Chapter 124

"What?!" exclaimed Sengoku in disbelief.

"Blackbeard made a deal with the World Government to secure a Shichibukai seat?"

"The one being traded for Shichibukai seat is Whitebeard's 2nd division captain, Ace?"

Upon hearing this shocking news, even Sengoku was taken aback. The bandages wrapped around his body almost seemed ready to snap.

When they received Ryan's Golden Wheel Reincarnation Blast head-on, none of the five Marines perished. Even the most severely injured among them, Sengoku, managed to survive thanks to the incredible regenerative powers granted by his awakened Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Daibutsu.

Now, with their injuries significantly healed, Garp and the others had Sengoku to thank for bearing the brunt of the damage, shielding them from harm.

Nonetheless, the final explosion had still left its mark on all four of them. Sengoku, the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit user, relied on his remarkable recovery abilities to handle his Marine duties, despite still being in the process of recuperating at the Marine Hospital.

However, the sudden notification from the World Government left Sengoku muttering to himself. The Marines had been thrashed by those unknown crew earlier, and now, the World Government had captured Ace, Whitebeard's second-in-command.

This move was essentially forcing the Marines into another confrontation with Whitebeard.

Contemplating this, Sengoku felt a dizzying wave of unease wash over him. Yet, he had no choice. Looking at the war set on the horizon by the World Government, Sengoku knew he had to face it.

Soon, all the Shichibukai received mandatory summoning orders from the Marines. Failure to comply would result in their Shichibukai titles being revoked, and their bounty would be activated again.

As time passed, the Marines became increasingly active. All the world's factions understood that a significant Marine operation was on the horizon.

Meanwhile, in the New World, Zou Island found itself hosting several uninvited guests.

"Is this the place?" asked one of them.

"It looks like it. The red Poneglyph is in that white whale forest," responded another.

"Let's go! We can retrieve the Poneglyph once we get there!"

These visitors were none other than Obito and Kakashi.

Ryan had divided everyone into four groups, each tasked with collecting the Road Poneglyphs from locations marked by red historical text. Obito and Kakashi were assigned to Zou Island.

Upon their arrival, the duo headed straight for the White Whale Forest. Their sudden appearance sent the Mink Tribe on Zou Island into immediate alarm.

"My lord Duke!"

"It's bad! We have invaders on Zou Island!"

Inuarashi, Ruler of Day, wasted no time upon receiving this message. He swiftly led his musketeers to surround Obito and Kakashi.

Inuarashi, who had been pursuing the two, suddenly realized that they were heading towards the Whale Forest.

"This is not good!"

"These two are heading for the Sacred Forest!"

"Quickly inform Nekomamushi!"

With little time to spare, Inuarashi hastily ordered someone to notify Nekomamushi, then pursued Obito and Kakashi. Chaos descended upon the entire Zou Island in an instant.

On the opposite side of Whole Cake Island, a trio of unfamiliar faces arrived at the port.

"What a peculiar place!"

"It's entirely constructed from sweets."

As they gazed upon the cake-filled island before them, the three ninjas looked around inquisitively. However, their mission was to secure the Road Poneglyph currently held by the Big Mom Pirates. So, after their initial exploration, they began to search for any signs of the historical text.

Before they could set their plan in motion, a towering biscuit soldier blocked their path. As the biscuit soldier scrutinized Sasuke and the duo standing before him, he eventually spoke, "Who are you? I don't recognize your faces!"

At that moment, more and more biscuit soldiers converged on the trio at the port.

Sasuke, gripping a chidori-sharp blade in his hand, wasted no time. He swiftly pierced the head of the biscuit soldier in front of him, neutralizing the threat.

"Attack!"

"Let's get this done quickly!"

"Don't waste any time!"

Seeing Sasuke taking the lead, Sixth Hokage Kakashi and Fourth Hokage Minato exchanged glances and understood that they needed to join the fight immediately.

The combined efforts of the three shinobi drew the attention of the entire island in an instant.

"What's happening?"

"It's an enemy invasion! Cracker has already rallied the biscuit soldiers to the port!"

"Quickly, go inform Katakuri!"

Suddenly, the entire Charlotte family mobilized, and news of the disturbance at the port soon reached the ears of the Big Mom in the castle.

Upon hearing that enemies were attacking Whole Cake Island, Big Mom found it hard to believe. Someone dared to assault her stronghold.

"These brats are growing audacious!"

"They've directly targeted my headquarters!"

"I'm quite curious to see... who are they?"

At that moment, instead of expressing anger, Big Mom smiled, paying no heed to the objections of her ministers, and rushed toward the port.

Outside of Wano Country, Uchiha Madara and Hashirama surveyed the immense expanse of Wano Country before them, their brows furrowing in concern.

"This place is enormous."

"How do we even begin searching?"

To Tobirama's inquiry, Madara chuckled arrogantly, "Search? Let them bring the Road Poneglyph to us!"

As Madara spoke, his Mangekyo Sharingan immediately transformed into Rinnegan. Having become intimately familiar with Rinnegan's power, he peered down at Wano Country.

With his hands forming seals, Madara activated Rinnegan's ability. It forcefully yanked a meteorite from space, causing the once serene sky above Wano Country to abruptly darken.

"Hmm?"

"Is it going to rain?"

"Why's it suddenly so dark?"

Beneath the colossal shadow, everyone raised their heads to the sky, sensing something amiss with the clouds.

Amidst the watchful eyes of all, a massive meteorite abruptly pierced through the clouds, materializing before everyone's astonished view. The moment they laid eyes on the celestial body, fear gripped their hearts.

"What... what is that?!"

"It's a meteorite!"

"We're done for! The meteorite is gonna hit us! Run!"

"Help! Someone, help us!"

Instantly, chaos engulfed all of Wano Country. Panic-stricken residents dashed in every direction, their frantic screams filling the air.

Even Kaido, who had been in repose, was rudely awakened by the cacophony of terrified voices.

"Huh~~~"

"What's happening outside?!?"

"Why is it so noisy?"

Accompanied by Kaido's simmering rage and bewildered questions, King, Queen, and Jack hastened to his side, sharing in his alarm.

"Kaido-sama!"

"This is bad!"

"A meteorite above Wano! It could obliterate entire wano!"

Upon hearing these dire words, Kaido hastily emerged from his cave. As he gazed skyward, his eyes locked onto the colossal meteorite suspended in the atmosphere.

Kaido came to a standstill, his thoughts racing. Why had such an enormous meteorite seemingly appeared out of nowhere? But pondering such questions was a luxury he couldn't afford at this moment. Wano Country had been his territory for countless years, and its destruction would leave Kaido with nowhere to turn.

"Move together!"

"We must stop this meteorite!"

With these determined words from Kaido, he instantaneously transformed into a colossal dragon, rocketing toward the falling meteorite. A searing breath of Boro Breath erupted from his jaws, aimed squarely at the meteorite. Meanwhile, King, queen, and Jack accompanying him showcased their unique abilities, slashing at the meteorite in a desperate bid to halt its descent.

Observing Kaido's intervention, Madara couldn't help but glance at Hashirama and Tobirama beside him.

"Well, isn't this unexpected?"

"Red Poneglyph; we just need to force them to collect it for us!"

Meanwhile, on a small island tucked away somewhere in the New World, which once served as Whitebeard's old sanctuary Sphinx, three uninvited shinobi arrived.

"It should be here."

The last fragment of the red road sign's location remained unknown to Ryan, but he remembered its former whereabouts. The Fish Men Island's Poneglyph, which now only featured Joy Boy's apology, and given Whitebeard's rule over the Fishmen Island and his friendship with Roger, Whitebeard unquestionably knew the importance of the last Road Poneglyph's significance.

With the dawn of the Great Pirate Era, the Fish Men's Island became a pivotal point for pirates venturing into the New World. Keeping the Red poneglyph there would be impractical, making Whitebeard's hometown the only plausible location for the last one.

This location, safeguarded by Marco in the future. He remembered a scene in which Marco had foreseen an impending war in Whitebeard's hometown.

In Ryan's perspective, the conflict in Whitebeard's homeland would likely revolve around the Red Road Poneglpyh left by Whitebeard. If Blackbeard aspired to reach One Piece, he would certainly aim to wrest it.

"So, here we are."

Ryan led the two Tsunades into Whitebeard's hometown, Sphinx.

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