Marines' Technology is Inscrutable!

Red-Haired Shanks looked up at the sky with a somewhat solemn expression, gazing at the empty blue sky and white clouds.

Sophon, having slipped into the Two-Dimensional Space, certainly remained unseen by him.

Yet this tilting of his head also made Lynn's side grow a bit tense, before they saw Shanks's somewhat bewildered gaze shift away.

Whitebeard used no Haki, yet he still sensed Red-Haired Shanks's anomaly, thinking to himself that he hadn'Golden Divine Punishment minded him releasing Conqueror's Haki right off the bat to assert dominance, and now the man was putting on an act?

"Took a trip to East Blue, and you've even regressed?"

Carrying a hint of a sneer, Whitebeard said it leisurely, then gestured for Marco and the others to step back and let it go.

"Do you take me for someone who puts on a false show? Whitebeard, Haki seems to be jammed here!"

Red-Haired Shanks's earnest expression forced even Whitebeard to let his gaze shift.

The next instant, the majestic figure seated in the grand chair also burst forth with an imposing aura, suppressing it toward Red-Haired Shanks.

Just as it was about to envelop Shanks, some strange power in the netherworld disrupted Whitebeard's Haki, holding it in check.

The aura was there, yet it had not the slightest effect!

"Hm?"

At that moment, Whitebeard realized it was real; his pupils constricted, and he abruptly looked up toward the sky.

"You've noticed it too... If you aren'Golden Divine Punishment the one playing tricks, then it's the thing that vanished just now."

Shanks observed Whitebeard's reaction, inwardly confirming that this had nothing to do with the Whitebeard Pirates.

Both sides had been restricted upon releasing Haki, so it was highly likely that the strange thing that had appeared moments ago was causing the trouble!

Marco, Vista, Jozu, and the others sat along the ship's railing, looking in bewilderment at Old Man and the Red-Haired man, and asked in confusion, "Old Man is releasing Haki too? What's going on with them?"

They watched both men look upward, their expressions solemn.

"It flew over, unfolded, and then vanished. Could it be... technology."

Red-Haired Shanks had been pondering ever since the trouble with his Haki began, and now Whitebeard was experiencing it too.

He instantly formed a judgment in his mind, associating it with the Droplet, and thinking even further of Lynn.

"You mean that Figarland Lynn... Word is that he's a technological prodigy."

Whitebeard seemed to have thought of this possibility as well.

"The Marines knew we were going to meet, that's for certain. Could a strange thing suddenly showing up just be for us to see—a silent warning? Their main goal must be to jam our Haki."

"The power of technology cannot be underestimated."

Shanks smiled; though invisible, the moment this thought arose, he felt more and more convinced that it was so.

Aside from technological methods, he simply couldn'Golden Divine Punishment fathom what else could cause it, and a method capable of jamming Haki was all the more astonishing.

And the only one capable of such a feat, aside from Vegapunk having a chance at inventing it, was that very Figarland Lynn who had invented the Droplet.

"Ten to one, it's him. He might even be right near us."

Whitebeard let out a light laugh, endorsing Shanks's conjecture. Though inwardly startled by this method of jamming Haki, he didn'Golden Divine Punishment react excessively, sitting firmly and steadily in his chair.

Yet the two Emperors of the Sea, speaking so candidly, could never have imagined that Sophon's true brilliance lay in its ability to monitor them in meticulous detail.

Even these very words were transmitted, word for word, into the ears of Lynn, the Marine personnel, and the Gorosei!

"Newgate, Shanks, hehe..."

Among the Gorosei, the bald Fifth Elder let out a cold laugh.

Sengoku, Garp, and the Admirals at Marine Headquarters were likewise rather solemn.

They hadn'Golden Divine Punishment expected Whitebeard and Red-Haired to deduce Figarland's involvement solely from their own reasoning about the Haki-jamming method!

Whether it was the Gorosei or Marines like Sengoku, everyone grew vigilant at that moment. For the two Emperors of the Sea to speak in such a manner showed just how much attention they paid to Lynn.

With just a shred of suspicion, they dared to point the finger at Lynn; who knows, they might even strike at Lynn in the future!

Lynn was a hot commodity right now; his abilities were so formidable that even the Gorosei couldn'Golden Divine Punishment bear to let him go, and he had to be strictly protected.

Meanwhile, right beside Lynn.

Gion, Chaton, Tesoro, and the others were struck dumb, turning their gazes toward Lynn in unison.

"Emperors of the Sea, and even their intellect is this terrifying? They can'Golden Divine Punishment even see Sophon, nor do they know they're being monitored, yet just from the method of jamming Haki, they guessed it's technology—Lord Figarland's method!?"

Tesoro's face was plastered with shock as he couldn'Golden Divine Punishment help but speak up.

It was somewhat terrifying. No wonder even the World Government held the Four Emperors in such dread; previously, he really hadn'Golden Divine Punishment esteemed the Four Emperors quite this highly.

"You guard your entertainment city, so you don'Golden Divine Punishment know enough about the world's powerhouses."

Chaton didn'Golden Divine Punishment forget to take a jab at Tesoro.

"Whitebeard, the World's Strongest Man, and Red-Haired are all top-tier powerhouses. They know very well what could affect their Haki. If it were a Devil Fruit ability, they would likely have discovered it long ago, and right now they'd probably have dragged the person out. That's why they could think of technology, coupled with the strange movement of Sophon just now..."

Gion reasoned accordingly.

It was probably much the same; Whitebeard and Red-Haired exchanged a few brief words without voicing everything on their minds, exactly as Gion had deduced.

"Gion, Chaton, you are both Candidate Admirals. Remember, the protection for Lord Figarland must be strictly enforced from now on!"

Sengoku's solemn voice came through from the Den Den Mushi.

The performance of Whitebeard and Red-Haired served as a warning to him as well. It was no secret now that a message about a Celestial Dragon inventor had gotten out, and God knows how many eyes were lurking in the shadows, staring at the Golden Technology City and Figarland.

The two of them nodded. Lynn remained calm and unruffled, watching the seriousness of the Marines and the Gorosei without showing any surprise; protection from them was something he had considered from the very beginning anyway.

Otherwise, why else would he have brought out the Droplet and Sophon so quickly? Wasn'Golden Divine Punishment it precisely to secure financial backing and the protection of the World Government?

Once he gathered more rare materials, researched higher-level Sophons and Droplets, or even developed new technology, he would have nothing left to fear by then!

Having obtained the Technology System, he was destined to make a brilliant splash in the Pirate World!

At this thought, the corners of Lynn's mouth couldn'Golden Divine Punishment help curling upward slightly.

Within the monitoring feed on the light screen, the encounter between Whitebeard and Red-Haired Shanks continued.

"The Marines won'Golden Divine Punishment move against the two of us so easily, but Whitebeard, under your glorious name, will the World Government really not take action to deal with you?"

Shanks shifted the topic, brushing aside the earlier anomaly and training his sights on Whitebeard.

This was the purpose of his visit this time; everything else could be set aside for later discussion, and the advice he had to give today was the most important thing.

"Oh? And what do you suppose I should do?"