one piece: gene extraction and fusion system-Chapter 261: Echoes of the Ancient Kings

"In addition..."

Doflamingo seemed to remember something. A flash of doubt passed over his face as he said, "When you first offended the Celestial Dragons, the World Government originally planned to take action against you. But for some unknown reason, they backed off. I think someone within the World Government might be keeping an eye on you. Of course, if you're an undercover agent for them, just ignore what I said."

Upon hearing this,

Mio's expression remained unchanged, but deep down, he was slightly shaken.

The first person who came to mind was that woman—

Im.

Could it be because of her?

Mio pondered the thought. It seemed to be the only plausible explanation. If there was anyone within the World Government who would personally keep tabs on him, it could only be Im—the mysterious figure he had once met. Yet Mio had no clue why she would do that.

Still, he quickly dismissed the thought and turned to Robin.

At that moment, Robin returned to Mio's side and said, "Captain, it's done."

"Then let's head out," Mio nodded.

Doflamingo walked alongside Mio and asked, "Are you going back to the New World next? If you're not in a rush, you might consider staying in the North Sea for a while. After all, this is still the Donquixote Family's territory. Hey, hey, hey, give me a chance to entertain you."

"No need," Mio chuckled and waved his hand. "If I want a vacation, I'll take one in the New World. Stay in the North Sea too long and the Navy might start getting nervous."

"That's true."

Doflamingo nodded and didn't press the issue further.

The group exited the cave. Outside, dozens of pirates were still on guard. When they saw Doflamingo, they respectfully greeted him.

Doflamingo smiled and returned the greetings with a nod, then continued walking alongside Mio. After a short distance—

Asuka approached.

With a calm look, Mio pointed toward the cave behind them. "Clean it up."

"Understood," Asuka nodded. A glimmer of excitement—and bloodlust—flickered in his eyes before he vanished on the spot.

Doflamingo kept smiling but said nothing. He had no objections to Mio's methods. Even if Mio hadn't acted, Doflamingo would've cleaned up those guards himself—his own men included.

After all, he had no intention of becoming the next O'Hara.

Screams soon echoed from the cave behind them.

Unbothered, Mio and Doflamingo continued walking until they returned to the shore.

A few minutes later, Asuka reappeared, now soaked in blood and reeking of slaughter.

"Let's go. If fate allows, we'll meet again in the New World," Mio called out to Doflamingo as he stepped aboard the Black Glory.

Doflamingo smiled and gave a nod of farewell.

The Black Glory then sailed off toward Reverse Mountain.

As the ship disappeared into the horizon, the smile on Doflamingo's face faded into a calm expression. "Trebol, give the order—accelerate the expansion of our influence in the North Sea and the first half of the Grand Line."

"Yes," Trebol replied respectfully beside him.

Doflamingo said no more. He had a feeling... the next time he crossed paths with Black Crow would be the moment the Donquixote Family re-entered the New World—and reclaimed Dressrosa.

...

On the deck of the Black Glory—

Mio sat cross-legged, sipping whiskey while watching Robin.

"What was recorded on that Poneglyph?" he asked.

"It's related to the Great Kingdom and the World Government," Robin said as she flipped through her notebook. "The stone says that the King of the Great Kingdom was the first immortal. The current master of the World Government is the second. Both possessed the same Devil Fruit power. It's suspected that the current master acquired it by killing the original king."

"And one of the conditions for using that power is tied to the ability itself."

"Huh?" Mio raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised. "It's connected to a Devil Fruit?"

"Yes," Robin nodded, slightly confused herself. "It also suggests that Uranus was originally created by the King of the Great Kingdom, using his own ability."

"Do you know what the ability is?" Mio asked with growing curiosity. After all, if the ability had something to do with Uranus, it couldn't be ordinary.

Robin shook her head. "It's mentioned in the text, but it's vague. We only know that the King used this power to rule the Grand Line and was deeply loved by his people. The entire kingdom revered him."

Mio frowned.

That didn't give him much to work with. Was it a Paramecia type?

Logia?

Or perhaps a Mythical Zoan?

There was no way to tell.

"Forget it. We'll find out eventually," Mio murmured. If this Poneglyph didn't have the full answer, then they'd just need to gather all of them—and see what was hidden in the ones controlled by the World Government.

Even if they were locked away in Mariejois, Mio would find a way to read them.

Still, the fact that Uranus wasn't a creature—but something forged—surprised him.

A weapon like Pluton?

Poseidon was a living creature.

Pluton was a weapon of pure destruction.

Uranus... could it be a fusion of both?

It wasn't impossible.

A thoughtful gleam appeared in Mio's eyes as he looked up toward the sky and muttered, "I need to find an opportunity to go there. According to the original history, it shouldn't be dangerous. But we can't take chances—we need to be prepared."

He let out a long breath and waved the thought aside for now.

"Erica, get the barbecue going."

The Black Glory continued sailing, while they feasted on meat and drank freely.

Five days passed.

The First Half of the Grand Line—

Bathed in sunlight, Mio lay sprawled on a large outdoor sofa with his upper body bare, basking in the warmth. A glass of chilled wine sat on the table beside him.

Seated on either side were Robin and Lilith, both dressed lightly for the heat—an undoubtedly pleasant view.

Mio had spent the past few days in comfort and ease.

Hands tucked behind his head, he relaxed with his eyes closed, deep in thought.

Then he suddenly called out, "Mahi."

"I got it, brother," Mahi replied. Dressed in a red vest, she stood, picked up the wine glass, and held it to Mio's lips.

Just as Mio took a sip—

Baifeng appeared.

"Sir, we've arrived."

"Oh? We're finally here?" Mio opened his eyes and looked into the distance. An island was coming into view.

This was the place where Judge was conducting research on a Pluton imitation—and where its future production would take place.