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"You… what did you just say?"
King wondered if he'd misheard.
"Young Master Dan? He drove off three Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals—along with all those Marines?!"
What kind of joke was that?!
Those were three Headquarters Vice Admirals!
Not some random nobodies!
"It's the truth, Boss King!"
Sasaki was red-faced, practically foaming at the mouth as he excitedly retold everything that had just happened.
From Young Master Dan's dramatic, almost god-like arrival and that terrifying burst of Conqueror's Haki that cleared the field—
To the unbelievable moment he opened the Eight Gates and blasted Doberman away with a single punch—
And finally, that blood-red steam that scared every Marine out of their wits.
Every word Sasaki spoke landed like a hammer blow on King and the others.
They were all stunned speechless.
Their minds buzzed, eyes wide in shock.
A kid—barely two years old—
Knocked out thousands of Marines with his Haki?
Opened the Eight Gates?
One-punched a Vice Admiral?
And then released a blood-red aura strong enough to crack the air itself?!
What was this—some kind of fairy tale?!
King's gaze locked on the child in Sasaki's arms.
Dan's breathing was weak, his little face pale, but even in that state, he looked like a doll carved from jade.
For the first time, King's tall, imposing body trembled—
Not from fear.
But from something deeper, a shudder that came from his very soul.
That power… that presence…
A name long buried in history flashed unbidden through his mind.
A name that belonged to legend.
Joy Boy…
Could it be…?
King's expression turned incredibly complicated—shock, disbelief, and hidden deep inside, a trace of… wild, barely contained anticipation.
Marineford – Headquarters.
The atmosphere in the Fleet Admiral's office was heavy.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku sat with Marine Hero Garp, Chief Strategist Tsuru, and the three Admirals—Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji—discussing a matter big enough to shake the entire world.
"Marshall D. Teach… to commit such a crime aboard Whitebeard's ship…"
Sengoku rubbed his temples, face dark. "Newgate won't let this slide. From now on, pass it down—under no circumstances are Marines to provoke the Whitebeard Pirates!"
Garp picked his nose lazily and laughed. "Wahahaha! Bet that old man's beard is standing on end from rage right now!"
Tsuru shot him a glare. "Garp! This isn't the time for jokes! The fallout from this is going to be massive!"
Kizaru wore his usual lazy grin, voice dripping with that mocking drawl of his. "Oh my, how scary Blackbeard sure knows how to stir up trouble, hm?"
Akainu said nothing, but the killing intent radiating from him was almost palpable.
Aokiji stayed reclined on the couch, eyes closed, lost in thought.
Then—
The office doors opened.
A Marine Vice Admiral staggered inside, covered in blood, looking utterly battered.
"Doberman?"
Everyone turned toward the door, startled.
"F-Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
His voice was hoarse, his face a mixture of shame… and something that looked disturbingly like fear.
Sengoku's brows shot up at the sight of him. "Doberman?! What the hell happened to you?! What about G-58 Island? Was it secured? Where are Onigumo and Dalmatian?!"
Doberman lowered his head even further.
"Report… the G-58 mission… was a failure!"
"We… we lost!"
"What?!"
Sengoku shot to his feet, the temperature in the office plummeting.
Garp stopped picking his nose. Tsuru's face turned grim.
The three Admirals' eyes all locked on Doberman at once.
"Lost?!"
Sengoku's anger was explosive. "Against a mere Sasaki? The three of you—three Headquarters Vice Admirals—commanding over a thousand elite Marines, and you still lost?!"
"What about Dalmatian and Onigumo?"
Doberman's body shook harder. "Vice Admiral Dalmatian… was critically injured. He collapsed on the spot. His life… is still uncertain!"
"Vice Admiral Onigumo and I… were forced to retreat!"
BOOM!
Everyone's mind felt like it had detonated.
Dalmatian—down, barely alive?!
Three Vice Admirals—forced to retreat?!
Impossible!
"Who did this?!"
Sengoku forced himself to calm down, voice heavy. "Was it Kaido himself? Or did the Beast Pirates' All-Stars go all out?!"
Because that was the only explanation he could think of for such a disaster.
Doberman swallowed hard, then slowly lifted his head. His eyes were filled with raw terror and disbelief.
"No, Fleet Admiral…"
"It wasn't Kaido. It wasn't the All-Stars."
"It was Kaido's son."
"A kid… who might not even be two years old."
Dead silence.
The kind where you could hear a pin drop.
The fury on Sengoku's face froze solid.
Garp's jaw went slack, his eyes bugging out.
Tsuru sucked in a sharp breath.
Even Kizaru's smug grin faltered, stuck on his face.
Akainu and Aokiji both opened their eyes wide, equally stunned.
A… a child?!
A child beat three Vice Admirals—left one half-dead and forced the other two to run?!
What kind of sick joke was this?!
"..."
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