When Luffy regained consciousness, it was pitch black.
He found himself lying on a clean bed, his wounds tended to. In the numerous beds lined up beside him, Zoro and Sanji lay in a similar state.
Pushing himself up, he looked around and spotted his straw hat placed beside his pillow.
He unconsciously picked it up and put it on his head, noticing the bandages wrapped around his arm.
"..."
Though bandaged, he wasn't bleeding.
Yuisheeze had relentlessly pummeled them, but Luffy felt no lingering pain.
In other words, Yuisheeze had been holding back.
He probably had a few light bruises, but nothing to really worry about.
Even with five of them fighting together, they hadn't stood a chance. Festa's words about the strength of the "enemies they would face from now on" had been hammered into them in a brutally clear manner.
Luffy stared at his hands for a moment, but he wasn't incapacitated, and more importantly, his stomach was growling with hunger.
Climbing out of bed, Luffy sniffed the air, searching for the source of food.
"This way! Smells delicious!"
Luffy started running in the direction of the enticing aroma.
It seemed to be wafting up from downstairs. Drawn by the scent, he clattered down the stairs and through the hallway.
He arrived at a dining hall. It seemed to be well past dinnertime, but on this island, it wasn't unusual for the revelry of drinking and gambling to continue late into the night.
This dining hall, too, appeared to be open late.
...Though Luffy had no idea what this building was for.
"Delicious! Hey, old man, this is great!!"
"Oh, glad to hear it... but man, you can really eat. How many servings have you had?"
The man continued cooking without stopping his hands. Perhaps if it were a busy time, it would be different, but with only Luffy present, it wasn't a significant burden even if the food disappeared as soon as it was made.
Luffy ate with gusto, his hands never stopping, until he finally seemed satisfied. Holding his full belly, he grinned, "I'm stuffed."
His mouth was quite messy.
As the cook was clearing away the used dishes, Luffy suddenly asked a question that had occurred to him.
"Hey, old man."
"What is it, kid?"
"Where is this place?"
"Why are you here if you don't know... Oh, right, you were unconscious. This is a hotel near the port. The dining hall is open to outsiders too."
"Why am I here?"
"How should I know?"
"I brought you all here."
The exasperated cook couldn't possibly know the circumstances, and Luffy was about to dismiss it with a "Oh, okay," when a voice called out from the entrance of the dining hall.
It was Yuisheeze.
He was dressed casually in a shirt and jeans, a stark contrast to his daytime attire. He looked completely relaxed.
Yuisheeze sat down opposite Luffy and ordered tea from the cook.
"There's a hospital on this island, but with your injuries, they'd just put you in bed anyway. After your ship's doctor, that tanuki, treated you, I had you all put to bed here."
"I see."
"...But I'm surprised. I didn't think you'd wake up until tomorrow morning at the earliest, but you're up this quickly. Are you tougher than I thought?"
"Yeah, well. I'm fine with that much."
"...I see."
Yuisheeze took a sip of the tea placed before him, his expression a mixture of exasperation and surprise.
As Luffy also drank his post-meal tea and a quiet moment passed, Yuisheeze spoke.
"You should understand your lack of strength now. I pride myself on being relatively strong, but there are still those stronger than me. Giving up here is one option."
"No, I won't give up."
Luffy didn't back down an inch.
Even if he had suffered a complete defeat, even if he was told he couldn't do it, he would just reply, "So what?"
Because that's how it was. If he could give up on his dream so easily, he wouldn't be a pirate here and now.
No matter how painful and difficult the path, he could keep moving forward to achieve his dream.
To Yuisheeze, who had no interest in the title of Pirate King but had journeyed aiming to circumnavigate the world and eventually settled under Twilight's umbrella, Luffy's figure was dazzlingly bright.
"I know how heavy and arduous the first step forward can be──Straw Hat, can you keep moving forward no matter what lies at the end of your adventure?"
"I will. I'm the man who will be King of the Pirates."
If there were opponents he couldn't beat now, he just had to get stronger until he could. Yuisheeze smiled at Luffy's relentlessly positive attitude and nodded in understanding. "I see."
This, indeed, was someone Kanata would take a liking to.
Recalling Kanata's cheerful voice from his earlier report, Yuisheeze looked at Luffy anew.
"In that case, let me give you a warning. It's about Nico Robin."
"You got some business with Robin?"
"It's rather you lot around her who have business."
The fight with Luffy wasn't something worth reporting to Kanata. But Kanata herself had contacted Yuisheeze.
The message was concise: "CP-0 is making a move, targeting Robin."
He didn't know where she had obtained the information, but she had reported the current situation in full, including Robin's current location. Kanata was likely taking some countermeasures as well.
He relayed all of this to Luffy, but seeing Luffy's lack of understanding, Yuisheeze somehow grasped the situation and suggested, "I'll talk to your crewmates too."
"Oh, yeah. Do that."
It wasn't that Luffy wasn't interested, but if he didn't even know about Cipher Pol, it couldn't be helped if he didn't grasp the situation.
If they intended to protect Robin, they would inevitably be targeted by the government. A lack of knowledge could be fatal.
He should have learned the folly of neglecting to know his enemy from the incident on this island. He should have understood the harsh reality of overestimating his own strength.
...Even so, only those who could still push forward would likely achieve greatness.
No one could act with complete knowledge. Victory would never come to those who couldn't even believe in their own strength.
In the end, those who would not break, no matter what, were the strong ones.
"I'll expect great things, Straw Hat Luffy. You and your crew will have to figure things out for yourselves."
…
On the sea, heading from Midgard to Water 7.
Aboard a government ship, CP-0—Guernica—received information from the Five Elders.
"──We've located Nico Robin. And her next destination. Prepare to intercept her with full force and capture her."
"Does Nico Robin have any allied organizations?"
"It seems she's with the crew led by 'Straw Hat' Luffy, who defeated Crocodile in Alabasta. We've also confirmed the presence of Pedro and Zepo, who have previously teamed up with Nico Robin. They are few in number, but their total bounty is close to one billion. Do not, under any circumstances, let your guard down."
"Understood."
"Also──it seems the director of CP-9 has had operatives in place for some time. I grant you discretionary authority to use them as you see fit."
"CP-9 as operatives? For what purpose?"
"They are searching for the blueprints of the Ancient Weapon, Pluton."
Guernica drew a sharp breath.
Nico Robin, who could revive the Ancient Weapons, and the blueprints for an Ancient Weapon itself. If both fell into their hands, the state of the world would change dramatically.
This was a critical mission where failure was not an option. It was enough to steel one's resolve.
"Do you have details on the whereabouts of the blueprints?"
"The director of CP-9 will send you information on the operatives. Make contact without alerting your surroundings and carry out the mission. Also, conduct Nico Robin's capture without alerting other factions... If you judge that it has been compromised, you may, in the worst-case scenario, eliminate the entire island."
Water 7 was an island where skilled shipwrights gathered. It supplied many ships to the government and the Navy, and it was also the island that developed the Sea Train, so they would prefer to preserve it if possible.
However, if it became known that Nico Robin had been captured, the Beasts-Big Mom pirate alliance would likely make a move. No matter how thorough their defenses, facing two of the Four Emperors' forces simultaneously would be extremely difficult.
They could probably win if they relied on Twilight's forces, but the Five Elders hadn't considered that.
This was because they believed Nico Robin and Kanata were connected behind the scenes.
"Ohara" on Skypiea, the intelligence agents who were wiped out around the same time Nico Robin visited Midgard, and Octavia of the "Echo" who intervened in the Buster Call on Ohara in the past, along with Kanata who defeated Octavia.
Including Nico Olvia, who was still missing, the possibility that Twilight was pulling strings behind the scenes was high, and therefore, considering the possibility of being attacked from the rear, they could not rely on Twilight.
It might arouse suspicion, but if the information wasn't definitive, it could be fudged.
"...Who has the authority for the Buster Call?"
"Sengoku has been instructed to give a Golden Den Den Mushi to the director of CP-9. There isn't time to hand it over, so issue the order yourself when necessary. This is unfinished business from the Ohara incident. The Navy will not hold back either."
The Golden Den Den Mushi was a special Den Den Mushi used to issue a Buster Call.
It was a special item that only Marine Admirals and the Fleet Admiral were permitted to possess, but conversely, if officially loaned, the authority to issue the call could be delegated.
It was unclear whether Sengoku or a Marine Admiral would actually be in charge, but whoever it was, their forces would be fully prepared.
"I expect you to carry out your orders swiftly."
"...As you wish."
Guernica finished the call and mentally replayed the necessary orders.
Top priority: Capture Nico Robin.
Next: Seize the blueprints for the Ancient Weapon, Pluton.
Conduct Robin's capture without alerting other factions, and if this fails, issue a Buster Call on Water 7.
That was about it. He hadn't heard what to do if they failed to seize Pluton's blueprints, but he couldn't say anything until he spoke to the CP-9 operatives who were undercover on site.
It was only a possibility that they existed; they hadn't actually confirmed their existence. So, the possibility that the search itself would be futile was not zero.
Considering that the orders included, in the worst case, reducing everything to ashes with a Buster Call, the Five Elders probably didn't think the possibility of the blueprints actually existing was very high.
"...This is a headache, but I'll have to manage somehow."
There were some records on Pedro and Zepo. There were also records of past engagements when the government or Navy had tried to capture them, so their strength could be roughly estimated.
The same applied to the Straw Hat crew. They had defeated Crocodile, and if one traced their backgrounds carefully, it would become clear that they were a capable crew... but even so, they were no match for CP-0.
The problem was the Twilight-related personnel likely present in Water 7.
He had heard that a troublesome individual was currently staying there.