Tsuru's expression darkened, a sense of unease rising in her heart.
Sure enough—
Her earlier suspicion seemed to have come true.
Suppressing the tremor deep inside, she spoke as calmly as possible:
"Borsalino, what exactly happened? On Moden Island… something went wrong, didn't it?"
For once, Kizaru wasn't acting carefree.
He pushed up his sunglasses, sighed, and spoke in a heavy tone.
"Vice Admiral Garp… Staff Officer Tsuru… things… went wrong."
He glanced at Garp, who had frozen in place, feeling a bit uneasy.
Fortunately, he quickly adjusted himself.
It wasn't that he hadn't tried—
The opponent was simply too strong.
"Leno… somehow found the Moden Island base."
"Sentomaru and I—and even Dr. Vegapunk's creation, the K-Kaido clone—couldn't stop him."
"What?! Leno?!" Garp's eyes widened instantly.
"That bastard again! He deserves to die!"
At the side, Sentomaru trembled as he delivered the final blow:
"Grandpa Garp… your… your clone body… was… taken by Leno!!"
"Boom!"
The frozen expression on Garp's face shattered piece by piece.
Replaced by overwhelming fury!
He clenched his fists so tightly that the metal rail of the hospital bed creaked under the pressure.
Tsuru's face turned pale as well.
Her body swayed, barely managing to steady herself against the bed.
The outcome she feared most—
Had come to pass.
The only small consolation—
Was that no one else knew she had revealed the information to Leno.
Standing beside the bed, Tsuru looked at Garp's face—
Twisted with rage, despair, unwillingness, and regret—
Like a pie chart of emotions.
Her heart was filled with complexity.
But in the end—
All she could do was sigh silently.
And feel deep guilt.
"I'm sorry, Garp… Sengoku…" she murmured inwardly.
Compared to them—
Her precious granddaughter Kujaku mattered more.
Besides, she had only spoken casually.
How could she have known it would destroy Garp's chance at recovery?
At the same time, she couldn't help but curse Leno in her heart.
"That ungrateful brat! Does he really have to oppose Garp to the bitter end?!"
After all, Garp had trained him for so many years.
Every bit of Leno's strength carried traces of Garp's iron fist.
And yet now…
Unfortunately—
She could only keep those thoughts buried deep inside.
Not a single word could be spoken.
After venting his rage helplessly—
Garp collapsed back onto the bed like a man who had lost all hope.
With the last trace of hope—
He looked at Kizaru, his voice hoarse.
"Borsalino… tell me honestly… my clone… was it really destroyed by that bastard Leno…?"
Kizaru instinctively wanted to shrug it off with his usual nonchalance.
But seeing Garp's near-death expression—
He held back.
His tone turned unusually serious.
"Vice Admiral Garp, we didn't see Leno destroy it with our own eyes."
"But… at that time, all of us were defeated by him. If Sentomaru and I hadn't retreated quickly… we would have…"
He didn't finish.
But everyone understood.
With Leno's ruthless nature—
There was no way he would leave Garp's clone intact.
It must have been destroyed along the way.
There was no need to even think about it.
Tsuru, with a darkened expression, added appropriately—
Displaying anger and grief.
"Borsalino, explain everything from beginning to end. In detail."
Kizaru nodded, about to begin—
When the ward door suddenly opened.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Akainu entered, both looking exhausted.
The moment Sengoku stepped in—
He sensed the heavy atmosphere.
Everyone's expressions were grim.
His heart sank.
Another piece of bad news.
He didn't want to know—
But had to ask.
"What happened?" Sengoku asked in a deep voice.
Tsuru glanced at him.
"Listen to Borsalino first."
Under everyone's oppressive gaze—
Kizaru began recounting in detail everything that had happened at the Moden Island base.
As he spoke—
Sengoku's face grew darker and darker.
Akainu's expression wasn't any better.
They had only just recovered slightly from the blow at Amazon Lily—
And now—
Another disaster.
Sengoku felt his vision darken again, his chest tightening.
Leno again!
Why is it him everywhere?!
He roared internally.
It had only been a few days!
"Stussy!"
Sengoku slammed his fist against the wall with a dull thud.
Gritting his teeth, he said:
"It must be that woman Stussy! She betrayed CP0—betrayed the World Government!"
"She leaked the location of Moden Island to Leno!"
This conclusion was immediately accepted by most present.
Regardless of the truth—
They needed someone to take the blame.
And Stussy was the perfect candidate.
(Stussy: Feed me peanuts! Feed me peanuts!!)
Among them—
Only Akainu slowly turned his gaze toward Tsuru.
He felt something wasn't right.
Especially recalling Tsuru's secret conversation with Leno on Amazon Lily.
He suspected there might have been some kind of deal.
Kujaku was in Leno's hands…
Would Tsuru, for her granddaughter…
A seed of suspicion took root in his mind.
Tsuru immediately sensed Akainu's probing gaze.
But her expression remained unchanged—
Still displaying shared anger.
A seasoned veteran through and through.
Akainu stared at her for a long moment—
But found no flaw.
And he knew—
Kujaku and Hibari's capture was primarily his responsibility.
Without concrete evidence—
He couldn't press further.
He snorted coldly and looked away.
Meanwhile—
Garp, after hearing everything, seemed completely numb.
His spirit had collapsed.
Before, he still had hope—
Now, there was nothing left.
His condition worsened visibly.
His aura weakened.
He slowly turned his head toward Sengoku.
For the first time—
There was a trace of pleading in his eyes.
"Sengoku… help me… think of something…"
"Is there any way… even just temporarily… to restore me to my peak for a few days…"
His voice carried intense unwillingness.
"Even if it costs my life… I will personally kill that ungrateful bastard Leno who betrayed his master!!"
Hearing Garp's desperate plea—
Tsuru felt as if her heart were being cut by knives.
She opened her mouth, wanting to comfort him—
But found no words.
Sengoku felt no better.
Looking at his old comrade reduced to this state—
He placed a hand on Garp's shoulder, his gaze firm.
"Garp! Don't worry! I will find a way to heal you!"
"At worst… we'll have Dr. Vegapunk clone another body for you!"
"Don't give up! There must be a way!"
Garp slowly shook his head.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"It's too late… Sengoku…"
"I can feel it… my time… is running out…"
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