Aboard the Wind Granma departing Marine Headquarters' port, Dragon shed the solemnity he'd shown at HQ.
Gazing at the towering Red Line ahead, an unconscious smile curved his lips.
"Dragon-san... you seem in good spirits," Koala beside him tilted her head slightly, her delicate face also relaxed with a smile.
Dragon nodded, and suddenly adopting a sage-like demeanor.
"Long, long ago, people invented fire to endure the endless night, only to find it could never replace the sun—for flames only illuminate their own homes."
Koala blinked, clearly not grasping Dragon's whats Dragon talking about.
Without giving another explanation, Dragon said plainly, "Order all five army commanders to return to headquarters for a meeting. Fleet Admiral Orion hasn't given us much time."
"Understood!" Koala hurried off towards the cabin without delay.
*****
Meanwhile...
Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's office.
Just as Orion prepared to leave, the Den Den Mushi on his desk rang.
Imu's voice came through immediately.
"Orion, it's Imu. Come to the Chamber of Flowers at once!"
"What happen anyway?"
"I'm swamped at Marine Headquarters, and you expect me to drop everything at your command? Do you take me for your errand boy?!"
Imu cut to the chase.
"All the Devil Fruit energies in the box have escaped. Also, I cannot leave the Holy Land!"
"What?"
Orion froze completely. "The contained Devil Fruits escaped? Don't be absurd, those were—"
Mid-sentence, his expression changed.
For contained Devil Fruit energies to escape, only two explanations existed: either his system was interfering, or some force even the system couldn't withstand had compromised its containment.
The former seemed unlikely.
Yet either scenario spelled grave consequences.
With that realization, Orion wasted no more words.
"I'm on my way."
*****
When Orion arrived at the Chamber of Flowers, Gunko and Imu had been waiting in the garden pavilion.
"Fleet Admiral Orion!"
Gunko greeted him cheerfully upon his arrival, her voice tinged with delight.
Imu remained seated, her gaze fixed intensely on the box before her.
Orion acknowledged them politely before sitting opposite Imu and pulling the box towards himself.
"All of them really escaped?"
After sensing no energy fluctuations from the box, Orion slightly furrowed his brows before tentatively asking in his mind.
'System, what exactly is going on? Why did all the Devil Fruit energy in the containment box escape?'
After posing this question internally, Orion didn't actually expect the system to respond.
Since obtaining the system, it had only appeared a handful of times—each instance cold and detached before vanishing into silence again, never interacting with him.
However, though there was no communication from the system, a familiar prompt tone abruptly sounded.
"Detected mysterious energy interfering with this world!"
"You now have two choices!"
"One: Shatter the dimensional barrier, track the source and take the initiative to find the new host of the escaped Devil Fruit energy, Rewards : Divinity!"
"Two: Become the king of this world and prepare for all-out war."
Hearing the two options presented by the system, Orion's expression gradually grew solemn.
Though the choices sounded simple, the implications behind them were vast.
Especially the mention of "shattering the dimensional barrier" in the first option—it clearly indicated that the mysterious energy interfering with this world came from... another world.
Most importantly, the phrase "track the source and take the initiative" meant that this mysterious energy from another world had caused cracks in the Devil Fruit containment box when interfering here.
Not only had the Devil Fruit energy escaped, but it had also fled to the world where this mysterious energy originated.
In simpler terms, he now had to either take the initiative to break through the dimensional barrier and pursue the escaped Devil Fruit energy to its new world, or wait for the other side to invade the Grand Line by breaking through the barrier themselves.
In the meantime, he would need to unify the Grand Line and prepare for all-out war.
Shattering the dimensional barrier was currently impossible for him.
If he had that ability, he would have already broken through this world and returned to Earth long ago.
This meant, in reality, he had no choice.
All he could do was become the king of this world and prepare for the dimensional invasion.
Of course, it wasn't necessarily just waiting passively—perhaps the moment he became the world's king, he would find a way to break the dimensional barrier and take the fight to them.
With this in mind, Orion couldn't be bothered to hesitate.
The first option was impossible for him now—he lacked the ability to shatter the dimensional barrier, meaning even the reward of becoming a god was out of reach.
As for the second option, he would have pick it regardless of whether the system presented it or not.
Choosing or not made no difference.
"Orion?"
Sitting across from him, Imu noticed Orion's increasingly grave expression and prolonged silence.
Unable to hold back, she tentatively spoke up, "Did you discover something?"
Orion withdrew his gaze from the box and nodded slightly.
"Another mysterious entity has appeared. But it's not targeting you—their goal is me."
At this, Orion suddenly grinned, revealing his teeth.
"You have the threat of the Sun God Nika and now some mysterious force wants to destroy everything I've built. Fair, isn't it?"
Imu didn't find it amusing.
A cold glint flashed in her dark red eyes as she said solemnly, "They want to destroy what you've created? Who? What can I do to help?"
"It's not someone who want to destroy everything I've done—it's desire, what they want is desire!"
"Desire?" Imu was momentarily stunned before turning to look at the box with sudden realization.
Orion nodded.
"Devil Fruits were born from humanity's craving for supernatural abilities, triggering a natural mutation phenomenon! You should understand this better than I do."
After a brief pause, Orion tilted his head slightly, gazing at the clear skies beyond the pavilion, his eyes narrowing.
"However, this time it might be even more intense. We'll need the combined strength of the entire world to confront it."
Imu's expression was sincere.
"If there truly is a mysterious force even you must take seriously, I will stand by your side."
"That's not up to you."
Orion smiled faintly. "If it really comes to that, we'll be grasshoppers tied to the same string."
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