As Zephyr spoke, his brows furrowed again. He raised his head and looked at the dark clouds in the sky that had not yet dispersed. "This storm is not ordinary!"
When Zephyr's words fell, Ian raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything…
"Bang!"
A collision sound suddenly came from the deck, as if something had fallen.
"They're here?"
A smile appeared on Ian's face. He directly turned his head to look at Robin and Ain, who had landed safely, as well as Aria and Aikes. He picked up Aria, who was running toward him, and said with a smile: "Whether it's ordinary or not, what does that have to do with us?"
He then raised his head and looked at Gerd, who had also returned and transformed back into human form.
Before the serious-looking Gerd could say anything, he continued: "Let's go. It's time for us to leave as well. If we don't leave soon, the Marines will start getting nervous."
...
"They've left?"
At this moment, over at the Sabaody Archipelago, after receiving news that the Umbrella Corporation had finally departed, the marines also let out a heavy sigh of relief.
However, unlike the others, Sakazuki, who had also come to a stop, was looking in the direction the Umbrella Corporation had left with an ugly expression.
If it weren't for these guys causing trouble, he would have already dealt with the Straw Hat Pirates long ago.
How would it have dragged on until now, causing such massive chaos in the Sabaody Archipelago, and even allowing the Straw Hat Pirates to escape?
Of course, although he was also extremely angry at those who had watched the fire from across the river, now was not the time to worry about that.
Seemingly sensing something, he took out a cigar, lit it, and without turning his head, said calmly: "Did you catch him?"
As soon as his words fell, a figure dragging another figure walked over and said just as calmly: "He's already been caught."
"Hmph!"
Hearing Kuzan's words, Sakazuki turned his head and looked at Teach, who was being dragged like a dead dog.
Then he let out a cold snort. "The so-called Rocks blood is nothing special after all; he abandoned his own companions and fled alone!"
Teach: "..."
Hearing this, Teach sighed inwardly with melancholy, but at this moment, he did not dare to show the slightest dissatisfaction on his face.
Especially in this place... with two admirals right in front of him, escaping was already impossible.
Therefore, he was even more afraid of letting them discover anything.
What was most important now was... figuring out how to survive under the watchful eyes of Marine Headquarters and the World Government.
Thus, facing Sakazuki's insults, Teach did not get angry. Instead, he forced out an ugly, sycophantic smile. "I..."
But before he could finish speaking, another voice came from the side, and it sounded as though its owner was in quite a good mood.
"So he's Rocks' son? I didn't expect he would actually be caught!"
Under everyone's gaze, Vice-Admiral Garp walked over leisurely with a cheerful smile, as if he had encountered something good.
Then he looked at Teach with curious eyes. "He doesn't look anything like that guy, Rocks!"
As he spoke, he heavily patted Teach on the shoulder with his right hand. "But I have to say, your sense of loyalty is really quite similar to your old man's. Hahahaha! Who would have thought you'd actually choose to stay behind and draw attention for the Straw Hat Pirates? Worthy of the name righteous-to-the-heavens, Teach. I acknowledge you as Rocks' son!"
The moment these words fell…
Teach: "…?"
Sakazuki: "..."
Kuzan: "..."
Other marines: "..."
Aside from the somewhat dumbfounded Teach, everyone else stared at him with expressionless faces.
Especially Sakazuki, who had just said those words earlier, his face darkened once more. He looked at Teach with a deep gaze and spoke in a cold tone: "Looks like I underestimated you, Marshall D. Teach. No wonder you didn't escape together with the Straw Hat crew. So it was to draw the marines' attention? I have to say... Your plan was indeed successful."
"I..."
"No need to show off your disgusting sense of loyalty here. Rest assured, next..."
Sakazuki revealed a ferocious and icy smile as he stared at Teach, who wanted to say something. "Before the judgment of justice arrives, I will keep my eyes on you at all times and will not let you escape again."
As he spoke, without waiting for Teach, whose face had turned somewhat dazed, despairing, and pleading, to say anything, Sakazuki directly waved his hand. "Now lock him in the cage inside the battleship. At all times, there must be a Vice-Admiral assigned to watch him closely. Until we reach Marine Headquarters, he is not allowed to leave our line of sight."
"Understood!"
"Wait, wait, wait, I didn't, it's not me!"
"Slander, this is slander! This old guy is slandering me!"
"Please let me join the Marines! I actually always wanted to join the Marines!"
But no matter how Teach wailed, no marine paid him any attention. Just like that, they dragged Teach onto the large marine battleship.
Only after he was successfully locked into the cage did Sakazuki withdraw his gaze. He looked at Garp in front of him, paused for a moment, and then asked: "Where are the Celestial Dragon?"
However, this question caused Garp, who was frowning as he looked at the dark clouds that were about to disperse, to freeze. Then he looked at Sakazuki and asked in confusion, "Celestial Dragons? What Celestial Dragons?"
Sakazuki: "...?"
…
After the news from the Sabaody Archipelago was delivered, a trace of a smile finally appeared on Sengoku's anxious face.
Caught him!
This time, they had successfully captured the blood of Rocks!
However, before he could feel happy for long, upon seeing the information below, Sengoku's smile instantly froze, and black lines appeared across his face as he stared intently at the report in his hands.
A Celestial Dragon was injured!
And the injuries were extremely severe; both legs had been burned to ashes, suspected to have been affected by Admiral Akainu's Devil Fruit ability. Fortunately, the Celestial Dragon's guards carried him to a safe place in time. Otherwise, it would not have just been his feet; his entire body might have been burned to ashes.
This was a serious incident!