Sabo entered without warning. His steps were firm, not rushed. Dragon only lifted his gaze, observing the disciple's posture as he approached the table.
"We received new information."
Dragon did not answer. He simply waited.
Sabo placed two sheets of paper on the smooth surface.
"Rumors about the deaths of the Gorosei."
Koala appeared right behind him, carrying the focused expression of someone who had been analyzing data since early morning. She stopped beside Sabo and crossed her arms.
"I don't trust this."
She breathed slowly before continuing.
"No one is speaking openly. No official reaction, no movement from the Navy, no change in the flow of global orders."
Dragon kept his attention in silence as he turned the paper with the tip of his fingers.
Sabo pointed to the second report.
"But we have something concrete. The Tenryuubito are returning to Mary Geoise. All of them."
Koala added a quick note.
"This hasn't happened in decades. They never gather like this without a reason."
Dragon felt the weight of the information slide into the center of his thoughts. The deaths of the Gorosei were unlikely. Each member of that group was protected by layers of security no revolutionary had ever breached since the beginning of the movement.
But the Celestials moving all at once… that was real.
Dragon released a brief breath through his nose. It was not irritation. It was calculation.
Sabo kept his posture firm.
"If they really are returning, something enormous happened."
Koala frowned.
"And that's exactly why I think it might be a trap. False news spread through the underworld to lure you to Mary Geoise."
Sabo agreed with a short nod.
"Or to measure our reaction."
The clock on the wall marked a long second as Dragon absorbed every word.
He closed his hand over the paper.
"Who spread the rumor?"
"Secondary underworld channels," Koala replied. "Sources that usually deal with pirates, not global politics."
Sabo added.
"And the pattern is strange. The same wording appearing in different regions, as if someone wanted to spread a lie… or a truth."
Koala tilted her head.
"I don't like this, Sabo. If the Gorosei had died, we would see chaos. The Navy would be in collapse, Cipher Pol would be mobilizing entire contingents."
Sabo took a deep breath.
"I know. But the movement of the Tenryuubito is not fabricated. They are gathering. I saw it with my own eyes."
Dragon closed the second report.
The pieces connected, but in an abnormal way. There was no logic in the World Government hiding the deaths of its own leaders unless the one responsible was as dangerous as Imu himself, or worse.
Dragon rested his fingers on the table, weighing the only possible conclusion.
"If the Gorosei died, the Government will try to hide it as long as they can."
Koala remained firm.
"And that changes everything. The world will move."
Dragon kept silent for a few more seconds.
"I don't trust rumors."
Sabo nodded.
"Neither do I. But the movement of the Celestials is not a rumor."
Dragon considered it with meticulous coldness. The deaths of the Gorosei, if real, would completely alter the world balance. Order would vanish in a matter of days. The revolutionaries would need to move fast or be swallowed by chaos along with the civilians they had sworn to protect.
But that was not all.
It was the kind of event that could be used to lure leaders into ambushes. And Dragon knew his enemies would never abandon that strategy.
Koala stepped half a pace forward.
"What are we going to do?"
Dragon closed the report.
"Verify the truth."
Sabo breathed deeply.
"With whom?"
Dragon did not answer right away. He turned his chair to the side, facing the small shelf where a single Den Den Mushi rested in silence.
"I'll confirm it with someone who cannot afford to believe in rumors."
Koala narrowed her eyes.
"Someone from the Navy?"
Dragon rotated the dial to the end.
"No."
Sabo frowned.
"Then who?"
The sound began.
PURUPURUPURUPU PURUPURUPURUPU PURU PURU
Koala kept her gaze locked on the Den Den Mushi, her body tense. Sabo stayed silent beside her, counting every second.
KATCHA
The snail's face changed, taking on familiar traits. The voice came low, direct, without detours.
"I thought you would call."
Dragon wasted no time.
"I needed to confirm something."
The voice on the other side replied without pause.
"What you want to know is true."
Dragon lightly pressed his fingers against the base of the Den Den Mushi.
"Then they died."
"Yes."
The confirmation came dry.
"All five. No shadows left… no throne."
Koala felt a chill run down her spine but said nothing. Sabo held his breath for a moment, absorbing the information without letting any reaction escape aloud.
Dragon continued.
"Who killed them?"
Silence lasted a second.
"I don't know who did it, but I can guarantee one thing."
The Den Den Mushi's voice grew lower, firm.
"Whoever killed the Gorosei is not someone you want as an enemy."
The snail made a small movement, mimicking its owner holding back something he preferred not to say.
"And you didn't call me for politics. So let's skip the formalities and admit that none of us follows the old rules of this world anymore."
Dragon remained motionless.
"Luffy."
The Den Den Mushi slowly closed its eyes, the voice adjusting its weight subtly.
"Yes."
Shanks breathed in audibly for the first time.
"And Luffy? Any news about him?"
Dragon answered without wavering.
"No."
The word came straight, without hesitation.
Even so, Koala noticed the slight tightening of Dragon's jaw, almost imperceptible. Sabo beside him understood the weight of the silence that followed.
The Den Den Mushi stayed still for a few seconds before the voice returned.
"I tracked news of him to Alabasta. After that… nothing. He and the crew vanished."
Shanks let fatigue seep into his voice without hiding it.
"I searched everywhere I could without starting an unnecessary war. I found no body. No trail. No sign."
Dragon kept his tone neutral.
"Our informants didn't either."
Shanks continued.
"Then he is dead… or somewhere none of us can reach."
The pause was short, but heavy.
"Either way, he is no longer on this board."
Dragon stayed silent. It was neither refusal nor shock. It was calculation.
Shanks spoke again.
"You know I'm not the kind of man who accepts that easily."
Dragon merely adjusted the Den Den Mushi a few millimeters, a minimal gesture.
"Neither am I."
Shanks resumed.
"If you came to confirm the deaths of the old men, consider it confirmed. Mary Geoise is… strangely too organized. Too much order when there should be screaming. That only happens when someone is hiding a collapse."
Dragon asked directly.
"And the Tenryuubito?"
"Returning en masse."
The Den Den Mushi frowned.
"Everyone wants to lock themselves in the same place. Some out of fear. Others because they still think they can command the world by shouting louder than the rest."
Dragon absorbed the information.
"I understand."
Shanks asked the final question.
"What are you going to do now, Dragon?"
He did not hesitate.
"What I always do. But on a larger scale."
Shanks let out a short sound, almost a humorless laugh.
"Then let's see who reaches the end of this story first. You… or him."
Dragon narrowed his eyes.
"Him?"
"The one who killed those at the top."
The Den Den Mushi tilted its head.
"If he keeps moving like this, there won't be much left for you to tear down."
Dragon kept his voice steady.
"I don't need the world to be intact. I just need it to exist when I'm done."
Shanks did not argue.
"Understood."
Silence settled once more. Dragon broke it first.
"If you learn anything about Luffy, tell me."
"If you arrive first, do the same."
Dragon ended it.
"All right."
KATCHA
The call ended.
The Den Den Mushi's face returned to normal, expressionless. Dragon pushed the snail aside with a simple gesture and turned back to the two.
Sabo stayed quiet. There was no shock in his eyes, only understanding of the weight of what he had just heard. He already knew the world was heading toward a breaking point. Now he was certain.
Koala pressed her fingers against her own arm.
"So… it's true."
Dragon confirmed with a single nod.
"The Gorosei are dead."
Sabo breathed deeply, controlling any reaction that threatened to surface.
"If they died and the Tenryuubito are concentrating in Mary Geoise… the Government will try to maintain a façade of control until the last second."
Dragon agreed.
"And it's in that interval that the world breaks."
Koala stepped forward.
"What will we do?"
Dragon did not hesitate.
"Prepare the Revolutionary Army."
Sabo straightened his posture.
"Total mobilization?"
"Yes."
Dragon placed his hand on the table.
"I want all cells on alert. Every regional commander must know the world has entered a transition phase. We won't attack yet, but no one will act as if these are normal times."
Koala nodded, already mentally listing names, routes, and bases scattered across the seas.
"I'll notify them immediately. We'll adjust routes, reinforce hideouts, and increase surveillance over islands under Navy control."
Sabo spoke next.
"I'll move as well. I want to personally see how the Government reacts to the absence of the Gorosei. The way they hide it will tell everything about what they plan to do."
Dragon looked at him for a moment.
"Don't expose the Army before the time."
"I know."
Koala took a deep breath.
"The world doesn't know it… but the axis already broke."
Dragon closed his eyes for a moment, organizing his thoughts.
"From now on, every move we make counts as preparation for an inevitable war."
He opened his eyes again.
"And this time, we won't just topple symbols. We will tear out the structure by the root."
Sabo nodded.
"Understood."
Koala nodded as well.
"I'll start now."
The two left, each carrying their own weight of responsibility. Dragon remained alone for a few seconds, staring at the mute Den Den Mushi.
He stepped away from it.
"Then we do what remains."
Dragon walked toward the exit, already decided.
"If the throne is empty… someone will try to take it."
He did not yet know that this someone already had a name.
But he knew that the war had finally begun.
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