Chapter 130

"The Seven Warlords' positions aren't lacking anymore—the one left vacant by Doflamingo has already been filled by that guy who claims to be Whitebeard's son."

Speaking of this, Blackbeard was still furious.

He had been overjoyed when he heard the news of Doflamingo's death.

Because he had finally waited for the chance to join the Seven Warlords.

But Blackbeard hadn't expected that before he could act, someone else had snatched up that Warlord position.

In a rage, Blackbeard had no choice but to come up with another plan.

And this was why he had come to this island, not far from Alabasta.

Blackbeard's booming voice said:

"If there's no position, create one!"

"I've already investigated thoroughly—that Crocodile has ruined Alabasta terribly. Let's pull him down, hand Ace over to the Marines, and won't the Marines give me the title of Warlord?"

Hearing Blackbeard's plan, Bajees and the others clapped in admiration:

"Captain, brilliant idea! I heard that Crocodile ate a Weird Cell—I've been dying to see it with my own eyes!"

…

At the same moment, in the Holy Land Mary Geoise.

After meeting with Sengoku, the Five Elders went to pay their respects to Im-sama.

Im-sama sat upon the enormous throne that should have been vacant.

This man was extremely mysterious.

Aside from the Five Elders, even the Supreme Commander of the Marines, Garp, the Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and all major World Government member nations were unaware of his existence.

The Five Elders, who claimed to hold the world's highest power, all bowed in prostration before him.

The Five Elders knelt and reported all major recent events to Im-sama.

Including Red-Haired's meeting with Whitebeard, the battle on Punk Hazard between the Cybertronians and the Peacekeepers, and the newly confirmed news that Vergo had destroyed Zephyr's Neo-Marines.

Of these three major events, for a being like Im-sama, only one mattered: the Cybertronians.

More precisely, the inventor behind the Cybertronians—Luo Xing.

"Have they captured that man?"

Im-sama spoke, voice hollow and distant.

The Five Elders knew exactly who Im-sama meant; they bowed their heads even lower.

"Apologies, Im-sama. That man has been hiding in Wano Country under Kaido's protection—we cannot apprehend him."

Luo Xing had not been hiding in Wano Country all along; on the contrary, he had traveled to many places during this time.

Sky Island, East Blue, Loguetown, the Thriller Bark, and others—913.

But the Five Elders could not track Luo Xing's whereabouts, nor had they even learned his true face to this day.

Though Im-sama gave no reply, the suffocating pressure spreading through the air made the Five Elders break into cold sweat.

Why did Im-sama, an ancient monster who had lived for countless years, care so deeply about Luo Xing?

To a degree even greater than Red-Haired, Whitebeard, or Zephyr?

The fundamental reason was Luo Xing's god-defying inventions—threats so immense that even this mysterious Im-sama felt profound danger!

This threat was greater than that posed by the legendary pirate king Rocks D. Xebec or the Pirate King Gol D. Roger!

Even now, on his desk before him lay Luo Xing's bounty poster.

Im-sama plunged a small knife into the center of Luo Xing's forehead photo, and spoke with an aura of supreme authority:

"Kill this man at all costs!"

"Also, accelerate your search for the Ancient Weapons!"

The Cybertronians had crushed the Peacekeepers—the World Government's years of research in weaponry—leaving the government far behind the Beasts Pirates in arms.

How could Im-sama tolerate this?

To close this gap, besides forcing Vegapunk to develop more advanced weapons, the only option was to find the legendary Ancient Weapons!

"Yes, Im-sama!"

The Five Elders knelt and accepted the order.

Upon returning, the Five Elders immediately issued a death order to CP0 and CP9.

Use every possible means, with the utmost speed, to locate the Ancient Weapon Pluton!

118. Cyrus consumes a Weird Cell, Luo Xing travels to Alabasta

After leaving Dasqi and Ayn's villa, Luo Xing took Jack and detoured to Dressrosa.

The distance between Punk Hazard and Dressrosa was not great; the two places supported each other.

If the Marines attacked one, the other could strike from behind.

If the Marines attacked both, the Beasts Pirates in Wano Country—including Luo Xing's father-in-law, Kaido—would intervene.

Then, it would erupt into a massive war no one could control!

Sengoku and the Five Elders knew this, which was why they had never dared to launch large-scale forces against Punk Hazard or Dressrosa.

After all,

the Marines' enemies extended far beyond the Beasts Pirates.

The other Four Emperors might seize the chance to ambush Marineford while the Marines were engaged with the Beasts Pirates—this could not be ignored.

In short,

the current situation hung in a strange balance.

As long as the Beasts Pirates did not press further, the Marines would not easily ignite war.

As for Im-sama's order—to kill Luo Xing at all costs—

The Five Elders could only shrug helplessly, at a loss.

They haven't even seen Luo Xing's true face yet—how are they supposed to kill him?

Should they send all the CP0 and CP9 spies to Wano Country to assassinate him?

That's no different from sending them to their deaths!

Thus, the Five Elders' main action has been searching for the ancient weapon, Pluton.

And this plan had already been laid out by the Five Elders many years ago.

Long ago, they dispatched CP9's Luo Bu Luqi and others to lie low in Water Seven, waiting for an opportunity to steal the Pluton blueprints.

The Five Elders have already contacted Luo Bu Luqi, demanding that CP9 obtain the blueprints within half a month.

Luo Xing does not yet know of these matters.

He is inspecting the production progress of the Smile artificial Devil Fruits.

Current daily output is ten fruits, with a success rate of roughly four out of five in granting abilities.

That means the Beasts Pirates gain seven or eight new artificial Devil Fruit users each day.

If these individuals then consume Strange Cell, and train in the gravity chamber, their strength instantly reaches the level of the former Six Supernovas—utterly terrifying!

At present,

The Beasts Pirates already have two thousand such Gifted soldiers!

With this force of two thousand, they could sweep clean every hostile faction in the New World, including the other Four Emperors' crews.

But it is still far from enough to attack the Marine Headquarters or the World Government.

The main reason is that the Marines and the World Government have far too many high-end fighters.

A single top-tier powerhouse can match at least a thousand Gifted soldiers.

The Marines alone, by rough count, have five such top-tier powerhouses: Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru, Garp, and Sakazuki.

In addition,

On the World Government's side, the Supreme Commander of Sea, Land, and Air, Rob Lucci, and the Five Elders themselves are likely all formidable.

And that mysterious figure, my lord Im, remains utterly inscrutable.

This is why Luo Xing gave Ma Erke the Senzu Bean at the Doupaimai Society.

Luo Xing wants Bai Huzi to recover a portion of his Peak Period strength, to test the World Government's depth first.

If he can kill one or two top-tier powerhouses, all the better.

No more idle talk.

After inspecting the Smile factory, Luo Xing went to the Wang Gong in Dressrosa.

The Wang Gong sits atop the Wang Zhi Plateau.

The Wang Zhi Plateau is a very tall Shanfeng, with several tiers.