"It's over, it's over!"
"My career is finished..."
Upon hearing the news, the Rear Admiral stationed at Sabaody Archipelago stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning. Everything was completely ruined for him.
However, before this, if he could capture the one who killed the Celestial Dragons, there might still be a chance.
Thinking of this, the Rear Admiral instantly pressed the base's emergency button. A piercing alarm immediately blared throughout the entire Marine base.
All Marines quickly assembled.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!!"
"Someone has attacked and killed Celestial Dragons!!"
"We must capture these heinous criminals!"
"Otherwise, none of us will live to see tomorrow!"
As the Rear Admiral spoke rapidly, everyone understood the gravity of the situation. All Marines mobilized, rushing toward the district where the Celestial Dragons had been killed.
Simultaneously, the moment the emergency button was pressed at the Sabaody Archipelago base, an alarm suddenly sounded in the communications department at Marine Headquarters, Marineford. Seeing the sudden alarm, everyone present instantly turned pale. They hurriedly took the report and rushed to Sengoku's office.
"Report, Fleet Admiral!!"
"A major incident has occurred at Sabaody Archipelago!!"
"Celestial Dragons have been attacked!!"
The messenger soldier didn't even bother knocking, barging straight in. Hearing that Celestial Dragons had been attacked, Sengoku had no time to reprimand the messenger for his behavior. He hastily took the report from his hands.
In the office, Garp, who had been eating Senbei, also stopped, curiously looking toward Sengoku, wanting to know what exactly had happened. After all, attacking Celestial Dragons was a once-in-a-century event. Garp was very eager to know who could be so bold.
"Bang!!"
"A major incident!!"
Just as Garp watched curiously, Sengoku slammed the report onto the table with a grim expression, his face exceptionally terrifying. Seeing this, Garp also wiped the smile from his face.
"What exactly happened?"
"This time, it's not just an attack on Celestial Dragons!"
"Three Celestial Dragons on Sabaody Archipelago were directly killed!"
"What!!"
Hearing Sengoku's words, Garp's figure flashed, instantly appearing beside the desk. He picked up the report and read through it. After finishing, Garp was also stunned. Attacking Celestial Dragons and killing Celestial Dragons were absolutely two completely different outcomes.
The implications they represented were also different. If you merely attacked Celestial Dragons, the Marines would just send an Admiral to handle it. But directly killing Celestial Dragons...
The consequences were far more severe.
"Pass down the order!!"
"All Vice Admirals on leave are to cease their vacations immediately!"
"The three Admirals are to assemble at the port!"
"Ships are to be prepared at once! Depart for Sabaody Archipelago immediately!!"
As Sengoku swiftly issued the commands,
the entire Marine Headquarters began to mobilize.
Garp, too, understood the gravity of the situation,
quickly rising to make preparations.
Just as Sengoku stood up to head for the port,
the World Government's exclusive Den Den Mushi on his desk began to ring.
Looking at the call,
Sengoku let out a weary sigh.
What was bound to come had arrived.
As he answered,
a heavy voice came through the Den Den Mushi: "Sengoku! I order you now!"
"Spare no expense! Capture those damned ruffians!"
"This matter must not be tolerated! Once captured, execute them publicly before the entire world!"
"The world must understand the consequences of this act!"
Faced with this command,
Sengoku hurriedly complied.
As for why the World Government was in such a rush,
Sengoku could easily guess.
After eight hundred years,
the Celestial Dragons had become a group content with pleasure and comfort,
their former glory long faded.
Under eight centuries of rule, the world had developed an unspoken understanding—
no one would lay a hand on the Celestial Dragons, or rather, no one dared.
But now,
a group of ruffians had openly killed a Celestial Dragon.
If this matter was not handled properly,
the Celestial Dragons' cloak of invincibility would be torn away.
Already lacking in strength,
they would face a grave crisis.
For instance, ruthless criminals seeking fame
would naturally set their sights on the Celestial Dragons.
Thus, this incident had to be dealt with severely;
otherwise, the Celestial Dragons would have no choice but to remain holed up in the Holy Land Mary Geoise.
Soon, the Marines had assembled,
with Sengoku and Garp among them,
along with the three Admirals and numerous Vice Admirals.
The massive force marched toward Sabaody Archipelago.
Fortunately, Marine Headquarters was not far from Sabaody,
so everything should be in time.
"Kizaru!"
"Scout the island first!"
"If those criminals try to escape, stop them at all costs!"
Even the usually lazy Kizaru
understood the seriousness of the situation this time.
Besides, it was working hours anyway.
Having taken the World Government's pay, he had to do the World Government's work.
As soon as Sengoku finished speaking,
Kizaru transformed into a streak of golden light and sped toward Sabaody Archipelago.
Meanwhile, on Sabaody Archipelago,
as the mastermind behind it all,
Aoki and the others had just stepped out of a shop.
Looking at the Log Pose pointing toward Water City in his hand,
the group quickly made their way to the seaside.
Hashirama was about to use Wood Release to create a ship—
such a task
was child's play for the First Hokage.
But Aoki stopped Hashirama.
After all, a ship made with Wood Release would lack everything,
and procuring supplies was too troublesome.
There was no need to waste time.
"Next to us is Area 50, where the shipyard is~"
"There are plenty of ships there! Let's just get one!"
With Aoki's words,
the group hurriedly made their way to Area 50.
Due to the death of the Celestial Dragon,
the entire Sabaody Archipelago was now in a state of panic,
and the shipyard was nearly deserted.
Even the ships were pitifully few,
having almost all fled at the first sign of trouble.
Looking at the empty shipyard,
everyone fell silent for a moment.
Fortunately, however, areas 51 through 59 were all shipyards.
The group hurried to the next area,
and after searching three consecutive zones,
they finally found a newly built large ship in the shipyard of area 54.
The ship was fully stocked with supplies and facilities,
ready for them to simply board and set sail.
After inspecting the vessel,
everyone nodded in satisfaction
and quickly boarded the large ship.
"Huh?"
"You don't seem to be the owners of this ship, do you?"
Just as Aoki and the others were preparing to set sail,
a surprised voice suddenly reached their ears.
Everyone immediately looked down toward the dock,
where an old man with white hair was staring at them with a puzzled expression.
Looking at the old man,
Aoki instantly recognized who he was—
the right-hand man of the Pirate King, known as the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh.
"We weren't before, but we are now,"
"This ship belongs to us!"
Hearing Aoki's words,
Rayleigh, still unaware that his identity had been exposed,
continued to act like an ordinary old man and said, "This old man doesn't care who owns the ship~"
"But please pay me for my work~"
"After all, Coating is quite laborious~"
As Rayleigh finished speaking,
Aoki tossed him a bag of treasure.
"This should be enough, right?"
Looking at the large bag of treasure,
Rayleigh's wrinkles almost stretched into a smile—
this was far more profitable than robbing his own customers.
"Enough, enough, enough!"
"Hahaha, this captain is truly generous!"
"But the Coating isn't finished yet. You'll need to wait a bit before heading to the New World."
Hearing Rayleigh's words,
Aoki shrugged. "Who told you we're going to the New World?"
"Old man, we're returning to the Grand Line. We still have some matters to settle."
"We'll talk about going to the New World once we've finished and returned!"
"Don't refuse when we come to you for Coating then. Consider that money a deposit."
With that, ignoring Rayleigh's bewildered expression,
the group steered the large ship out of the dock
and sailed back toward the Grand Line.
This scene
left Rayleigh questioning everything he knew.
Why would anyone come all the way to Sabaody Archipelago
only to turn back?
Moreover, under Rayleigh's Observation Haki perception,
everyone on the ship, including Aoki, was exceptionally strong.
Their strength
would be considered explosive even in the New World.
What could possibly make such a group return to the Grand Line?
After pondering for a moment,
Rayleigh couldn't figure it out, concluding that the young pirates of today were simply different from those in his time.
But as he glanced at the large bag of treasure beside him,
Rayleigh's mood instantly brightened.
He picked it up, ready to find a place to buy some drinks.
"Huh, what exactly happened on the island earlier?"
"Never mind, never mind. Time to buy some drinks!"
Just as Aoki and the others' ship left the dock and appeared on the open sea—
since the docks were located in area 50,
very close to the Navy's stationed area 60—
they immediately spotted the massive Navy fleet in the distance.
The moment he saw the Navy fleet,
Aoki knew they were undoubtedly there for them.
And on the open sea...
Observing Aoki's unusually conspicuous vessel,
even though it wasn't flying a pirate flag,
the Marines had already adopted an attitude of rather killing the innocent than letting anyone escape.
They had destroyed countless pirate crews attempting to flee along the way.
Kizaru, who had taken action first, also noticed Aoki's ship.
A golden light instantly gathered at the tip of Kizaru's finger.
"Laser Beam!!"
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