Marineford.
Fleet Admiral's Office.
Sengoku sat behind his desk, his brow tightly furrowed.
The sea breeze blew in through the window, lifting the corners of the documents on the desk, but Sengoku had no mind to deal with them right now.
What truly gave him a headache was the person who had vanished.
Gion stood before the desk. Her injuries had been treated, and she had changed into a new cape.
Sengoku looked up at her.
"Did Rock say anything?"
Gion shook her head.
"Admiral Rock only told Bullet and me to lead the team back."
"Then he ordered us to arrange postwar compensation, subsidize the Adventure Group, and treat the wounded."
"After that was done, he disappeared."
Sengoku held his forehead, his temples throbbing.
"That brat..."
"Where did he run off to at a time like this?"
It was not that he worried something had happened to Rock. What Sengoku truly feared was that Rock's silence was more frightening than coming back and slamming a hand on the desk.
Tsuru sat to one side, slowly flipping through the report. She looked far calmer than Sengoku.
"Why are you so anxious?"
Sengoku looked at her. Tsuru said evenly, "The fleet returned, and so did the wounded."
"Ink Tide Island's postwar arrangements have also been settled."
"As for Rock, he naturally has his own considerations."
She turned another page, her voice as steady as ever.
"The people who should be panicking aren't us."
Sengoku fell silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh.
"I understand all that."
"But whenever I think of him disappearing without a sound, my head starts hurting. When has that brat ever behaved himself?"
Gion said nothing. She did not know where Rock had gone either.
Just as the atmosphere in the office grew heavy,