"You really lost to him?!"
Sengoku shot to his feet.
The teacup in his hand slipped and smashed onto the floor with a sharp crack, shattering into pieces.
His eyes widened as he stared at Garp in disbelief.
If Garp himself confirmed it, there was no way the report was wrong.
The Hero of the Marines…
had truly lost.
"Why are you so worked up? Sit down and talk."
Garp glanced at Sengoku and shrugged indifferently.
"It's not that!" Sengoku forced himself to calm down and sat again. "How could you lose? Did you hold back on purpose?"
His reaction wasn't unreasonable.
Garp stood at the absolute peak of the Marines. The idea that he could lose to some unknown young man from East Blue sounded like something out of a ghost story.
"I didn't hold back," Garp replied, shaking his head.
"That kid is seriously strong."
He leaned back slightly, his eyes reflecting a trace of thought.
"Kairos fights like someone who was born for battle. To him, fighting is more important than anything else. It's like the only thing that brings him real joy."
Sengoku lowered his head.
After a long silence, he spoke again.
"So… he beat you through pure strength?"
"Not exactly."
Garp shook his head once more.
Sengoku didn't interrupt, waiting for him to continue.
"I didn't fight to my absolute limit," Garp explained. "But I could tell he wasn't at his limit either."
He laughed lightly.
"The island had already cracked apart. If we kept going, it would've affected everyone nearby. No point in continuing."
"Right… it was just a spar."
Sengoku let out a long breath.
The report he received had clearly stated that the clash between Garp and Kairos was a sparring match, not a life-or-death battle.
Even so, the news still shook him deeply.
He frowned slightly and asked another question.
"You tried recruiting him into the Marines, didn't you?"
"I did," Garp answered. "But he said as long as the Celestial Dragons exist, he has no interest in joining."
Sengoku's eyes flickered.
Even though he was only hearing the story secondhand, he could clearly sense Kairos' distaste for the Celestial Dragons.
In this world—
very few people dared to express that openly.
"…Forget it."
Sengoku sighed.
"If he doesn't want to join, we shouldn't force him."
Some things depended on fate.
If Kairos had no intention of becoming a Marine, forcing the matter would contradict the very justice they claimed to uphold.
And besides—
forcing someone to join rarely led to good results.
"As long as he doesn't become a pirate, that's good enough."
Sengoku added the remark quietly.
The thought alone gave him a headache.
Someone capable of fighting Garp—and forcing him to admit defeat—
if such a person chose the path of piracy…
the consequences would be unimaginable.
Then Sengoku suddenly asked,
"If Kairos really became a pirate… what do you think his first bounty would be?"
Even as he spoke, he was already calculating the possibilities in his mind.
"…Probably at least one billion."
Garp lowered his crossed leg and answered seriously.
"One billion…"
Sengoku inhaled slowly.
A pirate who debuted with a bounty of one billion was never a minor threat.
Those kinds of figures inevitably grew into terrifying powers that shook the New World.
His gaze shifted as countless possibilities ran through his mind.
Finally, he shook his head and murmured,
"Thankfully… he isn't a pirate."
For once, Sengoku's expression looked unusually grave.
"If he actually became one though…"
Garp crossed his arms and burst into laughter.
"That might be pretty interesting! Hahahaha!"
"You idiot! How can you laugh at something like that?!"
Sengoku rubbed his temples, feeling his headache return.
"Relax," Garp replied casually.
"That kid is obsessed with getting stronger. He doesn't have time to pillage, build crews, or chase fame. The chances of him becoming a pirate are pretty small."
Sengoku sighed again.
"And that's exactly what worries me."
"Why?"
"Kairos likes challenging strong opponents."
Sengoku's voice turned low.
"But not everyone has your temperament. If he keeps doing that, sooner or later he'll offend the wrong people."
Both of them understood one harsh truth.
In this world—
being wanted didn't always mean someone had done something wrong.
Sengoku's quiet words echoed through the Fleet Admiral's office.
Hidden within them—
was a faint trace of helplessness.
…
At that very moment, exactly as Garp had described—
Kairos was still fighting on his path toward greater strength.
East Blue.
Crash!
Although it was midday, a violent storm raged across the sea.
Winds howled.
Seawater surged upward.
Towering waves rolled across the ocean.
A medium-sized transport ship rocked violently among the waves.
Directly ahead of it—
floated a much smaller wooden boat.
It looked completely out of place in the raging sea.
Despite the storm tearing across the ocean, the tiny boat remained perfectly still, as though even the sea itself couldn't move it.
Anyone using Observation Haki at that moment would have noticed something subtle.
A thin layer of invisible Qi surrounded the boat.
That invisible force shielded it from the storm.
This was—
Qi Control.
Boom!!
Suddenly—
a figure shot out from the small boat.
He moved like a swallow gliding through the storm, graceful and swift.
A moment later, he landed lightly on the deck of the transport ship.
"The spar…"
Kairos D. Vale stood tall, Sandai Kitetsu strapped across his back, lightning flashing within his eyes.
"…begins now."
The moment the words left his mouth—
Sandai Kitetsu shot backward from its sheath and stabbed directly into the wooden deck.
The blade trembled slightly.
Not far in front of Kairos stood a tall figure.
A towering figure.
The queen of the Kamabakka Kingdom—
Emporio Ivankov.
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