Chapter 106: The Admirals Mobilize

The young staff officer standing opposite instinctively straightened his spine: "Report, Marshal. None of the deployed intelligence squads have transmitted sighting reports yet."

"However, please rest assured."

He stepped forward quickly and pointed out several marked points on the battle map: "Islands surrounding Whiskey Peak, such as Drum Island, Toroa Island, and Jaya Island, are all under surveillance; additionally..."

The staff officer's finger moved toward the location of the Alabasta Kingdom.

"Considering they most likely obtained a Permanent Pose from Crocodile, we have also arranged surveillance personnel at several major ports along the Sandora River."

"At any location, the moment there is news, we will definitely report it to you immediately!"

Sengoku stared at those red markers on the map, his brows knitting tighter and tighter.

These deployments seemed as tight as an inescapable net, yet that cunning kid had vanished as if evaporated, leaving no trace; could it be...

His gaze shifted downward, landing on an unremarkable small island on the slanted side of Whiskey Peak. "Did we send anyone to Little Garden?"

"Over there?"

The staff officer was stunned. "Generally, no ships dare pass through; not to mention the threat of the Island-Eating Goldfish, just recording the island's magnetic field takes a full year, so we just..."

Brrring~

The Den Den Mushi on the desk suddenly emitted an urgent cry, interrupting the staff officer's words.

"Hello? This is Sengoku. Speak."

Sengoku picked up the receiver, and after listening for only a moment, his expression changed abruptly. "Really? Are you certain?"

"Absolutely certain; there can be no mistake, Marshal!"

An excited voice came from the other end of the receiver: "We lay in wait for a full three days, and just half an hour ago, we personally saw the ship of the Curtain-Fall Pirates dock at Toroa Island!"

"Where are they now?" Sengoku immediately pressed.

"They went straight into the city and are splurging wildly at various entertainment venues; it seems they intend to indulge themselves here for a few days! If Headquarters dispatches people now, we can still make it in time, Marshal!"

The air in the room instantly froze.

Sengoku slowly rose to his feet and issued an order in a deep voice: "Notify the Three Admirals to come to my office immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

The young staff officer saluted and departed with a face full of excitement.

In less than ten minutes.

Inside the Marshal's office, the three highest combat powers of Marine Headquarters appeared one after another.

Aokiji leaned lazily against the doorframe, his eye patch still askew, clearly having been woken from sleep: "Oh my... working overtime this late?"

"Can't be helped~~"

Kizaru sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, slowly trimming his fingernails:

"After all, the momentum of that rookie is truly terrifying; he went to sea and immediately took down Onigumo and a Warlord of the Sea in succession..."

He dragged out the tail of his sentence, smiling as he said: "If I were the Marshal, letting a guy like that continue to develop without restraint would keep me up at night with headaches, wouldn't it?"

"Shut up, Borsalino."

Sengoku glared at him. "Cut to the chase; you both know the situation. Headquarters cannot suppress the news of Crocodile's death for much longer; we must arrest this group before public opinion ferments!"

"The life or death of the others doesn't matter, but for the Swordmaster Siano and the defected hunter Smoker, try to capture them alive if possible. On the premise of guaranteeing this, which of you is willing to go?"

"Oh my..."

Aokiji yawned and lazily raised his hand. "Then I'll go; I've been on leave for a while now, and it's been a long time since I stretched my muscles..."

"No, I will go."

Before he could finish speaking, he was abruptly interrupted by a low voice.

Aokiji and Kizaru were both slightly stunned, turning to look at the one who had remained silent since entering—

Akainu stepped out from the shadows, the eyes beneath his hat brimming with coldness:

"If I remember correctly, Kuzan, you have a good relationship with Smoker, don't you? Whether you can truly harden your heart against a former friend... on this point, you are truly unreliable."

"What do you mean by that?" Aokiji frowned slightly.

"Exactly what I said."

Akainu remained expressionless. "Scum like this, stained with evil deeds and endangering justice, should be eradicated completely; I do not want someone to let a fish in a jar escape due to scruples over personal feelings."

"Personal feelings?" Aokiji raised an eyebrow and sneered. "You mean your urgent desire to avenge Onigumo?"

"Onigumo was our comrade; he died maintaining justice. Should we not avenge him?"

Both men stared coldly into each other's eyes, the atmosphere becoming tense as drawn swords.

"This atmosphere..." Kizaru blew the filings off his fingernails and shrank into the corner of the sofa: "So scary~"

"Sakazuki!"

Sengoku shouted sternly to stop him. "Have you forgotten what I just said? If you go, you must still try to capture them alive; that is an order, do you hear me!"

"... I understand."

Akainu fell silent for a moment, then suddenly nodded, turning toward the door: "However, Marshal, battlefield situations change constantly; do not expect me to show mercy to traitors if circumstances force my hand."

Having left these words, he strode out the door.

"..." Aokiji narrowed his eyes slightly.

Ultimately saying nothing, he followed him out, though heading in a different direction.

Sengoku watched the disappearing backs of the two, then glanced at Kizaru, who was still focused on trimming his nails, sighed, and sat back down behind his desk, which was piled high with documents...

——————

At dawn, the morning mist of Little Garden had not yet dispersed.

Siano was already standing in the clearing surrounded by giant bones, stretching his somewhat sore shoulders and neck.

Last night's banquet had been too enjoyable; he had also opened his heart and drunk with the two giants, consuming dozens of kilograms of strong liquor, and his temples were still throbbing faintly.

He looked up at the sky; the sun had just peeked out from beyond the horizon, and the air still drifted with the scent of embers from last night's bonfire.

"Eh, Brother Siano, you're up quite early!"

A voice like thunder suddenly rang out from behind, and the ground began to tremble slightly.

Dorry walked over, shouldering his giant sword that was over ten meters long, smiling, while Brogy followed alongside, secretly using the flat of his battle-axe as a mirror to comb his messy beard.

Seeing Siano look over, he hastily put away the giant axe and hummed a little tune as if nothing had happened.

"Are you ready?"

Dorry grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, "Special training from Elbaf won't go easy on you, you know."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Siano twisted his neck, excitement flashing in his eyes, "Come on, you two old uncles, bring it on!"

"Haha, in that case..." Dorry suddenly raised his giant sword and slashed down without warning, "Then it starts right now!!!"

Buzz!

The sharp whistle of the giant sword tearing through the air pierced his eardrums; without thinking, Siano activated 'Soru' and dodged to the left.

"Gahahaha, there you are!"

Before he had even landed, Brogy had already predicted his position; laughing, he swung his axe horizontally.

Siano was startled; years of cultivation had honed his instinctive reaction, causing him to snap his waist backward until his upper body nearly touched the ground, barely avoiding the axe blade.

Whoosh!

The giant axe swept past just above his scalp; the violent wind it stirred made the skin of Siano's face tremble wildly and his pupils contract involuntarily, yet because of this, his entire person became even more excited.

Is it this thrilling right from the start?

Compared to merely observing from the sidelines yesterday, facing this terrifying wind pressure directly now allowed him to deeply realize just how powerful these two legendary giants truly were.

Not only was their strength terrifying, but they also possessed astonishing agility that did not match their massive size in the slightest.

Most importantly of all.

The two were also extremely skilled at joint attacks; acting together was far more complex than one plus one equaling two, bringing him unprecedented pressure.

There's hope!

This is exactly the feeling he wanted!

His eyes shining brightly, he stared fixedly at Dorry's giant sword just about to fall—

At this rate, it wouldn't take long; quite possibly, before nightfall today, he would successfully master Observation Haki!

"The warm-up probing is over, Brother Siano!"

Dorry's voice rang out at this moment, "Be careful! Next, Brogy and I are truly going all out!"

In the next instant, accompanied by the giants' roar, a bone-chilling sense of crisis suddenly surged, instantly giving him goosebumps across his entire back—

"Elbaf Spear, Kokutei!!!"

(End of Chapter)