"Well?"
Shanks chuckled lightly, his tone filled with anticipation.
"Very good."
Ian wore a bright smile. "The outer layer needs a thorough cleaning, but the interior is preserved extremely well."
"It could probably be put into battle at any time."
Truly admirable material technology.
Where in today's seas could one possibly find metal with such incredible strength?
To be submerged in magma for eight hundred years and suffer almost no corrosion or damage—something even Uncle Queen's proudly touted Queen Alloy could never achieve.
Of course, this was only based on Ian's own inspection.
However, one thing was indeed missing.
The energy reserves.
The energy currently stored inside Pluton was only enough to support a short voyage. Long-distance travel was impossible, let alone sustaining it in full-scale combat.
However, Joy Boy had already realized this problem when he left Pluton behind.
That was why he deliberately left some information on the ship, recording exactly which area of the library on the Final Island stored the design data for Pluton's energy system.
This helped immensely.
The technical materials from Birka that Joy Boy left behind were simply far too numerous.
Trying to locate the parts related to Pluton's energy system among them would have been an extremely complicated task.
But now, they could directly retrieve those specific documents and then send them to Vegapunk.
"But how are we supposed to take it out?"
Yamato raised her head and looked up.
Above them was a dark rock wall.
Were they supposed to dig a massive passage straight out?
That would require someone like Bullet to come over.
"No need to worry."
Ian spoke calmly.
"Think about it. How do you think Joy Boy originally put this ship in here?"
This had already been mentioned before.
There was a passage in the conventional sense.
Ian said no more and directly ordered Surtur to move in a certain direction.
The giant, hundreds of meters tall, carried a massive battleship far larger than himself as he slowly advanced through the magma.
It didn't take long before a huge hole appeared in the dome ahead.
An absurdly large hole.
The diameter of the opening had to be measured in several kilometers.
"Oh?"
Shanks tilted his head upward and saw the shimmering light of water outside the enormous opening.
His eyes narrowed as he finally saw the true appearance of the cavern.
The inside of the cavern was covered by a transparent membrane.
"Is it a membrane like the one around Fish-Man Island?"
Shanks raised an eyebrow.
"If the seawater and magma weren't separated, then all these preparations would be meaningless," Ian said.
According to Joy Boy's design, if one wanted to obtain Pluton, the first step was to open Wano's borders.
The seawater above would first be drained away completely, exposing the cavern.
After that, it would be Zunesha's time to perform.
Its trunk would extend into this cavern, spraying seawater to extinguish the magma while directly scooping Pluton out at the same time.
But Ian didn't bother with any of that.
He directly passed through the seawater and fished Pluton out of the magma himself.
Surtur exerted force with both arms, lifting the massive warship straight up, then violently throwing it out through the gigantic opening.
The ship flew into the seawater outside, landing in Wano Country's inner sea.
"Next, we just need the Fish-Man forces to tow the ship back," Ian said.
For an ordinary person, trying to haul such a massive warship from the seabed would require an unimaginable amount of manpower and resources.
But for Ian, for the Beasts Pirates, this task was incredibly simple.
His underlings, the Fish-Man troops, could complete it perfectly.
No matter how enormous the ship was, facing dozens or even hundreds of sea beasts, it wouldn't be able to resist lying at the bottom of the sea for long.
Ian had already arranged for them to wait nearby.
"Oh? But isn't that risky?"
Shanks laughed softly. "After all, if you do it that way, the existence of this ship can't remain hidden."
"It doesn't matter. Haven't you already found out anyway?"
Ian smiled, his words radiating an indescribable confidence. "Besides, since we're in this country, as long as I don't want it, no information can possibly get out."
You think I haven't ruled Wano for so many years?
"Oh, that does sound impressive."
Shanks clapped his hands.
The three of them then returned along the path.
By the time they got back to Onigashima, the Fish-Man troops would likely have brought Pluton back with them.
Onigashima.
"Oh! Your dessert turned out really well, huh?"
In the dining hall, Aunt Linlin looked at the blond kid before her with immense admiration.
"Of course,"
Sanji raised an eyebrow proudly. "I am the Beasts Pirates' chief chef, personally recognized by Big Brother Ian."
To live up to that title, over the years, besides working hard to strengthen his abilities, he had never stopped honing his culinary skills.
"Not bad, really not bad."
Aunt Linlin's gaze on Sanji grew even more approving.
This kid wasn't just a superb cook; he was incredibly strong.
It was evident from his aura alone.
Even that kid Cracker might not be stronger than this blond brat.
Ian's underlings were full of countless monsters beyond imagination.
"Kid, I really admire you,"
Aunt Linlin suddenly said, "Want to be my son-in-law? My daughters—young and beautiful—there's plenty to choose from!"
"Oh?"
Sanji's heart stirred for a moment.
As a high-ranking officer of the Beasts Pirates, he naturally knew the Charlotte family's details quite well.
This woman wasn't entirely bluffing; indeed, a few of her daughters were young and beautiful.
But—
"Sorry," Sanji twitched the corner of his mouth. "Marriage… that's still too far off for me."
If he got married, wouldn't that mean he couldn't play around with other beautiful girls anymore?
With that, the boy didn't hesitate at all and turned to leave.
"You little brat!!"
Only Aunt Linlin was left, gritting her teeth in anger.
This damn kid was only slightly less infuriating than Ian.
"Hmph, are you deliberately trying to make me laugh, Charlotte Linlin?"
Sitting quietly beside them and eating lunch, Redfield suddenly sneered coldly.
"Red!"
Aunt Linlin immediately slammed the table, furious. "You bastard! Do you want to pick a fight with me?"
Redfield didn't even lift an eyelid. He said coldly, "If you've got the guts, go ahead and try."
Aunt Linlin clenched her fists tightly, teeth gritted, but ultimately didn't make a move.
After all, this was Onigashima.
If she acted here, it would immediately draw the overwhelming intervention of the Beasts Pirates.
Against the combination of Kaido, Bullet, and Mihawk, Aunt Linlin didn't think she could make a dent.
Just then, a sudden commotion rose from outside.
"Hm?"
Aunt Linlin furrowed her brow.
She heard the sounds coming from outside.
The keywords were "ship" and "port."
A ship?
At first, she didn't pay much attention, but soon she noticed more and more people gathering toward the port.
"Could it be—!"
Redfield seemed to have realized something. His expression changed immediately as he put down his food and, without hesitation, headed straight for the port.
Seeing him already moving, Aunt Linlin didn't stop to think and quickly followed.
By the time they reached the port, the place was already a sea of people.
Even so, it was impossible to miss the massive ship docked there—it was absurdly large.
"…"
Aunt Linlin and Redfield exchanged a glance.
They could both see the shock mirrored in each other's eyes.
The historical marks on the surface of the ship were far too obvious, leaving almost no doubt about its identity.
**********
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