"Raleigh... what are you doing?"
A sharp, dangerous glint flashed in Sengoku's eyes.
He was not pleased.
The sudden, brutal execution of a prisoner, right in front of him, was a direct violation of protocol.
"A Devil Fruit Ability User like Byrnndi World... should be imprisoned in Impel Down Level 6. Not executed on the spot."
It wasn't that Sengoku was defending a monster like Byrnndi World.
He hated the man.
But due to the limitations of the era, the mechanics of Devil Fruit reincarnation were still largely a mystery to the public, and even to the Marines, it was a terrifying variable.
If a troublesome ability like the More-More Fruit were to "fall into the sea"—reincarnate somewhere random—and be consumed by an ambitious individual, it could cause immense destruction all over again.
Raleigh knew this better than anyone.
He had done the math.
For example... just take Byrnndi World's fruit.
If someone like Doflamingo were to eat this, combining his string manipulation and arms business with the power to multiply size and speed by 100? The seas would witness the emergence of a Fifth Emperor overnight.
Therefore, the standard Marine doctrine was to imprison powerful fruit users in Impel Down until they died of old age, keeping the fruit out of circulation for decades.
Raleigh sheathed his blade, wiping the blood on his pants.
He turned to Sengoku with a very sincere, apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry, Admiral Sengoku," Raleigh said, bowing his head slightly. "I... I lost myself in the heat of battle. He almost killed me. I acted impulsively."
He looked up, his eyes wide and innocent. "I was wrong. I accept full punishment—whether it's a pay cut, a demotion, or latrine duty. I am willing to accept it."
Faced with Raleigh's immediate, humble submission, Sengoku found himself at a loss for words.
The anger deflated.
Although Raleigh had done wrong, he admitted it instantly.
His attitude was beyond reproach.
Originally, Sengoku had intended to reprimand Raleigh to establish dominance, but now, it felt petty to kick a man who was already bowing.
"Hmph," Sengoku grunted, massaging his temples. "We'll deal with your disciplinary hearing later. Right now, the priority is to handle the remnants of the World Pirates and rescue the injured Marine soldiers."
Sengoku snorted coldly and turned to head toward the main battlefield at the port.
In the distance, the fight was nearing its end.
But as he walked, he noticed something strange.
Aside from the Marine soldiers in their white uniforms, there were also men in black suits fighting alongside them.
Ruthless, efficient men.
"Raleigh," Sengoku asked, pointing. "Who are they?"
In Sengoku's view, the Mafia families in the North Blue were targets to be cracked down on, not allies.
Raleigh suddenly appeared behind Sengoku like a ghost.
"Admiral Sengoku," he said respectfully. "This is the Young Master of the Donquixote Family, Doflamingo."
He gestured to the young man in the pink coat who was currently wiping blood off his shoes.
"We have reached a... consensus on certain matters. He provides us with information on pirates and, when the Marines cannot arrive in time, his family protects civilians and drives away invaders."
Doflamingo, having changed his torn shirt for a fresh one, approached and bowed slightly to Sengoku.
'Doflamingo... that former Celestial Dragon brat?' Sengoku scrutinized the teenager.
The face matched the intelligence reports.
Sengoku was not from the future, so he naturally had no idea what kind of monster Doflamingo would become.
With Raleigh as his guarantor, he was willing to extend a sliver of trust.
"So, Doflamingo," Sengoku said, his voice sharp. "Do you truly wish to cooperate for mutual benefit with the Marines? Or is it only with Raleigh that you seek cooperation?"
Although he was currently known as the "The Sacred Admiral" in the future, people would call him the "Resourceful General."
He could tell at a glance that Doflamingo harbored a deep, simmering resentment toward authority.
Doflamingo smiled, his teeth flashing.
"That's right, Admiral Sengoku. Before meeting Raleigh... san, we never imagined collaborating with the Marines. We thought you were... rigid."
"But pirates disrupt populations, infrastructure, and markets. Their presence reduces our profits. Thus, cooperating with Rear Admiral Raleigh to drive out pirates became... necessary." Doflamingo adjusted his sunglasses.
"Now it seems only the Marines could cultivate a man of Raleigh-san caliber."
Doflamingo avoided directly answering the question of loyalty, yet his words implicitly confirmed his bond was with Raleigh, not the flag.
Sengoku understood this perfectly.
But since the situation had maintained stability in the North Blue, he allowed it.
After all, he wasn't Fleet Admiral yet.
He just needed results.
...
That Evening.
In less than an hour, the remnants of the World Pirates were captured or killed.
To celebrate, Doflamingo specifically invited Sengoku and the others to a "bonfire celebration" at the Donquixote base.
It was a political move, legitimizing his family. Sengoku couldn't decline.
He brought Borsalino, Gion, and Tokikake to the banquet.
Raleigh, however, excused himself, citing "physical discomfort" from his near-decapitation.
Under the cover of the moonless night, the Donquixote base was lively with music and fire.
While everyone was distracted, a figure clad in black robes appeared at the ruins of the Council Hall.
Raleigh stood alone in the wreckage.
He gazed toward the distant bonfire, a small smile on his face.
Then, he vanished into the shadows.
He approached a specific, nearly destroyed stone pillar stump.
He triggered a hidden mechanism he had spotted earlier with his Haki.
Click-clack.
A neat fissure split the ground open.
This was the family's panic room/storage vault. Raleigh darted in.
No clandestine lovers awaited here, nor any shadowy transactions—only crates of fresh fruit, meticulously arranged on shelves, filling the entire underground space.
This was the true reason Raleigh had insisted on returning to Rubec Island early with Doflamingo!
Immediately upon their return, he had ordered Doflamingo to gather all available fresh fruits on the island and store them here, right next to where he planned to kill Byrnndi World.
It was a gamble on the mechanics of Devil Fruit reincarnation: when a user dies, the power seeks the nearest compatible fruit.
Now came the moment of harvest.
Raleigh expanded his Observation Haki, sensing crate after crate of apples, melons, and bananas.
Suddenly, a malevolent, shadowy force blocked his perception in the corner of the room.
His eyes snapped open, face lighting up with exhilaration.
Gotcha.
He walked over to a crate of melons.
He overturned it.
Round fruits scattered everywhere.
Among them, a single, oval-shaped fruit stood out. Its green stem was severely curved, and its surface was covered with dark, swirling cloud-like patterns.
The color was a deep, ominous green.
Seeing this fruit, Raleigh finally felt truly at ease.
This was a power that had given the World Government nightmares.
It once belonged to the World Destroyer, but from this day forward, its fate would be in Raleigh's hands.
Since arriving in this world, he had been thinking about how to counter the Ancient Weapons held by the World Government.
The Celestial Dragons controlled Uranus.
But Raleigh knew where Pluton was hidden.
With the enhancement the More-More Fruit could provide to a ship like Pluton—multiplying its destructive power by 100 times—Raleigh felt he could level the playing field.
Carefully placing the fruit in a lead-lined box he had brought, Raleigh used his wind ability to erase his footprints and tidy the room.
He vanished into the night, leaving no trace.
...
Meanwhile, in the Eryoku Kingdom.
Time rewound slightly to daytime.
Deep in the underground mines, Monkey D. Dragon finally launched the operation.
"Leader," Swore whispered, "we discovered a CP organization spy trying to transmit intelligence. Karasu has already taken care of him."
"Good," Dragon said calmly. "Don't panic. Follow the plan."
"Distribute the weapons. Use squads as combat units. Await my orders."
Dragon sat alone in a mine shaft, watching a single candle flame.
He was waiting for a specific moment.
The exact time Raleigh had given him. 5:30 PM.
Thirty minutes before the shift change.
The "magic hour."
The soldiers were hungry and distracted. The nobles were at home. And, crucially, the nearby Marine base was empty.
Raleigh had stripped the base of its elite forces to hunt Byrnndi World, leaving only a skeleton crew.
"The King's Guard has 3,000 troops," Dragon muttered to himself. "But they are bullies, not soldiers."
He checked his pocket watch. 5:29 PM.
...
On the Walls of Coal Iron City.
"Violet," a young soldier named Allen said, squinting into the smog. "I feel like there's something off about those workers."
Violet looked down.
A large group of miners was approaching the gate, carrying their tools.
"I don't see anything unusual. Don't the supervisors always come at this time?"
Allen frowned.
"Yeah, but... look at their hands."
The miners weren't holding their shovels like tools.
They were holding them like weapons.
And some of them... were reaching under their coats.