Navy Headquarters, Marineford, Fleet Admiral's Office.
"Clatter—!"
The teacup rolled off the table and shattered on the floor, tea splashing everywhere.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku slowly returned to his desk, planting both hands on it, his expression dark as a storm.
"Adventurers again? They just can't stop causing trouble. What the hell is wrong with those bastards? It's only been a few peaceful days!"
"According to intelligence, aside from the captain Leno, almost all members of the Adventurers were present this time!"
After gauging Sengoku's expression, the reporting Marine continued, "The mastermind behind injuring the Celestial Dragons was the Adventurers' 'Oni Princess,' Yamato."
"However, contact has also been lost with the Celestial Dragons' guards and CP personnel. Most likely… they've all been wiped out!"
"Crunch—!" The sudden sound of a senbei being bitten echoed in the room.
The Marine instinctively glanced over, then quickly recovered and continued his report in a low voice:
"In short, the life or death of the Celestial Dragon Rosward family is currently unknown. This is an unprecedented major incident!"
"Any instructions from above?" Sengoku pinched the bridge of his nose, asking with a headache.
"Crunch—!"
"No. No orders have come down yet!"
"Crunch, crunch—!"
"Bastard! Garp! Shut up already!"
Sengoku roared in rage, turning his head and glaring fiercely at Garp, his eyes bloodshot.
At a time like this, that bastard still had the nerve to eat senbei?
What eight lifetimes of bad luck—he had been enjoying his tea just fine when a single report smashed him senseless!
Those damn Adventurers had committed another major crime, publicly attacking Celestial Dragons in front of everyone!
This earth-shaking news couldn't be covered up even if they wanted to. Headache!
"Hahahaha…" Facing Sengoku's fury, Garp laughed carelessly, stuffing another handful of senbei into his mouth before speaking.
"Relax~ Sengoku. They just beat up a bunch of trash. No big deal!"
"Besides, aren't they still alive?"
"Shut up, you bastard!"
Sengoku was so furious his face turned red, spit flying as he spoke. He really had no way to deal with this idiot.
Turning his head, he looked at Kizaru, who was pretending to sip tea at the side, and spoke hoarsely:
"Kizaru…"
"Hey, hey, hey~ Sengoku-san, spare me. My injuries just healed!"
Seeing trouble about to fall on him, Kizaru pouted and immediately raised both hands in protest.
No joke—Adventurers, you know? That monster was someone he never wanted to face again in his life!
Just once was enough to leave him with massive psychological trauma. Seriously!
"Cut the crap! You're fast, and right now you're the only one free!"
"Scary~"
Kizaru's face turned bitter. Hearing the words 'you're fast' made his body shudder uncontrollably.
Back then, that monster had praised his speed too—then turned around and beat him so badly he couldn't get out of bed for a month.
Seeing the yellow monkey dragging his feet and refusing to stand up, Sengoku urged impatiently:
"Enough dawdling. I'll have Garp cooperate with you!"
"Huh?! I don't need to go, right? It's not that kid making a move—Kizaru alone can handle it!"
Hearing his name dragged in, Garp immediately waved his hands in refusal, deeply unhappy.
One Admiral wasn't enough for a bunch of trash, and they still needed him too?
"Are you stupid? If both of you show up, how could that brat Leno possibly not appear?!"
Sengoku was about to explode from anger. None of these two was reassuring. He turned toward them and roared:
"Get the hell out already! What, are you waiting for the New Year?!"
...
"After all these years, Sister Shakky still looks just as charming as ever."
On the open ground in front of the bar, Rayleigh was busy with his work nearby, while Leno moved a table and enjoyed tea with Shakky under a sun umbrella.
In his memory, Shakky was the only one who hadn't changed much with age. As for other women… after getting old, they were honestly hard to look at.
Seeing her face just like in the past, Leno even wondered if she also possessed Pure Gold.
Hearing Leno's praise, Shakky beamed with joy, the corner of her mouth lifting uncontrollably as she held her cigarette.
"My, my, Leno-kun really knows how to talk. No wonder you're so popular with beautiful women~"
"Ahem… you flatter me. Mainly because I'm handsome, have great character, and strong powers…"
"Giggle, giggle… You're really interesting, young man!"
Leno's shameless self-praise made Shakky laugh until she couldn't straighten her back. It had been many years since she'd met such an amusing kid.
After quite a while, Shakky finally stopped laughing, casually wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes as her tone suddenly became serious:
"Actually, I've always wanted to thank you. About Amazon Lily."
"No need. Hancock helped me a lot. Doing that much was only right."
Leno knew what she wanted to say. Once the World Government conquered the Calm Belt, Amazon Lily would no longer be as safe as before.
Moreover, it lay in the first half of the Grand Line, a place the World Government or the Navy could easily reach.
If the World Government's system ever changed in the future, Amazon Lily would have no room to resist at all.
As the two chatted and laughed, Rayleigh put down his tools and walked over as well.
"What are you talking about, having so much fun?" He poured himself a glass of liquor and downed it in one gulp before continuing.
"The island's been pretty noisy today. Aren't you going to check on your crew, kid?"
As he spoke, he looked at Leno with interest, wanting to see how he'd react.
Those were Celestial Dragons—beaten up just like that by a few girls.
Unexpectedly, Leno waved his hand indifferently and said casually:
"No need~ It's a small matter. They can handle it themselves!"
"..."
Shakky and Rayleigh exchanged glances, speechless. Beating up Celestial Dragons in public counted as a small matter?
They really couldn't understand this group of Adventurers.
Call them criminals or pirates, and they hadn't done anything truly evil.
Call them adventurers, and they went around beating up Marines and Celestial Dragons! And afterward, they were completely fine!
"Why are you both looking at me like that? It really isn't a big deal, is it?"
It was just beating up a family of idiots. They didn't even kill them.
Besides, they started it first. There was nothing to worry about at all.
"Then in your eyes, what would count as—"
"Hm?"
Just as the bewildered Rayleigh was about to say more, the three of them almost simultaneously looked up at the sky, surprise flickering across their faces.
"So fast—an Admiral's already arrived. As expected, the most convenient tool of the Celestial Dragons."
"You can still sit there, kid?"
"I'm telling you, old man, don't underestimate my crew. An Admiral is nothing but…"
…
…