The Grand Line's waves crashed against the Red Line, an immense mountain range of unknown origin and purpose, its peaks piercing the clouds...
Through layers of mist...
An expansive plateau at the summit revealed an ancient, majestic City Fortress...
Holy Land・Mary Geoise...
Mary Geoise, Coiling Ancient City
Flower Room…
The Flower Room, with its roof soaring tens of meters high, resembled a solemn cathedral. Ancient, gnarled trees clung to its walls, their trunks and branches entwined with weathered moss, bearing silent witness to the long years that had passed here.
Inside, lush green grass carpeted the floor, flowerbeds overflowed with blossoms, and the air was thick with floral fragrance. Warm sunlight streamed through the glazed windows in the roof and walls, bathing the room in a gentle, loving light, as if a benevolent deity were gazing down upon it with tender affection.
Several butterflies fluttered through the flowerbeds, carried by the fragrant mist. They danced between the blossoms, one landing lightly on an outstretched jade finger.
"..."
The owner of the jade finger held a large photograph in her other hand, studying it intently. With a delicate flutter, the butterfly left her fingertip and landed silently on the face of the laughing pirate in the photo, a man named Giorno Giovanna.
The butterfly's iridescent wings twitched, then it suddenly flew away as if startled.
"......"
A pair of Ripple-like (Hamon) eyes snapped up, glancing toward a window in the Flower Room. The emotionless gaze seemed to pierce through the building, the dense fog, and even the sea itself, focusing on something far in the distance.
...
"What's wrong?" Robin asked, glancing at Liam inside the Den Den Mushi City Fortress.
"Nothing..." Liam frowned, feeling a sudden unease, as if some indescribable entity had its eyes on him.
"Could it be Hancock is thinking of me?" he muttered, stroking his chin.
Robin reached out and playfully pinched his cheeks, kneading them gently.
In the nearby City Fortress living room, Fish-Man Lobster, human Herman, and Longleg Race Rege felt like awkward third wheels.
Outside, a hundred meters below, the Calm Belt's tranquil, waveless sea stretched out. With a single flap of the Blue Flame Phoenix's wings, they left dozens, even hundreds, of meters behind. Marco, leading Giorno and the others, naturally couldn't navigate directly through the New World's treacherous seas. The extreme, wicked weather, sudden rainstorms, violent thunder and lightning, and howling winds, made travel impossible. Logically, the Calm Belt, with its stable, unchanging climate, served as the perfect highway for Marco and others with flight capabilities to swiftly traverse the Grand Line.
In the blink of an eye, the Red Line had been left far behind, disappearing into the distance.
"Tired?" Marco glanced at the dark shadow beside him. Without focusing his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), all he could see was a tiny Den Den Mushi fluttering in the wind.
B.I.B. remained silent, simply cradling the Den Den Mushi and flying even faster.
Marco grinned. "Want a race? I won't lose!"
The Phoenix spread its wings and soared, leaving a trail of blue flames in its wake…
...
Marineford, Marine Headquarters…
In the Fleet Admiral's office, "Steel Bone" Kong, the Fleet Admiral, was conferring with Admiral Sengoku.
"...In short, my assessment of Giorno Giovanna and Jolyne Cujoh remains unchanged," Sengoku said calmly, adjusting his glasses.
Fleet Admiral Kong sat behind his desk, arms crossed, his muscular biceps bulging. "He confronted the Celestial Dragons."
"Merely a disturbance," Sengoku replied flatly.
Fleet Admiral Kong rolled his eyes. "Tell that to the three Celestial Dragons themselves!"
Sengoku was about to speak again when Fleet Admiral Kong sighed heavily, looking as if he'd aged several years. "Sengoku, please spare this old man. These past few days, this whole mess has given me a headache that feels like my head's grown three times its size. The Celestial Dragons demand we hand over Giorno, but what can I possibly give them? And now they want Rayleigh too! Heavens above, Dark King Rayleigh! These Celestial Dragons just open their mouths and spout nonsense as if Dark King Rayleigh were a cabbage by the roadside, ready to be plucked and served on their table... If only it were that simple! I'd laugh in my sleep!"
"Fleet Admiral, those are the Celestial Dragons," Sengoku said calmly.
Steel Bone Kong couldn't tell if Sengoku was warning him to show proper respect ("Those are the Celestial Dragons, don't speak so disrespectfully") or implying they were brainless ("Those are the Celestial Dragons, their lack of common sense is to be expected").
Fleet Admiral Kong waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway, let's shelve this for now! If you're so dissatisfied, fine, take my position as Fleet Admiral. I'd love nothing more than to retire and live out my days in peace!"
"This subordinate would never dare," Sengoku replied, as immovable as a mountain.
As if! Even being an Admiral kept him busy enough to give him headaches. If he were Fleet Admiral, the constant stress would turn his hair white overnight!
Just then, a Marine knocked and rushed in to report urgently, "Rayleigh has been sighted..."
Sengoku and Steel Bone Kong both turned to look. Though the Marine held a respectable rank, the pressure from the two powerhouses' gazes instantly intensified.
Fleet Admiral Kong said sternly, "Continue."
"Yes, sir!" The Marine saluted. "Agents sent to Sabaody Archipelago, Area 19, unexpectedly discovered Rayleigh outside a casino..."
The Marine gave a concise account. Sengoku frowned deeply.
"You may leave now," Fleet Admiral Kong waved dismissively.
The marine turned and left, closing the door quietly behind him. He let out a long breath once he was outside. Sengoku the Buddha and Steel Bone Kong, just being stared at by those legendary commanders is enough to make anyone nervous...
"Marco flew all the way from the New World to the Sabaody Archipelago," Sengoku paced behind his desk, tugging at his long, braided beard as he muttered to himself. "But he left almost immediately after arriving... Did he come to see Rayleigh? And if so, why? Why leave after just one meeting? Could he have been carrying a message from Whitebeard to Rayleigh? But if that were the case, why send the commander of the First Division? Besides, what urgent message could Whitebeard possibly have for Rayleigh now...?"
"Could it be...?!" Sengoku suddenly stopped in his tracks, his head snapping up as if a realization had struck him.
"Sengoku!" Fleet Admiral Kong barked, "You-"
"Fleet Admiral, I'm leaving!" Sengoku interrupted, slamming the door open and hurrying out.
"-close the door behind you," Kong finished, rolling his eyes. What else could he say?
Thank goodness it's Sengoku and not Garp!
Sengoku's antics would shave ten years off Kong's lifespan, but if it were Garp, he'd have been dead for ten years already! His bones would be cold by now...
Back in his office, Sengoku immediately picked up the Den Den Mushi and began dialing subordinates, his face grim as he shouted, "Temporarily shift your focus away from Rayleigh! Stop tracking him! He deliberately revealed his location to draw us out..."
...
Sabaody Archipelago, District 13, Shakky's Rip-off Bar…
Shakky, a cigarette dangling between her fingers, asked, "You didn't bring the Marines here, did you?"
Rayleigh tilted his head back and took a long swig straight from the bottle, then chuckled, "So what if they find this place?"
"It's not your bar, so naturally it doesn't matter to you," Shakky retorted, speechless. "Pirates are such reckless creatures."
Rayleigh looked puzzled. "Weren't you a pirate once?"
"I haven't been one in ages," Shakky replied, taking a leisurely puff of her cigarette. "I can say it easily: I'm not a pirate anymore. What about you, the Pirate King's right-hand man?"
"..." Rayleigh remained silent, a wry smile playing on his lips. After a long moment, he picked up the bottle and took another long swig.
Shakky decided to stop poking at the old man's sore spots. She glanced around the empty bar and said with a smile, "I never noticed it before, but now that Little Brother Giorno and Jolyne are gone, it feels a bit lonely here..."
(End Of This Chapter)
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