In an instant—
The Holy Land Mary Geoise, which had been wracked by lightning and raging storms just moments before, returned completely to normal.
The scene fell silent. The sky was clear, the breeze gentle, as if nothing had ever happened.
Of course.
Anyone with a reasonably sharp sense of smell could still detect the faint scent of blood lingering in the air.
"You know what I want."
"Use the fastest possible speed to get it done."
"If there is any delay, there is no need for the Celestial Dragons to continue existing."
Alex spoke in the calmest, most casual tone—yet delivered the most ruthless threat imaginable.
Im, kneeling on one knee, twitched at the corner of his mouth. His expression shifted repeatedly, barely able to remain composed.
A surge of rage rose within him.
He had always stood above all others. Even beings like the Five Elders had to kneel before him.
When had he ever been threatened like this?
Humiliated like this?
But very quickly, Im forcibly suppressed his anger.
Because he knew—Alex was not bluffing.
This man truly possessed the power to erase the Celestial Dragons from the world.
Even with Uranus, one of the three Ancient Weapons, Im was powerless to stop it.
So no matter how stifling, how humiliating it was—
Im had no choice but to obey.
"I will collect Devil Fruits for you at the fastest possible speed,"
Im finally stated his position.
Boom!
With a sharp sonic boom, Im's vision blurred.
Alex's figure vanished completely, without a trace.
Only then did Im rub his temples, feeling an overwhelming headache set in.
---
"Have you heard? Something happened at Mary Geoise—some kind of massive storm."
"Yeah, I heard even a number of Celestial Dragons were struck dead by lightning."
"Heh, guess they committed too many sins and got divine punishment."
"Shh! You want to die saying things like that?"
What happened at Mary Geoise quickly spread across the entire sea.
After all, such a massive disturbance—combined with the deaths of so many Celestial Dragons—was impossible to hide.
Im hadn't even intended to fully conceal it.
He merely applied a bit of manipulation.
As a result, countless altered versions of the story began circulating.
Some said a superstorm had erupted at Mary Geoise.
Others claimed the Celestial Dragons had uncovered Uranus, one of the Ancient Weapons, but failed to control its power.
Still others believed the World Government was secretly testing a superweapon.
And so on.
Every version sounded convincing.
Some even came with so-called "evidence," and the logic behind them more or less held together.
For a time, debates about what truly happened at Mary Geoise exploded across the seas.
Different camps argued fiercely, faces red with passion, creating a lively spectacle.
And under the guidance of certain hidden forces, among all the disputed theories,
"Uranus malfunctioned" gradually became the mainstream explanation.
It had to be said—
This was Im's brilliance.
If the World Government had officially announced that Uranus malfunctioned and destroyed part of Mary Geoise, few would have believed it.
But by muddying the waters and letting the "public" argue it out themselves—
The conclusion they reached felt far more credible.
As a result, despite Alex's massacre at Mary Geoise, the authority of the Celestial Dragons not only wasn't weakened—
It was, in fact, reinforced.
"Uranus malfunctioned?"
Shanks shook his head when he heard the news.
Given his close relationship with the Celestial Dragons—and his firsthand knowledge of Alex's terror—there was no way he'd be fooled so easily.
What's more, Shanks knew full well that Mary Geoise had long since fully mastered Uranus.
A malfunction?
Pure nonsense.
And considering how closely the incident at Mary Geoise aligned with the timing of Alex's visit—
The truth was even more obvious.
Which made Shanks draw in a sharp breath.
That Alex was far too terrifying.
The Holy Land had deployed Uranus, and still couldn't stop him.
Instead, countless Celestial Dragons had been slaughtered.
This was insane.
So there really was someone in this world capable of standing against an Ancient Weapon.
Too terrifying.
With such a being alive, Shanks honestly didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad one.
The only comfort he had was this—
After that massacre at Mary Geoise, Alex went quiet.
He didn't go anywhere else to stir up trouble.
"Let's hope Alex stays quiet… forever."
Aside from silently praying, Shanks could do nothing else.
Because with Alex's strength, across the entire world—
There was no one left who could stop him from doing whatever he pleased.
And Shanks wasn't the only one who sensed something was wrong.
Sengoku, Garp, and others felt it too.
They weren't fools.
They could smell something off.
But in the end, they were nothing more than the Celestial Dragons' enforcers.
They had no authority to question matters involving the Holy Land.
Without a summons from their "masters," they couldn't even set foot in Mary Geoise.
So all they could do—
Was obey the orders from above and genuinely assist Alex in collecting Devil Fruits from across the seas.
---
As for Alex?
He finally got down to real business.
What business?
Collecting Marco the Phoenix's Devil Fruit.
It had been some time since Marco's death.
By now, that Devil Fruit had already "reincarnated."
With Alex's almost monstrous hearing, he had long since confirmed exactly where the Phoenix Fruit had reappeared.
"Doflamingo… I hope you know what's good for you."
Alex's gaze grew distant.
Then his body blurred—
And he vanished.
That's right.
The Phoenix Fruit had actually fallen into Doflamingo's hands.
It had to be said—
While Doflamingo's personal strength wasn't all that impressive, his influence and methods were truly exceptional.
It hadn't even been that long, and he had already acquired the Phoenix Fruit.
Alex also took a moment to check—
Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit was not in Doflamingo's possession.
Its current whereabouts were unknown.
But Alex's target was the Phoenix Fruit, not the Flame-Flame Fruit, so he didn't bother investigating further.
Boom!
Alex's speed was absurdly fast.
In the blink of an eye, he descended upon Dressrosa.
"So this is Doflamingo's stronghold… the nest of the Donquixote Family?"
Alex glanced at the fairly prosperous city, said nothing more, and strode straight inside.
"Alex—!"
"Alex is here!"
"It's Alex!"
Panic erupted everywhere.
Everyone who saw Alex looked as if they were about to wet themselves in fear.
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