Early in the m, at the Mariation on Sabaody Archipego, Sengoku was busy handling the aftermath of the ret chaos.

  In the past few days, Cudius had turhe entire Sabaody Archipego upside down. True to his nature, though, Cudius was the type to throw everything into disarray and then walk away, leaving others to deal with the fallout. Naturally, Sengoku found himself left to up the mess.

  "Admiral Sengoku, the coating on the Prometheus is plete!" a Marine el reported as he ehe office.

  Hearing this, Sengoku looked up from the pile of dots cluttering his desk. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Where is Saint Cudius?"

  "We're not sure, sir. He didn't return st night. Shall we begin searg for him?" the el asked hesitantly.

  Sengoku waved off the suggestion. "No need. His Highness knows exactly when the coating would be finished. With his strength and identity, there's nothing on Sabaody Archipego that could pose a real dao him," he said, though there was a faint edge of exasperation in his tone.

  As if on cue, Cudius strolled into the office, his expression lighthearted as usual. "A Celestial Dragon goes missing ht, and Admiral Sengoku isn't the least bit worried? That's truly disappointing. I'm hurt, Sengoku," Cudius teased with a smile.

  Sengoku chuckled as he gestured to the mountain of paperwork on his desk. "Worried? About you? If it were anyone else, I'd have mobilized aire fleet. But you, Yhness? I only o worry about the bloodbath you've caused. Who would dare provoke you when they know the kind of chaos y with you?"

  He poio the stacks of reports on his desk, most of them reted to Cudius' as over the past few days.

  "Ahahahaha, fair point," Cudius ughed, pletely unbothered.

  "It's not trouble, just...time-ing," Sengoku said dryly. "These could be handled by subordinates, but since you're back, let's get moving. The Prometheus is ready, and I've got plenty of other work waiting for me in Marineford. I 't afford to sit around here forever."

  Cudius nodded, unbothered by Sengoku's impatience. "No problem, let's head out."

  ---

  The enormous Prometheus was now fully coated in a shimmering bubble and ready to dive into the depths of the sea. This was Cudius' first time experieng the process of desdih the o, and he couldn't help but marvel at the breathtaking sery that unfolded before him. Schools of vibrant fish sast the bubble coating, their movements graceful and hypnotic.

  Even Robin, who rarely left her library, had emerged onto the deck. With wide, curious eyes, she leaned against the railing, taking in the sights of the uer world.

  Sengoku, holding a gss of juid leaning casually against the mast, took a rare moment to rex. "So, Yhness, you've been missing for the past two days. Care to share what you've been up to?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

  Cudius didn't look away from the fish swimming just outside the ship's protective bubble. "I heard there was an iing guy on Sabaody, so I went looking for him. Spent two days searg but only found his partner. So, I had a couple of drinks with her. That's about it."

  Sengoku blinked, momentarily stunned. "So...you went looking for a man, didn't find him, and just decided to hang out with his partner instead? Yhness, the way you Celestial Dragons operate never ceases to amaze me."

  In truth, Cudius had been searg for Silvers Rayleigh, the legendary "Dark King." They had crossed paths years ago and shared a certain camaraderie. Cudius had been curious to see him again.

  But Rayleigh, likely aware that both Cudius and Sengoku were on the isnd, had chosen to y low. As someone who preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble, Rayleigh likely cluded that the simultaneous presence of a Celestial Dragon and a Marine Admiral spelled potential disaster.

  So, in true Rayleigh fashion, he had likely taken to the sea, vanishing before Cudius could catch sight of him.

  Meanwhile, Cudius had spent those two days at Shakky's Rip-Off Bar, enjoying drinks and lively versation with Shakky, the proprietress.

  Sengoku, however, had no idea who Cudius had been looking for, nor did Cudius pn to tell him. After all, it wasn't like Rayleigh o appear on Marine's radar.

  Still, Sengoku found the situation absurd. Shaking his head, he decided not to press the matter further. As Marine Admiral, he felt it was beh him to pry into such frivolous gossip. Clearing his throat, he ged the subject. "Speaking of iing things, Yhness, I almost fot to show you something."

  Cudius turned away from the mesmerizing uer view and looked at Sengoku. "Oh? What is it?"

  Reag into his coat, Sengoku pulled out a slightly wrinkled bounty poster and ha to Cudius.

  "Take a look at this," Sengoku said, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

  Cudius unfolded the poster ahe name printed across it: Enel. His brow furrowed in mild surprise.

  "Huh, Enel? Haven't checked on him retly," Cudius murmured, scratg his . He had assumed Enel was still following Crocodile around, learning the ropes of piracy.

  It turned out he was wrong.

  "Thirty million berries," Cudius remarked with a hint of amusement. "Not a huge bounty, but for a newer, it's respectable. How long has it been since he set out? Two months?"

  "Not even two months," Sengoku replied, shaking his head. "But he's made a name for himself already. He's destroyed five pirate crews in such a short span. Oddly enough, he hasn't harmed any civilians or mert ships. His as are...unusual, to say the least. People are starting to call him the 'Raiden Karmapa'. A pirate who enforces his own brand of justi the seas. It's almost embarrassing for us Marines, but at least we know he's on our side."

  Hearing this, Cudius almost choked on his ughter. "'Raiden Karmapa?' Really? What, is he some kind of viginte now?"

  The name was a bit over-the-top, but Cudius knew such titles often evolved. Even legends like Silvers Rayleigh and Gol D. Roger hadn't started out with their iic epithets. Rayleigh had once been known as "Silver Rayleigh," while Roger was simply referred to as "Ger." pared to those humble beginnings, Enel's title wasn't too bad, though Cudius suspected it would eventually shift to something like "God of Thunder."

  ***

  Support me on patreon to read 90+ advanced chapters: patreon.