"Enough!"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku slammed his palm against the table, his furious shout silencing the two Admirals locked in argument.
"The matter of the Sorbet Kingdom will not be brought up again! Deal with the Mafia first! Since Capone Bege has already fallen under Souta Kiryuu's banner, we must sever their ties completely and cut off his eyes within the Mafia!"
Sengoku's face was dark as he gave the order, then abruptly dismissed the heavy, suffocating meeting.
He knew Akainu's proposal — to unleash a Buster Call on the Sorbet Kingdom — would stir outrage among many Marine officers. Some of them were of civilian origin. If the Marines themselves attacked innocent civilians, how would they be any different from the pirates they swore to fight?
It was hatred of pirates that had driven them to don the Marine uniform in the first place, to protect the weak and defenseless.
When the last of the officers left, Sengoku leaned heavily into his chair, pressing against the ache in his temples.
Striking at the Mafia would not truly draw out Souta Kiryuu. After all, Capone Bege had been only half-forced into his service. Still, the death of Cipher Pol agents embedded within the Mafia proved that something was deeply wrong inside the organization. Eliminating them while the chance presented itself would do.
There were clear benefits to wiping them out.
First, the West Blue would finally be rid of the Mafia blight, gaining safety and peace.
Second, it would prevent the Mafia from becoming Kiryuu's network for intelligence, wealth, or resources.
Ever since Dr. Vegapunk had been abducted by Souta Kiryuu, Sengoku had lived with constant dread. The world's foremost scientist, under Kiryuu's coercion, could create horrors beyond imagination. That was why every financial stream and material supply had to be severed, to prevent Vegapunk from producing weapons that could shake the world.
Yes — the Mafia's eradication was justified.
And perhaps most importantly, the operation would keep the Marines busy, racking up visible victories to silence the Celestial Dragons' incessant insults. Those haughty nobles wasted no breath in condemning the Marines as useless freeloaders.
Sengoku also had to ensure that Akainu's reckless suggestion — to use a Buster Call on the Sorbet Kingdom as a threat against Bartholomew Kuma — never spread. If the Five Elders or the Celestial Dragons learned of it, they would not hesitate to act. To them, even allied nations were mere ants to be crushed.
"Have you noticed," said Vice Admiral Tsuru, laying several photographs on the table, "that Souta Kiryuu has abducted two Paramecia users — and two of his known subordinates are also Paramecia users?"
She pointed to the images: Barque the Dissolver, and Wapol, the deposed king of Drum Island. Alongside them, she placed wanted posters of Capone Bege and Kuma.
"According to backup files from the Science Division, Dr. Vegapunk has already begun researching ways to extract and utilize Paramecia abilities. It won't be long before Souta Kiryuu commands a force of artificial Zoan users… and perhaps artificial Paramecia wielders powered by green blood."
The thought made Tsuru's scalp prickle. Souta himself had eaten the artificial Azure Dragon Fruit — proof enough of Vegapunk's genius.
If Vegapunk truly managed to mass-produce artificial Mythical Zoan Fruits, the entire world would be thrown into chaos.
"How could we have let the world's greatest scientist fall into enemy hands?" Tsuru's voice trembled with anger. "Damn it!"
Sengoku's face grew grim. "Every move Kiryuu makes has purpose. Who is feeding him such precise intelligence?"
Alone, Souta Kiryuu was a terror, but not unstoppable. The true danger lay in alliances — with the underworld, with a great pirate, perhaps even the Revolutionary Army. If such ties were forged, he would become the greatest threat the Marines and World Government had ever faced.
Cutting off his resources would be impossible.
"He traveled from Egghead in the New World, to the West Blue, then the North Blue, and finally appeared near Drum Island in the Grand Line," Tsuru continued. "Whoever is aiding him must command a worldwide intelligence network."
Her brow furrowed tightly. In her estimation, Souta's threat level now eclipsed even Doflamingo. Souta was uncontrollable, reckless enough to slay a Celestial Dragon without hesitation.
A man with immense power and no leash — such a madman was the most terrifying enemy of all.
"I'll have CP0 monitor the underworld for any sign of him," Sengoku muttered, pressing against his aching temples. "That monster, born from the World Government's own experiments, is already a curse on our necks."
West Blue, Norstra Island.
Vito the "Strange Gun" and Gotti the Assassin shouted orders, commanding their loyal men as they hauled the Mafia's fortunes onto the blazing warship Castello.
"Brothers! We sail to follow the Godfather!" Vito roared, lifting his weapon skyward as he boarded first.
Days earlier, he had received Capone Bege's orders: liquidate every Mafia asset, gather all their wealth and treasure, and set sail aboard the Castello into the Grand Line.
"Yes, sir!!"
The black-suited mobsters shouted in unison, sunglasses gleaming, guns raised. One after another, they stormed aboard.
The Fire Tank Pirates were officially born.
Though their captain, Capone Bege, was absent, Vito and Gotti carried out his orders with unshakable loyalty.
When Bege learned that Souta Kiryuu had slain a Celestial Dragon, he knew he had no choice but to abandon his empire in the West Blue.
There was no other way.
For who could oppose a man ruthless enough to butcher a World Noble and challenge the World Government outright?
If Bege's men stayed behind, they would all be slaughtered. Escape to the seas was the only path.
A day after the Mafia fled to the Grand Line, a Marine fleet finally arrived. Once again, they found nothing. Their frustration boiled over, and the Marines turned their wrath upon the remaining Mafia families and pirate crews of the West Blue.
For a brief moment, the West Blue enjoyed the same peace as the East Blue. Pirates were arrested in droves or forced into the Grand Line — that graveyard of pirates.
Sky Island.
Far above the turmoil of the seas, Souta Kiryuu ignored the chaos below. Together with Vegapunk and Kuma, he worked on a device capable of erasing memories.
His target: Enel.
Souta intended to strip away parts of the self-proclaimed god's memory, erasing his arrogance along with his past — perhaps his arrival on Skypiea, perhaps the destruction of Birka. Only then could Enel be broken and reshaped.
With Kuma's Paw-Paw powers and Vegapunk's technology, such a feat was more than possible.
If not for Souta's interference, Kuma himself would have eventually been stripped of his memories by Vegapunk and remade into a weapon for the World Government.
"Erasing memories may be immoral," Vegapunk muttered, glaring at Enel, "but this so-called god scorns life itself. Perhaps taking his memories is the only good that can be done."
Enel had insulted him countless times, calling him an insect, a worthless peasant. The scientist was furious.
This man was cruel, without the faintest shred of respect or compassion. To him, human lives were nothing more than ants to be crushed at will.