Butterfly Wings

Behind the stone pillar.

For the first time, Rock's expression truly froze.

"Could it be..."

"Did he see through my thoughts?"

A thought flashed through his mind.

The moment it surfaced, he swiftly dismissed it himself.

No.

He raised his eyes toward the throne again. Imu was no longer paying attention to anyone.

The Five Elders' shock seemed utterly meaningless to him.

That figure leaned back slightly, as though... he was tired of it.

The report was over. That was the end of the matter.

Rock's gaze lingered on that figure for a moment.

"Bzzzt—"

An extremely thin arc of electricity flashed.

His figure—vanished.

High above the sky.

The clouds churned as lightning tore through the heavens.

"Bzzzt—!"

Rock's figure flickered continuously among the clouds, moving at incredible speed.

But—

His thoughts remained fixed on that one sentence from before.

"That bastard..."

Rock cursed under his breath.

"How exactly did he see it?"

His brows furrowed slightly as Observation Haki instantly stretched to its limit.

The paths of the future began to branch, countless possibilities unfolding at once.

"Or was it—"

A glint flashed through his eyes.

"Just some kind of one-time Future Sight?"

It was not continuous surveillance, but directly locking onto the "result" at a certain point.

For example, he might have looked into the future a few times and failed to find any trace of me for years...

If that was the case, then there was still room to maneuver.

Marine Headquarters.

Inside the office, Sengoku was bent over his desk, handling documents.

Snap.

A soft sound rang out. Lightning flashed through the room, and the air trembled slightly.

Sengoku looked up, and Rock was already standing before him.

In that instant, Sengoku's shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly.

"You're back."

Rock nodded. Without exchanging pleasantries, he