Soon, the dark tide receded, and the large warship's hull reappeared.
And the dense darkness continued to flow back along the ship's entrance, eventually flowing entirely into the ship's interior.
Correspondingly, Kenji's Conqueror's Haki impacted and pressed all the way to the ship's entrance.
Then, at this location, the dark red light and the seemingly solid darkness confronted each other, forming a stalemate for a time.
Kenji did not continue to increase his power, only maintaining the current intensity of his Conqueror's Haki.
And the darkness inside the ship also did not push back out, not because it didn't want to, but simply because it couldn't.
This could be seen from the scene at the ship's entrance. The darkness inside the entrance surged violently, giving the impression that some irritable old man was in a state of furious rage.
"It seems Kenji-san has suppressed that mysterious powerhouse?"
"Hmph! Does that even need to be said? It's easy to see."
"What kind of Devil Fruit user is that mysterious powerhouse? A Logia? A Mythical Zoan? Or some powerful Paramecia Devil Fruit ability?"
"Hey! What does that matter? Anyway, he's no match for Kenji-san."
On the warship, due to their observation angle, the soldiers could barely see the standoff between the two forces at the ship's entrance, thinking the battle was almost over.
Subsequently, everyone further considered that after the battle ended, there seemed to be another troublesome matter?
"Oh right… that mysterious powerhouse is a Five Elders' guard. If he's defeated, then what next…"
"You mean, will the Five Elders show themselves next?"
"I don't think so, right? We're also just following orders from our superiors."
"The objective of this operation is to capture the MADS illegal science team. As long as we complete the mission, even the World Government wouldn't have reason to blame us, right?"
"What you said makes a lot of sense..."
After thorough discussion, the soldiers believed there would be no trouble, but they still felt a vague sense of worry.
On Egghead Island, the Marine near the laboratory held similar views.
Originally, they were all on the same warship, from the same Marine, and had followed Kenji for many years, so their way of thinking was largely similar.
However, Kuzan was also on the island, and compared to other soldiers and officers, Kuzan thought more deeply about the problem.
'If the one who attacked from the warship just now was one of the Five Elders… does this count as a direct war with the Five Elders?' Kuzan frowned, subconsciously turning to look in the direction of the laboratory.
'With Kenji-san's strength, he should be able to sense who the attacker on the other side is, right?'
'Knowing the opponent's identity, and still wanting to fight head-on… hmm, no!'
'Kenji-san never left the laboratory from start to finish… So that's it!'
Considering this point, Kuzan's eyes showed understanding and admiration.
'No wonder… Hey! If there's no direct confrontation… afterwards, the World Government won't have a good reason to hold him accountable, right?!'
Not appearing directly meant it wasn't a direct confrontation, both sides essentially concealed their identities.
Kenji's side could be said to be some mysterious powerhouse, and Saturn's side could be said to be some mysterious guard. In short, both sides would have room for reconciliation afterwards.
As for who would 'reconcile'? That would depend on who was the weaker party.
Understanding all this, Kuzan felt that he still had much to learn. The Marine School could only teach him how to fight enemies and obey superiors, but the school of society could teach him everything.
'However, the Five Elders actually possess such immense strength… it's truly unbelievable.'
'So, the people who hold the world's highest power are very likely the strongest people in the world?'
As Kuzan was surprised, he suddenly thought that those five old men seemed to have lived for an unknown number of years.
Although he didn't know how long they had lived, there was no doubt that the longer one lived, the stronger one became.
Then, if Kenji-san could suppress the Five Elders, wouldn't that mean his lifespan was longer than the Five Elders'…?
Kuzan felt he couldn't continue thinking like this. If his guess was wrong, then fine, but if it was true… that would be a bit too terrifying.
At least Kuzan himself was scared.
Fortunately, the nearby Marine personnel were all focused on observing the distant sea battlefield, so no one noticed Kuzan's pale face.
Kenji also didn't notice the changes in Kuzan's emotional aura.
His Observation Haki continuously covered the entire island, and even a large area of the sea outside the island. But at this moment, his attention was more focused on the distant Saturn, and the system prompt before him.
'It's finally here…'
At this moment, within his field of vision, lines of glowing text that only Kenji himself could see appeared without warning.
The system mission had finally appeared.
Kenji scanned the mission content, gradually understanding why the system mission was delayed.
[You are currently on Egghead Island, executing the order to capture the MADS illegal science team!]
[The World Government forces suddenly arrived, led by one of the Five Elders, 'Saturn' the Warrior God of Science and Defense – Saint Jaygarcia Saturn!]
[You discovered that their target is also the MADS team!]
[As an Admiral, and for certain reasons, you decide not to hand over the MADS team members, including Vegapunk!]
[To prevent the World Government from demanding them, you directly used Conqueror's Haki - God's Domain for a wide-ranging suppression, preventing the other party from taking action. Ultimately, you confronted Saturn!]
[You must make a choice on how to deal with this Five Elders, who holds the world's highest power!]
[Mission (Main) - Choice: You need to consider carefully and make a decision!]
[Reward: Upgrade a random owned trait once (Basic Reward)!]
[Note: The choice you make next may affect the fate of the world. At the same time, it will inevitably affect your own fate.]
The content of this mission prompt was very long, but the mission's description was relatively brief.
After reading all the mission-related content, Kenji's expression gradually became serious, all other emotions receding, and a hint of danger appeared in his eyes.
Another choice-type mission that affects fate…
Originally, Kenji thought this time, at most a combat-type mission would be issued.
Who knew, another choice-type mission that would affect fate would appear?!
After the previous choice mission, Kenji could largely confirm that this type of mission truly affected fate.