"Cyrus left on a ship with Dark King Rayleigh?!"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku's eyes widened as he stared at the Den Den Mushi on his desk.
The snail's face had morphed to perfectly mimic Admiral Kizaru's signature sleazy, laid-back expression.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. And they didn't even try to hide their identities when they left the docks," Kizaru's slow drawl echoed through the receiver.
This news made Sengoku scowl.
He turned his head to look at Vice Admiral Tsuru, who was sitting quietly on the sofa.
"That's highly unlikely," Tsuru said, instantly reading the unspoken question in Sengoku's eyes.
She slowly shook her head.
Sengoku took a deep breath, pinched the bridge of his nose, and spoke into the receiver.
"Do you have any idea where they went?"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku... do you honestly believe anyone in our ranks could follow those two without being immediately noticed?"
Kizaru's blunt reply completely silenced Sengoku.
He's right.
No one could tail a monster like Cyrus and the former first mate of the Pirate King without being detected. Not even from a massive distance.
But Dark King Rayleigh and Cyrus leaving together was a terrifying development that could not be taken lightly.
Even though he seemed to have genuinely retired, Rayleigh was still Gol D. Roger's right hand.
A legend like him could never be ignored.
"I understand. Keep a close eye out for any news of their return. Let me know the second they set foot back on the Sabaody Archipelago," Sengoku ordered, his voice heavy with stress.
"Sure thing, Fleet Admiral!" Kizaru didn't refuse the task; after all, it just meant delegating the lookout duty to his subordinates.
However, just as Sengoku was about to hang up the Den Den Mushi, Kizaru's voice piped up again.
"Oh, Fleet Admiral Sengoku? Never mind, they're back."
Sengoku stared at the snail. "..."
He sat there in total, seething silence.
"Word just came in from the scouts," Kizaru explained smoothly. "Their ship just docked back at the Sabaody Archipelago. Everyone is accounted for."
"Why don't you go down there and take a closer look yourself?" Sengoku suggested through gritted teeth. He desperately needed Kizaru to gather actual, useful intelligence.
"Are you sure about that?"
Even the sleazy face on the Den Den Mushi visibly drooped at the idea.
"Ahem. Fine, never mind. Just send someone to keep a strict watch on Area 13. And have another team keep tabs on Crocodile," Sengoku said, dismissing the idea of forcing Kizaru into a confrontation.
He knew Cyrus had been in contact with the Warlord, but based on recent intelligence, the relationship between Crocodile and the Pirate Hunter was far from simple.
Sengoku suddenly recalled the disturbing report Garp had brought back regarding Cyrus's grand ambition.
Are they actually planning to establish this 'Guild' right under our noses on Sabaody? Has Crocodile already joined him?
"No problem. I already know where they are. They haven't made a single effort to hide," Kizaru accepted the surveillance task without hesitation.
"Report any sudden developments to me immediately."
With a heavy clack, Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi and looked over at Tsuru.
"What do you think they were doing out at sea together?"
"There's simply not enough information to make an accurate judgment," Tsuru sighed, shaking her head.
"But they weren't gone for long. They couldn't have gone far. If we send scout ships to investigate the surrounding waters and deserted islands, we should be able to find some clues."
Sengoku nodded in agreement.
"But for now, it seems highly unlikely that Cyrus boy plans to leave the Sabaody Archipelago anytime soon," Tsuru cautioned, her expression turning deeply troubled.
"I cannot see through this young man, Sengoku. His behavioral logic is a complete mystery. Until we understand his true motives, it is best to avoid having anyone provoke him."
The current Cyrus was a threat the Marines had to handle with the utmost caution.
He was a wildcard who hadn't hesitated to assault World Government officials in broad daylight.
"I've already issued a strict warning to the Holy Land... but you know how those people operate," Sengoku muttered.
He completely understood Tsuru's worries.
In fact, they were his own worst nightmare.
He had zero command over the arrogant Celestial Dragons, and even less control over Cyrus.
The only way to prevent the entire situation from spiraling into an apocalyptic disaster was to keep the two sides as far apart as physically possible.
"Recall Sakazuki from the New World and place him on standby here at Headquarters. We must prepare for the worst-case scenario," Tsuru suggested, looking at the stressed Fleet Admiral.
"Agreed."
Sengoku had originally sent Sakazuki into the New World for cleanup duty.
The Admiral's mission hadn't been to monitor the clash between Red-Haired Shanks and Big Mom, but rather to hunt down the smaller pirate crews displaced by the Emperors' territorial war.
It was just an opportunity to thin the pirate numbers; recalling him wouldn't drastically alter the power balance in the New World.
With Garp, Kuzan, and now Sakazuki at Headquarters, the Marines would at least have the firepower to react if Cyrus decided to turn Sabaody upside down.
...
"Meteor Volcano!"
Admiral Sakazuki leaped hundreds of meters into the air above the raging sea, his right arm transforming into bubbling, molten rock.
With a furious roar, he launched a barrage of massive magma fists down from the sky.
The hellish rain of magma crashed into the fleeing pirate armada below.
The ocean surface violently exploded.
As the superheated magma met the seawater, massive plumes of scalding steam hissed into the air, completely blanketing the wreckage.
Sakazuki landed heavily on the deck of his warship, his cap pulled low, glaring out at the steam-shrouded graveyard of ships.
"Clean up any survivors. Where is the next target?" Sakazuki growled, biting hard on his glowing cigar.
"Just a few nautical miles away, sir! It's a Supernova crew that fled the war zone, with a captain carrying a bounty of 167 million..."
Before his adjutant could finish the report, a marine sprinted across the deck, holding out a ringing Den Den Mushi.
"Admiral Sakazuki! Fleet Admiral Sengoku is calling on an encrypted line!"
Sakazuki snatched the snail from the terrified soldier.
"Cease all operations in the New World immediately. Return to Marineford and await further orders," Sengoku commanded without preamble.
"Is there a high-priority target?" Sakazuki asked, his eyes narrowing as he instantly guessed the situation had escalated.
"We will discuss it the moment you arrive. Make haste."
Clack.
"Understood," Sakazuki grunted to the dial tone. He handed the sleeping snail back to the marine.
"Relay my orders to the fleet. Cease the hunt. We are turning the ships around and returning to Marineford immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
Though the crew was visibly confused to abandon a hunt midway, no one dared question the absolute authority of the Red Dog.
The massive Marine warship slowly banked, charting a direct course back to Headquarters.
...
"Well... it seems the result isn't looking too good."
Back inside Shakky's Rip-off Bar, Hawkeye sat with his arms crossed, looking analytically at Cyrus.
"I never actually intended to master it all in one sitting," Cyrus replied, stretching his sore shoulders.
His stamina had been drained significantly, and Rayleigh had clearly burned through a massive amount of energy as well.
Since this wasn't a fight to the death, but rather a brutal training session, they had mutually agreed to call a temporary truce for the day.
"But tomorrow probably won't be quite as easy," Cyrus admitted, glancing at Hawkeye.
There was still a massive, undeniable gap between his own swordsmanship and Mihawk's.
Rayleigh, as a master of both swordsmanship and Haki, was incredibly lethal with a blade.
Today, perhaps because it was their first clash or because Rayleigh's reflexes were rusty from years of retirement, the old man hadn't fully adapted his swordplay to counter Cyrus's overwhelming physical force.
But Cyrus knew better.
Now that the first bout was over, Rayleigh was absolutely sitting somewhere pondering his weaknesses.
Of course, Cyrus was doing the exact same thing.
Truthfully, without activating Unbending, fighting head-on against a legend like Rayleigh was an uphill battle.
It highlighted his old, glaring flaw: his raw technique was lacking.
'I really need to start fleecing Mihawk for more sword lessons,' Cyrus mused internally.
'Not every top-tier monster in this world is going to stubbornly trade raw, blunt-force blows with me.'