Chapter 426: Mysterious, Apprehensive, Speculation!
If Imu felt surprised, the Five Elders felt it was even more Unimaginable. They even had Cipher Pol Headquarters send people to Wano Island to directly communicate with Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
During this process, they also had several interrogation experts observe his tone, expression, and gaze as he spoke.
Adding to this, Imu had previously confirmed that the Ubuyashiki Family indeed possessed the Ability of Future Sight.
Ultimately, the Higher-ups of the World Government had to take Kagaya's Prophecy seriously.
It also caused them to suspend their Plan to open the third Star Gate on January 10th.
"According to our Operation steps, we would definitely first dispatch several groups of Cipher Pol Investigators Squads, and only then would we Mobilize the Army Units to enter the Star Gate."
"This indicates that the preceding Investigators Squads must have first been attacked, and failed to bring back any useful Intelligence, which is why the subsequent large Troops were Ambushed."
Inside the Room of Authority.
Saint Shepherd Ju Peter made a simple deduction based on the known information.
"There are too many strange questions here."
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn leaned back on the comfortable Sofa, his Expression serious, and took over the conversation, saying, "Firstly, how did the other side know about the Star Gate, and even determine its Position?"
"Secondly, I remember the Cipher Pol Investigators are Elites, right? And they should all be carrying Visual Den Den Mushi. How did they manage to completely block Intelligence feedback?"
"Finally, the Prophecy mentioned that a large amount of Cannon Fire attacked the Army, which means the other side had prepared Artillery Emplacements near the Star Gate in advance!"
As his voice fell, the room fell into silence, everyone contemplating the possibilities.
Honestly.
This was truly the first Time they had encountered such a tricky Situation. Should they send people in to check now?
Similarly.
Imu also had no good solution.
After all, he first needed some iconic things to determine what World was on the other side of the Star Gate, and then recall various information about that World.
"This Old Man believes that no matter what, Cipher Pol must send people in. Even if everyone dies, as long as they can send back valuable Intelligence, it's enough!"
Saint Topman Warcury said coldly with a blank Expression. Saint Shepherd Ju Peter also nodded in agreement.
"What I'm worried about now is that the World we've encountered this Time might be an extremely powerful Civilization, so it's better to be careful. If the other side manages to break into our Homeland through the Star Gate, the consequences would be Unimaginable!"
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn reminded, leaning on his Cane, his face full of fear.
"Indeed."
Saint Marcus Mars, standing nearby, strongly agreed with his words, "We cannot relax our vigilance just because the previous two Worlds were weak."
"Lord Imu warned us before that the Cosmic Star Sea is the same as the Grand Line; each Star can be seen as an Island."
"The level of Civilization development varies greatly in each World. Even with a one-in-ten-thousand chance, there must be many Worlds that we cannot resist!"
Saint Topman Warcury asked in a deep voice, "So, it's highly likely that we've encountered such a World this Time, right?"
"Exactly!"
Saint Marcus Mars looked at him solemnly.
"Therefore, whether or not to open this third Star Gate, This Old Man thinks we need to reconsider," Saint Jaygarcia Saturn suggested with a frown.
"Open it, it must be opened!"
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn suddenly snorted coldly, saying with Anger, "The Star Gate is right before us, yet we don't dare to open it just because we encountered one Ambush. When did we become so cowardly?"
"You!"
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn's face instantly darkened, but Saint Jaygarcia Saturn didn't even look at him, continuing to state his opinion.
"We need to prepare enough High-Level Combatants, Military Strength, and Defensive Works in the third Star Gate Camp in advance, in case the enemy's Troops break through. Once everything is ready, we will request Lord Imu to open the Star Gate."
Saint Topman Warcury asked, "Then how many High-Level Combatants do you think we need to Mobilize, and how much Military Strength should we prepare?"
"Mobilize the Army's Admirals and Candidate Admirals, including Bullet stationed in the Kabaneri World and Crocodile in the Demon Slayer World."
"Then have the Air Force's Kizaru, Kaido, Marco, King, and twenty Flying Warships set up Defense in the High Altitude. As for Military Strength..."
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn hesitated for a moment, then said, "First Mobilize three hundred thousand Army soldiers, and arrange two thousand Heavy Howitzers to aim at the Star Gate."
"Alright, let's do that. This Old Man will have the Construction Department send Pica over to build the Defensive Works as quickly as possible. We must ensure that Zone RL1558 can be used as the First Battlefield at any Time!"
Saint Topman Warcury immediately picked up the Transponder Snail on the Coffee Table and called the Dean of the Political Affairs Department.
Speaking of which.
Pica and Teach had already completed the main Buildings of the Sky Island Headquarters 'Elbais', such as the Port, Plaza, Fortress, Cafeteria, and Dormitory Buildings.
However, it would still require two to three months of renovation Time for the Air Force to officially move in.
During this period, the place with the biggest changes in the World was probably Transportation.
After all, Large-Scale Projects like Academy City, Red Earth Railway, and East Sea Bridge would still take a long Time no matter what.
First, Airships.
In the seven-thousand-meter High Altitude of the Grand Line, many large Airships could already be seen traveling back and forth. These were Super Airships modified by the Academy of Science.
Firstly, compared to the Hans Tiger Airship from the Demon Slayer World, which was over two hundred meters long, these could be called behemoths.
Because these Airships in the World were a full thousand meters long, with a Diameter of over a hundred meters, and an overall Height roughly equivalent to a forty-story Tall Building.
However, this also meant their Gasbags required a much larger amount of helium, more powerful Electric Engines, and safer Gasbag Materials.
These problems were solved with the Support of the Float-Float Fruit's Superpower, the Electric Engine invented by Vegapunk, and the Kabaneri Heart Membrane.
Honestly.
Even if an Airship was damaged, the Float-Float Fruit's Ability could ensure it wouldn't plummet rapidly; this was the best Safety guarantee!
Of course.
Such large Airships would definitely have larger cabin space and Load Capacity. Each Voyage could carry four hundred people.
But their Speed wasn't very fast, and under Imu's secret interference, the number manufactured wasn't very large either, only eight in total. After all, Imu believed Airships would eventually be phased out; they were just for temporary use now.
This directly led to the Airship ticket prices being quite high, only affordable for some Nobility or wealthy Powerhouses.
For the majority of Citizens, the best option was to take Civilian Passenger Ships from the 'Flamingo Shipping Company'.
These Passenger Ships were equipped with Seastone devices distributed by the World Government, and each Ship had several Experts capable of dealing with Sea Kings for Escort, ensuring the Passenger Ships could travel relatively safely between the Calm Belt and the Four Seas.
And although they also charged a fee, the price was much more affordable.
In the past, there was too little Seastone, only enough for internal use by Marine Warships. Others had to be purchased at high prices from the Black Market. Now it's different...
This directly resulted in the Four Seas becoming increasingly lively. Even the East Blue, widely recognized as the weakest, now frequently saw relatively well-known Sword Masters or Gunmen moving around.
What were they doing?
Well, before the Myriad Worlds Top 100 Competition began, they were working as Bounty Hunters to earn a small fortune.
Instantly, facing a large group of Experts from the Grand Line, many of whom possessed Devil Fruits or even Haki, the Pirates, Gangs, and Local Bosses of the Four Seas, these 'lower realms', suffered terribly.
Imu saw these changes in the 'lower realms', but didn't pay too much attention.
He was now interested in Kagaya Ubuyashiki's Prophecy Ability because of this third Star Gate.
Although he knew about the Ubuyashiki Family's Ability before, he thought that since they had moved to the World, this Ability might have become ineffective.
Moreover, their Bodies were no longer affected by the 'Curse' later, making it even more likely they had lost this Ability.
But now it seemed they hadn't lost it; instead, it had become even stronger? They could even predict Another World that hadn't even opened a Star Gate yet?
Imu calmly looked down at Kagaya Ubuyashiki on Wano Island through Star Fate.
"But no matter how I look at it, it seems too far-fetched. The Ubuyashiki's Future Sight Ability, no matter how strong it becomes, shouldn't be like this. Or is the key in the Principle and Medium of his Future Sight?"
(End of this chapter)