"Fleet Admiral, what are your orders?" the Major asked, standing at attention.
"Do what needs to be done for the survivors. Also, go find Garp and tell him to get over here immediately," Sengoku said after a long, heavy silence.
"Yes, sir!" the Major replied, saluting before turning to leave.
Sengoku sat back in his chair, his expression somber as his mind raced with troubling thoughts. Could it be that the Beasts Pirates are finally fielding a third Mythical Zoan user? He had always harbored suspicions about Yamato's potential, but he hadn't expected those fears to be realized so quickly.
"She really has become a second Kaido. If I had known it would come to this, I should have nipped this threat in the bud a long time ago," Sengoku muttered, a wave of regret washing over him.
He realized now that he should have designed a plan to eliminate her during the Beasts Pirates' second expedition. Back then, Kaido wasn't by Yamato's side, and she was far more vulnerable. At the time, however, he simply hadn't anticipated that she would become such a massive threat to the world balance. Not wanting to provoke an all-out war with Kaido, he had played it safe and only sent Garp to test the waters.
"I truly regret it now. I let a monster grow right under our noses," Sengoku said, rubbing his aching brow.
But regret was useless; the girl had already become a force to be reckoned with. The idea of two "Kaidos" existing within a single pirate crew was a terrifying prospect for the World Government.
After a while, the door swung open and Garp walked in, looking as carefree as ever. "What do you want with this old man, Sengoku? Is this a surprise invitation for tea and rice crackers?"
"In your dreams," Sengoku snapped, rolling his eyes. "Tell me, when you went to test 'Onihime' Yamato last time, did you find out if she was a Devil Fruit user?"
"Eh? That brat? An ability user?" Garp paused, scratching his chin as he thought back to their exchange.
After a few seconds, he nodded casually. "Oh right, she is. She seemed to be able to use the power of lightning. Sorry about that—I completely forgot to mention it last time."
"Garp! How could you forget something so vital?" Sengoku's temper flared.
If it weren't for the report he just received, he wouldn't even be sure she had a fruit, let alone that she possessed a rare Mythical Zoan.
"Hahaha! I'm getting old, Sengoku, give me a break. No need to get your blood pressure up. Isn't it the same if I tell you now?" Garp said with a booming laugh.
"Look at this," Sengoku said, tossing the latest battle report onto the desk.
Garp picked it up and scanned the lines, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "So something like this happened? What a hot-tempered little brat."
"According to the survivors, she is a Mythical Zoan user, and her ability is the same type as Kaido's. The fact that she can transform into a dragon proves it. It's an incredibly powerful ability," Sengoku said, his voice dropping to a low, serious tone.
A hint of solemnity finally flashed in Garp's eyes. "That really is frightening. Another Mythical Zoan... For the Beasts Pirates to gather three of them, their luck is truly unparalleled."
A powerful fruit combined with her high-level Haki meant they were dealing with a carbon copy of Kaido's combat potential. It was no wonder Sengoku was so agitated.
"If I had known, I would have ordered you to eliminate her no matter the cost. Now..." Sengoku trailed off, shaking his head. The window of opportunity had slammed shut.
"It's already happened, so let's think of another way," Garp said, pulling up a chair and making himself comfortable.
In his heart, Garp knew that even if he had been dead serious during their last encounter, keeping Yamato there would have been nearly impossible. She wasn't stupid; if she realized she couldn't win, she would have just turned tail and run. As a Mythical Zoan who could fly, catching her would have required a massive, coordinated trap.
Sengoku fell silent again. "What can we even do? She's already surpassed the level of what ordinary Marines can handle. Most importantly, she's still in her twenties. She still has so much room to grow."
"Yeah, her youth is the most terrifying part. In time, she might become even more powerful than Kaido himself," Garp agreed.
With Yamato's natural talent, she was on a trajectory to surpass her father. By the time she reached her prime, she might even reach the terrifying heights of a man like Whitebeard. Both Garp and Sengoku knew exactly how fearsome Whitebeard was in his prime. In two words: he was invincible.
"If another Whitebeard-level threat appears among the pirates, the seas will turn red," Sengoku said, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk.
"That's still unlikely," Garp argued, shaking his head. "Whitebeard's strength was a unique combination of top-tier Haki and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. That's the strongest Paramecia Type in existence. Even if that brat has a Mythical Zoan, she can't compare to the raw destructive power of the Gura Gura no Mi."
Sengoku nodded slowly. Garp had a point. The title of "Strongest Paramecia" wasn't just for show. Even among Logias and Mythical Zoans, that specific title had never been challenged, proving how devastating the fruit's power truly was.
"But to be fair," Garp added, "even if she doesn't have Whitebeard's power to destroy the world, she'll have the highest individual combat capability. Just like Kaido—thick-skinned, impossible to kill, and impossible to pin down."
"That's exactly why it's so troublesome," Sengoku agreed. "Her ability to fight across sea, land, and air leaves her with no weaknesses. Unless we deploy a large group of top-tier experts to surround her, she's an unsolvable problem."
"She's a handful, that's for sure! Hahaha! Forget it, Sengoku, stop stressing over it. Come on, let's have some tea. Break out the rice crackers!" Garp said, looking to change the subject.
"Get out, you old geezer! All you ever think about are my snacks..."
Wano Country, Hakumai.
A massive shadow emerged from the clouds as a giant pink dragon descended toward the earth. Before touching the ground, the creature shifted back into human form, and Yamato landed gracefully.
"Now that my fruit is awakened, I should be even more durable than my Idiot Old Man. Next time we clash, I'll have to test this new power out on him," Yamato said to herself, sitting down to brew a fresh pot of tea.
After resting for two days, Yamato headed over to Onigashima.
"Eh? That's strange. My Idiot Old Man isn't here. If that drunkard isn't here drinking, what is he up to?" Yamato asked, surprised to find the main hall empty.
She eventually tracked down King. "Second Uncle, where did the Idiot Old Man go?"
"Young Master, the Governor-General has gone out. He said some blind pirates showed up on our borders and he wanted to deal with them," King explained.
"He's going out in person for something like that?" Yamato was puzzled. That didn't sound like Kaido at all; he usually left the small fry to the Headliners.
King thought for a moment. "I told him the same thing, but Big Brother said he's bored to death right now, so he just up and left."
"Wait... has he been doing nothing but drinking lately, shouting about how bored he is, and even saying he wants to die?" Yamato asked, a realization hitting her.
"Young Master, how did you know?" King asked, looking genuinely shocked. Yamato hadn't been on the island lately, so how could she have known about Kaido's recent mood swings?
He wondered if Black Maria or Haruko had told her, but they usually only reported to him. It was unlikely they had seen the Governor-General in such a state.
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