Sengoku silently wiped the half-chewed vegetable scraps from his forehead.
His expression was far from pleasant.
Now that Warcury had left, it was finally time to talk about what the hell just happened.
“What happened? What the hell happened with you two?!”
Sengoku’s head was pounding.
No matter how hard he thought about it, he just couldn’t figure out how Vir had slipped away from the two of them.
Everyone else turned their attention to the two Admirals as well.
Both the hardliners and moderates were speechless.
Akainu and Kizaru—how the hell could that brat escape from them?
“Well? Talk. What happened? What surprise did that little punk have in store for us this time?”
Sengoku sipped his tea slowly as he spoke.
“He just… disappeared.”
*Pffft—!*
Akainu’s single sentence made Sengoku spit his tea out in shock.
It sprayed everywhere—the whole table was drenched.
Disappeared?
What the hell did he mean by disappeared?!
How could anyone just disappear out of nowhere?!
Aside from ghosts, what else could vanish like that?!
Just as he was about to demand an explanation—
Akainu cut straight to the point.
“That guy seems to have mastered some sort of technique that lets him instantly disappear from where he stands, without using any form of spatial teleportation.”
“It’s similar to teleportation. I suspect he’s eaten some kind of Devil Fruit. But the range is far—he vanishes beyond our Observation Haki’s range in an instant.”
The moment Akainu’s grave voice finished, everyone immediately understood.
“You’re telling me he has an ability that lets him instantly disappear from the perception range of two Admirals—and you couldn’t stop him?”
Sengoku’s face was twisted in disbelief and rage.
Because this was just too outrageous.
What kind of power was this?
It was too over the top.
Even the Teleportation Fruit shouldn’t let someone vanish without a trace.
And the distance couldn’t possibly be that vast—enough to make even two Admirals give up chasing him!
What kind of monstrous power had that kid gotten his hands on now?!
How the hell were they supposed to catch him after this?
That thought was creeping into everyone’s minds.
What the hell are they supposed to do?!
If two Admirals couldn’t pin him down, who the hell could—unless he willingly turned himself in?
It’s not like he’s Roger, dying from some incurable disease.
If anything, he’s the cure for incurable diseases.
Even Tsuru, the Marine’s strategist, was at a loss for words.
“Then how the hell did you two end up injured like this? Don’t tell me that brat did this to you?!”
Sengoku pressed further.
If Vir’s abilities were already this absurd, then there was no point worrying about him for now.
There were more urgent matters.
They could analyze him later.
Right now, he wanted to know how these two got injured like this.
“Well—”
“Report!!”
Just as Akainu started to speak, a voice came from outside.
Sengoku immediately gestured for the person to enter.
It was Tsuru’s adjutant—he must have important news.
The officer stepped in and placed a stack of photos along with a newspaper in front of Sengoku.
“Fleet Admiral, this is the latest issue. The contents are… less than ideal…”
As he spoke, he subtly glanced at Akainu.
Though confused, Sengoku picked it up and read.
The adjutant handed copies to everyone present.
Very quickly, everyone’s expressions changed.
Their eyes widened—completely transfixed on the photos and headlines.
They couldn’t look away.
There it was, in bold type on the front page:
[ADMIRAL AKAINU GETS HIS HEAD CRACKED OPEN!]
Whoever wrote that headline was a genius.
Who wouldn’t want to read that?!
Below the headline, no text—just a full spread of photos.
The first image showed an extremely dazzling lightning kanabo moments away from smashing into Akainu’s head.
The next—Akainu’s skull visibly caving in from the impact.
The last—the lightning kanabo exploding, engulfing Akainu in a storm of electricity.
Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.
Sengoku’s brow furrowed deeply.
What the hell is this?
So Akainu really got hurt by that guy?
How the hell did that punk pull that off?!
Just the look of that lightning kanabo was terrifying.
And Akainu had taken it head-on?!
Not only that—the speed in the photos was insane.
Akainu hadn’t even reacted before being hit.
If he couldn’t dodge, who the hell could?!
Sure, Akainu could tank it—but anyone else?
No chance.
Even Vice Admirals wouldn’t be able to withstand a single hit from that thing.
And if Akainu himself couldn’t react in time—just how fast was that attack?
This brat…
Was this not too much?!
But as Sengoku kept reading—it got worse.
When Kizaru unleashed his Yasakani no Magatama, that guy… had awakened?
His lightning turned purple!
This purple lightning looked far more oppressive than before.
He was already a monster—but if he used that to form his lightning kanabo…
Even the Admirals would take serious damage!
How the hell is this fair?
Was this brat awakening right before their eyes?
In the blink of an eye—he grew stronger again?
Give us a break!
How did someone like him end up as a pirate, of all things?
If they’d gotten him into the Marines, he’d be Fleet Admiral in a few years!
Why the hell did he have to become a pirate…
Sengoku clutched his head in despair.
And now this stuff got caught on camera.
And published.
Those damn journalists!
As furious as he was, Sengoku could only sigh.
In the photos, Kizaru didn’t look hurt at all.
So how did he end up like this?
“Kizaru, what about you? Weren’t you escorting Kuma? How did you get messed up too?”
Sengoku frowned in confusion.
“Yeah! Didn’t expect you of all people to go all out on a mission like this.” Garp chimed in.
Under everyone’s curious gaze—
Kizaru slowly spoke.
“That brat again~ These injuries… he gave them to me fair and square.”
Kizaru had returned to his usual lazy, sly tone.
As he spoke, he slightly lifted his shirt—
Revealing a very prominent slash wound across his chest.
Wait—
A slash wound?
“Hold on! That’s clearly a sword wound! How the hell could he have done this?!”
“As far as we know, he doesn’t know a single thing about swordsmanship!”
Sengoku looked stunned.
Everyone else was just as shocked.
Even Aokiji looked suspicious.
As far as he knew, that brat didn’t even carry a blade.
How could he possibly use swordsmanship?
“Kowai neee~ The youth these days…”
“That guy learned it.”
“And… he’s strong~”
—–
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