A Celestial Dragon was dead.
Was that supposed to be... a big deal?
If it happened in any other country and the killer was anyone else, that nation would one hundred percent be erased from the map.
But if it was done by someone under the Holy Knight Order, then it really was not that serious.
Borsalino froze in place for a good while. Only after wiping the cold sweat from his forehead did he murmur in that lazy tone of his,
"So scary, so scary. So this is Lord Ozz, huh."
Doll did not react that strongly. She was still too young to understand all the rules buried under the surface. She only felt extremely satisfied.
Ozz casually scraped the filth off his shoe on the ground.
When he looked up, he saw the two of them still standing there, along with countless guests staring at him with their mouths wide open, faces pale with shock. So he waved at them.
"Since you're all here for the old man's birthday banquet, come along with us."
With that, Ozz did not bother watching everyone's reaction. His grandfather had already hooked an arm around him and was dragging him toward the palace.
"You brat, you've grown this big already. Ever thought about giving the Dotor family a few more members?"
"That is... a complicated question."
The corner of Ozz's mouth twitched. He could only half-heartedly entertain the old man who had nothing better to do.
Behind them, Mihawk and the others were chatting on their way over.
Doflamingo had originally wanted to talk to Crocodile, but the other man wore that usual arrogant face and completely ignored him. Instead, Enel was the one who spoke up.
"I remember Ozz mentioning that you once called yourself a god, right?"
Ever since Ozz's name shook the world and his power structure became much simpler, Enel had actually been quite free.
With no one daring to provoke the Shichibukai, with Rayleigh keeping an eye on Sabaody, and with a whole bunch of muscle under Saami's command, enemies that required Enel himself to move were getting fewer and fewer.
Ozz stepping down as Emperor had one very enthusiastic supporter, and that was Enel.
These days, he was seriously wondering if he should just go back to Skypiea for a bit.
Doflamingo knew a thing or two about him as well. After all, anyone who could be called "little something" by Ozz was never simple.
Little Hawk.
Little Croc.
Little Dof.
Little En.
The two "gods" were naturally sensitive to that title and, in a forced sort of way, had found themselves a common topic.
"God, huh? Fufufufufu..."
Crocodile, meanwhile, had gone off to talk with Mihawk.
"So? I heard you've been traveling around lately. Interested in joining forces with me?"
He had no interest in that hooligan Doflamingo, but the icy Mihawk was apparently worthy of respect in his eyes.
"I recently found a girl named Robin who can read Poneglyphs. We might discover something pretty big..."
"Robin?"
Mihawk finally showed a trace of interest. His hawk-like eyes shifted toward Crocodile. If he remembered correctly, that girl had once sailed with him and Ozz for a time on their ship.
"...If I have the time, I'll come take a look."
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Nothing major had happened at sea recently. If they had to pick something, then the destruction of Elegia a while back might barely count.
But that matter was something far beyond the Marines' reach, so they simply could not be bothered to deploy over it.
As for investigating Ozz, that was not even worth thinking about. Even if they sent Marines to track down the Red Hair Pirates, sending anything less than an admiral would just be handing over extra bodies.
Let the Five Elders worry about this one.
The Marine officers of the old era were slowly walking from middle age into old age. Their pace of life had begun to slow.
For once, it had been a rare slice of peaceful time.
"Crunch, crunch..."
Inside the office, however, one particular sound broke the atmosphere in the most unpleasant way.
"Garp!!!"
"You bastard, you're stealing my senbei again!!"
Sengoku slammed his hands on the desk and sprang to his feet, veins bulging as he glared at the rugged, gray-black haired man sprawled on the opposite sofa.
"Ahahahaha! Don't sweat the details, Sengoku. You're buried in work all day anyway. No time to eat them."
"Right, Tsuru?"
On the sofa next to him, the ever composed Vice Admiral Tsuru quietly sipped her tea. She had long since grown used to the duo's antics.
"Shut up, Garp."
"Aww, don't be mad. You've got more free time these days, right? Tomorrow I'll go buy senbei with you."
Garp laughed without a care in the world. In his heart, there was still half a sentence he did not say.
Using your salary to buy them.
Just as he finished talking, an urgent den-den mushi rang out on Sengoku's desk.
"Beru beru beru..."
"See? I just said we had free time, and here comes the work."
Sengoku sighed, though he did not sound particularly upset. That was just part of being Fleet Admiral.
"Moshi moshi, this is Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"Moshi moshi, is that you, Fleet Admiral Sengoku?"
"Borsalino? I thought you were on assignment."
Sengoku answered the call, not expecting Borsalino to be the one phoning in. His expression darkened a little.
He knew very well that Borsalino liked to slack off, but this time they had already given him such an easy job. What more did this guy want?
"Maintaining order in Duromos shouldn't be difficult. Did something happen, Borsalino?"
The very next second, it was as if he had heard something impossible. Sengoku's eyes flew open wide, blood vessels crawling around his pupils. His words stuck in his throat.
Even Garp unconsciously stopped chewing. Tsuru's expression changed a little.
Only because of the single sentence that came out of that sleazy snail face on the other end.
"I do have something to report. A Celestial Dragon died, you see. Right there in Duromos."
"Na... ni?!"
Sengoku crushed the den-den mushi in his grip, staring at Borsalino's projected face.
His first instinct was to respond, to take action. But a moment later, he stalled.
Take action?
What kind of action?
Trigger a Buster Call in the name of the Fleet Admiral?
If they did that, they would not be "busting" any demon. They would be the ones getting wiped out instead. They might even get beaten all the way back to their own front door.
"Have you found out who did it?"
If it was some random pirate, then they could wait until that person left Duromos and then arrest them separately. At least that would be some kind of explanation...
"It was Black Gun Ozz."
"..."
Hearing that name, Sengoku fell silent.
Well then.
No need to stress about this one. Internal affairs among the Celestial Dragons could go straight to the Five Elders' inbox.
...
On the other side.
Holy Land Mariejois, Pangaea Castle.
CP0 had already finished reporting every detail from start to finish. They now stood quietly in place, waiting for orders from the Five Elders.
"You may withdraw."
Only after the CP0 members retreated from the chamber did the five old men exchange glances, each of them wearing a weary look.
"Casually slaughtering Celestial Dragons... Even Saint Garling would not act this recklessly."
"Strictly speaking, the Holy Knight Order does have the authority to pass judgment. But Ozz..."
"We thought Ozz's decision to withdraw from the fight over supremacy at sea would be a good thing. Yet now it seems that is not the case. He has simply become even more willful."
The Five Elders all voiced their dissatisfaction.
But not a single one of them suggested a concrete solution.
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