Although it was already deep into the night, Marine Headquarters was as busy as if it had come under attack. Nearly every senior officer had been summoned, and all of them gathered in the conference room inside headquarters.
The first to arrive were the Three Admirals, the symbols of the Navy's highest combat power:
Akainu
Aokiji
Kizaru
Right behind them, Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Headquarters staff officer, walked in with a grave expression and took the seat beside Fleet Admiral Sengoku.
The Headquarters vice admirals and rear admirals filed in one after another, each of them confused as they looked toward Sengoku, who sat at the head of the room.
"Let's keep this brief."
Sengoku swept his gaze across everyone present. Not even waiting for the last few officers to arrive, he got straight to the point.
"We just received confirmation that the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue was attacked. Every member of the royal family, including the king himself, was killed."
The room instantly erupted into stunned silence.
"What happened?"
After a beat of shock, Vice Admiral Gion, one of the Admiral candidates, was the first to speak.
"Was it the Revolutionary Army?"
As a Headquarters vice admiral and an Admiral candidate, Gion was naturally very familiar with the Goa Kingdom. Any nation affiliated with the World Government received its protection.
Normally, pirates—or even criminal groups like mafia organizations—would never dare slaughter the royal family of a member nation. At most, they would raid settlements or engage in robbery within those countries.
And the Goa Kingdom was no ordinary member state.
It was known as the most beautiful country in the East Blue, and every year it sent a considerable amount of Heavenly Tribute to the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise. Naturally, the World Government's protection over it was stronger than usual.
Under those circumstances, if the royal family had still been killed, there was only one likely suspect:
The Revolutionary Army, which had spent years opposing the World Government.
"It wasn't them."
Sengoku raised a hand.
Though he himself still found it hard to believe, he gave the answer anyway:
"It was… a rabbit."
"????"
The officers' eyes widened all over again.
Not the Revolutionary Army.
A rabbit?
"Everyone, I didn't call you here just because the Goa Kingdom royal family was massacred."
Without giving anyone time to process that first shock, Sengoku calmly delivered an even more explosive revelation.
"At the same time the royal family was killed, the Celestial Dragon Saint Charloss, who was in the Goa Kingdom, also did not survive."
Sengoku's voice was not loud, but in that moment it struck like thunder.
For a brief instant, the entire room seemed to stop thinking.
A Celestial Dragon… killed?
That was an event serious enough to shake the entire world.
The East Blue, compared with the other seas, had always been considered one of the safest regions.
And yet in that supposedly safest sea, something this severe had happened.
As the shock settled in, every officer in the room understood one thing:
The East Blue would no longer remain peaceful.
"How frightening."
At that moment, one of the Three Admirals finally spoke.
Borsalino, the man known by the codename Kizaru, adjusted his sunglasses with habitual laziness and said in his usual drawn-out tone,
"Looks like the East Blue has produced a very troublesome monster."
After a short pause, he looked up at Sengoku.
"So… do we all need to move?"
Sengoku nodded grimly.
"The Holy Land is furious. They're demanding that we capture this rabbit in the shortest time possible."
Hearing that, Kizaru straightened his coat and rose to his feet without further complaint.
"I'll head there first."
The moment those words left his mouth, a brilliant light burst from his body.
In the next instant, his form dissolved into a mass of golden radiance and shot out of the conference room.
"Gion."
After watching Kizaru leave, Sengoku immediately turned to Gion and gave his next order with crisp decisiveness.
"You will depart for the East Blue immediately. Once there, you have full authority over all East Blue naval bases. Use as many men as necessary. Even if you have to tear the region apart inch by inch, capture that rabbit."
"Yes, sir."
Gion stood at once and left the room without hesitation.
Then Sengoku shifted his attention again.
"Momonga, Onigumo, Yamakaji—you three will support Gion. Depart immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
The three vice admirals stood almost at the same time and followed after her.
After a pause, Sengoku turned toward the remaining two Admirals:
Aokiji and Akainu.
Both men looked puzzled.
Although the Admirals were obligated to respond at once when a Celestial Dragon was harmed or insulted, Kizaru had already been dispatched. On top of that, Gion—the Admiral candidate—was going with three veteran vice admirals.
That should have been more than enough force to hunt down a single rabbit.
And yet—
From Sengoku's expression, it was obvious he was still uneasy.
As if, in his judgment, even sending an Admiral, an Admiral candidate, and three vice admirals was still not enough.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Akainu said at last, not one to keep his doubts to himself, "you're not about to order all of us there too, are you?"
A faint frown settled on his face.
"What exactly happened? For you to treat one rabbit as such a major threat… is it really so strong that it requires the Three Admirals and this many vice admirals?"
At those words, the vice admirals and rear admirals in the room all leaned forward slightly, waiting for Sengoku to explain.
"To be honest…"
Sengoku looked around the room once more, his face dark.
"When this happened, Garp was already inside the royal capital of the Goa Kingdom. Not only was he unable to stop the rabbit, he was struck down and sent flying into the sea, suffering serious injuries."
"What?!"
Gasps erupted across the room.
Akainu did not shout, but even he couldn't help inhaling sharply.
Even if age meant Garp was no longer the absolute strongest combatant in Marine Headquarters, he was still undeniably one of its top fighters.
More importantly, he had decades of battle experience.
He had once chased the previous Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, across the world.
And during the God Valley Incident, he had fought side by side with Roger to defeat the former ruler of the seas, Rocks D. Xebec.
A man with achievements like that—
A man with that much experience—
Had been seriously wounded by a rabbit?
That rabbit…
Really was that terrifying.
No wonder Sengoku had still felt uneasy even after sending Kizaru. No wonder he had immediately ordered Gion and three vice admirals to follow.
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