Chapter 25 – Wanted
Pangaea Castle.
The Gorosei had just calmed the Celestial Dragons and sent them away when a guard announced that Guernika had arrived.
They ordered him in.
Guernika knelt before them, head lowered, and said,
"My apologies, Your Excellencies. The God Slayer escaped; we found no trace of him."
His voice trembled as he recounted everything from beginning to end.
"Worthless! You let that vermin slip—do you grasp what that means?"
Saint Nusjuro roared, hand instinctively tightening round his sword hilt as though to cleave Guernika in two.
Saint Peter of Jupiter raised a hand, staying Nasujuro's wrath.
"We cannot lay all blame on Guernika; none of us imagined a Slave capable of vanishing into thin air."
"This may have been long premeditated; the assassin could have prepared for years."
Saint Saturn of Mercury added, leaning on his cane.
"Perhaps he belongs to the Revolutionary Army!"
Saint Mars suggested.
"Whoever he is, he dies for this."
"Have the Marines post a bounty and dispatch CP to hunt him; he must not draw another breath."
Satan Saint declared from the sofa.
"Approved!"
"Approved!"
"Approved!"
"Approved!"
The remaining Gorosei nodded in unison.
A man who had slain multiple Celestial Dragons could not be suffered to live; it would be their disgrace.
"Guernika, the task is yours—see that this God Slayer is erased from existence," Saint Saturn commanded.
"Yes, sir. Thank you for granting me a chance to atone!"
Guernika pressed his forehead to the floor in gratitude.
"Go. Do not fail us."
Saint Peter said.
"Understood!"
Guernika withdrew reverently from the Room of Authority, soaked in cold sweat.
This blunder had been enough to cost him his life.
After all, Dante Voss had murdered more than ten Celestial Dragons—an enormity beyond measure.
But fortune had smiled on him.
His past merits had bought mercy; any other agent would already be dead.
The Room of Authority fell silent once more.
Satan Saint frowned and asked,
"What bounty shall we place on the Slave? A Celestial-killer with a sword that supposedly grows stronger—he's dangerous."
"One hundred million. Any higher would raise questions; that sum is already tempting." Saint Saturn replied.
A first-time bounty too large would invite suspicion; for Dante Voss, one hundred million was high yet plausible.
"And the charge?"
Saint Nusjuro inquired.
The Gorosei pondered; nothing could hint at the Celestial Dragons' involvement.
"Say he murdered a senior World Government official."
Saint Peter proposed the cover story.
No one dissented.
"Approved!"
"Approved!"
"Approved!"
"Approved!"
That same day, on government orders, the Marines and the World News Company spread Dante Voss's wanted poster across the globe.
The photo showed the blood-soaked youth ringed by World Government guards.
Marineford.
Fleet Admiral's office.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku studied the report, eyes grave, the future weighing on his mind.
"Troubled times…"
He sighed, set the file aside, and gazed through the window.
Beyond lay Marineford, headquarters of the Marines.
Bunkers dotted the island, sailors hurried to and fro, warships lined the shore.
Ever since Pirate King Roger had opened the Great Age of Piracy, the Marines' burden had only grown heavier.
Countless pirates appeared daily; Marine power teetered on the brink.
The Four Emperors of the New World remained an unerasable thorn.
Even their allies, the Shichibukai, each harboured schemes and clashed in the shadows.
Below them, new pirates sprouted across the seas faster than they could be cut down.
And today a catastrophe had struck the Holy Land; as Fleet Admiral, he knew every detail.
Someone had slain a Celestial Dragon—news that shook him to the core.
Bang!
The door burst open and a burly white-haired old man strolled in.
"Sengoku, my doughnut record's broken again—wahahaha!"
Garp laughed, content with quiet days in the Marines.
Sengoku ignored his old friend, still brooding out the window.
Seeing his mood, Garp's grin faded; he walked over.
After decades beside him, he knew when Sengoku was troubled.
A casual glance at the desk made his eyes widen.
Someone had dared kill a Celestial Dragon—and escaped in full view of the world?
He despised the Celestial Dragons too, yet had never imagined murdering them.
He knew too well the price such an act carried.
Yet someone had actually done it.
"This happened last night?"
Garp tapped the report.
"Yes. The world grows madder—when even gods are slain, who knows where we're headed."
Sengoku murmured, watching the busy base below.
"Impudent brat!"
Garp chuckled, faintly admiring Dante Voss.
He had done what Garp himself never dared.
"They say he wields a blood-drinking sword that feeds his strength; already he rivals the Shichibukai."
"At mid-tier level, his swordplay is formidable."
"And some Devil Fruit power lets him blink away—how he fled. If he can vanish without limit…"
Sengoku trailed off. A blade that endlessly empowered its wielder, a nigh-divine escape Ability—such a foe seemed unstoppable.
Should he rise to Emperor class, his threat might eclipse even the Four Emperors.
"The World Government's birthed a monster."
Garp exhaled, equally wary.
"But he's not our problem."
Sengoku said, "The government handed him to Guernika; we only need to locate him."
"Guernika, eh?"
Garp smirked.
"Their top agent—they're taking it seriously."
As fellow government branches, he knew Guernika well: the CP's ace, trusted by the Gorosei.
"The seas grow crowded with powerhouses; the Marines weaken."
Sengoku's gaze hardened.
"Perhaps a grand war is needed—to show the world the Marines can still rule these waters."
Garp's eyes narrowed as he studied his old friend, the Fleet Admiral.
He could see it—Sengoku had run out of patience.