That guy attacked the Marines and slaughtered our people… and now they want me to stop?
Tokikake and Gion both looked sick, teeth clenched.
"Stand down, White Ghost," Tokikake ground out.
Jin clicked his tongue.
He'd already lost interest. Edward Weevil's raw power was insane, sure—but his Haki lagged behind Jin's. He'd thought the guy might've fully inherited Whitebeard's might.
Clearly not.
"Che…"
Weevil might be slow in the head, but he wasn't stupid. That disgusted look on Jin's face lit a fuse.
"You lookin' down on me…?"
He hefted his fake Murakumogiri and swung in a wide horizontal arc.
"Shave."
Jin blurred out of the way, raising his greatsword.
Black lightning crawled over the blade.
Buckin's face twisted. She knew exactly what that meant.
"Stop him! Now!"
CP0 moved, but he was a beat too late.
"Gale Style…"
"Wind Cleave."
BOOM!
A single slash smashed into Weevil's chest and carried him like a ragdoll, hurling him across the battlefield.
"Mamaa, it hurts! It huuurts, Mamaaa!"
He screamed as he flew, blood spraying.
When he hit the ground, his body was a mess of fresh wounds.
"Tch. Still not dead? Buckin, go check on your good little boy."
Jin rested the sword on his shoulder, expression bored.
"Guess his body really is tough. Even with advanced Conqueror's, he didn't break."
Buckin shot him a look full of poison, then turned and hurried after Weevil. She didn't dare spit a single threat.
The moment someone mastered that power, they became a walking catastrophe.
"Arakaki Jin."
CP0's voice was icy.
"Why did you disobey orders?"
Jin looked at him and shrugged.
"I did stop."
"You clearly dodged that last attack. You chose to counter instead of disengage!" CP0 snapped, fighting to stay calm.
His stance shifted. Fury rolled off him in waves.
Not good.
Gion's face went pale.
Tokikake's fists tightened.
Zephyr frowned. He didn't quite follow what was going on between the three of them—but he could smell trouble.
"White Ghost, sto—"
She didn't even get the "–p" out.
Golden wings exploded from Jin's back. One beat and he vanished.
"Not good—!"
CP0's Observation screamed danger. He tried to move—
"Shave."
Jin materialized right in front of him.
Too fast.
He couldn't raise a guard in time.
All he could see was a fist growing bigger.
WHAM!
CP0 cratered into the dirt.
"Gah—koff! You bastard, you dare raise your hand against me?!"
Jin grinned down at him, eyes cold.
"Oh? And who exactly are you supposed to be?"
"If it's already a fight…"
"Leaving witnesses is a bad habit."
He rose into the air again, golden wings beating, pupils burning gold. Black lightning popped along the greatsword in his hand.
"Stop!"
Zephyr, Gion, Tokikake and the others rushed in, forming a line between Jin and the hole.
"What now, old man?" Jin asked Zephyr, voice flat.
"I just pulled your ass out of the fire, and now you're blocking me?"
The black lightning on his blade was getting denser, crackling louder.
Zephyr's face darkened.
"Damn brat," he growled.
"A hit is one thing. But if you kill him, your political career is finished."
"Oh, my political career?"
Jin actually laughed.
"Sorry. I have zero interest in climbing some government ladder."
"So I don't care."
He lifted the sword.
CP0's pupils shrank.
He's really going to do it.
Jin's wings spread, Haki flaring.
"Enough, White. You've done plenty," Gion said quietly.
"You can't kill him."
"Tch."
Jin let the lightning die, exhaled, and let himself drop back to the ground.
He walked away from the dazed CP0 without a glance.
Instead, he headed toward a cluster of wounded.
Ain froze as he stopped in front of her.
Jin tilted his head.
"Move your hand," he said.
"Eh…?"
Everyone blinked.
Big guy… with this many people watching, you're gonna cop a feel now?
Face red, Ain hesitated, then slowly moved the hand covering the wound on her thigh.
Jin bent slightly and put his palm over the injury.
Golden flames blossomed under his touch.
"Eep—!"
Ain squeaked, going crimson. But the sensation shifted—hot, then itchy.
She glanced down.
The gash on her leg was being eaten away by the golden fire, and the flesh underneath was knitting back together.
Right in front of everyone.
The onlookers, who'd just been silently judging him for grabbing a girl's thigh in public, all went dead quiet.
The scar faded in a few breaths.
Jin straightened.
"Done."
"Be more careful," he said.
"A scar on a girl's thigh would be a waste."
He turned and headed back toward the ship.
Ain stared, stunned.
Her leg looked… perfect. Like she'd never been injured.
"Healing too, huh?" Zephyr muttered, intrigued.
"Isn't he a Zoan-type?" he added. "Never heard of one that could do this."
Gion shook her head, eyes thoughtful.
"He's a Mythical Zoan, Zephyr-sensei. Earlier I thought it was some sort of dragon."
"Now?" She sighed.
"Now I'm not even sure."
"Mythical Zoan that heals… like Marco's Phoenix," Zephyr said, rubbing his chin. "I'll dig into it later."
"Ah-la-la… Looks like it's over already?"
A relaxed voice drifted over as Aokiji finally arrived, riding a small ice floe.
He took in the scene at a glance.
"Yo, Admiral," Jin called, smirking. "Looks like HQ's been treating you well."
Aokiji waved a hand.
"Ah-la-la. I told you years ago—you should transfer to HQ early."
"But you kept refusing, remember?"
"Didn't feel like time yet back then," Jin said, turning a body gently onto its back.
"Time's up now, so I'm here."
Aokiji sighed and joined him. They worked in silence for a few minutes, gathering the fallen Marines into neat rows.
Twenty-eight bodies.
"Freeze them and take them back?" Jin asked quietly.
Aokiji looked at Zephyr.
The old man's eyes were bloodshot.
"Take them back," Zephyr said hoarsely.
"Cremate. Give them a sea burial."
No one so much as glanced at CP0 still embedded in the ground. As far as they were concerned, he didn't exist.
As for Buckin and Weevil—they were long gone.
Everyone boarded the warship.
Aokiji eyed the half-repaired mast.
Tokikake clicked his tongue.
"That was this guy, testing out his new powers," he explained.
Aokiji looked at Jin.
"Heard you ate a Mythical Zoan," Aokiji said.
"What exactly did you end up with?"
"Mythical Zoan," Jin replied.
"Yinglong."
He let his golden wings unfurl again, pupils flashing gold.
"Yinglong, huh?" Aokiji scratched his head. "Never heard of that one."
"Can't you fully transform?"
Tokikake blurted out, "Yeah, why haven't you done a beast form yet?"
Jin gave him a baffled look.
"Why would I?"
"I can fight just fine like this."
"…You win," Tokikake muttered. "You're always right."
"Let's move," Jin said.
He snapped his fingers.
The warship leapt forward, wind howling around the hull.
Tokikake: "…"
Aokiji dragged over a beach chair, flopped into it, and sighed in bliss.
"Ah-la-la. Very convenient," he said lazily.
"As expected of a Mythical Zoan."
"Though… why are you looking at me like that?"
Jin's eyes were practically glowing as he watched Aokiji.
"I want to see how big the gap is," he said.
"Between me and an Admiral."
The deck went very, very quiet.
Challenge an Admiral… casually.
This guy's insane.
"Ah-la-la… I'll pass," Aokiji said, rolling over.
"I'm a lazy man, you know."
"Tch."
The Den Den Mushi started ringing.
"Breeh… click."
Aokiji picked it up.
"Fleet Admiral."
"This is Aokiji."
"How's the situation?" Sengoku asked.
"It's over," Aokiji replied.
"Zephyr-sensei's alive. We lost a number of students."
He heard Sengoku exhale on the other end.
"Understood. Come back."
"Click."
Footsteps approached.
Zephyr stopped next to Jin and looked out at the sea with him.
"This time… thanks, brat," he said quietly.
"No need," Jin replied.
"You're one of the few people in the Marines I actually respect."
Zephyr snorted.
"Oh? Maybe I'm not such a failure if I can earn respect from the Marines' little rising star."
"'Marine super rookie,' huh? Cute label," Jin said, smiling thinly.
"Cough… damned Marines. That mood of yours—is this you expressing dissatisfaction with the World Government?"
CP0 had finally managed to drag himself out of the ground.
He staggered over, grabbed his Den Den Mushi, and started talking.
"Five Elders, sirs. I've completed contact with Buckin."
"You're injured," one of them noted.
"What happened?"
CP0 shook with fear.
"Arakaki Jin attacked me, my lords. He refused to obey orders."
"Tell the truth," Topman Warcury said coolly.
"Y-yes, my lord. It went like this…"
This time, he didn't dare twist anything.
Lying would be a death sentence.
He reported every detail—Jin's refusal, his attack, even Zephyr's interference.
"We understand. Return."
"You performed adequately," Warcury said.
"Yes, my lord!"
The call ended.
The Five Elders sat in silence for a moment.
"What do we do with this Arakaki Jin?" Warcury asked, looking around the table.
Jaygarcia Saturn sneered.
"What can we do? We've got enough intel on him."
"He's exactly what the reports say."
"Reckless, power-hungry, no respect for authority—useful, but dangerous."
Nusjuro slowly drew Shodai Kitetsu, the first-generation cursed blade, and studied the gleam along its edge.
"Latest report says he's eaten a Devil Fruit," he said.
"A Mythical Zoan."
"Part of Shiki's inheritance," Shepherd Ju Peter nodded.
"…His current strength is nearly at admiral level," Marcus Mars added.
"Just short of a full step."
Saturn tapped his cane.
"Stick to the plan."
"Suppress him when we can. No matter how much he thrashes, he won't overturn the order of this world."
The other four nodded.
"Agreed."
—
"This is Marine Headquarters?" Jango breathed as the massive fortress came into view.
"Yep," Tokikake said proudly.
"Marineford. Symbol of justice."
"The fortress that represents the Marines' unshakable righteousness."
At the harbor, an elderly woman with white hair waited, surrounded by officers.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru," Jango whispered.
"I've seen her name in reports…"
The woman who gave her entire life to the Marines, Jin thought, watching her.
For her version of justice.
The ship docked.
Bodies were carefully offloaded. Medical staff and logistics teams moved with practiced efficiency.
Everyone here was used to the sight of bodies.
Dying for "justice" was just part of the job.
"Zephyr, are you alright?" Tsuru rushed up to her old comrade for a quick inspection.
"I'm fine. If White Ghost and the others had been a bit later, we'd all be corpses," Zephyr said roughly.
Tsuru sighed.
She already knew what had happened—up to and including the World Government's meddling afterward.
"Come on," she said.
"Sengoku's waiting for you."
"And for Arakaki Jin."
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