Chapter 422: Round of Sixteen!

Ten thousand meters high in the sky.

Nami stood atop the floating island, gazing down at the Britannias below.

The inland sea, hundreds of kilometers in diameter, revealed its boundaries faintly from this altitude.

The new Camelot rising from the ruins still fell far short of the former Royal City of Britannias.

Yet the crisscrossing roads, the neatly planned buildings, and the tiny figures moving along the streets, insignificant as dust, all radiated a vitality like the morning sun.

This storm was no accident; it was the result of Nami manipulating the clouds over the Britannias inland sea using her Cloud-Cloud Fruit.

The compatibility between this Devil Fruit and Nami far exceeded Gao Wen's initial expectations.

According to Gao Wen's original projection, it might have taken Nami more than half a year to reach this stage.

Yet she achieved it in merely half a month.

Besides this, there was Fujitora's Heavy-Heavy Fruit.

The former influenced large-scale weather patterns, summoning a storm to obscure vision.

The latter acted directly, lifting the shipyard along with dozens of kilometers of land into the high skies.

Under the combined abilities of the two, the resulting effect surpassed imagination.

"It must be magnificent!"

Fujitora sat cross-legged beside Nami, straining to widen his long-blind eyes toward the ground below, yet perceiving only a blur of light.

"Ah, it is magnificent."

Vegapunk walked over slowly, standing shoulder to shoulder with the two, likewise gazing down at the land below.

He turned his head to look at Fujitora and Nami beside him.

Vegapunk's gaze tightened slightly:

"If I recall correctly, the Float-Float Fruit left behind after Golden Lion's death is also in the hands of Knight Gao Wen."

"Gravity, flotation, clouds..."

"A kingdom standing tall in the high skies?!"

"The combination of these three is certainly not aimless; having already made this possible, that man must be preparing for the impending end of the world!"

"He has long known what will happen in the future."

"Yet while such power might allow a single race to survive the apocalypse, when expanded to cover the entire ocean, it remains utterly insignificant."

"Moreover..."

"Whether regarding the Martial Arts Tournament or the creation of Pluton, he has appeared somewhat rushed..."

"What exactly did he see at Laugh Tale?!"

The more he pondered,

the heavier Vegapunk's heart became.

He had already vaguely guessed the truth, yet still dared not probe deeper.

Such a future was simply too despairing, too terrifying.

All humans except the Fish-Men—no, all creatures relying on land for survival—would face destined destruction!

Fujitora turned his head subtly to glance at Vegapunk; those pale white eyes could see nothing, yet revealed unimaginable complexity:

"Regardless, Gao Wen has his own methods."

"The only thing we can do is trust him, stand alongside him, and walk toward the future."

"Whether that signifies destruction or rebirth."

"Ah."

Vegapunk responded lightly, his tone carrying a hint of bewilderment:

"You, who are his enemy, why do you trust him to such an extent?!"

"Enemy?!"

Fujitora shook his head:

"He and I were never enemies."

"From the very beginning, we were friends; now, we are comrades."

"Furthermore, shouldn't you also know the reason why more and more people follow Gao Wen, eventually converging into a force capable of opposing the World Government?!"

Vegapunk did not reply, merely lowering his eyes to gaze downward.

The storm had long subsided; in the dead of night, Camelot's lights flickered like scattered stars.

After a long while,

Vegapunk murmured:

"That is true."

"Indeed, within Gao Wen lies a possibility that has never before appeared in this world."

Suddenly, the winds around them grew tumultuous.

The air currents surging ten thousand meters above were far more violent and far colder than those on the ground.

Yet at this moment, Vegapunk felt only a flame igniting from the depths of his heart!

At this very instant, he made a certain resolution:

"Then now... we must do what we must do; it is time to let the World Government witness the true power of the Ancient Weapons!"

The three rose and walked toward the shipyard behind them.

Amidst the brilliant illumination,

a loud, soaring, and exceedingly excited shout erupted from within the shipyard:

"SUPER!!!!"

"Uraaaaaah—!!!!"

……

At the same time.

Within a certain stronghold of the CP0 organization, under the World Government.

As intelligence regarding Britannias gradually leaked out, the person in charge's expression grew increasingly spectacular.

"Gone?!"

"How can it be gone?!"

"A shipyard that large, how could it possibly just vanish like that?!"

He was nearly going mad.

Infiltrating Britannias to ascertain whether Gao Wen and his group were secretly constructing Pluton, and to determine the specific progress of its construction, was the mission assigned to him by the Five Elders.

He still clearly remembered the excitement he felt when he first received this mission.

Although dangerous, if executed well, it would be a shortcut leading straight to the ears of heaven, granting access to the very pinnacle of power.

Thus, even knowing the dangers involved and knowing what kind of monsters he would have to face, he had still resolutely accepted this mission.

But what had he encountered now?!

After a storm, a shipyard spanning dozens of kilometers had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a colossal pit a thousand meters deep in its place.

If he did not know for certain that the Five Elders would absolutely not deploy an Ancient Weapon at this time, he would have thought those were the traces left by Uranus!

If the mission failed...

The consequences, he dared not even think about, nor did he dare to imagine them!

"Deploy all our personnel hidden in Britannia; find it for me!"

"I don't believe he could have flown up into the sky!"

……

……

……

The next day.

Camelot.

Gao Wen stood by the window, gazing at the clear blue sky after the storm.

With his eyesight, he could even see the colossal pit left behind after the shipyard, along with dozens of kilometers of nearby land, had risen into the sky.

Seawater rushed in; before long, that colossal pit would form a bay.

Hiss—!

The drawer slid open.