Sengoku's tone made Tsuru feel somewhat helpless.
She understood that Sengoku had been under considerable pressure lately—the World Government had been pressuring him over the previous incident in North Blue.
"This time it was a meteor. You and Garp have fought Shiki before. Although he could achieve similar feats—he's thrown all sorts of things, even seawater—but he never threw a meteor, did he?"
Tsuru looked at Sengoku as she asked.
"Indeed, he never did!"
Sengoku recalled his several battles with Shiki back in the day and nodded.
"Even in battles of that intensity, Shiki never used such methods. So, this time it should be an unknown powerhouse. If this ability had been used before, there should be records of it."
The capability to drop meteors was extraordinary—if someone had used this method before, it would surely have become known once discovered.
Now that this person could engage Cyrus in combat, their strength must be remarkable.
"It seems to be a powerful figure hidden within the seas."
Tsuru sighed and then looked at Sengoku.
"You and I both know that there are many strong individuals on these seas who haven't chosen to set sail or become famous."
"I'll have someone investigate their identity. If possible..." Sengoku spoke with a serious expression.
"Well, right now, they're with Cyrus."
Tsuru reminded him.
"The're probably just traveling together. Such a powerhouse is worth making an effort to recruit."
Since Cyrus wasn't an option, they would settle for the next best thing.
"What about the matter with Crocodile? He should have made contact with Cyrus."
Seeing that Sengoku had made his decision, Tsuru didn't press further on the topic and switched to another.
"Although he hasn't made any major moves in recent years, compared to the others, he does align with the World Government's vision for the Shichibukai."
Both the Navy and the World Government were aware of Crocodile's presence in Alabasta.
They also knew about Crocodile stationed near the entrance of the Grand Line, capturing newly entering pirates to claim their bounties.
The original plan for the Shichibukai was to balance the powerful pirates in the New World and curb the rise of other major pirates.
Compared to the other Shichibukai who were slacking off, Crocodile could be considered a model worker to them.
"There's no information yet on why Cyrus made contact with him. But judging by Cyrus's previous attitude toward pirates and the Shichibukai, this time is clearly different. Perhaps Cyrus has changed his mind."
Sengoku suddenly paused, a possibility dawning on him, and his expression turned grave.
"You mean...?"
Tsuru immediately understood what Sengoku implied.
After frowning in thought, she looked at him.
"This incident—that guy from the World Economic Journal definitely won't pass up the chance to report it. We could inform him, let the coverage make Cyrus's reputation as the Pirate Hunter even more renowned."
"This..." Sengoku hesitated upon hearing this.
"Since he told Garp he's a Pirate Hunter, let's make him the benchmark for pirate hunters," Vice Admiral Tsuru said softly.
"Very well!"
Sengoku nodded in agreement.
After all, Cyrus's reputation as the Pirate Hunter had already spread throughout the Grand Line.
....
Alabasta.
Crocodile had confirmed his relocation to Sabaody Archipelago.
But before that, he personally rushed to the canyon Cyrus had carved with a single sword strike.
Staring at the increasingly expansive crystal canyon, Crocodile's expression turned grave.
From his vantage point, the entire canyon reflected sunlight with almost excessive brilliance.
The dazzling glare forced Crocodile to narrow his eyes.
"This single strike!"
Crocodile mentally assessed the power behind that blow.
The sand melted into bizarrely shaped crystals and glass, along with the solidified flow patterns on both sides of the canyon.
"Perhaps he truly can!"
Just from what this single strike demonstrated, Crocodile felt Cyrus already stood at the upper echelons of the ocean's food chain.
'Could he really cut his way all to the New World?'
If he never failed, Crocodile could imagine how immense Cyrus's fame would become.
By then, leveraging Cyrus's reputation, the Hunter Association would develop at an astonishing speed.
"Being personally involved in such matters... it really gets my blood pumping."
...
'Where the hell else can I go?'
This was Issho's current thought.
The drawbacks of a small boat were becoming apparent.
While sailing toward Little Garden, Cyrus instructed Robin on using Armament Haki, providing close guidance and explanations about Haki infusion.
Naturally, this teaching process inevitably involved physical contact.
The atmosphere grew rather heated during these sessions.
Issho felt utterly exasperated, though inwardly he marveled.
'Ah, youth.'
'How wonderful.'
"Speaking of which, Issho your ability could help me improve!"
Cyrus released Robin's slender waist and turned toward Issho, who sat facing away from them at the bow.
"This old man is asleep. Carry on with your activities," Issho's voice rang out.
"Ahem, I'm being serious!"
Cyrus cleared his throat twice before adopting a solemn expression.
Truthfully, he'd had this idea since meeting Issho.
After all, gravity chambers frequently appeared in many tales as tools to help protagonists grow stronger.
Like in that story about a child searching the world for dragon balls.
Or in that tale about a powerful bald man fighting monsters - they had such devices there too.
We might not have a gravity chamber, but we do have Issho who controls gravity.
"Training under hyper-gravity would definitely yield greater improvements. Not just for me, but for Robin too," Cyrus said as he walked behind Issho.
Hearing her name, Robin glanced toward them.
"I can do it, but controlling the intensity is difficult. We can't train on the boat since it would likely get destroyed," Issho naturally understood Cyrus's meaning and offered this reminder.
Though he could apply gravity directly to people, those bearing the additional weight would still exert pressure on the boat beneath them.
"Robin might manage it - her body wouldn't need to endure too much gravity. But you? Impossible!"
Issho tilted his head, his whitened pupils fixed on Cyrus.
"If you want to achieve effective improvement, the additional gravity needs to be much greater. This ship won't do, and even if we change to another ship later, it probably still won't work."
"I see!"
Cyrus nodded upon hearing this, then proposed the idea of an all-metal gravity chamber.
Distributing gravity throughout the entire ship.
"That's also quite difficult, but we can give it a try. Just don't make me pay compensation if the ship sinks - I'm completely broke right now."
Hearing Cyrus's idea, Issho expressed willingness to attempt it.
"No problem. Even if it sinks, I can just fish it out afterward." Cyrus said indifferently.
"Devil Fruit users can't swim. Can your strength allow you to overcome this drawback?"
Issho was momentarily stunned, then said with some exasperation.
"Well, who knows!"
A small curve lifted the corner of Cyrus's mouth.
'Swimming .... isn't that something everyone can do?'
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