Chapter 44

Kong was the first to hang up the Den Den Mushi.

Inside the Fleet Admiral's office at Marine Headquarters, Marineford,

he lifted the Den Den Mushi in his hand, walked step by step to the window, and gazed out at the various training squares of Marineford, where groups of Marine rookies drilled ceaselessly.

After thinking it over again and again,

Kong dialed the Den Den Mushi once more.

Bururu~

The distinctive sound echoed through the vast office.

Before long,

the Den Den Mushi was connected.

"Fleet Admiral Kong? This is Sengoku."

A steady voice came from the other end.

"Let me ask you something."

Leaning by the window, Den Den Mushi in hand, Kong asked, "Do you know about Captain Kapu's grandson?"

The words fell.

Sengoku on the other end fell briefly silent.

After a long moment,

Sengoku finally spoke: "I know. Last month Captain Kapu reached out to me on his own initiative and told me a bit about his grandson Lu En's situation."

Hearing this,

Kong pressed on: "Then do you also know that Captain Kapu's grandson Lu En is actually a genius of extraordinary, dazzling talent?"

"I found out last month."

Sengoku had no choice but to relay, through the Den Den Mushi, exactly what had happened at the time: "A month ago, Captain Kapu contacted me late at night and told me of his own accord."

"His grandson Lu En…"

"On that very night, he awakened Conqueror's Haki on his own!"

"A child of merely three years old, awakening Conqueror's Haki—an unprecedented case was thus born!"

The moment the words fell.

Steel Bone Kong, Den Den Mushi in hand, gave a violent shudder, nearly hurling the Den Den Mushi he was holding out the window beside him.

Sengoku's words

had truly given Kong quite a fright.

"W-what did you just say?!"

Kong's eyes went wide; even through the Den Den Mushi one could hear that his voice was filled with a thick, overwhelming sense of shock.

"Awakened Conqueror's Haki at three?"

"Are you sure?"

"Captain Kapu's grandson is that much of a monster?"

At first he had thought

that his appraisal of Captain Kapu's grandson Lu En was already high enough.

But now,

upon hearing Sengoku's words just now,

he suddenly realized.

It turned out…

he had never truly understood.

What a terrifying monster Captain Kapu's grandson Lu En actually was!

A case of awakening Conqueror's Haki at the age of three…

could truly be called unmatched across the ages!

At the very least,

in the past hundred years there had never been a similar case.

"Fleet Admiral Kong, didn't you know about this? I had assumed that when you came looking for me today, you had already thoroughly gathered all kinds of intelligence on Captain Kapu's monster of a grandson."

Sengoku's tone was odd.

"Of course I didn't know."

Kong burst out cursing, "What the hell are you and Captain Kapu trying to pull? Such a fine seedling! Practically the perfect seedling for a future Admiral! And you never reported a thing to me?!"

"This is a once-in-a-century, world-shaking genius!"

"Do you have any idea what a genius like this means to our Marines?"

"What our Marines lack most is exactly this kind of monstrous genius!"

"It's one thing for that thick-headed idiot Captain Kapu to be stupid. But when did you, Sengoku, become this stupid too? Something this important, and you've been hiding it from me without reporting?"

"As Captain Kapu's closest buddy, surely you know how terrible Captain Kapu's education level is? Have you forgotten the fine deeds Captain Kapu's son has gotten up to over the years?"

"He can't even teach his own son properly! And you expect him to teach his grandson well?"

The dignified Marine Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong, at this moment, babbled on and on like a fishwife screaming in the street.

Sengoku on the other end was scolded into having no comeback.

"I can tell you clearly…"

"Captain Kapu's grandson Lu En—his talent is simply too astonishing!"

"He is absolutely the most gifted genius I have ever seen in my life!"

"If we don't bring him back to Marine Headquarters soon and educate him carefully, I'm afraid this once-in-a-generation genius will be led astray again by that bastard Captain Kapu."

"When that time comes, our Marines won't even have a place to cry."

"Zhan Guo, you'd better keep your wits about you!"

"If this time, Captain Kapu's genius grandson gets led astray again."

"I dare say, given time, with the astonishing talent this kid possesses, the Bijiang Society will surely produce a terrifying enemy the likes of which the Marines have never seen before!"

"An enemy even more vicious, more powerful, and more terrifying than Dragon!"

The saliva from Kong's mouth had already sprayed all over the Den Den Mushi.

Zhan Guo on the other end of the Den Den Mushi instinctively raised his right arm and wiped the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, utterly defenseless against the bombardment from Fleet Admiral Steel Bone Kong.

"Fleet Admiral, rest assured, Captain Kapu has already told me."

"In a little while, once his grandson meets with his father, he will immediately rush back to Marineford with his grandson without a moment's delay."

Zhan Guo reported truthfully.

"What?!"

"You mean to say…"

"That bastard son of Captain Kapu's still wants to meet Captain Kapu's grandson?"

"No! Absolutely not!"

"What if Captain Kapu's genius grandson gets taken away by his son? Wouldn't our Marines then miss out on a once-in-a-century genius for absolutely no reason?"

"I will absolutely not allow such a thing to happen!"

Kong was anxious.

A monster who awakened Conqueror's Haki at three years old!

If he were taken to the Revolutionary Army's side…

Kong really didn't dare to imagine it.

What a terrifying enemy the future Marines would have to face!

No!

This absolutely must be prevented!

"Zhan Guo, pass on my order."

"Immediately gather the troops…"

"Viciously smash all known Revolutionary Army strongholds!"

"We absolutely cannot let that bastard Dragon return to East Blue."

"Avoid their father-son meeting at all costs!"

Kong issued the solemn order without the slightest hesitation.