The four brothers successfully passed the joint assessment. The wondrous resonance generated by the fusion of their powers gradually subsided, but the profound connection and tacit understanding were imprinted in their hearts. The light in the Pluton Core also returned to its usual gentle pulse, Whispers of All Spirits were filled with emotions of relief and recognition, as if an elder had witnessed the growth of his juniors.
"Looks like we barely passed." Sabo pushed up his glasses, a tired but satisfied smile on his face. Although the Omniscient Domain consumed a lot of energy, his ability to perceive and calculate energy flow had clearly improved to a higher level.
"Hehehe! That was fun! Just a little tiring though." Luffy down on the ground, his rubber body jiggling with elasticity, and his stomach immediately growled, "I'm starving! Sanji —meat!!"
Ace clenched his fist, platinum liquid flames flowing gently in his palm. "The power is indeed much easier to control. Next time I see Akainu, I'll definitely let him taste this new flame." His tone was full of confidence.
As Allen felt the light and dark Power of Zhulong within him begin to balance, and the stronger connection he felt with Pluton and his companions, he murmured, "We've become stronger, but the road ahead will only be more difficult."
Just then, the Pluton ship trembled slightly. The illusory image of the Emerald Mother Tree once again emitted light, resonating with all the civilization patterns, and a clear star map path was projected onto the main screen—the coordinates of a relatively stable temporary passage exit traversing the chaotic the Lethe Stream. Simultaneously, a message flowed into everyone's minds:
"Trial complete... Power recognized... Passage to open... Brief... Depart immediately..."
Pluton is helping them escape this dangerous area, but the passage he opened won't last long.
"Looks like it's time to get out of here." Sabo reacted immediately. "Everyone to your positions! Engine room, full power! Navigation team, lock onto coordinates! Defense systems, stay alert! We're going to charge out!"
After being repaired and strengthened, the ancient ark of Pluton emitted a deep and powerful roar, like a giant beast that had finished resting, slowly turning its bow and accelerating toward the exit marked by the star.
The journey across the Lethe Stream remains perilous. Spacetime turbulence, energy storms, and massive wreckage still exist, but the Pluton is no longer the same. Its hull shimmers, the Ark's power operates at full capacity, providing far more robust protection; Sabo's Omniscient Domain can anticipate danger earlier; Allen can subtly smooth out some small-scale spacetime folds; Ace's Flame of World Purification can even occasionally purify some approaching energy turbulence; and while Luffy can't offer technical assistance, his soaring will to "freedom" seems to have made the Pluton's voyage smoother and more fortunate.
Finally, a relatively stable starry sky appeared at the edge of the horizon. That was the exit.
However, just as Pluton was about to break through the edge of the Lethe Stream—
"High energy reaction detected! It's one of those black warships from before! They're lurking near the exit!" the monitoring team member shouted.
Several menacing bio-mechanical warships silently emerged from behind several massive pieces of stellar debris, their cannons glowing with an ominous dark red light once more, locking onto Pluton, who was about to leave the chaotic area! They seemed to have calculated Pluton's timing and route of departure!
"They won't leave!" Ace's eyes flashed, and white-gold flames ignited around his body. "Prepare for battle!" Luffy instantly assumed battle stance. Sabo quickly calculated the enemy's formation and firepower. "They've taken a favorable position; a direct charge will result in massive losses!"
Just then, Allen stepped forward, a dark purple light swirling in his eyes. "No need to charge in. Perfect, let's try out this new ability."
He raised his hands, a faint white light flashing in his left eye, his right eye as deep as night. It wasn't a wide-ranging " Severed Realm," but rather a precise strike aimed at the area near the exit, as he whispered:
"Candlelight Illumination: Dark-Light Cutting!"
An invisible force of spacetime, containing both the ultimate attributes of light and darkness, traversed space and instantly acted upon the area where those black warships were located!
A strange thing happened: the warships seemed to have been thrown into a bizarre space that kept flashing wildly between extreme brightness and extreme darkness. All the sensor systems instantly overloaded or failed, and the energy gathered at the muzzle became extremely unstable due to the violent disturbance of the light and darkness rules, and even a small-scale implosion occurred!
Boom! Boom! Several warships were thrown into chaos, colliding with each other and even accidentally firing at each other, their formation completely disrupted!
"Now! Charge!" Sabo immediately ordered!
With its engines fully engaged, Pluton seized the precious moment of chaos in the enemy's midst and, like an arrow released from a bow, burst forth from the chaotic boundary of the Lethe Stream, finally entering the stable starry sky!
The black warships barely recovered after the chaotic spatial effects of light and darkness subsided. They looked at the departing Pluton, hesitated for a moment, and ultimately did not continue the pursuit, slowly retreating back into the dangerous labyrinthine corridor.
"Successfully escaped!" Cheers erupted from the bridge.
Pluton sailed through the stable starry sky, the Lethe Stream behind him like a huge and magnificent nightmare, gradually fading into the distance.
"Who exactly are those people?" Koala asked, still shaken. "I don't know, but they're definitely not from the World Government," Sabo said gravely. "This universe holds far more secrets and powerful forces than we know."
Robin pondered, "Perhaps... they are also part of 'forgotten,' guardians of some lost civilization... or raiders."
Having temporarily shaken off their pursuers, a new problem arose—where to go next?
Sabo pulled up the star map, combining the occasional fragments of new information gleaned from Pluton's whispers with intelligence from the Revolutionary Army: " The World Government's arrest warrant has spread throughout the universe, and a massive net must be cast across the regular star systems. We need a place where we can both avoid the limelight and gather further intelligence and resources."
His finger moved across the star map, eventually stopping at a planet located in the latter half of the Grand Line (on a cosmic scale), near the edge of the star system.
" Planet Faras," Sabo explained, "A notorious 'gray planet,' not directly governed by the World Government. It's controlled by several cosmic black market giants and intelligence brokers, a melting pot of all sorts of people, a hub of information. With enough 'bargaining chips,' you can buy almost anything, including... information about the Poneglyph, Ancient Weapon, and even Imu. Of course, the risks are extremely high."
"Sounds exciting!" Luffy's eyes lit up. "We need to hide our identities," Ace reminded him. "Yeah, we need a plan," Sabo nodded, "And enough ' Beli ' or equivalent."
Tesoro then walked over, a confident smile on his face, "The issues of funding and disguise, perhaps I can handle. It's time to put some of the ' Gild Tesoro's' connections and resources to use."
With its target set, Pluton adjusted its course, heading towards that gray starfield brimming with both opportunity and danger. A new adventure was about to unfold on Planet Faras. And the new powers the four brothers had acquired would be put to the test in real combat there.