"Enough!"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku slammed his palm onto the table and rose.
His sharp gaze swept across the room before settling on King — filled with unmistakable approval.
Subdue the enemy without fighting.
First, he had intimidated three Warlords through sheer presence.
Then, with absolute composure, he nullified the Pirate Empress's feared ability.
This was the power the Navy required.
"Has the Crocodile incident not awakened you yet?"
Sengoku seized a document — the Alabasta incident report — and flung it across the table toward Donquixote Doflamingo. Pages scattered in the air.
"The Seven Warlords system is not a sanctuary for evil!"
"And King's actions restoring order in Alabasta have proven the Navy's resolve to the world!"
His voice hardened.
"Therefore, I propose granting Marine Headquarters authority for preventive intervention regarding the Seven Warlords."
"If credible evidence suggests a threat to world peace, the Marines shall have the right to act immediately — without waiting for World Government approval."
Silence.
The temperature in the conference room seemed to drop.
This was not policy revision.
This was a tightening of chains.
"Fufufufufu…"
Doflamingo leaned back, vein pulsing beneath his temple.
He ignored the scattered documents and tapped the table rhythmically.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku… are you joking?"
The smile remained — but the malice behind it thickened like poison.
"We are the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Not the Marines' pets."
"This is cooperation."
"You think you can control us?"
"The Marines are not qualified."
Invisible tension filled the air like drawn wires ready to snap.
A clash felt imminent.
Then—
A cold draft slipped through the half-open door.
Left behind by Kuzan.
The lazy admiral had turned the corridor into an icebox.
To monsters like those present, the chill was meaningless.
To an exhausted human who had been beaten by Garp all morning and was running on negative vitality…
It was lethal.
King sniffed.
"…Ah— Achoo!"
The sneeze detonated in the deathly silence.
He shivered and curled deeper into the chair.
Cold.
Damn it, so cold.
I'm never attending meetings with that ice block again.
He rubbed his nose, half-asleep, gaze drifting toward the woman still leaning back stiffly in her chair.
His brain was empty. He only registered:
Someone is shaking.
Also, I'm freezing.
So he murmured instinctively:
"…Don't catch a cold."
Barely audible.
But every person present possessed extraordinary hearing.
BOOM.
The words struck Boa Hancock like divine thunder.
Her mind blanked.
He…
noticed?
He saw through the Pirate Empress… and saw the woman beneath?
In this treacherous meeting.
In a world where men worship her beauty or fear her power…
Only this man:
Ignored her beauty.
Ignored her attack.
Spoke to her as a person.
Not as an Empress.
Not as an object of desire.
But as a woman who might catch cold.
A current shot from her toes to the top of her skull.
A visible crimson blush spread from her neck to her ears.
The Empress clutched her cheeks.
"He… he cares about me…"
"This feeling… is this… love?!"
"I… I feel so warm…"
Her body twisted in place, overcome by emotion.
Then she straightened suddenly, eyes shining with unprecedented brilliance.
Her finger swung away from King—
—and pointed at Doflamingo.
"Insolent man!"
"Who gave you permission to make such noise while King is resting?!"
Sengoku froze.
Doflamingo's sunglasses nearly slipped off.
Tsuru paused mid-sip.
Garp forgot to chew his senbei.
What just happened?
"Whatever King wishes," Hancock declared proudly, hand to her chest, "the Kuja Pirates will support unconditionally!"
Silence swallowed the room.
Doflamingo's smile vanished for the first time.
Sengoku's pen slipped from his fingers.
Tsuru's composed face gained an unreadable amusement.
Garp's finger remained frozen inside his nose.
Was this the same Boa Hancock who treated men like insects?
"Hmph."
A cold voice cut through the shock.
Dracule Mihawk slowly relaxed his grip on his sword.
His hawk-like eyes rested on King, who was drifting toward sleep again.
"I dislike admitting it…"
"To shatter the Pirate Empress's mental defenses instantly… and compel complete submission…"
He glanced toward Sengoku.
"Even Shanks could not accomplish that."
"I have no objection to the new rules."
The united front of the Seven Warlords fractured.
Because of a sneeze… and a quiet remark.
Sengoku stared blankly.
He had prepared speeches for days.
Drafted contingencies.
Expected battle.
And it was resolved… by a sneeze?
"Hehehehe…"
A thin laugh trembled from Gecko Moria.
Cold sweat beaded across his forehead.
He glanced at King — snoring softly.
Contempt.
That had to be contempt.
If even the Empress yielded and Mihawk acknowledged him…
Opposing now meant facing this monster alone.
"I… have no objections."
On the other side, Jinbe folded his arms and closed his eyes.
He exhaled slowly.
The strong subdue through force.
The truly great subdue through virtue.
Even he had failed to notice Hancock's emotional instability.
King had not exploited it.
He had offered simple concern.
Power capable of destroying the world…
paired with compassion.
"That is the bearing of a true hero of the sea," Jinbe said.
"If such a man wields authority, it may be a blessing."
"I second the motion."
Kuma remained silent.
But he did not object.
Dominoes fell.
Hancock — emotional surrender.
Mihawk — rational acknowledgment.
Moria — fear-driven compliance.
Jinbe — moral approval.
Kuma — silent assent.
All eyes turned to the last holdout.
Doflamingo.
Veins pulsed at his temples.
He stared at the man still sleeping.
Isolated by madmen.
And the isolated one… looked like the fool.
At that moment, King's mouth twitched faintly in his sleep.
It resembled a satisfied smile.
Hancock clutched the table, trembling with joy.
"He… he smiled at me!"
"That is a reward for my loyalty!"
"Ah… I'm so happy I could die!"
Doflamingo: "…"
This ridiculous meeting.
I don't want to stay here another second.