Even the Five Elders grew wary at the mention of a hidden clan.
The Den Den Mushi on the other end clicked off, and Steelbone Kong finally let out a breath.
Because of Rakuya's public thrashing of a Celestial Dragon, the World Government convulsed as if a tsunami had struck the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. Within hours the incident detonated across the Sabaody Archipelago: a Celestial Dragon had been beaten senseless at an auction. Panic rippled everywhere.
A Celestial Dragon was not to be jostled by commoners, not even brushed by accident. Beaten, pinned to the floor and pummeled? That was a direct slap to the World Government's authority.
"How do you read it?"
In a lavish office, five elderly men sat around a round table. The square-jawed one spoke first. "Rumor says the boy has a hidden clan behind him. Which clan fits?"
"All family records in this world are in our hands," said the one with the sword. "There is no such hidden clan in the archives. A place even an admiral cannot enter? Where would that be?"
"Is Kong's story false then? Where did this 'intel' come from?"
"Zephyr. He met the boy."
"Zephyr?" The elder with the long drooping mustache considered. "If it is from Zephyr, we cannot dismiss it."
"Agreed. Better to assume it exists than to assume it does not. If an enemy hides in the dark while we stand in the light, we cede the advantage."
"So do we kill the boy?"
"Not until we identify the clan. Capture him alive and hold him in Impel Down."
Their voices carried the easy certainty of men at the very top.
These were the World Government's pillars, the highest authority: the Five Elders.
Each outranked even the Marine fleet admiral, Steelbone Kong.
"Never before has a Celestial Dragon been publicly beaten. If we do not resolve this swiftly, it will become very troublesome."
"Seal the news, or chaos will follow."
"Too late. Somehow it leaked. The Holy Land is already boiling."
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Steelbone Kong sat rubbing his temples, temper frayed to the limit. The Celestial Dragon incident had him putting out fires everywhere.
"Damn brat, look at the mess you've made."
The call earlier had been from the Five Elders themselves.
The moment he picked up, Kong had been blasted by their fury through the line, dressed down from start to finish. He had nowhere to vent his own.
The Den Den Mushi on his desk trilled again.
"Buru-buru. Buru-buru."
"Yeah?"
Kong answered through clenched teeth.
"Fleet Admiral."
The voice on the line.
"Sengoku! Where the hell have you been?"
Kong exploded, the roar rattling the receiver. Since the incident, he had tried to dispatch an admiral to Sabaody to secure the Celestial Dragon. The first admiral he called took a dozen attempts to even reach. No answer. It was enough to make anyone see red.
"Apologies. I've just made landfall at Sabaody. Ran into pirates en route and was engaged. Couldn't pick up," Sengoku said, sheepish.
"Couldn't pick up? Did you manage to eat?"
Kong nearly blacked out with rage.
Enduring the tirade, Sengoku cut in. "Orders, sir?"
The strategist in him had already parsed the volume of Kong's anger. If something could make Steelbone Kong this furious, it meant either a death in the family or that he himself had just been chewed out.
Only the Five Elders could do the chewing.
If they had stepped in, then the scale of the crisis was obvious.
Prompted, Kong forced his temper down. "Sabaody Archipelago, Grove One. A Celestial Dragon was assaulted. The highest authority has given a hard order. The perpetrator is to be taken alive."
"What? A Celestial Dragon was beaten?"
Even expecting a crisis, Sengoku was stunned.