Fuzi, the head of the Tobi Roppo, hesitated for a moment before speaking,
"Weren't there always five of us... Boss."
The others around nodded in agreement.
Kaido's eyes narrowed slightly, and he stared expressionlessly at the Tobi Roppo.
The atmosphere in the conference room grew even more oppressive...
It was then that Kaido finally realized where his inner frustration was coming from.
It was the empty seat next to Ulti, one of the Tobi Roppo. He had no memory of it, yet there was an extra vacant spot...
He scanned around for a long time, subconsciously overlooking that area, until everyone now stated that the Tobi Roppo were only five in number.
Only then did he notice the strange sense of disharmony. If there were only five of them, why was the group named Tobi Roppo (Flying Six)?
He wasn't as senile as that old woman...
A vague sense of unease stirred within Kaido, and his voice turned cold:
"King..."
"Bring the roster..."
King looked confused but replied,
"Yes."
He turned and left, transforming into a winged dragon and soaring out of the conference hall.
Everyone in the hall held their breath, waiting in silence.
A moment later, King, in his winged dragon form, flew back, landed, and reverted to human form. He held a roster in his hand and presented it to Kaido.
Kaido's gaze swept over the Tobi Roppo and he spoke directly:
"Call out the names of the Tobi Roppo."
King put away the roster in his hand, flipped it open, and began calling according to the order:
"Fuzi."
"Here."
"Maria."
"Here."
"Sasaki."
"Here."
"Ulti."
"Here."
"Pe..."
Before he could finish the name, King's face contorted in shock, and he looked up at Kaido.
Kaido understood, took the roster from King's hand, looked at the name, and read it out coldly:
"Page One..."
Looking at this unfamiliar name, a boundless killing intent erupted within Kaido.
It was clear that someone in the Marines possessed a peculiar Devil Fruit ability, capable of erasing everyone's memories.
To make everyone forget that person, and what's more, even a Yonko like himself could be affected; his Haki was useless...
If it weren't for the incongruity of the number of chairs, he wouldn't have realized someone was missing. How terrifying was this...
At this moment, a flaw of the Hobby Hobby Fruit was also exposed.
That perverted, rule-based ability to erase memories could only erase memories.
It couldn't erase any tangible things – like the traces of his existence, the items used, or recorded information, which would still remain.
The Beast Pirates had a clear hierarchy, and the number of seats was fixed.
Therefore, when the pirate subordinates were setting up the hall, even though they were puzzled why there were six chairs for only five Tobi Roppo...
They still arranged them in order, not daring to miss any.
The thought of those pirate subordinates was, "What if a new person was added? If they didn't arrange a chair, such an oversight would be fatal..."
Suddenly.
Ulti, one of the Tobi Roppo.
She clutched her chest and cried out in pain, unconsciously shouting:
"Little Page!!!!"
The sharp pain, like her heart was being torn apart, felt as if she had lost a loved one.
Everyone's memories began to slowly recover...
---
New World, in a returning fleet.
On Vice Admiral Tsuru's warship.
All the female soldiers were startled by the screams and roars from the shredder just now...
Sugar collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, trying to calm herself.
Baby-5 knelt beside her, gently patting Sugar's back to comfort her.
Vice Admiral Tsuru rushed over:
"What happened?"
She knelt beside Sugar, placed her hand on her back, and activated her ability to wash away the fear in Sugar's heart.
Baby-5, after releasing Sugar's back, looked at Vice Admiral Tsuru:
"It was a pirate with a powerful physique."
"The shredder pulverized him, but he didn't die completely."
Limited by their talent and strength, they usually only attacked mid-to-low-tier pirate leaders, and there had never been an accident.
But accidents, in the end, still occurred.
Then she recounted what had just happened, describing how after throwing the spiky dragon toy into the shredder, Sugar had deactivated her ability after waiting for the normal amount of time.
Because Sugar's toys automatically reassembled and repaired themselves.
So, after being pulverized, she usually deactivated her ability immediately, allowing the pirate to die in a shredded state.
However, this time, after the pulverization, perhaps because the upper body fragments were relatively close, a dragon's head shape protruded from the iron wall of the shredding cabin...
It shot directly towards Sugar, and it was this sudden appearance of the dragon's head that startled Sugar.
However, after the outburst, the pirate who had transformed into a dragon lost his life, after all, his body was shredded...
Ordinary pirates would die immediately, but thanks to the mutated physique of the Ancient Zoan - Dinosaur type ability, Page One's consciousness persisted for another two seconds.
He let out a burst of energy before letting out a mournful cry and dying...
Vice Admiral Tsuru nodded:
"I understand."
At the same time, she withdrew her hand from Sugar's back. Sugar's inner fear had been washed away.
She was now calm, though her body felt weak, a lingering effect of the shock.
Baby-5 hugged Sugar and helped her up.
Vice Admiral Tsuru looked at the iron wall that had been dented into the shape of a dragon's head and said to a nearby female soldier:
"Reinforce and upgrade the shredder."
The female soldier beside her replied:
"Yes."
Dada dada—
The sound of hurried footsteps approached, and a female soldier ran over with a Den Den Mushi:
"Vice Admiral."
"This is an urgent call from Fleet Admiral Sakazuki."
"He's ordering Sugar to return to Headquarters."
Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned slightly, looking at Sugar's condition, and asked the messenger female soldier:
"When?"
The messenger female soldier said:
"Uh... he didn't specify a time."
Vice Admiral Tsuru nodded, then looked at Sugar and Baby-5 and said:
"You two, recover your strength first."
"I'll go and inquire."
Sugar and Baby-5 nodded and replied:
"Yes."
---
New World, New Marineford.
In the Fleet Admiral's office.
Sakazuki glanced at the time on the wall; it was nearing midnight.
Thinking of Sugar, who had already departed for this location and was about to arrive, he said to Carol:
"Has all the intelligence been gathered?"
Carol rose from her office seat:
"Confirmed. The target is currently being covertly monitored by a modified Mihawk."
Sakazuki nodded and said indifferently:
"Bring them here."
Carol chuckled lightly:
"Yes."
He mobilized his ability to its maximum.
Whoosh—
In an instant, he traversed the Red Line.
He appeared across from a bar in Water 7...