"Boss… I'm sorry… Indigo is useless…" he murmured to himself.
Right now, the only thought left in his mind was to find a place where he could lay Boss Shiki to rest.
He wiped his tears away and was just about to start up the crude propulsion device on the little boat and leave this place.
Suddenly, at the edge of his vision, a Marine fleet appeared—warships flying seagull flags, formation neat and imposing.
At the bow of the leading large battleship stood a Marine officer with a "Justice" coat draped over his shoulders. The most striking thing about him was the strange bundles of hair at the back of his head, flaring out like spider legs.
He was a Rear Admiral of Marine Headquarters—Onigumo.
"Report, Rear Admiral Onigumo! An unidentified small vessel has been spotted ahead. Highly suspicious!" a lookout shouted.
Onigumo's gaze immediately locked onto the small boat in the distance. For such a crude craft to appear on this stretch of sea was extremely unusual in itself.
"Close in! Intercept and inspect!" Onigumo didn't hesitate for even a moment as he issued the order.
Several Marine warships quickly moved into a surrounding formation, converging on the tiny boat.
On the small boat, Indigo had already noticed the Marines. He was scared out of his wits. He tried to turn the boat and flee, but compared with the speed of full-sized warships, his little thing wasn't even worth mentioning.
Very soon, the warships had completely encircled him. Onigumo stood at the bow, staring coldly at the trembling, oddly dressed Indigo. At the same time, he also noticed the roughly covered, vaguely human-shaped object lying by Indigo's feet.
"Who are you? And what are you carrying on that boat?" Onigumo's voice carried clearly across the water and into Indigo's ears.
Indigo shuddered violently, obviously terrified.
"I… I… I'm Dr. Indigo… that… that is…"
A sharp light flashed in Onigumo's eyes. The "spider legs" of hair at his back suddenly stretched out as if they had a life of their own, whipping down and tearing away the covering in one motion.
Many of the Marines present—ordinary sailors and officers alike—saw the body underneath, including Onigumo himself. And collectively, they all gasped.
"G–Golden Lion… Shiki?!" a field-grade officer blurted out. As Marines, practically all of them were intimately familiar with the faces on those high-bounty wanted posters. Even though Golden Lion had been quiet for years, the moment they saw the corpse, they still instantly recognized who it was.
Onigumo's pupils contracted sharply, and intense emotion rippled across his face.
Golden Lion Shiki.
The legendary Great Pirate who had escaped from Level 6 of Impel Down and then vanished for so many years…
Dead?
And his corpse was just lying here, on a shabby little boat?
Once this news got out, it would shake the entire world.
Forcing down the shock in his chest, Onigumo fixed his gaze on Indigo, who looked like he was about to faint from fright, and barked harshly:
"Talk! What is going on?! Golden Lion… who killed him?!"
From the injuries all over Golden Lion's body, this clearly wasn't a natural death.
Under the crushing pressure of Onigumo's stare, Indigo no longer had even the slightest courage to hide anything. Like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube, he stammered out everything he knew.
Although his words were panicked and scattered, the key points were still fairly clear: a black-haired boy of about seven or eight, and two blonde twin girls, all with terrifying combat power, had joined forces to defeat and ultimately cause Golden Lion's death.
The more Onigumo listened, the darker his expression became.
A child? Two women? Defeated Golden Lion Shiki?
It sounded like complete nonsense—yet Golden Lion's corpse was right in front of him. He had no choice but to believe it.
He frowned deeply, then immediately snapped at the adjutant behind him:
"Right now! Use a top-secret encrypted Den Den Mushi and contact Marine Headquarters! Report this directly to Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Move!"
"Yes, Rear Admiral Onigumo!"
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In the Fleet Admiral's office, "Buddha" Sengoku was buried in a mountain of paperwork. Garp, off to the side, was casually munching senbei, dropping crumbs all over the floor, making a vein throb on Sengoku's forehead.
Just then, a golden Den Den Mushi on the desk suddenly rang with a rapid, special tone—the signal for a highest-priority encrypted communication.
Sengoku's expression instantly turned serious. He put down the documents at once. Garp also stopped chewing and looked over.
Sengoku picked up the receiver. "This is Sengoku."
On the other end, Onigumo's heavy voice came through. "Fleet Admiral! Major emergency! This is Rear Admiral Onigumo! In the waters of the Grand Line, first half, near the Sabaody Archipelago… I have discovered—and confirmed—the corpse of Golden Lion Shiki!"
"What?!" Sengoku shot up from his chair. Even Garp, next to him, widened his eyes. The senbei slipped from his hand and hit the floor, completely forgotten.
Golden Lion Shiki… dead?!
"The report is confirmed! The corpse is right in front of me!" Onigumo's voice continued. "According to the testimony of his accompanying scientist, Dr. Indigo, Shiki was defeated by… a black-haired boy of about seven or eight years old, together with two blonde twin girls. Only three individuals total! From the description, those two girls possess extremely powerful strength and were the main force in defeating Shiki…"
As Onigumo laid out the details, Sengoku's face grew more and more stormy, his brows knitting together tightly.
A child and two mysterious girls, defeating Golden Lion?
That combination was far too bizarre, too unbelievable. Yet such a trio had actually defeated Golden Lion. And from the description, those two girls didn't even look that old. When had such powerful figures appeared on the sea?
"Immediately place Golden Lion's body under strict guard," Sengoku ordered in a low, deep voice. "Escort it, along with this Dr. Indigo, back to Marine Headquarters under maximum security. At the same time, have someone sketch out appearances for those three based on the witness's description. Report this to the World Government as well and have their intelligence agencies investigate the identities of these three. I want to know exactly who they are!"
"Understood!"
The Den Den Mushi call ended, and silence fell over the office.
The conversation had been perfectly audible; every word of Onigumo's report had reached Garp's ears as well.
Garp had put away his usual goofy grin. His expression had turned serious. Golden Lion was no weakling.
"Shiki, that guy… actually died?"
He knew very well how strong Shiki was. Back then, it had taken both himself and Sengoku fighting together to send Golden Lion into Impel Down.
If someone could join forces to kill Golden Lion, then their power clearly already surpassed that of a Marine Headquarters vice admiral.
When had such powerful people appeared on this sea?
(End of Chapter)
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