Chapter 385: The Holy Knight's Fatal Mistake!
Sacred Land Mariejois · CP0 Headquarters
"BZZZT—BZZZT—BZZZT—!!!"
The piercing wail of emergency sirens echoed, vibrating so intensely that the entire massive white tower seemed to hum!
The frantic clicking of Den Den Mushi rang out incessantly. Agents scrambled with thunderous footsteps, a blur of black and white suits darting through the corridors. The entire building had been pushed to its absolute boiling point, resembling a pressurized iron furnace.
"The Marines are actually launching a full-scale assault on Onigashima at the exact same time as Rayleigh's execution?! Are they out of their minds?!"
"The battle in Wano has already been injected into the live broadcast! The whole world is watching!!!"
"Emergency deployment! All field agents, head to Wano Country immediately to gather intel!!!"
Deafening shouts filled the air. The atmosphere was pulled as taut as a bowstring, threatening to snap at any given moment.
At the end of a long corridor—
Rob Lucci, draped in his pristine white uniform, wore a freezing expression, yet his footsteps were unusually heavy. On his shoulder, Hattori flapped his wings anxiously, letting out sharp, urgent coos as if frantically urging him on.
—He was looking for Blueno.
During the incident at Water 7, the entirety of CP9, originally tasked with capturing Franky, had been effortlessly crushed by Zoro and Kuina. Aside from Spandam, who had lost his life, the rest of the surviving members had been granted permission to join CP0 under Roy's direct orders via Den Den Mushi.
Following that humiliating defeat, Lucci and Kaku had driven themselves to the absolute brink, forging their Zoan Devil Fruit abilities all the way to the Awakened stage. Their strength had skyrocketed, elevating them to top-tier combatants within CP0.
Right now, the CP0 building was in total disarray due to the sudden global emergency. Lucci needed the power of the Doa Doa no Mi (Door-Door Fruit) to bypass the chaos and head straight to Wano, but Blueno was nowhere to be found.
His brow was locked in a deep furrow, a growing sense of unease pooling in his gut. The live broadcast from Wano had forcibly torn open the old, festering scars from Water 7—the sight of Zoro and Kuina was a humiliation he had never truly healed from.
"...Where is he?" Lucci muttered, his voice low and suppressed. "I didn't receive any notification of Blueno having a field assignment."
Thud-thud-thud!!!
Suddenly, the frantic clatter of high heels shattered the chaotic noise of the corridor.
Kalifa sprinted toward him, panting heavily. She was clutching a document so tightly her knuckles were white. Her usually cold, composed, and beautiful face was now entirely consumed by panic and terror, tears brimming in her eyes.
"—LUCCI!!!"
Her shrill scream instantly commanded the attention of everyone nearby.
Lucci turned. Seeing the normally unflappable Kalifa in such a hysterical state made his heart clench. He demanded coldly, "What happened?!"
Kalifa gasped for air like a dying ox, forcing down her panic to deliver a rapid report:
"An hour ago, a Celestial Dragon personally issued an absolute order! Blueno was forcibly taken away to execute a so-called 'secret mission'!"
Her voice climbed higher, teetering on the edge of a scream. "I sensed something was wrong and immediately tracked their operational route—only to find out their destination is..."
Her fingers dug into the document, tears finally spilling over her lashes:
"—The East Blue! Dawn Island!!!"
"BOOM!!!"
Lucci froze in his tracks. His face drained of all color instantly, looking as if he had been struck squarely by a bolt of lightning!
Dawn Island. The name sliced through his cold, calculating logic like a razor.
"Dawn Island... that's..."
Kalifa couldn't hold back a sob, yet her words struck like thunder: "That's—Vice Admiral Roy's hometown! His home!!!"
The corridor fell into a deathly silence. Every footstep seemed to have been abruptly choked off.
Lucci felt a bone-deep chill travel up his spine. A terrifying cocktail of absolute dread and volcanic fury began to claw its way up from the very marrow of his bones!
On his shoulder, Hattori shrieked and fluttered wildly, as if the entire world were crying out in mourning over this single piece of intelligence.
Mariejois · Secret Hall of the Holy Knights
"SLAP—!!!"
A crisp, resounding slap exploded through the hall!
Saint Shamus' body crashed violently into the gem-encrusted wall. Pulverized stone dust rained down as he slowly slid to the floor, his hand clutching his swollen, red cheek.
His eyes were wide with shock and pure disbelief—in thirty-seven years, this was the first time his father had ever laid a hand on him!
Saint Garling's chest heaved violently. His fury had reached a critical mass, and his Conqueror's Haki erupted out of control!
"BOOM—!!!"
The candles in the hall were snuffed out instantly. The stone walls trembled, and the guards stationed outside the corridor collapsed in unison, shaking uncontrollably as cold sweat soaked their uniforms!
"You..." Garling's voice was a low, dangerous rumble, sounding like a chained beast roaring from the abyss. "Did you really send someone to Dawn Island?!"
Shamus wiped the trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. Forcing himself to stand tall, he spoke with the innate, arrogant haughtiness of a Celestial Dragon: "Yes."
"BOOM—!!!"
Garling snapped! His Haki whipped up a violent gale, shattering the grand pillars of the secret hall!
For the first time, a flicker of genuine fear crossed Shamus' eyes. His body involuntarily took a step back, though a stubborn defiance lingered in his gaze.
"YOU IDIOT!!!" Garling roared, his voice cracking the vaulted ceiling!
"You were played by Shanks!!!"
Shamus froze, his eyes widening. "Wh-What?!"
"That bastard has roamed the seas for decades! Playing you is as easy as teasing a toddler!!" Garling lunged forward, grabbing his son by the collar and hoisting him off the ground!
"Dawn Island is Roy's hometown! You actually dared to send people there to kidnap his parents?!!"
Shamus stared blankly. He had spent his entire life cultivating deep within the Sacred Land, isolated from the chaos of the outside world. He simply couldn't comprehend why his father was this enraged. In his eyes, anyone who wasn't a Celestial Dragon was merely an insect that could be crushed at will.
"He's nothing but a Marine Vice Admiral..."
"A Marine Vice Admiral?!!"
Garling was so infuriated he was nearly driven to madness. He let out a blood-curdling laugh. "That is a monster who even I cannot defeat!! A man who can suppress the Four Emperors, Kaido and Linlin, all by himself!! And you went to kidnap his parents?!!"
"You are bringing absolute, apocalyptic ruin down upon the Holy Knights!!!"
Shamus' face finally lost all its color, his voice trembling. "B-But Shanks said—"
"Shanks said?!" Garling bellowed, his eyes webbing with bloodshot veins!
"He said that as long as you capture Roy's parents, you could force him to bow to you?!!"
"Ha! Could you really not see it?! He wants to use your hand to detonate a blood feud between the Holy Knights and Roy!!!"
"You... you didn't even realize you were being used as a weapon!!!"
"BOOM—!!!"
In his extreme rage, Garling hurled his son to the floor. He drew his sword in a flash, cleaving the throne beside him into pieces with a single strike!
His breathing was heavy, his voice like rolling thunder: "Recall everyone! Now! IMMEDIATELY!!!"
Shamus' lips quivered before he finally forced out the words: "It's too late..."
Garling's entire body jolted. "What?!"
"They... departed an hour and a half ago..."
"—BOOM!!!"
Garling's sword nearly slipped from his grasp. His knuckles turned stark white, his face contorting into a mask of pure savagery!
Just at that moment—
The doors to the hall were shoved open violently. A guard stumbled inside, screaming at the top of his lungs:
"REPORT!!! Shanks... he's disappeared!!!"
The air in the room solidified.
Garling stood as if struck by lightning, his chest heaving fiercely as the most terrifying possibility of all flashed through his mind:
Dawn Island.
East Blue · Dawn Village
A torrential downpour fell like a curtain, relentlessly battering the stone paths at the village entrance and kicking up frigid splashes of water.
Dim candlelight leaked through the cracks of the village houses, yet it was entirely insufficient to dispel the oppressive, suffocating shadows cast by the storm.
At the end of the street, two tall figures walked side-by-side. Their heavy footsteps landed with an eerie rhythm amidst the pouring rain.
Walking slightly ahead was a burly, imposing older man. From beneath a pair of dark sunglasses, his gaze was as sharp and cold as a blade. His muscles were knotted and dense, and his face was deeply lined with the ravages of time. A prominent, bulbous nose sat above a thick, cross-shaped beard. His bushy body hair and long, braided hair clung to his neck under the wash of the rain, giving him an overwhelmingly fierce and oppressive aura.
A complex, cryptic tattoo on his left arm flickered in and out of sight with every flash of lightning, looking like some sort of ancient, cursed crest. He wore a light-colored tank top plastered to his skin and dark, heart-patterned polka-dot shorts—an outfit completely at odds with the luxurious, regal cloak draped over his shoulders, making him look glaringly eccentric yet terrifying.
—This was Saint Somaz of the Holy Knights.
Beside him, Blueno followed half a step behind. His face was stoic and cold, though a trace of barely perceptible hesitation lingered in the depths of his eyes.
Raindrops hammered against their cloaks, sliding down the fabric to join the rising puddles at their feet.
Saint Somaz slowly lifted his head. Shielded by the curtain of rain, a chilling, arrogant sneer seemed to pull at the corners of his mouth.
The streets of Dawn Village were completely silent. The only sound was the steady, rhythmic thud of their boots as they walked, step by step through the stormy night, straight toward the front door of Rock's home.
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