The massive warehouse was deathly silent.
On the ground, pirates lay sprawled everywhere, all of them unconscious.
Looking in any direction, over four thousand pirates were collapsed across the floor, not a single one able to move.
At this moment—
Joelf slowly lifted the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
He took a deep breath, expression turning grave, then started dialing.
Purupurupuru…
The Den Den Mushi's odd, shrill ringing echoed through the ruined warehouse.
A few moments later—
The call connected.
A calm yet overwhelmingly authoritative voice came through.
"CP0?"
The moment that voice sounded, both Joelf and Reis, the two high-ranking CP0 agents, tensed up at once. Their expressions grew tight, nervous, and unusually restrained.
Because right now…
The person they were calling with the Den Den Mushi was an existence that terrified even them.
Even on this vast sea, his status stood at the pinnacle.
He was someone who stood above countless lives.
A true giant.
One of the supreme leaders of the World Government.
And the ultimate superior of CP0.
A man who looked down upon the whole sea from on high.
Even a Marine Headquarters admiral would have to lower his head in front of him.
Even the Fleet Admiral…
Even the Commander-in-Chief…
Would have to bow and show absolute respect.
So in front of such a lofty, untouchable existence, even as CP0 officers, they didn't dare show the slightest hint of arrogance. They didn't even dare raise their voices.
"Yes, sir. It's us,"Joelf replied, his tone extremely respectful.
"What is it? If I remember correctly, you and Reis were dispatched to oversee an assessment, weren't you? Why contact me in the middle of it?"
The voice from the Den Den Mushi was as flat as ever, bereft of emotion.
"Yes, just as you said, sir,"Joelf replied quickly. "Reis and I were assigned as evaluators to score a highly promising candidate."
"However…"
"During this assessment, we discovered an extremely frightening talent."
"A once-in-a-century, peerless genius."
"Someone so exceptional that, across the entire sea, I doubt there's a second like him."
"So we immediately contacted you to report this matter in full."
Joelf continued.
"A once-in-a-century, peerless genius? What kind of talent justifies you making such a fuss, going so far as to contact me directly?"
"You claim there isn't a second like him on the whole sea? Aren't you exaggerating a bit?"
"Just within the CP organizations alone, the talents we've gathered over the years are too many to count. And yet you say there's still someone that makes you call him a 'genius'?"
"I'm curious."
For the first time, the voice on the other end showed the faintest ripple of emotion.
Over the years, the CP agencies had scoured the seas for countless prodigies, raising them into elite pillars of the Cipher Pol network.
Joelf and Reis were the ones specifically responsible for talent selection and cultivation.
For someone to impress both of them…
That person couldn't be ordinary.
Even so, with the other party's exalted status, he wasn't about to be shaken just because Joelf mentioned a "genius."
Geniuses?
He had seen plenty.
The World Government had ruled the seas for far too long.
They had gathered more than enough talent.
In the end, only a handful had ever become CP0 elites.
"Sir, this child's talent is beyond anything I've ever seen. It overturns common sense."
"He is, without a doubt, the most terrifying prodigy I've encountered in all my years. There is no second."
"He is a monster through and through."
Joelf took a deep breath.
Every time he thought of Kai's talent, his heart trembled all over again.
Before the man on the other end could speak, Joelf hurriedly pressed on, not daring to hold anything back.
"Sir, have you ever seen a monster who, at just four years old, has already mastered Conqueror's Haki?"
As soon as the words left his mouth—
The atmosphere went still.
Even the existence on the other end of the call seemed to fall silent.
As if he had been genuinely shocked.
After a long moment:
"Four years old?"
"You're saying at four years old he has awakened Conqueror's Haki? Are you sure?"
Now, the voice from the Den Den Mushi no longer sounded so utterly detached.
The lofty, condescending tone from before had vanished.
In its place was a faint quiver of disbelief.
Clearly, even he found Joelf's claim hard to accept.
"Sir, it's not just that he awakened Conqueror's Haki,"Joelf corrected quickly.
"He's…"
"Mastered it."
"…Hm?!"
There was a sharp nasal sound through the line.
Joelf heard something like glass shattering faintly in the background.
He did not dare utter a sound.
He simply waited in silence for the response.
Beside him, Reis was so tense he barely dared to breathe.
"Only four years old, and he's already mastered Conqueror's Haki…"
"This is indeed a truly terrifying genius."
"Such a talent is… quite unexpected."
"I didn't think…"
"That a monster like this would appear on these seas."
A short while later, Joelf finally heard a voice colored with genuine emotion and amazement.
After a pause, Joelf spoke again, almost timidly.
"Sir, that's not all. This genius hasn't only mastered Conqueror's Haki at four years old."
"In addition, he has mastered the Marines' Rokushiki. He's even grasped the secret art, Life Return."
"Just now…"
"This four-year-old monster annihilated a pirate with a bounty close to fifty million Berries in an instant."
"Though still a child, his combat power is unimaginably terrifying."
Once he finished speaking—
The other end of the line once again fell silent.
This time, the silence lasted even longer.
As if the person on the other side was digesting each one of these earth-shattering pieces of information.
Even for someone standing at the peak of the world, Joelf's report had managed to send ripples across his heart.
"…Are you certain?"
Just a few simple words—
But they crashed against Joelf's chest like thunder.
He knew.
The man on the other end was taking this seriously now.
Very seriously.
If he so much as exaggerated a little, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Sir, I swear on my own life."
"Everything that happened here today is absolutely true."
"Reis beside me can testify as well."
"He too witnessed…"
"The appearance of this terrifying monster."
Joelf rushed to explain, fearful.
Even though the voice carried no hint of anger, he dared not relax in the slightest.
"This is truly… unexpected."
"That such a terrifying monster exists in this sea."
"Four years old, not only mastering Conqueror's Haki, but also pushing Rokushiki to such a level…"
"A genius like this is, as you said, indeed a once-in-a-century existence."
"Is he aligned with the Marines?"
The man on the other end finally asked another question.
"Yes, sir,"Joelf replied immediately.
"He was specifically dispatched by the Marines to cooperate with our CP elites in carrying out this emergency rescue mission."
"I see…"
"Do you know his name?"
Joelf thought for a moment before answering.
"I believe his name is… Kai."
"Kai…"
The other side suddenly grew noisy.
Not just one voice now—
But several overlapping voices came through the Den Den Mushi.
Joelf understood.
Those voices, like the first, all belonged to beings of terrifying status and power—
People who stood at the very top of the world.
High above the masses.
Overlooking all below.
Yes.
Individuals with the same exalted status as the one who had first taken the call…
Were not just one.
But five.
"Those five… have all been drawn in?"
"As expected."
"A monster of this level…"
"Even those five can't ignore him."
Joelf thought to himself.
What he couldn't understand was—
What was hidden behind the name "Kai"?
Why did simply mentioning it cause all five of those lofty figures to react?
He couldn't figure it out.
He shook his head, baffled.
Right now—
The people on the other end of Joelf's call…
Were the supreme leaders of the World Government.
Five absolute rulers standing at the very peak of the world.
They were known as—
The Five Elders.
Time passed.
While Joelf and Reis stood silently waiting, another half a quarter of an hour slipped by.
Finally—
A new voice came through the Den Den Mushi. It sounded slightly unfamiliar, not the same one who had first spoken.
But even so, it was still filled with unquestionable authority.
"This matter is no longer your concern."
"As far as you two are concerned, nothing happened here today."
"As for that monster named Kai…"
"You are not to approach him again. Under no circumstances are you to make contact with him."
"He is not someone you can afford to touch."
Hearing those words—
Hiss…
Joelf and Reis couldn't help but suck in cold breaths at the same time.
They couldn't begin to imagine what kind of person this Kai truly was.
That he could make even the Five Elders—
Those five men who stood at the very top of the world—
Treat him with such solemn caution.
It was almost unbelievable.
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