The central conference room at the Revolutionary Army base was brightly lit, though night had long since fallen outside. Senior officers filled the seats around the long table, the tension almost palpable. Dragon stood at the front of the room, his hands braced on the tabletop as his gaze swept over every face.
"Everyone, the situation is more urgent than we thought," Dragon began without preamble. "Luffy, please tell everyone the latest news you received from Lin Ye."
All eyes turned to Luffy, who sat at the table. He stood, his usual smile nowhere to be seen, replaced by a rare solemnity.
"Lin Ye contacted me through rune energy," Luffy said, looking around at everyone, his voice firm. "The Five Elders are performing some kind of ritual to bring forward the next purple moon cycle. They're no longer waiting for natural changes. They're deliberately triggering dimensional fusion."
A low stir broke out in the conference room.
"What is the purple moon cycle?" one officer asked in confusion.
"According to ancient records," Silvers Rayleigh said from his seat in the corner, his voice steady, "a purple moon appears in the sky every few hundred years, accompanied by a weakening of the dimensional barrier. During that period, the connection between the two dimensions becomes unusually strong."
The conference room door swung open, and Ace slowly walked in, his face still somewhat pale. Sabo immediately rose and helped his older brother into a seat.
"You should still be resting," Sabo urged quietly. "Your injuries haven't fully healed."
Ace shook his head and looked firmly at everyone. "The fate of the world is at stake. I have to be here."
Everyone present noticed that as Ace spoke, faint purple markings flickered on his chest, similar to those on Luffy's body. Though dimmer, they were