The afterglow of the celebrations in the City of Tranquil Echo had not yet faded, and a rare sense of ease lingered amidst the busy work of healing and preparation. The destruction of the Source of Corruption was like a huge Boulder being lifted from the hearts of the myriad races of the deep sea, and even the anomalous energy readings in many seas along the Grand Line began to gradually decline.
The Ark Maxim is docked in the council's specially designated shipyard, where Franky, along with Chopper and several deep-sea technicians, is undertaking major repairs on the hull—the damage from the Battle of the Royal Court far exceeds anything seen before. The others are resting and recovering in the Coral Sacred Spring or their respective cabins.
Allen sat on the terrace of their temporary accommodation, toying with the pure white crystal he had brought back from the Corrupted Royal Court. The crystal was warm to the touch, radiating a gentle, calming glow, with tiny nebulae seemingly swirling within it. He tried to probe it with his Sparks power or Observation Haki, but could only sense a pure and vast life energy, and a faint but undeniable, nascent pulse of "consciousness."
"What could this be?" he murmured to himself. After purifying the ultimate evil, the purest Seed light was born instead. Even he, who had acquired the ancient knowledge of the Deep-Sea Council, could not fully comprehend the mechanism of this transformation. Perhaps, this was related to the profound rules of "order reshaping" and "hope of life" inherent in " Sparks ".
He carefully put the crystal away. In any case, it was undoubtedly a treasure, and perhaps at some point in the future, it would play an unexpected role.
Just as he was about to continue his meditation and recovery, the crystal ball in the room, provided by the Deep-Sea Council and used for cross-regional communication, suddenly lit up, emitting a soft azure light.
"Your Excellency Allen," Speaker Aisera's voice came through, tinged with something unusual, "Guests from the Super Soldier Company World have sent an urgent communication request. They seem to be... in considerable trouble, and specifically request to speak with you."
Allen's expression hardened. When the battle at the royal court ended, Ge Xiaolun and his group rushed back, clearly having sensed something. It seemed trouble was coming sooner than expected.
I'll be right there.
Inside the Deep-Sea Council's main communication hall, an energy projection, more stable than before but still bearing obvious fluctuations of otherworldly rules, had been formed. The projection included not only the figures of Ge Xiaolun, Rena, General Du Kao, and Lian Feng, but also Angel Yan and several unfamiliar faces with serious expressions, dressed in different styles of military uniforms or research lab coats—clearly, representatives from more forces within the Super Soldier Company Universe had also participated.
Everyone's expression was extremely solemn, even showing barely concealed anxiety.
"Brother Allen!" Ge Xiaolun exclaimed urgently upon seeing Allen appear, "Sorry to contact you again so soon after leaving, but the situation is urgent! We've... run into a big problem!"
" Xiaolun, tell me slowly, what happened?" Allen asked in a deep voice.
General Du Kao stepped forward, his voice steady, but his brow furrowed. "Lord Allen, first of all, I would like to thank you again for your assistance in the battle to purify the Source of Corruption. But now, the crisis we face may be more... troublesome and spreadable than the Source of Corruption."
He pulled up a complex star map projection, pointing to a region marked in deep red. "This is the edge of the Styx Galaxy, the ' Void Experiment Field' controlled by Death God Karl. Around the same time you were purifying the Source of Corruption, our monitoring system detected an unprecedented, massive-scale disturbance of ' Void Energy' and ' Sub-Biological Plane ' rules in that region."
Lian Feng picked up the conversation, her fingers flying across the keyboard, bringing up a series of obscure data streams and energy waveforms. "The intensity of the disturbance far exceeds any of Karl's previous experiments, even causing instability in the local cosmological constant. More importantly, we have analyzed the disturbance wave and found... extremely faint energy spectrum characteristics that are highly similar to the 'corruption power' of your world!"
Allen's pupils contracted. " Karl... he's trying to simulate or... connect to the power of corruption?"
"It's not just a simulation or a connection." Angel Yan's voice was cold and serious, her pure white wings slightly folded. "Our angelic Eye of Insight, combined with the technology of the Super God Academy and the Deno Remnants, conducted a joint deduction. The conclusion is: Karl likely captured, through some method we don't yet fully understand, the dissipation of rules across the cosmic barrier that occurred when the Source of Corruption in your world was purified. He attempted... to use this 'dissipating corrupt rules' as a starting point, combined with his research on ' Void ' and 'secondary life forms,' to forcibly open a passage to the ' Sea of Chaos Origin ' (our universe's name for the higher-level ' Chaos ' concept behind something like the Source of Corruption ), or... to create an 'artificial Source of Chaos ' under his control, similar to the Source of Corruption but more adapted to the rules of our universe!"
Creating an artificial source of Chaos?! Allen gasped. Death God Karl, this mad scholar, was even more audacious than he'd imagined! He'd personally experienced the terror of the Source of Corruption, and that was relatively "natural." If Karl, a madman with profound knowledge of Void theory, mastery of unknown technology, and no moral compass, were to artificially create a controllable or partially controllable " Chaos creation"... the consequences would be unimaginable! It might not just be a catastrophe for a single galaxy, but a calamity capable of overturning the existing order and physical laws of the entire Super Soldier Company Universe!
"Did he succeed?" Allen asked eagerly.
"It's not completely successful yet." Ge Xiaolun shook his head, but his face showed no joy. "According to the latest intelligence, Karl's experiment seems to have encountered a bottleneck, or rather... it's out of control. That experimental area is now completely shrouded in a violent chaotic energy storm, a mixture of Void energy, fragments of secondary biological rules, and Chaos corrupting properties! No detection methods can penetrate it, and all the reconnaissance units sent out have lost contact. But the scale of the energy storm continues to expand, and it has begun to slowly erode the surrounding normal space, distort the laws of physics, and assimilate matter and energy... Its pattern is extremely similar to the corrupting spread you described, but the speed seems to be faster, and it has more 'artificial' and ' Void ' characteristics."
Rena added, her face pale, "What's more troubling is that the Triangular Body Civilization seems to be involved, or at least closely monitoring it. They're very active on the outer edge of the storm, and we suspect they might have a special adaptability to that mixed-energy environment, or even... trying to draw power from it or undergo some kind of evolution."
An out-of-control, man-made Chaos energy storm that blends the properties of the Void, secondary life forms, and corruption? And the Triangle Bodies are lurking in the shadows?
Allen immediately understood the gravity of the situation. If this storm was left unchecked and allowed to spread, the Super Soldier Company Universe might face an "artificial natural disaster" that would sweep across all known galaxies! Moreover, due to the presence of corrupting properties, the effectiveness of conventional order energy attacks might be greatly reduced, or they might even be absorbed and transformed by it.
"What kind of help do you need?" Allen asked directly.
General Du Kao took a deep breath, exchanged glances with Ge Xiaolun, Lian Feng, Angel Yan, and others, then solemnly looked at Allen: "Your Excellency Allen, we know this request is very presumptuous and unreasonable. You have just experienced a battle of the century and need to rest. But time waits for no one. Every time that energy storm expands, the difficulty of controlling and purifying it increases exponentially."
He paused, then said, word by word, "We request that you, and your companions—if possible—come to our universe to assist us in dealing with this crisis. You possess direct experience and special abilities ( Sparks ) in combating and purifying the forces of 'Corruption,' and your understanding of the rules may complement the technology and super-god genes of our universe. More importantly, you personally purified the Source of Corruption, and your understanding of the essence of ' Chaos ' and 'corruption' may far surpass that of any of our experts."
"We need your ' Sparks ' to ignite and purify that runaway, man-made Chaos storm," Angel Yan added, her gaze sharp and sincere. "This is not a simple battle; it may involve cross-universe rule adaptation, energy property analysis, and a deep confrontation with the origins of ' Void ' and ' Chaos.' We believe you are the most likely person we can find to solve this problem."
Invite them to another universe to help resolve a crisis powerful enough to destroy that universe?
This request carries far too much weight.
Allen was silent for a moment. He needed to consider the condition of his crewmates, the Straw Hat Pirates' next plan, and the differences in rules and risks between the two universes...
" Allen," Luffy's voice suddenly came from the entrance of the communications room. The rest of the Straw Hat Pirates had gathered there, clearly having heard the news as well. Luffy picked his nose and said casually, "Sounds like there's a really tough fight going on over there? And a lot of troublesome mess to clean up?"
Zoro, holding his sword, said, "Across universes? Sounds like a new challenge."
Sanji, puffing out a smoke ring, said, " Nami and Robin might need some new, pretty clothes. The fashion from that universe might be quite nice."
Nami punched Sanji on the head, but her eyes also flickered with curiosity about the unknown adventure and a hint of worry.
Robin smiled, "Witnessing the civilization and crisis of another universe is an irresistible temptation for historians."
Franky: "SUPER~! Extraterrestrial technology! I'm fired up!"
Chopper was both scared and excited. "Coco... but it sounds so dangerous..."
Usopp's legs were shaking, but he stubbornly insisted, "As a great warrior of the sea, saving the world is my duty!"
Brook: "Yohohoho~ I wonder if there are talking skeletons in that universe?"
Jinbe calmly said, " Allen, it's your decision. Fish-Man Island will always support you."
Seeing that his companions, though reacting differently, showed no sign of backing down, Allen felt a surge of warmth in his heart.
He turned to the Super Soldier Company projected on the screen. "My comrades have no objections. However, I have a few questions that need to be confirmed."
"Please speak," said General Du Kao.
"First, there's the safety and stability of intercosmic teleportation, and its potential impact on our bodies and abilities. We need to ensure we can safely travel there and safely return."
"We can guarantee that," Lian Feng continued. "Using the foundation of the temporary passage we established earlier, combined with the angels' Wormhole technology, part of the Great Clock's computing power (if Principal Kiran agrees), and the potential spatial coordinate stability of your world related to Laugh Tale (if we can share it), we can construct a relatively stable and secure two-way passage. Your physical strength is sufficient to withstand the crossing, and as for your abilities... you might need a short adaptation period, but it shouldn't fail, and you might even gain some inspiration from encountering different rules."
"Second, the difference in the rate of time flow. How much time will pass in our world after we leave?"
"We are trying to establish the channel at an 'anchor point' where the flow of time is synchronized or nearly synchronized," Angel Yan replied. "Ideally, the difference in the rate of time flow between the two sides can be controlled within 1:1.2, and at most will not exceed 1:2. That is to say, if ten days pass on our side, at most twenty days pass on your world."
Allen nodded; this was within his acceptable range.
"Third, the method of cooperation and command. We will cooperate with your operations, but regarding the specific plans for combat and purification, especially in dealing with issues related to 'corruption,' we need sufficient autonomy and decision-making power."
"That's natural." Ge Xiaolun said without hesitation, "You're the experts. Once we get there, we'll all follow your lead in dealing with Chaos energy and purification!"
Fourth, if the situation gets out of control, we need to have an emergency evacuation plan.
"Of course, we will prepare contingency plans and sufficient energy to maintain evacuation routes."
Allen pondered for a moment, then finally asked, "What is the current size and expansion rate of that energy storm, and how long is your estimated 'safe handling window'?"
Lian Feng pulled up a set of the latest data. "Currently, the storm's impact area is approximately the diameter of three star systems, expanding at a rate of about 0.05 light-years per day, and this trend is accelerating. According to model projections, if it cannot be effectively contained or purified before reaching a size equivalent to ten star systems, its expansion will enter an irreversible exponential growth phase, at which point it may be necessary to resort to... devastating ultimate measures, which would cause incalculable collateral damage and unknown consequences. Conservatively estimated, the 'safe handling window' is at most... sixty Earth days, or about two months."
Two months... time is tight, but not too late.
Allen took a deep breath and made his decision.
He looked at General Du Kao, Ge Xiaolun, and others, then at his trusted companions beside him, and slowly nodded:
"I, Portgas D. Allen, in the name of the Straw Hat Pirates -captain and ' Sparks Watcher,' accept your request for assistance."
"We will travel to your universe to help purify that out-of-control 'artificial Chaos storm'."
"For the peace of both worlds, and also for..."
"Never let Sparks be extinguished in any universe."
The intergalactic rescue operation was thus decided.