While the Left Minister and Neptune discussed how to deal with Werther, Werther had already entered Ryugu Palace.
He had left Nami on Fish-Man Island and come to Ryugu Palace alone.
Thanks to Shadowless, moving through Ryugu Palace was as easy as strolling through his own backyard. The Fish-Man guards never noticed him.
His Observation Haki swept over Ryugu Palace, revealing its layout in detail.
"There she is."
Werther had not come to Ryugu Palace to settle accounts with Neptune. Time was short, so he would leave the Fish-Men alone for now. His target was Shirahoshi.
To his Observation Haki, Shirahoshi stood out like a firefly in the night sky. She was impossible to miss.
That ocean-blue presence signaled a powerful weapon: Poseidon.
But Shirahoshi had yet to meet Luffy or experience what came afterward, so Poseidon remained half-asleep.
Werther headed straight for the Hard-Shell Tower. When he arrived, the sight before him made him frown.
Weapons of every kind were embedded around the Hard-Shell Tower. Its doors and the nearby walls were riddled with holes.
Shirahoshi was still hiding inside, too. That meant Vander Decken IX was still alive. If so, things could get troublesome.
Werther did not care about Vander Decken IX. But if Shirahoshi's power was only half-awakened and she could not summon giant Sea Kings at will, his plan would fail.
He would see Shirahoshi first. If Poseidon truly had not awakened, he would help her awaken it by force.
Creak.
The sound of Werther pushing open the Hard-Shell Tower's doors startled the guards at the entrance.
Shadowless could block others from sensing him, but it could not make him invisible. The guards spotted him.
"Who are you? Stop—"
Before the guard could finish, Werther widened his eyes and released his Conqueror's Haki. Both guards' eyes