Five hours later, Vane was already far from the Sabaody Archipelago. Night had fallen.
The Sabaody Archipelago marked the end of the first half of the Grand Line. Vane planned to return there someday, but for now, his next destination was Water 7.
He intended to head to Water 7 to commission a ship. Now that he had power, he wanted to sail the seas freely. Even the strength of a Devil Fruit like the Gura Gura no Mi was enough to shake the world—and Vane possessed more than that. He also had terrifying Conqueror's Haki. A man with the spirit of a king was destined to carve out a place for himself in the New World.
In the past, when Vane had spare time, he often studied world maps, along with the eternal pose left behind by his parents. After destroying the slave auction house, he had returned to retrieve it from his old residence. The pose included coordinates and a detailed map.
Following it would lead him to Water 7, the location etched in by his parents long ago. It would be a longer journey—perhaps ten days or more.
"During that time, I'll need to keep an eye out for small islands. Otherwise, I'll run out of supplies."
He muttered to himself, "What should I even do going forward?"
Become a Marine? That was impossible. Within a day or two—maybe even by tomorrow—his bounty would be made public. The only question was how high it would be.
Join the Revolutionary Army? No, even though they'd toppled dozens of nations, their base on Baltigo remained hidden and their power substantial, but it didn't match the prestige of the Four Emperors in the New World.
"Pirate, then?"
"But even if I claim I'm not a pirate, once the bounty's out, the world will label me one regardless. To be honest, pirates are the freest. They're not bound by law or duty. In this world, human lives are fragile, and there's no truly safe place. Freedom must be taken by force."
His goal was clear: climb to the top of the New World, surpass even the Yonko, and overthrow the rule of the Celestial Dragons—erase them from existence entirely.
As his ship sailed across the vast sea, the battle back at Sabaody had long since ended.
Given Kizaru's personality, he never intended to clash seriously with Rayleigh. And Rayleigh wasn't looking for a fight either. Vane had already left the archipelago—his mission accomplished.
He had simply wanted to protect the budding generation—stop them from being crushed before they could grow.
Later that evening, Kizaru returned to Navy Headquarters. This time, no one had been captured. Aside from some intelligence reports, the mission had been a failure.
Sengoku looked grim. "So, you're saying his strength is comparable to that of an admiral?"
Kizaru rubbed his chin. "That's right. I fought him a few times, but I still can't get a read on his full power. I had the navy investigate the area. He's only fifteen. His background is a mystery. Apparently just a normal kid until now—maybe he was hiding his strength."
Sengoku was stunned. "Only fifteen? And he has some variant of the Gura Gura no Mi? Its destructive power and technique are nearly identical. Combined with highly proficient use of all three Haki types… Are you sure he's just a kid?"
Kizaru sighed. "He's definitely young—and absurdly strong. If he gets away, his growth will be a serious problem for us."
"You let him go, you lazy fool!" Akainu's voice cut in angrily.
Akainu stepped forward, clearly agitated. "There's no doubt about it—a monster is rising. We don't even know where he's gone now. If he's entered the New World, the balance of power is going to shift. We should have killed him on the spot, or at least crippled him and taken him in!"
"I didn't expect Silvers Rayleigh to show up at Sabaody and get involved…"
"That old relic should've stayed out of things. He's half in the grave already, yet he's still meddling—Rayleigh!" Akainu's fists clenched, his rage nearly boiling over.
Sengoku sighed. "I'll have to report this to the World Government. The Celestial Dragons will definitely throw a fit over this."
Garp spoke up. "Two Celestial Dragons are dead now. Maybe this will remind them there are still people in the world brave enough to challenge them."
He sighed to himself.
"Aside from the two Celestial Dragons, the rest who died were scum running illegal operations in Sabaody. From a marine standpoint, Vane is an enemy who needs to be brought down. But from a personal standpoint… what he did wasn't wrong."
Akainu, voice cold, added, "He should've died. Escaping right under the navy's nose brought shame to us all. Even if we try to cover it up, the reporters will leak everything. This is a disgrace for Headquarters—and we'll be held responsible."
He paused before adding, "I should've gone myself. I would've brought back that brat's head. He's no ordinary pirate—we're going to have a big problem on our hands."
With that, Akainu stormed out of the room.
"Sakazuki…" Kizaru muttered, exasperated, sipping his tea slowly.
Sengoku thought aloud, "We'll have to see what the World Government and the Celestial Dragons decide. This kid doesn't seem like a bad person. Based on what little intel we have, he doesn't come off as evil. But once that bounty is out… the whole world will treat him as a pirate."
"He was the first to successfully kill a Celestial Dragon. Rocks wanted to, but never succeeded."
Sengoku said this as he dialed a secure line to contact Commander Kong in Mariejois.
At the mention of Rocks, Garp's face hardened. He had once protected the Celestial Dragons—that moment was a permanent stain on his legacy. One he rarely ever spoke of.
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