One Piece: SSS-Rank Haki at Age Seventeen

"F-Fleet Admiral Sengoku?!"

Behind his sunglasses, Vergo's pupils shrank violently.

Why were these two here at G-5?!

By all logic, they should still be overseeing Marine Headquarters' relocation to G-1!

Years of undercover instinct exploded within him instantly. He nearly shoved the Den Den Mushi behind his back—

CRACKLE!!

Black-and-red lightning tore through the air.

Conqueror's Haki descended like divine punishment upon the traitor standing before Sengoku—Marine Vice Admiral Vergo!

An overwhelming sense of death surged over him like a tidal wave, crushing directly into his heart.

His mind went blank.

Only a desperate instinct to flee remained—

Yet even his fingers had stiffened beyond movement.

"Buru… Buru… Kacha!"

The Den Den Mushi connected.

A voice filled with mockery, arrogance, and tyrannical confidence echoed through the dead-silent office.

"Fufufufu… Vergo? Did you find out anything about what I asked you to investigate?"

Sengoku's expression remained calm.

But beneath that calm lay an iceberg cold enough to freeze the world itself.

Tsuru's brows tightened almost imperceptibly, her gaze turning even deeper.

As for Vergo—

He felt as though an invisible giant hand had seized him midair.

Even breathing had become a luxury.

The pressure of Sengoku's Conqueror's Haki wrapped around him like solid chains, crushing his bones until they emitted horrifying cracking sounds.

"Ghh—!!"

Vergo bit down viciously on his own tongue!

The intense pain pierced through the terror paralyzing his nerves, allowing him to briefly break free from the mental suppression.

"DOFFY—!!!"

He roared into the Den Den Mushi at the top of his lungs, his voice twisted by panic and agony.

"Watch out for the Straw Hat Pirates!! We… we don't have any chance left!! Give it up!! They're completely insane!!"

"Young Master—I've been exposed—!!"

But before he could finish—

A massive hand snatched the black Den Den Mushi from his grip with speed beyond his perception.

It was Sengoku.

Without even sparing Vergo another glance, Sengoku casually tossed the Den Den Mushi behind him like discarded trash.

"Vergo…"

Sengoku's voice sounded once more.

Terrifyingly calm.

"Are you prepared…"

He slowly raised his right hand.

Brilliant golden light burst from his palm!

The air before him compressed violently, twisting and vibrating with a deep hum.

"…to face my wrath?!"

The instant the words fell—

Sengoku thrust his glowing palm forward.

BOOM—!!!!!!!!!

A massive golden shockwave erupted.

Vergo instantly became a blurred silhouette as he was blasted backward like a cannonball!

BANG! CRASH! KRAK—!!!

The reinforced wall exploded apart with a human-shaped hole punched straight through it.

Vergo's body shot across the skies above the entire G-5 base while countless Marines watched in horror.

Then—

BOOOOM!!

He slammed directly into the center of the base's massive training ground.

Sengoku casually flicked his white Coat of Justice behind him.

The next second, his voice rang across the entire G-5 base like divine judgment.

"VERGO—!!!"

"You, a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral and Commander of G-5, colluded in secret with the 'Heavenly Yaksha,' Donquixote Doflamingo!"

"You sold Marine intelligence, betrayed your comrades, and murdered Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander Rosinante—!!"

"The evidence is conclusive!"

"Your crimes are unforgivable—!!"

The moment his words ended—

FLASH!

A radiant golden figure appeared above Vergo like instantaneous movement.

Sengoku hovered overhead, looking down coldly.

His right palm was coated in jet-black Armament Haki refined to its absolute peak.

Without flourish.

Without hesitation.

He slammed his palm downward toward Vergo's skull.

Before the strike even landed, the surrounding air compressed into a visible white pressure barrier.

"What—?!"

Vergo's pupils contracted violently.

The sense of mortal danger nearly froze his blood solid.

Relying purely on survival instinct, he roared and hurled his own Armament Haki-coated fist upward!

BOOOOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Buddha's Palm collided head-on with the traitor's fist.

A deafening explosion erupted as terrifying shockwaves blasted outward in every direction!

The hardened training ground shattered like fragile eggshells.

"AAAAAAARGH—!!!"

Vergo let out an inhuman scream.

Horrifying cracks exploded throughout the bones of his punching arm.

BOOM!!!!!

The ground within a ten-meter radius collapsed instantly beneath him, creating a gigantic crater several meters deep.

Vergo dropped to one knee at the crater's center.

Countless blood vessels burst across his body, turning him into a grotesque blood-soaked figure.

He coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with disbelief and despair.

So this…

Was the power at the pinnacle of the Marines?!

Terrifying.

Absolutely terrifying!!

Even what appeared to be a casual strike carried enough destructive force to utterly crush a Vice Admiral-level fighter like him!

Enduring the agony, Vergo forced himself to look up at Sengoku.

Within Sengoku's eyes—burning with boundless rage and killing intent—

Vergo clearly saw something else.

Restraint.

Cold, deliberate restraint.

Sengoku wasn't trying to kill him quickly.

He intended to make him suffer.

As though slowly dismantling a fragile porcelain object.

"I told you already…"

Sengoku's voice fell heavily from above.

"I won't let you die so easily, Vergo."

......

Tsuru stood quietly at the edge of the ruined office, observing the one-sided judgment unfolding at the distant training ground.

She slowly raised the black Den Den Mushi that remained connected throughout everything.

Every sound had been transmitted clearly.

"Doflamingo…"

"Now that it's come to this, do you have anything to say?"

"What exactly am I supposed to say?! Hm?! Ask you to spare Vergo's life?!"

"Fufufu… Don't joke around. Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Chief Staff Officer Tsuru personally cleaning house? What opinion could a mere Warlord of the Sea possibly have?"

Doflamingo's voice brimmed with fury—and unmistakable shock.

He couldn't understand how Vergo's decades-long infiltration had been exposed.

Nor could he understand why it had happened so suddenly and without warning.

But he understood one thing clearly.

There was nothing he could do to stop it.

He was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

He carried the blood of the Celestial Dragons.

Those identities could protect himself under certain rules.

But they could never shield a proven traitor personally captured by the Fleet Admiral.

His mind raced faster than ever before.

What happened?!

What the hell happened?!

All he had done was contact Vergo through their usual secure line to ask about what should have been a harmless investigation—

And instead, the voice that answered him belonged to Sengoku the Buddha himself.

Then came Vergo's desperate screams.

The crashing impacts.

The sounds of bones shattering.

Everything had happened too quickly.

Like a sudden tsunami that destroyed one of his most important arrangements overnight.

"Doffy…"

Tsuru's voice sounded again.

Steady.

Cold.

Final.

"You should pray…"

"That you can still keep your seat among the Seven Warlords."

She paused slightly, lowering her voice.

Yet every word became even clearer.

"Otherwise… I would be more than happy to personally visit Dressrosa someday…"

"And have a proper conversation…"

"With you, 'King.'"

Click.

The call ended cleanly.

The Den Den Mushi's eyes dulled immediately, returning to the vacant expression of an ordinary snail.

Dressrosa.

Deep within the palace atop the King's Plateau.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

A suffocating stillness filled the luxurious hall.

"..."

Slowly—

Very slowly—

Doflamingo lowered his head.

Veins bulged violently across his forehead beneath his blond hair, writhing as though they might burst through his skin.

"Hah… hah… hah…"

Tsuru!!

That damned old woman again!!

Vergo… was gone.

Not just a top executive.

Not just one of the Donquixote Family's core combatants.

More importantly—

The deepest, most valuable pair of eyes and ears he had cultivated within the Marines for decades had been completely ripped away.

Countless future plans relying on internal intelligence and Marine operations would now suffer devastating setbacks.

...

G-5 Marine Base — Training Ground Ruins.

"Kh… ghh…"

Vergo lay collapsed among the rubble like a boneless corpse.

Above him stood Sengoku.

The golden glow and Armament Haki surrounding his palm slowly faded as he withdrew his power.

Turning his head slightly, he looked toward Tsuru.

"Tsuru. I'll leave him to you."

His voice regained some of its usual dignified calm.

But the rage and pain buried deep within his eyes had not vanished.

Vergo, one of the Donquixote Family's highest-ranking executives, still possessed enormous value.

Doflamingo's criminal networks.

Underworld trade routes.

Secret dealings with World Government officials.

Perhaps even hidden secrets involving the Holy Land Mariejois itself.

Those pieces of information could become the fatal leverage needed to bring down the "Heavenly Yaksha."

Maybe even trigger a far greater storm.

Sengoku didn't merely intend to remove Vergo.

He intended to uproot Doflamingo completely.

As Sengoku turned to leave, Tsuru spoke once more.

"You understand what Doflamingo's other identity means."

"Even with overwhelming evidence, as long as that protection remains… the most likely outcome is simply imprisonment in the deepest level of Impel Down."

A former Celestial Dragon.

A current Warlord of the Sea.

A king of an allied nation.

Executing someone like that would face unimaginable political resistance from the World Government.

Sengoku paused slightly.

But he did not turn around.

The reflection on his glasses caught the shimmering ocean light in the distance—

And within that reflection, the silhouette of an exceptionally young figure seemed to flash briefly through his eyes.

"It doesn't matter."

His voice was quiet.

Yet carried absolute certainty.

"Doflamingo…"

"He won't remain arrogant for much longer."