Akainu replied, "It was for justice. If we hadn't killed them here, do you know how many people would have died during their arrest? For the sake of justice, it's better to kill the wrong ones than to let any go."
Sengoku took a deep breath, fighting down his anger. "Enough!" He slammed the table and stood. "This is not the time for infighting!"
He turned to the intelligence officer. "Issue an additional bounty for Nico Robin immediately, and at the same time..."
Rhett was a problem. He was like a slippery eel now. Sending too few forces wouldn't catch him, but too many would cause chaos in the world.
Unlike Charlotte Linlin in the New World, who had established her own territory, Rhett just wandered around aimlessly, making him impossible to catch.
Fortunately, he didn't kill innocents indiscriminately.
And the New World was currently in a state of balance between the three Emperors (Shanks wasn't yet a major force at this time).
Sengoku then looked at Garp. "Garp! You've been taking too many vacations lately. Finish your business in the East Blue and report back immediately!"
Garp laughed heartily. "Got it, got it! I still need to go back and see my grandson!"
Sengoku: "..."
After Garp had dealt with the matter of the Pirate King's orphan, some time passed. Then, he told Sengoku and Tsuru that he wanted to recognize Makino's family as his daughter, which shocked them greatly. Garp would do something foolish.
After all, Garp killing a pregnant woman had already been shocking enough. Sengoku and Tsuru were both sharp-minded, strategic admirals. How could they be fools? They chose to turn a blind eye.
In essence, as long as the child didn't fall into their hands or their identity wasn't exposed, they could pretend not to see it out of respect for Garp. It was just a child. This was all Garp's deliberate doing. Paper couldn't cover fire, but the three of them could.
Let's return our focus to the Bluma Jackson.
It was time for Rhett's training session again.
"The Flower-Flower Fruit isn't meant to be used as a telescope," Rhett said, slicing apart a scouting eye Robin had generated a hundred meters away. "At sea, Observation Haki is your eyes. Make it appear at the heart, at the throat."
If things continued like this, he would become the Zephyr of the pirates.
Suddenly, Moria's shadow burst from the deck, hundreds of shadowy hands reaching out to grab Robin.
The girl hastily bloomed defensive flowers around her body, but Enel's lightning strikes accurately hit every joint.
"Too slow," Rhett's voice came from behind her. The back of his Black Tide greatsword lightly tapped the back of her neck. "With three of us working together, the pressure on you is still too great."
"Enel is your responsibility now."
Enel trembled. "Hahahahahaha! Finally, it's my turn. Rookie, are you ready to face hell?"
Perona's Negative Ghosts tried to sneak attack, but were stopped by a blooming arm on Robin's shoulder. "Perona, this is the third time."
"Ugh... Robin is becoming less and less cute!"
Robin watched Enel's gradually crazed state, finding it hard to imagine what he had been through.
"Try attaching your arms to someone else's body," Rhett said, dragging the bruised and battered Enel over as a test subject (he had just beaten him up). "Let's see if you can grow them on a Logia user."
When Enel knelt for the fifth time, confessing, "I'm just a useless fish," Robin's "flower hands" successfully sprouted on Enel's body.
Perona floated nearby, studying her writing, when she suddenly noticed her ghosts dancing in Robin's palm.
"They seem to really like you! We really are good friends."
Under the moonlight, Robin's pen suddenly stopped on a page of literature. "Mr. Rhett, this mentions 'Joy Boy's Promise'..."
"We'll talk about it tomorrow," Rhett closed the book and brought over a cup of warm milk. "Originally, tonight's task was to go to bed early and grow up healthy, but..."
"I've prepared a very big surprise for you."
"Enel."
"Yes, Captain."
"You remember how I trained your Observation Haki, right?"
"I remember it all too well, Captain."
Enel lightly tapped his fingers, sending an electric current to activate the ten zombies Moriah had accidentally left at the door.
"Zombies, obey! Capture Robin!"
"Stay alert even in your sleep," Rhett's figure gradually turned into mist. "If you're caught, add half an hour of training. If you keep getting caught, you won't sleep tonight."
Perona was sleeping soundly, hugging her teddy bear, when she was suddenly lifted into the air by Robin's blooming arm. Below, the zombies narrowly missed her nightgown.
"...Rhett."
"Yes?"
"We're breaking up for five minutes."
Rhett laughed heartily. "Hahaha, breaking up won't work. Now think about how you're going to sleep. Don't worry about Perona; the zombies won't hurt her. You know that, right? Moriah's zombies don't sleep. Good luck, Robin, I'm rooting for you."
As Rhett spoke, the Den Den Mushi rang. "Guruguru, mhm mhm."
After hanging up, Rhett was visibly happy.
"All hands—" Rhett's voice was filled with barely suppressed joy. "Set sail immediately, back to the East Blue."
Robin retracted her blooming arm and asked softly, "What happened?"
Perona floated over, unusually serious. "It's about Rouge..."
Enel put away his playful expression, seeing the captain's demeanor. It must be good news. "I'll activate the electric propulsion."
The Bluma Jackson quietly sailed into Windmill Village's harbor under the cover of night.
Rhett stood at the bow, his blood mist silently spreading, enveloping the entire ship in a hazy fog, avoiding the sight of the patrolling Marines.
"We're here," he said softly, his voice unusually tense.
Perona floated beside him, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "Mr. Rhett, why are we sneaking back in the middle of the night?"
Moria's shadow emerged from the deck's cracks, laughing eerily. "Hehihihi... Because someone doesn't want to alert the Marines."
Robin stood quietly by the ship's railing. Rhett had saved her from destruction; Rhett's family was her family. She held a notebook in her hands—a gift she had prepared for the "new family" she was about to meet.
Makino's bar was still lit, warm yellow light spilling through the window onto the cobblestone path. As Rhett pushed open the door, the wind chimes tinkled.
"Welco—" Makino's voice abruptly stopped, and the tray in her hands clattered to the ground. Her eyes instantly reddened. "Rhett! You..."
"Heard I became an uncle, so I had to come back and see," Rhett grinned, but his gaze went past her, toward the closed door in the inner room. "How is Rouge?"
Makino wiped her eyes. "Mother and children are both safe! It's twins, a boy named Ace and a girl named Ann..." She suddenly lowered her voice. "Mr. Garp is inside too. He insists on being the children's grandfather."
A vein throbbed on Rhett's temple. "That old bastard—"
"Waaah—!"