In Wano Country, updated battle reports were sent back from time to time. When news arrived that Nasjuro had made his move, Metagross's calculations visibly froze for a brief moment, as though some inexplicable lag had occurred.
But after that, the magnetic field around it began to run wild, as if its program had undergone an update and gained access to even more possibilities. Afterward, a total of six areas were marked red again.
Whole Cake Island, Onigashima, and Elbaf—the current strongholds of the Emperors of the Sea—were all judged dangerous by Metagross.
It did not understand what the World Government was thinking. It was merely calculating the possible movements of the enemy's unknown combat forces. At present, one Marine Admiral and four of the Five Elders' movements were still unknown.
If they were on the frontline battlefield, they should have acted long ago. Since they still had not made a move, it was more likely that they were plotting something else. Compared with launching a surprise attack on just any island, striking at the enemy's main base was far more worthwhile.
"Onigashima's defenses shouldn't be a problem, but the others might not be. Better notify them first. But as for the remaining three islands..."
Shayna's gaze shifted toward the other three utterly ordinary-looking islands.
"The End Points... but those people might not go so far as to make such a desperate gamble."
The Beasts Pirates had long anticipated the possibility that the World Government might attack Wano Country. Otherwise, they would not have left some officers behind on Onigashima. But they truly had not given much thought to the End Points.
Faced with Shayna talking to herself, Metagross merely spread its hands and gave no response. What it calculated were probabilities, not predictions of the future. In Metagross's algorithm, when victory over an opponent was impossible, there was still a chance they might make a desperate move and flip the whole table.
The End Points were three node-like islands in the New World, all of them volcanic islands without exception. If all three islands were detonated, the entire New World would collapse.
Amid magma and raging flames, Marines, pirates, and ordinary people alike would be unable to escape. Other than a handful of powerful individuals, the entire region would be reduced to scorched earth.
After investigating the matter, the World Government had chosen not to conceal it. Instead, they spent enormous effort spreading the information so widely that people would come to believe it was false. However, the upper ranks of the Marines all knew the truth, and Kuzan was no exception.
It was just that before Metagross calculated the possibility, no one had believed the World Government would actually do such a thing. Civilians and Marines vastly outnumbered pirates, and blowing up the New World would not be in the World Government's interests either.
"Zeraora, Setsuna, the situation has changed a little. Go take a look around Firs Island and Secon Island. Thoroughly inspect the islands, and take Zunesha with you. If any unexpected factors appear... use your own judgment. In any case, you cannot let anyone blow those places up."
After contacting the reserve forces, Shayna rose from the summit of Mt. Fuji and headed downward.
At some unknown point, an entrance to a tunnel had appeared at the foot of Mt. Fuji, but ordinary people could not see it at all. Only Shayna passed through the special entrance and entered the deep, dark tunnel.
As Shayna advanced, the light inside the tunnel gradually dimmed until only the glow of the flames behind her remained. After walking for quite some time, a burst of fire illuminated her face, and the temperature within the space rose along with it.
"Senior Regigigas, before Lord Sacred Beast departed, he instructed us that because Senior Giratina is currently expanding the world, if an unexpected situation arose that we could not handle, we could come to you. According to Metagross's calculations, an unknown enemy may appear here. Just in case, please be prepared."
Shayna spoke respectfully toward the pool of magma before her. Then a huge head emerged from the magma. With no neck to speak of, Regigigas merely flickered its eyes once before sinking back into the lava and resuming its great undertaking of crafting figurines.
Regigigas still had little interest in humans. However, these humans who worshiped Arceus were at least more pleasing to the eye than Arceus's enemies. Since Arceus had left instructions behind, Regigigas could not simply ignore them.
"Miss Yamato, stay on Onigashima for the time being. If the enemy launches a surprise attack, Onigashima will probably be one of their main targets."
"Sister Shayna, do you really think the enemy can get into Wano Country? Father was just playing around with the Straw Hats. Something like that shouldn't happen a second time, right?"
The hierarchy within the Beasts Pirates was still rather chaotic. Even among Yamato's own generation, there were people who wanted to become her stepmother.
Queen had managed to benefit a little from that as well. He was the only one Yamato specifically called "uncle."
"It's only a possibility. This is war. If something could threaten us, we have to prepare defenses against it."
"I know. I just don't really understand what method they could use to get in."
There had not been much change within Wano Country itself. The nation was already under wartime lockdown. Delia had even given up alcohol for the past few days, while Mandrell had practically become a kindergarten principal, bringing all the underage children into the Reverse World.
The lives of ordinary residents had not been affected too severely, but it certainly could not be said that they were completely unaffected. Imported supplies had entered a rationing system, military factories were operating beyond capacity, and medical resources were being prioritized for those wounded in battle.
Even Udon could not avoid being affected. However, the impact on Udon did not come from the outside, but from within. These days, Queen had holed himself up in Udon every day, monitoring his defense system. For some reason, he suddenly felt that Udon was extremely safe.
Babanuki had lost his peace and quiet. After all, once Queen arrived, he naturally became the highest-ranking officer here, and Udon consequently entered Queen's personal BGM. At fixed times every day, Udon would become surrounded by Queen's dancing.
Over the past few days, Luffy once again saw the frozen Garp.
"Whoa, that guy inside the ice looks just like my grandpa!"
"Isn't there a possibility... that he is your grandpa?! Did you forget what your original objective was?!"
Even in Udon, Luffy could not escape Nami's iron fist. Back when his body was rubber, Nami could still beat him black and blue. Now that he no longer had a rubber body, Nami's fists hurt even more.
"But Grandpa wasn't in this spot before. And with such a strong enemy here, how are we supposed to escape? This is really troublesome..."
Because of Queen's arrival, Garp's cell had been moved, creating a slight discrepancy in Luffy's understanding.
"Is there really any hope left for this pirate crew? Hercules was born in this country and feels a stronger sense of belonging here. Luffy isn't reliable like this either. Are we seriously going to mine here for the rest of our lives? I don't want to work myself to death here."
Nami lowered her head helplessly, even giving off a dark aura. Luffy's intelligence always managed to surprise her in new and different ways.
"Actually, I saw their salary chart a few days ago. The allowance for a top-tier Navigator... is incredibly high."
"Their kitchens also have dream ingredients from all over the world. There are even things I've never seen before..."
"Their metalworking techniques are incredible too, and the Machamp are super cool~"
"I saw their research on panaceas. They actually already have a universal drug that can be used on beings other than humans. There might really be a genius here."
"Yohohoho, their benefits and treatment really are excellent. I remember I still have quite a lot of my performance royalties saved up with Mr. Tesoro."
For most members of the Straw Hats, the Beasts Pirates were perfectly capable of helping them achieve their dreams. Some of them were not even mining here all the time. Chopper, for example, would be taken away by Queen during the day to observe some of his experimental procedures.
Although Queen had always believed that he himself was the world's greatest genius, he had to admit that Chopper was highly talented in herbal medicine. Developing a Rumble Ball capable of controlling the wavelengths of a Devil Fruit was not something an ordinary person could accomplish.
Tempted by the prospect of a panacea, Chopper chose to work for Queen using his intellect.
"Hey, hey! What are you guys talking about?! How can you be thinking about surrendering?!"
"Who do you think is the reason we ended up like this?!"
Hearing his companions whispering among themselves, Luffy protested, only to have a handful of rocks thrown into his face by them. The only reason they had not chosen to defect was because of their bond with Luffy.
If Luffy were ever persuaded by Hercules, then the Straw Hats would probably end up flying a brand-new flag for real.
"These guys really don't act like they're in prison at all. I refuse to believe this bunch can escape right under my nose."
After finishing the day's dancing event, Queen declared this with absolute confidence. Looking at the setting sun, he was already imagining a wonderful tomorrow.
Yamato and Shayna were both extremely busy right now, and Kaido was away from home. While on prison duty, Queen could practically do whatever he wanted.
"Boss Queen, there's a message from the Boss Shayna. Metagross calculated that Onigashima carries a certain level of risk. You've been told to heighten security and communicate immediately if anything happens."
"Huh? That woman is being way too nervous, isn't she? Who could possibly break into Wano Country? And even if they did get in, only someone with a hole in their brain would come to the prison."
"Um, Boss Queen, isn't it kind of bad to say that...?"
Queen seemed displeased that his mood while watching the sunset had been ruined. Seeing Queen in this state, Babanuki instinctively tried to stop him from talking, but it was no use. Having grown far too comfortable, Queen had forgotten certain things.
"What's bad about it? Everyone in Wano Country knows that I'm the most vigilant one around. Even if she hadn't said anything, I'd already strengthened the defenses here. I even moved Garp's cell to a new location.
"That violent woman isn't standing in front of me anyway, so she can't hear—"
Before Queen could finish speaking, he suddenly noticed the indicator light on the Rotom in Babanuki's hand flashing. If he remembered correctly, that indicator light meant a call was currently connected.
"So just how many bad things have you been saying about me behind my back?"
The next moment, Shayna's familiar voice came through the Rotom, and Babanuki also understood the meaning in Queen's eyes.
[You brat, you screwed me over!!!]
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