At Marine Headquarters,
Sengoku had just finished dealing with the morning's work.
"Even if this world never gives anyone peace of mind, at least there's still room to catch your breath once in a while."
He took a satisfied sip of black tea. Tsuru had brewed it for him when she came by earlier.
Probably because she could see how hard the Fleet Admiral had been working. Though while she was at it, she had also casually asked about a few unrelated things.
It seemed like she had some kind of plan in mind.
But none of that mattered right now.
At this moment, Sengoku only wanted to relax. He had no desire to think about all that troublesome nonsense.
At the very least, he wanted to enjoy this rare moment of peace.
Truth be told, that peace also had something to do with the Demon Pirates.
This pirate crew had started out in the East Blue, then entered the Grand Line and caused one incident after another, drawing massive attention from all sides.
First, they provoked a Yonko into personally going to the East Blue—and still didn't die.
Then they fought a battle in Alabasta that made them famous in a single stroke, directly taking down Crocodile.
After that, because of the "resurrection" news, they even issued a three-year promise to Red-Haired Shanks.
For a long stretch of time, they had practically dominated the World Economic Journal's extras and front pages. They had become one of the hottest pirate topics in the world.
So naturally, some reporters started digging deeper, trying to stir up more sensational stories and boost their own performance.
What no one expected, however, was that what they uncovered would completely surprise the world.
Since their debut, the Demon Pirates had never acted like true "pirates"—or rather, the kind of pirates the public usually imagined.
They did not rob, plunder, set fires, kill indiscriminately, or harm innocents.
Most of the time, they even consciously tried to avoid dragging ordinary civilians into their battles.
Only in combat did they display the cruelty worthy of pirates.
So far, more than five long-established pirate forces had already been destroyed by their hands.
But the most subtle part was this—
No matter which member of the crew it was, whenever they dealt with outsiders, they all denied being pirates.
'The World Government calling us pirates is the World Government's business. Why should I have to be a pirate just because they say I am?'
That was the information provided by a city resident in Alabasta whose life had undergone tremendous upheaval.
The one who said it was an orange-haired woman.
In Marine intelligence, that woman—Nami—was categorized as a mere decorative figure in the Demon Pirates.
In other words, her words could more or less be taken as representative of the captain's ideals.
After that news was exposed, it seemed to attract quite a few people across the Four Seas who held similar views.
The result was that local seafaring groups began appearing—groups who denied being pirates themselves, yet specifically targeted pirates for plunder.
Tsuru had reported this unusual trend as useful intelligence.
At the time, it had left Sengoku with extremely mixed feelings.
That was why he had agreed when Tsuru suggested that the report sent up to the World Government should omit the "timeliness" portion provided by Vice Admiral Onigumo.
Though he had no idea who exactly would end up getting screwed over by that decision, once the Marines gave up on pursuing the matter—
The ones out of luck would definitely be pirates!
The Seven Warlords of the Sea were pirates too!
And if something truly uncontrollable happened, then Kizaru could just go solve it.
After all, with Kizaru stationed at Marine Headquarters, as long as it was still within Paradise, no one would be able to escape!
In short,
because of that unexpected side effect, the mountain of urgent matters had shrunk just a little.
And so Sengoku had managed to gain more than an hour of rest.
"Pure bliss, pure bliss…"
He slumped into the sofa and rummaged through the drawer for some rice crackers.
But right then,
a Den Den Mushi stored in one of the desk drawers suddenly began to ring.
Buru~ Buru~
"?"
Sengoku looked up in disbelief, his searching hand freezing in place.
Wait a second. That sound, from that location… don't tell me that's the Den Den Mushi tied to Yonko-level matters—
"Damn it!"
Sengoku shot to his feet at once, his good mood instantly vanishing.
He hurried over to the desk and pulled the Den Den Mushi out from a hidden drawer.
The Yonko were existences of immense importance. Every single one of them was among the most troublesome people in the world.
Kaido of the Beasts, Big Mom—Charlotte Linlin, Red-Haired Shanks, Whitebeard…
Any one of them alone was enough to put the entirety of Marine Headquarters on edge.
The pressure they created was no less than the outbreak of a large-scale military war.
That was the weight carried by those who stood at the very summit of the world.
No matter who it was, each of them had endured countless trials throughout the Great Age of Pirates and still remained towering figures upon the sea.
'Who is it this time?
It definitely shouldn't be Whitebeard. I heard one of his commanders sparked internal conflict on his ship.
And Whitebeard himself has grown so old he's practically at his limit. There's no way he'd make a move right now.
As for that Red-Haired bastard, his attention should be entirely on Ren at the moment, right?
But that brat has already been missing for almost two months.
That leaves Kaido… and Big Mom. If it's Charlotte Linlin…'
Clinging to a shred of hope, Sengoku picked up the crimson-painted Den Den Mushi and answered it.
Then, from within the highest office of the Marines, a roar erupted.
"What did you say?! Kaido has mobilized?!"
Sengoku nearly dropped the Den Den Mushi in his hand. "Are you sure the surveillance ship didn't make a mistake?"
"Yes, sir. The surveillance ship visually confirmed Kaido's movement, and the Vivre Card we made is also pointing in that direction."
"Where is he going?"
"We're still investigating the exact destination. If we're talking about unconfirmed intel—"
"Say it!"
"From the feedback we got from our assets planted within the Beasts Pirates, it seems… to be Dressrosa."
"A member nation?!"
"It's possible."
"Damn it! What the hell is he going there for?! Did Doflamingo pull some kind of stupid stunt?!"
"According to what we've been able to verify from our side,
Doflamingo appears to have some kind of deal with Kaido, though there's no proof. We heard it from Admiral Kuzan's side.
But the Admiral also only heard it from someone else. No one knows the original source. He simply passed the information to Vice Admiral Tsuru."
"So Doflamingo screwed something up? And that made Kaido go berserk?!"
"No, sir, it's… the Demon Pirates!"
"What did you say?!"
Sengoku's mind buzzed violently, as if a wire had snapped in his brain. "Didn't they not even reach the Sabaody Archipelago yet?!"
"They haven't, but the Demon Pirates should have mastered aerial travel.
Otherwise, there's no way they could've jumped from Mock Town all the way to the Gran Tesoro before."
"Why was that information never reported?"
"The Gran Tesoro refused to cooperate with the investigation, and since nothing had been confirmed, procedure required—"
"…Can it be confirmed that it's the Demon Pirates?"
"Yes. A signature thundercloud weather pattern has appeared over Dressrosa.
Some Dressrosa residents obtained information from the Donquixote Family that the enemy they're facing is the Demon Pirates.
Also, Gild Tesoro is there as well.
He personally just called the World Government and requested that an Admiral be sent to the area to protect him.
He made the request in the name of a king of a member nation… and specifically named Admiral Kuzan.
And in nearby waters, Marine branch bases have discovered traces of the Beasts Pirates.
Putting everything together, Dressrosa is already a complete mess…"
"Damn it! Can't they just follow the proper route for once?!"
Sengoku slammed down the receiver and looked utterly miserable.
This damned world really never let anyone get bored!
Without hesitation, he grabbed another Den Den Mushi and dialed out.
"Moshi moshi? Fleet Admiral Sengoku, if you wanted to see me, there was no need to call, you know?"
"It's too troublesome to explain. In short, get to Dressrosa immediately!"
"The New World? Isn't Kuzan over there? I'm still—"
"Shut up. You'll be compensated later. Move now!
As for the mission, someone will brief you on the way!"
"…Understood."
"If you dare trim even a single fingernail before departing, you can forget about taking any vacation this year!"
After throwing out that threat, Sengoku hung up.
He then stepped into the corridor outside the highest office. From an office located at the topmost level, the view was extremely broad.
He could see a streak of yellow light rising from the ground—
and then shooting straight toward the New World.
Good.
That was exactly how Kizaru was supposed to be used!
Within the clouds,
"Geh—geh—geh—"
Drunk and swaying, Kaido seemed thoroughly inebriated. The massive quantity of alcohol being digested in his stomach was bringing about a subtle transformation.
At a certain moment,
the eyes of the azure dragon soaring through the heavens gradually began to glow red.
Even his entire expression twisted into something savage.
If a member of the Beasts Pirates were present, they would instantly recognize this as one of Kaido's drunken states.
Its name—
Shuron Hakke!
In this state, Kaido's strength increased, but his emotions also became wildly unstable.
Drunken depression, drunken sobbing, drunken rage, drunken clinginess, drunken imitation, drunken slaughter…
And the form he wore right now was one of the modes of Shuron Hakke—
Drunken Slaughter!
"So strange… I really, really wanna destroy something!"
Maintaining his high speed, Kaido descended below the cloud layer, his red-glowing eyes fixing themselves on the sea below.
At the same time, his Observation Haki swept across the surrounding waters, searching for a target that interested him.
A place where large numbers of lives were gathered!
However, perhaps because of the route he was taking, his Observation Haki only caught one place.
An island of no insignificant size, packed with a great many life signatures.
It looked like some kind of pirate gathering point.
The red glow in Kaido's eyes intensified to the limit. Suddenly, he opened his dragon jaws and began condensing a blinding sphere of light.
It was the same kind of attack Nojiko used—
but far more terrifying, far more destructive—
Blast Breath!
"Hah—ptooey!"
From high above the sky,
a "sun" suddenly fell.
"What is that?!"
On the island below, pirates escorting a group of Longarm Tribe slaves instinctively looked up—
only to be greeted by a searing, blinding radiance.
The "sun"—
had fallen!
The instant the sphere of Blast Breath touched the ground, unimaginably horrifying energy erupted at once.
That small island, home to several thousand people, was swallowed whole by the expanding fireball in the very next second!
Amid the roaring explosion, the scorching flames vaporized all matter in their path!
And when the blaze finally faded, that island had vanished from the sea without a trace.
"Hehehe, fun."
Kaido burst into laughter as he rose back into the sky, the red glow in his eyes dimming somewhat.
Reason began to regain control.
And then he accelerated forward once more.
"Joker! Daddy's coming for you!"
At the same time,
Kizaru, flying through the sky, ended his communication and looked toward the Red Line with utter helplessness in his eyes.
"What a pain… I hate working overtime."
His entire body transformed into light, and his speed climbed higher and higher.
Mach 1, Mach 2, Mach 3…
That streak of yellow brilliance shot straight toward the horizon at the end of the sky!
(End of Chapter)