After wreaking havoc on Sabaody Archipelago and leaving behind countless pirate corpses,
Kizaru finally returned to Marineford with Sentomaru and the others.
Sengoku had already been waiting anxiously.
Not just Sengoku—Vice Admiral Garp, as well as the other two Admirals, Aokiji and Akainu, were also present.
There was no helping it.
A Celestial Dragon had been killed, yet the culprit had escaped.
An incident of this magnitude was more than enough to bring together the absolute top brass of the Marines.
Creak!
The moment Kizaru stepped into Sengoku's office, several gazes locked onto him at once.
It made Kizaru feel extremely uncomfortable.
Why are you all looking so serious?
Looks like this really blew up big time—no more slacking off.
What a pain.
"Kizaru, you look… pretty battered,"
Garp sized him up from head to toe, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
"Tsk tsk tsk, not many people can make you look like this!"
"Kizaru, what exactly happened!"
Akainu's face was dark as thunder, his eyes fixed on Kizaru.
"You let the culprit get away?"
"Hey, hey, hey—why is everyone making the atmosphere so tense?"
Kizaru patted his chest exaggeratedly.
"That's really scary, you know."
Seeing Kizaru act like that only made Akainu angrier.
This guy slacks off at work normally—that's one thing.
But at a critical moment like this, he's still acting the same way?!
They were the Marines, defenders of justice!
How could they allow such a heinous criminal to escape?!
That would be a fatal blow to the Marines' prestige!
"Kizaru, explain yourself,"
Sengoku said gravely, staring straight at him.
"Just like I told you earlier, Sengoku,"
Kizaru adjusted his glasses.
"That guy was simply too strong. I was no match for him, so he escaped."
"And honestly, if he'd wanted to kill me, I'd already be dead."
He repeated his report in front of the other two Admirals and Garp.
But the moment those words left his mouth, everyone present showed clear disbelief.
"Kizaru,"
even Garp was stunned, looking at him as if seeing him anew,
"I never thought you'd fabricate such a ridiculous excuse just to shirk responsibility."
You're really slacking harder and harder, aren't you?
You probably just went to Sabaody to put on a show, then came back saying you failed to catch him.
Yeah!
That must be it.
Otherwise, who could possibly escape from Kizaru's hands?
"Kizaru, if you're going to make excuses, at least put some effort into them!"
Akainu was even angrier now.
"You're usually lazy, fine—but this concerns the honor of the entire Marine force!"
"You guys…"
Kizaru felt wronged.
"Do you really think it's glorious to make myself sound like a loser? There were tons of people on Sabaody who saw it. Just check the records."
Knock knock knock!
At that moment, the door to Sengoku's office was knocked, and a man in a special uniform walked in.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, these are the projection Den Den Mushi confiscated from Sabaody."
He handed over several Den Den Mushi, then left.
Sengoku didn't waste any time.
He immediately activated them and played back the recorded footage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Terrifying battle footage unfolded right before the eyes of the assembled giants.
Kizaru being beaten like a dog—utterly battered and humiliated—was displayed in full.
They were stunned.
Everyone in the office was completely stunned.
Mouths agape.
From start to finish—total domination.
Admiral Kizaru had truly been beaten from beginning to end!
They had all thought Kizaru was just making excuses for his failure.
But who could have imagined—it was all true?
He really had been beaten into utter submission.
Whoosh!
In an instant—
Sengoku, Garp, and the other two Admirals all locked their gazes onto the man in the footage—Alex.
They exchanged looks, all seeing the same question in each other's eyes:
Who is this man?!
"To think… such a terrifying existence actually lives on the seas,"
Garp finally broke the deathly silence with a sigh.
"Sengoku, even the Pirate King Roger wouldn't stand a chance against this guy, would he?"
Not just Roger.
Not Garp himself, not Sengoku, not Akainu or Aokiji—
none of them would be a match.
They had roamed the seas their entire lives, seen countless storms—
Yet never someone this terrifying.
"Unacceptable!"
Akainu clenched his fist in fury, feeling a rare sense of powerlessness.
"But even so, Marine justice will not tolerate anyone trampling on it—not even him!"
Aokiji didn't say much, but inwardly he wondered:
Could the Marines really capture someone like that?
Kizaru had been beaten into that state—
that meant at the very least, all three Admirals would have to act together!
Deploying all three Admirals just to capture a single person?
What kind of shockwave would that send across the world?
And even then…
Judging from the strength Alex showed in the footage,
Aokiji wasn't confident it would be enough.
"Oh, right,"
Kizaru suddenly spoke up again, breaking the heavy silence.
"That guy killed the Celestial Dragon on purpose—to lure me out."
"He said he wants to make a deal with the Marines."
At once, everyone's attention snapped back to Kizaru.
"Ridiculous!"
Akainu snorted coldly.
"A criminal who killed a Celestial Dragon wants to negotiate with the Marines?"
Sengoku, however, pondered for a moment before asking in a deep voice:
"What exactly did he say?"
"He said… he can help us eliminate the Four Emperors."
The moment Kizaru said that, none of the Marine leaders could remain calm.
Eliminate the Four Emperors!
To be blunt—
if the Four Emperors were truly wiped out, pirates across the seas would no longer be a threat.
The Marines would achieve true dominance over the entire ocean!
An unprecedented golden age—
one not seen for centuries!
No one could remain unmoved. No one could stay calm.
And judging by the overwhelming strength Alex displayed—
brutally overpowering Kizaru—
eliminating the Four Emperors might not be empty boasting after all.
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