After hanging up, Sengoku gritted his teeth in frustration.
"That damn brat! No wonder he's been so calm ever since he set sail. He even managed to take control of Morgans!" Sengoku cursed.
*Crunch crunch—*
Hearing Garp munching on senbei again only made him angrier.
"Garp!"
"Didn't you say his Devil Fruit is the Mythical Zoan Phoenix Fruit? Then what's this about him controlling the news birds?!" Sengoku shouted furiously.
"How should I know? Besides, Ryuen is a birdman. Birds listening to a birdman makes sense…" Garp replied casually.
"Hiss~~~"
"This doesn't make sense. Is his fruit really just the Phoenix Fruit?" Sengoku scratched his head, feeling anxious.
He had every reason to worry.
Once tomorrow's newspaper came out, it would put even more pressure on the Marines. Sure, Boshichi was part of the Figarland family, but he was still a Marine Vice Admiral!
In the midst of public discussion, the first to bear the brunt was the Marines.
"Sengoku, if the Boshichi incident makes it into the papers tomorrow, the fallout between the Dream Exploration Crew and the Figarland family will be set in stone.
Isn't that exactly what we wanted?
The Marines might take a hit to our reputation, but we can afford that loss as long as our future plans go smoothly," Vice Admiral Tsuru said seriously.
Everyone present, except Garp, nodded in agreement. Akainu didn't look too pleased either.
"Sengoku, I think you're rushing things. Forcing Ryuen like this will definitely backfire. I know that kid," Garp said bluntly.
*Crack...*
Sengoku clenched his teeth, glaring at Garp.
"Uh... Forget I said anything," Garp quickly backed down and went back to eating his rice crackers.
Seeing this, Sengoku had no choice but to swallow his anger. He swore that if Garp spoke again, he'd send him flying.
"By the way, Sengoku, about the warship—"
Suddenly, a flash of golden light streaked across the room. With a loud *bang*, a figure was sent flying out the window and straight into the ocean.
"Ahhh~~~ Sengoku, you're not playing fair~~~~~~"
*Splash!*
Watching Garp land perfectly in the sea, Sengoku nodded in satisfaction. After all these years, his aim was still as sharp as ever.
~~~~~~
The next day, at dawn—
Clarked Island, Henshuu Village.
Before the Dream Exploration Crew arrived, the remaining villagers had already buried those who had been killed.
The village had originally been home to several hundred people, but now, including the women rescued by the Dream Crew, only about sixty remained.
Among them, there were only five adult men.
The rest were women and children.
At this moment, both the villagers and the members of the Dream Crew had gathered on a grassy field. Everyone already knew what was about to happen.
"Sugar, undo your power on him," Ryuen said, looking at the blank-faced toy figure standing in front of them.
"Oh~"
Sugar popped the last blueberry into her mouth, then raised her hand and lightly tapped the toy.
With a *pop*, the toy instantly transformed back into Boshichi.
However, he was now extremely weak, barely able to stand.
The moment the villagers saw Boshichi, their hatred exploded uncontrollably. They wanted nothing more than to rush forward and hack him to pieces.
Feeling the intense hostility around him, Boshichi shivered.
"Captain Ryuen, do you realize what you're doing?" he asked, his voice low and tense.
"Vice Admiral Boshichi, it seems you still don't understand your situation.
Do you want to experience yesterday all over again?" Ryuen said calmly, holding up a still-beating heart in his hand.
Recalling what had happened yesterday, Boshichi shuddered again.
In front of the villagers of Flatboat Village, with a live broadcast Den Den Mushi recording everything, Ryuen had threatened him while holding his heart in his hand.
Under that pressure, Boshichi had been forced to confess all of his crimes, including revealing the powerful figure backing him—the Celestial Dragons of the Figarland family.
Ryuen no longer paid attention to Boshichi.
Instead, he turned to the gathered villagers and spoke in a strong, clear voice.
"You all already know who this man is and the countless crimes he has committed.
Now, I leave him to you.
Whatever he owes you, take it back with your own hands."
With that, Ryuen turned and walked away.
Boshichi's face turned deathly pale, sweat dripping from his forehead.
His terrified eyes darted around, seeing nothing but furious villagers, their gazes filled with hatred and rage.
For the first time in his life, he truly felt the fear of death.
"Let's go," Ryuen said softly to his crew.
The members of the Dream Exploration Crew nodded and followed him away from the scene.
They understood that these villagers had been suppressing their pain for too long.
Now, they finally had the chance to release it.
At this moment, it was finally time for them to reclaim their dignity and seek justice.
As the members of the Dream Exploration Team walked away, the villagers of Bianzhou Village, burning with anger, stepped toward Boshichi.
Each step felt like it was stomping on his heart, sinking him deeper into despair.
"Captain Ryuen! Please, I beg you, spare me!"
Boshichi's voice trembled as he pleaded for mercy, but the departing Dream Team paid no attention. It was already too late.
"You can't do this! I'm from the Figarland family of the Celestial Dragons! You can't afford to mess with me!"
But the villagers didn't care about his status.
"If I die, you won't end up well either!"
His threats had no effect. Instead, they only fueled the villagers' fury.
"Ryuen!"
Boshichi called out in despair, but the only response was silence.
"Ahhh!!!"
With a desperate scream, Boshichi was swallowed by the raging villagers...
As the sun rose over the horizon, the sky was painted with a brilliant morning glow, blooming like a flower.
Yet, this beautiful scene stood in stark contrast to the tragedy on the ground—an irony too cruel to ignore.
...
Newspapers were delivered by carrier birds from all across the Four Seas, Paradise, and the New World.
Somewhere in the New World...
As people picked up the morning papers and saw the front-page headline, their faces turned pale, as if they had seen something terrifying.
"S-something terrible has happened..."
"Everyone!"
"This is bad!"
"The Marines have been working with pirates to massacre civilians... and the Celestial Dragons were backing them up!"
"How could this happen...?"
An overwhelming fear spread. Pirates slaughtering civilians, the Marines protecting them, and the Celestial Dragons pulling the strings...
Who could they even trust in this world anymore?
---
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