Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
In the Fleet Admiral's office, Sengoku, Tsuru, Aokiji, Kizaru, and Zephyr stood around a table covered in thick files.
They were all wearing the same expression.
Tired. And pissed.
Zephyr slammed a fist down hard enough to crack the table.
"Sengoku! How much longer are you going to drag your feet? These maggots are rotting us from the inside out!"
"If we don't rip them out while the seas are calm, what then?"
"Wait until they ruin us completely?!"
Kizaru gave a theatrical shiver.
"Ooh, so scary, Zephyr-sensei. Still as strict as ever~."
Aokiji frowned, eyes half-lidded as he scanned the list.
"Ahh… I hate to say it, but I agree. We've reeled in enough."
"Even just what we have now…"
"It's already reached vice admirals."
Zephyr's jaw clenched harder.
"Those bastards even stuck their hands into my training camp," he growled.
"Do you have any idea what that means, Sengoku?"
"These kids aren't here to fight for justice. They're buying their way in so they can cash out later."
Tsuru stared at the long list in her hand, shoulders heavy.
She'd given her entire life to the Marines.
And now a festering cluster of parasites was happily chewing through everything they'd built.
Sengoku rubbed at his temples, voice low.
"We know. But we can't just swing blindly, Zephyr."
"We've already nailed two vice admirals. There may be more behind them."
"This time, we pull every single tumor out—no survivors."
"Cold… calm down?" Zephyr snorted. "How am I supposed to calm down?"
"They're treating the Marines like a business."
"Buying promotions. Selling postings."
"At this rate we might as well close the training camp!"
"Shut it, Zephyr!" Sengoku snapped back, slamming a hand down.
"This isn't something you can just punch your way through!"
"You think everything can be solved with your fists?!"
Zephyr glared, then threw himself back into his chair, sulking as he lit a cigar.
"These people are buying their way in with connections and cash. If this keeps up, the next generation of Marines will be nothing but rotten seedlings."
"Saa maa…" Sengoku exhaled through his nose.
His head was pounding.
Too many fires at once…
"Knock, knock, knock!"
"Enter!"
A runner burst into the office, pale and breathless.
"Reporting, Fleet Admiral!"
"We just received a call from Loguetown's Captain Mao!"
"Vice Admiral Gion, Vice Admiral Tokikake, and Lieutenant Commander White Ghost are currently engaged with an unknown enemy in the East Blue!"
Everyone in the room frowned.
"Unknown?" Sengoku repeated. "Who in the East Blue could possibly stand up to both Gion and Tokikake?"
The runner swallowed.
"Sir… after Captain Mao confirmed it…"
"He identified the enemy as Shiki the Golden Lion, who escaped from Impel Down and vanished."
"What?!"
Sengoku, Tsuru, and Zephyr were on their feet in an instant.
"Shiki…" Sengoku growled. "Damn it. Of all places, why the East Blue?!"
"Kowai ne," Kizaru murmured. "That's some shocking news~."
Sengoku rounded on him.
"Shut it, Borsalino! You're the fastest—we need you there yesterday."
"Get out there and hold him!"
"Don't let Gion or Tokikake fall!"
He turned.
"Kuzan. You sail on a warship. As fast as possible."
"Yes, sir," they both said.
Sengoku pointed at Kizaru.
"Remember, Borsalino: your job is to stall Shiki. When Kuzan arrives, you kill him together. This time…"
"We do not let him escape."
Kizaru scratched his cheek, voice still lazy.
"Ahh, what a difficult mission, ne~."
"If I pull it off…"
"Can I ask for a vacation?"
"GO!" Sengoku roared, beard bristling.
"Okay, okay~."
Kizaru knew this was no time to play around. His body turned to light and vanished.
"I'm off too, Fleet Admiral," Aokiji said, turning toward the door.
Sengoku nodded.
"Go. As fast as you can."
"Borsalino can stall him, but don't make him do it alone."
"Right."
The door closed behind him.
Inside, the room fell quiet.
"Don't worry too much," Zephyr said at last. "Gion and Tokikake have grown a lot. They're not easy to kill."
Tsuru sighed.
"One crisis after another…"
On the floating island…
"Did he… cut it?"
Everyone stared.
The two gigantic cross-shaped slashes that had been about to bisect Jin—
Had been split cleanly apart by a single, hair-thin line of sword aura.
Shiki's face shifted through several colors.
He could clearly feel it.
The brat's aura had spiked again.
He'd actually used Shiki's own killing blow as the final step up.
"Damn it…"
"So what if you've reached Great Swordsman?"
"You think that changes anything?"
"Die!!"
Shiki surged forward.
Jin grinned, meeting him head-on.
"Heh. Thanks for the help, Shiki."
"Damn brat!!"
Their blades collided yet again.
"Lion's Thousand Cut Valley!!"
"Gale—Big Strength Slash!!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
The shockwaves from their clash tore chunks off the floating island.
From below, Gion watched, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Not bad, White."
"Just like that… he's a Great Swordsman."
"Tsk, tsk. A young Great Swordsman, huh…"
"Pretty cool."
She turned, eyes sharpening.
"Alright. Our turn to wrap this up."
"Stop talking big, Marine…" Indigo wheezed.
His whole body was covered in cuts; his steps were barely steady.
Gion slid Kinpira back into her sheath.
"Don't underestimate women, pirate."
The next instant, several thin arcs of sword aura bloomed around him.
"Peach Blossom Rain."
She walked past him without looking back.
"Boss Shiki…!"
Thud.
Indigo spat blood and hit the ground.
Tokikake wiped a smear of blood from his chin and laughed.
"Not bad, pretty-boy."
"Kid only ranks three points below me in looks, and he still managed to reach greatsword."
"That means I can't lose either!"
Scarlett roared, charging him again.
"Ho ho ho ho—!!"
"Reckless Impact!!"
Tokikake cocked his arm back.
"Brave Rush!!"
His fist cratered the gorilla's stomach.
BOOM!
Scarlett flew, bowling over several of his own underlings like bowling pins.
"Keheheheh! As expected from the great me, Tokikake!" he crowed.
"I knew I could do it! I'm not a man who bows his head!"
Kuro flicked the blood from his claws, cutting down the last pirate near him.
"I knew you'd manage it," he said dryly.
"You're too stubborn to lose."
"Beatdown beatdown, White Boss is the best! Hahahaha!" Jango bellowed, grinning through a mask of bruises.
"Damn it…" Shiki's eye twitched as he took in the scene.
His elites were down. The gorilla was out. The rank-and-file were either dead or groaning.
No wonder his chest hurt.
This was just like the Walhaha Gulf all over again.
Back then, he'd lost everything against Roger.
Now, in the so-called weakest sea, he'd walked straight into another hell.
He wanted to run.
But the white-haired brat in front of him wouldn't let him.
"Get lost, brat!!"
"Slash slash slash!!"
Shiki threw out a storm of blades.
"You tell me to leave and I just go?"
Jin batted the slashes aside, laughter growing more and more savage.
"Wouldn't that make all this pain I took go to waste?"
Clang clang clang—!
He stepped into the storm of blades, carving a path through.
"Gale—One-Line Sky!!"
Splurt!
A deep wound opened across Shiki's chest, blood spraying.
Jin laughed.
"Oi, Shiki."
"What I want to see…"
"Is the man who once made the whole sea tremble."
"Not this sick old lion."
"Brat…"
Shiki steadied himself, hovering in the air, face dark.
Jin's eyes were fierce.
"So how about it, Shiki?"
"They won't interfere in our fight."
"Just you and me."
"You kill me, I'm a nice little burial gift for you."
"Pretty good deal, isn't it?"
Tokikake stiffened.
"The hell is this kid doing, provoking Shiki like that?!"
Gion understood.
"He's cornering him," she said quietly.
"As long as Shiki can fly, he can bolt any time he wants. We can't stop him."
"But if Jin pokes his pride hard enough…"
"He might stay."
"Then we can trap him."
"And we just sit back and watch?" Tokikake cursed.
Gion shook her head.
"We can't join in. The moment we do, Shiki cuts his losses and runs."
"Headquarters sent word earlier."
"Kizaru is already on his way."
Tokikake's eyes lit up.
"Borsalino's coming? Good."
"Once he gets here, Shiki's wings are clipped."
"Not even the Golden Lion can outrun light."
Jin looked up at Shiki, voice calm.
"You're still strong, Shiki. I can feel it."
"Your Observation is ragged, but even like that, you can still push me this far."
"Honestly, I respect your strength."
"I saw Roger's execution," he added. "I admire that courage."
"He walked to his death laughing."
"I don't want you to run again, Golden Lion."
"Otherwise…"
"I'll never see the real great pirate Shiki again."
For a moment, Shiki was silent.
Then he laughed.
"Keheheheh… keheheheheh…"
"You're right."
"I'm old."
He looked at his hands, then touched the ship's wheel embedded in his skull.
Maybe it was Roger's last smile that had stuck with him all these years.
Maybe it was the brat's words.
Maybe it was that burning gaze.
"Keheheheh…"
"I lost to Roger."
"Then I lost to the weakest East Blue."
He wrapped both hands around the wheel on his head.
Jin's eyes narrowed.
Tokikake and Gion both stiffened.
"He's going to…!"
A last, desperate rampage.
They both moved at once—
"Stay back," Jin barked.
"Let me send this old man off."
They stopped, teeth grinding.
"Cocky little bastard," Tokikake muttered.
"Keheheheh… keheheh…"
"You've got guts, brat."
"You wanted to see Shiki the Golden Lion, right?"
"I'll show you."
His hand tightened.
Slowly, inch by inch, he pulled the wheel out of his skull.
With every centimeter, his aura rose.
"I am…"
"The great pirate Shiki the Golden Lion!!"
The wheel tore free with a spray of blood.
Jin's eyes shone.
"There you are."
"The real Golden Lion Shiki."
"Keheheheh… keheheheh…!"
Shiki threw his head back and laughed.
"Feels good…"
"Haven't felt this light in a long time!!"
BOOM!
His Conqueror's Haki exploded outward, sweeping across the island like a storm.
Jin answered with a burst of his own.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE—!
Two tyrannical wills crashed together in midair.
For a long heartbeat…
They were evenly matched.
"Keheheheh… just as I thought."
"You've got Conqueror's too, brat."
Tokikake whistled low.
"Conqueror's Haki—"
"And it's not losing to Shiki's…"
Gion's lips curled.
"White…"
"You really are interesting."
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