Departure

Ryan took his sword to the Water 7 branch of the World Economy News Paper overnight and had a brief remote conversation with its vice president, Morgans.

The next day, the World Economy News Paper published a piece of news: the Bloody Swordsman—Ryan—had declared that he would build the world's greatest treasure ship in Water 7 and prepare to advance on Laugh Tale. The news sent shock waves throughout the world.

Some people were shocked, some were worried, but most were dismissive.

At that moment, a man carrying a Supreme Grade Sword saw the news. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. "Do you need me already? Ryan!"

He quickly drew the Supreme Grade Sword from his back and began rowing toward Water 7.

Golden Lion had only just left, and when he was about to reach the West Blue, he happened to see the news. Golden Lion immediately began cursing. "That damned brat is messing with me!"

But after cursing, he still turned around and flew toward Water 7.

In the New World, aboard the Moby Dick, the world's strongest man, Whitebeard Edward Newgate, was reading today's newspaper when he came across a particularly interesting piece of news.

Whitebeard smiled at Vista, who had just returned to the ship. "Gurararara, that brat you mentioned, Vista, has declared that he's going to advance on Laugh Tale."

"Vista was right. What an arrogant brat," said Marco, the captain of the First Division, with a laugh.

"Yeah. Even our Whitebeard Pirates aren't this arrogant."

"Looks like we need to find a chance to teach that brat a lesson."

The people aboard the Moby Dick teased him one after another rather than mocking him. After all, they all knew that Ryan had saved Vista's life.

The Whitebeard Pirates' impressions of Ryan had all come from Vista and Jozu. Vista talked about Ryan's arrogance more than anything else.

As a result, the Whitebeard Pirates all thought that the Bloody Swordsman—Ryan—was an incredibly arrogant person. Seeing news like this naturally elicited such a reaction.

But when Vista heard this, he immediately pulled a long face and said to Whitebeard, "Pops, I'm going to Water 7. I promised to help him with something. This is his notification."

Whitebeard smiled when he heard this. "Marco, accompany Vista there. After all, he saved my son. Remember, don't let our Whitebeard Pirates lose face!"

And so, Marco took Vista and flew toward Water 7.

Meanwhile, in Water 7, after seeing Tiger off, Ryan was thinking about how to arrange the personnel. He had already sent out the message, and judging from their personalities, the others would definitely return after seeing the news. That made personnel assignments a major problem, especially since this operation also involved rescuing slaves.

Ryan's agreement with them was that as long as they saw the news in the newspaper about Ryan advancing on Laugh Tale, they would know it was a summons to come over.

At that moment, Kid walked in and said to Ryan, "Captain, someone outside is looking for you."

Ryan thought for a moment and immediately knew who had arrived.

"Let him in."

As soon as Iceburg entered, he got straight to the point. "What you said yesterday was true?"

"Of course. Why would I need to lie to you?"

Iceburg thought about it carefully and realized that Ryan indeed had no reason to lie to him. Moreover, Ryan was the most suitable person to handle this matter.

After all, the whole world now knew that Ryan had information about the Ancient Weapon Pluton. It would be perfectly logical for Ryan to seize the Pluton blueprints, and no one would doubt the truth of it.

"My teacher probably won't help you build the ship. How about I build it for you? I inherited everything from my teacher," Iceburg probed.

"No! Your teacher has to do it. You aren't good enough yet."

"Fine. I'll go persuade my teacher again," Iceburg said coldly, his tone as chilly as his name. With that, he turned and walked out.

Ryan suddenly thought of something and called out to him.

"Take me to the place where you study the Puffing Tom."

After hesitating, Iceburg finally brought Ryan along. After all, he was the one asking Ryan for a favor. He merely warned Ryan not to disturb anyone once they arrived.

Ryan followed Iceburg to the Puffing Tom research facility. As soon as he entered, he saw Iceburg writing and drawing over a blueprint as if he had encountered some difficulty.

Ryan quietly asked Iceburg, "Have you run into some kind of problem?"

"Because Sea Kings run rampant across the ocean, the safety of the Puffing Tom can't be guaranteed. My teacher has been troubled by this problem for a long time."

Ryan's purpose was to make use of his knowledge of the Puffing Tom's technical difficulties. If he could help solve the problem, Tom would probably agree to build his ship.

Ryan's heart stirred, and he probed, "If I help your teacher solve this problem, will he agree to build my ship?"

Iceburg gave him a disdainful look and thought, Even my teacher can't solve this problem. You can? But the thought vanished in an instant.

"Today, I'll make you all eat your words." With that, he walked toward Tom. Ryan was very confident because he knew the solution.

"I have a way to solve the problem with the Sea Kings."

Ryan's voice drew Tom's attention away from his work. Tom turned around and saw Ryan, then continued looking at the blueprint.

The other researchers also looked at Ryan with disdain.

One of them said to Ryan, "You don't know shit!"

Ryan was furious. Ever since he had begun cultivating and made his debut two years ago, he had never suffered such contempt. Ryan knew that force wouldn't work against these technicians; he had to reason with them.

After clearing his throat, Ryan shouted, "Your research direction is wrong. Focusing solely on strengthening the train's defenses is the wrong approach!"

"I'm not singling anyone out. I'm just saying that everyone here is trash!"

As soon as he said this, the entire room fell silent. The enormous research facility became so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

Then a group of people began cursing Ryan, but they kept repeating the same few things, all in relatively refined language.

Ryan wasn't angry. After all, in every world, it was people with this spirit of scientific research who benefited society. In his previous life, for example, many scientists had made outstanding contributions to all of humanity, allowing people to eat well, stay warm, and live better lives. Most of these people sought neither fame nor profit, silently giving everything they had.

"Actually, you can make the train emit a sound that Sea Kings hate. The Sea Kings will stay away from the train."

Everyone fell into deep thought after hearing Ryan's answer, and even Tom did the same. In another two years, they would probably come up with this method themselves. They had simply fallen into a mental blind spot.

The people exchanged glances and realized that the method was indeed feasible. The ones who had cursed Ryan earlier were now somewhat embarrassed.

"Do you want me to build your ship this badly?" From Tom's perspective, Ryan must have studied the Puffing Tom overnight to come up with this method. Tom could feel Ryan's sincerity.

"Mm!"

Tom then pulled Ryan along to discuss the train's braking technology. Ryan also taught Tom about service braking and emergency braking. By the end, everyone nearby had gathered around to listen.

Ryan's explanation of service braking and emergency braking benefited Tom greatly. In the end, Tom agreed to build Ryan's ship.

And so, Ryan walked out of the research facility with an arrogant swagger under the admiring gazes of a crowd.

With the ship problem solved, Ryan quietly waited for Tiger and the others to arrive.

To ensure the plan remained secret, Ryan had only told Beli about it. Unexpectedly, Beli insisted on joining no matter how much Ryan tried to persuade him otherwise. And so, the group gained another member: Beli.

On the second day, Golden Lion arrived. The moment he saw Ryan, he launched into a furious tirade. To placate Golden Lion, Ryan revealed the plan ahead of time. After hearing what Ryan intended to do, the heart that Golden Lion had finally managed to calm began beating restlessly again.

On the fourth day, Marco arrived with Vista. When Ryan saw Marco, he couldn't help shouting, "Pineapple Head!" Marco nearly summoned Whitebeard to deal with him, but fortunately, Vista managed to stop him. Ryan still didn't tell them about the plan, intending to explain everything once everyone had arrived.

On the seventh day, Tiger returned from Fish-Man Island. When Tiger learned that several more people had joined the group, his confidence in the plan grew even stronger.

To ensure the plan's success, Ryan also brought Buggy along. After all, he was the luckiest man in the pirate world.

On the ninth day, Hawkeye arrived late, rowing a small boat.

Everyone had finally assembled, and Ryan called a meeting to explain the plan to them all. When Ryan looked down at Tiger, Golden Lion, Beli, Fujitora, Marco, Vista, Hawkeye, and Buggy, he even felt like going to Marineford for a little fun.

Ryan addressed the group. "Our plan is to storm Mary Geoise and liberate all the slaves!"

Marco and Vista immediately cried out in shock, "That's insane!"

Hawkeye maintained his aloof persona and said calmly, "Interesting." But the burning gaze in his eyes had already exposed him.

Buggy immediately fell apart and shouted that he wanted to leave the ship.

Golden Lion: "You're really bringing shame to Roger!"

Marco: "Yeah!"

Buggy fell silent after that. He couldn't beat a single person here!

"Alright, I'll assign the tasks. Tiger, Beli, your task is to rescue the slaves."

"Vista, Hawkeye, your task is to clear the way."

"Shiki, your task is very important. You're responsible for causing a disturbance in Mary Geoise and escorting the rescued slaves away. Only you can accomplish this!"

Golden Lion threw his head back and laughed when he heard this. "Shahahaha! Leave it to me!"

"When something major happens in Mary Geoise, the Marines will definitely come to reinforce it. Fujitora, Marco, you two will be responsible for holding them back."

Seeing that his name still hadn't been called, Buggy hurriedly asked, "What about me?"

"You'll follow me and carry out a secret mission!"

"Does anyone have any questions? If not, we'll set out now!"

Everyone except Buggy indicated that they had no objections.

The group flew toward Mary Geoise under the moonlight, with more than a dozen large ships following behind them.

Tonight was destined to be sleepless!