Under the night sky, beneath a pale and watchful moon, the town was thrown into chaos.
The reason was simple.
The long-missing Admiral Issho, known to the world as Fujitora, had finally returned.
"Admiral Issho! Are you injured? Your kimono is torn!"
"Admiral Fujitora, your skin… are you poisoned?"
Issho leaned against his sheathed sword, using it as a cane. His breathing was uneven, his posture heavy with fatigue. With his eyes closed, he smiled gently and spoke in a hoarse but calm voice.
"Thank you for your concern. This old man is fine."
The reassurance did little to ease the crowd.
When the surrounding Marines clearly saw the unnatural purple hue spreading across Issho's skin, panic erupted once more.
A ship's doctor stationed nearby reacted instantly, his expression changing as he examined Issho more closely.
"This toxin… it matches the poison used by Admiral Youlong. Notify Marineford immediately! Request the antidote!"
A communication officer shouted into a Den Den Mushi.
"Marineford! Admiral Fujitora has been poisoned! Requesting Admiral Youlong's antidote at once!"
Fortunately, a nearby Marine branch possessed a reserve of the antidote specifically formulated for that toxin. A warship was dispatched without delay, racing through the sea to deliver it.
After the antidote was administered and the doctor confirmed that the poison had been fully neutralized, the tension gripping the Marines finally loosened.
A wave of relief swept through the dock.
"Thank goodness…"
"Admiral Issho, did you encounter an extremely powerful enemy?"
"Was the enemy eliminated? Do we need to request reinforcements from Marineford?"
Issho slowly shook his head.
"The enemy has already withdrawn," he said calmly. "This old man will personally report the matter to Fleet Admiral Sakazuki."
The opponent's nature was too strange, too dangerous to explain through a Den Den Mushi. Issho knew it was something that required a face-to-face report.
Then he paused.
"…I seem to have forgotten something."
A Marine Master Sergeant suddenly remembered and spoke up quickly.
"Ah, that's right! Admiral Issho, Admiral Silver Serpent went out looking for you earlier."
"Silver Serpent came looking for me?"
Issho's brows relaxed as understanding dawned on him. He nodded faintly, murmuring to himself.
"So that is how it was."
The being that attacked him had called them blasphemers. If Issho had been targeted because Silver Serpent destroyed that strange golden statue, then Silver Serpent would inevitably be targeted as well.
That meant the Disaster had found Silver Serpent too.
And if the oppressive effect afflicting Issho had vanished…
"…Then he must have killed it."
Issho lifted his head slightly, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips.
"He's here."
Almost at the same moment, thunder rolled across the sky.
Rumble. Rumble.
Dark clouds churned overhead as lightning flashed violently.
"Admiral Cero has arrived!"
The familiar phenomenon that accompanied Silver Serpent's appearances filled the Marines with immediate relief.
They had feared the enemy who injured Issho might return.
After all, Issho was not in peak condition.
With Silver Serpent present, the situation felt secure.
A silver-white flash split the sky.
Boom!
A lightning bolt descended like a spear from the heavens.
Issho smiled gently and inclined his head in gratitude toward the lightning.
"Thank you for coming—"
"Thank your grandpa, you blind idiot!"
Silver Serpent's furious voice cracked like thunder.
Before anyone could react, the lightning condensed into human form. In the next instant, Silver Serpent seized the completely unresisting Issho and vanished in a blinding streak of light.
Zzzzt!
The two Admirals disappeared into the distance.
The remaining Marines stared at one another, utterly dumbfounded.
"…What just happened?"
"…Why did Admiral Silver Serpent take Admiral Issho away?"
No one had an answer.
An uninhabited island far from any shipping routes.
Silver Serpent hurled Issho through the air without restraint.
"You blind gambling addict! I nearly died fighting that unkillable freak because of you!"
Issho spun once before landing firmly on the ground, his posture steady despite the rough treatment.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning formed into a destructive spear and shot toward him. Issho drew his sword in a smooth motion, intercepting the attack. The lightning twisted violently against the blade before detonating and dispersing.
"Well," Issho said calmly, sheathing his sword, "it seems you are unharmed as well."
The tension drained from Silver Serpent's posture.
"The Disaster's power was completely unpredictable," Issho continued. "Its scale could range from catastrophic to trivial. No one could foresee whether the next incident would be a meteor falling from the sky or something as absurd as biting one's tongue."
He let out a slow breath.
"This old man could endure it, but had it lasted any longer, even I might not have survived."
"You don't need to explain," Silver Serpent snapped. "I experienced that cursed randomness myself."
Then his tone shifted, curiosity slipping through.
"But tell me, how did you kill it?"
Issho turned his closed eyes toward Silver Serpent.
"That thing's regenerative ability was monstrous. Even now, I cannot fully comprehend it."
Silver Serpent descended and planted a golden spear into the ground. Dark energy pulsed faintly along its surface.
"Take a look," he said. "This is what killed it. Recognize it?"
Issho's eyes opened slightly. In his vision, the spear radiated an ominous presence identical to the shattered statue.
"…Gold carved into a statue," Issho murmured. "And now reforged into a weapon."
"After the Disaster died, the gold turned into this," Silver Serpent said. "Holding it makes my skin crawl."
Issho nodded slowly.
"Keep it safe. It may be needed again someday."
Silver Serpent fell silent, then repeated the last words spoken by the Disaster.
"Beware the eyes above the Celestial Dragons. Beware the moon."
Issho's expression turned grave.
"The first warning is understandable," he said. "But the second…"
He lifted his head, gazing toward the moon now fully revealed beyond the drifting clouds.
"…Does the moon itself pose a threat?"
"Who knows," Silver Serpent replied coldly. "No one has ever been there. For all we know, there could be a weapon capable of destroying the world."
The two Admirals stood in silence.
The implication was unsettling even for them.
"This involves the Celestial Dragons," Issho finally said. "It must not be leaked."
He clenched his sword slightly.
"In matters involving them, Marine justice is always forced into the most disastrous outcomes."
Silver Serpent sneered.
"That's why I brought you here. If news leaks, those nobles will try to silence us."
Issho nodded.
"But it will not remain secret for long. The World Government already knows I disappeared today."
Silver Serpent's smile turned sharp.
"Let them come. The era where they dictated everything is over."
In the chamber of the Five Elders.
"So," said Saint Warcury, God of Law, "the Disaster has been eliminated."
"By Issho and Cero," replied Saint Mars, God of the Environment.
A cold killing intent flickered in the eyes of Saint Saturn, God of Defense.
"Then dispatch CP0," he said. "Eliminate them quietly."
"And frame Shirogai."