"Sengoku the Buddha… Kong the Steel Bone?"
Is turned his head and sized them up, but didn't say much.
Madara Uchiha and the others simply watched in silence.
"This time, we must thank you, Saint Aurelius D. Virel Is. If not for your intervention, the chaos wouldn't have been quelled so quickly," Kong said.
He wasn't wrong.
If Is hadn't stepped in, the unrest would have lasted far longer, and the damage to Mary Geoise would have been far greater.
And if that had happened—
Not only Kong, but even the Fleet Admiral would have been held accountable.
In that sense, Is had done the Marines a huge favor.
Hearing this, Is remained completely indifferent.
"It was nothing more than a coincidence. There's no need to thank me."
He had no interest in taking credit.
After all, he only acted because Kaido came knocking at his door.
"Understood."
Kong nodded slightly.
"Let's go."
Is spoke to Acnologia and the others before turning to leave.
They nodded and followed behind him.
After walking a short distance, Is suddenly remembered something and turned back.
"Their main force has already retreated. There are still some remnants who didn't make it onto the ship—leave them to the Marines."
After saying that, he didn't wait for a response and continued on his way.
"Rest assured, we will give the World Government a proper explanation!" Kong called out as he watched Is's departing figure.
They stood there, watching him leave.
After a moment, Kong spoke again.
"Sengoku, you were right earlier. This man possessing the bearing of a king is no coincidence… he truly carries a natural aura of leadership."
Sengoku nodded slightly.
"There's something else you might have noticed—the two men in suits and that small woman by his side."
"Mm."
Kong nodded.
"I noticed. They all carry an aura like ferocious beasts. There's no doubt—they're incredibly strong. But what puzzles me is… if he already has such powerful people by his side, why did the Five Elders still urgently order us to come reinforce him?"
At those words, Sengoku's mind began racing.
Soon, a possibility flashed across his thoughts.
"If that's the case… then there's only one explanation."
"The Five Elders themselves don't know that Is has such powerful individuals with him."
He paused for a moment, then added:
"But thinking about it carefully, that doesn't quite make sense either. If Is is truly someone they are cultivating, they should know about the people around him."
"Unless…"
"These strong individuals weren't arranged by the Five Elders—but were recruited by Is himself."
"Yes… that's not impossible," Kong quickly agreed.
"Interesting… very interesting," Sengoku murmured with a faint smile.
"Boom!"
At that moment, another explosion rang out in the distance.
Clearly, it was the remaining apprentice pirates of the Rocks Pirates who hadn't made it onto the ship.
"Looks like our discussion ends here. We need to deal with those remaining remnants."
"Let's go."
Mary Geoise — A street.
After returning from the city's edge, they didn't go anywhere else.
They headed straight back to Is's castle.
"Is… where are we staying tonight? If I remember correctly, when we left, your castle only had a few walls still standing," Tatsumaki said, floating beside him as she leaned closer.
"That's all Acnologia's fault. At first, there was just a hole in the castle. Then he fired one energy blast—and almost turned the entire place into ruins," Is said helplessly, shrugging.
Acnologia immediately protested.
"Is, that's a bit unfair. If we're talking about the castle being reduced to a few standing walls—you contributed the most."
He had watched the fight between Is and Kaido clearly.
Is kept saying he wanted to minimize destruction—
But once the fight started, he went all out.
Anyone watching would've thought the two of them were deliberately demolishing the place.
As soon as Acnologia finished speaking—
Laughter erupted.
"Hahahaha—!"
"Really? I don't remember that. Sounds like you're framing me, Acnologia," Is teased.
"Oh please. Tatsumaki and I saw everything clearly."
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the castle.
Just as Tatsumaki said—
Only a few walls were still standing.
However, there was something unexpected—
A World Government agent was already waiting there.
As soon as Is returned, the man informed him that a new residence had been arranged.
With a new place secured, Is sent Tatsumaki to bring the maids over.
As for…
Karl Dien, who was still lying within the ruins—
Is had completely forgotten about him.
But honestly, he had it coming.
After all, the only reason Is got dragged into this mess…
Was because Karl Dien leaked his location to that bastard Kaido.
"Save me… save me… Saint Is…"
A faint cry for help echoed from within the rubble—
But it was utterly useless.
"Crack… crack…"
"Boom—!"
The already unstable walls finally collapsed completely—
Burying Karl Dien alive beneath the ruins.
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