To provoke both Whitebeard and Oguro at the same time…
Even if the World Government had gone mad, Sengoku would never agree to that.
He would never let the Navy's entire elite force walk into certain death just to protect the Government's reputation.
Oguro and the others turned to leave, while Kizaru flew back to Marineford looking utterly miserable.
This time, he knew he would be blamed heavily.
"This Oguro's ability completely restrains mine. I need to have Sengoku-san assign someone to investigate it thoroughly."
Kizaru felt a rare heaviness in his heart.
No one wants to meet a natural, perfect counter to their power on the battlefield.
As expected, when Kizaru stepped into Sengoku's office, he was blasted so hard it shook the windows.
"You idiot! If you knew the enemy had a fighter on Admiral-level, why didn't you immediately retreat with the two Celestial Dragons?"
"With your speed, all you had to do was rush to Mary Geoise. The Five Elders would never have ignored you."
Sengoku jabbed a finger at Kizaru's nose, furious.
"I bet your old problem is acting up again. You didn't want to put in effort, right?"
Cold sweat ran down Kizaru's back. Sengoku was truly terrifying.
He had hit the nail on the head.
Kizaru always avoided extra work whenever he could.
If this hadn't involved Celestial Dragons, he absolutely would have run away on the spot rather than fight Soi Fon for so long.
Sengoku's face stayed dark.
"The Five Elders sent a message. Next year, the Navy's budget will be reduced by twenty percent. You're going to stay with Vegapunk for a while and reflect on yourself."
Kizaru let out a silent sigh of relief.
No salary deduction. Good enough.
As for assisting Vegapunk's experiments, this wasn't the first time.
He could even slack off openly.
Perfect.
Kizaru left the office happily and headed straight to Vegapunk's island.
Watching him go, Sengoku sighed deeply.
"What a troublesome time…"
The Navy had already decided to use Fire Fist Ace as bait to wipe out the Whitebeard Pirates.
Becoming enemies with Oguro now would be incredibly foolish.
The Five Elders had already given instructions.
The deaths of the two Celestial Dragons would be suppressed for now.
Mary Geoise would also forbid all Celestial Dragons from leaving until the Marineford War was over.
As for Oguro's demand that they abolish slavery…
The Five Elders sneered at it.
A tiny little country…
Just because it produced a few powerful individuals, they thought they could stand on equal ground with the World Government?
Ridiculous.
After executing Roger's sinful bloodline and the Whitebeard Pirates, the Government's prestige would rise to its greatest height in history.
At that time, they would gather all their strength and wipe the Holy Spirit Empire from existence entirely.
A nation that refuses to obey the World Government does not deserve to exist.
...
Impel Down
After several applications, Garp was finally granted permission to meet Ace.
Because he was the Pirate King Roger's bloodline, Ace was imprisoned in the lowest level of Impel Down — Level 6: Eternal Hell.
The closer he walked to his grandson's cell, the darker Garp's expression became.
Beside him, Aizen Sōsuke curiously examined everything around them.
Because he was reliable and efficient, Aizen had become Garp's adjutant, handling all administrative work for him.
At the same time, he hadn't stopped hunting pirates.
In just one month, he captured several pirates with bounties over ten million, earning a promotion to Major.
"These people all have powerful presences."
Aizen pushed up his glasses with interest.
Garp wasn't in the mood to reply.
Hannyabal, who was guiding them, laughed as he spoke.
"Of course. Anyone locked in here is a notorious pirate."
He pointed toward one of the cells.
"For example, that one. Douglas Bullet. The Demon Heir. Former crewmate of the Pirate King Roger."
"To capture him, the Marines launched a Buster Call. Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp had to take action."
"Oh? That really is impressive."
Aizen stepped closer to the cell, studying the legendary pirate with great curiosity.
Inside, a tall, muscular man with golden hair and a black military uniform sat with his eyes closed.
He was one of the most dangerous criminals.
Several layers of seastone shackles bound his body.
He had almost no room to move at all.
A man of his level only needed the slightest opportunity to overturn the entire prison.
Sensing someone approaching, Bullet opened his eyes.
When he saw a skinny man standing before him, his gaze filled with disdain.
Boom.
A devastating surge of Conqueror's Haki burst out like a storm.
Under Bullet's precise control, the Haki targeted only Aizen.
Yet Bullet's eyes widened.
A level of Conqueror's Haki that would make ninety percent of strong fighters flinch…
The frail-looking man before him didn't react at all.
He just kept that soft, gentle smile on his face.
After a long pause, Bullet grinned.
"Not bad, kid."
"Douglas Bullet, you're very dissatisfied with this world, aren't you?"
Aizen's glasses caught a glint of reflected light.
His tone stayed perfectly calm.
"A stagnant world without a trace of ambition."
Bullet frowned and looked toward Garp and Hannyabal.
He realized Garp saw nothing and simply kept walking deeper into Level 6.
Hannyabal was even more absurd.
He was enthusiastically introducing prisoners to a patch of empty air.
"Don't worry. They can't see or hear our conversation."
Aizen smiled as if it were nothing important.
"Some kind of Devil Fruit ability, huh? Even Garp got caught in it. Hahaha…"
Bullet laughed loudly.
Seeing even Garp being fooled pleased him greatly.
Once he stopped laughing, Bullet's expression cooled.
"So what do you want? Planning to break me out? Don't tell me you want me to be your subordinate."
He scoffed with disdain.
Ever since Roger died, he believed that only becoming the absolute strongest mattered.
No one in the world was worthy of having him kneel ever again.
Aizen pushed his glasses again, voice unreadable.
"His Majesty the Soul King was right. For people like you, talking is meaningless. A proper beating works far better."
Crack.
Bullet looked down.
The seastone shackles around him had been cut open at some point.
"Now then… let me show you."
Aizen's smile vanished.
His eyes grew cold and divine, like a god looking down on an insect.
"The power that stands above the heavens."
***
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