"Kuzan-san has his way of doing things, and this old man has his own."
Fujitora shook his head, indicating he had no intention of resigning from the Marines to become a pirate. This allowed Sengoku to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But just as Sengoku took a sip of tea to calm his nerves, Fujitora's next words caused him to spit it out instantly. "Sengoku-san... let us rebel against the Government."
"Pffft!!"
Tea sprayed everywhere, drenching Sengoku's braided beard. He didn't even bother to wipe it; instead, he stared at Fujitora with wide, incredulous eyes. "Issho, have you lost your mind?"
"The ones who are mad is the Government. They have been mad for eight hundred years."
Fujitora stated firmly, "By creating a National Treasure so horrific and inhumane, their methods are no different from those of 'The Immortal.' Now, to consolidate their own power, they send their soldiers out to die. They didn't even lift a finger to help the citizens trapped in a life-or-death crisis; it was only thanks to Kuzan-san, who has already been reduced to a pirate, that a portion of them were barely saved..."
As if venting years of pent-up frustration with the Government in a single breath, Fujitora exhaled sharply and continued, "The Immortal Pirates have already destroyed nine Royal Domains. To stabilize the power of the National Treasure, the Government will not sit idly by. They will surely launch a total war against the Immortal Pirates, and they will undoubtedly force our massive Marine forces to participate."
At this point, Fujitora's fists clenched tight. "When that time comes, we can suddenly turn the tide. While they and the Immortal Pirates are locked in a fight to the death, we can move in and abolish the Government's power."
Fujitora spoke with relative restraint, but his meaning was clear: when the war reached its fever pitch, they would defect and wipe out the Government's forces in one fell swoop. Ideally, this would happen while the National Treasure was rendered unusable.
Cold sweat poured down Sengoku's back. Madness. Not only was Aokiji crazy, but now Fujitora had lost it too.
What Sengoku hadn't fully realized was that the rift between the Marines and the Government had been widening for years; Fujitora was simply the most vocal representative of that divide. The powder keg had been growing larger and larger; the matter of the National Treasure was merely the fuse and the match that set the massive pile of explosives off.
Sengoku leaned back in his chair. "You must be exhausted after your trip to Alabasta. Go and rest."
Fujitora knew better than to push for an immediate answer. He bowed and turned to leave. "Then this old man shall take his leave. Please, Sengoku-san, give it serious thought."
After a long silence, Sengoku crossed his hands beneath his chin. "The Navy... where exactly is it headed...?"
Knock! Knock! Knock!
An urgent pounding at the door interrupted his thoughts.
Sengoku called for the person to enter. Marine Lieutenant Commander Brandnew rushed in, saluting while drenched in sweat. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku! An emergency notification from the Government!"
Brandnew handed a sealed document to Sengoku.
Sengoku tore the envelope open. Upon reading the contents, he roared in fury, "Are you… are you kidding me?!"
…
Meanwhile, in the West Blue, stood the Kingdom of Aecthys. Eight hundred years ago, it was one of the Royal Domains ruled by the Celestial Dragons, specifically, the Aptheim family.
Just like Alabasta and the nine destroyed domains before it, a tunnel had been excavated by the Scientific Research Division led by Dr. Vegapunk, leading to the cavern of the island's core.
Present were Alucard, Dr. Vegapunk, Aranea, and the others, alongside Fallon and Bartolomeo. Since the Black Thorn Pirates and the Barto Club had secured this location, Alucard's main group had only come to take over.
Surveying the surroundings, even Dr. Vegapunk frowned in confusion.
The cavern was pitch black and completely empty. There was no sign of the Ryumyaku at all.
"Wait, that's not right... this is definitely the heart of Aecthys. It shouldn't be like this," Dr. Vegapunk muttered.
The Ryumyaku had vanished. Their trip had been for nothing, leaving everyone bewildered.
Aranea walked over to Robin with her hands on her hips. "Robin-san, is it possible you misread the location?"
"No, absolutely not," Robin replied with confidence.
Alucard remained silent. He quietly opened the River of Death and discovered that the souls here were in a peculiar state. They hadn't exactly "disappeared," but they were currently impossible to devour.
The World Government must be behind this, Alucard thought to himself.
"If the souls can't be absorbed, what do we do now, Alucard-sama?" Dr. Vegapunk turned to ask.
An island's core cannot be easily destroyed. Previously, they were able to sink islands in succession because the core and the Ryumyaku were linked. By draining the Ryumyaku dry, the core became incredibly fragile. Now, trying to destroy an island without that would take a significant amount of time.
"Boss Bartolomeo! Boss Fallon! Great great Boss Alucard!"
Gambia, the navigator of the Barto Club, came charging in, snot and tears streaming down his face. "News just came from our comrades at the Sabaody Archipelago! A massive force from the Navy and the Government is heading toward St. Poplar!"
"Who's leading them?" Aranea demanded.
"I-I don't know! Most of them aren't recognized, bu-but there's one: the former Fleet Admiral, Kong!" Gambia wiped his nose.
"The Commander-in-Chief of the World Government himself? This is no small matter. Wait, hold on..."
Dr. Vegapunk's expression froze. "St. Poplar... I remember that place..."
Robin nodded. "It is also a site of the Ryumyaku, one of the twenty Royal Domains. It was once ruled by the Thasroy family of the Celestial Dragons."
"Oho..."
Alucard, who had been sitting on his coffin lid, looked up and grinned. "This war is coming faster than I imagined."