That roar was like a barbed hook, driving viciously into the eardrums of everyone in the office before tearing away every sound and thought inside their heads.
Time seemed to freeze by force.
Inside Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office, the air that had been heated by argument moments earlier was instantly drained dry, turning cold, thin, and suffocating.
The Den Den Mushi clenched tightly in the communications soldier's hand still wore Vice Admiral Aus's distorted expression, a twisted mixture of terror and near-madness. Its mouth hung wide open, silently conveying a shock too great for words.
Poked a hole through the sky?
Sengoku felt his temples throbbing.
Those words struck his mind like twin hammers, leaving his head buzzing.
What kind of stupidity would make a battle-hardened vice admiral describe it as "poking a hole through the sky"?
Had that brat Zaraki caused another Celestial Dragon-level incident at the G-18 Branch on Pelo Island?
Or had he taken it upon himself to open fire on the territory of some Emperor of the Sea?
Horrible possibilities flooded his mind like a broken dam, washing away every trace of order.
Silence.
Only the ticking of the old clock on the wall echoed through the spacious room, each sound like a countdown to some approaching disaster.
Kizaru's ever-present lazy smile stiffened on his face, and behind his lenses, his gaze sharpened for the first time, all traces of indolence disappearing.
The violent killing intent surrounding Sakazuki also stalled.
His brows twisted into a knot, and his magma-like gaze locked fiercely onto the Den Den Mushi.
"Sengoku."
A calm, powerful female voice broke the suffocating silence.
It was Tsuru.
At some point, the Marine Chief Staff Officer had already risen to her feet.
There was no panic on her wrinkled face, only a cold, piercing composure that seemed to see through everything.
"Something has happened at the G-18 Branch." Tsuru's voice was not loud, but it clearly entered everyone's ears. "And it is serious enough to exceed Aus's understanding."
Her words were like a needle, precisely piercing through the fog of chaos in Sengoku's mind.
'That's right.'
'Calm down.'
'The worse the situation, the less he could afford to lose control.'
Sengoku took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the ominous feeling in his chest.
"Hmph."
A cold snort thick with restrained anger came from Akainu's throat.
His face, stern as volcanic rock, was filled with undisguised contempt and fury.
"I knew it. Letting a reckless brat like that move around as a special envoy was bound to cause trouble sooner or later. Useless when it matters, and a disaster when it doesn't!"
Sakazuki's voice was not loud, but the agitation in it seemed to raise the temperature of the room.
Tsuru glanced at him lightly without saying anything, yet the meaning in her eyes was obvious.
Akainu seemed to realize he had lost his composure.
His lips pressed tightly together, and in the end, he said nothing more, though the fury burning in his eyes already said enough.
Toward these two living legends of the Marines, Sengoku and Tsuru, he still retained a basic level of respect.
Sengoku ignored Akainu's complaint.
Now was not the time to assign blame.
With a dark expression, Sengoku strode forward, each step seeming to land on everyone's heartbeat.
He took the trembling Den Den Mushi from the already frightened-stiff communications soldier.
Its cool, damp shell carried the fear sent from thousands of miles away.
Everyone's gaze followed his movements, focusing on the small creature in his hand.
Click.
Sengoku pressed the call button and held the receiver tightly to his ear. His dignified square face was now covered in storm clouds.
Inside the entire office, there was no sound other than his slightly heavy breathing as he forced himself to remain restrained.
Everyone held their breath and pricked up their ears, trying to catch even the faintest trace of information from the weak electric hum.
"Aus!"
Sengoku's voice was low, like muffled thunder before a storm.
Each word seemed squeezed from between his teeth, carrying unquestionable pressure.
"This is Sengoku! Explain everything clearly!"
"Where is Zaraki?!"
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Vice Admiral Aus's voice sounded as if an invisible hand were strangling his throat.
It came in broken fragments, every syllable filled with hoarse trembling and an almost unbelievable excitement.
"Fleet... Fleet Admiral! It's the Beasts Pirates Jack..."
"And?" Sengoku pressed, his voice carrying authority that allowed no evasion.
"War Demon Zaraki arrived! With one single slash, he—"
One slash drove Jack back?
Everyone in the office subconsciously released half a breath.
So it had been a false alarm.
That reckless special envoy had finally been useful at a critical moment.
Although the process had been dangerous, the result was good. Driving back an All-Star was definitely a major achievement...
But Aus's next words, almost roared from the other end, dragged their hearts and souls straight into a bottomless abyss.
"Fleet Admiral, he didn't drive him back! War Demon Zaraki... War Demon Zaraki killed Jack the Drought!"
"He cut him in two! In front of everyone, he split Jack alive with a single slash—!"
Crack!
A crisp shattering sound rang especially sharp inside the deathly silent office.
The teacup in Sengoku's hand broke apart.
Scalding tea mixed with blood dripped from between his clenched fingers and spread into a dark stain across the floor beneath him.
Sengoku did not notice at all.
Those eyes, always filled with wisdom and authority, were now wide as bronze bells, staring fixedly at the Den Den Mushi in his hand as if he wanted to see through it.
Killed... Jack?
Killed Jack the Drought, that monster famed for possessing a terrifying endurance?
What kind of joke was this?!
In that instant, all the air seemed to be sucked from the office, leaving everyone suffocating.
For the first time, Kizaru's usually lazy face went completely blank. His mouth opened slightly, and he did not even notice his lenses slipping down the bridge of his nose.
Even Tsuru, who had remained calm and composed until now, had stormy waves rising in her normally still eyes.
They understood too well what the name Jack the Drought represented.
He was not merely a great pirate with a one-billion-berry bounty. He was the face of Kaido of the Beasts, one of Kaido's most trusted and most brutal right-hand men.
Killing Jack was no different from slapping Kaido hard across the face in front of the whole world, the kind of slap that tore the skin away with it.
That man known as the strongest creature, that unpredictable lunatic who started trouble and tried to die whenever he got drunk...
What kind of reaction would he have?
No one dared imagine it.
In some ways, the consequences were even harder to control than the fallout from attacking a Celestial Dragon.
The office fell into an unprecedented silence, so deep even breathing seemed to disappear.
Everyone could clearly hear their own heartbeats pounding like drums, one beat after another, striking heavily against their chests, announcing that a storm capable of sweeping across the entire world was about to arrive.
In the silence, Akainu Sakazuki's face, stern as volcanic rock, visibly changed from iron-blue to a liver-dark purple.
He remembered what he had just said.
"Useless when it matters, and a disaster when it doesn't."
Now, the brat he had called a disaster had crossed a line Marine Headquarters had long hesitated to touch because of Kaido's shadow.
That slap landed across tens of thousands of miles, yet it felt as though it had struck Akainu squarely in the face, burning hot.
Embarrassment, shock, disbelief... all kinds of emotions twisted together, making his murderous face look almost ridiculous.
Once again, it was Tsuru's voice that broke the despairing silence.
Her voice had returned to calm, carrying a strong, stabilizing force.
"Sengoku, and the rest of you, now is not the time to stand there stunned."
Sengoku snapped back to himself.
He glanced at his blood-soaked palm, his brows tightly knitted, yet he seemed unable to feel pain.
He loosened his hand, letting the broken porcelain pieces fall to the floor with a series of light clinks.
Yes.
Tsuru was right.
The sky had already been pierced.
As Fleet Admiral of the Marines, the only thing he could do now was find a way to patch that hole!
Sengoku drew in a deep breath, and within a few short seconds, the presence and decisiveness of the Marines' highest commander returned to him.
"Sakazuki! Borsalino!"
"Yes!"
The two men instinctively straightened, their expressions solemn.
"Immediately cancel all your scheduled missions! Return to your respective defense zones and raise the alert level to the highest state! Be ready at any moment for full-scale war from the Beasts Pirates!"
"Yes!"
"Tsuru!"
"I'm here."
"Connect me to the Five Elders' direct line immediately! The severity of this matter has already gone beyond what the Marines can handle independently! Also, summon every officer at Vice Admiral rank and above at Headquarters. In ten minutes, we will hold a highest-level emergency meeting!"
"Understood."
One clear and decisive order after another came from Sengoku's mouth without hesitation.
The atmosphere in the office, which had nearly solidified to the point of collapse, finally began to flow again.
Watching Sengoku regain control of the situation, everyone could not help but feel a trace of awe.
This was their Fleet Admiral....Sengoku the Buddha.
No matter how terrifying the situation, Sengoku would always be the Marines' unshakable pillar.
Only after arranging everything did Sengoku bring the still-trembling Den Den Mushi back to his ear.
His gaze became incredibly deep, as though it could pierce through distant space and look directly upon the tragic state of the G-18 Branch.
No joy or anger could be heard in Sengoku's voice now.
"Aus, tell me the specific losses at the G-18 Branch. Also... one important thing."
Sengoku paused, each word sounding as though it took all his strength to say.
"Where is Zaraki right now?"
On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Vice Admiral Aus hesitated for an instant.
It was a pause mixed with uncertainty, terror, and a trace of fanaticism.
Sengoku's heart sank, and an ominous feeling, even stronger than when he had learned of Jack's death, seized his chest.
"Aus?"
His voice carried a faint tremor that was almost impossible to notice.
"Answer me. Where is he?"