Minding His Mistake Was a Good Start

The Red Line, the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

Pangaea Castle.

In the spacious, brightly lit room, the Five Elders took their seats. Saint Warcury sat on the sofa, staring at the Den Den Mushi he had just hung up.

"How did he find out about that person?"

Saint Warcury glanced at the other four. Seeing them all shake their heads, he asked,

"Beelzebul—what should we do about him?"

Saint Saturn took over.

"According to Kuzan's report, Beelzebul is no weaker than Sakazuki. The Blind Swordsman, Fujitora Issho, fought Kuzan for a long time without either gaining the upper hand. And then there's Dracule Mihawk..."

The Finance Warrior God, Saint Nusjuro, who held the First Generation Kitetsu, focused on another point.

"Three Supreme Grade Blades. Three Great Swordsmen."

"A Bounty of one billion clearly doesn't match Beelzebul's strength. Order the Navy to revise it as soon as possible."

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

Saint Saturn asked in a grave voice,

"As for Beelzebul and the Morning Star Pirates... Three people were enough to defeat a Navy fleet sent on a Buster Call. Should we launch another Buster Call, or send the Divine Knights?"

"He isn't a D," Saint Warcury said mildly.

"Although Beelzebul has been somewhat out of line lately, his attitude toward admitting his mistake... has been fairly good."

"I suggest we keep observing him for a while. It will help keep the Navy in check, and we can also entrust him with matters we can't handle ourselves."

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!"

West Blue, aboard the East Blue Emperor.

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Seven casually took a fresh set of clothes from his system space and put them on. Then he made his way unhurriedly to the ground floor of the little villa.

"Captain Beelzebul." The two Ohara Scholars helped each other to their feet and bowed deeply.

"Thank you for helping us."

Seven even saw the dark-skinned girl Nico Robin supporting the woman beside her as they bowed together.

"There's no need for that." Seven waved a hand.

"You're not truly safe yet. The World Government and the Navy will keep hunting us down, and they won't stop until we're dead. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Nico Olvia asked urgently.

The Navy's Buster Call had left Olvia terrified. She could accept dying herself, but the Navy had even gone after civilians and children.

"Unless you give up researching the Void Century."

As soon as he finished speaking, one of the scholars protested, "Impossible. Absolutely impossible. We'll never give up uncovering history and giving the world the truth."

Seven shrugged.

"Let me introduce myself. I was once a member of the Roger Pirates. I reached the Final Island, Laugh Tale, and know the history of the Void Century."

"In other words, the truth you're willing to die to pursue is all in my head."

The Ohara Scholars, led by Nico Olvia, immediately lit up. They stared at Seven as if they'd found a priceless treasure.

"Captain, could you... tell us?"

If they could learn the truth about the Void Century, they'd be willing to die on the spot.

"Sorry." Seven rubbed his brow.

"Even if you went out in public right now and revealed the truth to the world, it would be useless. You'd only bring about another Void Century. The World Government wouldn't hesitate to kill every last person."

Seeing that Nico Olvia was about to argue, Seven raised a hand to stop her.

"Have you ever wondered why, out of all the Roger Pirates, not one of them stepped forward to reveal the truth about the Void Century?"

"Why is that?" Seven spread his hands.

"Because the time hasn't come."

The destined hero who would stand against Imu hadn't even been born. Unless Seven believed himself invincible, he would never confront Imu head-on.

Even Rocks, Garp, Roger, Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido—six powerhouses at their peak—had been helpless against Imu, who had possessed Saint Saturn.

In the end, Rocks had died.

Seven hadn't even mastered Conqueror's Haki Bodyguard.

He'd made enough of a splash lately. It was time to disappear for a while and head to South Blue to find Kuma.

He also needed to have a frank talk with Fujitora Issho. From now on, Issho couldn't let justice get the better of him at the drop of a hat—not even to the point of charging into a Navy Buster Call.

"If you want to leave the ship, feel free."

"Mihawk, Issho, let's have a meeting."

The East Blue Emperor's large villa at the stern.

The first-floor bar.

Seven poured himself a glass of milk. "Issho, so the Morning Star Pirates don't get wiped out before we even get started, I think I should tell you a few things."

Issho nodded. "All right."

"Besides the Five Elders, the Fleet Admiral, Admirals, and other top fighters, the World Government also has the Divine Knights, who are stationed in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise."

"Even if the Five Elders and the Divine Knights are immortal, we're still not afraid of them."

After making sure nobody was eavesdropping, Seven continued.

"But there's one person I'm still unsure about. If possible, we should avoid confronting that guy for the next five or ten years."

Mihawk's expression turned grave. He had never seen Beelzebul Seven speak about anyone with such seriousness.

"He's lived for more than eight hundred years. Even powerhouses like Joy Boy, Davy D. Jones, and David D. Rocks all fell to him."

"He's the World Government's supreme ruler, living in Mary Geoise, deep inside Pangaea Castle, in the Flower Room. He's known as the master of the Empty Throne: Imu."

"That guy... is way overpowered," Seven muttered.

"He can also use Black Turn Domination to control others. Rocks was turned into a demon by him back then, and was later defeated by Captain Roger and Old Man Garp working together."

"Issho, I'm telling you all this because I hope we can keep a low profile and grow stronger in secret. None of us are Ds, and at least for the next few years, I really don't have the confidence to face Imu."

Issho stood and bowed.

"Sorry for the trouble, Captain."

Seven waved a hand. "It's no big deal. As long as we don't face Imu directly, I wouldn't mind attacking Marineford right now."

Issho picked up the thread. "Then should we go now?"

"Go where?" Seven rolled his eyes.

"We'll head to South Blue first. Two of our companions are waiting for this captain there."

Digging up Captain Roger's paired saber, Ace, from the yard of Garp's Old House would have to wait. After all, only Seven knew where Ace had been buried.

Kuma was another matter.

Until they found a suitable crew member to eat the Door-Door Fruit, the Paw-Paw Fruit's ability to teleport made it immensely valuable strategically.

If they arrived too late, Cold Sweat King Monkey D. Dragon might get there first.

How could Seven allow that?

Any crew member Captain Seven had his eye on had to be tricked, cajoled, or conned aboard. Even if he couldn't recruit them, he'd never let Cold Sweat King get his hands on them.

"Captain, what are you planning to do with these four Ohara Scholars?"