"Thank you for your hospitality, Warden Magellan. I owe you one."
On the long pier outside the main gate of Impel Down, Taro extended his hand to Magellan with a smile.
Magellan didn't want to shake hands with Taro, but he was worried about being put on Taro's blacklist. He eventually shook it and pulled away immediately.
"That's quite unnecessary. If it's not essential, let's not meet again!"
Magellan's words caused Taro's smile to freeze on his face. What was wrong? Weren't things fine before?
Seeing Taro's stiff expression, Magellan also realized his mistake too late. He thought to himself, 'Oh no! I hope he hasn't taken offense!'
Then, he heard Taro speak again,
"Warden Magellan, regarding the Head Jailer of Impel Down, Silvers Rayleigh, I hope you never let him out under any circumstances."
"A bloodthirsty person like him cannot be trusted."
Magellan didn't quite understand Taro's intention when he mentioned Silvers Rayleigh. By the time he snapped out of it, Taro had already taken his leave.
Watching the figure gradually receding in the sky, Magellan's eyes flickered with an unreadable expression.
Flying through the air, Taro secretly hoped that the limited information he shared would give Ace a bit more will to live, so as not to waste the efforts of Luffy and Whitebeard, who would risk their lives to save him.
Just then, his Observation Haki suddenly flared with a warning. Without time to think, Taro dodged to the side in mid-air just as a massive rock plummeted past him.
Who is it? So inconsiderate. Throwing things from such a height is a criminal offense, you know?
Taro complained in his head, then immediately froze. He was in the sky—where did such a huge rock come from?
He looked up blankly and was dumbfounded.
In the sky over ten thousand meters high, an island was drifting past right above him.
Taro was completely enveloped in the massive shadow it cast.
A Sky Island?
Taro was stunned for a moment. By the time he reacted, the Sky Island had already gained altitude again and disappeared into the clouds.
At this moment, Marineford was also in a state of chaos.
Not long ago, several violent beasts had suddenly appeared out of thin air in the Residential Area for Marine families. Although they were quickly killed by the arriving Marines, the civilians still suffered significant casualties.
The alarms of Marineford echoed throughout the base. After several Marine Vice Admirals inspected the scene, they quickly left to report to the higher-ups.
Taro landed directly at the Main Fortress of Marineford and headed straight for Sengoku's office.
When he knocked and entered, all the Marine big shots were present. He saluted and said urgently:
"Fleet Admiral, I just saw a Sky Island drifting along the route from Impel Down to Marineford."
Sengoku stood up in shock. "What did you say?"
Taro was a bit surprised by Sengoku's reaction. He repeated what he had said before asking, "What happened?"
The Marine big shots looked at each other with solemn expressions. Finally, Vice Admiral Tsuru spoke up.
"Not long ago, several ferocious beasts suddenly appeared at Marineford and attacked the Residential Area."
Taro was stunned. For a moment, he didn't understand the connection between these two events. He looked at everyone blankly, and only after a while did he remember something, exclaiming,
"Golden Lion Shiki?"
The Marine big shots also seemed surprised. Sengoku twisted his braided beard. "You actually thought of it so quickly!"
"Indeed, it is Golden Lion Shiki."
"A legendary pirate who was active on the seas during Roger's era!"
"And the only person to ever escape from Impel Down!"
Taro knew all this. What surprised him was that in the movie where Golden Lion Shiki appeared, Shiki seemed to have arrived at Marineford by controlling his pirate ship, rather than floating an entire island over like this.
Everyone in the office fell into thought. Finally, Vice Admiral Tsuru broke the silence.
"Shiki has been missing for twenty years since his escape. His sudden appearance now must hide some sort of conspiracy."
Sengoku nodded with a grim face. "At the point when we are about to have a decisive battle with Whitebeard, this is indeed very concerning!"
"Um, Fleet Admiral, are there any reports from the East Blue?" Taro asked weakly.
Sengoku was taken aback when Taro mentioned the East Blue, but he quickly realized something and exchanged a look with Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"Are you saying the Golden Lion's goal is to go to the East Blue? What would he do there?"
Akainu looked over at Taro, Aokiji pushed up his eye mask, and Kizaru stopped clipping his nails.
Stared at by them, Taro didn't panic. He thought for a moment and said:
"Our branches in the four seas were already weak, and now that all the elites have been drawn away, they are even more vulnerable."
"Although Shiki is a bit crazy, he wouldn't dare come directly to Marineford to seek his death."
"So he would only choose to strike in one of the four seas."
Having said this, Taro saw that no one intended to refute him, so he continued:
"As for why he would choose the East Blue, I think you all understand better than I do, since you dealt with him decades ago."
Sengoku finally acknowledged Taro's judgment and nodded.
"True. The East Blue is the weakest overall, and the entanglement between Shiki and Roger is no secret. Roger was from the East Blue!"
Finally, Sengoku mused, "Then his coming to Marineford this time was a show of force?"
Taro knew that Shiki thought he was powerful again because he had mastered something called 'IQ' that could make animals go berserk and give them super-strong offensive capabilities. However, he couldn't explain his source of information, so he chose to remain silent.
Silence fell over the office once again.
After an unknown amount of time, Sengoku finally broke the silence. "Sakazuki, you will accompany me to the East Blue."
Then he looked at Taro. "You come as well!"
Taro was stunned, feeling a bit surprised.
Back then, Garp and Sengoku alone defeated the Golden Lion. This time, Garp has been replaced by Akainu, and Taro is brought along. Does Sengoku feel that the gap between Red Doggy and Garp is exactly one Taro?
Thinking this, Taro's expression became strange.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Just then, there was a knock on the office door, and a Marine Signalman walked in. He was clearly taken aback to see so many high-ranking Marines in the room.
"R-Report! Latest news: Gekko Moriah of the Seven Warlords of the Sea has been defeated by Straw Hat Luffy in the Florian Triangle!"
"What did you say?" Sengoku was both shocked and furious, momentarily speechless.
Vice Admiral Tsuru finally waved the signalman away and sighed,
"This is already the second of the Seven Warlords of the Sea defeated by the Straw Hat crew. We just filled the ranks; are we going to have another vacancy?"
Akainu spoke for the first time,
"Moriah is just a pirate; if he's defeated, so be it. The priority now is to deal with the threat of Shiki!"
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