Marine Headquarters in Shock

After having a hearty meal at the tavern, Moke rested for another night.

Early the next morning, Moke transformed into a beam of light once again and headed for Reverse Mountain.

Marine Headquarters.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku shot to his feet in shock and cried out, "What?!"

Garp and Vice Admiral Tsuru, who happened to be in his office, both looked over. Garp had even forgotten to stuff the donut in his hand into his mouth.

It was because they rarely saw Sengoku so rattled.

Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned slightly. She had a bad feeling that another major incident had occurred.

She immediately asked, "What happened?"

"Phew..."

Sengoku hung up the Den Den Mushi in his hand and slowly exhaled, calming himself somewhat. "Colonel Wild Dog, who was sent to East Blue to replace Smoker, has been killed."

"How could that be?"

Garp looked astonished. He often went to East Blue himself, so he knew it well. There were only a handful of pirates in the entire East Blue with any real strength.

Yet none of them had either the nerve or the power to kill the highest-ranking Marine officer in East Blue!

Clearly, Tsuru thought the same way. If there had been even one decent powerhouse among the East Blue pirates, it would not have been called the weakest of the Four Seas.

With some doubt, she asked, "Could a powerful figure have emerged in East Blue?"

Sengoku nodded. "Moke. Age unknown, birthplace unknown. He possesses impressive swordsmanship and is also a Devil Fruit user."

At that, he paused. Then he added, "According to intelligence, he learned his swordsmanship from Tashigi, Smoker's subordinate. His Devil Fruit is extremely unusual. Not only can he control light and earth, but he also possesses the Elementalization unique to Logias."

"Huh?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru and Garp both wore stunned expressions.

Garp said bluntly, "Sengoku, did you hear that wrong? What Logia can control both light and earth?"

Forget Garp—even Sengoku doubted himself. If he had not confirmed it repeatedly just now, he would never have believed it. No... even after confirming it several times, he still found it hard to believe deep down.

He muttered, "A Logia... a Logia is a natural element found in nature. How could two natural powers appear in the same person? Could such a Devil Fruit really exist? Or does this person possess the powers of two Devil Fruits?"

But either possibility had already gone beyond everything they had always known.

Vice Admiral Tsuru came back to her senses and turned to Sengoku. "Since this man learned swordsmanship from Tashigi, Smoker's subordinate, why not ask the two of them? They might know what is going on!"

Sengoku's eyes lit up at once.

Meanwhile, Smoker was staring blankly at the sea as he pursued the Straw Hat Crew at full speed.

Before long, a soldier hurried over to Smoker with a Den Den Mushi in his hands.

He respectfully said, "Colonel Smoker, it's Fleet Admiral Sengoku from Headquarters."

Smoker's pupils contracted at once. Tashigi, standing nearby, also looked over.

Her face was full of worry.

After all, Smoker had acted first and reported later. Otherwise, Marine Headquarters would never have agreed to let Colonel Smoker pursue the Straw Hat Crew.

Now, there was bound to be trouble.

Otherwise, Fleet Admiral Sengoku would not have contacted him personally.

But there was no turning back now. Smoker could only take the Den Den Mushi with a stiff expression. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, this is Smoker."

Sengoku asked, "Do you know Moke?"

"Huh?"

Smoker and Tashigi were both stunned. They had already been prepared for a reprimand, and they were utterly confused as to why Fleet Admiral Sengoku was asking about Moke.

After recovering, though they were still full of doubts, they immediately replied, "We know a little. He is a friend of my subordinate, Ensign Tashigi. Not only does he possess terrifying talent in swordsmanship, but he also has an extremely unusual Devil Fruit ability!"

Sengoku said, "Tell me in detail!"

Smoker looked at Tashigi, and she immediately understood. "Three months ago, I met him at a weapons shop in Loguetown. He bought two Meito in one go. He used one of them as payment to ask me to teach him swordsmanship, and I agreed. At the time, he knew nothing about swordsmanship... Three months later, his swordsmanship had already far surpassed mine, and he was only one step away from becoming a Swordmaster. His talent for the sword is the greatest I have ever seen... Even those Headquarters vice admirals skilled in swordsmanship are far inferior to him in that regard."

"His Devil Fruit ability is extremely unusual. When we first met at the weapons shop, he displayed an ability similar to the Paramecia Dice-Dice Fruit, capable of turning people into blades. Later, during the operation to capture the Straw Hat Crew, he also helped us. But at that time, he revealed the ability to Elementalize and control earth."

At that point, she glanced at Smoker before adding, "Colonel Smoker and I suspect that he may possess multiple Devil Fruit abilities!"

"What?!"

Tashigi's words drew a cry of alarm from Sengoku.

The Den Den Mushi immediately changed into Vice Admiral Tsuru's likeness. "This man has such terrifying talent for the sword? He also has an ability similar to the Paramecia Dice-Dice Fruit? Adding earth and light, does that not mean he is a three-ability user with terrifying talent for swordsmanship?"

The key was that each of those three abilities was stronger than the last!

Especially that light-element ability similar to the Glint-Glint Fruit—it was practically a replica of Kizaru!

Anyone would find a person like that extremely troublesome. Whether he wanted to fight or flee was entirely up to him.

This was bad!

Smoker could not help asking, "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, did that kid do something? Why did you contact us personally...?"

Sengoku said bluntly, "Because he killed Colonel Wild Dog, who was sent to replace you."

"What?!"

Smoker and Tashigi both cried out in shock, while confusion filled their hearts.

Tashigi said, "That can't be right! I spent three months with him, and I could tell that he held no hostility toward the Marines!"

Sengoku said, "He took a Devil Fruit that Colonel Wild Dog was supposed to turn in."

As soon as those words were spoken, Smoker and Tashigi's pupils shrank.

Aside from the Celestial Dragons, Devil Fruits were among the most important strategic resources in any faction. One Devil Fruit could quickly create a powerful fighter.

It could even be used to directly recruit one.

So those words carried an enormous amount of information!

Tashigi gripped Yubashiri tightly, fury written all over her face. "I will never allow a Meito to fall into the hands of someone like him. One day, I will reclaim Sandai Kitetsu from him."

Back in Fleet Admiral Sengoku's office, he had already hung up the Den Den Mushi. Yet his brows were knitted even more tightly...

Only one step away from becoming a Swordmaster in three months?

What kind of talent for the sword was that?!

And then there were his abilities... Sengoku felt a headache coming on.

Vice Admiral Tsuru beside him wore an equally grave expression. Even her good friend Momousagi did not possess such talent for the sword!

The three of them, Garp included, fell into a brief silence.

Then Vice Admiral Tsuru was the first to speak. "Sengoku, I suggest placing a bounty..."