Things Have Gotten Serious

"What kind of Celestial Dragon are you? You're nothing but trash!"

Roya ground Saint Charlos's head beneath his foot.

"Admiral Roya, don't! He's a Celestial Dragon..."

Every Marine who witnessed this scene had trembling legs. Some tried to persuade him, but even more of them wished they could turn around and run for their lives.

After all!

That was a Celestial Dragon!

In their eyes, Celestial Dragons were supreme beings.

Yet Roya, as a Marine admiral, was supposed to serve the Celestial Dragons. Instead, he had dared to attack one and even planted his foot on a Celestial Dragon's head.

This could be called an incident that would shock the entire world.

It was one thing if some audacious pirates dared to strike a Celestial Dragon, but Marines daring to beat one up—and the one doing it being the Navy's Fourth Admiral—was simply unheard of!

Thus, aside from being terrified, quite a few Marines had already run off to report what had happened.

After all, assaulting a Celestial Dragon was a grave crime, even for a Marine admiral!

"Saint Charlos!"

After Saint Charlos was beaten by Luffy, he had immediately summoned several bodyguards.

When those bootlicking guards saw their master being beaten, they hurried forward at once to attack Roya.

Roya, who had no patience for them, suddenly raised his head. Another fierce burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted, instantly knocking the bodyguards unconscious.

"Admiral Roya, you absolutely must not!"

"You are an admiral of Marine Headquarters, while Saint Charlos is a Celestial Dragon!"

"If you..."

Sentomaru also rushed over immediately to persuade him.

Before Sentomaru could finish, Roya turned and shot him a glare.

"If what? What can you do if I attack him?"

"So what if he's a Celestial Dragon? He's still nothing but trash."

"What, is the Marines' so-called justice just about being dogs for the Celestial Dragons?"

Roya spoke imposingly, his gaze filled with a terrifying aura.

Those words left Sentomaru speechless. Of course, the main reason was that he feared Roya's strength.

If Admiral Kizaru had been here instead, Sentomaru might have dared to argue a few words.

But facing Roya, Sentomaru truly did not dare talk back. After all, Roya had defeated one of the Four Emperors, Kaido, and forced him to surrender. Moreover, murderous intent was radiating from Roya at that moment. If he insisted on being so tactless, wouldn't he just be making trouble for himself?

Marine Headquarters.

Inside the Fleet Admiral's office.

The Marines on the Sabaody Archipelago had reported back about Roya beating Saint Charlos.

Bang!

After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Fleet Admiral Sengoku shot to his feet and slammed his palm heavily onto the desk, shattering it into pieces.

"That brat Roya!"

"I sent him to deal with the pirates who assaulted the Celestial Dragons on the Sabaody Archipelago!"

"How did he end up beating a Celestial Dragon himself? This is absolute nonsense!"

Sengoku was so furious that his face had turned green. He did not even care about maintaining his image as he began cursing loudly.

"Hahahahaha."

"That kid Roya has some guts! He actually beat up that piece of trash!"

Garp burst into laughter beside him.

"Garp!"

"You can still laugh?"

"Do you know how serious this is?"

"If it were you, would you attack a Celestial Dragon?"

Sengoku snapped furiously at Garp.

Just as Sengoku had said, in the entire Marines, aside from Roya, Garp was likely the only one who would dare defy the Celestial Dragons' orders and openly call them trash.

But!

No matter how much Garp disliked the Celestial Dragons or ignored their arrangements, he still could not lay a hand on one.

As the legendary hero of the Marines, if Garp truly attacked a Celestial Dragon, the nature of everything would change.

Sure enough.

Garp's expression gradually darkened as well.

"That's true. That kid Roya was far too impulsive. So tell me, Sengoku, what should we do next?" Garp asked.

"This time, we both have to go there in person."

"But before that, to prevent that brat Roya from actually killing the Celestial Dragon—otherwise, things will truly become irreparable—I'll have Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan go ahead first and stop Roya if possible!" Sengoku said anxiously through clenched teeth.

Meanwhile.

The Navy's three admirals, who were out carrying out missions, all received Sengoku's orders.

Kuzan, who was still riding a bicycle across the sea, was the first to receive the news.

"My, my. That guy really is something else. He actually dared to attack a Celestial Dragon?"

"Though I'm already on my way back to headquarters... what if I'm too lazy to go?"

"Forget it, I'd better make the trip. Otherwise, Mr. Sengoku will scold me again."

Kuzan sped up his bicycle. The sea in his wake froze solid, and even the Sea Kings foolish enough to attack him became ice sculptures one after another.

Over on Akainu Sakazuki's side.

He was likewise on his way back to Marine Headquarters.

When he heard that Roya had attacked a Celestial Dragon, he nearly let his Magma-Magma Fruit burn the entire warship to ashes.

"Roya?"

"Hmph! I will head to the Sabaody Archipelago immediately!"

"I want to see just how capable you really are. Even if you possess heaven-defying abilities, once you've touched a Celestial Dragon, I can still take action against you!"

Sakazuki said as he clenched his fists.

Originally, Sakazuki had planned to find an excuse to fight Roya after returning to Marine Headquarters, to see what kind of strength had earned him a promotion to Fourth Admiral.

Now things had worked out perfectly. He no longer needed any excuse. Roya's attack on a Celestial Dragon alone gave him more than enough reason to act.

However.

The closest admiral, Kizaru Borsalino, had already arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago after receiving Sengoku's orders.

"Hello, hello."

"Sentomaru, are you there?"

Borsalino held the Den Den Mushi and called out with pursed lips.

Before long, the Den Den Mushi received Sentomaru's response. "Old man, have you arrived? We're at..."

Sentomaru told Borsalino their exact location.

After obtaining the precise location, Borsalino hung up the Den Den Mushi, glanced in the direction, then transformed into light and vanished from the spot.

At the Marine base.

Roya was still stepping on Saint Charlos, though he was now seated in a chair. The Marines around him watched him trembling, not daring to move or say a word.

"My, Admiral Roya, you really are frightening!" Admiral Kizaru Borsalino's voice came from not far away.