Though it was regrettable that Shun had only managed to repel and absorb abilities from three people, he consoled himself. They had been utterly defenseless at the time, but they were counted among the very strongest in the world. That was a worthy haul. The other prisoners simply weren't worth the energy.
Satisfied, Shun moved away from Impel Down in his signature paw-shaped bubble.
"What did you do in there?" Nami asked suspiciously as he returned. Even Robin watched him with keen interest. Normal reasons never justified sneaking into the world's most dangerous prison.
"Well, you know my power lets me repel things, right?" Shun began.
"No, not at all," Nami said flatly.
"Huh? I never explained?" Shun shrugged, then decided to come clean. "At its most basic, my power allows me to repel almost anything—even abstract concepts like pain, damage, or fatigue. Repelling them means someone else has to bear the burden, so I usually used a wild animal." He paused, seeing their full attention. "But everything changed when I awakened it. Now, I can repel… pretty much anything."
Both women were sharp enough to see where this was going.
"No way! An ability that broken could exist?!" Nami was shocked, almost scared.
"It has its drawbacks. The energy drain is insane. I hit my limit after trying to take just three people's abilities," Shun sighed.
"Three?!" Nami's eyes widened. Three sounded small, but from the strongest prison, and knowing Shun, he wouldn't have settled for weaklings.
"When I was younger, I got too greedy and almost died. That's what caused my hair and eyebrows to turn white," he lied casually.
"So, they aren't natural?" Robin drifted closer, curiously running her fingers through his hair.
Shun didn't mind. "No. It was black."
"Well, we have time. Let's go on a date," Shun declared abruptly, and with a twist of space, he teleported them back to Sabaody Archipelago.
POP-!
"Huh? Sabaody? Can we make it back in time?" Nami asked, worried about their mission.
"It's fine. I can teleport back to any place I've been to once. Marineford is right next to Impel Down."
The island was still under heavy marine patrol, with search parties everywhere.
'If I'd traveled to more places, I wouldn't have to keep coming back here,' Shun thought, 'but whatever.'
Unlike his last visit, more shops were open now, which meant he didn't have to worry about getting scammed by Shakky.
"Shun, unlike you, we're wanted for the Celestial Dragon hit-and-run incident! We can't just stroll around here!" Nami hissed, gripping his arm.
"Ah, right. I'd forgotten that little 'incident' with the funny name was actually your handiwork," Shun said with a faint, amused smile.
Nami and Robin flushed with a mixture of shame and indignation. Before they could retort, Shun reached out and gently touched each of their cheeks. A subtle ripple passed over their skin.
"There. Invisible. I suppose I'll just have to bear the stares of everyone thinking I'm a lunatic who talks to himself," he sighed, already striding toward a cozy-looking restaurant with a weathered sign.
A young waiter greeted him at the entrance. "Welcome, sir. A table for one?"
"For three, please," Shun replied calmly.
The waiter, a man with kind eyes named Jotaro, chuckled. "Good one, sir. Your friends joining later?"
"No. They're with me right now."
Jotaro's smile faltered. He glanced at the empty space beside Shun, then back at his customer's perfectly serious face. A flicker of genuine concern crossed his features. "Are your friends in the room with us right now?"
Shun just nodded with a sigh.
"...Right this way, sir."
He led Shun to a round table set for three and, after a moment's hesitation, placed a gentle hand on Shun's shoulder. "Sir… my name is Jotaro. If you ever need someone to talk to. Truly."
Shun felt a wave of profound annoyance—not at the man, but at the situation. The pity was well-intentioned, which made it infinitely worse. He managed a stiff nod.
A soft, muffled sound came from the empty chair to his left. "Pfft—" It was quickly stifled, but not before Shun heard it. Even Robin seemed amused.
"I appreciate it," Shun said, his voice flat. "Now, please bring your best dishes. For three."
"Right away, sir!" Jotaro bowed and hurried off, casting one last worried glance over his shoulder.
"A humiliation ritual," Shun muttered to the empty air, wiping non-existent sweat from his brow. "I deserve significant compensation for this."
The remark successfully ended the unseen laughter, replacing it with a palpable, flustered silence from the two empty chairs.
The meal was an awkward affair. Jotaro returned with great ceremony, presenting a stunning, frost-kissed dessert. "Sir! Our signature luxury: Angel's Cloud! A chilled coconut cream from a secret, safe grove, whipped with rare 'Sun Honeycomb' gathered from the very canopy where the air is purest, served on—"
"That's enough," Shun cut him off, his patience frayed. "Just leave it."
He ordered three of everything he wanted, ate in resolute silence under Jotaro's sympathetic gaze, and paid as quickly as he could. As he turned to leave, Jotaro pressed a small slip of paper into his hand.
"My Den Den Mushi number, sir. Please, call anytime. Even just to talk."
Shun took the paper with a grunt, too drained to refuse. "There are still some decent people in this era of pirates, huh?" Nami's voice whispered beside him, tinged with irony. Robin remained quiet, but her agreement was felt.
Their walk through the grove was punctuated by stares—not of fear or reverence, but of naked pity for the well-dressed man holding two-sided conversations with the air. The humiliation was exquisite.
"It's late," Shun finally declared, his voice tight. "We're finding an inn. Now."
He made a beeline for the finest-looking hotel in the grove. Just as his hand touched the door, a slow, familiar drawl oozed from the shadows behind him.
"Ooooh… You three seem to be enjoying yourselves."
The air around Nami and Robin seemed to freeze solid. Kizaru?
Shun turned slowly. "Still lurking around Sabaody, Admiral?"
"Yeeeah… I heard a pitiful story. A man, talking to himself, buying dinner for three… I came out of pity," Kizaru mused, his hands in his pockets, his orange lenses glinting. "But to find he's in the company of the two lovely fugitives from the Celestial Dragon… incident… Now that's surprising."
He can see right through it, Shun realized with a sinking feeling. And today, of all days, even an Admiral is pretending to be charitable.
"Just let us go. It's not in your character to work overtime, is it?" Shun said, forcing calm into his voice.
Kizaru's languid smirk didn't shift. "You know me?"
"I do. My grandfather complains about your laziness all the time."
"Grandfather…?" For the first time, a flicker of genuine curiosity broke Kizaru's bored facade. Only one old man would dare complain about him so freely.
"Yes. I'm Sengoku's grandson. Training in secret. Best you keep it quiet," Shun stated, layering his lie with a touch of impatient arrogance. "Now, I was about to secure a room and interrogate these two properly. Don't interfere with my mission."
"I seeeeee…" Kizaru's drawl was longer, more considering. He slowly pulled out a small, gold-shelled Den Den Mushi. "Let me just… check in with the Fleet Admiral, then."
Damn it. Nami and Robin's panic was a silent scream in the air beside Shun. This flimsy story was about to unravel spectacularly.
Kizaru held the snail to his ear. "Hmmmm~ That's weird. He's not answering."
Shun watched, a realization dawning. The Admiral wasn't using a standard line. He was clumsily trying to dial a private, single-connection snail as if it were a regular one, feigning confusion as the poor snail just stared blankly.
After a performative minute, Kizaru gave up with a shrug. "Must be busy with the war preparations."
"Exactly. So, unless you want me to tell him you delayed my confidential interrogation and doubled your paperwork, I suggest you leave," Shun pressed, gambling on the one threat he knew would land.
A beat of silence passed. Kizaru's amused smile didn't reach his eyes, which had briefly flicked over Shun with the weight of a predator's assessment. He had seen through the lie. But he had also seen something else—a hidden density of power in the young man before him, and a problem that promised a long, tiresome fight for no real gain.
"Alright, alright… I'll leave you to your… interrogation," Kizaru said, raising his hands in a gesture of mock surrender. He took a single step back and dissolved into a shower of golden light, leaving the street empty.
The tension shattered. Nami and Robin let out shaky breaths they'd been holding since Marineford.
"Nosy, the whole lot of them," Shun grumbled, pushing open the inn door with more force than necessary. "We rest here tonight. For East Blue tomorrow."
An old man behind the counter greeted him. "Welcome, sir! One room?"
"The room with the largest bed," Shun said, dropping a heavy stack of Berries on the counter.
The owner's eyes widened, but he asked no questions. "Y-Yes, sir! Right away!"
Once inside the spacious, opulently furnished room, Nami's voice broke the silence, now clearly audible. "You ordered three of everything at the restaurant. But only one room? And one bed?"
"In this economy," Shun replied, his earlier frustration simmering back to the surface, "we must be frugal where we can."
Before either woman could voice the obvious flaw in that logic, he closed the distance. In one smooth motion, he gathered them both up and carried them toward the vast, plush bed. The day's accumulated humiliations, the patronizing pity, the Admiral's games—it had all grated on him deeply.
He had no more patience for conversation. It was time to vent.