"Click."
The Den Den Mushi was hung up. Borsalino narrowed his eyes. Now well into middle age, he looked somewhat lecherous at this moment.
Not long afterward, the Marines who had just withdrawn returned on their own.
The adjutant was about to pick up the Den Den Mushi beside the recliner, but Borsalino waved his hand, indicating that it wasn't necessary.
"Headquarters just gave me a new order, so I have to leave."
The adjutant froze. Was the thing inside that enormous box behind them no longer important?
Borsalino stood up and continued,
"World Government personnel will take over the escort from here. There's no need to worry too much about the specific arrangements, but don't continue the discussion we were having earlier."
"You can ignore what I say, but the CP agents are the World Government's truly obedient attack dogs. Even if you're only discussing something, you could end up being accused of some nonexistent crime and executed."
"By then, even Headquarters wouldn't be able to argue on your behalf."
The adjutant remembered the discussions among the men below regarding the New Era newspaper and solemnly promised that he would warn everyone.
Borsalino nodded, then immediately released his hands.
A beam of light shot toward the direction of Baltigo, and his entire body transformed into a flash of light before disappearing.
Not long afterward, Borsalino stood atop a reef protruding from the surface of the sea.
After thinking for a moment, he tied the Den Den Mushi that connected him to the Gorosei in Mary Geoise to a rope and lowered it into the seawater.
He then took out a small box. Inside was a hardy Den Den Mushi happily munching on some leaves.
It was resistant to eavesdropping and built to take a beating.
"Bruru bruru..."
At the same time, back in Baltigo, Rowan was discussing the Revolutionary Army's subsequent arrangements in the East Blue with Dragon.
When the Den Den Mushi rang, he smiled and said, "That giant mechanical soldier Vegapunk has been going on about has finally appeared."
Dragon looked over. "One of the future candidates for the Marines' highest combat power?"
Rowan smiled and answered the call.
"So, is there good news?"
The Den Den Mushi mimicked Borsalino's lecherous tone, his lips puckering as his voice rose high.
"Hmm... There's one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which one do you want to hear?"
Rowan replied, "Then I'll take the bad news."
Borsalino sighed.
"I think you should hear the good news first. After all, the bad news really is a little bad."
"The good news is that the matter you entrusted to me earlier has yielded results. That enormous mechanical soldier was being transported by me to Punk Hazard. Because it was so thoroughly concealed, I didn't discover what it was at first. I only found out just now and immediately contacted you."
"But the escort personnel have now been changed. I have a new mission from the Five Elders of the World Government, so CP agents will be taking over the escort."
Rowan laughed. "The latter part doesn't really count as bad news. If you're not escorting it, then I can go over and hijack it without affecting you, can't I?"
"Whoo..."
Borsalino exhaled. "I never said that was the bad news. The escort fleet's route should remain unchanged for now. I'll tell you about it later, but I hope you won't kill the Marines aboard the escort ships."
"I read the New Era newspaper that has been spreading across the world since yesterday. There's been quite a lot of discussion among the Marines aboard the ship, and many of them still uphold the justice they believed in when they first joined."
Rowan agreed.
As far as the Marines were concerned, most of them could potentially become allies.
"But what exactly is the bad news?"
Borsalino spoke up.
"Ten minutes ago, I received a notice from the Five Elders. The mission I need to carry out immediately is to head to Baltigo, the White Land Island in the Grand Line, and determine whether Baltigo is the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army. Speed and secrecy are the priorities."
⊙_⊙
This time, Rowan was genuinely stunned.
Baltigo had been discovered?
How?
In the span of a single second, Rowan's gaze shifted toward the unconscious Bruno.
The problem could only have come from this bull-headed man. The only thing that was different from before was his presence.
So... a tracking method?
Rowan quickly thought of that incident in Mary Geoise. Whenever his clone dispersed, all of the memories belonging to his second clone in Mary Geoise would return to his main body.
That meant he also knew why that clone had chosen to disperse at the time, including the fact that the members of the God's Knights had been putting on an act the entire time.
And now, Borsalino's words had also been heard by Dragon.
The World Government had discovered Baltigo, the Revolutionary Army's headquarters. There couldn't be worse news than this.
Rowan's expression was grim. After all, he was the one who had brought the guy lying on the floor back to headquarters.
Something like a Vivre Card could determine a person's direction.
Bruno was originally supposed to be taken elsewhere and placed in an isolated holding cell, but Rowan had forgotten about a certain person in Mary Geoise...
The one who had suddenly launched a sneak attack at the home of the second Celestial Dragon they had killed, and possessed an ability that could place marks on enemies.
"Notify Vegapunk to begin the evacuation operation. Use the rock-salt crystals to accelerate the production of the island clouds. Release the reserves from the previous projects first."
"Once everything is ready, I'll go bring Uncle Kuma back. Then we'll begin the evacuation."
Dragon rubbed his forehead.
"That's the only option."
In fact, the reason Dragon had stayed in Baltigo for so long was precisely so that, if the headquarters were ever exposed, he could immediately evacuate the most important research institute, even without Kuma's assistance.
The Revolutionary Army had made extensive preparations as a precaution. It also demonstrated just how important the research institute, or rather Vegapunk's research projects, were to them.
Seven years ago, during the Ohara Incident, Dragon hadn't understood this yet. He had even thought that Vegapunk had a choice, and that there was nothing wrong with him joining the World Government.
But now...If he could face his former self from back then, Dragon felt he would probably jump up and smack him across the face.
Worldwide signal transmission, believable?
Instantaneous communication across a massive island, believable?
Sending an island into the sky and creating a cloud to support it, believable?
And after that gigantic mechanical soldier was discovered, Vegapunk had even once guaranteed that there was an almost limitless energy source.
Nearly unlimited coffee refills meant nearly unlimited food, nearly unlimited weapons, and defensive barriers capable of withstanding that kind of power.
Dragon opened the intelligence interface. After a series of complicated operations, he entered a certain final screen.
A mechanical voice sounded.
"Confirm the use of Chief Authority to awaken the Doctor without restrictions?"
"Confirmed."
"Beginning iris authentication."
"Authentication successful."
The next moment, Vegapunk's face appeared on the tablet, and he could clearly see everyone on their side as well.
It was an electronic version of a Video Transponder Snail.
However... Vegapunk's expression was clearly unpleasant.
"What happened? If you're using the highest authority, then without a suitable reason, I'm genuinely going to be angry!"
The old Vegapunk's appearance was exactly as it was.
Even though his brain had become much smaller after establishing the cloud-based processor, his long tongue still hung down. Even when he was angry, he somehow looked rather goofy and adorable.
Dragon replied, "It really is an extremely serious matter. That's why I had no choice but to disturb you using the highest authority. Baltigo... has been discovered by the World Government."
The Vegapunk on the other side of the tablet froze as well, immediately understanding why Dragon had used the highest authority.
As the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army, Baltigo contained far too many secrets. Even the enormous research facility itself, along with the knowledge preserved from Ohara, represented an enormous treasure to the world.
Dragon continued, "According to the evacuation plan, considering the amount of rock-salt crystals we have and the technological support available, how much land can we move above the clouds?"
Numerous calculations flashed through Vegapunk's mind. He immediately gave an order.
"According to the evacuation plan, from this point onward, everyone in Baltigo must follow my orders until the evacuation is complete. The Flame of the Revolution is there too, right? With something this serious..."
"First, have the Flame of the Revolution bring Kuma back. Then, including the scholars from Ohara, everyone is to gather at the research institute. Five minutes."
"Five minutes later, I'll begin assigning tasks for the evacuation plan. Everyone will perform their own duties and integrate the available resources."
Dragon nodded. "Understood. Then I'll leave it to you, Doctor. And yes, the Flame of the Revolution is indeed at headquarters."
Rowan leaned into the frame. "I'll bring Uncle Kuma back immediately. Don't worry."
Vegapunk glanced at Rowan's new face through the transmission. Although he didn't recognize the appearance, he knew that this was the Revolutionary Army's mentor, the Flame of the Revolution.
"So this problem was caused by the Flame of the Revolution bringing someone here? Producing rock-salt crystals is difficult to do on a large scale without obtaining the Infinite Energy..."
The moment Rowan heard this, he knew Vegapunk was indirectly pressuring him. Even with Infinite Energy, rock-salt crystals couldn't simply be mass-produced.
There were too many factors involved, and a considerable portion of the Revolutionary Army's current stock had actually been gathered through extraction.
"The giant mechanical soldier that attacked Mary Geoise two hundred years ago has finally shown some clues. Once the evacuation plan is completed, I should be able to bring it back in around ten weeks."
Upon hearing this, Vegapunk's expression changed noticeably. The look of someone who had just been told Rowan owed him money disappeared completely.
"That's good."
Vegapunk's face lit up with excitement. "In that case, many of the projects that have been stalled can finally be restarted. The worldwide signal network you need can be completed, and so can the protective barriers."
"Once we've confirmed the production method, we can also manufacture the energy weapon cores. And most importantly, there's the Lineage Factor."
At this point, Vegapunk hesitated.
But remembering that the Revolutionary Army's ideology had originally come from the person standing before him, he finally said it.
"Devil Fruit abilities can be replicated. As long as the original owner of the Devil Fruit ability is still alive, their ability can be replicated."
Rowan frowned slightly.
Devil Fruits weren't necessarily a good thing for the future of this world.
Once someone possessed a blade, the desire to use it could easily arise. If Devil Fruit abilities could be replicated, the impact this would have on the world would not necessarily be a good one.
"Doctor, you should understand the consequences, right? If this technology were to spread, then the entire world could potentially become filled with Devil Fruit users."
Rowan's brows furrowed.
"The Marines and World Government would gain access to the abilities of every Devil Fruit user they have imprisoned in Impel Down. Ordinary people would also become demons wielding butcher's knives... Doctor, what you possess now is a power capable of throwing the entire world into chaos."
After a long silence, Vegapunk sighed.
"I have thought about that. That's why I wanted to tell you about it beforehand. There are simply too many things involved."
"However, for now, the application of the Lineage Factor to Devil Fruit abilities is still incomplete. Even after obtaining sufficient energy, we can currently only replicate some ordinary Paramecia-type Devil Fruit abilities."
Vegapunk seemed to slip back into his researcher mindset.
"Zoan-type Devil Fruits seem to be different, perhaps because of their connection to Mythical Zoans. According to the documents preserved from Ohara, Zoan-type Devil Fruits seem to contain the influence of an original will."
"Wanting to awaken a Devil Fruit, however, requires the user to possess the original will of that fruit. As for Logia-type abilities, they're even more complicated. After more than ten experiments, I still haven't been able to determine why they failed. Perhaps it has something to do with the very essence of Devil Fruits."
The essence?
Rowan thought about everything he knew regarding Devil Fruits. The most important piece of information was what Vegapunk himself had said in his memories.
Then there was the appearance of the Ope Ope no Mi in Flevance. Wasn't this thing supposed to be formed from humanity's desires?
No... That wasn't right.
That was merely the result, not the essence.
The manifestation of the power of rules could never be as simple as the desires born from imagination.
At this moment, Vegapunk, who had completely fallen into his own train of thought, spoke again.
"Regarding Devil Fruits, after combining what I've learned from the Ohara documents, I've come up with a rather bold hypothesis."
"I still don't know whether it's correct. But that first pirate from nine hundred years ago makes me feel that when the world first changed, perhaps that was when the essence of Devil Fruits was formed."
At that moment, a mechanical voice interrupted Vegapunk.
"Doctor, everyone at headquarters has assembled."
Vegapunk came back to his senses. Right now, the most important thing was moving everything belonging to the Revolutionary Army out of Baltigo.
"Let's talk about this next time. Right now, I need Bartholomew Kuma's power."
Rowan agreed. After ending the video call, he immediately disappeared from the spot.
When Kuma returned to Baltigo, he was completely bewildered. Belo Betty, smoking a cigarette, had also arrived at the open area outside the research facility.
Vegapunk immediately began assigning tasks, ordering everyone to work together and transfer all the supplies and knowledge on Baltigo.
Having experienced the Buster Call on Ohara, the scholars of Ohara quickly got to work, beginning to organize all the books they had preserved from Ohara.
Dragon lent Ginny the Rooster Talisman, while Kuma also returned. One after another, the two of them began transferring everything that needed to be moved to the designated land.
Compared to the supplies and other materials, the very first things to be transferred were the tens of thousands of books from Ohara.
This was also the first objective that Kuma and Ginny would work on together.
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