North Blue.
Area where a World Government official ship sank.
The vast sea stretched endlessly under a gray sky, where snowflakes as big as goose feathers continued to fall.
"Yes, Marshal Kong... According to the route provided by the CP department, I've arrived at the scene."
Aboard the warship, Sengoku held a military Den Den Mushi in his hand, reporting with a grim expression.
He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses and quickly scanned the surface of the sea.
"There aren't many clear traces at the scene."
"Understood."
He hung up the Den Den Mushi and let out a long, heavy sigh.
"The diving team has already been dispatched. The higher-ups are taking this incident very seriously."
A ghostly figure draped in a silk robe and wearing a mask with strange patterns appeared beside Sengoku. A hoarse voice echoed eerily from beneath the mask.
Sengoku gave a nod, though inwardly, he was unimpressed.
The sea churned violently. Only a few pieces of wreckage floated atop the water, with the occasional scorched, rotting limb—completely unidentifiable.
According to the Holy Land Mary Geoise, the exact time of the incident was determined by the moment Saint Xildes's Vivre Card burned to ash.
And from that moment to Sengoku's arrival at the scene...
Three full hours had passed.
Three hours—enough for the raging sea to swallow up any remaining traces or evidence.
At this point, what good would sending a diving team even do?
All this effort over a dead Celestial Dragon... They'd even let Byrnndi World slip away in the process. Sengoku couldn't help but feel a bit irritated.
Still, no matter how absurd it seemed, this was a direct order from the World Government. No matter his discontent or misgivings, Sengoku would carry out the task to the best of his ability.
The government had already issued a gag order.
If word of this incident got out, it would tarnish the government's authority and damage its image.
And this case involved a Celestial Dragon—sensitive and complicated. It was a real headache.
Sengoku subconsciously glanced toward a nearby section of the deck, and his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
While he, the Fleet Admiral, was running himself ragged, his adjutant Borsalino... that bastard was lounging on a beach chair sipping watermelon juice like none of this had anything to do with him.
"Borsalino!!"
Sengoku gritted his teeth and roared.
"We're in the middle of a mission!"
Hearing Sengoku's shout, Borsalino raised both hands in mock surrender and grinned.
"I'm coming, I'm coming..."
He slowly set down the juice, got up from the chair, and walked over.
"What did you find!"
Sengoku snapped impatiently.
"Let me take a look..."
Borsalino stroked the stubble on his chin with one hand, pushed up his sunglasses, and stared intently at the "crime scene."
Two seconds later, his mouth opened slightly as if he'd stumbled upon something amusing. He said in an exaggerated tone,
"Spooky stuff. The Celestial Dragon died so cleanly... Not even a scrap of flesh left behind..."
The air turned cold.
The deck fell into an eerie silence.
"Caw... caw..."
A few crows flapped across the sky.
Sengoku: ...
CP0: ...
Marines: ...
Borsalino: (︾▽︾)
Sengoku: ...
Feeling the killing intent rise from the CP0 beside him, Sengoku's eye twitched violently. He fought the overwhelming urge to slam that yellow monkey into the ground, gritting his teeth as he growled,
"Borsalino, you damn brat! Get the hell out of my sight!"
Borsalino raised his hands again, face full of innocence.
"Alright, alright..."
He walked back with a look of regret, muttering,
"You were the one who asked me to help, you know..."
Then he laid back down on the beach chair and leisurely picked up his watermelon juice.
"Nothing I can do about it..."
Hearing Borsalino's mutter, Sengoku's face turned pale, then white. His expression twitched as his fists clenched and relaxed repeatedly.
He wanted nothing more than to slap himself across the face.
If only he'd made Sakazuki his adjutant instead!
The two of them had graduated from the Naval Academy together at the top of their class, both hailed as "monsters."
At least that gloomy brat Sakazuki wasn't so infuriating!
How did I ever choose Borsalino, that damn bastard?
Sengoku groaned and held his forehead.
But there was no use regretting it now.
Sakazuki was far too extreme—paranoid, ruthless toward pirates, and prone to disobeying orders.
That was something Sengoku absolutely couldn't tolerate.
Even if Borsalino often drove him mad, at least he followed orders.
Sengoku let out a deep sigh.
Facing the cold, indifferent "face" of CP0, he forced a smile and was just about to speak...
"Buru buru... buru buru..."
The sudden ringing of the military Den Den Mushi cut off Sengoku mid-sentence.
He frowned, shot CP0 an apologetic glance, and picked up the call.
"This is Sengoku."
A loud, boisterous laugh burst through the line.
"Hahahahaha! Sengoku! How's it going on your end!?"
"You've taken care of Byrnndi World, right? I'm all done here... You wouldn't believe it—my iron fists smashed that guy Chinjao's head in so hard it caved right in!"
"Man, that was one hell of a fight... Hahahaha!!"
The Den Den Mushi cheerfully mimicked a face with flared nostrils laughing hysterically.
Sengoku chuckled.
"Chinjao the Drill, leader of the Happo Navy, world-renowned for that iron head of his... And you actually dented it? He must be grinding his teeth in rage right now, Garp."
He gave a tired shake of his head.
"My mission was a bust. An emergency came up, and Byrnndi World got away."
"An emergency? What kind of emergency..."
Garp scratched his head, then squinted suspiciously.
"Doesn't add up... Hey hey hey... Sengoku, don't tell me you just couldn't beat Byrnndi World and made up some excuse?"
Sengoku scowled.
"Get lost. I'm busy. A Celestial Dragon died in the North Blue. I'm here on orders from the World Government to investigate."
The moment the words left his mouth, Sengoku instantly regretted it.
Sure enough, Garp's loud laughter exploded from the Den Den Mushi.
"Hahahahaha!! A Celestial Dragon died? Serves him right!"
"Shame I don't know who did it, or I'd shake their hand myself..."
"Hahahaha! Beautiful death!"
With every burst of Garp's laughter, Sengoku's face darkened further.
The killing intent radiating from the CP0 beside him grew stronger—thick enough to chill the air.
"Come on, Sengoku. It's just one Celestial Dragon. Who cares? They've got loads of them in the Holy Land."
"Just do a bit of fake investigating to make it look good. Trash like that deserves it anyway. Hahahaha..."
Watching Garp ramble on with growing enthusiasm, Sengoku nervously glanced at the motionless CP0 next to him.
Finally, he clenched his jaw and gave a "friendly" reminder:
"Garp, you can't talk like that. We're talking about a World Noble of the highest status."
"Please, Sengoku, spare me the act. Don't think I don't know how you really feel—"
Sengoku jolted, quickly clutching the Den Den Mushi and bellowing:
"Garp!! The World Government's CP0 rep is standing right next to me!!"
The deck fell instantly silent.
One second later—
"Ah! Everything I just said? Doesn't count. I take it all back!"
The Den Den Mushi mimicked Garp's face frantically denying it.
Then—
"Buru—"
The call cut off abruptly.
Sengoku: ...
He stared in stunned silence for a few seconds.
Then he blinked, cleared his throat, put the Den Den Mushi away, and turned to CP0, who remained dead silent.
His expression suddenly shifted to one of extreme "seriousness" and "gravity." In a solemn tone, he declared:
"Right. Let's begin the investigation."
Under CP0's hollow, emotionless gaze,
Sengoku raised a clenched fist, righteously declaring:
"At all costs!"
"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! We will get to the bottom of this!"
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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