One Piece: King of the World

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Shiki Became Brain-dead?

In the New World waters, aboard the flagship of a fleet of five massive warships, Vice Admiral Garp, Admiral Sengoku, Rear Admiral Kuzan, Rear Admiral Borsalino, and others were gathered around Gion and Vice Admiral Tsuru, bombarding them with questions. They were all eager to know the details of how the Golden Lion, Shiki, had been captured.

"A storm? You mean to tell me you guys got lucky and just crashed into Shiki's damn ship?" Vice Admiral Garp asked, his expression incredulous.

"Lucky? Garp, we almost died. If you think that's luck, why don't you pick a nice day and try jumping off Sky Island yourself!" Vice Admiral Tsuru shot Garp a sharp glare, clearly annoyed by his casual attitude.

"You know I didn't mean it like that, Tsuru..." Garp quickly backpedaled.

Admiral Sengoku, more serious than Garp, pressed for specifics, "What exactly happened? All I know is that His Highness Claudius took down Shiki, but what was the process?"

"We don't know the full details ourselves. We were separated during the impact. Only Crocodile was with His Highness at the time, but he was so exhausted that he passed out. He doesn't remember anything either," Gion explained, shaking her head.

"By the way, you mentioned that Shiki had started a naval battle in the waters of Edd War?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked.

"Yes," Gion confirmed. "He was trying to ambush the Roger Pirates, but it seems fate wasn't on his side. He ran straight into the storm, and the Roger Pirates disappeared. What's even worse for him was that we ended up capturing him."

Sengoku chuckled, shaking his head, "Shiki sure had rotten luck."

Three days had passed since the Battle of Edd War. Sengoku and the others had rushed to the scene, gathering Tsuru and the rest of the survivors aboard their warships. Crocodile and Enel had regained consciousness, but Claudius was still out cold.

Thankfully, his injuries had stabilized, and the medical team assured them he'd wake up once his body had fully recovered. Shiki, on the other hand... things didn't look so promising.

The military doctors suspected Shiki's brain had been damaged during his battle with Claudius. So far, there had been no response from him.

"The doctors say Shiki might've become brain dead," Tsuru said with a heavy sigh.

No one knew if or when Shiki would ever wake up. With both Claudius and Shiki out of commission, Sengoku and the others were still in the dark about the finer details of the battle.

"We're lucky His Highness is recovering well. Even though we caught Shiki, if something had happened to Claudius, we'd all be in for a world of trouble," Vice Admiral Tsuru noted.

"I hope he wakes up soon. Those Five Elders seem pretty pleased with him. Not even half a year after injuring Shiki, and now he's captured him alive? Claudius might end up creating a powerful new division within the World Government," Sengoku said with a smile.

Garp, who had been more or less ignoring the political talk, asked, "What new division? And what exactly did Claudius promise those Five Elders?"

Sengoku shot Garp a stern look. "Show some respect, Garp. Claudius isn't like the other Celestial Dragons you've dealt with. Haven't I told you that a thousand times?"

Garp blinked, then chuckled, "Alright, alright, Saint Claudius. So what's the deal?"

"Over half a year ago, the Five Elders summoned His Highness Claudius and, after a lengthy discussion, authorized him to form a new organization: CP-X. At the time, we all thought it was nothing more than an empty title, something symbolic. No one took it seriously," Sengoku explained.

"Yeah, I remember that. His Highness said CP-X was supposed to handle problems neither the Marines nor the CP agencies could solve," Garp remarked.

"Exactly. Back then, we all thought Claudius was just being a bit overconfident. After all, he's a Celestial Dragon, so he's got a certain pride and youthful arrogance. But, even if this was just a coincidence, we have to admit, he managed to solve a problem both the Marines and the CP couldn't: the Golden Lion, Shiki," Sengoku said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Luck is a kind of strength too," Garp mused. "If Roger wasn't so damn lucky, I'd have caught him long ago."

As Garp and Sengoku noted, no matter how many coincidences played into the capture, the fact remained that Shiki had been caught. Even the most powerful people could be brought down by a stroke of bad luck. The world was full of such unpredictable forces.

"Shiki's fall really marks the end of an era," Tsuru added.

"When we return to Mariejois, CP-X's name will probably start making waves. Who knows? It might actually become an organization on par with the Marine Headquarters, just like His Highness envisioned," Sengoku said thoughtfully.

"That won't be easy. But if Claudius keeps being this lucky, well, maybe I'll take back my doubts," Garp joked.

Just as they were talking, a Marine Colonel rushed into the room and reported, "Sir! Saint Claudius has woken up!"

Before anyone else could react, Gion shot up from her seat, her long legs carrying her out of the room in a flash.

The others were left blinking in surprise. Rear Admiral Kuzan chuckled, "Ara ra, it seems His Highness Claudius has gained more than just Shiki from this mission."

"Poor guy. If he knew what was waiting for him, he'd probably freak out," Rear Admiral Borsalino quipped in his usual laid-back tone.

"I thought Gion had her sights set too high to ever settle down. Guess I was wrong," Garp said with a grin.

Before he could say anything more, Tsuru hurled a teacup at his head, smacking him squarely on the forehead. Garp, not wanting to anger her further, simply laughed awkwardly.

Sengoku stepped in to defuse the situation, "Alright, enough fooling around. Let's go check on His Highness and see how he's doing."

By the time they reached Claudius' room, he was already sitting up in bed, looking around. The young Enel sat beside him, having stayed by his side the entire time, which warmed Claudius' heart.

"How long have I been out? And where are we? This looks like a warship," Claudius asked groggily.

Enel, visibly excited, responded, "You've been asleep for three days, Your Highness. We're on a Marine warship. I don't really get all the details, but I heard Admiral Sengoku came to escort us. We're heading back to... uh, what's it called again? Marie-something."

"Mariejois," Claudius corrected, smiling slightly. "That's where my home is."

Just then, the door opened, and Gion entered in a rush. But as she stepped inside, she seemed to realize how hasty she'd been and froze for a moment. Claudius noticed a slight flush on her face but didn't comment on it.

Gion collected herself and stepped forward, asking, "Your Highness, how are you feeling? Any pain or discomfort?"

Claudius winced, "Well, I got stabbed, so yeah, it hurts. But I don't think it's anything too serious. I just hope Shiki didn't mess up my kidney... that's about where he stabbed me, right?"

Gion's expression shifted, a mix of embarrassment and amusement flashing across her face. Her eyes darted away for a moment, and Claudius panicked slightly, clutching his side, "Wait, don't tell me... did that bastard actually ruin my kidney?"

Shiki's capture was one thing, but losing an organ over it? That would be an insult Claudius couldn't bear.

Seeing his panic, Gion laughed, "Relax, Your Highness. I'm just teasing you. You're fine. The blade missed all your vital organs."

Claudius sighed in relief but shot her a disapproving look, "Don't scare me like that!"

"It's just too fun teasing you, Your Highness," Gion said with a playful smile.

At that moment, Sengoku and the rest of the group entered the room.

Sengoku approached first, shaking Claudius' hand with genuine relief, "It's good to see you awake, Your Highness. We were worried."

As Claudius shook hands with the old admiral, he couldn't help but think, "Why's this old man so enthusiastic? Can't he let Gion handle this? What's he doing holding my hand like this?"

After exchanging pleasantries, they got down to business. Claudius didn't hold anything back and recounted the events that led to Shiki's capture. As he finished, Admiral Sengoku and the others sat in stunned silence, processing the chain of coincidences and pure luck that had led to Shiki's downfall.

"So in the end, it really was just luck. That rudder did half the work before you even fought him," Sengoku finished, shaking his head in disbelief. "I didn't expect Shiki to be half-defeated before you even laid a hand on him."

"Yeah, it was a lucky break, but luck's still a kind of strength, right?" Claudius grinned, trying to downplay the severity of the fight. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But if I'm being honest, I didn't expect it to turn out like this either."

"Regardless, Your Highness, this is a huge achievement," Sengoku said seriously. "However, we've kept the news contained for now. Something this important needs careful handling. Once word gets out that Shiki has been captured, the whole world will react. We need to be prepared for the fallout."

Claudius nodded thoughtfully. "I understand. It's better to wait until everything is in place. We don't want Shiki's allies or the other pirates in the New World making any sudden moves while we're still recovering."

"Exactly," Sengoku agreed. "We're planning to use this opportunity to strengthen our position in the New World. This could give us the leverage we need to establish a solid foothold there."

Claudius chuckled. "Well, when you Marines start carving up the New World, don't forget to throw CP-X a bone. We're all part of the same team, after all."

Garp suddenly burst out laughing, "UhaHaHahaha! Don't worry, kid! We'll save you a nice piece of the action!"

The room fell silent, and everyone turned to Garp with exasperated expressions. His loud and carefree attitude never failed to break the mood.

Claudius laughed along, not minding the remark. "Thanks, Garp. I'll hold you to that."

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