Syrup Village, Marine Base, Communications Room.
"What? You're saying they actually went to Skypiea and even defeated some kind of god?" The voice of Fleet Admiral Sengoku echoed through the Den Den Mushi, filled with shock.
"Yes, Admiral!" Kuzan replied solemnly before relaying the rest of his findings.
About how Senju Hashirama's strength rivaled Uchiha Madara's, how he could manipulate trees, transform into a giant, and wield a mysterious power that countered Logia-type Devil Fruit abilities.
About how both Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama had mastered Armament and Observation Haki, and were even researching Conqueror's Haki.
About how Lin Xuan could withstand the full force of a Goro Goro no Mi user's lightning attacks unscathed and even absorb electricity to enhance himself.
And then there were the three missing Celestial Dragons—despite Kuzan's thorough investigation, there was no trace of them. He suspected Lin Xuan had killed them, but Lin Xuan denied it.
Each piece of information sent shockwaves through Sengoku's mind. It took him a long moment to process everything.
Sengoku's voice grew heavy. "It seems we've severely underestimated their strength and mystery. By the way, have you uncovered any leads about their origins or how many of them there are?"
Kuzan sighed helplessly. "That's been my main focus, but so far, I've found nothing concrete. That Senju Hashirama mentioned they might have hundreds joining the battle at Sabaody Archipelago, but I'm not sure if that's reliable." He paused, recalling something else. "Oh, and after we reached Skypiea, Lin Xuan sent me away. When he reappeared, he brought out an ordinary-looking old man. From what I observed, that old man was no weakling. Strangely, no one on Skypiea recognized him—it was like he appeared out of thin air!"
At Marine HQ, Sengoku felt a headache coming on as the reports piled up.
"Immediately convene an emergency meeting of the high-ranking officers," Sengoku ordered. "Prepare to brief everyone again. We need to discuss whether to dispatch forces to Skypiea to surround and eliminate the targets!"
"Understood!" Kuzan responded gravely.
After hanging up, Kuzan took a deep breath, contemplating the feasibility and success rate of launching an assault on Skypiea.
However, just as he was deep in thought, the blaring of alarms suddenly filled the Marine base.
Frowning, Kuzan stepped out of the communications room and saw a group of Marines rushing toward the base entrance.
He stopped the lead Marine captain and asked, "What's going on?"
The captain saluted before answering, "Admiral Kuzan! Reports indicate that a group of suspected pirates has appeared on the island. They publicly insulted a Celestial Dragon. We're mobilizing to apprehend them!"
"Insulted a Celestial Dragon?"
Kuzan's frown deepened, and he sighed inwardly. It seems the incident at Sabaody couldn't be contained.
In the past, it was almost unthinkable for anyone to dare insult a Celestial Dragon, let alone do so openly. Now, it was happening—proof of the ripple effects from Lin Xuan and his group's actions.
Still, Kuzan had no interest in dealing with this.
First, he doubted some no-name pirates on a small island like this would be worth a Marine Admiral's time.
Second, he personally despised the Celestial Dragons and couldn't care less about someone insulting them.
Most importantly, he had to attend the upcoming high-level meeting at HQ. He had no time to waste on this.
As a result, without Kuzan's intervention, the ordinary Marines were no match for the Straw Hat Pirates. By the time they mobilized, the crew had already repaired the Going Merry and set sail, escaping into the open sea.
On the Open Sea – Aboard the Going Merry
Having narrowly escaped Syrup Village, the Straw Hat Pirates were sailing at full speed.
As the pursuing Marines faded into the distance, everyone except Luffy let out sighs of relief.
Luffy, however, was brimming with excitement. "Whoa! Those Celestial Dragons are really something! Just saying a couple of words got the Marines chasing us! That's awesome!"
"Awesome? Are you out of your mind?!" Nami roared, smacking Luffy over the head. "Do you have any idea how close we just came to dying because of your big mouth?!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Usopp chimed in, nodding vigorously.
Zoro, arms crossed, suddenly asked, "Luffy, you didn't actually do anything to that Celestial Dragon, did you?"
"Huh? Are Celestial Dragons strong or something?" Luffy asked, genuinely curious.
"How do you not know this?!" Nami screamed in frustration.
At this point, she was seriously reconsidering her decision to join this crew. The future looked bleak with such an idiot for a captain.
Usopp, ever the patient one, took it upon himself to explain exactly what Celestial Dragons were.
After hearing it all, Luffy wasn't the least bit scared—if anything, he was even more fired up. "So that Lin Xuan guy and Uchiha Madara… they actually punched a Celestial Dragon?!"
"That's why they have a *500-million-Berry bounty* each!" Nami snapped, pulling out the wanted posters she'd seen at the bar.
There they were: Lin Xuan, Uchiha Madara, and the newly added Senju Hashirama.
Staring at the staggering bounties—five billion Berries for Lin Xuan and Madara—Nami's eyes turned to Beli signs. "So much money… If I could just claim even the smallest bounty here, I could buy Cocoyasi Village back from Arlong and his crew!"
Of course, she knew it was nothing but a pipe dream. There was no way she could pull that off.
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T/N:
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