Happy Valentine's Day to all the couples out there
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Marineford.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku had summoned the top brass. The topic: The Impel Down breakout.
They had to hunt down the escapees from Level 6. That wasn't up for debate.
The problem was that the prisoners who clawed their way out of Eternal Hell weren't the kind of trash regular Marines could handle.
To go after monsters like that, you needed an Admiral.
And even then... success wasn't guaranteed.
"Aokiji, Kizaru, Akainu... get moving," Sengoku ordered, his voice grim. "Your priority is to recapture the Level 6 escapees."
He glanced around the room. "And keep a lid on the details. We don't need the public panicking."
"Impel Down is a wreck. Level 6 needs to be completely rebuilt. We have dead prisoners to identify and others to transfer..."
Sengoku rattled off a string of orders.
The Marine machine began to turn. All three Admirals were mobilizing.
"Finally," Sengoku said, rubbing his temples, "we need to discuss the ringleader. The man who broke open Level 6 and started this whole mess Kai. You have his file. Borsalino, tell us what you know."
The conference room was small.
Less than ten people were present, but every single one of them was a titan of the Navy.
Kizaru sat back in his chair, legs crossed, focused entirely on trimming his fingernails.
Hearing his name, he blew on his fingers and looked up, his expression sharpening just a fraction.
"Kai... mmm. He's strong. Hand-to-hand, swordsmanship, Haki... he's got the whole package. But the scary part isn't his current level. It's his growth speed."
Kizaru paused, his usual slow drawl dropping a little lower. "I underestimated him. And I paid for it."
"The reports from Impel Down are accurate. He went from nothing to this in just over two months."
"I chased him for three days... and in those three days, I could feel him getting stronger."
"At the start, his Armament Haki was rough around the edges..."
"But by the end? He was using it like a master. It's no weaker than mine. Combine that with his monstrous physical strength... well, even I have to watch my step around him."
Kizaru finally put the nail clippers away. "His Observation Haki is top-tier, too. And since he's not a Devil Fruit user, he spent the last three days underwater. I couldn't catch him then, and... well, I probably won't be able to catch him now."
(T/N: this was not shown in the last chapter and seems like something the original author added last minute)
Kizaru had used the Pika Pika no Mi to scour the ocean, staying on Kai's heels for seventy-two hours straight.
Kai had tried to swim through the Calm Belt.
The man was bleeding, which attracted Sea Kings. The water turned into a slaughterhouse.
Kizaru had tracked the blood and the chaos.
But once Kai cleared the Calm Belt and slipped into the vastness of the East Blue, the Sea King attacks stopped. Without the trails of blood and dead monsters to follow, Kizaru had lost him.
Listening to the report, Tsuru clasped her hands, her face grave. "If he grows that fast, he's a ticking time bomb. He might be more dangerous than the legends who escaped Level 6. We need a specific plan for him."
"Leave it to me!"
A gruff voice cut through the tension. Surprisingly, Garp stood up.
"My idiot grandson decided to go play pirate, so I need to head back anyway," Garp said, picking his nose casually. "Since Borsalino says the kid went to the East Blue, I'll handle it. I've got some business back home. I'll see if I can drag him back in chains while I'm at it."
"Fine. It's yours," Sengoku nodded. "We'll issue the bounty immediately. Let's start him at... 350 million Berries."
Sengoku didn't object.
If Kai was strong enough to give Kizaru trouble, regular Marines would just be feeding him kills.
Sending the Hero of the Marines was the safest bet.
Somewhere in the East Blue.
Kai drifted on the surface, looking for all the world like a piece of dead flotsam. He didn't care where the current took him.
He was absolutely spent.
"That shiny bastard," Kai wheezed internally.
Chased by Kizaru for three days straight. He'd nearly died of exhaustion between the Admiral and the Sea Kings.
Crossing the Calm Belt had been a nightmare.
He'd escaped Impel Down with injuries. Even though he had Seastone cuffs on him (likely broken or just carried), they couldn't mask the scent of fresh blood.
Seastone might trick the Sea Kings into thinking a ship is just part of the ocean, but it doesn't mask the smell of dinner.
The moment he hit the water, the monsters swarmed.
He had to fight.
Every time he killed a Sea King, the blood attracted more. And the commotion attracted Kizaru.
For three days, he'd been a rat in a maze, scurrying through the depths.
He'd drunk enough seawater to pickle a kidney. His diet consisted of raw, bloody Sea King meat.
His wounds had opened, closed, and opened again.
It wasn't a life for a human.
"Just you wait, Kizaru..." Kai stared up at the blinding sun, letting out a hoarse roar. "One of these days, I'm going to kill you!!"
He rolled over, forcing his aching limbs to move.
He needed to find an island. Any island.
He needed to heal.
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