Inside the Fleet Admiral's office at Marine Headquarters, Kong slammed his palm down on the desk the moment he finished reading the report sent over by the president of the World Economic Journal.
"Someone—go get Borsalino immediately!" Kong roared.
"Have him head to the small island near Fish-Man Island and kill the pirate who murdered Vice Admiral Kent. I want that bastard dead!"
"Wait."
Standing inside the office as well, Sengoku frowned as he examined the photographs more closely.
"Fleet Admiral, look at this one."
He slid a photograph across the desk.
In the image, Chenos and Fisher Tiger had their arms around each other's shoulders, clearly about to head off for a drink.
The moment Kong saw Fisher Tiger's face, his brows knitted together.
"Fisher Tiger… the one who stormed Mary Geoise?"
Sengoku nodded.
To be honest, neither of them particularly wanted to go after Fisher Tiger.
They despised the Celestial Dragons just as much—loathed how those people turned other races, even humans, into slaves. But there were things even Fleet Admirals couldn't interfere with. Sometimes, the only option was to pretend not to see.
When Fisher Tiger had freed the slaves of Mary Geoise, the two of them had even shared a drink in private to celebrate.
As for the subsequent pursuit of Fisher Tiger, they had strictly followed a procedural approach: issuing orders, dispatching Marines—but on a voluntary basis. Whoever wanted to hunt him could go.
Naturally, none of the high-ranking Marines took the job. Not even Vice Admirals.
Only a few ambitious Rear Admirals, eager for merit and promotion, fought over the mission due to the generous rewards attached.
And everyone knew the truth:
A Rear Admiral stood no chance against Fisher Tiger. At best, they'd force him to retreat.
Which was good enough.
If the World Government came knocking later, the Marines had a perfect excuse.
We issued the orders. We offered generous rewards. No one was willing to take the mission. What could we do?
That was exactly why, in canon history, Fisher Tiger had been able to roam the seas freely with the Sun Pirates for several years after Mary Geoise—until he himself gave up on living and was killed by a mere Rear Admiral.
Kong fell silent for a long moment, then finally spoke.
"Still send Borsalino," he said.
"Tell him this—I want that boy's head. That slippery bastard will understand what I mean."
Sengoku's expression hardened.
"And if Fisher Tiger intervenes?"
"Then kill him too."
Sengoku shot Kong a glance, thought for a moment, then asked calmly,
"Fleet Admiral, should we draft this boy's bounty in advance?
If he escapes, we'll just have to convene another meeting."
Kong glared at him and exploded.
"Tell Borsalino this—if he lets even one of them escape, his salary and bonuses for the entire year are gone!
A Vice Admiral is dead. Someone must pay!"
Sengoku was already used to Kong's temper. He replied evenly,
"I'm not saying Borsalino will hold back. With a Vice Admiral dead, he knows how serious this is."
"I'm saying this—don't you find it strange?"
"This boy looks very young. And yet, he killed Kent and walked away without a scratch."
"On this sea, there are no true secrets. Whenever a powerful pirate emerges, we can trace their growth and background."
"But so far, our intelligence division has nothing. We don't even know his name."
"And considering his relationship with Fisher Tiger… I suspect he may have escaped from Mary Geoise as well."
Sengoku paused, then narrowed his eyes.
"I even suspect that Saint Charlmark's death had something to do with him."
"Fisher Tiger doesn't strike me as someone who would torture and slaughter like that."
Kong's anger gradually cooled as he listened. After a long pause, he nodded.
"Reasonable. Send someone to Mary Geoise immediately and ask those people whether they recognize him."
"If your guess is right, then Fisher Tiger may indeed fight alongside him against Borsalino."
"And although the Glint-Glint Fruit is terrifying… there's no guarantee Borsalino could kill both of them."
"Sending anyone else would be pointless. By the time they arrived, the targets would be long gone."
Kong tapped the desk.
"Very well. If the boy fails to escape Borsalino—set his bounty at 150 million Beli."
"If he escapes—200 million Beli."
"As for the other two, since we don't yet know their abilities, set them at 10 million Beli each."
Sengoku nodded and rose to carry out the orders.
Meanwhile, inside Marine Headquarters, Borsalino reviewed the documents delivered by the soldiers after receiving Sengoku's call.
"Oh my… how scary," he drawled.
"So young, yet capable of killing a Vice Admiral."
"Did Fleet Admiral Kong and Admiral Sengoku forget that I'm a Vice Admiral too~?"
"Sending me to deal with someone this terrifying… and ordering me to kill him no less."
"Such a pain~"
Despite his lazy complaints, his movements were anything but slow.
He stepped up to the window—
—and transformed into a beam of light, vanishing instantly.
At the same time, Chenos was still explaining his plans to Fisher.
"The World Government controls most of the world's nations," Chenos said,
"but there's one place where their influence is weak—the New World."
"What we need to do is seize an island there as our base and develop our power."
"Of course, the New World is full of monsters. The Four Emperors, and pirate crews barely beneath them."
"If we want to survive there, we must become stronger."
"That means… returning to hell."
"But the benefits are enormous."
"There are countless strong fighters there. If we can establish ourselves, we can recruit them and grow rapidly."
"And once we're firmly rooted in the New World—combined with controlling the entrance—we can cultivate pirates in the first half of the Grand Line, feeding strong blood into our ranks endlessly."
"Step by step, we expand."
"And in the end—"
Chenos's eyes burned.
"We unify the New World."
"Once we command all its power, we'll have the strength to challenge the Marines and the World Government."
"And then—"
"We march on Mary Geoise."
The moment he finished speaking, everyone present had the same thought.
This man is insane.
Shark abruptly stood up again, bowed politely, and said,
"Sorry to interrupt, Chenos. Brother Fisher—about that small boat I asked you to prepare… how's it coming along?"
"It's getting late. I should be heading back."
Chenos shot to his feet, his expression suddenly grave.
"You might not be able to leave anymore."
Shark froze.
"C-Chenos… I just want to leave the pirate crew. You're not… planning to silence me, are you?"
Chenos's eyes filled with alarm as he looked toward Shark.
"Rebound Step!"
Shark panicked instantly.
"Damn it—Chenos, are you serious?!"
Chenos flashed behind Shark and raised his palm toward the beam of light streaking toward them.
"Absorb!"
A laser slammed into his hand—
—and vanished without a trace.
Chenos's face turned deadly serious as he slowly spoke:
"…Borsalino."
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