Kizaru stared at Sengoku in disbelief.
"Fifteen years old?" He burst out laughing. "Hahaha! To think I'd actually lose to a kid… looks like I really need to start training properly again."
His laughter echoed through the office, but there was a trace of bitterness hidden within it.
Fifteen years old, yet already possessing Vice Admiral–level combat power—and not even an average Vice Admiral, but one of the stronger ones.
If someone like that were allowed to grow unchecked, as his body matured and his Devil Fruit became more refined, he would almost certainly reach Admiral level in the future.
And if his Devil Fruit were ever awakened…
He might even have a chance at claiming the throne of the seas.
Another massive headache for the Marines—waiting somewhere in the future.
Sengoku let out a long sigh.
"A talent like that… choosing to become a pirate. What a waste. If only he were a Marine."
The Marines did have talented figures—Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Kuzan, all prime candidates to inherit the Admiral seats.
But all three of them were already in their forties.
Among the new generation of Marines, there was no one even remotely comparable.
Ever since Roger ignited the Great Pirate Era, fewer and fewer geniuses had joined the Marines—while more and more monsters chose to become pirates instead.
The future of the Marines…
Didn't look optimistic.
Flipping through the documents, Kizaru muttered, "Is it possible to recruit Chenos into the Marines…? Ah—guess that's impossible."
At first, Kizaru had considered it.
If someone like Chenos joined the Marines, he'd almost certainly become an Admiral candidate in the future, taking some of the burden off their shoulders.
But the moment Kizaru saw that Chenos had once been a Celestial Dragon's slave, he knew it was hopeless.
Everyone knew this much:
Any slave who managed to escape would harbor an irreconcilable hatred toward the Celestial Dragons—wishing nothing more than their deaths.
Someone like that would never accept recruitment.
And when Kizaru read the note stating that Chenos had been raised by Saint Charlmark as a combat toy for arena fights…
His expression turned ugly.
A toy?
That was a genius with Vice Admiral–level strength!
Forced to stand against the Marines by the Celestial Dragons' cruelty.
As he finished reading, Kizaru sighed again.
With age—and with more filth witnessed over the years—his once-clear sense of justice had grown increasingly blurred.
Were the Marines truly justice?
That question had long since taken root in his heart.
It was precisely because of this that he'd become more worldly, more indifferent—handling pirates with less seriousness than before.
And now, yet another prodigy had been driven to the Marines' opposite side.
It reminded him of someone else once hailed as a genius within the Marines—
Dragon.
The seriousness vanished from Kizaru's face, replaced once more by his usual lazy, indifferent expression.
"To think I'd get beaten this badly by a youngster… how scary~ Looks like I'll be taking a month-long medical leave to recover. Fleet Admiral Kong, don't forget to mark it as paid leave, yeah~"
With that, he casually tossed Chenos's file onto the desk and headed toward the infirmary.
For once, Kong didn't scold him.
Watching Kizaru's retreating back, Kong let out a heavy sigh.
Sengoku felt just as conflicted. He forced himself to focus and asked,
"Should we issue the bounty now? Two hundred fifty million, like before?"
Kong fell silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice had turned colder.
"Change it to three hundred million Beli. Release it immediately."
"We must eliminate him—before Chenos has the chance to fully grow."
Sengoku nodded lightly and rose to carry out the order.
Back on Chenos's side, the crew was eagerly preparing to head for the New World—
Except for Shark, who was still making a fuss about leaving.
"Hey, hey, hey—this wasn't what I signed up for!" Shark protested loudly.
"I didn't know about your plans, didn't know you wanted to kill Celestial Dragons! I just wanted research funding!"
"I didn't get any funding, I don't owe you anything, and I even gave you the ship! I'm only asking to leave a pirate crew I joined less than three days ago. That's not unreasonable, right?!"
For a scientist, the idea of assassinating Celestial Dragons was completely unscientific.
Since he hadn't been entangled too deeply yet, Shark wanted out—now.
Chenos, however, smiled calmly.
"Shark, even if I agree to let you leave the Warriors Pirates, you've already shown your face to Borsalino."
"And what did he say again? The science division only lets people in—never out. Once you leave, you die."
"If you stay with us, I can protect you. I can give you research funding."
"But if you leave…" Chenos clicked his tongue. "You should think carefully about the consequences."
Shark waved it off.
"So what if Borsalino saw me? They don't have my photo. They can't issue a bounty on me."
"I'll just find somewhere no one knows me and start researching again."
Tesoro barely managed to suppress his laughter.
"Do you know what that bird taking your picture earlier was for?"
"…For what?"
Shark looked at Tesoro blankly.
He'd grown up in laboratories, then was taken into the government's science division because of his talent.
His understanding of the outside world was practically nonexistent.
Things that were common knowledge to everyone else—he simply didn't know.
For example:
Seagulls weren't just seagulls.
They sold newspapers.
They took photographs.
They were the official photographers for wanted posters.
When Tesoro explained this—and Shark recalled how he'd happily posed for the bird earlier, striking one "handsome" pose after another—
He suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to die.
The next day, when the newspaper and bounties arrived, Shark checked them with a sliver of hope.
Maybe he wasn't wanted.
Then he saw it.
Shark — 20,000,000 Beli
And the photo?
It was him.
Posing proudly for the camera.
At that moment, Shark completely gave up on leaving the crew.
Shark was fixated on his bounty.
Chenos, meanwhile, stared at the newspaper's front page with a wry smile.
The headline detailed how he had killed Marine Vice Admiral Kent, even clearly explaining his Devil Fruit ability—
Yet there was not a single word about his battle with Kizaru.
When Chenos saw his bounty—300,000,000 Beli, issued right from the start—his head began to ache.
At the same time, because he'd made the front page, Chenos's name spread across the entire world.
Far away, at the Donquixote Family's base…
Doflamingo burst into laughter as he read the news.
"Fufufufufu… just as I expected from the partner I chose."
"Hurry up and come to the New World."
"Let's shake this world apart—together."
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