I, the great swordsman, am definitely not a bootlicker

In the future city where the smoke has cleared, the sun is gently shining in the afternoon.

In the noisy and bustling square, Curly Eyebrows once again attentively presented his carefully prepared pirate bento to the beauties.

Under Vegapunk's command, the sea beast weapon captured several huge sea king creatures. The square was filled with the aroma of barbecue, and the huge barbecue made Luffy into a big fat ball again.

Adhering to the consistent glorious style of treating prisoners well, even prisoners such as Kizaru were given barbecue.

The amateur spy Tashigi did not have good professional qualities. When delivering food to Kizaru, she exchanged glances with him while no one else was paying attention, and no one knew what secret code she was speaking. Then the green-haired man noticed something, walked up to Kizaru cursing, and put his arms around Tashigi's slender waist to declare his sovereignty.

"Old Huang, don't try to get her in the future. She's my wife!"

Not only was Tashigi not embarrassed by being exposed, she just rolled her eyes at the green algae head.

Yellow Monkey was also unaware and started to tease him: "Oh, how did you do it? Former Shichibukai Boa Hancock, the daughter of two Four Emperors, even the navy who used to uphold justice were lured into the pirate ship by you."

"If you want to learn, I'll teach you." The green algae-haired boy had no self-awareness at all. He squatted beside Kizaru and proudly put his arm around Kizaru's shoulders.

Old Huang immediately declined: "Ahem... I'm a well-known honest man."

"It's easy for honest people to be bullied these days. Forget it. I see that you have extraordinary talents and are a rare genius among millions. I have a secret book here. I guarantee that after you learn it, you will have many wives and concubines and sing and dance every night. It only costs 10 billion berries." The green-haired man showed a small book from his sleeve.

Kizaru's eyes widened. What was going on in his mind? How could such a person possess a combat power that surpassed the Four Emperors?

Dashiqi's face immediately darkened, and she lashed out with her scabbard, sending him flying: "Get out! Don't embarrass yourself here!"

Then, Luffy looked at the smoke and dust rising around him and said, "Hey, Zoro, what are you doing? Hurry up and deal with this mess you've caused! I can't wait to go to Elbaf with the giant uncle!"

"That's right! Zoro, let them go. There's no need to delay the trip for Beli. We can't wait any longer." Usopp spoke cautiously.

"Ahem... It's really unfair that spies dare to show their cards nowadays and are still so arrogant." The green-haired man patted the dust off his body.

Then, he sat down next to his friend and casually picked up a piece of barbecue. "Don't rush for a day or two. That's 10 billion berries. If we work so hard for a long time and get nothing, wouldn't it be all in vain? You are one of the Four Emperors after all. There must be a price to pay for going to war with us, otherwise anyone would dare to provoke you."

"Then let them all come! Just beat them all away!" Luffy said with a passionate look on his face.

Nami's eyes were full of Bailey. "If the Navy thinks 100 billion is too much, we can lower the price a little. We can only lower it by ... billion."

Seeing Nami's expression, Usopp knew there was no turning back, so he burst into tears: "Nami~ That's not the case~ The Navy doesn't intend to trade prisoners with us, they want York and the Fusion Reactor!"

"Usopp is right. From what Akainu said, the prisoners are just incidental." Robin calmly analyzed the situation and smiled knowingly with a hint of anticipation in her eyes: "But... I agree not to cause trouble. I really look forward to reaching Elbaf as soon as possible."

"York and the fusion reactor must not be handed over to the world government, otherwise the world will face a huge disaster." Vegapunk was extremely serious.

Caesar grabbed Vegapunk's collar and shouted unwillingly, "Disaster? Hey, old man! What powerful weapon have you developed? Is it more powerful than those Seraphs?"

But Lao Bei, contrary to his usual attitude, did not punish him. Instead, he sighed and said, "Alas, this is a sin I have committed. The original intention of developing the fusion furnace was not to make weapons, but to create eternal energy, to provide a new source of power for the development of the world's industries, and to enable people of all countries to live a prosperous life."

"Eternal energy? Old man, you are too fanciful." Caesar, the only one in the group who understood science, immediately sneered.

"Caesar! Don't always judge our wisdom with your ignorance!" Lilith got angry on the spot.

Shakya nodded. "That's right. Although the envisioned source of power hasn't been completed yet, the Eternal Flame, the culmination of all our research results—the Mother Fire Seed—has already entered the experimental application stage. If we're given enough time, we'll definitely be able to succeed."

Old Bei looked dejected. "Unfortunately, I lost two weeks of my memory. When I interrogated York, I learned that she had stolen the flame and given it to the World Government. Meanwhile, I also found information from Punk's records about the devastating earthquake a few days ago, and the destruction of the Lulucia Kingdom. From this, I suspect the World Government must have used the Mother Fire I developed to activate some ancient weapon."

"Ancient weapons?" Robin frowned.

"Yes, as a survivor of O'Hara, you have been searching for the historical text over the years. You should know some secrets." Old Bei glanced at Robin.

"Well, I've seen information about the ancient weapons Pluto and Poseidon in the historical texts of Alabasta, Sky Island, Fishman Island, and Wano Country."

Franky's face was filled with shock. "An ancient weapon capable of destroying an entire island! Has Pluto, the ancient god of the underworld, awakened? Is there anyone else in this world besides Robin who can decipher those words? It's over! The blueprints passed down from generation to generation by the shipbuilders of Water City to combat this weapon have been destroyed by me!"

"No... not Pluto and Aquaman." Robin said with certainty.

"Besides Pluto and Neptune, the three great ancient weapons also include a Celestial King. While I don't know which weapon it is, there's no doubt that the source of such immense energy could only be the Mother Fire. It was the flame I created that activated the ancient weapon. Following that world-class earthquake, the sea level rose dramatically, which reminded me of the many documents O'Hara left behind. They all point to a fact: eight hundred years ago, the continent people lived on was far more vast than it is today, and this world of islands we live in is merely fragments of what once was."

Vegapunk's eyes held a hint of fear. "In other words, the current rise in sea levels wasn't caused by a natural disaster, but by man-made factors. Because of the terrifying ancient weapons and the great war eight hundred years ago, the world was once submerged by the sea. Now that the ancient weapons have been awakened again, there's only one conclusion: the world will eventually sink into the sea!"

The green algae-headed man pondered, "That means the Celestial Dragons know this, which is why they always wear those ridiculous diving suits and live on the highest point of the Red Earth Continent. Furthermore, no matter how precious the Devil Fruits they obtain are, they never eat them."

"I don't know if they know that the fusion furnace is the main equipment for making the mother fire. They are so eager to get the fusion furnace. The battle eight hundred years ago has not ended yet!" Vegapunk said with a serious expression.

"What was the battle eight hundred years ago...about?" Vegapunk successfully aroused Robin's curiosity.

"I've only seen a small portion. It records a colossal battle between a temporary coalition of twenty kingdoms, now the World Government, and a man born nine hundred years ago, who ruled a highly advanced kingdom. Like the legendary sun god Nika of Elbaf, he fought with a body that could retract freely—his name was Joy Boy."

Vegapunk paused and said, "He is also the first man in this ocean to be called a pirate."

"Joey Boy." The Straw Hat Pirates turned their heads to Luffy. They all remembered that when Luffy activated Gear Fifth, the green algae-headed man mentioned this name mysteriously.

Luffy was confused.

Vegapunk noticed everyone's looks and expressed his confusion. "Yes, it's exactly the same as the pure white figure of the Straw Hat Kid. And the blank hundred years also ended with Joyboy's defeat. Because of that war, the world a thousand years ago sank into the sea. Putting aside the discussion of good and evil, the winner is king and the loser is a rule since ancient times. I don't know why the World Government tried so hard to cover up this history. Perhaps only the Roger Pirates knew all this hundreds of years ago."

The green algae-head grinned. "Hey, maybe it has something to do with the ideas that Joy Boy conveyed at the time. The man who calls himself a liberation fighter must have offended many countries."

Lao Bei shook his head to indicate that he didn't know, and then looked confused: "I always feel like I said these words to someone, but I can't remember."