At this point, Roya finally confird that Vegapunk was still unaware of the terrifying secret Imu had hidden away. It was rely because of a similarity in their bodily circumstances that Vegapunk had been used by Imu, nothing more.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Roya placed his hand atop Kuma's head and said,
"You shouldn't have rented Kuma out just for resources.
"Even if putting him through such extre environnts was part of your experints, no matter what, you should still hold a reverence for life, rather than filling your head with nothing but experints and data."
A look of surprise flashed across Vegapunk's face. Then, frowning, he sank into thought.
For quite a while, he said nothing. Then, all of a sudden, he spoke:
"This body has indeed begun to influence my thinking… without realizing it, I've already stopped seeing myself as a living being."
Bowing slightly, he continued,
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Roya. I'll return to the lab imdiately to continue searching for answers!"
"Oh, right! Those cloned female researchers only possess a fraction of my scientific thinking. They're rely tools I use to care for experintal subjects and collect basic data.
"If they have offended you, Lord Roya, I ask your forgiveness!"
With that, he made to climb onto Kuma's back, intending to take away this lower-grade, experintal tal body.
But Roya's spiritual sense stirred. He drew out the long sword lodged in Kuma's back — the one controlling his movents — and tossed it aside.
Naturally, the tal needle at the cerebellum ca out as well.
Then, into Kuma's cerebellum, he implanted a seed of consciousness enhanced by his spiritual sense.
Only after that did Roya lift his hand from Kuma's head and say,
"This should be of use to both you and Kuma.
"Once I've finished handling another matter, I'll co back to resolve the problem with your body."
The word "resolve" made Vegapunk's heart jolt.
He wanted to press further, but realized that Roya had already vanished without a trace.
As Vegapunk stood there sowhat at a loss, Kuma suddenly reached back with one hand, ripped the luxurious cabin from his back, and stood up.
Then, scooping Vegapunk up with one hand and setting him on his shoulder, he strode in great steps toward the entrance of the underground laboratory where they had co from.
The Gorosei finally let out a collective sigh of relief, climbing back to their feet.
The black flat-hat elder sighed,
"With an aura and pressure like that, it's no wonder even Lord Imu was defeated by him."
The bald, beardless elder added in awe,
"No wonder we always make the wrong calls. At a power level like his, even the best intelligence officers couldn't possibly make accurate assessnts."
The blond elder said gravely,
"Enough talk. Let's focus on arranging the affairs of the World Conference as soon as possible — we need to prove our worth to Lord Roya."
The long-bearded elder nodded in agreent,
"I'll make sure Vegapunk gets every resource he needs for his research."
The bald, beardless elder hefted the long sword in his hand and said,
"Then I'll personally go and notify the strongest mber nations."
The curly-mustached elder said,
"I'll keep an eye on those Celestial Dragons."
The blond elder let out a quiet sigh,
"Then I'll make a trip to Marine Headquarters. Kizaru will be easy enough to deal with, but Green Bull… even I can't quite read him."
The black flat-hat elder suddenly spoke up,
"Should we invite Dragon to attend? If the World Conference is being convened by Lord Roya, Dragon should be willing to co."
The blond elder nodded,
"Don't forget — there's also Wano and Dressrosa."
From the shadows of a wall corner, Lucci strolled out at an unhurried pace, smiling,
"Gentlen, please keep up this level of efficiency. Right now, what the Master values most… is efficiency."
The Gorosei froze for a mont, finally realizing that their most central intelligence and assassin networks had long since fallen under Roya's control.
Bowing respectfully to Lucci, they each hurried off to take care of their assigned tasks.
On Sphinx Island, in a tranquil bay…
Sengoku raised a hand to catch the newspaper delivered by a seagull. He flipped through a few pages casually, then tossed it aside without interest.
Whitebeard's body had recovered considerably — now roughly the sa build as Sengoku's.
Picking up the discarded paper, he flipped through it, his brows lifting with interest.
"Oi, old man, the World Conference is going to abolish the Celestial Dragons and adjust the tax system. You and Garp… shouldn't you be making a coback?"
Sengoku snorted,
"Coback, my ass. This is just because the Marines urgently need a highly respected commander to stabilize things — to lead the Navy through a peaceful transition into the period where Roya holds power.
"You old bastard, you're getting more and more roundabout with your words."
Whitebeard chuckled,
"Don't tell you've forgotten — you were supposed to be swabbing the deck on Roya's ship."
Sengoku froze for a mont, then gave a wry smile,
"Who would've thought… that there'd co a day I'd fight side by side with pirates like you."
Whitebeard frowned,
"What side by side? What nonsense are you spouting?"
Sengoku tapped his temple with a finger, smiling faintly,
"Roya has absolutely no need to take over this rotten ss that is the World Governnt, does he?
"After all, you pirates are the free kings of the seas — the Navy can't do anything to you, and no kingdom would throw away their lives just for a bounty.
"If that's the case… given Roya's personality, why would he bother ruling over this decayed world?"
Whitebeard's expression grew unusually grim.
He answered in a low voice,
"Because… he's already foreseen an enemy we haven't even sensed — one so powerful that the entire world must unite in order to stand against it?!"
Sengoku stroked the braids of his beard, giving a bitter laugh,
"Don't kid yourself. Standing against it? Impossible. All we can do is die with a shred of dignity.
"That bastard Imu… really fooled us badly."
With that, he rose to his feet,
"I'm heading back to Marine Headquarters. You'd better get those brats of yours back into training."
Whitebeard leapt up as well, his voice ringing with fighting spirit,
"Life or death, who cares! These old bones of mine can still burn one more ti for that kid Roya!"
The two n locked eyes for a mont, then burst out laughing before shooting off toward where their respective crews awaited.
At the calm end of the Grand Line, Roya was standing on a small boat, slowly approaching the coordinates from which he had sensed the earlier call.
He had co without pause, traveling from Mary Geoise across half the world to reach this point.
The closer he drew, the calr his mind beca — gone was the urgency and anxiety from when he had first received the summons.
And then, as if out of nowhere, a plain, unremarkable island appeared before his eyes.
Strange mists enshrouded it, cloaking it like an illusion.
From deep within his soul, the call suddenly beca clear and distinct.
"I suppose… back then, Pirate King Roger must have co to this island under the very sa summons."
With a thought, Roya increased the boat's speed sharply, shooting toward the island.
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