The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

The Den Den Mushi, which had been forgotten due to shock, once again carried Satan Saint's calm yet slightly impatient voice.

"What happened? Why is it suddenly silent on your end? Is the signal being interfered with?"

Aramaki's Adam's apple bobbed as he stared intently at the group of Blackbeard and his companions, who seemed to be playing cat and mouse with him.

Speaking into the Den Den Mushi in an extremely dry, even self-deprecating and sarcastic tone, he awkwardly said...

"It's nothing... Lord Satan."

He paused, then spoke clearly, word by word:

"But... you never seemed to tell me about your carefully chosen 'ally,' that greedy 'hyena'..."

They'll appear on this island too? And judging by their appetite, they're quite ambitious.

Huang Mu emphasized the word "hyena" with particular force, his tone filled with contempt.

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Jaigolusia Satan, caught in the power struggles of Mary Geoise...

Hearing the specific and insulting word "hyena," and hearing Aramaki's unusual tone...

Almost instantly, it became clear that Aramaki had encountered the Blackbeard Pirates!

And the situation seems dire!

Satan's face darkened, but his voice retained the authority of a superior.

"Blackbeard, it seems... you've successfully landed on the island." He spoke directly to Blackbeard through a Den Den Mushi.

Blackbeard grinned, revealing his missing tooth, as he looked at the Den Den Mushi in Aramaki's hand that mimicked the face of Saint Satan.

"Hahaha! Lord Five Elders, your information network is quite impressive!"

That's right, I've already arrived on the island. The 'air' here... hmm, it suits my taste perfectly!

"That's good." Satan Saint's voice carried a commanding tone. "Proceed according to the established plan."

Now, your primary task is to locate Vegapunk's original body and its database core, and ensure..."

However, Saint Satan hadn't finished speaking...

"boom!"

A gunshot rang out.

It's not the roar of artillery shells, but the unique whistling sound of bullets breaking the sound barrier after being effectively silenced!

The next moment, a tiny hole suddenly appeared in the center of the head of the Den Den Mushi that was "speaking" in Aramaki's palm.

The edges of the hole were neat and there were no traces of gunpowder.

The expression of Saint Satan, simulated by the Den Den Mushi, suddenly froze, then quickly became blurry and distorted, finally snapping shut with a "snap".

The entire Den Den Mushi seemed to have been drained of all its vitality, drooping limply and completely losing its luster and function.

One shot, one kill (referring to a Den Den Mushi), precise and accurate.

The tension that Huang Mu had just eased slightly because of Satan's voice instantly tightened to its limit again!

He looked up abruptly, staring incredulously in the direction from which the bullet had come.

Van Oka slowly lowered the muzzle of his sniper rifle, which was still emitting a faint blue smoke, his dead fish eyes showing no emotion.

"You...you guys?!" Huang Mu looked at Blackbeard with shock and anger.

"Aren't we allies?! The World Government recognizes your country! What are you doing?!"

Blackbeard, however, acted as if he had done something insignificant, even giving Van Augur a thumbs-up in appreciation.

Then, turning back to look at Huang Mu, whose face was filled with shock and anger, his smile became even more unrestrained and greedy.

"Cooperation? Allies? What a joke!!!"

He burst into wild laughter, which echoed through the narrow passage, making the metal walls vibrate.

"That's exactly what I thought at first too!"

"Take advantage of those old fogies in the World Government's desperation, get a legitimate identity, and then rake in some benefits..."

Blackbeard's laughter abruptly ceased, his gaze becoming incredibly sharp and intense as he surveyed the futuristic island around him, as if inspecting his new territory.

"But... Mr. Former General."

"When I finally set foot on this island and see everything with my own eyes..."

Vegapunk's amazing skills, the possible ancient secrets, and the Straw Hat Pirates' coveted Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit..."

Blackbeard licked his lips. "I suddenly realized... everything on this island is just too attractive!"

"It attracted... to the point that I felt it was such a waste to just be an 'obedient ally' and only receive the agreed-upon 'reward'! Hahahaha!!"

Blackbeard spread his arms wide, and darkness and vibrations emanated from him.

"So, I've changed my mind!"

He stared at the pale-faced Huang Mu and spoke slowly and deliberately, as if making a declaration.

This island... all the 'treasures' of Egerhead

Vegapunk, his database, Seraphs, ancient technology, and the Straw Hat Pirates' 'Nika' fruit..."

"I want them all!"

"As for the World Government? The Five Elders? Heh... I'll consider whether to continue playing that 'member country' game with them after I've digested everything here!"

"Now... former general, are you willing to obediently step aside and become the first sacrifice of my grand plan..."

Blackbeard grinned menacingly and looked around at his subordinates.

"Or do you want to 'help' us save some time searching for Vegapunk?"

The air inside the tunnel dropped to freezing point.

The aura of the six members of the Blackbeard Pirates, like six towering mountains, crashed down on the isolated and helpless Aramu.

The fangs of betrayal are now exposed without any concealment!

Chapter 652 The Situation on Egghead Island

Faced with this scene, Huang Mu's chest heaved violently, and his eyes behind his sunglasses flashed with a look that lasted only a short time.

After struggling and weighing the options, it ultimately settled into a humiliating calm.

Back in the navy, he may have upheld some kind of "justice," and he may have been determined to fight to the death.

But those were all choices made with a backup plan, organization, and higher goals in place.

At this moment, facing the undisguised killing intent and encirclement of the six top fighters of the Blackbeard Pirates...

Feeling Kuzan's gaze, which was also at the peak of the Admiral level, and the unfathomable threat of Blackbeard's two Devil Fruits...

A truly hopeless "fight to the death" situation with no room for maneuver, and a "victory" or "survival" hope so slim as to be almost nonexistent, lay before them.

The pride of a "Knight of God" and his "loyalty" to the World Government that Satan had instilled in him within him.

Faced with the instinct for survival and an absolute disparity in strength, they retreated.

“…Tsk.” Aramu let out a soft, self-deprecating spit from his throat.

He didn't answer Blackbeard's mocking and threatening question, but instead stepped aside, clearing the way for the depths of the passage.

At the same time, the power and hostility surging within him subsided rapidly, like a receding tide.

This action already indicates his choice.

They temporarily yielded and avoided a direct confrontation with the Blackbeard Pirates.

"Hahaha!! A wise choice, former admiral!" Blackbeard exclaimed triumphantly upon seeing this.

He stepped forward and patted Huang Mu's face with undisguised arrogance, then swaggered through the passage that Huang Mu had cleared for him.

Liu, Van Oka, Bagges, and Samuel followed closely behind, their eyes sweeping over Huang Mu with either mockery or indifference.

Kuzan was the last to walk.

As he passed by Huang Mu, he paused slightly and glanced at his former colleague.

Then, without saying a word, he followed the group.

The six members of the Blackbeard Pirates calmly passed through the passage, leaving Aramaki, who stood alone with a livid face, behind them.

Until their footsteps and breaths completely disappeared around the corner of the passage.

Huang Mu's tense body relaxed slightly as he slowly took off his sunglasses, which had a broken piece.

"Hmph..." He snorted coldly, squeezing the broken sunglasses to pieces with his fingers.

"Never mind..." Huang Mu thought to himself, forcibly suppressing the anger that was about to erupt.

"Lord Satan's communications have been cut off, and news of Blackbeard's unauthorized actions and intention to seize the island for himself must have already spread."

As long as the other members of the Divine Knights arrive as planned, or... the Five Elders notice something amiss and personally descend here..."

Thinking of this, a ruthless glint flashed in Huang Mu's eyes.

"At that time, this debt..."

"I will personally settle accounts with you lowly, greedy, and untrustworthy pirates, with interest, and make you pay for it all!"

Blackbeard... Kuzan... you just wait!

After using the mental victory method, Huang Mu took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

The primary task at present is to survive and to keep track of the situation on the island as much as possible.

Blackbeard and his crew are clearly after Vegapunk and the island's core secrets; perhaps I can...

They secretly follow them, act according to circumstances, and even take advantage of their conflicts with other forces (such as the Straw Hat Pirates and CP0).

So he glanced in the direction Blackbeard and the others had gone, and silently followed them.

Forced to "join" this chaotic hunt led by Blackbeard, he became a "temporary teammate" with ulterior motives.

Just as Aramaki was forced to make a choice, the Blackbeard Pirates headed towards the core area of ​​the island.

Other areas of Egghead Island, Egherd...

........

The middle layer is the food production and synthesis area.

Luffy was sitting amidst a mountain of high-energy meat patties and special rice balls produced by the Rapid Synthesis Machine, devouring them with both hands.

The way he ate was horrific; the food disappeared at a visible speed, and his pale face and listless breath quickly regained their rosy color and vitality with each swallow.

Nearby, Edison and Atlas, in their clones, frantically operated the machines to increase production.

They stared in disbelief at Luffy's insanely fast eating speed, which could be described as a "human black hole".

"Can...can he really eat up the entire reserve?"

"The key question is... what is the structure of his digestive system?!"

......

Lower middle level, an abandoned laboratory from the old era.

Usopp, Nami, and Chopper were separated on one side of the laboratory by a suddenly activated mechanism.

They are now anxiously trying to break through the alloy barriers that block their way, or to find another way out.

Chopper used his increased wrist strength to smash the barrier, but only left a shallow dent.

Usopp tried to break the door lock structure with various "stars," but with little success.

Nami nervously observed her surroundings, worried that there might be more traps.

On the other side of the partition, Vegapunk's original body and his betrayed clone, York, remained together.

York has forced Vegapunk to activate the highest level of Seraph's authority.

[Killed everyone on the island except Vegapunk and York!!]

The upper core area is the Seraphim storage and debugging laboratory.

A three-way battleground!