Ten warships, with hundreds of cannons between them.
They bombarded Ohara without pause, continuing late into the night.
The roaring flames set the entire island ablaze, lighting up the pitch-black night.
Even several nautical miles away, the surging heat and crimson sky could still be felt.
Robin sat crying in her little boat... drifting farther and farther away.
Sakazuki and Enel stood on the warship's uppermost deck.
Neither spoke. They simply watched the flames burn in silence.
They watched the fire blaze and then burn itself out, leaving only blackened earth and wisps of white smoke.
Dawn.
Tap, tap, tap, tap...
Footsteps sounded as Carol walked to the bow:
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki, the other ships are awaiting orders."
Sakazuki spoke slowly:
"Organize search parties."
Carol nodded:
"Yes, sir."
After a few seconds of silence, he said:
"Vice Admiral Sakazuki..."
"Last night, the operation at Marine Branch 73 in the South Blue failed..."
"Only one member of the Seven-Person Team assigned to Branch 73 survived. Avis and the Branch Chief of Branch 73 killed each other."
Sakazuki gazed out at the sea:
"Have all the traces been cleaned up?"
Carol said:
"Yes."
"The High Explosives Avis detonated destroyed nearly half of the branch's base."
The names and faces of Avis and the others sent to Marine Branch 73 flashed through Sakazuki's mind:
"Anything else?"
Carol's voice grew strained:
"Avis asked me to pass a message on to you."
"He was very sorry. He did everything he could."
Sakazuki fell silent for a moment:
"I understand..."
"Learn from what went wrong, and send people to search around the base."
"Look for Avis's fruit."
"You're both dismissed."
Carol said:
"Yes, sir."
He turned and left with Enel.
Only Sakazuki remained, gazing silently out at the sea.
After a long while, he turned