The Celestial Dragon was dead…
Was that supposed to be a big deal?
If it had happened in another country, and the killer was someone else, then wiping that entire nation off the map would've been inevitable.
But in the hands of the God's Knights, it wasn't such a serious matter.
Borsalino's expression froze in place. It was only after a long pause that he wiped the cold sweat from his face.
"So scary~ So this is Orin~"
Doll didn't react much. The younger generation didn't yet understand all the rules behind this kind of thing — to her, it simply felt satisfying.
Orin scraped the dirt off his shoes on the ground, then noticed the two of them — and the many guests around — all standing there, mouths agape and faces pale with shock. He waved them over casually.
"Since you're here for the old man's birthday party, come along, everyone."
After saying that, Orin didn't bother to pay attention to their reactions. The old man grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward the royal palace.
"You brat, you're getting old enough now — ever think about adding a few new members to the Dotor family?"
"Well…"
Orin's mouth twitched. He could only humor the old man's idle chatter.
Behind them, Mihawk and the others were talking among themselves.
Doflamingo had wanted to chat with Crocodile, but she ignored him with her usual air of pride. Instead, it was Enel who spoke up.
"I remember Orin once said… you were a god too?"
Ever since Orin's fame had shaken the world and his power had become absolute, Enel had found himself with plenty of free time.
After all, no one dared to provoke the Shichibukai anymore. Rayleigh was keeping an eye on things at Sabaody, and Sammi had her own crew of fighters. Enel had fewer and fewer enemies that actually needed his attention.
When Orin gave up being Yonko, the one who supported him most — surprisingly — was Enel.
Lately, he'd even been wondering if he should go back to Skypiea for a visit.
As for Doflamingo, he knew a bit about Enel.
Both of them were somewhat sensitive to the word "god," which gave them at least some common ground to talk about.
"Gods, huh? Fufufufufu…"
Meanwhile, Crocodile was talking to Mihawk.
"So, I heard you've been traveling around lately. Want to team up with me?"
She looked down on that clown Doflamingo, but the aloof Crocodile seemed to have some appreciation for the even more aloof Mihawk.
"I recently found a girl named Robin who can read the Poneglyphs. We might uncover something truly remarkable…"
"Robin?"
When Mihawk heard the name, his sharp eyes flickered with interest. If he remembered correctly, that girl had once been aboard Orin's ship for a time.
"…If I get the chance, I'll take a look."
...
Marine Headquarters — Marineford.
Nothing major had happened on the seas recently. If one had to name something, it would be the destruction of Elegia a few days ago.
But that was far beyond what the Marines could handle, so no one bothered sending troops.
As for chasing after Orin — they didn't even think about it. Sending Marines after the Red-Haired Pirates without at least an Admiral would be nothing more than suicide.
That was something better left for the Elders to worry about.
The old-generation Marine officers were slowly stepping into old age now, their pace of life easing up.
It was a rare moment of peace and quiet.
Crunch, crunch…
Except for that noise in the office — horribly out of place.
"Garp!!!"
"You bastard! You're stealing my senbei again!!!"
Sengoku slammed his desk, standing up and glaring at the rough, gray-haired man lounging on the opposite sofa.
"Hahahahaha!!! Don't take it so seriously, Sengoku! You're too busy with work to eat them anyway."
"Right, Tsuru-san?"
On the sofa beside them, Vice Admiral Tsuru sipped her tea quietly. She was long used to the two of them fooling around like this.
"Shut up, Garp!!!"
"Don't be so mad. You've got plenty of free time lately, right? I'll go buy you some more senbei tomorrow."
Garp laughed carefreely, though there was a thought he didn't say aloud —
With your salary, of course.
But just as Garp finished speaking, the urgent sound of a Den Den Mushi rang out on Sengoku's desk.
"Beru beru beru beru…"
"Ah… we were just talking about free time, and now work shows up."
Sengoku sighed, though without much emotion. That was the life of a Fleet Admiral, after all.
"Moshi moshi~ Fleet Admiral Sengoku~"
"Borsalino? Weren't you on assignment?"
Sengoku picked up the call, surprised that Borsalino would contact him so suddenly. He sounded a bit irritated.
He knew this man loved slacking off — and even after being given one of the easiest assignments possible, what more could he want?
"Maintaining order in Duramos shouldn't be difficult. What happened, Borsalino?!"
But the next moment, Sengoku's eyes went wide. His pupils reddened at the edges, words stuck in his throat.
Even Garp stopped chewing. Vice Admiral Tsuru's face darkened slightly.
All because of what the smirking snail-face on the other end said:
"I've got a report to make~ A Celestial Dragon's been killed~ right here in Duramos~"
"NANI!!!"
Sengoku grabbed the Den Den Mushi tightly, staring at Borsalino's image.
His first instinct was to take action — but then he hesitated.
Take action?
What kind of action?
Launch a Buster Call under the name of the Fleet Admiral?
That'd probably end with them being the ones wiped out — maybe even their home base getting flattened in return.
"Do you know who did it?"
If it were some pirate, they could at least wait until they'd left Duramos and then issue a capture order — something to save face.
"It was Orin the Black Gun~"
"..."
Hearing that name, Sengoku fell silent. There was nothing left to say.
Well, that settled it.
No need to worry anymore — internal Celestial Dragon business could be left for the Elders to handle.
...
Elsewhere —
The Holy Land, Mary Geoise. Pangaea Castle.
CP0 had finished reporting every detail and now stood silently, awaiting orders from the Elders.
"Leave us."
As the CP0 members exited, the five shadowy figures exchanged uneasy glances.
"To casually slaughter a Celestial Dragon… even Garling shouldn't act so recklessly."
"Technically speaking, the God's Knights do possess judgment authority, but Orin…"
"We thought Orin's withdrawal from the struggle for dominance at sea was a good thing — but it seems we were wrong. He's only become even more willful…"
The Elders voiced their discontent, yet none of them suggested what should actually be done.