" Cradle," " Harvest Protocol," " Key Priority Upgrade"—these words intercepted from extraterritorial communications weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like lead weights. The enemy was clearly planning a large-scale operation, and Allen, or rather the World Seed within him, was undoubtedly a key target.
Robin and Nami worked day and night analyzing all the known information, trying to pinpoint the possible coordinates of the " Cradle ". Combining the rule flow data provided by the Chain Link Point network, the regional patterns of the Gray Fleet's past appearances, and the records in the Crystal of All Knowledge about the weak points in the cosmic structure, they finally narrowed down the possibilities to three star regions with extremely high probability.
One of them, known as the " Primordial Nebula," is one of the oldest known nebulae in the universe and is believed to contain fragments of the primordial rules of the early universe.
The other is the " Void Corridor," a vast, almost empty void in the universe with an extremely weak spatial structure, which is theoretically the easiest region for cross-dimensional operations.
The last one points to a place that no one expected— Ionia, the dying dimension they once saved that is slowly recovering.
" Ionia?" Chopper exclaimed in surprise, "Why there?"
"Perhaps... it is precisely because we closed the Well of All Sources, causing it to break free from pure ' Return to Nothingness ' and begin to nurture a faint glimmer of life, that this rule of 'life and death transformation' has made it a special 'focus'?" Robin speculated.
"Or perhaps the remaining traces of connection to ' Nirvanic Return to the Ruins ' there hold a special attraction for them," Allen added, recalling that Death Superuniverse.
Three coordinates, three possible paths. Where will the enemy carry out their " Harvest "?
"We cannot split up," Jinbe calmly analyzed. "The enemy's strength is formidable and unknown; dispersing our forces would be too risky."
"Then let's choose the most likely one!" Luffy clenched his fist. "Let's go and steal or destroy what they're going to ' Harvest '!"
The choice is in the hands of the team. Each choice means different risks and challenges.
The Primordial Nebula has an extremely ancient and complex environment, and may conceal unknown primordial rules and dangers.
The Void Corridor is a fragile space, and it could very well lead directly to the main force of the Gray Fleet, or even the large passage they have opened.
Ionia, they were relatively familiar with it, but that world was still fragile, and a major war could completely destroy its nascent hope.
Just as everyone was weighing their options, the World Seed within Allen suddenly emitted an extremely faint but clearly directional pulsation. That pulsation did not point to any of the three coordinates, but rather faintly pointed to... a direction deeper within the star map, an unmarked direction that seemed to have some primal connection with the World Seed.
"Wait..." Allen closed his eyes, carefully sensing the throbbing within him. " The World Seed... is it pointing in another direction? A... more ancient, more central place, but seemingly forgotten?"
This sudden turn of events has made the decision even more complex. Should they trust Robin and Nami's reasoning and head to one of the three predicted coordinates? Or should they follow the vague, instinctive guidance of the World Seed and venture into a completely unknown territory?
"Hey, Allen," Luffy looked at him, his eyes serious, "Do you believe in that ' Seed '?"
Allen paused for a moment, feeling the warm and firm pulse within him, and nodded. "It has never misled me. This guidance may be closer to the truth than our reasoning."
"It's settled then!" Luffy slapped his thigh. "Let's go in the direction the Seed points! Whether it's a ' Cradle ' or a ' Harvest,' until we find the answer, no one can touch our crew or the place we're protecting!"
The captain's decision once again united the team's will. The unknown may be frightening, but the trust of comrades and the guidance of one's own heart are more worth following.
The Thousand Sunny adjusted its course, no longer heading towards the three predicted coordinates, but instead following the mysterious guidance of the World Seed, sailing into the deeper reaches of the Xinghai, into an unknown realm where even the early records were vague.
They didn't know what awaited them ahead, but they knew they had to find the core of the problem before the enemy.