Sengoku nodded slightly and said in a low voice:
"I understand. Summon all the Vice Admirals stationed at Headquarters and lead the troops to the New World."
"Deploy every usable warship."
"As for the mission..."
"Once you're there, follow Sakazuki's assignments."
Although a bit confused, the soldier still shouted:
"Yes!"
He ran off to deliver the order.
Sengoku crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought... as if the shrill alarms from outside couldn't reach him at all.
His mind kept replaying the call he'd had with Sakazuki two days ago.
...
Two days earlier.
Late at night.
Sengoku stood on the fortress wall, holding a Den Den Mushi in his hand.
Sakazuki's voice came through, saying something... and then:
"That's about it. All you need to do is send troops and make a show of it."
"Let the world think a great war is about to break out…"
Sengoku furrowed his brows tightly.
"If the situation spirals out of control,"
"it could drag the entire New World into war."
"This plan involves too many people."
"Three of the Four Emperors alone will be drawn in. Even the upper ranks of the Government have a lot invested in Knock's business, Sakazuki."
Sakazuki's voice came through:
"So what."
"Those who die in battle are glorious."
"You're too soft, Sengoku."
"The sky won't collapse."
"As long as the world isn't destroyed, there's nothing we can't do."
"As for the Government... if they have opinions, let them come to the New World and find me."
Click—
The sound of the Den Den Mushi being hung up echoed.
Listening to Sakazuki's somewhat aggressive words, Sengoku didn't get angry.
He looked out at the distant sea, thinking back over the years…
He had always approached everything from the perspective of the bigger picture—what could be gained, and what could be lost…
After a long time.
Sengoku let out a quiet sigh and turned to walk into the Fleet Admiral's office.
Sometimes, overthinking things… really isn't as effective as cutting through the knot in one stroke.
No matter how much is gained, in the end… people still die.
....
Back to the present.
New World, G-11 Branch.
The island where Borsalino was stationed.
They were defending the direction of the Beasts Pirates.
Inside the branch office.
All the officers had gathered, waiting for Borsalino's orders.
Borsalino looked down at the report in his hand:
"So strange~"
"Why did a fight break out so suddenly~"
"Although it fits Sakazuki's personality~"
"it's way too sudden~"
The Base Commander of G-11, Vice Admiral Walkley, seemed a bit excited:
"We should deploy troops now, Admiral Borsalino."
Borsalino scratched his chin.
"Hmm~~~~"
After thinking for a moment, he stood up and walked to the window.
"Deploy troops and get ready~"
"I'll go check things out first~"
"Enel is at Tas Port, right~"
Walkley spoke up:
"Yes. According to the report half an hour ago."
"Vice Admiral Enel is currently in a fierce battle at Tas Port with the Beasts Pirates' Calamity—King."
Borsalino nodded and pushed the window open.
His whole body glimmered with light as he looked in the direction of Tas Port.
"So strange~"
Whoosh—
He disappeared.
This operation of Sakazuki's—apart from a few core members, the only person in the entire Marines who knew the plan… was Sengoku.
So even though Borsalino was also an Admiral, not knowing the plan left him genuinely puzzled about this sudden clash...
...
New World, G-14 Branch.
Sakazuki sat at the table, looking at the map. He didn't look the least bit nervous.
The Base Commander of G-14 Branch, Vice Admiral Doru, on the other hand, was pacing anxiously back and forth.
It was only natural… She had been running the base just fine when suddenly a higher-up parachuted in.
And not only that—this leader had launched a war the moment he arrived. On her territory no less. How could she not panic?
Vice Admiral Doru looked at Sakazuki's calm demeanor and couldn't help but speak:
"Admiral Sakazuki."
"Knock and Kaido, two of the Four Emperors, have already gathered their forces and are heading this way. Red-Haired Shanks is bringing his crew here too."
"Shouldn't we at least make some preparations?"
Sakazuki glanced at her.
"What kind of preparations do you think would be useful against people like them?"
"Long spears? Cannons? Or can you take on two of them, maybe even three?"
Vice Admiral Doru pressed a hand to her forehead.
"We can't just sit around doing nothing."
"At least change the battlefield!"
"There are so many soldiers on this island!"
Sakazuki gave her a sidelong look.
"You're just worried about the base, aren't you."
A vein bulged on Doru's forehead as she took several deep breaths.
"It's the same thing!"
"I have to take responsibility for this base and for the soldiers stationed here!"
Crash—
Glass shattered, and Bullet came crashing in, dragging along a frozen sculpture.
"Hm? Responsibility?"
"Responsibility for what?"
Sakazuki got up and walked toward the ice sculpture.
"It's already been taken care of."
The freezing cold radiating from the ice sculpture spread outward…
Bullet's entire body was bruised in patches of blue and purple. He nodded.
"Yeah. He was a bit of a pain."
"I had to make a trip to Kuzan and ask him to reinforce it."
"This guy's talent and Haki, combined with that fruit..."
"Physical attacks are basically useless."
At this point, Bullet thought for a moment.
"He's actually a great target dummy."
With his ability to multiply speed, Bullet was already standing on invincible ground.
But the real problem with this guy was—his Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit, combined with dense Armament Haki…
Even two Garp-level powerhouses couldn't smash through his defense. Diamond was just too hard.
Of course, aside from defense, Garp could still easily finish him off. After all, he hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit—dragging him into the sea would've been child's play.
But Bullet had eaten a Devil Fruit. He couldn't just jump into the sea and die with the guy.
As for knocking him into the sea… that wouldn't work either.
A physical powerhouse at that level had almost zero chance of drowning. Even if he were just a centimeter above the water's surface, he could explode with Haki and leap back up.
The only way was to exploit the weakness of the Twinkle-Twinkle Fruit—fire and ice—thus the specially made mini meteor hammers…
Sakazuki looked toward the ignored Vice Admiral Doru.
"Go get a Video Den Den Mushi."
Vice Admiral Doru's face was expressionless as she reluctantly walked out.
"Hai hai~"
After talking so much, all her words had just been brushed aside...
Once Doru left, Sakazuki took a Devil Fruit Reclaimer out from the desk and, coated in Haki, stabbed it directly into the back of Bin Black's ice sculpture.
Bullet walked over in perfect sync—pressing one hand on the Devil Fruit Reclaimer and the other on Bin Black's frozen shoulder.
Sakazuki took out a Video Den Den Mushi and dialed out...
Knock's image appeared. First he was stunned, then his gaze locked on that fiery red figure.
"Sakazuki..."
Sakazuki placed his hand on Bin Black's frozen neck.
"It's been over twenty years, hasn't it, Knock."
"I heard your business finally recovered to its former glory recently. Congratulations."
Knock held back his anger.
"Let Bin Black go."
"Whatever you want, just say it."
Sakazuki chuckled lightly.
"What I want?"
Vice Admiral Doru returned at that exact moment with the recording Den Den Mushi.
"Got it."
Sakazuki turned his head and said:
"Turn it on."
Doru, looking confused, pressed the activation button.
Sakazuki turned his gaze back to the image of Knock on the Den Den Mushi.
"What I want is..."
"for him to die."
Crack—
The ice sculpture's head flew into the air.
Bullet moved at extreme speed, retrieving the Devil Fruit Reclaimer…
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
Knock's eyes bulged with rage as he stared at the flying head.
The Den Den Mushi in his hand couldn't withstand the pressure—its eyes rolled back... the video call started breaking up.
But Sakazuki's indifferent voice could still faintly be heard:
"Record everything…"
Bang!
The Den Den Mushi in his hand exploded into a bloody mist.
"SA! KA! ZU! KI!!!"
The sea roared restlessly, storm clouds churned, and his overwhelming Conqueror's Haki surged outward in unrestrained fury…
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The fanfic is Finished on p@treon/tambeerg. 414 chapters in total