A Knock at the Door

Longru stood like a statue high in the sky, his eyes closed.

Time passed little by little.

A few days later, the Den Den Mushi in his arms rang.

"Captain... we've arrived."

After the call was connected, it was Dom.

"Vegapunk has discovered us. The waters around Egghead are teeming with strange mechanical sea monsters, similar to Sea Kings... There are so many of them that we have nowhere to hide," Dom reported. At the same time, Oboro heard an explosion coming from the other end of the phone, which must be the Hell Pirates fighting against those technological creations.

"Knew."

Long responded with a single sentence.

The call was immediately disconnected.

He glanced at the buildings on the ground, then disappeared.

Through all the soul fluctuations in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, he has essentially determined the locations of the Five Elders and Imu.

"Has Garp's body been brought back?"

"Yes, although the other party did not reveal anything, it can be confirmed... that it is Rayleigh himself, and he is the only survivor."

What do you think?

"Regarding the God Slayer's strength... I think there's no need to say more; he has already surpassed the level of the Yonko. Rayleigh is the only one in Rusukaina who witnessed that man's attack, and he knows more about the God Slayer's combat strength than we do... but he clearly has no intention of cooperating with us."

"Ha, another Rocks D. Xebec? These damn bugs are really annoying... one after another they keep appearing..."

"If it really turns into a situation like the Rocks Pirates back then, it will indeed be quite troublesome. They are active in the New World... It will be very difficult for us to eliminate them simply by relying on military force. In a sense, we can no longer contain them. We shouldn't have allowed them to enter the New World in the first place; we should have destroyed their forces sooner... Although, as we expected, they clashed and clashed with the other Yonko, in the end, they became the biggest beneficiaries."

"I didn't expect him to be able to do this... Hmph, Big Mom Shanks... those two are really disappointing."

"Regarding Shanks' death... what about Figarland's side..."

"This is the retribution for his choice to become One Piece!"

"Haven't you made contact with that traitor Doflamingo yet?"

"How foolish... I always thought he was quite smart, I never imagined he would choose to side with the God Slayer..."

In the meeting room, the Five Elders, some standing and some sitting, were discussing the events of the past few days.

"The new 'Rocks Pirates'... If they want to deal with the God Slayer, the usual methods probably won't work. They need to dismantle the Hell Pirates, just like they did with the God Valley incident back then. Although we didn't do it intentionally, it was very effective... Set a trap for the Hell Pirates and let them fall into it."

Saint Mars, the Environmental God among the Five Elders, spoke up.

"The reason why the Rocks Pirates were defeated back then, besides our manpower, was mainly due to Roger's crew... and the Marines of Garp's generation. The problem now is... Garp is dead. Among the One Piece, there is no one who can replace Roger's position... Aokiji and Kizaru alone may not be able to reach Garp's level. Although our actions at the time, in order to help increase the cohesion of the Marines, and we honored Garp with the title of Marine Hero, were intentional, we have to admit that Garp's spirit and strength are not something that ordinary people can possess."

Sitting on the sofa, Saint Saturn, his hands crossed and resting on his cane, glanced at Saint Mars and said matter-of-factly, "As for the One Piece, neither Blackbeard nor Kaido... they are not the same kind of people as Roger. It's impossible to get them to take action against the Hell Pirates. Putting aside the fact that Blackbeard probably has some kind of interest relationship with God Slayer, even if Kaido is afraid of God Slayer and fears that he will be God Slayer's next target, and forces us to cooperate... his Beasts Pirates are not as capable as Roger's crew."

"Regarding the God Slayer's abilities... our understanding is still incomplete. Based on the information we have, and after analysis... it's unrealistic for him to kill Garp and Shanks so easily in Rusukaina. The fact that he could do it means... the methods he possesses, or rather, the image of power he presents to us, are only a part of his true strength... Perhaps he possesses some even more terrifying abilities. Otherwise, the Rusukaina incident... wouldn't have happened."

Bald guy Nassou Sei added a sentence.

"It's not without its good points... The God Slayer killed Straw Hat Luffy, at least... it helped us get rid of a major hidden danger."

"Saint Warcury said calmly."

Then, he looked at Saint Saturn and asked, "How's the situation on your end?"

"The Seraphim be here for a while, but soon."

Saint Saturn replied.

He is the God of Scientific Defense, in other words, his position and responsibility among the Five Elders... part of which is scientific research. Saint Saturn himself is also very proficient in scientific research and has a profound foundation.

The existence of Pacifista is not entirely due to Vegapunk's efforts.

"That Vegapunk guy... even though the World Government is funding his research, he's been wary of us the whole time, showing no signs of cooperation and not knowing his place at all... it's time to teach him a lesson."

It's golden-haired Saint Peter said coldly.

Ring ring ring.

At that moment, the phone next to Nasujiro rang. It wasn't Den Den Mushi, but a communication tool used exclusively by the World Government.

"What's wrong?"

The conversation inside the room paused briefly, as if by unspoken agreement.

Nassuro Sei answered the phone.

"What?"

Immediately afterwards, his expression changed slightly, and his pupils contracted.

Without asking any further questions, he immediately hung up.

He looked at the other four people.

"The Hell Pirates have appeared on Egghead."

Nassuro Sei said directly.

"..."

"Going after Vegapunk?"

How did they know Vegapunk was on Egghead?

"With CP9's Rob Lucci's limited access and outdated intelligence, it's impossible for him to have access to such classified information... Doflamingo? He's a possibility, but even if he could find out a little about Egghead, it probably wouldn't be much."

"The God Slayer is not here. Vegapunk has confirmed that the leader is Bare... In addition, there is Doflamingo's family."

Nasujiro took a breath, his expression serious. "Now is not the time to investigate how the information was leaked. The government's manpower and the Navy have already rushed over, but I'm afraid there won't be enough time... The Hell Pirates launched a surprise attack without any warning."

"The God Slayer isn't here? It's most likely that Vegapunk didn't notice, right? As the captain, how could he have left the crew?"

"In any case, it seems that this time, the God Slayer have directly provoked us... Egghead absolutely cannot be allowed to fall into danger! We have been too lenient with these people... It's time to let them understand why it is the Celestial Dragons, not One Piece, who stand at the top of this world."

Saint Saturn's breath was cold and menacing.

After saying that, the five of them exchanged a silent glance.

They... are about to make their move.

They could no longer sit idly by and wait for their doom, because this time the Hell Pirates' intentions threatened their 'vital points'.

Knock knock.

Just as Saint Saturn got up from the sofa, there was an abrupt knock on the door of the conference room.

The sudden commotion startled the five people.

The main problem is... they didn't realize there was anyone outside the door.

Even now that the knocking has started, and the five of them are using their Observation Haki to investigate, there is no one outside the door.

It seems... the one knocking on the door is a ghost.

Thump thump thump...

The room was deathly silent.

But the knocking continued...