Marine Headquarters, Marineford
Marine officers holding the rank of Vice Admiral and above, along with Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the Hero of the Marines, sat in tense silence within the military intelligence room. All eyes remained fixed on Morgans' exclusive live broadcast, watching the desperate battle between Admiral Sakazuki and Buggy the Clown unfold in real-time.
"Why haven't we cut the Den Den Mushi signal yet?" one officer demanded in frustration. "The entire world is watching the Marines get humiliated!"
The Marines represented the most powerful military force on the planet, yet they remained dependent on the World Government for advanced intelligence capabilities. While they possessed countless expendable foot soldiers, specialized technical talent remained frustratingly rare.
Morgans' broadcast signal, for instance, lay completely beyond the local Marines' ability to disrupt. In such a dangerous battle environment, the Newspaper King somehow maintained uninterrupted transmission, delivering crystal-clear footage to the entire globe—something Marine Headquarters couldn't replicate with their own resources.
The images captured by the Marine's own camera-equipped Den Den Mushi paled in comparison to the professional quality of Morgans' broadcast. The embarrassing truth was that they were forced to watch this century-defining battle through civilian media channels rather than their own surveillance network.
"I never imagined that brat Sakazuki would struggle this much," Vice Admiral Garp grumbled, his usual jovial demeanor nowhere to be found.
In such a serious situation, the Hero of the Marines had abandoned all attempts at humor with Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Watching his fellow Admiral engage in such fierce combat with a pirate had completely destroyed his appetite—he hadn't touched a single senbei all day.
"Borsalino is our fastest Admiral," Sengoku replied grimly. "I've already dispatched him to reinforce Sakazuki. Never thought a pirate from East Blue would require two Marine Admirals to handle."
Ever since the Great Pirate Era began, the Marines had systematically crushed pirate operations across the world—everywhere except the second half of the Grand Line. Was this crushing dominance about to end during Sengoku's tenure as Fleet Admiral?
East Blue was universally recognized as the weakest of the Four Blues, largely thanks to Vice Admiral Garp's efforts. Every year during his vacation time, he returned to his hometown of Foosha Village and systematically cleared out East Blue's pirate population. Later, Captain Smoker's deployment to Loguetown had made it even more difficult for pirate crews to enter the Grand Line from that direction.
The supreme irony was that East Blue had been hiding such a capable pirate all along. Buggy the Clown hadn't just humiliated Smoker—he'd slapped the face of the Marine's greatest hero. More than twenty years of combined effort between the old and young Marines had been undone in a single live broadcast.
"Sengoku, please let me return to settle the East Blue situation personally," Garp requested with uncharacteristic seriousness.
If the Marine Hero returned to East Blue, his first priority would be eliminating the massive threat posed by Buggy the Clown. His second objective would be capturing his grandson Luffy, who continued wandering the Grand Line. Before the Sky Screen's appearance, that might not have been problematic—but now chaos reigned supreme, and too many variables had spiraled beyond control.
Garp could sense that turbulent times were approaching. Unreasonable developments were completely escaping Marine oversight. If Luffy wasn't by his side during the coming storm, Garp might not be able to protect his grandson. Though he'd witnessed many cases of the elderly burying the young, he refused to let that tragedy befall his own family.
"Vice Admiral Garp, I need you at Marine Headquarters," Sengoku replied firmly. "New intelligence from our maritime surveillance ships reports that Red-Haired Shanks is meeting with Whitebeard. We must guard against the possibility of two Yonko forming an alliance."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku couldn't allow his old friend to act on personal impulses this time. They not only had to protect Marine Headquarters, but also the nearby World Government facilities and Enies Lobby. The burden of responsibility was overwhelming.
"No! Admiral Sakazuki is in danger!"
"That's impossible—Sakazuki would never lose!"
Amid the Vice Admirals' heated discussion, everyone's attention snapped back to the live broadcast.
The entire Loguetown Marine Branch had been consumed by an ocean of lava. Any ordinary person would have found themselves with nowhere to stand, but such trivial obstacles posed no challenge to Buggy the Clown.
The decomposition ability of his Bara Bara no Mi surrounded his body like a protective aura. The molten rock beneath his feet continuously disintegrated before it could cause harm, though maintaining this defensive technique consumed considerable stamina.
Sakazuki, conversely, moved through the lava sea like a fish in water. He swam through the molten environment while engaging Buggy in relentless close-quarters combat, constantly searching for flaws in his opponent's fruit ability. The Admiral's tremendous physical conditioning could sustain this level of combat for several more days and nights.
The Marine elites had retreated to their warships for safety, while the surviving Buggy Pirates had fled deeper into Loguetown for shelter. Both sides understood they couldn't assist their respective leaders and could only watch from a distance as the outcome was decided.
This is it, Kaito realized with growing concern. I'm approaching my limit. The Grand Tale System's enhancements are incredible, but even they have boundaries. Sakazuki's endurance is absolutely monstrous.
"Why don't you call yourself the strongest creature?" Buggy taunted, breathing heavily. "You've taken several of my Conqueror's-infused punches and you're still standing."
Admiral Sakazuki could only meet Conqueror's Haki infusion techniques head-on, yet he'd withstood every devastating assault. Despite severe internal organ damage, he continued fighting with terrifying determination.
"Your decomposition ability has limitations," Sakazuki observed with cold analytical precision. "There are pauses between your techniques, and those gaps are growing longer. Your stamina is approaching collapse. When you can no longer use that power, you'll die."
Sakazuki's combat intuition was genuinely enviable—he'd identified the Bara Bara no Mi's critical weakness. Buggy's decomposition ability appeared unstoppable, but each use consumed tremendous physical energy. That stamina drain represented the pirate's most fatal vulnerability.
He's not wrong, Kaito admitted to himself. But I've still got one more card to play. Time to see if the Grand Tale System's ultimate enhancement lives up to its reputation.
"I didn't expect you to figure that out," Buggy acknowledged with grudging respect. "You're worthy of being a Marine Admiral. But now I have no choice but to get serious."
The power of the Bara Bara no Mi surged through Buggy's transformed body. He intended to show Sakazuki the true potential of a fully awakened Devil Fruit.
"Let's see how many more techniques you can manage," Sakazuki snarled. "Daifunka!" (Great Eruption)
A crude but devastating approach—massive quantities of magma erupted like a volcanic explosion, Sakazuki attempting to drain his opponent's remaining stamina through sheer volume.
"Devil Fruit Awakening: Shin Bara Bara!" (Ultimate Split-Split)
This sudden, terrifying technique instantly disintegrated the magma created by the Great Eruption. Sakazuki wrapped his entire body in high-level Armament Haki, attempting to use previous experience to resist the decomposition force.
"No... this is impossible!"
Admiral Sakazuki's body, originally encased in translucent black Armament Haki, found his defensive coating completely ineffective against this new level of decomposition ability. The awakened power could literally shatter a person's Haki into fragments.
The Grand Tale System really delivered, Kaito marveled. Awakened Bara Bara no Mi can split even Haki itself. This is completely broken compared to the original timeline.
Having lost his Armament Haki defense, Sakazuki instinctively transformed into his elemental state to resist the terrible decomposition force. What greeted him next was a massive, black-coated fist.
Kaito controlling Buggy, leveraging his significant height advantage, drove his right fist—wrapped in top-tier Conqueror's Haki and high-level Armament Haki—directly into Admiral Sakazuki's skull. With his opponent temporarily stripped of Haki defenses, this devastating punch drove the Admiral straight through the ground.
The earth-shaking impact pierced completely through the Marine branch's foundation, sending the Logia-type Devil Fruit user plummeting into the ocean below. Now Sakazuki could enjoy testing his swimming skills against seawater.
If this had been Marine Headquarters at Marineford, he might have carved a tunnel through the bedrock to return to the surface. However, the land beneath this branch base was relatively thin—Admiral Sakazuki had lost that opportunity entirely.
"Looks like I won! Hahahaha!" Buggy's triumphant laughter echoed across the devastated battlefield.
The final victor of this battle stood tall amid the destruction, his unbridled laughter transmitted to the entire world through Morgans' camera-equipped Den Den Mushi.
A Marine Admiral had actually been defeated by a pirate. This was a world-shaking event that would reverberate across the globe...