Who's Who, the leader of the Tobiroppo, hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Weren't we always five people... boss?"
The others around him nodded in agreement.
Kaido's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at them with a blank expression, and the pressure in the meeting room dropped even further. Now, he finally realized where the irritation in his heart was coming from.
It was that seat beside Ulti, one of the Tobiroppo. Where had that seat come from? There was no memory of it at all, yet an empty spot existed.
Every time his gaze swept across the room, he would unconsciously skip over that place. Only now, when everyone insisted there were only five of them, did he notice the strange sense of inconsistency.
If there were only five people, then why was it called the Tobiroppo (Flying Six)?
He was not some senile old fool like that old hag.
A faint sense of unease rose in Kaido's heart, and his voice turned icy. "King. Bring me the roster."
King was puzzled by the sudden order, but still replied, "Yes."
He turned and left, transforming into a pterosaur as he flew out of the hall. No one in the room dared to breathe too loudly. They waited in silence.
A moment later, King returned in his pterosaur form, landed, and transformed back into a human. Holding a roster in his hand, he stepped forward and handed it to Kaido.
Kaido swept his gaze over the Tobiroppo and spoke directly. "Call their names."
King took the roster back, opened it, and began reading in order.
"Who's Who."
"Here."
"Maria."
"Here."
"Sasaki."
"Here."
"Ulti."
"Here."
"Pa—"
Before he could finish, King froze. Shock filled his face as he looked up at Kaido.
Kaido already understood. Reaching out, he took the roster from King, looked at the name, and read it aloud in a cold voice.
"Page One..."
Looking at that unfamiliar name, killing intent surged within him.
It was obvious. The Marines had some kind of special Devil Fruit user, someone capable of erasing everyone's memories.
A method that made everyone forget a person entirely. Even someone like him, one of the Four Emperors, was affected. Even overwhelming Haki was useless.
If not for the inconsistency in the number of chairs, he would never have noticed that someone was missing.
How terrifying was that?
At this moment, a flaw of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit was revealed. That abnormal, rule-like ability that erased memories could only erase memories. It could not erase physical traces. Anything that person had once left behind, items they used, recorded information, all of it still existed.
The Beasts Pirates had a strict hierarchy, and the number of seats was always fixed. So when the lower-ranking pirates arranged the hall, even though they found it strange that there were only five Tobiroppo members but six chairs, they still placed them in order, not daring to leave one out.
Their thinking was simple. What if a new member appeared? If they failed to prepare a chair, that kind of mistake would cost them their lives.
Suddenly, Ulti clutched her chest and let out a piercing scream.
"Pay-Pay!!!!"
A pain like her heart was being torn apart surged through her, as if she had lost someone incredibly dear.
Everyone's memories began to slowly return.
* * *
New World, within the returning fleet.
On Vice Admiral Tsuru's warship, all the female soldiers were startled by the screams and roars that had just come from inside the grinder.
Sugar collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath as she tried to calm herself. Baby-5 crouched beside her, gently patting her back to comfort her.
Tsuru hurried over to the scene.
"What happened?"
She quickly knelt beside Sugar, placed a hand on her back, and activated her ability, washing away the fear in her heart.
Baby-5 withdrew her hand and looked at Tsuru. "It was a pirate with a very strong body. The grinder crushed him, but he didn't die completely."
Because of their limits in talent and strength, they usually targeted mid- and lower-level pirate officers during ambushes. There had never been any accidents.
But accidents always happen eventually.
She then explained what had just occurred. After throwing the Spinosaurus toy into the grinder, they waited the usual amount of time before Sugar released her ability.
Since toys created by her would automatically reassemble, they normally released the ability immediately after crushing them, so the pirate would return to their original state, already shredded to death.
But this time, after the crushing, some fragments of the upper body were too close together. On the metal wall of the chamber, a dinosaur head shape bulged out… and shot straight toward Sugar.
That sudden, lunging dinosaur head was what scared her.
Even so, after that final outburst, the pirate who had turned into a dinosaur lost all signs of life. After all, his body had already been completely crushed.
Ordinary pirates would have died instantly, but thanks to the abnormal physique of an Ancient Zoan, Page One managed to stay conscious for two more seconds. He burst out one last time before dying with a scream.
Tsuru nodded. "I understand."
She then withdrew her hand. The fear inside Sugar had already been washed away.
Her expression was calm now, though her body still felt weak, a lingering effect of the shock.
Baby-5 held her and helped her to her feet.
Tsuru glanced at the metal wall, which had been dented into the shape of a dinosaur head, then spoke to a nearby marine. "Reinforce and upgrade the grinder."
"Yes."
Tap, tap, tap…
The sound of hurried footsteps approached as a marine ran over holding a Den Den Mushi.
"Vice Admiral. Fleet Admiral Sakazuki is calling. He ordered Sugar to return to headquarters."
Tsuru frowned slightly and looked at Sugar's condition. "When?"
The marine hesitated. "Uh... no specific time was given."
She gave a nod, then turned to the two of them. "You both recover your strength first. I'll ask for details."
They nodded.
"Yes."
* * *
New World, New Marineford.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, Sakazuki glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already close to midnight.
Thinking of Sugar, who had already set out and would arrive soon, he spoke to Carlo. "Is the intelligence confirmed?"
Carlo stood up from his desk. "Everything is confirmed. The target is being watched by the modified Mihawk, currently invisible."
Sakazuki nodded, his tone calm. "Bring him here."
Carlo smiled. "Yes."
He pushed his ability to its limit.
Whoosh!
In an instant, he crossed the Red Line and appeared in front of a bar in Water 7.
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