Amid the sound of hurried footsteps, a Marine officer burst into Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office.
At this moment, Sengoku had just returned from the Holy Land Mary Geoise and hadn't even had the chance to take a sip of water.
"Fleet Admiral, there's a report from the Marines stationed at the Sabaody Archipelago. In Area 1, an incident involving the assault of a Celestial Dragon has occurred."
Sengoku's expression remained calm, showing no sign of alarm.
"Who did it? Sanders?"
He picked up his cup of tea, took a sip, and asked in a calm tone.
"Uh… yes, it was Sanders."
The Marine delivering the report froze for a moment before answering truthfully.
He hadn't expected the Fleet Admiral to remain so composed upon hearing about the Celestial Dragon being attacked.
Normally, such an incident would result in an immediate outburst, followed by the deployment of a Marine Admiral to handle the situation.
But today, there was no such reaction.
If Sengoku could hear the thoughts of his subordinate, he would've surely rolled his eyes.
The destruction caused in Mary Geoise recently had left large swaths of the Holy Land in ruins, with countless Celestial Dragons killed. Yet even then, the World Government had ordered the matter to be suppressed and covered up.
Now, just one Celestial Dragon had been attacked. What was there to be alarmed about?
Moreover, what was the point of sending an Admiral to deal with Sanders?
Could they even manage to capture him?
"Tell me what happened."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"The Celestial Dragon was attacked outside the slave auction house in Area 1."
"According to the investigation, the reason was that the Celestial Dragon had purchased a fishman slave from the auction house."
"Later, Sanders massacred all the auction house staff."
The Marine briefly summarized the report submitted by the Sabaody Archipelago base.
"A fishman, huh?" Sengoku murmured to himself.
Fishman Island was under the protection of the Thunder God Pirates.
Sanders had once warned the entire world about capturing fishmen and merfolk as slaves.
However, because the price of fishmen and merfolk continued to rise, there were still those willing to take the risk for profit.
"Where is Sanders now?" Sengoku asked.
"He should still be on the Sabaody Archipelago. The Marines on the island don't dare to get too close, so his exact location is unknown," the Marine replied.
Sanders had defeated Whitebeard and now held the title of the pirate with the highest bounty in the world.
The Marines stationed on the Sabaody Archipelago wouldn't dare provoke someone like him.
"Order Admiral Kizaru to head to the Sabaody Archipelago," Sengoku commanded after some thought.
When a Celestial Dragon was attacked, an Admiral had to be dispatched.
The reputation of the World Government and the Marines needed to be maintained.
Otherwise, the pirates on the seas would become even more unruly.
After receiving the order, the Marine left the office.
Sengoku then pulled out a Den Den Mushi to report the incident to the Five Elders.
After a brief moment of silence on the other end, the Five Elders instructed Sengoku to handle the matter through conventional means.
Sengoku understood instantly.
He put down the Den Den Mushi and began attending to other official duties.
The "conventional method" meant sending an Admiral to make an appearance, showcasing the prestige of the Celestial Dragons to the world. This was meant to remind everyone that provoking a Celestial Dragon would lead to the intervention of a Marine Admiral.
As for whether the culprit responsible for attacking the Celestial Dragon could actually be captured—it didn't really matter.
After all, the incident in Mary Geoise, where the Holy Land had suffered significant damage, had already been tolerated. The deaths of countless Celestial Dragons had been swallowed as a bitter pill.
The death of one more Celestial Dragon was hardly a big deal.
That particular Celestial Dragon was simply unlucky—choosing to visit the Sabaody Archipelago at this time and foolishly purchasing a fishman slave.
Mary Geoise
In a secluded room, the Five Elders sat together with grim expressions.
"Let's leave it at that for now," one of them said.
"We can't do anything to him for the time being. Let him be for a while."
"How many exceptional figures have arisen on the seas over the years? And now, haven't they all turned into nothing but dust in the end?"
"We'll wait a few more years. When Sanders develops attachments, he won't act so recklessly anymore."
St. Topman Warcury, seated on a sofa, spoke in a heavy tone.
The reason they couldn't deal with Sanders was that he had no apparent weaknesses.
He hadn't been with his crew for very long, so their bond likely wasn't deep.
But once Sanders married and had children, once he developed attachments, dealing with him would become significantly easier.
At the very least, they could make him hesitate, as they had done with the other Emperors of the Sea.
Those powerful figures could kill Celestial Dragons if they wanted to, but they rarely did. The reason was simple—they had attachments and things they cared about, so they would not provoke the World Government lightly.
Sanders, however, was an anomaly.
His forces were newly established, his personal strength was overwhelming, and his mobility was unparalleled.
This rendered many of the World Government's usual methods ineffective, leaving them at a disadvantage.
"For now, this is the best course of action."
"Once word spreads about the meteorite attack on the Holy Land, Sanders should understand our warning."
"If he dares to harbor any further thoughts of attacking the Holy Land, we will unleash all our power and obliterate everything connected to him!"
St. Marcus Mars spoke calmly.
"What a disgrace this is!"
St. Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, sharpening his blade, had a dark expression on his face.
"When have we ever been pushed to this extent by a pirate?"
"Our true enemies lie elsewhere."
"As for Sanders, let him prance around for a while longer."
St. Shepherd Ju Peter's face was equally grim.
Elsewhere, Admiral Kizaru held a Den Den Mushi with a displeased expression.
He had just returned to the Science Division when he received the order to head to the Sabaody Archipelago.
After some thought, he got up from his seat, preparing to make the trip.
Orders from the Fleet Admiral had to be followed, after all.
Kizaru figured he would head to the Sabaody Archipelago, catch a few pirates to make a show of it, and call it a day.
Meeting Sanders? That wasn't likely during a quick trip.
Besides, Kizaru wasn't particularly afraid of Sanders anyway.
Upon arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago, Kizaru went to the Area 1 auction house.
He made a show of investigating the scene and apprehended a few pirates on the island before leaving.
At the same time,
in a secluded courtyard on the Sabaody Archipelago, Sanders had docked his small ship just outside.
On the deck of the boat, a plump, middle-aged woman was tied up tightly.
This woman was none other than the Celestial Dragon from the auction house earlier.
Everyone had assumed that she had been frozen into an ice sculpture, launched into the sky, and shattered upon hitting the ground.
In reality, Sanders had used the powers of the Float-Float Fruit to send her into the air.
The Float-Float Fruit couldn't make living beings float, but Sanders had frozen her body in a block of ice, which he then levitated.
He decided that, as a gift for Hancock, it would be better to keep her alive.
Pushing open the courtyard door, Sanders stepped inside.
Sitting in the yard was the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh.
Upon seeing Sanders, Rayleigh tossed him two bottles of beer.
"Freeze one for me," he said.
Sanders caught the bottles, froze one, and tossed it back.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Truly terrifying, Sanders. You really do possess multiple Devil Fruit abilities," Rayleigh remarked, looking at the frozen beer with amazement.
"Hasn't that been common knowledge across the seas?"
Sanders casually found a spot to sit.
"Don't tell me you didn't see me use the Ice-Ice Fruit abilities at the auction house earlier."
When he had approached the auction house, Sanders had already noticed Rayleigh's presence.
The old man had once again sold himself to repay debts.
"You're truly remarkable, young man," Rayleigh praised.
"To think you defeated Whitebeard. Even Roger never managed to defeat that man."
Rayleigh's tone was filled with admiration.
The Roger Pirates had clashed with the Whitebeard Pirates many times back in the day, yet they had never gained much of an upper hand.
As Roger's right-hand man, Rayleigh was well aware of Whitebeard's immense power.
But to think that this young man in front of him had defeated Whitebeard in just over a year—it was astonishing.
"What a pity Roger's been dead for nearly twenty years now. Otherwise, I'd love to see what the Pirate King's strength was truly like."
Sanders smirked, his gaze sharp as he looked at Rayleigh.
"Why don't you let me test the strength of the Pirate King's right hand?"
Having known Rayleigh for so long, Sanders realized they'd never fought before.
"Nah, forget it. I'm an old man now; no need to push myself," Rayleigh said, quickly waving off the idea.
What a joke!
The man in front of him had managed to defeat Whitebeard.
While Rayleigh was confident in his strength, he had no desire to take a beating.
He'd been retired for years and wasn't interested in a big fight.
"Alright then."
Seeing Rayleigh's refusal, Sanders didn't press the matter.
Rayleigh then glanced toward Sanders' small ship and grinned.
"What's with the prisoner over there?" he asked, obviously referring to the tied-up Celestial Dragon on the deck.
"Nothing much. Just a gift for Hancock," Sanders replied without hesitation.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Rayleigh chuckled, amused by the situation.
After a bit more casual conversation, Sanders piloted his small ship and departed, heading for Amazon Lily.
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T/N:
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