"Red-Hair lost?"
"Whitebeard was defeated too?"
"Yasopp died in battle, Marco was captured... Those two will go mad!"
"This new emperor is far more terrifying than we imagined!"
"He crushed Whitebeard, Red-Hair, and even our navy on his way to the throne."
"On the very day he declared himself emperor, he nearly wiped out one of the three great powers!"
...
Faced with a cascade of shocking reports, Sengoku, Akainu, and Aokiji exchanged glances, the horror in their eyes mirroring one another—a fear they hadn't felt in years.
From the moment Ragnar took over the Beasts Pirates, the high-ranking navy had already marked him as a threat.
But even Sengoku and the admirals believed the structure of the Three Great Powers was too solid for any one man to overturn.
Yet in less than half a month—
He claimed the throne.
And he did so by trampling two of the Great Powers beneath his feet, firmly establishing himself as one of the Five Emperors.
His rise was nothing short of overwhelming.
"The balance has been broken."
"The times are about to spiral out of control."
Akainu and Aokiji—normally like oil and water—shared the same grim realization.
"This man won't be satisfied with what he has."
"His ambition knows no bounds."
"And even with Red-Hair griYasopp, and Whitebeard's son captured alive... they won't back down either."
...
In the ward, Sengoku paced anxiously, trying to absorb the intelligence sent back by Tsuru.
But the more he thought about it, the colder his spine grew.
The so-called Five Emperors' Civil War wasn't the climax—it was merely the prologue.
As a seasoned strategist, Sengoku saw it clearly:
An unprecedented war was coming.
The recent clash among the Five Emperors was just the warm-up.
The New World is no longer big enough to hold them all.
Ragnar wouldn't stop.
Whitebeard and Red-Hair wouldn't sit still.
And now even Charlotte Linlin had aligned with the Beasts.
Aokiji frowned.
"Then let them fight. They're pirates anyway. One less is one less."
"We'll just sit back and let them tear each other apart, then swoop in and crush whoever's left."
Akainu slammed the hospital bed's guardrail, a wave of murderous intent flooding the room.
But Sengoku shook his head.
"No. Ragnar isn't like the Four Emperors of old. He's not just ambitious—he's smart and decisive."
"Look at this last battle. He didn't even mobilize the Beasts Pirates. Just a handful of close followers... and he nearly destroyed both Red-Hair and Whitebeard, along with five of our branches in the New World."
"We should be grateful Tsuru saw through his threat early and brought Kizaru to intervene.
If she hadn't, it wouldn't be a Five Emperors era—it would be Ragnar dividing the world alone."
"That's why we can't just sit back and wait. If we're even slightly careless, Ragnar will devour three Emperors outright."
Sengoku shot a glance at Akainu, fully understanding the admiral's frustration.
He had lost to Ragnar in the battle.
Worse, it was Aokiji—his rival—who had saved him from certain death.
The sting of defeat was not easy to bear.
"Sengoku san, what should we do now?"
Aokiji scratched his head, clearly out of ideas.
"Damn it... I never thought I'd be worrying about the safety of scum like Whitebeard and Red-Hair,"
Akainu growled, his face darkening.
"Rest for now," Sengoku said, voice calm but heavy.
"When Tsuru and the others return, we'll decide our next move."
Sengoku rubbed his temples.
It had been a long time since he'd felt this powerless.
He once believed the era of the Great Pirates was nearing its end.
With only Red-Haired Shanks still standing strong and the remaining Emperors aging, the time of the Navy seemed imminent.
But no one could've predicted the sudden rise of Ragnar in the New World.
And from the very first moment he bared his fangs, he nearly devoured two of the Four Emperors.
"Yeah..."
Akainu and Aokiji could only nod grimly in response.
As Navy admirals, they were painfully aware of their own importance.
Especially now—when the world was teetering on the edge of chaos.
Only after they recovered from their injuries would they be ready to face the storm that man was about to unleash.
"Send word to Garp."
"Tell him his vacation is over."
"Have him return to headquarters immediately," Sengoku ordered, his voice low and heavy, addressing the spider demon beside him before turning to leave the ward.
Bru Bru...
Just as he opened the door, the Den Den Mushi rang again.
He hadn't even answered yet, but every high-ranking officer in the room instinctively frowned.
"...Hello."
Sengoku inhaled deeply, forcing down the anxiety bubbling inside him.
"G2, G3, G4, and G5 branch bases—completely destroyed."
"It was Charlotte Linlin's doing."
"But CP reports say... it was all under Ragnar's command."
It was Tsuru's voice.
And just as they had feared—more bad news.
And once again... it was tied to Ragnar.
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