This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395
G-1 Branch, War Front.
"Afraid it's… not that simple, is it, Tsuru San?"
Only one Marine had ever dared to address her with such familiar ease: Admiral Aokiji. To everyone else, she was "Staff Officer Tsuru," "Great Staff Officer," or "Vice Admiral Tsuru." And then, of course, there was Garp, with his absurd "Tsuru-chan."
Leaning weakly against a pillow, Aokiji's face was pale, but his eyes were sharp and clear.
"For the Chief Commander to suddenly have you take me away… he must've discovered something."
"So, is this really the right thing to do? Just turning a blind eye…"
The Holy Land had plunged into chaos, a fact impossible to hide from even the most sheltered Marine intelligence. Even from this distance, the colossal Red Line couldn't entirely block the blazing light that pierced the sky. The faint, rumbling explosions that followed made the heart shudder.
For a Marine to ignore something of that magnitude, combined with the sudden shift in his own situation, Aokiji understood a larger scheme was at play that he hadn't been privy to.
"It's not turning a blind eye…" Tsuru closed her eyes, her voice heavy with the weight of her rank. "The order this old woman received was absolute: maintain the stability of the battlefront until Fleet Admiral Akainu and the others return."
"Anything else… we are not to interfere with."
"Are you asking me to disobey direct orders, Aokiji? At my age, I'd rather not ruin my reputation so late in life."
"Ruin your reputation, huh…" Aokiji repeated softly, then gave her a playful, teasing look. "You're saying that, but it's the middle of the night and you're alone in a room with an injured man. Keeping that 'reputation' might be harder than you think, old woman."
Tsuru simply sighed.
Creak,
The door opened, and Dr. Kureha peeked in, a look of curiosity on her face. "Done talking? Why's he asleep?"
"Probably too tired," Tsuru said calmly. "He only just woke up recently…"
She nodded at the doctor.
"I'll be counting on you, Doctor. In his current condition, going outside would be suicide."
"Heh! Don't worry," Kureha snorted, taking a swig from her ever-present flask and grinning, a dark promise in her eyes. "In my care, there are only two ways a patient gets out of bed, either fully recovered… or as a corpse."
Aokiji, eyes still closed, muttered softly, "Can I pick the second option?"
After a brief, baffled silence, Tsuru gave a small, resigned nod and turned to leave the room.
…
The upheaval in the Holy Land was far too great to be kept secret from anyone. Aboard the Pluton, the group chasing Poseidon all received an urgent transmission at once.
"What? You're saying something happened to the Holy Land?!"
Bald Zero stared at the Den Den Mushi in shock. When he looked up, Akainu's eyes were just as wide, disbelief etched onto his face.
"I understand… Notify everyone, no matter the cost, the Holy Land must be protected!"
He slammed the receiver down and turned to the Fleet Admiral. "I think now isn't the time to keep chasing Poseidon, Fleet Admiral Akainu. If the Holy Land suffers heavy losses, even killing Poseidon would be meaningless, a mere drop in the bucket compared to the larger war."
Bald Zero knew that Akainu was no longer the man who would follow orders blindly; he couldn't just wave the "Holy Land" banner and expect obedience; he had to provide clear, irrefutable reasoning.
"Indeed," Momousagi added, her brow tightly furrowed. "We chased Poseidon because her actions challenged the Government's authority and threatened the safety of the seas… but the Holy Land itself holds far greater importance."
Akainu caught the nuance in her words, "the Holy Land itself", not simply "the World Government." If the Holy Land were to fall or suffer catastrophic damage, the resulting shockwaves would be far worse than even the emergence of Poseidon or Pluton!
But there was a very real, practical problem staring them in the face.
"Can we even make it in time?" Rubbing his temples, Akainu frowned. "We've already gone around half the ocean. Even with Pluton's speed, it'll take two days to get back."
Distance. That was their biggest obstacle. The sea was unimaginably vast. Even the Marine bases in the first half of the Grand Line, though connected by Sea Train lines, only linked a handful of nearby islands, less than one ten-thousandth of the Grand Line's total expanse.
Two full days, forty-eight hours of day and night, would it even matter by then?
Unless… they could somehow shorten that time.
Kizaru simply shrugged.
Feeling everyone's gaze turn toward him, the Admiral spread his hands helplessly.
"Oi oi… Rowen once said that facing a strong enemy while knowing your side's at a disadvantage and still splitting your forces, that's suicide on top of suicide."
"You guys aren't that irrational, are you?"
"There's no such thing as fixed logic on the battlefield," Bald Zero countered, shaking his head. "Adaptability is the only truth. Besides, even alone, Pluton can hold off a Sea King army for a while. As long as we stop the main Sea King's advance, the Holy Land just needs that 'short while.'"
"Well said!" Akainu glared at Kizaru, whose lazy attitude was truly grating on his nerves. His expression was cold and sharp. "Kizaru, I'm ordering you to return to the Holy Land immediately and provide support! That's a direct order!"
"Geez… don't look at me with those scary eyes, Akainu. Fine, fine, I'll go, alright?" Kizaru sighed lightly, his lips pursed in that trademark lecherous pout.
At that moment, a low rumble of thunder rolled across the heavens. Blinding lightning tore through the night sky, illuminating the entire world in a fierce burst of silver brilliance.
Everyone instinctively looked up. A brilliant streak of lightning, a flicker known only as the "Zipper Thunder," pierced the clouds and flashed across the deep reaches of the New World in the blink of an eye, disappearing beyond the horizon into the thick storm clouds ahead.
Kizaru's shift was instantaneous; he straightened and snapped off a salute.
"I understand. Setting off immediately!"
Without sparing a glance for Akainu's visibly twitching face, Kizaru clapped his hands together. Dozens of prism-shaped constructs shot out from his palms, refracting and scattering into countless golden light particles, and within moments, his figure vanished into the night sky, headed for the distant lightning strike.
"Just as I thought… something has happened at Mary Geoise!"
Beneath the waves, Poseidon was hiding within a forest of coral reefs, gazing upward thoughtfully.
Suddenly, her expression froze.
She turned toward the outer edge of the reef, where a group of dark blue sharks were circling, each carrying strange metallic devices strapped to their backs. Her face instantly paled.
"Damn it! They found me again!"
Gurgle…
From beneath Pluton's deck, dozens of metallic canisters were dropped into the sea, releasing trails of bubbles as they sank. Poseidon darted away from her hiding spot without hesitation, and a heartbeat later, a series of terrifying underwater explosions erupted, fundamentally reshaping the entire seafloor!
"Seven o'clock direction, pursue!"
On the deck above, Momousagi's voice rang out, calm but razor-sharp. She gave the order, and the Marines instantly sprang into organized, lethal motion.
…
Holy Land, Mary Geoise, The Room of Flowers.
Shua!
A long-mustached Gorōsei (Five Elder Stars) appeared in a flash at the entrance of the Room of Flowers. Seeing the elderly man standing guard before the door, he finally exhaled in relief.
"Vic San, has Imu Sama awakened?"
"The Master has long been awake," Vic replied, bowing slightly. "He specifically sent me to meet you."
He glanced around curiously. "Only you came? Where are the others?"
"This… it's a long story." Realizing that his peers hadn't followed, the long-mustached Gorōsei gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Let's go see Imu Sama right away. He must already know what's happening."
The Omniscient and Almighty One. The Ruler of the World. To the Gorōsei, Imu was a being of countless divine titles, and surely, to someone like that, uncovering the cause of the Holy Land's chaos would be child's play.
"I see… then I've spoken out of turn."
Old Vic nodded gently, then turned to unlock the vine-covered latch on the massive door.
"Please, this way."
"Thank you."
Taking a deep breath, the long-mustached Gorōsei straightened his robes and stepped into the Room of Flowers.
But then,
Puchi!!
"Wuh, wa…!"
A spray of blood, thick and dark, mixed with pieces of viscera, burst from his mouth. Eyes wide in utter disbelief, the Gorōsei looked down to see a hand protruding from his abdomen. Warm blood dripped rhythmically from the intruding fingers onto the floor. Staggering, trembling, he turned toward the old butler standing behind him.
"W–Why…?"
Creak… Hua la la…!
No answer came, only the brutal twist of the wrist that shredded his internal organs, snuffing out the last spark of life.
Vic's gaze, calm, detached, was both familiar and strange in the dying man's eyes. It was a look that reminded him of a dark, fateful night decades ago.
"You really were more capable than I expected, Orrick," Vic muttered softly as he pulled his bloody hand free.
Thunk…
The final Gorōsei collapsed to the floor, eyes bulging in fury and shock, dead, unblinking.
Shua!
Suddenly, a figure appeared behind Vic. Orrick looked down calmly at the corpse, then spoke quietly, the voice low and cold: "I don't recall giving you permission to act, Uncle."
"It's all the same…"
Vic said nothing more, only drew out a handkerchief and began wiping the blood from his arm.
"You don't honestly believe I'd have a chance to ambush that one inside, do you?"
At that, Orrick frowned, then a faint, knowing smile touched his lips.
"True enough. I was too naïve."
Screee…
A soft grinding sound echoed through the chamber. Both men spun toward the source, instantly dropping into defensive stances.
But the expected attack never came.
Instead, the sealed door of the Room of Flowers began to move, opening slowly, on its own, without a single gust of wind.
"Imu!"
Realizing his slip, Orrick clenched his fists, his voice cold and low as he corrected his address.
"I've returned!"
(End of Chapter)