After Saitama finished speaking, complete silence remained across the sea.
Neither the Marines nor the pirates could make a sound.
They stared at the terrifying sight before them with wide eyes and open mouths, every face showing the same mixture of fear and disbelief.
Aside from the few members of Yuto's group who already knew how strong Saitama was, everyone else looked much the same.
Beneath the clear night sky and bright moon, only the groaning of the ocean could be heard.
The sea was still split apart, and the remaining force of Saitama's punch had yet to fade.
"A hero..." Sengoku quietly repeated the word.
His eyes had lost focus, and his entire body looked ready to collapse.
Beside him, Garp, Aokiji, and Kizaru exchanged grave looks.
A Celestial Dragon had died.
But what could they possibly do about it?
Fight Saitama now?
That was nothing more than a fantasy!
The divided ocean in front of them was already proof enough.
Human strength could never truly overcome nature, and compared to Saitama, they might as well have been ordinary men trying to fight the sea itself.
"Hey, Sengoku! Pull yourself together!" Garp shouted at him.
The roar snapped Sengoku back to reality. He swallowed hard, forcing down the countless emotions surging through him.
This was no time for him to lose himself in thought.
He looked toward Saitama with extreme caution, like a man facing a beast far beyond his understanding.
"Are you also from another world?" Sengoku asked through clenched teeth.
Saitama nodded.
The stern expression he had worn only moments earlier was already fading, and he was slowly returning to his usual vacant, slightly ridiculous self.
Despite possessing such terrifying power, Saitama was surprisingly peaceful and easygoing. He had never allowed his strength to change who he was.
That alone was incredibly rare.
Seeing him nod eased some of the pressure in Sengoku's heart.
At the same time, another thought began to grow within him.
What were these other worlds truly like?
When Yuto first told him that other worlds existed, Sengoku had remained fairly calm.
After witnessing Saitama's overwhelming strength, however, genuine curiosity and desire toward those unknown worlds rose inside him for the first time.
All living things wanted to explore what they did not understand.
After seeing something that completely exceeded one's knowledge, that desire naturally became much stronger.
Sengoku took a deep breath and suppressed the agitation in his heart.
He looked at Saitama with an extremely complicated expression.
A Celestial Dragon had been reduced to nothing by a single punch right in front of him.
Normally, such an event would have caused enormous chaos.
But now, after considering every possible response, Sengoku could only release a helpless sigh.
This incident would undoubtedly bring serious trouble, but he had no way to solve it at the moment.
He could only deal with the consequences one step at a time.
Whitebeard watched Sengoku's expression from the distance with a wide grin.
After fighting the man for so many years, it had been a long time since he had seen his old enemy look so helpless.
"We're leaving!"
Sengoku gave the order coldly and returned to the Marine warship.
Garp, Aokiji, and Kizaru followed him.
Since Sengoku could think of no other solution, retreating was their only reasonable choice.
Strictly speaking, Saitama could now be considered an enemy of the Marines.
However, even if Sengoku chose to treat him that way, there was nothing they could do.
Withdrawing first and discussing their next move later was far more sensible.
The Marine warships sailed away in silence.
No one aboard spoke.
Aside from the sound of the vessels cutting through the waves, the fleet made no noise at all, resembling a group of ghost ships drifting across the endless sea.
The Marines did not take the Celestial Dragon's vessel with them.
The men in sunglasses aboard it were still alive, but the section of the ship where Saint Charlos had stood had been completely destroyed by Saitama's punch.
The luxurious vessel could no longer move.
...
After Saitama returned to Yuto's side, Whitebeard ordered his men to take control of the ship.
During their search, the pirates discovered more young women imprisoned in the rear cabins.
The sight only made everyone hate Saint Charlos even more.
When Saitama saw them, he seemed to remember the girl who had died in his arms, and his expression darkened again.
Whitebeard promised that all the rescued women would be properly cared for.
He also offered the ship's treasure to Saitama.
Saitama accepted only a few gemstones small enough to carry.
Since he was poor, they might be useful, but handling the rest sounded far too troublesome.
Whitebeard then tried to give some of the treasure to Yuto, but he politely refused as well.
In the end, the Whitebeard Pirates accepted the treasure ship.
The division commanders also took the men in sunglasses away.
Once everything had been handled, Whitebeard turned toward Yuto.
"Kamisaka, tonight's banquet may need to end early."
His voice was calm, though his expression carried a clear apology.
"Is it because of what happened to the Celestial Dragon?" Yuto asked.
Whitebeard nodded and explained who the Celestial Dragons were.
Once everyone learned what the self-proclaimed World Nobles were truly like, disgust appeared on every face.
Whitebeard continued explaining that the death of a Celestial Dragon was no small matter.
Sengoku and the others might have withdrawn for now, but the World Government would never allow the matter to end quietly.
Trouble would arrive soon, and there was no chance the banquet could continue.
Whitebeard did not want Yuto and the others dragged into the coming mess.
He also suspected Sengoku would place the blame on him.
After clashing for so many years, the two old rivals understood one another extremely well.
Besides, being forced to carry the blame for someone else's actions was hardly unusual on the sea.
"I see..."
Saitama rubbed his chin and looked toward the rescued women.
The crew was leading them toward the empty rooms aboard the ship. After narrowly escaping death, relief and excitement filled their faces.
He then remembered the girl he had saved directly from Saint Charlos.
The ship's doctor had already taken her away for treatment.
As for the one who died, her body had been placed inside a coffin.
'Celestial Dragons...'
Saitama silently repeated the name several times.
An idea slowly began forming in his mind.
"Kamisaka, I'd like to stay here a little longer. You can all go back without me."
Saitama turned toward Yuto.
His usual easygoing smile was gone, making him look unusually serious.
Yuto studied his eyes for a moment.
There was stubborn determination within them.
The conviction of a hero.
Saitama clearly intended to do something.
Yuto smiled softly.
"All right."
A slightly vacant grin returned to Saitama's face.
"Mm."
"If Sensei is staying, then I wish to remain as well!"
The moment Saitama finished speaking, Genos immediately declared his decision.
"Then count me in too!"
"And me!"
Ainz and Rimuru spoke one after the other before moving beside Saitama with determined expressions.
"Hey, what are you two doing?"
Saitama looked at them strangely.
"We're friends! How could we let you stay here alone?!"
Ainz proudly slapped his chest.
Unfortunately, because his body was made entirely of bone, the gesture did not create the solid thump he expected.
Instead, it produced a hollow clattering sound, making him sound like a badly assembled wooden crate.
"That's right!"
Rimuru bounced enthusiastically beside him.
Saitama's eyes shifted slightly, and a gentle, somewhat embarrassed smile appeared on his face.
The original trio remained a trio even now.
Many things had happened to each of them since they first met, but the most important bond between them had never changed.
Watching the scene, Yuto could not help but smile.
All three were customers of his restaurant and had come from entirely different worlds. Yet because of the restaurant, they had become close friends.
Yuto felt a quiet happiness at the strange connection they had formed.
"In that case, we'll head back first. Take care of yourselves."
"Gurararara! Don't worry, Kamisaka! As long as they're aboard my ship, I won't allow anyone to harm them!"
Whitebeard laughed loudly.
"Don't worry. We'll be back as soon as possible. I still need to get to bed early."
Saitama gave Yuto his assurance.
To prepare for another battle against Son Goku, he had been following an early-to-bed and early-to-rise routine every day.
He could not afford to ruin it.
"Then I'll see you back at the restaurant later."
"Mm!"
After everyone exchanged farewells, Yuto returned with the others.
Only Saitama, Genos, Ainz, and Rimuru remained aboard the Moby Dick.
They could leave this world whenever they wanted, but for now, there was still something they wished to accomplish.
"Sensei, what do you intend to do while remaining in this world?" Genos asked respectfully.
Ainz and Rimuru also turned toward Saitama.
Saitama scratched his cheek and looked at Whitebeard.
"Old man, can you take us to that holy place where the Celestial Dragons live? We should probably visit the World Government too."
Whitebeard's mouth stretched into a fierce grin before he burst into wild laughter.
"Good GURARARARA!"
He agreed without hesitation.
With a sweep of his enormous hand, orders spread throughout the ship.
The Moby Dick immediately changed course toward the Red Line and the headquarters of the World Government.
Shanks and his crew returned to their own vessel and followed behind.
He simply wanted to see what would happen next.
His instincts told him that something unprecedented might shake the entire world that night.
Whitebeard stood at the bow beside Saitama and the others.
None of them spoke unnecessarily.
They simply stared into the distance while the black ocean rolled peacefully beneath them.
The moon shone brightly overhead, stars covered the sky, and not a single cloud could be seen.
The weather was beautiful that night.
...
Aboard the Marine Warship
Sengoku and the other senior Marine officers had gathered for a meeting.
Naturally, the main subject was Saitama.
The death of a Celestial Dragon, visitors from other worlds, Whitebeard, and Red-Haired Shanks had all become tangled together, leaving Sengoku with a painful headache.
How was he supposed to report any of this to his superiors?
He might be Fleet Admiral, but he still answered to the World Government.
The death of a Celestial Dragon had to be reported. Hiding it would only create even greater trouble.
The real problem was how to explain what had happened.
Was he supposed to tell them that the Marines had stood nearby and watched a Celestial Dragon get killed?
The World Government and the Celestial Dragons would never accept an explanation like that.
Sengoku understood those people far too well.
They called themselves World Nobles, but in reality, they were nothing more than parasites.
The moment they learned what had happened, they would pressure the World Government into giving orders to the Marines.
That was inevitable.
There was no need to think about it.
With their personalities, they were incapable of responding any other way.
Even if Sengoku explained that Saitama, a visitor from another world, had killed the Celestial Dragon, they would never believe him.
They only accepted whatever suited them.
Anything else would be dismissed with contempt.
Their so-called noble pride was only a disguise for ignorance and decay.
That left Sengoku with one possible solution.
He slammed his palm against the table.
Everyone immediately turned toward him.
"The Celestial Dragon was killed by Whitebeard. By the time we tried to intervene, we were already too late."
The officers gathered around the table were intelligent enough to understand what he meant.
They had also witnessed the incident themselves.
Unless they found a believable explanation, they would all be investigated.
For the moment, blaming Whitebeard seemed like the safest choice.
He already carried more than enough infamy.
No one would question the claim that the world's most dangerous pirate had killed a Celestial Dragon.
Sengoku carefully studied everyone's expressions.
After looking around the room, he slowly relaxed.
No one appeared to object.
Now they only needed to silence the rest of the Marines aboard the fleet.
Just as Sengoku prepared to speak again, the meeting room door was suddenly thrown open.
Everyone turned toward the entrance.
A messenger stood there, his face pale with panic.
"What happened?"
Sengoku did not become angry.
Anything important enough to interrupt this meeting had to be serious.
"Urgent report from Mary Geoise! Whitebeard's and Red-Hair's ships have entered the Red Line's surveillance range! They're heading directly toward the World Government!"
Every face in the room changed.
Sengoku smashed the meeting table apart with one blow.
"Set course for the World Government! Full speed ahead!"
His face had become completely dark, and fury burned in his eyes.
At that moment, Sengoku's anger toward Whitebeard reached a level he had never experienced before.
Two Emperors were launching an attack on the World Government!
Calling it a major incident was nowhere near enough.
The entire world might be overturned because of what happened that night.
'Whitebeard! Red-Hair! What the hell are you trying to do?!'
Sengoku roared inwardly like an enraged lion.
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