Roy shrugged off his cloak. Through Observation Haki, he confirmed no one was tailing him. With a few quick bounds, he vanished from the district.
In Grove 13, Tesoro had taken Stella and hidden inside an abandoned warehouse, gulping air in huge, ragged breaths.
There was still blood at the corner of his mouth. He was hurt, badly.
"Boss… it should've worked… right…?"
As the thought crossed his mind, the warehouse door suddenly slammed open.
The two of them almost screamed.
Then they saw it was Roy, and their bodies finally unclenched.
"Boss!"
"Yeah." Roy nodded. "Don't worry. I shook off the World Government dogs. For now, we're safe."
Before Tesoro could even respond, Roy grabbed a nearby box and flipped it open.
Inside, two strangely shaped Devil Fruits lay side by side.
One was pure white, its surface covered in feather-like patterns.
The other was the fruit Roy had been craving from the moment he saw it.
Paramecia.
The Nen Nen Fruit.
"Lucky," Roy said, the corner of his mouth lifting. "That white one's probably a Zoan."
He picked up the pink Nen Nen Fruit and bit down.
Crunch.
A wave of nausea slammed straight into his brain through his taste buds.
It was beyond disgusting.
Worse than fermented herring mixed with the concentrated essence of trash that had been soaking in a filthy gutter.
"Ghk…!"
Technically, one bite was enough.
But people said if you ate the entire fruit, it became easier to develop the ability further, even to Awakening.
Just in case, he was finishing it.
Roy closed his eyes, shoved the rest of the fruit into his mouth, and swallowed it in one brutal gulp.
Afterward, he collapsed face-first onto the floor, ready to demand water from Tesoro to rinse his mouth.
Before he could speak.
A violent psychic storm erupted from Roy like a shockwave.
It swept outward in all directions.
Tesoro and Stella, standing too close, were blasted off their feet instantly. They crashed through the warehouse wall and landed on the grass outside.
All across Grove 13, ordinary people clutched their heads as if something had struck their brains. Their thoughts turned to mush for a moment. They spun around in confusion, trying to figure out what had happened.
The strong, the truly strong, narrowed their eyes and looked in Roy's direction.
In Roy's senses, his mental force had exploded several times over.
His Observation Haki expanded massively.
Before, it could cover only half of Sabaody.
Now, it could easily blanket the entire archipelago, and keep stretching outward for who knew how many nautical miles.
Roy opened his eyes, staring at the world as if it had become sharper, louder, more alive.
Outside, Tesoro groaned, holding his head as he slowly pushed himself up, looking at Roy like he'd just witnessed a natural disaster.
"Boss… just now…"
"Yeah." Roy exhaled. "That's the power I just gained."
"But this isn't the time to explain. Take Stella and get out of here. Go to Shakky's bar and wait for me."
"You're not coming with us?" Tesoro asked, baffled.
"I'm going to get some money first. The deal with Shakky is already set."
Tesoro hesitated, then shook his head hard.
"No, Boss. We already have money. Enough to complete the deal."
He moved to a corner, dragged out another box, and opened it in front of Roy.
"Boss, I checked. There's five hundred million Beli in here."
Roy laughed out loud and accepted the box.
"Hahaha. Good work, Tesoro."
"Then we move now. Complete the transaction, and leave Sabaody."
At the same time.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Inside the conference room, the current Fleet Admiral, Kong, was in discussion with the top brass.
"With Rocks dead, his former subordinates have scattered. Each of them has formed their own crew, fighting over territory."
"The New World has become even more chaotic."
"Whitebeard's crew has already taken control of dozens of islands around Sphinx."
"At the same time, Shiki's Flying Pirates have secured a large portion of the first half of the New World. His people are relentlessly attacking Marine bases, trying to drive us out completely."
The report continued.
"Wang Zhi has holed up on Hachinosu, the old Rocks stronghold."
"Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, and the others are all stirring."
The room fell into heavy silence.
Every officer frowned as they stared at the documents.
With the situation this messy, there was no clean solution.
Kong looked at his silent subordinates and felt a headache coming on.
In the end, he could only issue the order.
"Withdraw most of our forces from the New World."
"Stabilize the first half of the Grand Line and the Four Blues first."
"At the same time, keep only two bases in the New World."
"G 3 and G 4."
"Station two Admirals there to monitor pirate movements."
"Yes."
Most of the officers agreed, but someone raised a concern.
"If we pull out on such a large scale, won't the World Government be displeased?"
Kong snorted.
"If the World Government is displeased, they can raise our funding and support Marine expansion."
"We don't have the manpower. If they have a problem, I'll be the one to talk to them."
Buru. Buru. Buru.
Click.
A Den Den Mushi in Kong's pocket rang.
He answered.
The voice on the other end carried the authority of the highest level of the World Government.
One of the Five Elders.
Saint Saturn.
"Kong. A Celestial Dragon was attacked on Sabaody."
"Deploy an Admiral immediately."
"Capture the culprit and send them to the Holy Land."
"I will send you the information shortly."
The officers around the table saw Kong's face darken at once.
They all understood.
Something big had happened.
Kong hung up, then looked around the room with a grim expression.
"We've received orders from the Five Elders."
"Someone attacked a Celestial Dragon on Sabaody."
"The details will arrive soon."
A young Marine pushed open the door and rushed in with a stack of documents. He distributed them quickly, then stood at attention.
"Hah!"
"So there really are pirates bold enough to attack a Celestial Dragon this close to the Holy Land," a Vice Admiral muttered, confused. "But this only shows two figures covered in cloaks. How are we supposed to identify them?"
Puhahaha!
A booming laugh burst out.
"I like it. I've never been able to stand Celestial Dragons."
The one laughing was the Hero of the Marines, Monkey D. Garp, still in his middle-aged prime.
Kong's forehead twitched. Veins nearly popped.
"Damn it, Garp! Is now the time to say that?"
"Since you're so happy about it, then you can handle this mission!"
"Like hell I'm protecting those trash Celestial Dragons," Garp shot back. "I'm going after Roger."
Before Kong could say another word, Garp stood, threw his Marine coat over his shoulders, and strode out, taking his men with him.
On Kong's right sat the current Admiral known as the "Strategist."
Sengoku the Buddha.
Seeing Kong about to explode, Sengoku quickly stepped in.
"Everyone knows what Garp is like."
"And capturing the Roger Pirates is also important."
"I'll take this mission."
Kong's expression eased slightly as Sengoku accepted the order.
"Good."
"You will deploy."
"After capture, hand the culprit over directly to the Marine base on the island."
"Someone will take over from there."
"Yes."
Sengoku stood, saluted, and left the conference room.