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Chapter 237: Sage Body and Dust Release, The Crazy Proposal to Move HQ
Sengoku stood at the edge of the devastated port, the sea breeze flapping the Justice cloak on his back.
He looked at the smoking hundred-meter crater, then at the innocent-looking Kizaru in the distance, and finally locked his gaze firmly on Garp.
He wasn't unfamiliar with this kind of destructive power.
But that was usually achieved through Devil Fruit Awakening or Haki refinement to the extreme.
But just now, Garp had merely swung his fist.
Pure physical strength. No Haki fluctuation, no trace of Fruit ability.
"This is... the Sage Body?"
Sengoku took a deep breath, his voice slightly dry.
Garp grinned, raised his arm, and clenched it tight.
Creak, creak.
The sound of muscle fibers squeezing together sounded like steel cables tightening.
"Not just strength, Sengoku."
Garp patted his chest, making a muffled sound like a war drum.
"It's Life Force."
"I can feel it. The stamina and energy lost with age, even some old injuries... they're all gone."
"The current me is stronger than I was at my peak twenty years ago!"
At this point, the smile in Garp's eyes faded slightly, replaced by an unprecedented fanaticism.
"The power system in that dungeon is completely different from Haki and Fruits."
"It is a sublimation at the cellular level."
Sengoku fell silent.
As an old comrade-in-arms, he knew Garp's physical condition best.
Although this old guy usually seemed lively, he was over seventy. Declining physical ability was an unavoidable law of nature.
But the Garp standing before him now, with that rushing power of blood and qi, was like a primeval beast in its prime.
Rejuvenation.
In the pirate world, this was a miracle difficult to achieve even with the Ope-Ope Fruit's Ultimate Operation, yet it was realized in a "Dungeon"?
"What about Borsalino?"
Sengoku turned to look at the figure in the distance sorting out his tattered suit.
"Did you also get that... Chakra?"
Kizaru teleported over with a bitter face, holding a piece of granite the size of a fist.
"So scary, Fleet Admiral."
"What I got seems to be a change in nature."
Kizaru extended his index finger. A ball of blinding light lit up at the tip.
But this light was no longer pure golden; the center revealed a heart-palpitating pale white.
Voom—
No explosion, no high temperature.
The moment the granite fragment in his hand touched that pale light, it was like a pencil drawing being erased by an eraser.
It vanished silently.
Not even dust remained.
Directly decomposed into particles invisible to the naked eye.
"In this world, light is just speed and impact."
Kizaru pushed up his broken sunglasses, his tone rarely carrying a hint of seriousness.
"But in that dungeon, I also mastered the characteristics of 'Dust Release'."
"Decomposing matter into a molecular state... this is my current light."
Sengoku's pupils constricted violently.
Decomposing matter?
This meant that defense became meaningless in front of Kizaru.
Whether it was Armament Haki or a body comparable to steel, if it couldn't block this decomposition characteristic, the result would be vanishing into thin air.
This was far more terrifying than a simple laser.
"Phew..."
Sengoku took off his glasses and rubbed the center of his brow.
"One obtained unlimited vitality and stamina, and the other mastered defense-ignoring decomposition ability."
"And the price was merely Beri?"
This deal was so cost-effective it felt unreal.
"No, Sengoku."
Garp suddenly put away his hippie smile.
He walked up to Sengoku, his tall body casting a shadow. His weathered face was now written with seriousness.
"You haven't realized the severity of the problem."
Sengoku paused and put his glasses back on.
"What do you mean?"
"I feel that the Navy's attention to that kid Blake is far from enough."
Garp turned around, gazing distantly toward the East, in the direction of Foosha Village.
"If Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, or even Whitebeard's crew get in there..."
"Sengoku, the balance of this sea is going to collapse."
"Then what do you suggest?" Sengoku asked in a low voice.
Garp took a deep breath and said something shocking:
"I suggest immediately activating the highest-level contingency plan."
"Move Marine Headquarters, Marineford, in its entirety!"
"Target location—East Blue, Goa Kingdom, Foosha Village!"
Silence.
Dead silence.
Several Rear Admirals cleaning the battlefield nearby heard this and were so scared they dropped their brooms.
Relocating Marine Headquarters?
This was a major event never before seen since the establishment of the Navy!
"I agree with Vice Admiral Garp's proposal~"
A lazy voice chimed in.
Kizaru sat on a broken stone pillar, legs crossed, picking his teeth with that twisted finger.
"Borsalino, are you messing around too?" Sengoku glared at him.
"This isn't messing around, Fleet Admiral."
Kizaru tilted his head, looking matter-of-fact.
"The sea is so big. Pirates are cut down like chives, crop after crop."
"We only have three Admirals. We're worked like cattle and horses."
"Kuzan went, I went."
"Sakazuki is still working himself to death in the New World for that so-called 'Absolute Justice'."
"That's not fair, is it?"
"Next time the dungeon opens, it should be his turn."
"If we don't move Headquarters there, how much time will be wasted just traveling back and forth?"
"Pirates enter in batches, while we Marines have to take shifts. With this ebb and flow, the Navy will sooner or later be completely surpassed by pirates."
"This matter... is too big."
Sengoku sighed, turning his back to look at the surging sea in the distance.
"I need to report to the Five Elders."
"Moreover, that kid Blake's attitude is also important."
"If he's unwilling, even if we move Headquarters to his doorstep, we're just asking for a snub."
Garp dug his nose and flicked a giant booger.
"That kid?"
"As long as you give him money, why wouldn't he be willing?"
"Besides, my grandson Luffy is there. Worst case, I'll use the Fist of Love to influence that kid!"
Kizaru added a stab from the side:
"Vice Admiral Garp, last time in the shop, you didn't even manage to slam the table before Boss Blake threw you out, right?"
"Shut up! Yellow Monkey!"
"Have another Fist of Love: Bone Spirit: Galaxy Impact!"
"Oh my, so scary I'm going to the infirmary"
Watching the two starting a ruckus again, Sengoku shook his head helplessly.
Moving Headquarters was too big an issue. It wasn't something he could decide; it required the consent of the Five Elders.
═════ To Be Continued ═════
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