When Sakazuki headed back toward his men and the warship, Kai lay unconscious in his arms.
The boy's body was limp—he had completely exhausted his strength.
As soon as Sakazuki stepped onto the Marine vessel, he gave a cold order:
— Search the entire mansion. Take everything you find.
— Yes, Vice Admiral! — the Marines replied in unison, saluting sharply.
Sakazuki then turned to one of the Marine officers.
— Take the child to the doctor. Tell him to take proper care of him.
If anything happens to this boy… — Sakazuki's voice dropped dangerously low, — he will regret it.
The officer straightened immediately.
— Understood, Vice Admiral!
He carefully took Kai and hurried toward the medical bay.
Sakazuki silently watched him disappear inside, saying nothing as he waited.
Ten minutes later, the Marines began returning to the ship.
They carried documents, weapons, and bags filled with money.
One of them stepped forward.
— Vice Admiral Sakazuki, the mansion has been completely cleared.
Sakazuki gave a short nod.
— Inform everyone. Prepare the ship. We're returning to base.
— Yes, sir!
As the last of the Marines boarded the ship, Sakazuki turned back toward the mansion one final time.
His hand slowly began to glow red-hot.
Molten lava formed around his palm, radiating unbearable heat.
— Great Eruption.
A torrent of blazing magma surged forward, swallowing the mansion whole.
Walls melted. Stone cracked.
Everything the lava touched was reduced to ruin.
Without looking back again, Sakazuki turned away and returned to the ship.
Later, at the Marine base, Sakazuki sat in the commanding officer's office.
He was not alone.
Standing beside him were his most trusted men—those who, like him, had been punished and sent to the North Blue.
Rear Admiral Onigumo.
Rear Admiral Momonga.
A Marine stood before them, delivering his report on what had been found in the mafia mansion.
— Reporting, Vice Admiral.
The documents reveal the locations of secret hideouts belonging to other mafia families, as well as pirate hideouts that have evaded Marine pursuit.
We also discovered information regarding slave trade locations.
Sakazuki listened without any visible emotion.
— Momonga. Onigumo.
Both men straightened instantly.
— Take men and move on the hidden bases.
Eliminate every mafia member you find.
Leave no one alive.
— Yes, Vice Admiral.
Without hesitation, both Rear Admirals turned and left the office.
Sakazuki shifted his gaze back to the Marine.
— The child's condition?
— The child is stable, Vice Admiral, — the Marine reported.
He hesitated briefly.
— However… the treatment was not ordinary.
Sakazuki narrowed his eyes.
— Speak.
— The wounds were severe. Blood loss was critical.
When the doctors attempted treatment, the child reacted instinctively.
— Reacted? — Sakazuki asked coldly.
— Yes, sir. His body kept transforming into mist.
Every time someone touched him, he literally dispersed.
We couldn't keep him in physical form.
The medical staff panicked.
Conventional treatment methods didn't work.
— We were forced to take containment measures, — the Marine continued. —
Sedatives were administered while he was unconscious. Only then were the doctors able to stabilize his wounds.
He swallowed.
— If the child had woken up earlier… we might have lost him.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Sakazuki slowly exhaled cigarette smoke.
— A Mist Logia… — he muttered. — Perhaps one of the weakest.
But even now… already dangerous.
He remembered the mist.
Dense. Pressing.
Suppressing even senses honed over years.
— He's sleeping now, — the Marine added. — Breathing is steady. His condition is stable.
However, the doctors warn that his abilities may activate reflexively once he wakes up.
Sakazuki nodded.
— Increase security around the medical bay.
No one touches him without authorization.
— Yes, Vice Admiral!
— And one more thing, — Sakazuki added without lifting his gaze. —
Inform me the moment he opens his eyes.
The Marine saluted and quickly left the office.
Sakazuki remained alone.
— A child with a Logia… — he said quietly.
— Blind… and already a survivor of hell.
A spark of interest flickered in his eyes.
His thoughts returned again and again to the image of the blind child…
— This world will hear your name again.