Deep beneath the Flower Capital's underground passages.
In a flame-lit chamber, Dragon stood with hands clasped behind his back before a glass-walled corridor.
He unleashed his formidable Observation Haki, methodically scanning the abyssal waters for traces of the Pluto Battleship.
Whether by coincidence or fate's design...
Dragon's complete focus on searching for Pluton with his Observation Haki caused him to neglect monitoring his surroundings.
Had he not been entirely consumed by the pursuit of this Ancient Weapon, his Observation Haki would have detected the shockwaves from Caesar's battle with Kid and Law miles away at Boro Town.
The Flower Capital lay dozens of miles inland from the coast, and Dragon's chamber was buried kilometers underground.
Even if the battle's reverberations reached this far, they would only manifest as faint ripples in the water.
Robin had ceased her study of the Poneglyphs, instead sitting beside Hiyori while periodically studying the radically changed young woman.
Robin remembered Hiyori well—Oden's daughter, once known as Komurasaki, Wano Country's greatest beauty.
She and Denjiro of the Red Scabbards had hidden under Orochi's rule, secretly amassing resources for their country's restoration.
Yet this woman who had harbored such hatred for Kaido had, within a single month, become Caesar's woman and Wano's queen.
And she appeared genuinely determined to protect Ulti, formerly of the Flying Six.
Robin really wanted to ask Hiyori what had caused her to change.
Hiyori was already awake, but she remained silent, sitting quietly and staring blankly at the massive red Poneglyph before her.
Her beauty was unparalleled, in no way inferior to Robin's.
And after becoming the queen of Wano Country, Hiyori had developed a unique aura—noble, elegant, like an untouchable goddess.
At this moment, she looked like an exquisite porcelain vase, breathtakingly beautiful yet fragile.
Karasu and Lindbergh hid in the dark corners, not making a single sound, as if they didn't exist at all.
Only Ivankov was carelessly snoring away, occasionally letting out loud snores.
After a while, the sound of splashing water echoed from the wide passage on one side of the hall, startling Dragon, who had been continuously scanning the sea.
That passage had no glass walls—it sloped downward, leading directly to the water outside.
Hack and ten other fish-men had entered the water from here to investigate the sea.
"Hmm? Who's cooking noodles? I'm so hungry!"
Ivankov stretched, yawned and sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes before seeing Dragon striding toward the other passage.
"Dragon? Haven't you found Pluton yet?"
Just as Ivankov finished speaking, Hack's excited voice came from the passage.
"Chief! I found a huge, enormous steel warship! I don't know if it's Pluton, but that ship is definitely something extraordinary!"
Hack was visibly excited, barely able to contain himself.
His fervent words quickly drew everyone over.
Karasu, Lindbergh, and even Robin approached, all eyes fixed on Hack.
Dragon was visibly moved, but as a man who had weathered countless storms, his composure was extraordinary.
Immediately, he asked in a deep voice, "Hack, where did you find the steel warship? How far is it?"
"Uh..." Hack scratched his head sheepishly, glancing awkwardly at the water.
"I'm not sure. I just remember it was in that direction. At my swimming speed, it'd take about an hour to get there."
"North? That far?" Dragon frowned.
Then, he focused his Observation Haki in the direction Hack had indicated, piercing through the deep sea to scan the distant northern waters!
About ten minutes later, when beads of sweat had begun forming on Dragon's forehead—
His expression suddenly changed.
Dragon had sensed it!
At the bottom of the sea, several thousand meters deep, in an ancient port of Wano Country, lay a massive super-warship.
Though his Observation Haki couldn't discern the ship's color, he could roughly perceive its shape and material.
It was an enormous vessel with a length-to-width ratio of one to three.
The hull was made of some unknown metal—even Dragon's Observation Haki couldn't penetrate it to sense the ship's interior.
The deck wasn't shaped like a conventional ship's but was instead unnaturally flat, like a plaza, making it all the more mysterious.
Dragon had never seen a ship of this design before.
Although he hadn't laid eyes on the Pluton, the moment he sensed this vessel with his Haki, he instantly understood Hack's feelings.
He also realized why Hack had been so certain that this ship must be the legendary Pluton.
Because this steel warship—whether in terms of size, material, or stylistic design—was unlike anything Dragon had ever encountered.
"There's no mistake—that's the Pluton Battleship!"
A look of joy flashed across Dragon's face, but it was quickly replaced by a frown.
The Pluton Battleship measured [X] meters in length, and its weight was likely unimaginable.
Yet the ocean depth here reached [X] meters—far beyond the reach of any rope they possessed.
Even if they had one, no one possessed the strength to haul such a colossal vessel up from the depths!
That left only one option: destroying the mountain-like thick barriers surrounding Wano Country.
"Hack, inform the others. We can stop searching—the Pluton Battleship must be right there."
Dragon's confident declaration sent shockwaves through everyone present.
Immediately, Karasu and Lindbergh's faces lit up with wild excitement, while Ivankov was so overjoyed he spontaneously performed a bizarre, eye-searing dance.
"Let's head up. The Pluton Battleship is too massive—without breaking Wano's barriers, we can't bring it back to the surface. Everyone, move to higher ground and find a place to rest. Then, we'll locate a slightly weaker section of the barrier and test whether we can breach that ancient wall."
"Yes!" Karasu exchanged an eager glance with Lindbergh before leading the way toward the passage.
They could hardly wait to lay eyes on the legendary Ancient Weapon, Pluton.
"Lindbergh, with the Pluton Battleship, our Revolutionary Army finally has the power to challenge the World Government. They hold Uranus as their mysterious trump card—now we have Pluton! Apart from Poseidon, there's no force left in the known world that can threaten our dream of eradicating darkness and ushering in a bright future!"
Karasu's face burned with fanatical excitement, tinged with an unshakable hatred.
Both he and Lindbergh were orphans—their homelands and families had been destroyed in wars sparked by the World Nobles' ruthless exploitation.
Thus, they harbored an immeasurable loathing for the Celestial Dragons.
If it meant destroying the World Nobles, Karasu would gladly sacrifice his life without hesitation!
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