"Is that the attack of Uranus? How terrifying!"
"If we get hit by that even once, we'll be covered in bruises."
"It feels like the end of the world!"
"If Fleet Admiral Kuzan hadn't told us to evacuate immediately, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"
"Hold on tight! The waves are coming!"
"Move! If we don't get away from here, we're all finished today!"
Towering waves surged across the sea as the refugee ships from Crusimia were tossed about violently. The vessels rose and fell with the raging currents, looking as though they could capsize at any moment.
Meanwhile, above Brown Square.
"Hey, Franky! Does this giant thing really not have any weaknesses? How long are we supposed to keep cutting it apart like this?" Zoro shouted after slicing through a massive connecting pipe on Uranus with a single strike.
Not far away, Franky was still searching through the colossal machine. Hearing Zoro's complaint, he replied,
"AHO! Stop rushing me, you moss head! I'm looking for it!"
As the Chief Scientist and inventor of the Ion Pirates, Franky knew that a weapon of this scale had to possess a central core.
And for the ancient weapon Uranus, that core was undoubtedly its power source, the Seed.
As long as they located the Seed and destroyed it, they should be able to shut down Uranus completely.
However, as one of the World Government's greatest foundations, such a critical component would never be placed somewhere obvious.
Even for Franky, locating it within a short period was no easy task.
"Hey, pervert, hurry it up already. This god didn't come here to dismantle scrap metal all day."
Enel condensed a blade of blue lightning in his hand and casually sliced through the mechanical structures before him as if they were made of paper.
Elsewhere, everything in front of Crocodile had already been reduced to dust.
Turning his head, he asked, "Hey, damn pervert. Can't Uranus be integrated into Peach Garden for our own use?"
"Hard to say right now."
Franky continued examining the structure while speaking.
"According to the records in the Pluton blueprints, ancient weapons have authority systems built into them. Those permissions are usually established during construction."
As he spoke, two red-and-black cables extended from his palm and slipped into a narrow opening within Uranus.
The members of the Ion Pirates continued their relentless destruction.
Yet everyone could feel the vibrations reverberating throughout Uranus.
Against a machine of such overwhelming size, their attacks were little more than scratches on its surface.
"Hey! This thing seems to be moving away!" Zoro suddenly shouted.
Everyone immediately focused their senses.
Their expressions darkened.
"It looks like Crusimia has already been destroyed."
Sadness appeared on Nami's face.
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.
In the span of a few breaths, an entire island had vanished.
"If this thing keeps attacking island after island, it will become a catastrophe for the entire world."
Law frowned deeply.
Constant use of his Devil Fruit abilities had left his face noticeably pale.
His Haki reserves were also running low.
Looking around, he saw that everyone else had consumed a considerable amount of stamina as well.
If they failed to destroy Uranus quickly, the entire world could end up falling before the ancient weapon did.
At present, aside from Uranus's highest authority holder, Peach Garden was the only force capable of resisting it.
But if they could not locate the core and had to rely solely on gradually dismantling the machine, nobody could say whether Uranus or the world would fall first.
The material used to construct Uranus was not ordinary steel.
It was a super memory alloy.
Its durability far exceeded even the improved Pacifista models.
Combined with its enormous size, superficial damage was virtually meaningless.
Law understood this.
Everyone else did as well.
Unfortunately, no better solution presented itself.
Until Franky found either the control center or the energy core, they had no choice but to continue with this inefficient strategy.
At that moment, several familiar voices reached their ears.
"Wahahaha! Need a hand? This old man still has some strength left!"
"Hey, suit guy! We're here to help!"
Everyone turned toward the voices.
They saw Garp arriving alongside Luffy and the others.
Sabo walked over to Kuro and the group.
"How's it going? Any good ideas?"
Franky shook his head.
"Right now, the only option is finding this thing's energy core and cutting off its power supply. If we destroy the core, Uranus should stop functioning."
"So you've found it already?" Ace asked.
"No."
Franky shook his head again.
"As the most important and vulnerable component, it obviously wouldn't be installed somewhere exposed."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Logically speaking, the energy device should be hidden deep within the strongest protective layers. It might even be located at the exact center."
Sengoku looked at the heavily damaged sections around them and asked,
"So all of this is the result of your efforts?"
Franky scratched his forehead awkwardly.
"Yeah. Without finding the energy core, this is basically all we can do."
Kuro spoke up.
"We haven't seen Vegapunk since the war ended. If he were here, he could probably locate the energy core much faster."
Sengoku nodded in agreement.
"That's true."
"Are you looking for Vegapunk?"
Kuzan's voice suddenly echoed across the area.
Everyone turned immediately.
They saw Fleet Admiral Kuzan approaching alongside a long-tongued old man.
The old man was none other than the world's most renowned scientist.
Vegapunk.
As soon as he stepped onto Uranus, Vegapunk began examining everything around him.
His eyes sparkled with excitement.
It was as though he had discovered the greatest treasure imaginable.
"T, this is technology from nine hundred years ago? Incredible!"
He hurried toward a protruding section and gently ran his hand across it.
"Amazing! Amazing! This is a masterpiece! This level of technology surpasses the current world by at least five hundred years!"
Seeing his reaction, Lina could not help rolling her eyes.
"Hey, old man! Stop admiring it and help us find the energy core already."
Hancock crossed her arms.
"Hmph. Old man, I order you to locate this thing's core immediately."
Vegapunk quickly stood upright and wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.
Then he shook his head.
Everyone's hearts sank.
"What? Even you don't know?" Kuro asked.
"Didn't you participate in the development of Uranus's Seed energy system?" Sengoku added. "How could you not know?"
Faced with everyone's confusion, Vegapunk lowered his head slightly.
"The research team was enormous. Although this old man handled the most advanced sections of the project, I wasn't involved in the final assembly or calibration after development was completed."
He sighed.
"In fact, I never even saw Uranus itself."
"What?"
Lina stared at him.
"So you're saying that even you don't know how to stop this thing?"
Vegapunk nodded helplessly.
"That's correct. Unless we can obtain Uranus's design blueprints."
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone understood.
It was effectively the same as saying there was no solution.
There was no way the World Government would allow blueprints for an ancient weapon capable of threatening its rule to circulate freely.
"Hahahaha! Looks like we'll just have to keep tearing this thing apart!"
Garp rolled up his sleeves enthusiastically.
Everyone exchanged helpless looks.
Kuro waved his hand.
"For now, that's our only option."
Seeing the disappointment on everyone's faces, Vegapunk suddenly became determined.
He slapped his chest confidently.
"Give this old man five hours. Five hours, and I'll definitely find the energy core!"
Everyone paused before nodding.
At least it was better than having no lead at all.
With that, they prepared to spread out and continue dismantling Uranus piece by piece.
Then, at that very moment, a pink flamingo descended from the sky and landed atop Uranus.
A voice rang out across the battlefield.
"I have Uranus's design blueprints right here!"
...