Marineford, the Marine Academy.
Inside the principal's office, Zephyr and Morris felt the sudden crash of clashing Conqueror's Haki from the fortress. Both sprang to their feet and met each other's eyes.
"Not good."
"Something's going to happen."
They rushed out at once.
* * *
Everyone in the base looked toward the central fortress. The pressure and killing intent spreading from there made every soldier uneasy.
"What's going on..."
"Over there..."
"They aren't really going to fight, right?"
"They wouldn't..."
"This is..."
* * *
On a warship still far from the base but close enough to see the outline of Marineford, Vice Admiral Tsuru sensed the faint pressure of two powerful Conqueror's Hakis. Her heart sank.
"Full speed ahead."
After giving her order to the second-in-command, she stepped onto Geppo and shot toward Marineford.
Behind her, a blue figure wrapped in violent energy tore through the sky like a meteor.
It instantly passed her and vanished.
Tsuru narrowed her eyes and sped up.
'Bullet...'
* * *
Marineford. The Fleet Admiral's office.
Everyone except Borsalino was on their feet. The officers standing on the left already had their hands on their weapons, ready to move the moment Sakazuki made a single motion.
Borsalino watched them rise and sighed. He slowly stood up and looked toward the two men whose Conqueror's Haki clashed across the desk.
"Uhh~"
Before he could start speaking, lightning sparked in Enel's hand. His golden bracelets melted into a short staff pointed straight at Borsalino.
"Hm?"
He raised his hands with a helpless shrug.
"Hai, hai."
Sakazuki glared at Sengoku. His voice trembled with suppressed rage.
"As Fleet Admiral, you should be thinking about how to eliminate every enemy while keeping losses as low as possible. Not drowning yourself in sympathy for them.
"In war, people die. That's true. But many didn't have to die, or they could have fallen courageously while wiping out pirates. Instead they died for nothing, because their supreme commander was foolish and disloyal.
"Don't their lives deserve pity? When you leaked information to the Revolutionary Army, did you think about our soldiers at all?"
Nearly everyone in the room froze and stared at Sengoku in shock.
He didn't speak. His breath, however, faltered under Sakazuki's pressure.
Garp struggled to speak.
"Saka—"
Enel shifted his staff toward him.
"Don't move, old man."
Borsalino looked relieved and lowered his hands.
Garp's expression darkened as he glared at Enel.
Boom!
The ceiling of the office shattered.
Bullet, in Demon Mode, burst through and stepped forward. With the power of his More-More Fruit, it had taken him barely a heartbeat after disappearing from Tsuru's sight to reach the office.
He spotted Enel pointing at Garp and grinned with sharp hostility.
"What, are you planning to fight him? Old man, I've been sick of you for a long time."
"More-More... tenfold speed."
In the stunned gaze of everyone present, Armament Haki swirled around his arm and formed the phantom of a demon. He swung directly at Garp.
Boom!
The entire fortress trembled. Half of the Fleet Admiral's office vanished as Bullet and Garp crashed out of the building and smashed toward the back mountain. The sound of their battle echoed nonstop. The others still hadn't processed what happened.
Sakazuki's arm melted into magma, thick black smoke rising from it.
"The Revolutionary Army's leader is Dragon. Garp's son is also called Dragon. The government just finished discussing a strategic plan. Right after that, the Revolutionary Army in the Grand Line started pulling back. And there are many more things like this. Is all of that just a coincidence, Sengoku?"
His voice turned cold enough to freeze the room.
Sengoku took a deep breath. He closed his eyes before he answered, "What do you want, Sakazuki."
"What do I want?"
The smoke on Sakazuki's arm exploded outward. Wind tore through the room as his fist shot forward and reached Sengoku in an instant.
"Hellhound!"
Dong!
A deafening bell-like sound shook the building.
Sengoku's body had already changed into his golden Buddha form. His right fist met Sakazuki's punch head-on.
The shockwave forced everyone else in the room to stagger back.
The two men glared at each other, then pushed off the ground.
A streak of red and a streak of gold burst through the office roof and rushed into the sky.
Kuzan stepped forward to join them.
Zzzt!
Lightning flared along Enel's short staff. Arcs of electricity rippled across his body as he swung it at Kuzan.
"Don't throw your life away."
Kuzan caught the blow with an Armament Haki hardened arm and looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Enel's lightning grew brighter.
"Exactly what I said."
Their stares chilled. After a brief pause...
Boom!
Both men vanished.
Borsalino watched them disappear, shook his head, turned into light, and flew out through the destroyed ceiling.
Only a handful of vice admirals were left in the room, completely lost.
Doberman, Onigumo, and others from Sakazuki's side turned toward Yamakaji's group. They slowly drew their weapons.
"Want to spar?"
Yamakaji and the others looked troubled.
"Is this really necessary..."
But seeing their movements, they placed their hands on their weapons as well.
"All of you, stop!"
Zephyr stormed in, furious.
"Why are you people joining the chaos! Go gather men and calm the soldiers! Why are you still standing there? Move!"
His authority still held weight. Even the more unruly men on Sakazuki's side let go of their weapons and walked out.
Everything had exploded too fast to stop.
Morris had already turned back to gather people on the way.
Once everyone left, Zephyr sensed the three battles raging across the island, feeling a headache coming on. He thought for a moment and decided to stop Enel and Kuzan first. They were the easiest to separate, and also easier to reason with.
He turned to go, but something on the floor caught his eye. A Den Den Mushi lay there.
"I almost forgot."
He picked it up.
* * *
Holy Land of Mariejois.
Inside the Commander-in-Chief's office.
Countless points of light gathered by the window. Borsalino stepped out of them, walked to the sofa, poured himself tea and sat down.
"Phew~ What a relaxing place, Commander-in-Chief~"
Kong chuckled at that. "What brings you here all of a sudden? What happened?"
Borsalino put on a troubled face. "Well~ how do I put this~ basically~"
Purururu~ Purururu~
The sound of Den Den Mushi rang out.
Borsalino let out a breath of relief. "Looks like I don't need to explain~"
Kong looked puzzled as he picked up the receiver.
"Hello, Sengoku. Hm? Zephyr?... What!!!"
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