Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
It had been more than a week since Renzo left port on that specially-made speedboat.
The initial absurdity of his "volunteering" and the faint, unrealistic hope that came with it had long since faded, washed away by time. What replaced it was a deeper sense of helplessness and anxiety.
Most people, including many of the higher-ups, had already resigned themselves to two possible outcomes for Renzo's bizarre mission:
Either he'd gotten lost at sea and was napping somewhere in a corner of the ocean, or he'd never gone after Weevil at all and had instead found some comfortable little island to continue his "lazy" life.
Some even joked maliciously that maybe he'd just used this as a chance to desert the Marine.
After all, that would fit the "Sloth God's" persona perfectly.
Inside the Fleet Admiral's office, the atmosphere remained heavy.
Sengoku rubbed his aching temples and sighed as he looked at the pile of dead-end investigation reports on his desk.
"Borsalino, any updates on your end?"
Kizaru lounged lazily on the sofa, slowly swirling his teacup.
"Nooo~thing at all~ That sea area's been scrubbed clean, so clean it's scary~"
His tone was as anoying as always, but behind those sunglasses, his eyes carried a rare trace of seriousness.
If even he couldn't find the kid, that lazy brat...
Just then, the office door was suddenly pounded on, loud, urgent, almost rude.
"Come in!" Sengoku frowned.
A communications colonel practically burst through the door, face filled with shock, disbelief, and confusion, clutching a freshly decoded telegram tightly in his hand.
"F-Fleet Admiral! Urgent battle report! From the LC-01 speedboat!"
The colonel's voice shook with excitement, even cracking slightly.
All three men in the office straightened instantly, their gazes locking onto him like spotlights.
"LC-01? Renzo's vessel?" Sengoku shot up from his chair. "Is he in danger?" That was his first thought.
"N-no... not danger..." The colonel took a few deep breaths, trying to steady himself, though his voice still trembled.
"It's... it's a victory report! Commodore Renzo, he... he... has captured-no... eliminated Edward Weevil and his partner Miss Bakkin!"
"WHAT?!"
The three highest-ranking officers of the Marine all exclaimed in shock simultaneously.
Garp froze mid senbei eating.
Kizaru's coffe cup stopped midair.
Sengoku rushed around his desk and snatched the telegram from the colonel's hand.
The message was incredibly brief, even perfunctory, completely in line with the sender's style:
[Targets: Edward Weevil, Miss Bakkin. Dealt with. Please clean up.
Weevil has lost all four limbs.
Bakkin lost the ability to speak and think.
Evidence and targets will be delivered to HQ.
LC-01 requesting return.
Do not disturb!!- Renzo]
Just a few short lines, but they exploded in Sengoku, Garp, and Kizaru's minds like thunder!
Lost all four limbs?
Lost speech and thought?
"Dealt with"? "Please clean up"?
That was Weevil, the monster who had seriously injured Zephyr, wiped out an entire trainee fleet, and even managed to evade Kizaru's pursuit!
And he'd just been... "dealt with"?
Like taking out the trash?
And the tone, calm, detached, almost coldly procedural.
"H-how is this possible..." Sengoku's hands trembled as he reread the telegram again and again, making sure there wasn't a decoding error.
Garp suddenly burstout laughing "That brat actually pulled it off?! How'd he do it? What, 'lazied' Weevil's arms and legs right off?! Bwahaha!"
But his laughter soon faded as he rubbed his chin, eyes turning sharp. "Still... that method..."
Kizaru had also drifted closer, peering over Sengoku's shoulder. "So~ terrifying~... Stripped of speech and thought, you say? That's even more thorough than killing them~"
This time, there was no playfulness in his tone, only genuine unease.
The short report radiated an icy, absolute, almost law-like cruelty.
"Immediately!" Sengoku snapped back to his senses, his voice hoarse with emotion. "Issue an Announcement-no, wait!"
He took a deep breath, forcing his composure. "Hold it for now. Where is LC-01? Send the highest-level escort fleet at once! No... Borsalino, you go yourself! Retrieve both the man and... the 'evidence.' Nothing must go wrong!"
"Understood!" The communications officer saluted sharply and left at a near-run, his steps still unsteady.
But news like this couldn't stay contained for long.
When Admiral Kizaru suddenly transformed into golden light and shot into the sky, streaking across Marineford toward some distant point, the entire base stirred in alarm.
"What happened?"
"Why is Admiral Kizaru mobilizing suddenly?"
"He's heading to... pick someone up?"
"The only one out on a solo mission recently was... LC-01? Is Commodore Renzo coming back?"
Rumors spread fast.
Soon, mid- and upper-ranking officers began piecing together fragments of the report through various channels, and the tremors grew even stronger.
"You-You're saying Renzo took down Weevil?!" A Rear Admiral's cup slipped from his hand and shattered, his face pale with disbelief.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! That lazy... Commodore Renzo? Alone?"
"It's true! The report says Weevil's been turned into a cripple! Miss Bakkin's a vegetable!"
"My god... what kind of power is that?!"
"Didn't he only have that sleep ability? How-how could he..."
In lounges and meeting rooms, shocked exclamations and wild speculation filled the air.
A mix of awe, fear, disbelief, and a growing, unspeakable dread.
That harmless, lazy boy who always looked half-asleep, the one everyone laughed at, now revealed a terrifying, hidden side.
And when the rumors inevitably spread to the rank-and-file soldiers, the reaction took on a different tone.
"Hey, did you hear? That 'Sleep King' Commodore Renzo! Took down that Whitebeard Jr. guy all by himself!"
"No way! The one who slaughtered all those trainees?"
"Dead serious! And they say his methods were brutal!"
"Told you he wasn't normal! Who else makes you sleepy just by looking at them?"
"Who'd dare call him lazy now? That's a straight-up Grim Reaper!"
Excitement, reverence, and fear spread among the troops. In their minds, Renzo's image transformed overnight from a joke into something vast, mysterious, and frightening.
Meanwhile, in the medical division's special care ward-
Ain's injuries had stabilized, but her spirit remained broken. She often just stared blankly out the window, her eyes empty.
A familiar female Marine doctor entered quietly, speaking softly as she tried to offer comfort.
"Rear Admiral Ain... there's news. You might feel a little better hearing this... Edward Weevil, he's been dealt with."
Ain's eyes moved faintly, without light.
The doctor continued, "It was Commodore Renzo... he went after Weevil at sea and... ended it. He'll never hurt anyone again."
Ain's body trembled ever so slightly.
In her hollow eyes, something cracked... and then began to reform.
'Renzo?'
That lazy, quiet man who hated trouble... who shared so many silent moments with her?
'He went... to avenge teacher?'
'To avenge everyone?'
Was it because... she had clung to his coat and cried that day?
Because... he thought it was "too noisy"?
Emotions surged through her heart, shock, gratitude, disbelief, and a faint, long-lost warmth.
Tears slid down her cheeks again, but this time, they weren't cold or hopeless.
She slowly turned to the window, looking out at Marineford's sky, her voice barely above a whisper.
"...Thank you..."
The entire Marine Headquarters had been thrown into unprecedented upheaval, all because of one short, chilling, unbelievable battle report.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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