The rhythmic buruburuburuburu of the den den mushi shattered the peaceful sound of waves as Aokiji pedaled lazily across the frozen ocean. His relaxed expression soured the moment he recognized the call's origin – Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Work. Again.
With a long-suffering sigh, he fished the snail from his pocket. The moment he accepted the call, Sengoku's voice exploded through.
"Kuzan! You're in Water 7, correct? Status report! Have you apprehended the Straw Hats yet?"
Aokiji winced, holding the receiver slightly away from his ear. "Fleet Admiral... shouldn't you be buried under paperwork right now? Couldn't this wait for my official report?"
"Don't play dumb with me!" Sengoku snapped. "We both know you'd 'forget' to file that report for weeks!"
Aokiji couldn't argue. Paperwork was the bane of his existence. "...Fair point," he conceded, absently watching an iceberg drift by.
Sengoku pressed on, voice tinged with expectation: "Well? Are you transporting them to Impel Down as we speak?"
The line fell silent. Too silent.
Aokiji stopped pedaling, letting his bike glide to a halt on the ice. In that stillness, memories flashed through his mind – the moment he'd approached the Going Merry, how every instinct in his body had screamed danger. How his Logia powers had felt... fragile. How Nolan's golden eyes had tracked his every microexpression like a predator studying prey.
That man was different.
"Fleet Admiral," Aokiji finally said, voice uncharacteristically solemn, "I retreated."
A beat of stunned silence. Then: "...Explain."
"They have someone... abnormal," Aokiji said, staring at his own trembling hand – a hand that hadn't shaken since his rookie days. "Ranvil D. Nolan. He's not just strong. He's..."
The words stuck in his throat. How to describe the feeling of standing before someone whose mere presence made the air feel heavier? How his Observation Haki had shown him the futility of stsnding against him.
"If we fought?" Aokiji exhaled sharply. "I wouldn't survive the first exchange."
Sengoku's breath hitched audibly. "You're saying he surpasses Admiral-level combatants?"
"Surpasses?" Aokiji actually chuckled darkly. "Fleet Admiral, I've faced legendary figures and lived? This was different. Like staring into the abyss and having it stare back... with interest."
The line crackled with tension before Sengoku finally spoke, voice grave: "Return to Marine HQ immediately. Full debriefing."
"Understood," Aokiji agreed, already turning his bike toward headquarters. Then, as an afterthought: "Oh, and Fleet Admiral? You might want to evacuate Enies Lobby."
Click.
He froze the den den mushi solid before tossing it into the sea. No more interruptions. As he pedaled away, his last thought wasn't of duty or justice, but of that damn comfortable nimbus cloud.
"...Should've asked where he got that thing."
Meanwhile, deep in Marineford, Sengoku sat motionless at his desk, the disconnected snail still in his grip. Across from him, Tsuru paused mid-tea drinking, sensing the shift in atmosphere.
"Problem?" she asked while placing her cup down.
Sengoku slowly set down the receiver. "...We may have underestimated our newest supernova threat."
Tsuru sighed as she expected this to happen.
---
The dimly lit chamber echoed with Spandam's grating laughter as he circled Robin, his golden mask glinting under the flickering torchlight.
"HAHAHAHA! Nico Robin—the Demon Child herself! And you just walked right into our hands!" He threw his head back, cackling like a madman. "All these years of running, and for what? To get caught by me?!"
Robin remained silent, her face impassive even as Spandam leaned in uncomfortably close, his breath reeking of cheap wine.
"What? Nothing to say?" he sneered, before suddenly backhanding her across the face.
SMACK.
The sound rang through the room. Robin's head snapped to the side, but she didn't make a sound. A thin trickle of blood trailed from her split lip, yet her expression never wavered.
Lucci, leaning against the far wall with his usual bored expression, twitched slightly. Kaku sighed through his nose. Even Jabura looked mildly irritated.
"Tch. Pathetic," Spandam spat, wiping his hand on his coat as if touching her had dirtied him. "And to think the World Government wasted decades hunting you down. You're just some worthless scholar's brat!"
Robin's fingers curled slightly against the seastone cuffs binding her wrists, but she kept her voice steady. "If I'm so worthless… why go through all this trouble?"
Spandam's eye twitched. Then, with another bark of laughter, he turned to his agents. "You hear that? She still thinks she's important!" He whirled back to her, grinning like a jackal. "Let me spell it out for you—you're nothing. Just because you know some hidden knowledge doesn't mean your special!"
Robin's stomach tightened, but she forced herself to stay calm.
Spandam, mistaking her silence for fear, puffed up like a rooster. "And don't even think your little pirate friends are coming for you!" He threw his arms out theatrically. "The Straw Hats? Please. A rubber idiot, a lost swordsman, a thief, a liar, and a bunch of other nobodies? They wouldn't even make it past the gates!"
Kaku coughed into his fist. "Actually, Spandam-san, their bounties—"
"SHUT UP!" Spandam screeched, rounding on him. "I don't care about their stupid bounties! They're trash! And if they do show up?" He grinned, tapping the golden Den Den Mushi on his hip. "I'll call in a Buster Call and wipe them off the map myself!"
Robin's breath hitched. No…
But then, unbidden, a thought flickered in the back of her mind—one she couldn't suppress.
…Nolan wouldn't let that happen.
Spandam, oblivious, strutted toward the window, gazing out at the towering Gates of Justice. "Face it, Robin—you're alone. No one's coming. No one cares."
Behind him, Lucci finally spoke, his voice a low, dangerous growl. "Spandam. Are we done here?"
Spandam flinched, then huffed. "Fine, fine! Prep her for execution! We must let the world know of her death!" he grinned happily thinking of the reputation he will gain.
Unbeknownst to them, a world level commotion will occur in this sole island. The person they pissed is not really what we can call human. So some deaths won't hinder him.
---
A marine ship cut smoothly through the waves, the rhythmic sound of water against the hull almost soothing—if not for the tense atmosphere on deck.
Coby, his pink hair slightly damp from sea spray, stood stiffly in front of Vice Admiral Garp, who was sprawled across a couch like a lazy lion, crunching on senbei with all the care in the world.
"Vice Admiral Garp!" Coby repeated, louder this time, his voice cracking slightly. "Approximately two hours until we reach the next island!"
Garp paused mid-chew, staring blankly at the ceiling as if deep in thought. Then, with the grace of a man who had absolutely no urgency in his bones, he stuck a finger up his nose, digging around like he was searching for buried treasure.
Coby nearly collapsed from sheer disbelief.
"Vice Admiral Garp!!" he pleaded, his voice a mix of desperation and resignation.
Garp blinked, finally registering his presence. "Oh. What's up, boy?" he asked, as if Coby hadn't just been shouting in his face for the past minute.
Coby inhaled deeply, counting to three in his head. "Sir, I just reported—two hours until landfall."
"Ah! Right, right!" Garp boomed, slapping his knee before grabbing another handful of senbei. "Good work, kid!"
Coby hesitated, then steeled himself. "Vice Admiral... can I ask you something?"
Garp waved a dismissive hand, crumbs flying everywhere. "Hit me."
Coby swallowed hard, then bowed deeply. "Please don't arrest the pirates on that island! They're... they're my friends!"
Silence.
Then—
"BWHAHAHAHA!" Garp's laughter nearly knocked Coby over. "Sure, kid! Whatever you say!"
Coby nearly collapsed in relief. "Thank you, Vice Admiral! Thank—"
Then, under his breath, he muttered, "Thank god, Luffy-san..."
The moment the name left his lips, the air on the deck turned to ice.
Garp's hand shot out, grabbing Coby by the collar and yanking him up until they were nose to nose.
"HMM?! Did you just say LUFFY?!" Garp's voice was like thunder, his eyes suddenly sharp as blades. "As in STRAW HAT LUFFY?!"
Coby's soul nearly left his body. His face turned sheet-white, his legs dangling helplessly in the air.
'I'M SORRY, LUFFY-SAN!!!' he screamed internally, already picturing his own funeral.
Garp's glare could have melted steel. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the storm passed.
"...Bwahahaha! That damn brat!" Garp dropped Coby like a sack of potatoes, rubbing his chin. "So he's on that island, huh?"
Coby, still trembling, nodded weakly.
Garp grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting him down."
Coby's heart stopped.
---
I always forget to post one every morning so I'll probably just post during the night. This would be the last one...