Chapter 258: Defeat
Ka~
Kacha~
Kacha kacha~
The sound of cracking rang out continuously without end, fine cracks gradually spreading from the palm to the entire body, until finally the Golden Body, dozens of feet tall and imposing like a mountain, shattered with a bang.
Puff~
Blood spurted out from all over his body like a fountain. Admiral Sengoku, who had returned to his ordinary human form, could no longer maintain Moonwalk and fell powerless from the air.
The Justice Coat that had been steadily draped over his shoulders also slipped off at this moment, fluttering in the sea breeze.
He was defeated.
Utterly defeated.
Defeated without a doubt.
Vaguely, it seemed many people were shouting his name, but they all vanished in the next moment.
His vision gradually dimmed, his thinking became sluggish… The massive blood loss in a short time made his consciousness start to blur.
Splash~
After dealing with those charging officers, she stretched out her hand and waited until Sengoku fell in front of her to grab his collar from behind, preventing him from dropping into the sea.
“You…”
The figure before his eyes gradually turned into a blurry golden mass. After murmuring a few inaudible words, Sengoku’s consciousness finally sank into complete darkness.
……
“Yo~ You’re awake~”
“Is there anywhere that feels uncomfortable… Uh…”
“Maybe I should ask if there’s anywhere that feels comfortable?”
A lively voice full of energy and a bit mischievous came from beside his ear, somewhat familiar, as if he’d heard it not long ago.
He opened his eyes with some effort, but Sengoku’s vision was still blurry, making him squint instinctively.
Hmm… There seemed to be a red thing swaying back and forth in front of him, reminding him of the red bean daifuku his family often made when he was a child.
But he actually didn’t like that sweet and sticky texture much; compared to it, the fried rice cakes from the Navy canteen suited his taste better.
And his furrowed, squinting expression caught the attention of the ‘red bean daifuku’ in front of him.
“Hm? What’s wrong… Oh~ It’s nearsightedness making things unclear, right?”
Because she was also nearsighted as 【You Ling】, Aoxi immediately saw the reason for Sengoku’s squinting, then pattered over to a small box.
This was the place specially for Sengoku’s confiscated personal belongings.
“Glasses~ Glasses~ Ah! Here they are!”
After a rustling search, the ‘red bean daifuku’—Aoxi—walked up close to Sengoku, stood on tiptoe, and put the round-framed glasses on his face.
“Mmm~ Can you see clearly now?”
“Mm, thanks…”
“Hm?!”
“It’s you?”
Once the image became clear, the familiar figure from his memory matched the face before him, and Sengoku jolted in shock.
“Hiss~”
Just this slight movement sent intense, grinding pain through his body from various places, making him instinctively tense up, though he couldn’t muster any strength.
Clatter…
And with his movement, the clanking sound of iron chains began to echo in the small space.
“Hm? These are… handcuffs?”
Sengoku then realized his hands were locked up, and judging by the style of the chains, they were the Seastone Handcuffs specially issued by the Navy.
No wonder he couldn’t muster any strength at all now.
“Hey hey hey~ Don’t get agitated, do I look that scary?”
Seeing signs of his wounds splitting open, the red bean daifuku—Aoxi—quickly stepped forward to pacify him.
Kaido and the others had said this round-headed uncle was to be exchanged for a lot of stuff, so she couldn’t let anything happen to him.
“You’re… 【Underworld Princess】!”
“Where am I now?!”
“What about my officers and soldiers?”
“Where are they now?”
“What about that Golden Girl?”
“And… *cough cough!*”
A string of questions and worries flooded his mind, making Sengoku impatiently try to sit up to find out.
“Hey hey hey~ Don’t get agitated, ask one by one.”
Aoxi somewhat frantically pressed Sengoku’s already lifted upper body back onto the bed.
“Sister La only gave you a bit of treatment; you’re still in critical condition, so moving around is very dangerous.”
Like a dutiful intern nurse, Aoxi patiently tended to Sengoku, who was wrapped all over in bandages.
After all, to her, the current Sengoku was like a little piggy bank that needed careful watching so he wouldn’t break.
……
Perhaps Aoxi’s sincere pacification worked, or maybe the pain brought him back to reason; in any case, Sengoku really stopped struggling.
“Sigh~”
“Tell me, what do you want?”
The calmed Sengoku guessed the fact of his capture after just a moment’s thought.
“Mmm… Looks like he’s settled down. Don’t start moving again~”
Seeing him seem to have adjusted his emotions, Aoxi sat back on her little stool and began answering Sengoku’s questions.
“First off, this is the executive dedicated sickroom on Fenrir Island.”
“Since you’ve just recovered from the critical stage, we’re afraid you might suddenly croak, so we put you here.”
“As for your subordinates… A small team from the two ships you split off seems to have escaped, but as for the others…”
Aoxi said no more.
In fact, she’d heard it from Burufaruto afterward: after Sister La picked out a few Navy personnel she was interested in from the sea, she casually set the entire sea ablaze.
The golden flames covered the whole sea surface in an instant, and those Navy members vanished without even feeling pain.
This scene made many Beasts Pirates members pale; life was swept away like dust before their eyes.
What Sengoku said was actually right: beneath her gentle and polite exterior, from a human perspective, the real Sister La was terrifyingly indifferent.
“Mm… Let’s continue~”
Seeing no extreme reaction from him, Aoxi continued chatting with him.
“Anyway, the situation now is that we’ve captured you, Uncle, and we’ve already written to the World Government asking them to pay to redeem you.”
With that, Aoxi pulled a spare draft of the letter from her little saddlebag and began reading it to Sengoku:
“Ahem~”
“To the World Government:
The Beasts Pirates solemnly declare that your subordinate Navy fleet’s brazen invasion of Fenrir Island’s territorial waters and unilateral declaration of war on June 21, Marineford Era 1492, has seriously harmed our interests and territorial security.
We were forced to mount a self-defensive counterattack, successfully thwarting your military provocation, and in the process captured your Navy fleet commander Admiral Sengoku, along with one fleet command Vice Admiral, one Commodore, and one soldier from his fleet, totaling 4 people.
We guarantee all captives receive treatment equivalent to normal diplomatic envoys and provide safe medical care.
You may dispatch a special envoy through private diplomatic channels within 30 days to negotiate personnel repatriation.
Repatriation conditions are in the attached table.
If you fail to fulfill the attached terms before 『the deadline』, we will not guarantee the captives’ life and property safety, and will publicly condemn your invasion of territorial waters.
We urge your united government to face the war crimes squarely and avoid escalation.
Specific handover procedures will be coordinated by both sides after your government pays the compensation terms.
Best regards
This is your final warning.”
Bang!
In the Fleet Admiral’s Office, after reading the letter brought by a captured soldier sent by the Beasts Pirates, Kong directly smashed the expensive desk passed down for generations with one punch.
“Damn it!”
“Huff… Contact Mary Geoise for me; say I need to meet the Gorosei.”
“Also, if Garp returns, tell him not to run around and wait for me in the office!”
With that, Fleet Admiral Kong stormed out, hurrying toward Mary Geoise in a fiery rush.
