At that moment, in the waters near Long Ring Long Land,
A government vessel and three Marine warships were on high alert.
They had been waiting here for days.
Ever since the Dream Crew left Jaya, the World Government had been closely tracking them.
After careful planning, they decided to intercept the Dream Exploration Team at Long Ring Long Land.
The official reason? A "qualification review" of their expedition team.
But everyone knew that was just an excuse—the real goal was to strip them of their official World Government status.
That way, Isred and the other Celestial Dragons could deal with the Dream Exploration Team without restrictions—whether that meant capturing them outright or putting a bounty on their heads.
This operation included one Vice Admiral, two Rear Admirals, and four Captains. One of the Rear Admirals was Vigor.
And on his ship were two pirates—Diamante and Lao G from the Donquixote Family.
With such a powerful force, they were confident they could stop the Dream Exploration Team at Long Ring Long Land!
As the balloon octopus gently lowered them, the Dream Crew finally returned to the sea.
"It really feels better being back on the Blue Sea. I always felt a little suffocated on Skypiea," Leah said, taking a deep breath.
"The air up there is too thin. Even though we've trained for low-oxygen conditions, staying in the sky for too long is still hard to get used to," Daisy said softly.
"Ryuen, where do you think the World Government will be waiting for us?" Kuina asked, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes.
"How would I know? But don't worry, since we agreed to let you handle it, we won't interfere," Ryuen said, rolling his eyes at Kuina.
"Kuina, how about we help you when we run into them?" Daisy clung to Kuina's arm, trying to win her over.
"You guys promised! This time, I'm taking care of them on my own!" Kuina refused without hesitation.
"Guys, stop chatting for a second. There's a warship up ahead, and its sail has 'G8' on it. It looks like a Marine G8 branch warship," Hog said seriously.
Hearing that a Marine warship had appeared, Kuina immediately got excited. She was just about to sharpen her blade when she heard the words "G8 branch."
"G8 branch... isn't that Vice Admiral Jonathan's Marine base?" Robin asked.
"I think so too. But why is their warship here?" Anya asked, puzzled.
"Well, the G8 branch is near this sea, but this warship probably isn't just out on patrol," Nojiko said softly.
As the girls chatted, the warship ahead slowly approached. Standing at the bow was Vice Admiral Jonathan.
"This is probably related to the World Government's latest operation..." Ryuen muttered to himself.
"Vice Admiral Jonathan, what brings you here?" Hog called out loudly as the two ships got close.
"I've been waiting here for you guys for two days. I need to talk to your captain. Where's Ryuen?" Vice Admiral Jonathan shouted.
"Vice Admiral Jonathan, did Garp send you?" Ryuen called back.
That guy seemed to respect Garp quite a bit. In the original story, Luffy had caused a huge scene at their base, yet Jonathan didn't even try to capture him. Instead, he let the Straw Hat Pirates repair the Merry here and leave safely.
"It was Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Can you come over, Ryuen? I have something to discuss with you." Jonathan replied.
"Sengoku, huh?" Ryuen frowned. "Wait here, I'll go see what he's up to..."
The rest of the Dream Crew nodded. They were curious, but they weren't in a rush. Ryuen would tell them everything once he got back.
Ryuen used Geppo to leap onto Jonathan's warship. "Vice Admiral Jonathan, should we talk here or in the cabin?"
Jonathan observed Ryuen carefully before responding.
Ryuen nodded, and the two of them headed to the cabin, entering Jonathan's office.
At the door, Jonathan replaced the guards with his own most trusted men, even though he already considered everyone on this warship loyal to him.
The secrecy made Ryuen a little curious, but he didn't think too much about it. This was definitely related to the World Government's operation.
"Have a seat, Ryuen... Let's have some tea first," Jonathan said as he sat down and poured Ryuen a cup.
Ryuen didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down across from Jonathan, took the tea, and sipped it calmly.
Jonathan studied Ryuen's composed expression and felt a headache coming on. He was wondering how to convince him to accept the task Sengoku had assigned.
The office stayed silent for a while.
"Vice Admiral Jonathan, if you don't start talking, I'm heading back," Ryuen said casually.
"Alright, I'll get to the point."
"Ryuen, you're part of that special Marine unit, aren't you?" Jonathan asked.
"If you know about that unit, that means Sengoku already told you about my identity. You don't need to test me, Vice Admiral Jonathan," Ryuen replied indifferently.
"As expected... I knew this wouldn't be easy. Let me think about how to put this..." Jonathan pretended to be troubled.
Ryuen didn't say anything. He just watched him.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku wants you to take this opportunity to cut ties with the World Government and move your Marine status underground," Jonathan said seriously.
Ryuen narrowed his eyes slightly, a sharp glint flashing in them. "Who is Sengoku targeting?"
"Heh... I knew I couldn't fool you."
"Sengoku said that the World Government will definitely use this chance to strip your Dream Exploration Team of its official status.
And after that, they'll put a bounty on you.
They're going to label you as pirates."
Jonathan said casually, "Ryuen, you don't deny this, do you?" Google seaʀᴄh ɴoᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt
"Go on," Ryuen replied without much thought.
"When you enter the New World, you'll definitely set foot in Big Mom's territory. Fleet Admiral Sengoku's idea is..." Jonathan trailed off, looking at Ryuen, confident that he would understand.
"This feels a little strange to me. Sengoku's target isn't Whitebeard?" Ryuen said with some surprise.
"Sengoku thinks that going after the Whitebeard Pirates is too risky.
But Big Mom's crew is different. That woman has a fatal weakness," Jonathan said firmly.
"We'll see about that. Maybe something will happen that Sengoku never expected," Ryuen said, giving Jonathan a meaningful look.
With that, he didn't say anything else and got up to leave Jonathan's office.
"Something unexpected?" Jonathan frowned.
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