Marine Headquarters.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku was in the middle of handling Marine's affairs when he suddenly received a call from Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
The message was simple.
Someone had attacked a Celestial Dragon on Sabaody Archipelago.
As for the attacker's information… nothing was known. The only detail was that the assailant was acting alone.
Naturally, if it had been one of the Celestial Dragons' lackeys who called for backup, they might have provided more details.
But this time, it was Charlos's sister, Shalria, who personally made the call. The fact that she managed to articulate the situation clearly was already a miracle in itself.
Considering that a single person had taken down everyone in the entire auction house, the lives of the Celestial Dragons were clearly in grave danger.
This meant they had to send a fighter worthy of representing the Marine's might.
However, the fastest responder, Borsalino, was currently at Egghead Island with Dr. Vegapunk.
Kuzan, on the other hand, had already headed to the New World, and recalling him now would be too late.
That left very few options.
Sengoku thought about Sakazuki's ruthless combat style and then considered Sabaody Archipelago's unique status. He hesitated over whether to dispatch him.
At that moment, Garp, who had been sitting across from him munching on rice crackers, suddenly looked up and met his gaze.
"Garp-"
"I'm not going to protect those scum."
"Garp! You-!"
Seeing his old friend's furious expression, Garp shamelessly slumped back in his chair, tilting his head with a smirk.
"Fine, I'll go if you insist. But I guarantee I'll arrive at the 'fastest possible speed'. You can count on me to keep the Celestial Dragons safe."
Hearing the emphasis Garp placed on 'fastest possible speed', Sengoku felt a familiar headache coming on.
'Fine, fine.'
Picking up the Den Den Mushi, he dialed.
"Sakazuki, a Celestial Dragon has been attacked on Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 1. There's only one enemy. You're in charge of the rescue."
"Understood. But to ensure the efficiency of the operation, I request full authority to deal with all enemies on-site as I see fit."
Sengoku's headache worsened at those words, but glancing at Garp, who had already started snoring in front of him, he reluctantly agreed to Akainu's demand.
The voyage from Marine Headquarters, Marineford, to Sabaody Archipelago normally only took a few hours.
Using the exclusive ocean currents could speed it up even further.
Akainu's flagship wasn't slow… aside from standard sail propulsion, the hull was equipped with an auxiliary engine system.
From the moment he received the order to his arrival at Grove 1 of Sabaody Archipelago, barely two hours had passed.
But he knew full well that this much time was more than enough for the attacker to escape far away.
Therefore, after deploying his Vice Admirals subordinate to blockade the island and conduct a thorough search, he headed alone to the scene of the incident… the largest slave auction house on Grove 1.
Originally, Akainu was planning to see if he could find any clues about the attacker.
However, he didn't expect that when he entered the eerily silent hall, he would come face to face with Naruto, who was lazily reclining on a sofa.
"It's you!"
"The Great Criminal, Uzumaki Naruto!"
The moment Akainu recognized Naruto's face, his expression darkened further.
Over a decade ago, when the world-shaking [Slave Liberation Incident] erupted, he had still been just a Vice Admiral.
Back then, no one had dared to imagine that someone could actually scale the Red Line and infiltrate Mary Geoise to free slaves.
But the reality was that not only had it happened… it was done by two people.
One of the main criminals, Fisher Tiger, had already been confirmed dead.
The other was the man before him now-
Uzumaki Naruto.
A criminal hailed as the [Great Hero] by a bunch of rabble.
This man was far more radical than Fisher Tiger had ever been.
Tiger had focused on freeing slaves, only causing destruction to divert the Marines' attention.
But Naruto is different.
This guy had been bold enough to personally slaughter over a dozen Celestial Dragons back then.
Even if they were just members without family's inheritance rights, they were still descendants of the [Creators].
It was on that day that the world learned: even 'gods' could bleed.
The time and effort the World Government had spent afterward to suppress the impact of Naruto's actions was another matter entirely. But if they were to rank their most hated individuals.
Naruto would easily make the top five.
"So it's you who came, Akainu-"
Naruto slowly rose to his feet, locking eyes with Akainu.
Truthfully, he had sensed the Admiral's presence long ago.
"I was hoping for an easier opponent this time-"
"Enough of your arrogance! You're nothing but a criminal!"
After saying this, Akainu was already prepared to attack, but he was still an Admiral of the Marine after all, and he did not forget why he came here this time.
"Where are Saint Charlos and Saint Shalria?"
Though Akainu had always regarded the Celestial Dragons as 'privileged parasites', even privately calling them 'idiots' outright, this was still an official occasion. Basic respect had to be maintained.
"Right there, all of them."
With that, Naruto pointed to the wall behind Akainu.
The sight was gruesome.
The female Celestial Dragon, Shalria, hadn't died as horribly, at least her body remained intact.
She lay on the ground, her face twisted in agony, her expression filled with resentment even in death.
As if she couldn't accept that a descendant of the gods like her could die like this.
So what if she had killed a few lowly commoners?
She was a Celestial Dragon!
A being born into nobility!
The entire world was supposed to revolve around them!
Even in her final moments, this Celestial Dragon never understood why she had to die.
"Since that's the case-" Akainu's voice dragged out, accompanied by a molten fist radiating extreme heat.
"Then you can die with them… Dark Hound!"
The attack was nearly instantaneous. Magma carried an innate 'annihilating' effect, and while this sudden strike was little more than a basic move, getting hit by it would still hurt.
Boom!
Naruto's fist, wrapped in Haki, punched forward with black lightning crackling.
The fists of both sides met in mid-air, and the Haki blocked the magma's advance.
But soon, the difference in the two sides' strength became apparent.
In pure physical power, Naruto undoubtedly surpassed Akainu.
Bang!
The result was that Akainu flew back at a speed even faster than when he came, crashing heavily into the auction house seats.
With a sizzling sound, magma dripped down Akainu's arm and onto the ground, quickly burning a gaping hole in the floor.
He didn't seem to care about the lives of anyone else in the auction house.
After all, they were either slave buyers or slave traders… all scum who deserved death in Akainu's eyes.
Now that the Celestial Dragons were confirmed dead, whether these people lived or died didn't matter to him.
Upholding his belief in [Absolute Justice], Akainu would never hold back for the sake of these lowlifes, nor would he give the great criminal a chance to escape.
Even now, he still believed he had the upper hand.
"Dog Biting Crimson Lotus!"
His arms transformed into molten hounds, lunging at Naruto with savage ferocity.
"Bad dogs shouldn't bite!"
Holding the hilt of the sword with one hand and the scabbard with the other, Mushoukou was quickly pulled it out.
In a flash of blade light, the two magma dog heads were instantly severed.