In the New World, at the former site of Wano where Pluton was stationed…
"You were badly wounded this time."
Tsuru regarded Sengoku gravely. Her stern tone made it clear that the attack had exceeded even her expectations.
"I expected them to make some kind of move, but one of the Five Elders personally trying to kill me…"
Sengoku frowned as speaking pulled at the enormous sword wound across his chest.
Tsuru gestured for him to stop.
The ship's doctor had just finished bandaging him.
After noticing fresh red spreading across the wrappings, he hesitated briefly before leading his assistants out of the room.
"Something about this attack feels strange."
Once they were gone, Tsuru stepped closer and lowered her voice.
"Something must have happened that forced even the Five Elders to take action."
Despite the intense pain in his chest, Sengoku remained composed.
"Something involving Cyrus?" Tsuru guessed.
If Sengoku was right, then Cyrus was the only person capable of rattling the Five Elders so badly.
"Perhaps he went to Mary Geoise."
Sengoku looked at her.
"We haven't received any reports of that."
"No reports…"
He thought for a moment.
"Tsuru, what could possibly drive them to make such a decision? Assassinating me was hardly their best move."
"I agree. You may be Fleet Admiral, but killing you now would accomplish very little. They should be able to see that."
"The Marines would be thrown into confusion for a while, but everyone would eventually make the same choices they were already going to make."
Sengoku nodded.
His previous order had already pushed part of the Marines into open rebellion, while the World Government itself was in a dire position.
Even if he died, the final outcome would not change much.
Unless the World Government believed that the resulting disorder within the Marines would allow it to gain an advantage over the Hunter Guild and the world's other rebel forces.
Yet Sengoku saw no sign that such an advantage existed.
"The news of your attack wasn't successfully suppressed," Tsuru said quietly. "The Hunter Guild should already know."
"Good."
Sengoku nodded.
"I've suffered enough for this. If that brat wins, he'd better keep his promise."
"That shouldn't be a problem. As he said, the Hunter Guild isn't suited to become the sole institution responsible for maintaining global order."
Tsuru paused.
"However, the Revolutionary Army has also begun moving on a large scale."
"Dragon has always wanted this opportunity. The Revolutionary Army lacked the strength before, but with the Hunter Guild drawing most of the World Government's attention, the pressure on him has dropped considerably."
Sengoku stood and tested the movement of one arm.
"He won't let the chance pass."
"You need to rest."
"That won't do."
Sengoku shook his head.
"I suffered injuries like this plenty of times when I was younger."
Tsuru stared at him, unimpressed by his boasting.
"Send a warning to the Hunter Guild. Their senior leadership may be targeted next."
"Agreed."
Tsuru did not object.
For the moment, they were effectively on the same side.
The Hunter Guild was the main force in this conflict and could not be allowed to descend into chaos.
Cyrus himself was exceedingly unlikely to be harmed, but a successful attack against the Guild's senior officers could still introduce dangerous uncertainty.
Now that the Marines had made their choice, neither Sengoku nor Tsuru wanted such complications to arise.
…
Crocodile received the warning from the Marines and glanced to one side.
Cyrus was sitting comfortably in a nearby chair, openly watching Reiju work.
"The Marines sent a warning. The World Government may send assassins after me."
"Mm. You've already made the necessary arrangements, right?"
Cyrus nodded without taking his eyes off her.
"Yes. Although the other branches may also become targets."
Crocodile's expression turned slightly peculiar.
He had never imagined that the Hunter Guild's decentralized structure would prove useful in this way.
Even if one branch were attacked or its leader assassinated, the other divisions would continue operating normally.
"I'll admit, I didn't expect you to come here personally."
Crocodile was genuinely touched.
The chairman who was usually impossible to find had personally appeared because he was worried about an attempt on his life.
"Oh, that?"
Cyrus answered casually.
"I'm mostly here to send Imu a warning while I'm at it."
'Am I still supposed to feel touched?'
Crocodile's expression stiffened.
Reiju's eyes shifted slightly when she heard him, and her crossed legs moved almost imperceptibly.
Then she lifted her head and looked directly at Cyrus.
"Chairman, how long do you intend to keep staring?"
"Hm?"
Cyrus looked up at her.
"You're pleasant to look at, so I thought I'd keep looking a little longer."
He made no attempt to conceal his thoughts.
Crocodile fell silent.
'Should I leave?'
"We have nothing else to do while we wait. No one objects to admiring something beautiful, do they?"
Cyrus turned toward Crocodile.
The Sand Crocodile was not sure whether the intelligent response was to agree.
Reiju had contributed greatly to building the Hunter Guild. Without her sharing the workload, Crocodile might genuinely have worked himself to death by now.
"Ahem. There's certainly some truth to that."
His mind raced as he searched for a safer subject.
"Chairman, this assassination attempt is still only speculation. Are you planning to remain here indefinitely if no one comes?"
"Of course not. I'm very busy."
Cyrus shook his head.
"Busy?"
Crocodile looked at Cyrus's completely relaxed posture and struggled not to sigh.
There was no chance he was busy.
He wisely kept that thought to himself.
"What? You don't believe me?"
Cyrus immediately noticed his expression and spoke with complete seriousness.
"Do you think I've been doing nothing?"
Crocodile blinked.
Was the chairman secretly carrying out some elaborate plan?
Reiju also stopped working and looked over with obvious curiosity.
"Tell me, with my abilities, what kind of life could I live in this world?"
Cyrus asked.
"However you pleased."
Crocodile considered the question before answering.
That was the freedom he had always dreamed of possessing but could never obtain.
"If you hadn't built the Hunter Guild or involved yourself in the current conflict, the World Government would pretend not to see almost anything you did."
"Exactly."
Cyrus nodded, apparently satisfied.
"So everything I've done has been for all of you."
He leaned back comfortably.
"This isn't even my world. Admittedly, I only started because I wanted something entertaining to do."
Crocodile's expression shifted.
"I asked that young man about his world. He said the Hunter Association there is a colossal organization that influences nearly every aspect of global society."
Crocodile had long suspected that Cyrus and the young Nen user came from the same world.
Cyrus had never said as much, yet he possessed extensive knowledge of that place.
Even the Hunter Guild seemed to have been modeled after its Hunter Association.
Naturally, Crocodile was curious.
"Don't start imagining things."
Cyrus laughed.
"I know a great deal about that world, but I'm not from there. I merely happened to learn about it."
"That goes well beyond something you could learn by chance."
Crocodile clearly did not believe him.
"So you spoke with him?" Cyrus asked curiously.
"Do you think our Hunter Guild could ever reach the same level?"
"Well…"
Crocodile hesitated.
After learning that another world contained a Hunter Association even more influential than theirs, he had naturally considered following the same path.
But once he questioned the young man and understood the details, he put the idea aside.
Not completely, perhaps.
It simply could not be accomplished quickly.
Reaching that level would require generations of accumulation, and there was no guarantee Crocodile would live long enough to see it succeed.
Furthermore, from what he had learned, the Hunter Association did not rule that entire world alone. Numerous nations still existed, along with vast gray areas beyond the reach of either governments or Hunters.
"It would be extremely difficult, wouldn't it?"
Cyrus smiled at his hesitation.
"To a certain extent, immense authority comes with equally immense responsibility. That is the only way such power can endure."
"If you want to enjoy enormous authority without accepting the responsibilities attached to it, things eventually go wrong."
"Is that why you refused to manage the Guild personally at the beginning?"
Crocodile looked at him seriously.
"No. I simply thought it would be too troublesome."
Cyrus raised one hand.
"Besides, I don't need that kind of authority. My power doesn't exist alongside responsibility. It comes directly from my strength."
A flame rose above his palm.
It was not especially bright. Even at such close range, neither Crocodile nor Reiju felt the surrounding temperature rise.
Yet both sensed an overwhelming danger from it.
"And that is how chaos begins."
Cyrus shook his head.
"As long as humans exist, chaos can never be completely avoided."
Reiju's expression was difficult to read as she spoke.
"Then do what you're capable of doing."
Cyrus extinguished the flame.
"What kind of world exists afterward will be in your hands."
"You keep talking as though you're delivering your final words."
Crocodile muttered.
"I am going to leave eventually. It might not be for very long, but things will be in your hands while I'm gone."
"You're leaving this world?"
Reiju looked at him curiously.
"Yes. I don't know whether I'll be able to return."
"Why?"
Her curiosity deepened.
"Is there really nothing in this world you're reluctant to leave behind?"
From Reiju's perspective, Cyrus could already obtain anything he desired here.
With him present, the World Government's defeat was all but inevitable.
Afterward, he would possess more influence than anyone else in the world.
Cyrus had just said authority came with responsibility, but if he refused to accept those burdens, who could force him?
Besides, plenty of people were eager to shoulder the responsibility on his behalf.
Crocodile was an obvious example.
Reiju could not imagine any reason for Cyrus to abandon it all.
"You can even leave Robin and Boa Hancock behind?"
Crocodile asked.
"I don't have much choice."
Cyrus sighed and looked genuinely helpless.
"Which would you prefer—me leaving, or the world being destroyed?"
"The world being destroyed?"
Crocodile immediately understood.
This was still connected to Imu.
"Keep your conclusions to yourself."
Cyrus waved a hand.
"You've already seen what's happening across the sea. Those monsters represent only a small fraction of the true danger."
"If that's the case, then the world really could be destroyed."
Crocodile frowned.
"But if Imu intends to leave, she may trigger every dormant infection before she goes."
"Correct."
Cyrus nodded.
That possibility was real—and extremely likely.
But if Crocodile could think of it, Cyrus naturally had as well.
That was why they needed to move quickly.
The flame seed Cyrus had left inside the Hollow existed precisely for the moment when a passage opened.
If enough pressure was applied and events unfolded quickly enough, Imu would not have time to activate every contingency.
Only one uncertainty remained.
Once Imu severed her connection to this world, would every person carrying one of her dormant seeds transform immediately?
If so, there might be no way to prevent the resulting catastrophe.
If not, then the entire crisis could be resolved almost perfectly.
"This is really…"
Crocodile rubbed his brow.
"The World Government has ruled for far too long. All of you have been remarkably useless."
Cyrus gave him a disdainful look.
"All of us?"
"Not only you. Everyone in your world over the past several centuries."
Cyrus shook his head.
The World Government had oppressed people to such an extreme, yet remarkably few had risen against it.
Perhaps there had been rebellions, but none had created more than a brief ripple.
Such submission might have been understandable in a world without supernatural power.
In a world where individuals could grow strong enough to stand above armies and nations, however, it was far harder to excuse.
Crocodile thought Cyrus was speaking far too casually, but he could not think of a convincing rebuttal.
Cyrus had already made it clear that this was not his world.
What could Crocodile possibly say to that?
"They're here."
Crocodile was about to respond when Cyrus raised a hand and interrupted him.
"They actually came?"
Crocodile immediately understood what he meant.
"It seems we never completely cleaned out the spies within the Guild."
Cyrus looked at him.
The implication was obvious.
An internal agent had revealed their location and helped the assassins reach them.
"I'll send people to—"
Crocodile began to rise.
"Don't bother. Let them come."
Cyrus stopped him with a wave.
"What if other people are injured?"
"Relax. They came to carry out an assassination, not launch an open assault. They'll approach quietly so you don't have a chance to escape."
Cyrus smiled.
"After all, they'll only get one opportunity."
Even if Cyrus had not been present, once the first assassination failed, there would be little chance of arranging another.
The instant he finished speaking, the ground shook violently.
Countless trees and vines erupted from the earth outside.
Within moments, they twisted together into a colossal flower bud that completely sealed off the building containing Cyrus and the others.
"It worked. Attack! Wait… who are you?"
A lazy voice began giving the order, only to suddenly become shrill with shock.
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