Marineford.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office was unusually silent, yet the air inside felt heavier than any battlefield. The Den Den Mushi reports, photo transponders, and intelligence scrolls were scattered across the large wooden desk like fragments of a coming storm.
Sengoku slammed the latest report onto the table so hard the teacup beside him cracked.
"Damn Ren," he growled, dragging a hand through his hair in rage, helplessness, and irritation. "I knew this bastard was up to something big when he left Fishman Island. And here is the bastard starting a fucking war with Kaido."
Around the table sat the highest military powers of the Marines. Admirals. Vice Admirals. Strategists. All staring at the same set of photographs.
The images were taken by spies embedded within the Beast Pirates—men who had only regained consciousness after Ren's Conqueror's Haki had been withdrawn from the island.
One photograph showed a thousand-meter-long azure Dragon coiling across a torn sky. Opposite it stood a thousand-meter-tall Golden Great Ape, standing on golden-orange clouds like some ancient deity descending from myth.
The sky between them was split cleanly in two.
Kizaru adjusted his glasses lazily, his tone as slow and detached as ever. "How scary. Kids these days are really monsters."
For once, however, he wasn't joking.
Sakazuki slammed his fist onto the table, cracks spreading across the wood. "Why did you let him run free when he was discovered?" he demanded, staring at Sengoku. "We had the chance."
Sengoku snapped immediately. "How the hell was I supposed to know he would become a monster in a few months?!"
The memory flashed in his mind—Ren leaving Fishman Island after dismantling slave routes, crippling underworld connections, and leaving behind a political nightmare. At the time, he had seemed dangerous.
Now he was colliding with Kaido.
Garp's booming laughter cut through the tension. "Bahahahahaha! Sengoku, I told you. This boy really knows how to keep things entertaining."
Sengoku barked back, veins popping at his temples. "You shut your damn mouth. Or I will for you."
Garp only laughed louder, but his eyes lingered on the photograph longer than necessary.
Sakazuki leaned forward again, voice colder now. "Wasn't he escorted by the Kuja to Sabaody Archipelago? Let me go and capture Boa Hancock."
The room stiffened.
"That kid is protective of his people," Sakazuki continued. "Just look at Fishman Island. Since that man-hating woman gave him a lift, they must be at least close friends—or more."
Sengoku was about to bark another refusal, but he stopped.
He actually considered it.
Kuzan leaned back in his chair, ice forming faintly along the armrests. "Ara ara… she is a Warlord. If we capture her, it might trigger the others. And we don't have the right to move against a Warlord of the Sea."
That statement pulled Sengoku back to reality.
"Yeah," he muttered, rubbing his forehead. "We can't do that. Not until the Gorosei give permission."
He reached toward the Den Den Mushi.
Before he could dial, Garp spoke.
"You might wanna reconsider," Garp said quietly.
The room fell still.
"Just as Sakazuki said, he is protective. If you push him, he will become a pirate. Don't forget he still doesn't have a bounty. And hasn't done anything that might get him one."
His voice was uncharacteristically serious.
"He's been fighting pirates and slave traders," Garp continued. "The civilians would see him as a hero. If we brand him an enemy without cause, we lose moral ground."
Kizaru nodded slowly. "Old man Garp is right. He is just fighting pirates and slave traders. But if we move against Boa Hancock… things might change."
Kuzan tapped another photograph on the table.
It showed Yamato mid-swing, black lightning trailing from her weapon as she fought King, Jack, and Who's Who alone on the rooftop.
"And don't forget," Kuzan added quietly, "he has connections to Dark King Rayleigh… and this."
He tapped Yamato's image again.
"From reports, it's clear she knows Conqueror's infusion. And even without it, she is fighting King, Jack, two All-Stars, and Who's Who alone."
He looked at Sengoku directly.
"Who knows if he has any other friends? If you poke him, it will be troublesome for the Marines."
Silence fell over the room.
Even Sakazuki did not immediately respond.
Then—
The Den Den Mushi rang.
Its shrill sound sliced through the tension like a blade.
Sengoku inhaled slowly before answering. "This is Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
A cold voice came through the receiver.
"How do you plan to deal with Ren?"
It was one of the Five Elders.
Sengoku's forehead was already drenched in sweat. Without thinking, his mouth moved faster than his caution.
"Pirate Empress Boa Hancock seems to have a close connection to Ren."
The room went cold.
There was silence on the other end.
Then Saturn's voice came, measured and emotionless. "Send an Admiral. Capture Boa Hancock."
Sengoku cursed himself internally.
"Your Excellency," he said carefully, "if we do that, we will be making Ren the enemy of the Marines. He hasn't done anything wrong yet."
"The Celestial Dragons are mad because of the lack of Fishman slaves," Saturn replied flatly.
Several Vice Admirals visibly stiffened.
Sengoku gritted his teeth.
"I understand," he said stiffly. "Sakazuki will be sent now."
The Den Den Mushi call ended.
Sengoku mentally cursed five generations of the Gorosei.
He could feel the shift in the room's atmosphere.
His gaze drifted toward his oldest friend.
What he saw sent cold chill down his spine.
Garp was calm.
Too calm.
His face was hidden beneath his own shadow, but the veins bulging along his arms, neck, and forehead made Sengoku's skin crawl. The wooden floor beneath Garp's hand had cracked silently from unconscious pressure.
Near him, Tsuru's hand was clenched into a fist, nails digging into her palm hard enough to draw blood.
Kuzan's presence had dropped several degrees. Ice crept across the chair, the floor, even the edge of Sengoku's desk. His eyes were hidden behind shadow and mask.
The Vice Admirals looked uncomfortable.
They knew everything.
But hearing the last sentence—about the Celestial Dragons being angry over missing Fishman slaves—twisted something in their stomachs.
Sengoku knew they wouldn't betray the Navy.
But a seed had been planted.
And some seeds had already begun growing.
That worried him more than Kaido or Ren.
He sighed heavily, questioning for the thousandth time why he had even become Fleet Admiral.
Shaking the thought away, he turned to Sakazuki.
"Take a battleship and head to Amazon Lily. Capture Boa Hancock alive."
Sakazuki stood without hesitation.
"As you command."
He turned and walked out of the office, coat of justice trailing behind him like a blade.
Garp also stood.
Sengoku instinctively opened his mouth to stop him, but when Garp's eyes locked onto his, the words died in his throat.
There was no laughter now.
No teasing.
Just a silent storm.
After a moment, Sengoku swallowed. "Go to East Blue… calm down for a while."
Garp said nothing.
He turned and left.
The door closed behind him with a heavy thud.
Sengoku leaned back in his chair and exhaled slowly, exhaustion settling into his bones.
Outside the harbor, Sakazuki's battleship began preparations.
Cannons were loaded. Sails adjusted. Orders barked with ruthless efficiency.
The war machine was moving.
—
Meanwhile, the world did not pause.
Above Onigashima, Ren and Kaido continued their earth-shaking clash. Dragon scales shattered clouds while golden fists sent shockwaves rolling across the sea.
On the rooftop, Yamato fought King, Jack, and Who's Who under the guidance of Ren's clone, her Haki sharpening with every exchange.
In the Flower Capital, Kozuki loyalists carved their way through Orochi's forces as prophecy loomed closer to fulfillment.
And now, across the Calm Belt—
An Admiral was sailing toward Amazon Lily.
A single order.
A single decision.
And the fragile balance holding Ren between "hero" and "pirate" was about to crack.