With the Navy's deployments in the New World, and the spies they had planted among the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates, there was no reason they should have missed the Dark Matter Pirates' large-scale movements.

What's more, the World Government hadn't received a single shred of intel during this period. To say that the Navy had no hand in this was an insult to Saint Vochuli's intelligence.

The trembling attendants kneeling on the ground scrambled into action, and in the shortest possible time delivered the Den Den Mushi connected to the Fleet Admiral's office at Marineford to Saint Vochuli.

"Kizaru!"

The moment the line connected, The Elder roared furiously into the receiver. If Kizaru had dared appear before him at that moment—ignoring their difference in strength—Saint Warcury would likely have lost all reason and fought him to the death on the spot.

"…This is the office of Fleet Admiral Kizaru. May I ask who is calling?"

After a long pause, a voice finally came from the other side of the Den Den Mushi—someone clearly suppressing their anger, most likely Kizaru's adjutant who handled his affairs.

The adjutant restrained himself because he knew anyone daring to shout at Fleet Admiral Kizaru like that had to be someone far above his station. Otherwise, no matter how good his temper was, anyone showing such disrespect to the Navy's Fleet Admiral would normally earn themselves a seven-day all-expenses-paid trip to Impel Down.

"Where is that bastard Kizaru?! Tell him to get here immediately!"

Saint Warcury slammed the table and shouted, completely disregarding any sense of dignity.

He had already expected trouble the moment Kizaru rose to power, but things had escalated far beyond the line.

Even if the Five Elders had already obtained Pure Gold, if the Navy showed signs of disloyalty toward the World Government, there was no way they would let such a matter slide easily.

"I'm sorry, Fleet Admiral Kizaru is currently enjoying afternoon tea. If you have business with him, please state your identity first…"

Now the adjutant's tone carried some irritation as well. After all, he was one of Fleet Admiral Kizaru's aides—even Vice Admirals usually gave him respect. Since when was it acceptable for others to scream at him like this?

And this guy had the gall to insult Fleet Admiral Kizaru himself? Even if things escalated, the adjutant wouldn't be the one taking the blame.

"I am one of the Five Elders! Get Kizaru here immediately!"

Finally, Saint Warcury exploded completely. It was bad enough that Kizaru had infuriated him to the breaking point—now even nobodies dared posture in front of him?

"Hmph! This is the Na… Fi—F-Five Elder, sir?! V-very sorry! I'll notify Fleet Admiral Kizaru at once!"

The adjutant had been ready to snap back, but the moment he heard Saint Warcury identify himself, he froze, stammered, and began apologizing profusely.

But Saint Warcury had no patience to waste on small fry. A single cold snort from him was enough to scare the adjutant into fleeing and rushing off to deliver the message to Kizaru.

Inside a luxury private room of Marineford's finest restaurant, Kizaru, dressed in loose pajamas, sat by the window with Nami and Reiju, leisurely enjoying afternoon tea.

Outside the room, a top-tier band from the City of Music was performing—each show costing more than 200 million Berries.

Not far away in the central kitchen, a team of master chefs from Gran Tesoro worked tirelessly—the head chef's appearance fee alone was enough to spike the Five Elders' blood pressure several points.

In the old days, such extravagance would've driven Fleet Admiral Sengoku to the brink of a stroke.

But now, the Navy—or rather, Kizaru—had money to burn. No matter how much he spent, the World Government and the Five Elders themselves would be footing the bill. Naturally, he squandered without a care.

Reiju, still new to all this, found it a bit difficult to adapt to such extravagant treatment.

Even though the Vinsmoke family was nominally royalty and Judge hadn't treated his children too poorly, when compared to Kizaru—who casually spent the Five Elders' and World Government's money—there was simply no contest.

"…Are you sure this is really fine? I mean about helping Judge establish his kingdom. My father isn't exactly the type to obediently follow orders…"

Reiju sipped her tea with a hesitant expression.

If Judge had been there, he would probably have been furious enough to explode on the spot. He had gone through all the trouble of sending Reiju to Kizaru's side in exchange for promises of support, only for his own daughter to undermine him like this.

Still, it wasn't as though Judge was truly blameless. He had turned even his unborn children into weapons, treating them as mere tools to fulfill his ambitions. If his daughter were to betray him in the end, it would only be poetic justice.

"It's fine. It's just nation-building—I never promised to support him in territorial expansion. And as for Vinsmoke Judge… compared to the Celestial Dragons, he's honestly not that bad."

Leaning lazily against the windowsill with a teacup in hand and a faint smile at his lips, Kizaru spoke as if it were nothing.

From any perspective, Judge was a terrible person.

But compared to the Celestial Dragons, who barely counted as human at all, Judge almost seemed like one.

Reiju's expression turned a little complicated. She wasn't sure if Kizaru's words counted as praise or an insult toward her father.

"Don't keep badmouthing the Celestial Dragons like that, Fleet Admiral Kizaru!"

Nami, nibbling at the ridiculously expensive afternoon tea while wincing at the cost, frowned and couldn't resist speaking up.

She herself had no fondness for the Celestial Dragons, but for Kizaru, the Navy's Fleet Admiral, to openly speak ill of them so casually—it didn't sit right.

The Celestial Dragons were not the kind of people who listened to reason. If conflict were to break out, even someone like Kizaru could end up in serious trouble.

"Relax, relax, I know what I'm doing. Won't be long before those parasites learn what the word 'death' really means…"

With a smile, Kizaru slid an arm around Nami's slender waist, pulling the petite cat burglar into his embrace. But before he could make another move, a sharp knock rattled the door.

Nami seized the opportunity to slip free from his arms, cheeks flushed as she cast him a reproachful glare.

"Fleet Admiral Kizaru! The Five Elders have urgent business with you!"

The one knocking was Kizaru's second adjutant—though that number hardly denoted rank.

Everyone knew that aside from his financial officer, Lieutenant Commander Nami, and his administrative officer, Major Reiju, Kizaru's other adjutants were basically glorified orderlies.

"Oh? Did they say what it's about?"

Borsalino pouted in mild annoyance, more or less guessing the purpose of the Gorosei.

Still, that didn't stop him from deliberately wasting some time just to spite those old geezers for ruining his fun.

"Uh… n-no, Admiral Borsalino, sir… The Gorosei seem really angry. Shouldn't you hurry and—"

The second adjutant spoke cautiously with a nervous smile, scared half to death. He was terrified that if Admiral Borsalino failed to come to terms with the Gorosei, their foul mood would be vented on him instead.

"Tch, how boring. Fine, patch it through."

Borsalino shook his head, silently noting that he'd make sure to record this little grudge against the Gorosei.

Once Boros made it to Mariejois, he'd have the "Cosmic Overlord" properly settle accounts with those old men.

With that thought, Borsalino casually pulled out his little "grudge notebook," scribbled down the matter, and made a mental note to hand it to Boros later.

Nami and Reiju stared at Borsalino's childish antics, black lines running down their faces. Exchanging glances, they shared a weary, burdened smile.

"Moshi moshi, this is Borsalino speaking…"

Borsalino leaned back into a more comfortable posture, bracing himself for the incoming storm from the Gorosei.

There was a Den Den Mushi right in the private room, capable of patching calls directly. After all, if something urgent came up, no one really expected Borsalino to run all the way back to his office just to pick up the phone.

"Admiral Borsalino, the Gorosei would like to request your personal presence at Mariejois for a meeting…"

To his surprise, however, it wasn't the Gorosei themselves on the other end—it was one of Mariejois' attendants.

Borsalino raised a brow. In just a glance, his "Malice Perception" ability revealed the true thoughts of Saint Vochuli, who was standing nearby.

Malice Perception wasn't as straightforward as Katakuri's "Future Sight," nor as absurd as Roger's "Voice of All Things."

But in terms of practicality, it was nearly flawless.

If there was any flaw, it was that it could be interfered with by a higher level of Observation Haki.

Still, that was the user's problem, not the ability's fault.

If the user's strength was on par with Borsalino's—wielding the very pinnacle of Observation Haki—then there was no need to worry about interference.

"Alright then. But Marineford's been a bit busy these past few days. Once I finish up my current tasks, I'll head over as soon as possible."

Borsalino spoke with a straight face. But no sooner had the words left his mouth than the sound of a vase shattering came through the Den Den Mushi.

"Borsalino! What kind of game are you trying to play?!"

°°°

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