Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Tap tap tap tap!
Rapid footsteps echoed through the hallway as a Marine ran at full speed, an anxious look on his face. A moment later, the door to Sengoku's office was thrown open.
"F-Fleet Admiral, urgent news!" the Marine shouted between breaths.
"Hm?" Sengoku looked up, puzzled.
"Following your orders from some time ago, Headquarters has been strictly controlling all information related to Admiral Kojin to prevent any leaks. But just recently, our intelligence personnel stationed throughout the Grand Line sent back a report. They discovered Admiral Kojin's whereabouts in Mock Town, and..."
The Marine took a deep breath, his eyes filled with tension. "He engaged one of the Seven Warlords, Donquixote Doflamingo, in battle."
In an instant, the Marine felt the atmosphere in the Fleet Admiral's office freeze. Then, he saw Sengoku slowly raise his head.
"Doflamingo? How did the battle end?"
The Marine licked his lips. "Doflamingo was completely defeated. Our agents witnessed Admiral Kojin capturing him before departing aboard the Crocodile battleship."
Sengoku fell silent. After a long pause, he waved his hand. "I understand."
The Marine blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting such a calm reaction. After recovering, he quickly saluted and withdrew.
Only after a long while did a sigh emerge from the Fleet Admiral's office. "I knew news of your return couldn't stay hidden forever. But I didn't expect it to happen so quickly."
After a brief pause, Sengoku frowned. "Going after Doflamingo is a little suspicious. Combined with the information from ten years ago... could it be that this Warlord was also one of the seeds you planted throughout the world?"
His eyes flickered thoughtfully. It seemed Kojin had done far more than he had imagined during those years away from Headquarters; the man had never stopped moving behind the scenes.
As for the Vegapunk the World Government kept talking about... more than ten years had passed, and there was still no trace of him. No one knew where Kojin had hidden the world's greatest scientist. Yet from the World Government's attitude, Sengoku could easily tell how important Vegapunk was, and Kojin seemed to understand that importance better than anyone.
"If my guess is correct... then the next generation of Marines may become the strongest in history. That's something worth looking forward to." A faint smile appeared on Sengoku's face.
Before Kojin's return, the position of the next Fleet Admiral had already been narrowed down to a contest between two Admirals. But Kojin's reappearance changed everything. The choice had become much clearer, in fact, there was hardly any suspense left.
"The only obstacle lies over there." Sengoku narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them. "If I could make that decision ten years ago, I can make it again ten years later."
He had never lacked decisiveness. What he lacked was timing and sufficient leverage.
"Though I don't know exactly what he's planning... the breakthrough we discussed before can finally begin." As he murmured to himself, his gaze sharpened. If he could accomplish that task before retiring, it would be the perfect ending to his career.
Aboard the Crocodile.
Splash!
A basin of cold water was dumped over Doflamingo's head. He shuddered and slowly opened his eyes, his blurry vision gradually clearing. The moment he took in his surroundings, his pupils contracted before quickly returning to calm.
"Long time no see, Doflamingo." With a cigar hanging from his mouth and an empty washbasin in hand, Crocodile stood before him, looking down with an amused smile.
"Crocodile," Doflamingo's voice was low.
"You're one of the few people in this world who dared attack Senior Kojin head-on. I've got to admit, I admire your courage."
Doflamingo didn't feel praised in the slightest. Instead, his expression grew even darker.
The pressure that man gave off was no weaker than that of the Emperors ruling the New World. In fact, he might have been even stronger. Against such an opponent, even being allowed to make a choice felt like an act of mercy.
"He wants to see you. You'd better think carefully about what you're going to say," Crocodile's voice echoed through the cabin.
Doflamingo's eyes flickered, and he fell silent. He knew exactly what kind of opportunity this was. Although there were no shackles or restraints on him, standing up still required all his strength. Pain shot through every part of his body; there was no doubt that the battle earlier had left him heavily injured.
Compared to over ten years ago, he had become countless times stronger, yet against that man, he had still been crushed utterly. The gap remained enormous. Swaying slightly, he finally got to his feet and followed Crocodile toward the bow.
The Crocodile was a massive battleship, ranking among the best in terms of size, firepower, and facilities. The two walked one behind the other and soon arrived at the front of the ship.
Doflamingo looked ahead, and one imposing figure after another entered his sight. Corazon, Buggy, Smoker, a cold and elegant female swordswoman, and a collection of strange-looking individuals who appeared to be members of Baroque Works. There was also the helmsman... a Fish-Man?
Just from their presence alone, Doflamingo realized that this crew was probably no weaker than any Emperor's crew in the New World.
"I admire your talent and your relentless pursuit of strength," a calm voice sounded. Doflamingo turned his gaze and looked seriously at the sturdy figure seated ahead. "So I'm willing to give you one more chance."
Kojin sat in a chair, lightly tapping the armrest with his index finger. "Now then. Is there anything you'd like to say?"
Doflamingo fell silent. He naturally understood what this opportunity meant.
More than ten years ago, he had left the West Blue base as an undercover agent dispatched by Kojin and returned to the seas. In the blink of an eye, he had become the king of Dressrosa and one of the world-famous Seven Warlords. But at this moment, all of that became meaningless in front of this man. Only overwhelming strength could serve as the foundation for everything else.
"I've always been the undercover agent that Senior Kojin sent out," Doflamingo finally grinned and spoke after a long silence.
He wanted to live. Because only by living could there be endless possibilities and opportunities in the future. The dead had no future.
The finger tapping the chair's armrest stopped. Kojin looked at the man before him and suddenly smiled. "I've always known. You're a smart man. So smart people should do the things smart people are supposed to do."
Doflamingo nodded silently. Until he possessed enough power, submission was his only option. The interesting part was that Kojin seemed to genuinely appreciate him; he had spared him once again.
Kojin stopped paying attention to Doflamingo and lowered his head to look through the stack of bounty posters Kuina had handed him. After flipping through several, he came across a familiar grinning face beneath a straw hat.
"Monkey D. Luffy." Kojin couldn't help but laugh. He looked up at Crocodile, his tone teasing. "You lost to him?"
Crocodile's expression stiffened, and he snorted. "As if I could really kill the kid."
"You understand how the world works." Kojin nodded approvingly.
It was obvious that Crocodile could have easily defeated Luffy in that battle. After all, this Crocodile was nothing like his original counterpart; he had mastered Observation Haki and Armament Haki, and had developed the Sand-Sand Fruit to a high level. His strength was completely genuine, already comparable to an Admiral's.
"Come to think of it, they should be in Skypiea by now, right?" Kojin muttered.
The moment Skypiea was mentioned, Crocodile's expression changed. "Skypiea? Isn't that place...?"
"His territory." Kojin looked thoughtful but unconcerned, then continued flipping through the posters. "Nico Robin?" His eyebrows rose slightly.
Kojin was somewhat surprised. He had saved all of Ohara, Robin included, so why had she still ended up joining the Straw Hat Pirates?
"Hmph!" The moment he heard her name, Crocodile's face darkened.
"Sounds like there's a story there," Kojin chuckled.
"I happened to discover her by chance. She seemed to have escaped from Ohara, and she was searching for some kind of mysterious stone," Crocodile replied in a low voice.
"A Poneglyph?" Kojin smiled lightly.
"That's right. The one in Alabasta recorded information about Pluton. So I wanted to work together with her, but who would've thought, that little girl actually...!" At that point, Crocodile clenched his fists.
"She probably thought you were a bad guy," Kojin teased.
"There aren't many people in this world more righteous than me!" Crocodile protested indignantly. Being mistaken for a villain was one of the greatest humiliations of his life, and the thought still made him angry.
Kojin laughed again, finding the whole situation rather amusing, then continued reading the posters: Eustass Kid, Basil Hawkins, X Drake, Roronoa Zoro, Urouge, Jewelry Bonney, Capone Bege, Scratchmen Apoo, Trafalgar D. Water Law...
These were the Supernovas of this generation. When Kojin read a few of the names aloud, Rosinante's expression changed slightly, becoming more serious.
"The world has certainly gone through some interesting changes while I've been away. They all seem like energetic young people." Kojin separated the bounty posters and stacked them together before smiling. "This little guy has caught my interest."
As he spoke, he tapped the poster on top, the one showing the straw-hatted boy.
"Straw Hat Luffy? You're actually interested in him?" Crocodile blinked in surprise.
"If you let me handle it, I can capture him easily!" Buggy declared excitedly. As another victim of nepotism, he had suffered enough already. Now that a superior officer was openly giving permission, he couldn't have been happier.
Kojin seemed to understand what his subordinates were thinking and smiled. "The son of an old friend deserves a little special attention."
Hearing that, Crocodile and Buggy both smiled. They firmly believed that Kojin's version of "special attention" would be very difficult for Straw Hat Luffy to endure.
Meanwhile, ten thousand meters above the sea, in Skypiea...
"Who is that guy?!"
"What kind of place have we wandered into?"
"Oh no... are we going to die?"
Facing the blond man floating in the air with a cold expression, the Straw Hat crew felt an indescribable fear rise from the depths of their hearts.
"Is he... Golden Lion Shiki?!" Nami asked in a trembling voice.
Without any warning, they had stumbled into the most dangerous situation they had ever faced.
(End of Chapter)
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