The doors had barely closed before the strategy chamber erupted into overlapping voices.
Vice Admirals demanded clarification about the dead recruits.
Intelligence officers began gathering the charts around Paradise.
Sakazuki ordered a secure route opened for G-9's full report, while Garp stood beside the table looking as though relief and fury were competing for control of his face.
Sengoku struck the table once.
"Quiet."
The room obeyed.
He looked toward the communications officers.
"Zaraki's survival remains classified. No general broadcast, no celebratory message, and no notice to branch commands until I approve the wording. Zephyr's report goes through a command-only channel."
One officer hesitated.
"Fleet Admiral, Saint Nusjuro and CP0 heard everything."
"I am aware."
The answer carried more weariness than anger.
Garp folded his arms.
"He'll leak it to Kaido."
No one contradicted him.
Kaido had believed Zaraki dead after the storm.
Informing the Emperor that his opponent had survived would be the simplest way for the World Government to create a second assassination attempt without placing its own forces in the open.
Sengoku looked toward the doors Nusjuro had used.
"The candidate route is the greater problem. Zephyr reported Little Garden because Headquarters needed to know where Zaraki intended to collect Dorry and Brogy. Now the Five Elders know it too."
"Then send a warning," Garp said.
"To whom? Zaraki has no Marine receiver we can reach without exposing the vessel carrying him, and Little Garden has no Headquarters relay."
Garp's expression darkened.
"He gave the giants a Den Den Mushi."
Several officers looked toward him.
"How do you know that?" Sengoku asked.
Garp rubbed the back of his head.
"I don't. It sounds like something the brat might do."
Sengoku's glare sharpened.
"That was not useful."
"It might still be true."
Sakazuki spoke before the argument could continue.
"Assume the Five Elders will act. We should also assume Zaraki will not remain on Little Garden long. Kaido cannot cross from Wano to Paradise instantly, even with Government intelligence."
"Unless CP0 clears the route," Tsuru said from the far end of the table.
She had remained silent through most of the confrontation, reading each expression more carefully than the reports themselves.
"The Government controls enough information around the Red Line to make a pursuit faster. They could provide an Eternal Pose, withdraw patrols along a selected route, and delay warnings from Paradise."
Garp's fists tightened.
"Then I'll go."
Sengoku shook his head.
"If you leave Marineford openly, Nusjuro will know we anticipated the move. Worse, you may arrive after Zaraki has already departed and leave Headquarters exposed for nothing."
"So we sit here?"
"We prepare without announcing why." Sengoku turned toward Sakazuki. "Reinforce Paradise patrols under the excuse of protecting the G-9 relief route. Tsuru, identify every Government-controlled transit channel that could be cleared for a New World force. If one changes schedule without Marine authorization, I want to know."
Tsuru nodded.
"And Zaraki?"
Sengoku looked toward the Paradise charts.
"We trust that whatever else he has become, he has at least learned not to stand still when the entire world knows where he is."
Garp gave him a flat look.
"You have met him."
"I said we trust it. I did not say I believed it."
...
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro did not return directly to Mary Geoise.
In a private chamber beneath Marineford reserved for Cipher Pol communications, one of the masked agents placed a secure Den Den Mushi on the table.
The receiver was part of an old channel used to negotiate weapons, intelligence, and shipping arrangements with underworld intermediaries connected to the Beasts Pirates.
Nusjuro looked toward the agent.
"Send the route estimate."
"The Marine report places Zaraki aboard an unidentified underwater vessel," the agent replied. "His exact position cannot be tracked."
"His destination can."
The Elder's finger tapped once against the table.
"Little Garden. Paradise. Dorry and Brogy are waiting there, and Zaraki intends to collect them before continuing the Warlord evaluation."
The second CP0 agent spoke.
"Kaido will require time to cross the Red Line."
"Provide an Eternal Pose and withdraw Government observers from the selected route. Marine patrols are not to receive the change until the Beasts Pirates have already passed."
"And the compensation?"
Nusjuro's expression remained cold.
"Information is the compensation. Kaido wants Zaraki dead more than he wants payment. If he demands more, offer temporary access to the weapons seized from Doflamingo's abandoned network and freedom from Cipher Pol interference during the pursuit."
The agent inclined his head.
"What of the MADS evidence?"
"Separate matter. G-9 will surrender it eventually."
Nusjuro's eyes narrowed.
"If Sengoku refuses, we will remind him where Marine authority ends."
...
Onigashima remained loud enough to shake the skull-shaped dome, but the celebration beneath it carried an uneasy edge.
One of the All-Star positions stood vacant after Jack's death, and the Tobi Roppo had spent the evening circling the opportunity like predators around fresh blood.
Who's-Who argued that his strength and intelligence made him the obvious successor.
Sasaki answered that commanding men mattered more than hiding behind old achievements, while Black Maria watched them both with a smile that suggested she considered the argument entertainment.
Kaido sat above them with an enormous sake bowl in one hand.
The argument below did nothing to improve his mood.
Jack had died to Zaraki. Doflamingo had fallen soon afterward.
The Marine responsible had then challenged Kaido directly, survived longer than most men deserved, and vanished into a storm fierce enough that even Kaido had accepted the sea might have finished the work.
Who's-Who stepped forward.
"Kaido-san, the All-Star position should be decided by strength. Give us the chance to prove it instead of leaving the seat empty for a dead man."
The sake bowl stopped near Kaido's mouth.
"Dead man?"
Who's-Who felt the danger too late.
He lowered his head.
"I meant Jack's seat, Kaido-san."
"You were also speaking about Zaraki."
The hall quieted.
Who's-Who chose his answer carefully.
"The Marine fought well enough to wound you and kill Jack. I would not insult that strength. But nearly three weeks have passed without a confirmed sighting."
Kaido drank.
"Then say that. Don't call someone weak because you're frightened he might return."
Who's-Who's jaw tightened behind his mask, but he bowed.
Before anyone could reopen the argument, a Gifter responsible for secure communications hurried into the hall with a black receiver wrapped in cloth.
"Kaido-san! King-san! The underworld trade line is ringing. It carries a Cipher Pol authentication code."
King descended from the upper platform, flames burning across his back, and took the receiver.
"This is King."
The Den Den Mushi's face shifted into the severe features of Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro.
"Put Kaido on."
King's eyes narrowed.
"State your purpose first."
"It concerns Zaraki."
The sake bowl cracked inside Kaido's hand.
Ceramic broke into powder between his fingers and spilled across the floor without cutting his skin.
His molten-gold eyes fixed on the receiver.
"Talk."
Nusjuro's voice came through the static.
"Zaraki survived your battle. Earlier today, he killed Edward Weevil during a failed Warlord evaluation in Paradise."
No one beneath the dome moved.
Kaido slowly rose from his throne.
The humiliation that crossed his face was not the anger of a man who had been tricked.
Zaraki had never promised to die.
It was the fury of a warrior learning that the opponent he believed the storm had claimed was still moving through the sea, growing stronger and fighting elsewhere.
"He survived," Kaido said.
The words came out almost softly.
Then his grin widened, savage and furious.
"Worororo... He survived me."
Conqueror's Haki rolled through the hall. Weaker pirates collapsed where they stood, while the Tobi Roppo braced themselves beneath the pressure.
"Prepare the fastest ships," Kaido ordered. "We're going after him."
King kept the receiver near his face.
"You know where he is?"
"Not exactly," Nusjuro replied. "We know where he intends to go. Little Garden in Paradise. The Government can provide an Eternal Pose and clear a route through the patrol network. Whether you reach him before he leaves is your concern."
Kaido's molten-gold eyes burned brighter.
"And what do you want?"
"One result. Zaraki must not return to Marineford."
Kaido laughed.
"You old bastards finally realized your own Marine scares you."
"This is a transaction."
"No. It's convenient." Kaido stepped down from the throne, the stone cracking beneath his weight. "I already wanted his head. You're only showing me where to look."
Nusjuro's tone remained even.
"The Eternal Pose and route instructions will be delivered through the trade channel. Government observers along the selected passage will not interfere with your fleet."
King looked toward Kaido.
Crossing from Wano to Paradise would still take time, even with the route cleared. Zaraki might already have left Little Garden by the time they arrived.
Kaido understood that as well.
"Then we move now," he said. "If he leaves before I arrive, I'll follow the trail until I find him."
The call ended.
Across Onigashima, horns sounded as the Beasts Pirates began preparing for departure.
---------
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