Marine Headquarters — Fleet Admiral's Office.
Upon hearing the report that all three Admirals had been deployed, Sengoku furrowed his brows and asked Brannew in a deep voice:
"What happened?"
Brannew quickly responded, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, there are reports that the criminal Sora appeared on the Sabaody Archipelago. The Five Elders contacted the three Admirals directly and ordered them to capture him."
After speaking, Brannew cautiously glanced at Sengoku's expression.
As someone aware of Sengoku's secret dealings with Sora, he was eager to see how the Fleet Admiral would react.
Bang!
"Those damn Five Elders… do they not even acknowledge me as the Fleet Admiral anymore?!"
Sengoku slammed his hand onto the desk, veins bulging on his forehead, his face dark with anger.
The Five Elders bypassing him to give orders directly to the Admirals infuriated him.
And remembering the G8 Base Commander killed by CP0 agents of the World Government, a nameless rage surged in his chest.
As for whether the Admirals would succeed in capturing Sora — Sengoku wasn't too concerned.
If they caught him, it would remove a reckless criminal who dared to attack a Celestial Dragon — that would be acceptable to Sengoku.
Besides, with Akainu leading the operation, if Sora lost, he'd almost certainly be killed.
And dead men don't talk — especially not about secret deals.
If they failed to catch him, Sengoku could continue working with Sora to take down the Whitebeard Pirates.
No matter the outcome, it wouldn't impact him personally.
"You may go now."
After a long silence, Sengoku slumped back in his chair and waved Brannew away.
Rank overrides everything.
No matter what, the Five Elders were still technically above him.
No matter how angry he was, there was nothing he could do to them.
"This Fleet Admiral position... really isn't worth it."
"Maybe after the Whitebeard operation, I'll just resign..."
As Brannew left, Sengoku sat in silence, staring blankly at the ocean outside the window.
...
Sabaody Archipelago — Shoreline.
Onboard the massive ship of the Beast Pirates.
Having escaped the battle in Area 18, Queen sat on the deck, repairing his blasted mechanical leg, while speaking to Black Maria beside him.
"Page One and Ulti still haven't come back?"
The "Sora" and "Vivi" who had appeared on the archipelago were actually Page One and Ulti in disguise — transformed using Queen's advanced high-tech equipment.
The goal was to use CP0 to leak the false appearance and lure the Admirals to the island, muddying the waters and creating chaos.
From Queen's perspective, with Katakuri and Smoothie from Big Mom's crew already in the area, there was no way he could compete with them directly.
So instead of challenging them head-on, he chose to stir things up.
By faking Sora's appearance and manipulating CP0, Queen triggered the Admirals' deployment, and even bribed the press to publish related news.
First, the Admirals would clash with Katakuri and the others — driving them off and helping Queen get some revenge.
Second, the real Godslayer Sora, hearing of the Admirals' presence, would likely delay his arrival, giving Queen time to seek reinforcements from Kaido and have King dispatched.
Third, with Ace's execution approaching, the Admirals wouldn't stay long. Once they left, Queen could strike with King's support and take down Sora for real.
That was Queen's plan after getting defeated by Katakuri and Smoothie.
To sell the illusion, he personally jumped into the fight.
With Queen joining the fray, even if Katakuri had doubts, there wouldn't be time to investigate. He'd be forced into the "Sora" hunt, and chaos would erupt.
Once the battle intensified, Queen released large-scale poison gas bombs and used rocket boosters and a diving suit to escape the battlefield.
He left Katakuri, the CP0 agents, and the others locked in battle.
Meanwhile, Page One and Ulti, who had disguised themselves as "Sora" and "Vivi," escaped through a tunnel they had dug earlier inside a restaurant.
Their mission was complete — all they had to do now was run.
But Queen hadn't expected them to be so unreliable. They still hadn't returned.
Black Maria shook her head and said, "Ulti must've run into trouble. She should've been back by now."
Who's-Who, standing nearby, said, "In that case, forget them. They always drag us down."
Queen frowned.
"If the Admirals show up and they're still not back, we're leaving them."
Queen knew full well that he couldn't take on an Admiral alone.
...
Area 18.
"Wait for me, Page!"
"I can't run anymore~~"
Ulti, one of the Flying Six, shouted after her younger brother who was dashing ahead.
Page One tore off his disguise and put his mask back on, turned around with a sigh and said:
"Big Sis, the Admirals are coming! Can you stop dragging your feet?!"
Ulti pounced onto his back happily.
"I'm too tired. Carry me, Page!"
As he ran with her on his back, Page One muttered in frustration:
"Can't you run on your own? You're heavy."
"What?! Did you just say I'm heavy?!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Now sporting three huge lumps on his head, Page One felt a deep wave of exhaustion. He genuinely wished someone would marry his sister off and take her away.
Even though that thought crossed his mind, he still carried her honestly and sprinted as fast as he could.
The Admirals were coming. This wasn't a game — they could die for real.
While clinging to him, Ulti reached up to feel the spot where she had sawn off her horn to mimic Vivi. Her expression turned sour.
"I wonder if Queen's bone-regrowth drug will work and make my horn grow back quickly."
If she and Page hadn't been saved by Queen once before, there was no way she would've agreed to chop off her horn — even with the promise it could be regrown.
She pulled a small bottle from her cleavage, poured out two pills, swallowed one, and gave the other to Page One.
Moments later, both of their horns regrew swiftly, restored to their original shape.
Ulti touched her horn in surprise and shook Page One excitedly.
"Queen really does have some serious black-tech."
'Well, he is supposed to be a top-tier scientist after all…' Page One thought, silently, not bothering to respond as he ran.
Just as they reached the edge of the Sabaody Archipelago, they saw a large ship approaching from afar.
They looked carefully — it was a massive merchant vessel.
Painted across the ship's sail were bold letters:
Five Seas Trading Company!
______________
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