Chapter 293: The Great Incident
Grand Line, Marine Headquarters.
A soft snore echoed through the Fleet Admiral's office, causing Sengoku's face to darken as he tried to work. His hand, holding his pen, trembled as he fought to suppress his rage.
He turned his head, glaring at Garp, who was fast asleep on his personal sofa.
"GARP!!" Sengoku roared, slamming his hands on the desk.
"!!"
The sudden shout jolted Garp awake. He tumbled off the sofa and onto the floor.
"I thought we were under attack!" Garp mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Realizing it was just Sengoku, he yawned and started to lie back down. "I found a good kid in the new batch. I was up all night training him. I need a nap."
"Get out!" Sengoku's eyes were practically bulging with rage.
Purupurupuru...
Just then, the Den Den Mushi on Sengoku's desk rang.
"What is it?!" Sengoku shot one last glare at Garp before snatching up the receiver.
The voice on the other end was frantic. "Fleet Admiral! Enies Lobby is under attack!!"
A barrage of gunfire and explosions crackled through the snail.
"Enies Lobby?!" Sengoku's face paled. He immediately demanded, "Who is the attacker? How many?"
His shout echoed in the office, causing Garp to sit up, his eyes still heavy with sleep.
"That place... is being attacked again?" Garp yawned. He vaguely remembered the last time... when those two Giant Warrior captains heard their comrades had been tricked and subsequently tore the island apart. "Who would attack Enies Lobby now?"
Just as he was musing, he heard Sengoku's voice, strained with disbelief. "What? The culprits are... the Straw Hat crew?!"
"..."
"My grandson?" Garp stared, then his face split into a wide grin. "BWAHAHAHA! That's my grandson! He's really capable!"
"GARP! IT'S YOUR FAMILY AGAIN!" Sengoku exploded. He barked at his aide to contact Fujitora at Water 7, then stormed over, grabbed Garp by the collar, and began shaking him violently. "WHY IS YOUR FAMILY ALWAYS CAUSING CATASTROPHES?!"
"Bwahaha! Can't be helped!" Garp laughed, tears of mirth in his eyes. "It must be genetic!"
Sengoku was about to throw Garp out of his office when a terrible premonition suddenly washed over him. He instinctively looked out the window, toward the main plaza.
In his hands, Garp's expression also turned grim. He easily broke Sengoku's grip and strode to the window.
In the next second, their premonition came true. A crystal, hidden in a corner of the plaza, suddenly shot into the air and exploded, tearing open a massive, starry portal.
Before the bewildered Marines in the plaza could react, a flood of dark figures began to rain from the sky, crashing into the center of Marineford.
"PIRATE ATTACK!!" a new recruit screamed, his pupils shrinking as he recognized the men scrambling to their feet.
The other new recruits snapped to attention, drawing their weapons and charging the pirates.
A piercing alarm blared across Marineford. Soldiers' faces paled as they scrambled for the armories. The older Marines and residents, hearing that sound for the first time in over twenty years, were transported back to that one terrible night.
In another office, Admiral Akainu heard the alarm, settled his cap on his head, and walked out.
At the window, Sengoku and Garp stood side-by-side, their faces grim as they watched the portal snap shut.
Sengoku's eyes locked onto a man wreathed in blue flames. "That's... Marco the Phoenix. Which means this is the Whitebeard Pirates. That monster... he used his Space-Space Fruit to teleport them here. When did he plant a coordinate at Marineford?!"
"We had no idea..." Sengoku's hands dug into the wooden windowsill, a flicker of dark relief in his eyes.
Beside him, Garp's "Justice" coat snapped. "These new recruits are in over their heads. And if they're here, then Whitebeard will be, too."
"..."
"Hey, pirates!" Garp roared, leaping from the windowsill. "What do you think you're doing to my students?!"
He fell toward the plaza. But in mid-air, his expression changed again. Another portal had opened in the sky, and a massive figure dropped out, landing in the middle of Marineford.
"Whitebeard!" Sengoku's face became impossibly dark. He ripped off his own Justice coat, preparing to join Garp and end this quickly.
But just as he was about to jump, a third massive figure fell from the portal.
"Kaido of the Beasts!!"
Sengoku was no longer calm. "Damn it! He's here too?! We have to face two monsters at once?!"
Against Whitebeard alone, he was confident they could win with minimal losses. But with Kaido added... even if the Marines won, Marineford would be destroyed. The aftershock would sink the island.
Sengoku spun around, his eyes bloodshot, and roared at his aide, "NOW! Tell Tsuru to organize the evacuation! And get Fujitora back here!"
The aide didn't respond. He was staring, his face a mask of pale, abject terror.
"Fleet Admiral... a report... from the ships near Impel Down. They're... they're saying... Impel Down... has been attacked."
"The ships... they're confirming... the prison... it... it's vanished. Gone without a trace..." The aide's voice and hands were shaking.
Sengoku's vision went black. He nearly vomited blood.
"What do you mean, vanished?! What do you mean, gone without a trace?!"
Enies Lobby. Marineford. The Great Prison... all three major institutions, attacked at the same time.
"What is happening?" The simultaneous catastrophes made even the Fleet Admiral feel a chilling dread.
"Is the world... ending?"
In the plaza, Whitebeard swung his bisento, blasting several Marine officers away. He turned to his sons. "Marco! Get your brothers and retreat! I'll hold them off!"
His words had barely faded when a cold voice cut through the chaos. "You invade Marine Headquarters... and think you can just walk away? Don't you think that's a little arrogant... pirates?"
Akainu, in his red suit, strode forward, a cigar in his mouth, his eyes like ice. "None of you are leaving here alive!" Behind him, the hawk-faction officers readied their weapons, their killing intent undisguised.
In the sky, a massive blue dragon was punched to the ground, crashing into the plaza. From the dust cloud, Kaido emerged in his hybrid form, his kanabō resting on his shoulder. He nonchalantly rubbed his cheek where Garp had hit him.
"So this is Marineford? I thought Louis was finally going to fight me... Oh well."
His blazing, excited dragon eyes scanned the battlefield, landing on Akainu, Garp, and Whitebeard. A ferocious, insane grin split his face.
"This is good, too!"
The next second, Sengoku, glowing gold, crashed into the center of the battlefield.
"Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals, wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates!" his voice boomed. "All other personnel, evacuate with the residents!!"
The war began.
Meanwhile, high in the Calm Belt.
The city-sized, dark structure of Impel Down floated in the sky, hidden among the clouds.
Deep inside, Ace, Ochoku, and Shiki walked through the lowest levels. Behind them, robots were dragging guards away, tossing them into portals.
Ace watched the cheering prisoners in their cells, his hand on his sword. "Hey, Shiki, is it really okay to let all these guys out? The world will be in chaos."
"Jihahaha!" Shiki waved his hand dismissively. "Their job is to destroy Mary Geoise. It's not a place you can just waltz in and out of. Besides, d'you really think Louis sent these robots to fight?"
"They're not?" Ace asked, confused.
"Are you an idiot?" Ochoku hit him on the head. "You don't really think we can overthrow the World Government, do you? This is just Louis using us to probe and weaken them. He'd never commit his own precious forces."
"Then why did you agree to help him?"
"Because I owe him a favor, that's why," Shiki said, his voice full of arrogance. "I'm not a good person, but I pay my debts!" (Of course, the chance to recruit the monsters from Level 6 was also a major factor.)
They continued down, releasing pirates as they went—pirates who had no idea they were 10,000 meters in the air.
They finally reached Level 6. The footsteps echoed in the deathly quiet, stirring the legends imprisoned there.
"Shiki!!"
"The Golden Lion!!"
The level exploded. Figures lunged from the shadows, chains rattling.
"Golden Lion! You're back! Did you conquer this place?!"
"Let me out! I'll be your loyal subordinate!"
"Admiral Shiki! It's me! Are you here to save me?"
They also noticed the others.
"Is that... Ochoku?!"
"And the kid next to him... his face is familiar..."
Shiki spread his arms, grinning. "Jihahaha! That's right! I'm here on a special request to bust you all out! But... not just yet!"
Impel Down was still in the Calm Belt, far from the Red Line.
The prisoners, many driven mad by their confinement, cheered wildly.
Ochoku and Ace watched, their faces cold.
Shiki ignored the rabble and walked to a specific cell. He looked at the massive figure leaning against the back wall, eyes closed.
"Long time no see... Bullet-kun."
"..."
Douglas Bullet opened his eyes, staring at them.
"Golden Lion... Ochoku... and..."
His gaze fell on Ace, and then on the sword at his hip.
"You..."
"My name is Portgas D. Ace," Ace said, smiling and tipping his hat. "Nice to meet you, Bullet."
"..."
Ochoku ignored them and went to find other potential recruits. They needed to build their forces for the inevitable retaliation... and for the day they would turn on Louis.
Shiki looked at the more mature Bullet and got straight to the point. "I'll ask you, Bullet. Want to join my crew?"
Bullet merely glanced at him. "Your crew?"
"That's right." Shiki crossed his arms, his golden hair and kimono billowing, radiating the aura of a legend.
Meanwhile, at the Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
The Five Elders received the reports. All three major World Government institutions... attacked at the exact same time.
Fearing the Holy Land was next, they put Mary Geoise on its highest alert. All gates were sealed. Commander-in-Chief Kong personally took charge of the defenses.
Inside Pangea Castle, before the Empty Throne.
Imu sat, reading the reports in silence.
Below the throne, the Five Elders knelt, their foreheads pressed to the floor.
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