If this might turn into a war against the World Government, it would look strange for us not to appear," Sabo said.
Dragon nodded slightly.
Before Cyrus emerged, the Revolutionary Army had been the force most openly committed to overthrowing the World Government.
If war was truly approaching, they could hardly stand aside and watch.
"Then begin preparing. We may not have much time."
…
Impel Down, Level Six.
A black arrow moved silently through the darkness, closing in on one of the prisoners.
Just before it touched him, the arrow suddenly stopped.
A blue door appeared in the middle of the air, and a figure stepped through.
"Well, what a coincidence."