Imu did not have to wait long.
Several clear photographs and a detailed report were soon delivered into her hands.
Her eyes widened slightly as she studied the serpent-like monster in the pictures, its body covered in skeletal arms and layers of white bone.
Her long life had exposed her to countless strange creatures, but she had never seen anything like this.
Any doubts she still held disappeared once she examined the evidence herself.
"It was discovered by the Fire Tank Hunter Crew, and the island where they found it has already vanished."
Imu carefully read through the report.
When she reached the final paragraph, her body went still.
"Can this creature sense the direction of its original world? Spiritual particles…?"
The maid kneeling nearby heard Imu muttering to herself and could not hide a flicker of curiosity.
Lord Imu rarely spoke at all, yet lately she had been talking far more often.
"Tell them to find a way to seize this creature."
Imu placed the photographs and report on the table in the middle of the Room of Flowers.
"Yes, Lord Imu."
The maid withdrew.
Left alone in the vast chamber, Imu fell silent once more.
…
Sky Island.
The brutal Hunter Exam continued.
Dozens of Devil Fruits now lay scattered behind Cyrus.
Some had originally been placed within the examination grounds and eaten by candidates who did not survive for long afterward.
The rest were unexpected gains from the many ability users dying during the exam.
"Chairman, you were right. Someone leaked information about that creature."
Crocodile's grim voice sounded in Cyrus's ear.
"Don't take it so personally, Crocodile. When an organization expands this quickly, something like this is inevitable. The World Government controlled nearly the entire world for centuries."
Cyrus chuckled.
"The false information you deliberately left behind was probably leaked as well. Chairman, should I have the traitors arrested?"
Crocodile's voice carried obvious anger.
He had personally built the Hunter Guild into what it was today.
Of course he knew World Government spies had infiltrated the organization, but he had believed they were all under his control.
This incident proved that someone had slipped into the Guild's inner circles without him noticing.
Even if Cyrus did not blame him, Crocodile considered it a serious failure on his part.
"No. Leave them alone."
Cyrus rejected the proposal without hesitation.
"Let's see what they do next. Carry on as usual and pretend you never discovered the leak."
"But that creature is important to you, isn't it?"
Crocodile was surprised.
"Perhaps they're hoping I'll leave this world."
Cyrus smiled.
"That makes sense. If I controlled the World Government and couldn't defeat you, I'd want you to disappear forever too."
Crocodile quickly followed his reasoning.
"Now that the news of you coming from another world has leaked, the World Government would naturally encourage you to leave."
"There's another possibility."
"What is it?"
Crocodile sounded curious.
"If I refuse to leave, perhaps the person behind the World Government plans to escape instead."
Cyrus paused.
"Or they may be searching other worlds for something capable of defeating me."
"That's entirely possible. You're absolutely right, Chairman."
Crocodile nodded repeatedly.
If an enemy could not win, they could always run.
And if escape was impossible, they might search elsewhere for a weapon strong enough to turn the situation around.
"We'll wait and see."
Cyrus continued, "I may leave Sky Island for a while. The World Government might take that opportunity to attack. That thing is already directly above us."
"What? You mean Uranus?"
Crocodile immediately tensed.
He had never personally witnessed the Ancient Weapon's power, but he knew the World Government had used it against Dressrosa, only for Cyrus to block the attack.
It possessed enough destructive force to erase an enormous island.
If it struck Sky Island directly, the entire place might truly disappear.
"Chairman, with your strength, can't you destroy it?"
"It's too high."
Cyrus raised his eyes toward the sky.
Nothing was visible from the ground, but his Observation Haki covered an enormous distance.
He could clearly sense the gigantic mechanical structure floating far overhead, possibly beyond the planet's atmosphere.
Cyrus had no desire to test whether his current body could survive in space.
If he flew up there only to become another immortal creature drifting through the void without the ability to think, the loss would hardly be worth it.
Still, the World Government's recent actions were suspicious.
On the surface, they were behaving exactly as they always had, treating the Marines like obedient guard dogs that could be ordered around at will.
But the current situation was too obvious for them to misunderstand.
A former Fleet Admiral might genuinely possess enough authority to seize command from Sengoku, but the attempt was far too crude.
That made Cyrus suspect they wanted the plan to be discovered.
If nothing happened to Kong, his arrival might convince Sengoku to step aside. At the very least, it could bring the Marines still loyal to the World Government back under control.
The more likely outcome, however, was that the Marines would finally rebel openly and refuse Mary Geoise's orders.
The plan had another possible benefit.
Cyrus suspected that at least part of the World Government's goal was to lure him away from Sky Island.
The enormous weapon hanging above them only strengthened that suspicion.
Did they honestly believe Kong could keep him occupied?
The World Government should already know that Cyrus possessed the Door-Door Fruit.
If they intended to lure him away, they had no choice but to hope Kong could delay him somehow.
Cyrus swept his Observation Haki across the examination grounds.
Rayleigh was still training—and thoroughly beating—Ace.
Luffy was rushing toward their location.
The battles elsewhere continued without pause.
Law and Doflamingo's group were both heading for the final towers.
After escaping Mihawk, Doflamingo and the others apparently had not abandoned their original plan.
Their new target seemed to be the man with the rudder-shaped scars around his head—Golden Lion Shiki.
"Those idiots."
Cyrus shook his head.
It seemed he had overestimated them.
Aside from a few stubborn fools, almost everyone avoided the challenge zones entirely.
"Maybe the guardians are too famous. We should use different people next time."
Cyrus rubbed his chin.
Copying this exam's basic structure would be simple enough.
Since the beginning, no one except Bege had entered Cyrus's arena.
His name alone frightened candidates far more than any of the other guardians.
As time passed, the first candidate finally cleared the exam, followed gradually by several others.
Whenever someone passed, an announcement echoed across the entire trial ground, driving the remaining participants to move even faster.
The exam would not end anytime soon, however.
Some candidates possessed excellent abilities or extraordinary speed.
Others were weaker and moved slowly.
Even without resting, travelling from the entrance to the final towers would take many people two or three days.
The Guild could hardly end the exam while half the candidates had not even crossed the midpoint.
Reaching Sky Island had not been easy for them.
Fortunately, Cyrus did not have to wait long for the message he expected.
"So you're saying the target will spend the night on Gallanri Island?"
Cyrus listened to Sengoku's voice through the Den Den Mushi and smiled.
"Sengoku, do you honestly believe that information is reliable?"
By now, Cyrus was almost certain.
Kong and his escort were bait—or at least served partly as bait.
"The information is accurate."
Sengoku's voice remained serious.
"Whatever their true objective may be, they really did stop on that island under cover of night. With your abilities, you should be able to reach them before they depart."
"And then what? Kill them?"
Cyrus's tone carried a trace of amusement.
"If possible, severely injure them or capture them."
Sengoku remained silent for a long moment before answering.
"That attitude won't do, Sengoku. Once you make a decision, you need to follow it through."
"I know what I have to do."
Sengoku responded immediately, speaking faster than before.
"Relax. You're only doing this to keep the Marines out of a brutal war." Cyrus spoke soothingly.
"Unlike me, none of you are immortal. If the Marines became fully involved, who knows how many would die?"
"You really are… You're even more infuriating than Roger."
Sengoku ground out the words.
"Don't compare me to a pirate."
Cyrus protested.
"I may have absorbed a few former pirates into my organization, but I'm still a good man. I'm doing all this to free every Marine from the World Government's oppression."
"I don't even have an obligation to help you. I'm only doing it because I'm far too kind."
"You? Kind?"
Sengoku muttered darkly.
"I'm not wasting any more time arguing with you. You have the information. Act as soon as possible."
The call ended.
Cyrus looked at the Den Den Mushi as it closed its eyes again and smiled.
If that was how things stood, he might as well make his move.
It would also give him a chance to test the newest technique he had developed from studying Imu's demonic power.
"Crocodile, send me a rough chart showing Gallanri Island's location in the New World."
"Understood."
Crocodile's voice sounded beside Cyrus's ear.
Cyrus pressed the tiny Den Den Mushi clinging there.
Not long afterward, sand gathered nearby and formed Crocodile, who held a sea chart in his hands.
"The New World is complicated. I spent considerable manpower compiling this chart, but travelling between islands still requires a Log Pose."
Crocodile unfolded it.
"The conditions there are too unpredictable. No one knows what dangers they may encounter, and ordinary compasses are practically useless. Eternal Poses are among the few navigational tools that remain reliable."
Cyrus understood all of that.
He only needed the island's approximate position so he could send a flame clone near it.
His gaze settled on the map.
Then his eyebrows rose in surprise.
"It really is that perfectly aligned?"
Cyrus pointed to two long lines drawn across the chart.
"It's strange, but the measurements gathered by numerous Hunters all confirm it."
Crocodile nodded.
When he first ordered people to compile navigation records and survey data, the finished chart had astonished him too.
The formation looked far too precise to be natural.
The Calm Belts, those dangerous seas separating the Grand Line from the Four Seas, were absurdly straight.
They genuinely looked as though someone had deliberately created them.
At the time, Crocodile had only entertained the thought briefly.
Standing before Cyrus now, he suddenly wondered whether that might truly be the answer.
"Chairman, suppose someone ate a Logia Wind-Wind Fruit and reached your level of strength. Could they create something like the Calm Belt?"
Cyrus continued examining the map and nodded slightly.
"With a Logia awakening, it might be possible. An awakened Logia can permanently alter the environment."
He glanced at Crocodile.
"Your ability, for example, could turn an entire region into desert after awakening."
"I can do that now."
"No. You don't understand what I mean by permanent."
Cyrus looked up.
"Even if people spent enormous resources transforming that desert into fertile land, it would quickly become a desert again."
Crocodile's eyes widened.
"So my theory could be correct? The Calm Belts may have been created by an awakened Wind-Wind Fruit user?"
"Possibly. I can't say for certain."
Cyrus shook his head.
"There are also legends claiming the Red Line was created by a Devil Fruit user. Who knows?"
If either theory was true, whoever accomplished it might not have been weaker than Cyrus was now.
Changing the geography of an entire planet required an absurd degree of power.
The thought gave Cyrus renewed motivation.
"All right. I've memorized the location."
He waved a hand.
"And if something major happens after I leave, tell everyone not to panic."
"You mean that?"
Crocodile pointed toward the sky.
"Most likely."
Cyrus nodded.
"It came all this way, so they'll probably use it. Otherwise, bringing it here would be pointless."
"If the opportunity appears, I'll destroy it while they attack."
"Understood."
Crocodile nodded.
His expression remained grave as he left, making it obvious that he was not entirely reassured.
Uranus possessed enough power to destroy an island with a single strike.
And the enemy would almost certainly wait until Cyrus left before firing.
After Crocodile departed, a blue doorway appeared before Cyrus.
Flames erupted across his body as he stepped through it.
The glowing portal vanished from the air behind him.
…
The New World.
A doorway appeared in the sky above an island near Gallanri Island.
Cyrus stepped through, briefly checked his direction, then transformed into a streak of fire and flew toward his destination.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere on Gallanri Island was extremely tense.
The previously deserted island was now crowded with people.
Where barren land had once stretched across the island, a thick and vibrant jungle had appeared.
---------
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