Chapter 678

Indeed,

At this very moment, the one dialing the Den Den Mushi was none other than Admiral Konggu, from the Navy Headquarters!

Admiral Kong's sudden contact caught Lu En off guard.

After careful thought,

he could not fathom the reason.

Instantly,

he cut straight to the point: "Admiral, what do you need from me?"

He had just completed his mission and returned to the East Blue, having received Kong's approval and permission.

The other side should surely be aware of that.

He was on his way back to the East Blue.

Why contact him now?

Could it have something to do with the mission?

"What a coincidence?"

Lu En's expression turned peculiar.

Couldn't they just let him rest in peace?

The Den Den Mushi rang again with Kong's voice: "I've just received a highly accurate intelligence report. It indicates that an extremely terrifying pirate crew has headed toward the East Blue."

"This piece of intelligence cost us a tremendous price to obtain."

"It's of grave significance!"

With those words,

Lu En did not take it too seriously.

He asked again: "Admiral, are you telling me to deal with this pirate crew? To stop them from wreaking havoc in the East Blue?"

The Den Den Mushi fell silent for a moment.

Then,

Kong said: "No, quite the opposite. I advise you not to return to the East Blue just yet. Even if you intend to go back, I urge you to proceed with extreme caution."

"This pirate crew is currently beyond your capacity to handle."

"They are extremely terrifying!"

Upon hearing this,

Lu En was taken aback: "What do you mean, Admiral?"

Even he couldn't handle them?

Keep in mind…

He had held his own against Doflamingo.

He had crushed Crocodile!

Logically,

Kong should be fully aware of these facts.

Yet even so, the other side still believed

that his strength was insufficient to confront this pirate crew.

This left Lu En deeply curious.

Who exactly was this pirate crew?

One that even he couldn't handle?

Across the entire sea…

Such cases were exceedingly rare.

Right now,

with Lu En's formidable combat power, taking on a Warlord-level pirate was no challenge at all.

So the question arises:

Which pirate crew could render Lu En powerless?

He couldn't figure it out.

He racked his brains but found no answer.

After pondering long and hard, the only possibility Lu En could think of was…

A pirate crew from the New World!

Across the entire New World, Lu En's strength ranked among the very top.

Unless…

He encountered an extremely select few pirate crews.

For instance,

the Four Emperors!

"Could it be…?"

Lu En's eyes narrowed slightly as he fell into thought.

From Kong's earlier words, he had already deduced a vague answer.

But was it true?

It remained to be verified.

Next,

Kong continued solemnly: "Not just you—even if Aokiji and Huang Yuan were to be sent, they might still not be able to handle them."

"The pirate crew heading to the East Sea this time is extremely dangerous and immensely powerful."

"It might take all three of Aokiji, Huang Yuan, and Akainu acting together, plus ten warships deployed, to even have a chance of matching them."

"And even then, victory isn't guaranteed."

"You can imagine just how dangerous this pirate crew truly is."

Hearing Kong's words,

Lu En grew even more resolute in his inner conviction.

If he remembered correctly,

at this time period…

there truly was one extremely terrifying pirate crew heading to the East Sea.

It wasn't the Beasts Pirates.

It wasn't the Bai Huzi Pirates.

It wasn't the Xia Luote family.

None of these three factions had any connection to the East Sea.

Of course, they wouldn't come to the East Sea so easily.

But only…

there remained one final, utterly terrifying faction with deep ties to the East Sea.

"Listen closely."

"That pirate crew's name is…"

"The Red-Haired Pirates!"

Kong gave Lu En the precise answer.

"It really is them!"

Lu En's eyes flashed, his suspicion fully confirmed.

The three forces of the New World all had no connection to the East Sea.

But only the Red-Haired Pirates had immense ties to the East Sea.

Therefore,

Lu En had already guessed it in his heart.