At first, they thought it was a Droplet.
Whitebeard, Red-Haired Shanks, and both crews looked on curiously.
Yet when it flew above Kong, they discovered it was not a Droplet at all; it was simply too high up, making it look like a mere sphere.
"No matter what it is, strike first!"
Faced with the unknown, both factions present grew somewhat solemn, and Beckman did not hesitate to open fire on the approaching Sophon!
The bullet was imbued with Armament Haki, granting it greater power and range as it struck with precision.
Yet moments later, Beckman found that despite aiming so precisely, he ultimately failed to hit that thing in Kong.
Once the first person made a move, Marco and the other commanders, along with Yasopp and the others on Beckman's side, launched counterattacks in succession.
For a moment, gunfire echoed endlessly and bullets roared upward, yet no matter how they attacked, not even Flower Sword Vista's slash could hit that contraption.
"What the hell is that!?"
Both sides could not help but feel astonished. Seeing that the object remained completely undamaged after their attacks, they exchanged blank stares.
Mostly because it had not counterattacked either.
"So many people attacked and couldn'Golden Divine Punishment hit it? What is it?"
Red-Haired Shanks, still standing on the steps of the Moby Dick, looked somewhat surprised and spoke in a thoughtful tone.
Whitebeard gazed on calmly, though in truth, his heart was likewise filled with surprise and doubt.
If it were a method used by the Marines, why had there been no attack? Looking at that object, it kept rising higher and higher.
That was right; once Sophon reached the designated location, it proceeded straight upward, ascending to the altitude of the clouds.
Subsequently, the two Emperor crews watched wide-eyed as Sophon unfolded from its black sphere form, layer after layer of pale-black, curtain-like material continuously extending and spreading out!
In the end, its scope appeared to blanket the airspace above the surrounding seas, and it gradually faded until it vanished entirely!
"It... it's gone!?"
Lucky Roux froze mid-bite as he was eating his meat.
Beckman, Yasopp, and the likes of Marco and Vista aboard Whitebeard's ship were all somewhat bewildered.
What was going on here?
Red-Haired Shanks felt a strange sensation, took a deep breath, and, choosing to ignore it for now, stepped forward.
It was very strange; once it vanished, not only could they no longer see it, even Observation Haki could not perceive it.
Following this episode, everyone harbored different thoughts and felt a measure of shock, yet when Red-Haired Shanks boarded the ship, he did not directly attempt to intimidate Whitebeard.
Yet Whitebeard stared straight at the Red-Haired man and let out a gurarara laugh.
"The brat from back then has already grown into a man who can stand on his own, and you even sent me a message... Tell me, what was that?"
Whitebeard possessed a conqueror's spirit that swept across the world, his tone calm yet carrying an unquestionable weight.
Yet Red-Haired Shanks was no longer the brat of yesteryear; he gave a faint smile and shook his head.
"I don'Golden Divine Punishment know."
"Hm? It seems the Marines were behind it."
Seeing that Shanks was not lying, Whitebeard's heart stirred, and he instantly understood who had played the trick with the thing just now.
In reality, the doubts in Whitebeard's heart made him feel that something was very wrong.
It flew over, unfolded, and vanished? Why was it so bizarre?
Not to mention Beckman, Lucky Roux, and the others who were worried on the other ship, even Marco, Jozu, and everyone else wore completely baffled expressions.
As it turned out, neither side had any idea what was going on.
"As long as there's no threat, we can set it aside temporarily and investigate later. Whitebeard, I came to find you because I have something to discuss."
"Gurarara... Snot-nosed brat, don'Golden Divine Punishment you plan to tell me how a man like you went to East Blue and ended up losing an arm?"
Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks were both top-tier powerhouses with immensely strong confidence in their own strength. Since the thing from just now posed no danger, the two of them began their conversation.
Yet what they did not know was that on the other side, before Lynn.
As Sophon unfolded, real-time intelligence was transmitted with near-zero latency!
On the light screen, the initial perspective was a bird's-eye view of the blue sea, dotted with two or three pirate ships, among which were the vessels of Whitebeard and Red-Haired.
Lynn casually manipulated the view, pulling the angle closer to instantly magnify the image, clearly seeing the members of the Red Hair Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates in one breath!
Red-Haired Shanks stepped forward, sat down before Whitebeard, and the words spoken by Whitebeard were also transmitted over: "Gurarara... The brat from back then has already grown into a man who can stand on his own, and you even sent me a message... Tell me, what was that?"
Hiss...
Images, and sound!
On Lynn's end, including the Gorosei watching through a Den Den Mushi and the people at Marine Headquarters, everyone could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
"We saw it! We saw it! Even the sound can be heard! And... they haven'Golden Divine Punishment noticed at all that they're being monitored!"
Chaton cried out in shock, pointing at the screen with a trembling voice.
Though the others did not cry out, each of them failed to suppress the shock in their hearts, displaying it on their faces as their pupils trembled.
The ones being monitored were Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks! When two Four Emperors talked face to face, how could they possibly act like this if they knew they were being watched by the World Government? Even if they didn'Golden Divine Punishment care, they wouldn'Golden Divine Punishment remain completely oblivious or simply allow themselves to be spied on!
Sophon was operating to perfection as a monitor!
"The image isn'Golden Divine Punishment detailed enough; our main focus should be Red-Haired Shanks and Whitebeard."
Seeing the image, a trace of excitement also flashed in Lynn's eyes.
This was Whitebeard, truly exceptionally sturdy and domineering! Red-Haired Shanks matched his image as well, looking like a red-haired older man, but the regal aura in his eyes was truly beyond words.
With that thought, Lynn's voice fell as he continued to enlarge the image. It was high-definition and detailed, just as if the two Four Emperors were sitting right in front of him having a conversation!
Completely oblivious!
Everyone could not help swallowing hard, far too shocked to utter a single word.
Sophon was truly astonishing, even more shocking than the earlier test of the Golden Technology City, since this was now being put into actual use.
Watching the screen through the Den Den Mushi, the Gorosei and the Marines on Sengoku's side were not quite as shocked as those watching on-site, but the difference was minimal, as the effect was truly unfolding before their eyes.
"Given Whitebeard and Red-Haired's level, they would sense it even if someone spied on them from afar with their bare eyes, let alone monitored them. Yet now, even the hairs on their bodies can be seen clearly, and they haven'Golden Divine Punishment reacted at all..."
"Lynn is a monstrous genius. You actually managed to invent something like this."
The Gorosei could not help exclaiming in amazement.
Sengoku, Garp, and the Admirals were even more excited, their eyes radiating strange glows.
Sophon brought them a much, much greater surprise than the Droplet had!
It was not simply a matter of a technological product; a monitoring function like this was quite literally a divine artifact! An absolute divine artifact!
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