Golden Lion's Objective Exposed

In the video, seemingly to answer the world's questions, the scene suddenly shifted from Luffy to the Thousand Sunny.

It was the Thousand Sunny from a week earlier. At the time, Luffy and the others were aboard, discussing a newspaper report about their home, the East Blue.

Not long ago, certain towns in the East Blue had been mysteriously destroyed overnight. Although none of the islands where their hometowns were located had been affected, they were worried, unsure when their own homes would be next.

Suddenly, a flying island swept overhead, giving them a fright. They all rushed to the bow and stared at the sight in disbelief.

Just then, Nami, their navigator, seemed to sense something. She immediately told Luffy not to sail any farther, as a whirlwind was forming along their course.

Hearing this, Luffy immediately set out to warn the people on the island, waving and shouting at them.

The people on the island naturally noticed and immediately reported it to their captain, Golden Lion. He promptly had one of his men drop a Tone Dial down to Luffy and the others.

After receiving the Tone Dial, Luffy had Nami tell Golden Lion and his crew about the whirlwind ahead.

By the time the Tone Dial returned to Golden Lion's hands, Nami had recorded her voice into it, warning them about the whirlwind ahead and telling them to head in the nine o'clock direction.

Golden Lion immediately questioned the island's team of navigators, only to be told there were no signs of any such thing.

But the next second, a great mass of dark clouds drifted toward them, and fierce winds sprang up. Golden Lion realized Nami hadn't lied to him. He acted at once, changing the island's course to follow behind Luffy's ship, narrowly avoiding disaster.

But for that very reason, he took an interest in Nami—or, more precisely, in her navigational skills. He immediately flew down from the island to Luffy's ship, thanked Luffy and the others, and asked who had warned him about the whirlwind.

Nami immediately stepped forward and said she was the one who had noticed it.

A flash of greed passed through Golden Lion's eyes, but he quickly concealed it. He introduced himself to Luffy and the others and showed them a little of his Float-Float Fruit ability.

Luffy and the others were immediately amazed, especially Luffy, who asked Golden Lion to make him float too.

Golden Lion said that, apart from himself, his ability had no effect on other people or living creatures such as animals. He then invited Luffy and the others to visit his base as guests.

But Luffy refused. He wanted to return to the East Blue and help his home through the crisis.

At that, Golden Lion's expression darkened, but he quickly recovered and told Luffy and the others that he could use his ability to send them back.

Without a second thought, Luffy and the others accepted excitedly.

And so, under the power of Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit, the Thousand Sunny rose into the air and followed his island skyward.

Before long, they arrived above a group of islands floating in midair.

Luffy and the others were stunned by the sight and asked Golden Lion what was going on.

Golden Lion told them that anything he made float would remain floating.

The next second, he suddenly walked up to Nami and threw an arm around her waist. She was startled, and Luffy and the others noticed at once and prepared to fight.

But it was already too late. Golden Lion removed the buoyancy he had applied to the Thousand Sunny, and Luffy and the others immediately began falling along with the ship.

"Nami!" Luffy shouted, stretching out his arm to grab her. But Golden Lion controlled the Thousand Sunny and sent him flying with it, falling toward a distant island.

"Luffy! Everyone!" Nami shouted, struggling in Golden Lion's arms.

At that point, the video returned to Luffy, but few people were paying much attention to him anymore. Instead, they were focused on what they had just seen.

The scrolling comments on the screen were particularly eye-catching. {Th-this Golden Lion really is an ungrateful bastard! The Straw Hat Luffy Pirates saved him, and he turned around and kidnapped their navigator! That's despicable! Maybe that's what pirates call honor!}

{Wow! The Straw Hat Luffy Pirates' navigator really is amazing! I saw what she could do during the Enies Lobby Incident, but she still amazed me this time. She could accurately sense changes in the weather just from subtle shifts in the air! If it were me, I'd have my eye on her too.}

{Oh! The East Blue is going to face such a huge crisis in the future. Golden Lion couldn't be behind it, could he?!}

{Where are the Marines?! Where are the Marines?! The East Blue is facing such a huge crisis in the future, so do something to help, will you?!}

{...}

{...}

{Worororo, Golden Lion, what happened to your legs? How did they end up like that? Was that the price you paid to escape Impel Down?} Kaido sneered.

{Mamamama, Golden Lion, was the big event you just mentioned your plan to destroy the East Blue?} Big Mom asked curiously.

{Kaido, do you think escaping Impel Down is that easy? There's always a price to pay. But as long as I didn't lose my prized swords, it's fine. And Big Mom, that's right. I intend to destroy the East Blue. Only by destroying it can the overall strength of this world increase. What's the point of keeping such a weak sea around?} Golden Lion admitted quite openly.

{I won't let you succeed, Golden Lion,} Sengoku snapped.

{Mamamama, Golden Lion, looks like you're important enough to draw even Sengoku out!} Big Mom said sarcastically.

{Jihahaha, that's not for you to decide, Sengoku! All my preparations are complete! You Marines and the people of the East Blue can just wait to receive my gift!} Golden Lion taunted.

The Holy Land, Mary Geoise, the Fleet Admiral's Office.

Bang!

Sengoku slammed his fist down on the desk. Faced with Golden Lion's provocation, he really had no good solution, mainly because he truly had no extra troops to spare at the moment.

The reason he had been so confident before that he could deal with Golden Lion was that he had thought there was only Golden Lion and his pirate crew.

But he had never imagined that Golden Lion had amassed so much fighting strength over the years. This wasn't a problem one or two Marine warships could solve. It would take at least half the fighting strength of a Buster Call to deal with it properly.

But that was precisely the problem: he didn't have that many troops to spare.

After all, most of the Marines' current forces were needed for the major event that was soon to come.

But as Fleet Admiral, he still intended to do his best to protect the civilians of the East Blue.

With that thought, he picked up the Den Den Mushi on his desk and made a call...

Marine Headquarters, the Dog-Head Warship.

"Mr. Garp, should we head back to the East Blue first?" Koby's face was full of worry. As someone from the East Blue, he too was deeply concerned about his home's future safety.

"Not for now. We'll stick to the original plan and go to Impel Down first. After that, we'll decide what to do!" A complicated look flickered in Garp's eyes as he murmured, "I won't let you destroy the peace of the East Blue, Golden Lion."