On Beehive Island
Through the spatial portal created by Ash, the group listened clearly to the conversation of the God's Knights.
After hearing everything, Pini rose to his feet, stretched lazily, and laughed.
"We've been watching the show for several days. It's finally time to loosen up properly."
He turned toward Ash.
"Ash, now that we know they're coming for us, what's there to hesitate about? Let's wipe them all out! Whether they're Celestial Dragons or God's Knights, I've wanted to beat up those Celestial Dragons for a long time. Otherwise, Youki never stops bragging about beating one up."
Kirk also looked at Ash.
"You said before that certain plans required everyone to stay low-profile for another four or five years. But it's obvious the World Government has already set its sights on you. What are you planning to do next?"
Ash chuckled.
"As the saying goes, plans never keep up with reality. The original plan was mostly an excuse to relax for a few more years. Since the World Government is so eager to deliver themselves to us, we might as well grant their wish."
A sharp glint appeared in his eyes.
"After lying dormant for so long, it's time for the Dawn Faction to show the world its fangs."
---
Kirk quickly relayed the news about the God's Knights and Ash's decision to Youki and the others through the spatial portal.
The fighters along the shoreline, who had clearly been using their opponents to refine weaknesses in their combat abilities, paused briefly before immediately changing their approach.
Tsuki had already spent half a day using Charlotte Oven to train his Observation Haki and had long since grown bored.
The moment he heard Kirk's message, he decided it was time to harvest the results.
After avoiding another Heat Fist from Oven, Tsuki casually waved a hand toward a giant tree in the distance.
Instantly, the vines binding members of the Charlotte Family tightened violently.
Blood immediately seeped from the gaps between the vines.
Seeing this, Oven's eyes turned bloodshot.
"You bastard!"
Roaring in fury, he charged toward Tsuki.
Before he could reach him, a massive torrent of seawater crashed down from the sky.
Although much of the water was instantly evaporated by the terrifying heat surrounding his body, the endless flood continued pouring over him.
In the end, Charlotte Oven, who resembled a blazing sun, was completely subdued by the seawater.
Tsuki had no interest in exchanging words.
With another wave of his hand, countless thorn-covered vines erupted from the earth around the fallen commander, wrapping around him layer after layer.
Moments later, the rage in Charlotte Oven's eyes faded completely.
At nearly the same time, the genie summoned by Charlotte Daifuku was reduced to ashes by McKinley using a barrage of electrical attacks.
Without giving his opponent a chance to recover, McKinley immediately used a movement technique he had learned from Pini to close the distance.
Both palms slammed against Daifuku's chest.
Bang! Crackle!
A dense chain of explosions erupted from within Charlotte Daifuku's body.
The next moment, the commander collapsed to the ground, his body charred black while smoke drifted from every orifice.
On Youki's side, the battlefield had become a sea of mochi.
Faced with the endless sticky terrain, he was ultimately forced to resort to the same method Tsuki had used, drowning everything with seawater.
The first-generation tutor who had helped him develop his Observation Haki, Charlotte Katakuri, was defeated before he could teach Youki the finer details of future sight.
As members of the Big Mom Pirates continued falling one after another, Ash's mission panel updated repeatedly.
Unique Mission: Devil Fruit Collection Count [104/500]
The number was slightly different from his original calculations.
Still, more was always better than fewer, so Ash did not dwell on it.
Watching the others rapidly finish their battles, Pini asked whether he should contact Sali and the rest at Reverse Mountain and bring them over.
After all, everyone was curious to see what these so-called God's Knights looked like.
"I need to return to Sky Island anyway," Ash replied. "I'll make a trip to Reverse Mountain myself."
With that, he drew the black blade Shusui and opened a spatial doorway before stepping through.
---
Sky Island
After returning to Sky Island, Ash immediately began crafting four Paramecia-type Devil Fruits.
They were the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise Four Symbols Protection Fruits.
These fruits represented the culmination of countless experiments conducted with the editor. Their foundation was the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, but their defensive capabilities had been pushed to the absolute limit.
Traveling swiftly to the four cardinal directions of God Island, Ash used the editor's auxiliary interface to fuse each fruit into a massive stone monument.
As the fruits activated, a nearly invisible barrier formed around the island.
This was far from an unnecessary precaution.
Ash remembered what had happened in the original timeline.
To test the Mother Flame developed by Vegapunk, Imu had unleashed an unknown weapon that instantly erased the Lulusia Kingdom.
Ash strongly suspected that weapon was Uranus.
After all, the story had repeatedly established that the Ancient Weapons possessed enough power to destroy entire islands.
Not merely bombard them.
Not merely devastate their surface.
True destruction.
A Buster Call could slaughter countless people, but the island itself would remain.
Even battles between top-tier fighters rarely achieved such devastation.
The ten-day battle between Aokiji and Akainu transformed Punk Hazard's climate, yet the island survived.
The war against Kaido and Big Mom left Onigashima heavily damaged, but it still existed.
Even Garp's assault on Beehive Island had merely demolished large portions of the town.
The island remained intact.
Yet a single attack from Imu had completely erased the Lulusia Kingdom.
The island vanished.
The surrounding ocean currents surged unnaturally.
If that wasn't Uranus, then what else could it be?
During the Void Century, Poseidon had already died and awaited reincarnation.
Pluton had been sealed beneath Wano Country by Joy Boy.
That left only Uranus.
In Ash's view, it had likely remained in the World Government's possession for eight centuries.
The only reason it had not been used was because its energy source had long since been exhausted.
The Mother Flame had simply become the key needed to reactivate it.
The current era was still years away from the original timeline, and perhaps Vegapunk had not yet perfected the Mother Flame.
But who could guarantee that?
What if Ash's interference had changed events?
What if Kuma escaping his original fate had given Vegapunk additional time to research King's lineage factor?
What if the Mother Flame had already been completed ahead of schedule?
Or perhaps Uranus still retained enough power for a limited attack.
Such possibilities could not be ignored.
Ash refused to gamble with the safety of his people.
After completing God Island's defenses, he traveled to New Jaya Island, Angel Island, and Freedom Island.
There, he personally created another twelve fruits and established additional defensive barriers.
Only after finishing all preparations did he open another spatial doorway and leave.
---
Reverse Mountain
Not long ago, Sali had thoroughly beaten Aokiji during a friendly spar.
At the moment, he was proudly recounting the story to his subordinates.
Suddenly, his Observation Haki detected Ash's presence.
Before Sali could even think of an excuse to step away from the group, Ash teleported directly in front of everyone.
Among the newest recruits, Law's group, consisting of three people and one bear, had already met Ash before and remained calm.
Daz Bones, Three Blades, Johnny, and Joseph, however, were stunned.
Did figures on the level of the Seven Warlords really appear out of nowhere like this?
Sali was also surprised that Ash had appeared openly before the newcomers, but he trusted there was a reason and chose not to ask immediately.
"Yo, everyone."
Ash glanced around before grinning at Sali.
"I heard you fought Aokiji recently and even left his face swollen."
Sali burst out laughing.
"We did spar a bit. Neither of us fought seriously, but his Ice-Ice Fruit wasn't very effective against me. The outcome was obvious."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Still, fighting an Admiral feels different."
Ash smirked.
"Especially because they're so durable?"
"Hahahaha!"
Laughter erupted from the crowd.
After a brief exchange, Ash's expression became serious.
"Last year in Wano Country, I intended for everyone to stay hidden for another four or five years while we improved our strength and collected more Devil Fruits."
"Unfortunately, circumstances have changed."
"The World Government has not only begun targeting your lineage factors, but is also taking advantage of the Dawn's battle against Wang Zhi and the Big Mom Pirates in the New World."
"They've secretly dispatched the God's Knights to launch a pincer attack and eliminate us in one stroke."
"Because of that, I've decided that the Dawn Faction will stop hiding its true strength."
His voice rang with confidence.
"We will reveal our fangs to the entire world."
"Since the World Government wants to play this game, we'll play it properly and show them exactly how badly they've misjudged their opponent."
The members of the Dawn Faction immediately erupted with excitement.
They had long despised the Celestial Dragons.
Now that their leader had officially decided to confront the World Government, they finally had an opportunity to strike back.
Maybe then Youki would stop bragging about being the only one who had beaten a Celestial Dragon.
Meanwhile, Law and the others listened in stunned silence.
They were still focused on growing stronger so they could one day take revenge on Doflamingo.
Yet the man standing before them was already preparing to challenge the World Government itself.
And what exactly were these God's Knights?
A force that served the Celestial Dragons directly, separate from the Marines?
More importantly...
Did these people really discuss matters of this magnitude without even bothering to avoid an audience?