From the Wandenreich's escape to One Piece

Chapter 99 Shiki, who listened to advice

Beltz eventually convinced Shiki.

Because what he said does make sense.

Even if we find Hades, now is not the time to activate him.

Shiki, at this point, is far from reaching his peak in terms of both personal strength and influence.

There are several groups of pirates who can threaten him.

Besides pirates, the World Government is also eyeing them covetously.

A series of problems following the liberation of Hades also need to be resolved gradually.

According to Shiki's underlings, they did indeed find the enormous warship in the ruins of the ancient Wano Country. However, it was far larger than they could have imagined, and no matter how they tried to operate it, it remained completely still, like a giant beast that had been sleeping for thousands of years, showing no signs of being awakened.

Judging from its appearance alone, it is indeed full of power and lives up to its name as an ancient weapon.

"The first problem that needs to be solved is the energy issue."

Shiki muttered something, then he and Beltz returned to the ground.

Pluto may be very powerful, but activating Pluto is not a simple matter.

He suddenly remembered the Great Hammer Battle Group that Rocks had been talking about back when he was in the Rocks Pirates.

Those guys seem to be shipwrights from the giant race; I wonder if they have any connection to Hades.

Back at the general's mansion, fine beads of sweat appeared on Kozuki Sukiyaki's forehead, soaking the collar of his magnificent kimono.

He looked at Shiki nervously. This guy had already found Hades, so what would happen to him next?

To occupy Wano Country?

Founding the nation?

"I'm gone."

But Shiki only glanced at him and then spoke to Beltz.

"Are you leaving?"

"Well, let's find a place to settle down first." After saying that, Shiki looked at Sukiyaki and said, "Let's get along well in the future."

Enjoy each other's company —

Sukiyaki smiled wryly. How could they possibly get along peacefully? This guy clearly thinks he's going to take over Wano Country completely.

This guy seems destined to shatter the peace of Wano Country.

However, at least he doesn't seem to have any intention of taking over Wano Country by force.

That's fine too.

Beltz and Shiki walked out of the general's mansion. Watching their backs as they walked away, Sukiyaki's heart was in turmoil.

What should we do now?

Should we summon daimyo from other regions to subdue this guy?

No way.

If Oden failed, what can the other daimyo accomplish together?

As long as this guy doesn't go too far, then—

Just bear with it.

Wano Country is a country that is very good at enduring hardship.

However, Shiki didn't seem to care much about their opinions.

Because he has already come to regard Wano Country as his own territory.

But pirates don't have the concept of managing territory.

At least for now, pirates aren't in the Great Pirate Era, like the Four Emperors who rule the seas.

Therefore, he did not intend to overthrow the Kozuki family and replace them.

Just like the member states of the World Government, he treats a certain country as his own territory, and the country pays protection money in exchange for his protection.

In a sense, the World Government is actually a super-huge pirate crew.

They can be called the Celestial Dragon Pirates.

The Celestial Dragons are the main body of the pirate crew, while the Navy, CP, and the World Government member states are all subordinate groups under this main body.

Together, these constitute the Heavenly Dragon Grand Fleet.

If we consider the World Government as a pirate crew rather than a so-called government, we can understand some of their actions.

"Oh? There's another island here?"

After leaving the mainland of Wano Country, they flew into the Inland Sea, and just as they were about to land, they saw a huge island in front of them.

There was also a huge skull on the island, which looked eerie, terrifying, and somewhat mysterious in the night.

"Isn't this just right?"

Beltz said, "You're on Beehive Island. Leave the island to me. I'm preparing to build a huge laboratory for Vegapunk. Your roughnecks don't understand these things."

"Vegapunk————"

As Shiki was speaking, he suddenly added, "Isn't there a scientist here? Hmm, I'll give you this island, and you can give me Pluto's energy."

"————" Beltz was speechless. Was this something of value?

But he also wanted the Mother Spark, so he said, "I'll try to get Vegapunk to research it, but it's not something that can be done in a year or two."

"Hahaha, I can wait as many years as I want!"

"That would be for the best," Beltz said, then went back to his room, packed some things, and called Rukia and Vegapunk to leave.

Shiki took them to Onigashima and asked, "If there's any danger inside, can you handle it?"

"What danger could there be?" Beltz said, looking at Shiki's large ship. "Don't forget, there are several dangerous people on your ship. How are you going to deal with them?"

"His father already listens to me, does he still want to rebel?" Shiki clicked his tongue and said, "If he really doesn't listen, then I'll have no choice but to kill him."

"Alright then." Beltz felt it was a bit of a waste to do so, so he said, "Wait a minute, if you really want to execute him, why don't you hand him over to me?"

"you?"

"Hmm, maybe I'll have a better way to handle it then."

"what ever."

Shiki not only placed Beltz on Onigashima, but also placed the things he had bought during this period, as well as a large number of pirates, on the island.

The island is full of jagged rocks, and a huge skull casts a long shadow, giving people an ominous feeling.

Next, Beltz and his team will build a huge laboratory here.

Beltz still has a lot of money, which should be enough to support Vegapunk's experiments in the short term.

Therefore, manpower and materials were needed, and the people left behind by Shiki were just right to serve as labor.

Beltz had been on Shiki's ship for some time now, and especially after the battle of Beehive Island, none of them dared to disobey him.

They were also carrying out Beltz's orders seriously.

As for Vegapunk, he's never idle for a minute, even in the open air he's always tinkering with something on a computer.

Seeing that it was almost time, Beltz returned to Soul Society.

He had promised Rukia that he would go to Hueco Mundo.

However, he himself does not have the ability to go to Hueco Mundo.

Only the Void's Black Cavity can freely travel between the Three Realms; other races need to use tools to move between them.

The Grim Reaper is the Gate to the World, the Quincy is the Gate to the Sun.

Therefore, Beltz still needs to go to the Quincy's stronghold to borrow the Sun Gate.

The True Sun Gate is located within the Wandenreich, but the Quincy actually have many strongholds, and these strongholds also contain smaller Sun Gates, allowing for travel between them.

After arriving in Hueco Mundo through the Sun Gate, Beltz returned to the pirate world, bringing Rukia with him.

He and Rukia have spent quite a bit of time in the pirate world. Fortunately, Beltz has a long storage time in the pirate world, and his current strength is much greater than before, making his time storage more efficient.

He and Rukia spent more than half a year in the pirate world, but they didn't even use up a third of their reserves.

If Beltz were to become even stronger, he might be able to stay in the pirate world forever, even if he were to stay with just one person, perhaps for decades.

But that's not enough. He might build a powerful force in the future, so having only one person with him isn't very useful.

Let's bring Rukia back first, and then save some time.

"Is this the Hollow Sphere?"

Rukia was also visiting Hueco Mundo for the first time, so she was quite shocked by what she saw.

Hueco Mundo was filled with desolation and loneliness, with white spiritual sand covering the ground. In the endless desert, not a single living creature could be seen.

Only a crescent moon floated in the sky, exuding a cold and lonely aura.

She changed back into her black Shinigami uniform and appeared in the vast desert with Beltz. The cold moonlight shone on her pale face, and her purple eyes reflected the desolate world.

She gently stepped on the spiritual sand beneath her feet and felt a bone-chilling cold.

"yes."

Beltz said softly, "Isn't it completely different from the Hueco Mundo I imagined?"

"It is a little different," Rukia said, looking around. "I thought it would be more terrifying."

"Sometimes, emptiness, vastness, and desolation are the most terrifying things in the world," Beltz replied, then added, "The Grim Reaper's vanguard has arrived in Hueco Mundo. I'm going to find them. Do you want to come with me?"

"No, thank you." Rukia shook her head. "It wouldn't be good if we got found out. I want to wander around Hueco Mundo so I'll have something to say when I go back."

"But this place is so big, what if I can't find you?"

Upon hearing this, Beltz reached out and tapped Rukia's forehead. The next moment, Rukia felt as if something had been injected into her brain.

"What did you do?"

"I have planted a marker seed in the ocean of your subconscious, so that no matter where you are, I can pinpoint your location."

Beltz said, "Your training has progressed greatly in the past six months. Most of the Hollows in Hueco Mundo are no longer a threat to you, but you must still be careful."

"I know." Rukia nodded. She also knew that Hueco Mundo was a very dangerous place, but if she went back to the Soul Society, she would say that she had been living alone in Hueco Mundo all along, and she couldn't possibly have no life experience.

Beltz was relatively reassured, as Rukia had indeed made significant progress in the past six months.

Beltz strongly suspects that the Hogyoku within her body has taken effect, reading Rukia's inner desire to become stronger, and thus truly accelerating her growth.

This ability is indeed extremely abnormal.

Even Vegapunk benefited from it.

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