Akainu—Sakazuki—finally decided to take matters into his own hands.
He stood up, eyes blazing with fury and a burning urge to fight.
Everyone around felt a chill run down their spine.
If that man went to Sabaody Archipelago… it wouldn't just be Uchiha Chiyu in trouble—the whole island might end up buried under a sea of lava.
Sengoku exchanged a look with Vice Admiral Tsuru, then said firmly:
"No, Sakazuki. Sit down."
"This job goes to Borsalino."
Akainu frowned slightly, but he understood.
The death of a Celestial Dragon was way too sensitive. Sending someone as aggressive as him would just escalate things—and possibly trigger a global incident.
In this case, sending someone like Kizaru, who doesn't get riled up easily, might help keep things from spiraling out of control.
Akainu let out a grunt, said nothing, and sat back down.
Kizaru didn't object.
"Well, guess I'll go then…"
"Still, that guy sounds pretty nasty—I might not be able to handle him."
Sengoku knew better. He understood Kizaru's strength and knew he was just being nonchalant as always.
No matter how strong Uchiha Chiyu was, he was still no match for a full-fledged admiral.
Admirals were on another level—masters of Haki, Devil Fruit powers, and physical combat. Veterans of countless life-or-death battles.
They were the Navy's top powerhouses.
Even against a Yonko…
They didn't back down.
With a flash of light, Kizaru vanished on the spot.
Having eaten the Glint-Glint Fruit, a Logia-type, Kizaru could move and attack at the speed of light—one of the most terrifying abilities in the world.
Seeing him go, Sengoku finally looked a little more at ease.
But then—
A vice admiral rushed into the room in a panic.
"Fleet Admiral!"
"S-Something terrible just happened—!"
Sengoku's face turned grim. "What now?!"
The officer stammered, "It's Admiral Zephyr… He heard Whitebeard Jr. was made a Warlord and completely lost it. He's deserted the Navy—with his entire unit!"
"What?!"
Everyone in the room was stunned.
Sengoku was floored.
Zephyr had come up through the ranks with Sengoku, Garp, and Tsuru.
Though he'd stepped away from front-line duty, he'd trained countless elite officers.
Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru—they were all his students.
And among the vice admirals? Who knew how many were taught by him...
A former admiral, that respected, actually defecting?!
It wasn't just a shock to the Navy—it was a global scandal. A massive slap in the face to both the Navy and the World Government.
Tsuru and Garp exchanged dark looks.
"Sigh… Whitebeard Jr. did kill a lot of his students and even cut off his arm," Tsuru said. "It's reckless, but honestly? I get it."
Garp nodded. "Back in the day, he tried to quit the Navy because of how much he hated pirates. But the Government wouldn't let him go."
"He's been working nonstop for years—trained three admirals and a whole generation of vice admirals. The Navy we know today? It's because of him."
"And now, the World Government turns around and stabs him in the back…"
"Can you blame him?"
Tsuru sighed. "Still… what can we do? Even Commander Kong got involved. It's not time to dismantle the Warlords system yet—and it's not easy to find replacements."
"We just… didn't stop to think about how Zephyr felt."
Sengoku said nothing.
Even as Fleet Admiral, he couldn't change everything. At the end of the day, he was still under the thumb of the World Government.
After a long silence, he sat down and sighed.
"…I get it."
"Where'd Zephyr go?"
The vice admiral hesitated. "From what we know, he's headed to Sabaody."
"What?!"
Sengoku shot up again.
"He's going to Sabaody too?!"
"This just got a whole lot worse…"
Everyone's thoughts were spinning.
Uchiha Chiyu had already shocked the world by killing a Celestial Dragon.
Now Zephyr was joining the mix?
Who knew how much crazier things could get?
And Sabaody wasn't just some random island. It was crawling with pirates and underworld players—including legends like Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King himself.
Add Kizaru to the mix…
Sengoku, Tsuru, Garp—all of them looked deeply troubled.
"Uchiha Chiyu, a dead Celestial Dragon, Zephyr, Kizaru, Rayleigh…"
"Sabaody's about to become the center of the world."
Vice Admiral Doberman wiped the sweat off his brow.
"Fleet Admiral, if this is the situation… even Admiral Borsalino might not be enough to contain it…"
"Maybe we should send another admiral—"
Sengoku shook his head. "No. This time… I'll go myself."
Everyone was shocked.
"Fleet Admiral, you can't—!"
Tsuru put a hand on his shoulder.
"Sengoku, calm down. You're the head of the Navy—you can't just leave Marineford. If something happens here, you're responsible."
"Let Garp and me go."
"If we find Zephyr, maybe we can still talk him down. If not…"
Garp nodded. "Then it is what it is."
"Even if he's an old friend—we still have our duty."
Sengoku sighed. "Alright. I'm counting on you two."
Garp and Tsuru stood and nodded to the vice admiral.
"Let's move."
"Yes, sir!"
As the two walked out, everyone from Sengoku to the vice admirals watched in silence.
Now, at Sabaody, the key players were all converging—
Uchiha Chiyu, Zephyr, Rayleigh, Kizaru…
and soon Garp and Tsuru.
No one could guess how this would end.
But one thing was clear:
This was going to shake the world.
…
Meanwhile, on Sabaody...
Chiyu had just taken out Saint Charlos.
Not only were the Celestial Dragon's guards panicking, but military units across the archipelago received the alert and rushed to the scene.
But the moment they saw Chiyu, they froze.
"Y-You're…"
"Vice Admiral Uchiha Chiyu?!"
Of course they knew his name.
They'd assumed whoever killed a Celestial Dragon had to be a pirate—someone to shoot on sight.
But this guy? Totally different.
Even now, tons of Navy officers looked up to him—some worshipped him. That included the men here.
"W-What now?"
"What are we supposed to do?!"
Their commanding officer said coldly,
"It's too late for clean endings now."
"And the real player's almost here—a Navy admiral. We're just extras in this scene."
"So... let's put on a good show."
He gave the order. The soldiers opened fire—but without really aiming. Just a formality.
Chiyu's forces returned fire as well.
Lots of bullets—few actual injuries.
Rear Admiral Hina frowned.
"Chiyu-sama, we can't stay here any longer."
"If a Navy admiral arrives and we're still here…"
"I believe in your strength, but the Uchiha will get surrounded. And your men…"
Chiyu understood. He nodded.
"Alright."
He immediately led his people toward Dock 1, where the Uchiha was anchored.
The local Navy soldiers sighed in relief.
They kept up the charade—firing a few more shots, but not pursuing.
And it wasn't just the Navy—pirates, crooks, and scum all across Sabaody were in full panic mode after hearing an admiral was en route.
Then…
A golden beam dropped from the sky.
Light particles poured down like a storm of bullets—dense, endless, each one crackling with terrifying power.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
The entire island shook.
In a flash, hordes of pirates were wiped clean off the map.
The light converged into human form—
It was Admiral Kizaru, Borsalino.
Rear Admiral Hina gasped: "A-Admiral Borsalino!"
Chiyu also stopped in his tracks.
He hadn't expected him.
He thought maybe—just maybe—he'd get to face Akainu.
That was the fight he truly wanted.
Kizaru had just eliminated dozens of criminals with ease. The entire island felt the pressure.
Yet there he was, casually picking his ear, glancing lazily at Chiyu.
"So... you're Uchiha Chiyu, huh?"
"Man, those eyes are scary…"
"If it weren't for orders, I'd rather not fight a guy like you."
Chiyu replied calmly,
"Is that so?"
"I've actually been looking forward to fighting one of you admirals."
"I already went up against Aokiji—curious to see how you stack up."
"Kizaru. Borsalino."
He turned and said:
"Hina. Nami. Franky. Get back to the Uchiha. Get everyone out of Sabaody."
"Yes, sir!"
Kizaru gave a sly smile.
"Might be too late for that. Your ship's already surrounded by Navy warships under a few vice admirals."
Hina, Nami, and Franky all turned pale.
But Chiyu was calm as ever.
"Don't underestimate my crew."
"Go."
"Yes, sir!"
Now, only two remained on the battlefield.
Uchiha Chiyu vs. Admiral Kizaru.
A top-level battle between monsters was about to begin.