The following morning, far away in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, a different storm was brewing inside Pangaea Castle.
Military boots struck the white marble floor in rapid, heavy steps.
Sengoku moved through the corridor leading toward the Hall of Authority with his face dark and his Justice coat snapping behind him.
He had left Tsuru in charge of coordinating the Dressrosa response, then crossed to Mary Geoise before dawn after receiving the Five Elders' summons.
CP0 agents stood along both sides of the corridor.
None of them tried to stop him.
At the far end, the enormous reinforced doors of the Hall of Authority came into view.
Sengoku did not wait to be announced.
He shoved them open hard enough that both doors struck the inner walls with a thunderous crash.
The solemn atmosphere inside shattered.
On the raised platform at the end of the chamber, five elderly figures turned toward him.
"Outrageous!"
Nusjuro rose halfway from his seat, fury tightening his grip around the hilt of the Shodai Kitetsu.
"Sengoku! Have you forgotten where you are?"
Saturn face had gone livid.
"You storm into Pangaea Castle like a common pirate. Has Doflamingo's death driven even the Fleet Admiral insane?"
Doflamingo.
The instant Sengoku heard the name, his bloodshot eyes sharpened.
So that was what this summons was about.
Joker had maintained part of the New World's underground trade network, carried secrets connected to the Celestial Dragons, and served as a disposable bridge between the World Government and Kaido's weapons economy.
Now Zaraki had erased him in front of the entire world.
"Insane?"
Sengoku's chest rose and fell.
"You leaked Zaraki's route!"
His voice cut across the chamber before Saturn could speak again.
"You fed Kaido enough information to redirect him toward Dressrosa, just as Cipher Pol used Shiryu and the chaos inside Impel Down to create another convenient accident."
Sengoku stepped forward.
"You did not care whether Doflamingo survived. You wanted Zaraki trapped between a Warlord and an Emperor, then buried the result beneath a report calling him reckless."
"Enough," Mars said.
The blond Elder with the long beard remained seated, his voice cold and controlled.
"Assigning Zaraki the Warlord mission was a routine World Government decision. His later choice to attack Doflamingo and confront Kaido was his own."
"You expect me to believe the timing was coincidence?"
"Belief is irrelevant. Proof is what matters."
That answer only confirmed how carefully the paper trail had been cleaned.
Sengoku's fists tightened.
Faint golden light flickered between his fingers before he forced it back down.
Attacking the Five Elders would accomplish nothing except give them the excuse they wanted.
When Sengoku raised his head again, the fury in his eyes had cooled into something harder.
"That brat is not dead."
His voice carried through every corner of the hall.
"And I did not come here to argue over which one of you signed which order."
He looked across the five men.
"I came to warn you."
The room became still.
"If another covert operation targets Zaraki, I will put every sealed report from Impel Down directly in Garp's hands—the unauthorized CP0 infiltration, the orders involving Shiryu, the falsified warrants, and every unexplained change to Zaraki's route."
Sengoku's mouth curved into a cold smile.
"Then I will remove Marine personnel from every operation connected to that directive and let Garp come here to ask the five of you why the young Marine he personally vouched for was treated as an expendable pawn."
The threat landed harder than a shouted declaration.
Garp.
The Marine Hero had never remained in the Marines because he respected the Celestial Dragons.
He stayed because of his comrades, his responsibility toward younger Marines, and the people he still believed the uniform could protect.
If Sengoku placed proof of a deliberate assassination attempt in front of him, no one in the room could predict where Garp's restraint would end.
Saturn slowly stood.
"What exactly are you threatening to do, Sengoku?"
"I am telling you what I will no longer prevent."
The answer left the hall silent.
Sengoku had spent decades standing between Garp and the political consequences of Garp being himself.
He was now threatening to step aside.
After a long moment, Mars raised one hand, signaling Saturn to sit.
"That is enough."
His voice remained calm, but the tension beneath it was unmistakable.
"The standing covert directive regarding Zaraki will be suspended. Cipher Pol will take no further action against him without consultation with Marine Headquarters."
Sengoku's expression did not change.
"In writing."
Saturn's eyes narrowed.
"With all five seals," Sengoku continued. "Before I leave Mary Geoise."
The silence stretched.
Then Mars nodded once.
"So be it."
The hostile pressure in the chamber eased slightly, though no one believed the conflict had truly ended.
Mars changed the subject.
"Doflamingo's death has left a vacancy among the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The position must be filled quickly if the system is to retain any value."
A CP0 agent stepped from the shadows carrying a sealed folder.
At Mars's signal, the agent brought it to Sengoku.
"This is a shortlist of candidates," Mars said. "Marine Headquarters will evaluate them. Have Zephyr conduct the initial assessment. His judgment and reputation make him suitable for the task."
Sengoku accepted the folder but did not open it immediately.
Ordering Zephyr to assess pirates for a Warlord seat was not an innocent choice. Depending on the names inside, it could be an insult, a provocation, or another trap.
He opened the file.
After reading the first page, his pupils contracted slightly.
The anger did not disappear, but the tension around his mouth loosened into something closer to wary surprise.
...
The expression that crossed Sengoku's face settled into a scoff.
"Heh."
He closed the folder with a sharp snap.
Mars watched him from the platform.
"What do you think of the candidates?"
"What do I think?"
Sengoku looked up as if he had heard a joke.
"I think you old bastards are as terrible at choosing attack dogs as ever."
He turned before any of them could answer.
"Remember what you signed."
His Justice coat swept behind him as he walked toward the doors.
He did not look back.
Only after the doors closed and he entered the long corridor beyond did the tension in his shoulders loosen slightly.
The names in the folder had genuinely surprised him.
One in particular would make Zephyr furious.
Sengoku almost felt sorry for whoever happened to be nearby when the old instructor opened the file.
Almost.
For now, he had more urgent problems.
Zaraki was still missing.
Garp was tearing apart the waters around Dressrosa looking for him.
And Morgans had already ensured that the entire world was watching Marine Headquarters for its next move.
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