Suspicion of Enma and the Temptation of Pure Gold!

The Vinsmoke Judge incident didn't actually cause much of a stir.

First.

The Germa Kingdom's application to participate in the Otherworld War has been rejected.

If they want to participate, they can only do so by first incorporating their troops into the Army's organization, and then doing so in the name of the World Government.

This is something that will not change in the past, present, or future.

Alternatively, send someone to participate in next year's "Myriad Worlds Top 100 Tournament".

If you have the ability to secure a spot, you can go to other worlds, but then it won't be a war.

To be honest.

Judge thinks too highly of himself.

However, Imu did agree to the request to redeem the land that had been confiscated for 20 billion Beli.

Compared to the constantly shifting Germa Kingdom, the Germa Kingdom, with its fixed islands, seems much easier to control.

At this time, Imu and the Five Elders were most concerned about what was happening with Aokiji and Kureha.

The latter, in particular.

When they heard there was a high chance of finding Pure Gold, they were completely overwhelmed with excitement.

The World Government, or rather the Five Elders throughout history, has been tasking CP0 with searching for Pure Gold all over the world, but to no avail.

Who would have thought that Lord Imu would tell them that Kureha might have a small piece of Pure Gold?

It can even be used to attract 'Island-Swallowing Lanternfish' that have more Pure Gold.

To be honest.

The Five Elders' first thought was to immediately send CP0 to capture Kureha.

But Imu had anticipated this.

The order specifically included instructions that Kureha must not be persecuted and that her willingness to continue serving as dean of the Medical Academy must be guaranteed.

From Imu's perspective, Kureha and Pure Gold are not mutually exclusive, and there is no need to give up one of them.

The key is that he has already achieved immortality, so he is not in such a hurry.

Empress.

In the latter half of the Grand Line, the G-1 Marine Branch is less than two nautical miles away.

Ten Headquarters Class warships were deployed in various locations as a precaution.

"We can begin."

Aokiji calmly looked at Kureha beside him.

Kureha nodded expressionlessly, and under the watchful eyes of the two CP0 officers behind her, tossed the small gold ring she had already removed over the railing.

In the blink of an eye, the golden ring sank into the sea and disappeared without a trace, but Kureha showed no reaction whatsoever.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that her fingers were bound with a circle of transparent silk thread.

It's not hard to imagine that the other end of the line was tied to that gold ring.

Originally, Aokiji, considering safety issues, suggested that he or another strong person take charge of this matter.

After all, no one can guarantee that some sea monster won't bite the golden ring and drag the person holding the line into the sea; that would be too dangerous.

While Kureha's skills were somewhat more agile compared to the lower-ranking One Piece in the first half of the Grand Line, Aokiji still considered her to be within the realm of ordinary people.

But the old woman absolutely refused, and wouldn't allow anyone else to touch the gold ring.

Left with no other choice, they had to accept it.

This moment.

Imu on Noah, the Five Elders of the Authority Room, Fleet Admiral Sengoku of the Marine Headquarters, and Aokiji and others present at the scene were all watching the situation at sea.

The atmosphere gradually became heavy, with only the continuous sound of the crashing waves echoing between heaven and earth.

No one knows how long the wait will be, but everyone is waiting quietly.

During this time, Imu thought of a question and glanced at the 'Enma' placed on the sword rack in the distance, pondering to himself.

"The King Enma mentioned this Pure Gold before, and seemed quite dissatisfied with it, saying it was some kind of false immortality."

"If he really gets a lot of Pure Gold this time, he'll probably be even more unhappy, right?"

In fact, Imu really dislikes the feeling of having to consider other people's opinions when doing things.

Unfortunately, I am still unaware of the power of King Enma.

However, since they do seem to be much stronger than me, I can't help but think more about it.

Even if he had enough Pure Gold, he couldn't possibly distribute it widely; he could only bestow it upon a small group of people who needed it.

As for the Medical Academy, we'll apply and consider it later if needed.

But the thought of King Enma Imu, suddenly made Im suspicious of the 'Enma Blade'.

That is, since the other party can use it to drag their soul into Hell.

Could it also be used to monitor one's every move?

Putting everything else aside.

King Enma is 100% interested in his ability to control the Star Gate.

"However, I've been in and out of Hell so many times, and I haven't seen him make any moves. The Star Map hasn't reacted either, so it seems he can't do anything to me."

Thinking of this, Imu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, he had decided that he would no longer carry the 'Enma Blade' with him. He would use it when needed and store it in the bedroom when not in use.

Or have someone make a black box made of Seastone specifically for storing the knife.

Although he didn't know whether Seastone could block the 'mysterious gaze' that might or might not even exist.

Imu withdrew his gaze, but a thought, one that could not be shared with outsiders, arose in his heart.

Just then, Kuzan's voice came from the virtual screen.

"They're here!"

Immediately, everyone's spirits lifted. Although there was no change on the sea surface, no one doubted that Kuzan was joking.

About four or five minutes later, the Vice Admiral of several Observation Haki changed.

Because they had sensed that a colossal creature was approaching the surface from the depths of the sea.

The thing was very fast, and its target was obvious: the warship where Aokiji and Kureha were.

Or perhaps it's that Pure Gold ring that shimmers brilliantly in the water!

"We can take it back now."

Kuzan first gave Director Kureha a reminder.

In an instant, he transformed into a white shadow and leaped into the air outside the deck, while billowing white, frosty air emanated from his body.

At this moment, Kureha had already pulled the thread on her finger and pulled the gold ring up.

But this also made the enormous creature deep below become irritable.

The next moment.

Just as it opened its gaping maw, big enough to devour the island, Kuzan manipulated the surging cold air to crash onto the sea surface, letting out a soft shout.

Ice Age ----

The surging waves froze Setsuna.

Kureha on the deck stared in shock at the vast ocean before her, which turned into polar permafrost in the blink of an eye, and no seawater could be seen in sight.

Now she truly understood what Navy Admiral was!

Although Aokiji is not yet Admiral, but only a candidate for Admiral, Kureha sees little difference.

On the other side.

Beneath the seabed, unseen by her, a vast expanse of white frost continued to spread deeper and deeper, turning the seawater into ice wherever it went.

Until they encountered an Island-Swallowing Lanternfish that crashed into them.

First, there was the giant, golden lantern overhead, followed by the fish head and the fish body.

It was so enormous that even with the freezing speed of an 'Ice Age,' it couldn't be completely frozen in a short time, causing it to continuously smash through layers of frost and climb steadily towards the warship.

To Kureha, the terrifying commotion sounded like an Iceburg collapsing hundreds of meters beneath her feet.

Fortunately, after about a minute or two, all the noise stopped.

"Whoa----"

The semi-elemental Aokiji landed on the uneven ice surface, which was covered with ice sculptures and waves, emitting wisps of cold air.

"This fish is huge, much bigger than most Sea King."

After reflecting on his experience, he once again activated the freezing power within his body.

This time, the ice surface not far in front of them split open on its own, accompanied by a violent shaking that felt like an earthquake.

Many sailors on deck had to hold onto the railings tightly.

A moment later.

A truly enormous Lantern Fish, as tall as a mountain, rose slowly from beneath the icy sea in the form of an ice sculpture, leaving everyone in awe.

But what's most eye-catching isn't its size, which rivals that of Marineford.

Instead, it was a dazzling golden light that even thick ice couldn't block!

"Pure Gold."

The eyes of the Five Elders, far away in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, were already somewhat red.

Now that the Lantern Fish has been successfully caught, things will be much easier.

Two CP0 officers, along with a thousand marines and a Compass Bird, entered the giant fish's body. They then followed the wide throat to the 'Acid Sea,' which was as wide as a lake but yellowish-green in color and emitted a strong, sour stench.

Fortunately, they had prepared enough Kotetsu boats and gas masks in advance.

Before long, they discovered a lush, green island!

"Judging from the map, this should be the 'Lantern Fish's' number one stomach." The CP0 officer on the left took out a rather rudimentary map from his coat pocket.

The image above roughly depicts the three stomachs inside the 'Lantern Fish'.

Yes, this was also Imu's doing.

Furthermore, they consulted biological experts beforehand to understand the internal structure of typical Lantern Fish and how three stomachs would connect to each other.

Therefore, the two of them were quite clear about how to proceed here.

Another CP0 member nodded and pointed southeast, saying, "Going that way should take us into the second stomach, but our ultimate destination is the third stomach."

"But before that, we have another task: to find someone on the island in this stomach."

But just as they were preparing to set off again, the team was attacked by a group of prehistoric dinosaurs!

Clearly, this 'Lantern Fish' recently swallowed an island resembling a 'Little Garden,' fortunately it was a unit from the Marine Headquarters.

Before long, the twenty or so brownish-red dinosaurs were reduced to carcasses lying on the beach.

An ordinary person might dismember it and use it as food, but their mission was to find Pure Gold, so they could only leave it here to be disposed of by 'nature'.

"How about we split up?"

"That's true, we're just looking for one person; we don't need to look for everyone together."

After a brief discussion, the two CP0 members decided that one would stay behind with 500 men to search for someone, while the other would lead 500 men to Stomach Two, also with the mission of finding someone.

About an hour later, Aokiji and Kureha met the two people they had found on the deck.

A middle-aged man who looked disheveled, messy, and obese.

A little girl, about ten years old, with curly blonde hair, and a large green lizard she brought with her.

The little girl turned her head away angrily, looking as if she didn't want to look at him, which made the middle-aged man look helpless and sad, but deep in his eyes, he revealed an excited expression.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Myskina Aciér. I am Vice Admiral Aokiji from the Marine Headquarters, and this is Dean Kureha of the Medical Academy. I will be responsible for escorting you and your daughter to the Academy of Sciences."

Kuzan greeted him very politely.

He already knew that the man was the creator of 'Pure Gold' more than two hundred years ago, and the other was his daughter Myskina Olga.

Not only that.

According to rumors from CP0, Dr. Aciér is also fluent in dinosaur language and can communicate with dinosaurs!

This is absolutely terrifying! How is this any different from Devil Fruit ability?

"Thank you, thank you so much for saving us and allowing my daughter and me to be reunited. I'm already very grateful. But could you please let us take a shower, change our clothes, and then..."

"Dr. Myskina Aciér said apologetically."

"Cough cough cough, prepare some normal food. I've been eating raw meat for over two hundred years, while Olga has been eating fruit for over two hundred years."

Since seeing his daughter again, he no longer cared about the Pure Gold in the laboratory. As long as the ring on his daughter's hand was still there, he didn't care if the World Government took all the other Pure Gold.

As for joining the Academy of Sciences, for a scientist like myself, if I want to earn money to support myself and my daughter, it seems that I don't have a better option than working for the World Government.

However, my knowledge is stuck more than two hundred years in the past, and I'm a little worried that I might not be able to keep up with the current level of science.

"Certainly."

Kuzan, of course, had no objections. He then glanced at Olga, who still had a sour expression, and took out a diary from the pocket of his Coat of Justice.

Then he squatted down, trying to look the two-hundred-year-old girl in the eye, and smiled.

"These are the diaries we found in your father's lab. You can take a look, and you'll understand everything."

"Ha?"

Olga took the thick diary with surprise, then turned away with some doubt and opened the pages. Seeing this, Kuzan stood up again and said to Dr. Aciér.

"After you two have finished dinner, you can have Kureha examine Olga's body."

Dr. Aciér shook his head bitterly after hearing this, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Vice Admiral Aokiji, but Olga's illness is truly incurable. The only treatment is to slow her growth with Pure Gold."

"More than two hundred years ago, I was considered a fairly famous scientist, not only with a high status in the world, but also with considerable wealth."

"So we've consulted every doctor we could find and tried every available medication, but there's just no way to cure her illness."

At the same time.

Olga, however, couldn't hear them at all, because all her attention was focused on the contents of the diary, and the more she read, the redder her eyes became.

She never imagined that the Pure Gold was actually created by her father to save her, not out of greed as she had thought, and that this led to the 'Lantern Master' harming the whole family.

"Oh?"

However, the 'incurable disease' mentioned by Dr. Aciér piqued the interest of Kureha, who was standing next to Aokiji.

Her favorite thing to do is cure these so-called 'difficult and complicated diseases' and 'incurable diseases'. The previous 'Amber Lead Syndrome' was quite serious.

Although I could treat myself with surgery, it would be too slow and wouldn't be able to save all the residents of 'Flevance'.

Despite pooling the resources of the entire Medical Academy, she still hasn't developed a 'miracle drug'.

Now, it seems a rather formidable adversary has emerged. How interesting! Is it an 'incurable disease' that even world medicine couldn't solve more than two hundred years ago?

Kureha asked casually, "Do you know what her illness is called?"

"It's 'South Blue Emperor Fever'!"

Dr. Aciér will never forget that name in his life.

"Ah?"

Kureha paused for a moment, then shook her head with a look of disappointment and said, "A doctor from the South Blue developed a cure for this disease fifty-four years ago."

"What!!"

Meanwhile, on the moon, Imu received the Five Elders' excited, trembling report.

"Lord Imu, CP0 has found a piece of Pure Gold, about twenty centimeters in diameter, in their laboratory beneath the Alchemi Ruins in Stomach Three."

"They were still searching inside the lanterns of those Lantern Fish. They found over 500 tons of Pure Gold!!"

Imu raised an eyebrow and replied casually.

"That's good. Pack them all up and send them to the Ark."

Upon hearing Imu's words, the Five Elders, far away within the Authority Room, felt their hearts tighten instantly, for who knew whether Lord Imu would bestow the Pure Gold upon them?

"Uh--Yes, as you wish."

Two chapters combined into one, a long chapter of 4,600 words!

A huge thank you to the "Overcoming the Wall of Dreams" helmsman for the 100 Qidian Coin donation! Thank you so much for your support and encouragement!