The moment Saturn lifted his hand, silence swept across the courtroom like a commandment sent from heaven or hell.
A naval staff member hurried forward, crisp coat immaculate, eyes lowered in reverence and fear. He carried a stack of weathered papers, the edges frayed, the ink darkened by years of printing faces worth killing for.
With ceremonial care, he set the papers before Saturn, then moved down the line of the jury, placing one sheet before each juror. As the posters touched wood, the room felt as if it inhaled all at once.
Then—
GASPS.Whispers.
Choked breaths.
One juror actually dropped his sheet with a panicked clatter.
It slid across the floor to Zoro's feet.
A hundred eyes followed it.
Bold black letters glared upward:
WANTED
Roronoa "Pirate Hunter" Zoro
1,111,000,000 Berries
Zoro's wanted paper.
A bounty with too many zeroes.
The jurors stared like men who had mistakenly volunteered to sit beside a keg of gunpowder.
It was on full display for everyone to see.
Gasps rattled through the chamber. One juror dropped the poster in shock, his lips moving as though counting zeroes. Another muttered, "Over a billion… just for one swordsman…"
"He's not even the captain," another hissed.
A third man, who had fought in the Navy long ago, whispered hoarsely, "A billion is reserved for monsters. World-enders."
The first juror corrected him in a trembling voice,"…He's the King of Hell. That's worse."
Saturn's voice cut through the noise like a blade."Let it be known," he said, tapping the cane against the poster with deliberate weight, "This man, standing before you in chains, is not simply a pirate. He is the combatant of the Straw Hat crew. A swordsman who has carved his name in blood across the Grand Line. One of the so-called 'Worst Generation.' The man they whisper of as the King of Hell."
His cane tapped the poster as if to punctuate the words,"Remember what you hold in your hands. One billion, one hundred and eleven million. That is not a number given lightly."
More whispers.
"He's the one who used Conqueror's Haki in Wano…"
"They said he tanked an attack from two Emperors…"
"Cut a mountain clean in half—no, two mountains—"
"No, that was Trafalgar Law—"
"Shut up, both of you! He's looking this way!"
Zoro's eye didn't even twitch, but the subtle roll of annoyance was unmistakable.
Saturn's lips curved upward in a thin smile, and with deliberate slowness, he raised another sheet of parchment. This one, larger, carried the bold caricature of another man. Straw hat tilted forward, wide grin, scar under his eye.
"Roronoa Zoro is not merely dangerous by his own hand," Saturn declared, holding up the poster for all to see. "He is the vice captain of an Emperor. His captain… Monkey D. Luffy."
The poster fluttered as Saturn turned it outward.
This one the crowd was far more familiar with.
WANTED
Monkey D. Luffy
3,000,000,000 Berries
The room eruptedAs this time he pulled out Luffy's wanted.Poster..
Gasps, whispers, disbelieving laughter.
Gasps.
Barks of disbelief.
Laughter born from shock.
"Three billion?!"
"That boy looks like he feeds chickens! How does he have THREE billion?!"
"That's the new poster? I thought someone said the printer messed up—his face looks… different."
"I heard he fought Kaido on the roof of Onigashima."
"No, I heard he beat Kaido on the roof."
"That's impossible. Kaido wasn't human."
"Neither is he!"
Zoro's head tilted, his lone open eye glanced sideways at the poster.
And finally— a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
He felt a brief warmth settle in his chest.
His captain deserved that number.
Every last berry.
He'd earned that title the hard way, through pain and grit and stubborn, stupid, brilliant will.
Watching these idiots gawk at it was… satisfying.
The room continued buzzing like a disturbed hive until Saturn tapped the paper sharply.
Tok.
Silence smothered the noise like a blanket.
"Do not be deceived by childish expressions," Saturn said, voice dropping low, drawing everyone's attention back under his grip. He held Luffy's poster aloft between two fingers as though it were an artifact,"Behind this grin lies a menace the world has not witnessed in centuries."
He then listed the crimes slowly, each one like the toll of a death bell,"He has defeated Warlords…Toppled Emperors…Burned the flag of the World Government at Enies Lobby…And Interrupted in execution at Marineford Causing an all out war."
Then the cane swung toward Zoro,"…and this man is his right hand."
Zoro did not rise to the provocation.
He didn't need to.
His slouched posture, the lazy roll of his shoulders, the way his half-lidded eye barely acknowledged the room.
To be honest he wasn't listening anymore.
His headache thumped behind his temple from too many cups last night.
All the Lantern light was killing his eyes almost as much as the hangover was.
Saturn's droning voice blurred into one long, boring hum.
He tilted his head backward slightly, letting the iron collar bite into his skin as he exhaled slowly.
Should've stopped drinking after the thirty ninth glass….
He could have cut his way out of this shitty situation.
But the truth was that he was way too tired to care at that moment.
Onigashima had taken more out of him than he'd ever admit aloud.
And though he healed, the fatigue lived deep under the muscle.
He pushed himself far beyond any limit he had ever done prior and like Chopper suggested for him and Luffy that they should take it easy for a little while and not get into any big fights.
This vacation was supposed to give them a chance to relax after what happened at Onigashima.
If he hadn't been drunk, he still might have let the Marines take him.
Not because they could but because fighting off thirty Water 7 marines sounded like more effort than he wanted to spend while hungover.
He huffed quietly.
Sanji would laugh his curly-brow ass off if he saw him right now.
Zoro's gaze drifted away from the noisy jury and trembling guards. His eye slid upward, settling on the old man presiding over this entire farce.
The old man sitting there, Jaygarcia Saturn, was different. Zoro couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something coiled beneath that thickset frame, something heavy that pressed against the room like a hidden blade.
Even through the haze of a fading hangover, Zoro felt it, a presence pushing on the air, thick and heavy, like something alive.
The Marines? They were nothing. He could feel their fear in every shaky hand, every quickened breath. They weren't worth his time.
But the old man? That was something else like pressure that felt real.
The pressure radiating from Saturn wasn't human.
Zoro didn't need to know the details to recognize danger.
Most people didn't sense it, but Zoro was different. His instincts had been honed, sharpened against death over and over again. Even half-drunk and chained, he felt the wrongness under Saturn's skin.
Zoro flexed his wrists just enough to make the chains creak, the metal was strong, layered with seastone, but he knew he could break them Considering the fact that he wasn't a devil fruit user.
This old man was a lot more powerful than he let on.
That's probably why, from the rumors he had heard in the cells, why the Grand Elders were so feared.
And he just had to go, causing a big ass commotion when the whole point of this stop had been to lie low for two weeks like he and Luffy agreed upon.
Yeah, that lasted… what? Twelve hours?
Maybe thirteen?
He damn sure knew it wasn't long.
Trouble always had a way of finding them.
Hell people scattered like flies the moment he walked into the bar earlier and didn't even give him the chance to sit down before clearing out, whispering his name like it was a curse.
By the time he reached the docks, half the city already knew he was here.
It didn't help that Water 7's streets twisted and turned like a maze.
Every left turn led to another canal, every bridge to another dead end and he'd wandered for nearly an hour just trying to find a damn drink
Not that he'd admit he was lost. Never.
Because there was no reason to because he didn't get lost, the city was like a maze.
Maybe he should have listened to some of Frankie's family members and gone with them instead of going on his own, they might have been able to make him look not as suspicious, though he probably would have ended up putting them in danger, if he did.Saturn's voice cut through his thoughts, the words heavy, formal, accusing,"—charges including but not limited to piracy, affliction with the Straw Hat crew, rebellion against World Government property, aiding and abetting hostile nations, the slaying of—",Saturn's droning voice clawed its way back into Zoro's half-drifting consciousness.
Something about charges, crimes, affiliation, specifically, and things that Zoro had now done in his adventures with the Straw Hats.
Zoro blinked, barely paying attention.
He wasn't even sure what they were trying to pin on him.
Did it even matter either way?
He was a pirate.
The world had pretty much already made their decision about him before he even had a chance to enter this courtroom.
He stared upward blankly, a faint pulse of dull annoyance behind his eye.
And the World Government was as corrupt as they could get.
They'd stick any charge on him at this point.
He pulled in a long breath through his nose and exhaled quietly, like someone enduring a boring lecture rather than a formal trial meant to determine life or death.
His hangover had finally faded, but the boredom was still going strong.
Saturn didn't notice, or worse, didn't care that Zoro was barely paying attention.
The Elder's expression remained severe, authoritative, unyielding as he continued reciting charges with ritualistic precision.
The words washed over the room like cold water, dripping with accusation,"…participation in incidents at Sabaody Archipelago, violation of international law in Dressrosa, unlawful combat in Wano, destruction of sacred government property in Enies Lobby—"
Zoro scratched his cheek with one bound wrist, unimpressed.
Sacred property?
It was a bridge and it attacked us first.
He wasn't even sure what they were trying to pin on him.
Pirates didn't get fair lists.
Once the World Government hated you, you got stamped with anything convenient.
Murder?
Sure, why not.
Kidnapping?
He raised a brow.
Ok that one was new.
Public intoxication? Okay, maybe he'll give them that one.
Either way it wasn't going to matter once the World Government got their claws on it..
And the worst part about this whole bull shit case, he didn't have his weapons on him.
His eye flicked two feet away, beside the clerk's desk, lay a black rectangular case. He could feel the presence of his blades inside, almost humming to him.
Wado Ichimonji.
Sandai Kitetsu.
Enma.
The weight of them pulled at his focus.
He was ninety-seven percent sure that's where they'd stashed them, locked away and guarded like treasures.
Guarded by two Marines who kept glancing between it and Zoro as though expecting it to burst open.
Thankfully they hadn't thrown them into the sea.
He rolled his shoulders again, the chains groaning.
He would definitely be getting them back, that was for sure, real soon.
For now, though, he sat silently, the crowd studied him like a caged beast, and he let them.
The more they trembled, the easier it would be later once Hangover was finally go-
Wait
Hold on.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait and...…..
Yep, it was gone.
The last remnants of his headache slipped away entirely.
Took long enough considering it was killing him.
Now he could finally finish up with this little charade whenever he wanted to.
But for now, he had to keep this little charade going as long as he could, and he knew just how to do that.
So he decided to speak,"Actually.…I have something I'd like to say in my defense."
Chains groaned as Zoro leaned forward slightly, his visible eye locking onto Saturn's with an almost lazy sharpness.
The Elder's eyebrow lifted a fraction, surprise breaking through regality.
"…I'm sorry?" Saturn asked, as if a pirate interrupting him was a concept too absurd to immediately comprehend.
Zoro said flatly,"You never asked me if I had anything to say in my defense. And I'm pretty sure people out there," he tilted his chin toward the gallery, "would like to hear my side of things."
The room rippled with nervous whispers.
Murmurs exploded instantly.
"He's actually talking—"
"What's he planning?"
"Is he trying to escape?"
"No—this is the King of Hell. He doesn't try anything."
Saturn's jaw flexed faintly underneath his beard.
He could have ignored it and dismissed the swordsman as wasting time, but something in Zoro's delivery gnawed at him.
A mix of boredom, irritation, and dangerously calm made Saturn pause.
Curiously, he shifted forward slightly, wondering what a lowly pirate would have to say for himself.
"Very well",He leaned forward, cane resting heavily in his hands,"…The court will indulge the defendant," he said slowly, "Speak."
Zoro straightened, only a little, still scowling, still looking as if he'd rather be anywhere else. His voice was calm, measured, but every word dripped with sarcasm and disinterest.
"Alright so first off, I'll be honest with you," he started, "I wasn't really listening to much of this bullshit so bear with me here cause my hangover's been killing me so everything's just kind of been blurred out. But uh yeah this trial's been… been a huge drag so far in my opinion."
The jury stiffened, someone in the gallery let out a nervous laugh before quickly silencing themselves.
"Second," Zoro continued as if reading off a list, "Just so you are aware, all I was trying to do was get a drink. It's not like I was out setting peoples houses on fire. I think all of this is a little overboard for just trying to get yourself something to drink ."
He let the words hang, his gaze sweeping lazily across the room.
"And these murder charges?" He gave a derisive snort. "I mean you know anyone I've actually killed other than all those bounties I was hunting back in the day. If anything, that was the only time I was actually killing anybody. And last I checked, that's kind of the opposite of a crime if you're doing it for the service of the military or whatever."
The jury exchanged glances. Saturn's grip on his cane tightened, but he allowed the swordsman to continue.
And Zoro wasn't finished.
"I'm going to be 100% honest," Zoro said, shrugging against his chains, "I don't even remember the last time I killed someone. Although that may be due to all the alcohol so don't fully quote me on that last statement but don't write it off either."
His visible eye narrowed, flicking toward the jurors. "And another thing, half of this jury is wearing Navy uniforms under those robes. Not exactly what I'd call fair representationI mean you're not even trying to hide it",Zoro pointed with his chin," That guy literally has the fucking navy symbol sticking out of his belt, I know I'm not the only one who sees that."
Every eye followed.
Sure enough,a gold Navy crest gleamed at the juror's hip.
The gallery erupted.
"He's right!"
"They're wearing uniforms!"
"That's cheating!"
"This whole thing is rigged!"
Another juror tried to discreetly cover his cuffs.
Zoro let out a sigh of frustration before he continued,""So yeah where's the normal civilian representation? Or at least someone who doesn't want my head on a wall? Cause from where I'm sitting, they all look pretty invisible."
The gallery murmured again, louder this time.
The jurors shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
One juror actually slumped in his chair, defeated.
Saturn's face twitched again, micro-expressions of irritation flickering like cracks in stone.
Zoro turned to the trembling skeleton masquerading as his attorney at last, the man shrinking in his seat. "And you. My so-called defense attorney, Mr whatever your name is, I haven't really seen you do much to defend me against any of these charges?."
The lawyer cleared his throat nervously, "M-Mr. Roronoa, it— it isn't personal," he stammered,"It's just that we haven't really gotten to that part of the trial you sort of been interrupting him the whole time. and it's simply that the evidence is… overwhelming, and— and factually—"
Zoro cut him off with a snort, rolling his shoulders. "Overwhelming evidence? Oh yeah him rolling out my wanted poster and a scroll with a list of charges that may not even be true is a hard case to argue against",he said sarcastically playing towards Saturn's stand," What's next, gonna bring'n one of my old sword mentors in here and tell him how much of a bad student I was?"
The silence that had settled was shattered by Zoro's low, cutting voice,"By the way… I have yet to see any witnesses to the supposed crimes I've committed. So what's the word on them?"
The remark earned a few uneasy chuckles from the gallery.
Even some of the jurors shifted in their seats, glancing around as though they'd suddenly noticed the lack of anyone who had actually seen Zoro commit the things listed on the scroll.
Someone in the gallery coughed nervously.
A juror scratched the back of his neck, suddenly very aware that the witness stands were empty.
Another whispered, "We… don't have any… do we?"
The lawyer, already shrinking into his chair, pressed his parchment against his chest and looked away, as if pretending not to exist.
Saturn didn't hesitate to respond, it came like a whipcrack.
TOK!
His cane struck the floor with such force that dust leapt from the cracks between the planks. The lamps overhead rattled in their metal sconces.
His gravelly voice followed, slicing through the courtroom air. "Oh, well that's an easy one," Saturn said, his tone thick with mock patience. "You see, the witnesses, especially from all of your captain's endless list of criminal escapades, have grown to such a large amount we wouldn't have had time to gather all of them to fit them in this courtroom."
He smiled thinly, a serpent's smile, leaning forward just enough that the scar over his eyelid gleamed in the lamplight. "And besides… you're a pirate. You know exactly the kind of crimes you've committed. So this little 'wrong place, wrong time' excuse of yours is a load of, excuse my French, bullshit."
A collective inhalation rippled through the gallery.
Even the jurors stiffened at the profanity.
Saturn didn't care when he was a god among insects and he meant them to feel it.
Zoro had them right where he wanted them, shaken, distracted, and staring directly at him instead of noticing the distracting cracks forming around their so-called justice.
"Oh, so these crimes are me doing your job?" Zoro asked dryly as his eye slid lazily across the jury box.
A few people in the gallery gasped as if he'd just challenged a thunderstorm.
"Because last I checked, half of what you're accusing me of was me saving islands from tyrants trying to take over the world and all the seas. Isn't that what you'd call a vigilante?"He tilted his head.
"By that logic, I should be getting an award for the last two years." After he said that a ripple of muffled laughter traveled through the back of the room, a few Marines shot up straighter, faces flushing red.
Zoro smirked without humor,"And unlike you, I don't hide in the shadows behind the Navy's muscles pretending to be gods. And unlike you…",He cut Saturn a sidelong glance,"…I don't need to send a bill to anyone after I fix their world. People actually thank me for helping them, hell where do you think half my drinks come from."
A louder burst of laughter this time, though quickly smothered.
Saturn's nostrils flared,his knuckles whitened around the head of his cane until the carved wood groaned.
But Zoro kept going as his tone hardened, his voice steady. "If anything, I've done more of your job for free than you've ever done yourselves with actual full wages. I can't remember the last time I personally saw a Marine save anyone. All I've seen since becoming a pirate… is us, the Straw Hat crew, cleaning up your messes while you lot sit on your asses stepping on whoever you want just to keep your power."
Saturn's nostrils flared, his knuckles whitening on the head of his cane as he barked back immediately." You know nothing Boy, of the navy or the celestial dragons! The World Government has made it its top priority to protect the world. We maintain order and the seas from falling into chaos."
But even as he spoke, the words rang hollow in the air.
The jury's eyes flicked toward one another nervously, doubt gnawing at the edges of their fear.
"Really?" Zoro cut in, right through Saturn's speech like a blade through rope. He leaned forward, his chain links groaning, his eye gleaming sharp.
"One of your precious Celestial Dragons tried to shoot me dead in the street," Zoro said slowly, voice laced with venom, "for shits and giggles."
The room exploded.
A storm of gasps.
Hands covering mouths.
Disbelieving shouts.
Even the jurors recoiled, limbs rigid.
Whispers spilling over one another.
"A Celestial Dragon?!"
"Tried to shoot him?"
"And when my captain knocked that bastard out cold," Zoro continued, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade, "the Government tried to kill us all in retaliation with a buster call. Plenty of innocent people were in that area who could've been killed!"
The entire courtroom convulsed with shock.
A woman in the gallery covered her mouth, shaking.
A guard whispered, "No… that can't be—" before being elbowed silent.
CRACK!Saturn slammed his cane so hard the bench shuddered.
"That is absurd!" Saturn thundered, his voice shaking the lamps on the walls. "The Celestial Dragon in question reported he was assaulted by your captain! It is our sacred duty to protect them. They are the chosen blood of this world! And as the Government, it is our job to defend them!"
The jury nodded weakly, but their eyes betrayed unease.
The gallery muttered louder, the image of an untouchable aristocrat shooting at pirates for amusement gnawing at their thoughts.
Zoro rolled his eye and snorted mockingly. "More like it's your job to protect them while they walk all over everyone around them." His tone dripped with contempt. "While the World Government props them up, tears the world apart, and lets people suffer."
He raised his shackled wrists slightly,"And who's left cleaning up your messes?"
His eye burned, his voice steady, unshakable. "The Straw Hats. My crew. The people you call villains are the ones actually saving the world while you hide behind your excuses."
A few guards lowered their rifles subconsciously.
"Those islands you claim we destroyed?" Zoro went on,"Every single one was already enslaved, terrorized, or crushed by world nobles, tyrants, or pirates hiding behind your coat of protection."
Another wave of gasps erupted.
Zoro leaned in forward causing some of the navy soldiers to flinch thinking he was going to do something, his voice sharpened like the edge of Wado Ichimonji,"And you did nothing but watch."
The chains groaned as Zoro leaned forward, his voice suddenly cutting through the murmurs like a blade through silk,"You two-faced bastards can say whatever you want to the public, to the jury, to the people in this room. But me, along with everyone else across the seas, know the truth."
Gasps rippled through the gallery. A few jurors froze in their seats, wide-eyed, their quills scratching to a halt on their notes.
The courtroom was breaking under the weight of truth it wasn't meant to hold.
Zoro's eye burned, sharp as steel. His tone was low, dangerous, but each word carried,"The truth is none of you give a shit about justice, or safety, or even stopping the pirates that actually hurt people."
He shifted his weight forward, the chains biting into his wrists, rattling like steel fangs,"You sit high in your towers, hidden, protected, and untouchable while the rest of us walk through the hell you helped create."
The gallery erupted into whispers, louder than before.
Some faces flushed with anger, others with fear.
A few dared to nod faintly, though they quickly stopped when they noticed Saturn's eye scanning the crowd.
Zoro tilted his head back slightly, raising his voice so every corner of the courtroom could hear,"All those supposed crimes you just read? Horseshit, you know it. I know it. And whether they admit it or not, everyone in this courtroom knows it."
The lawyer beside him nearly fell out of his chair, his pale face turning toward Zoro as if begging him to stop.
The guards tightened their grips on their rifles, beads of sweat rolling down their temples.
Saturn's cane CRACKED against the bench so violently that dust drifted from the rafters but even the thunderous strike couldn't drown out the echo of Zoro's accusations, still ricocheting off the walls like ricocheting cannonfire.
The gallery wouldn't settle over what the swordsman just said.
"He's lying—"
"Is he?"
"I heard about Alabasta… the World Government did nothing—"
"Hush! Don't say that out loud!"
The jurors shifted in unease.
A mother in the third row clamped a hand over her child's mouth.
An elderly shipwright stared at the floor, face pale as wood ash.
A young woman in the second row bit her lip until it bled, eyes darting between Zoro and Saturn like she was watching two storms collide.
Zoro leaned back in his chair, chains rattling as he exhaled slowly through his nose, like a man bored of a sermon.
His voice steadied, colder now, his tone almost dismissive,"Maybe you'll convince people to call me a monster of a pirate and they may even believe your propaganda."
His eye narrowed into a glare that locked straight onto Saturn,"But one day, even if it isn't because of me, someone's gonna cut through your lies. Just like my captain cut down that bastard, Kaido."
A silence fell so heavy it seemed to dim the lanternlight.
No one dared to so much as breathe until either one of them said so.
For the first time since he walked into this courtroom, Saturn's composure began to fracture.
His jaw clenched, the scar across his face twitching as his cane shook in his grip.
His voice rumbled, lower than before, but it carried the venom of a cornered beast,"You dare…" He hissed as he rose slightly from his seat, dreadlocks shifting like living shadows,"...You dare stand in the presence of the World Government and claim we are the villains?"
His eye burned with barely contained fury,""You are a pirate. A murderer. A creature who walks hand-in-hand with chaos. And you have the audacity to lecture this court on truth?"
His cane slammed again, the sound echoing like thunder,"You have no truth. You have only blood. Your legacy is dishonor and death. History will remember you as nothing more than an ant beneath my boot!"
Zoro smirked, because now he knew his plan was working.
Saturn was rattled.
The courtroom was stirred.
The guards were distracted.
And Zoro could already see the black case holding his swords, all he had to do was keep pressing.
That way he could go and grab his swords with ease from that case they have them inAnd catch everyone off guard before they could have a chance to stop him.
These bunch of idiots were dumb enough to even bring it to the same court room he was in.
Zoro turned his eye toward the jury, then to the gallery, sweeping across them with the confidence of a predator surveying trembling prey,"You see the difference between me and them?"
He jerked his chin toward Saturn,"I don't hide behind titles. I don't waste my time pretending to be something I'm not. I'm a swordsman and pirate. Everything I am is right in front of you on full display, so what ya see is what ya get."
"But these guys?" He jerked his chin toward Saturn. "They're killers hiding behind a horseshit flag."
A woman gasped loud enough to echo.
A man stood halfway up, pointing as if to accuse Zoro of blasphemy, but Zoro's eye locked on his, and the man sat back down immediately, trembling.
Saturn leaned forward, dreadlocks cascading over his shoulders like a lion's mane.
His scar gleamed like a brand, and the carved cane shook with how tightly he gripped it.
"Hm, mm…" Saturn hummed, voice low and cutting. "And here I had you Straw Hats pegged for nothing but a group of fools. It seems I was mistaken."
He rose slightly from his seat, his looming presence suddenly oppressive. "However…" His single eye burned, the scar across his face twisting with his sneer. "It appears all of you, the defendant, the jury, and the commoners gathered here are under a misconception.."
He leaned forward, eyes blazing, voice dropping into a tone so cold it made the guards stiffen.
His voice dropped to a cold whisper that carried through the silent chamber like smoke,"Do you honestly think the World Government would ever view pirates like you as protectors or anything but vermin?"
A ripple of tension swept through the courtroom.
Even the air seemed to thicken.
Zoro's single eye narrowed, muscles tightening subtly beneath the chains.
Saturn stepped forward, voice rising,"This may come as a surprise to you, swordsman, but you, these people, and the entire world outside this room?"
His lips peeled into a chilling grin,"You are nothing but playthings to us."
Saturn spread his arms slightly, as though revealing an undeniable truth,"We, the Celestial Dragons, do with you what we please both how we want and when we want."
He chuckled, the sound dripping with cruelty,"You may think your little speeches hold weight. That your little empty ideals matter."
His voice intensified, hammering into every corner of the room,"But let me clarify something for you, Roronoa Zoro, NONE of it matters."
He leaned forward until his shadow draped over Zoro like a shroud,"What you do. What your captain does. What any pirate dreams of accomplishing."
He raised his cane,"We rule the world."
The cane slammed into the floor.
CRACK!
Lantern flames wavered from the sheer force.
"And no number of toppled tyrants will ever change that. Pirates are outcasts. Filth. Meant to be beheaded where they stand", he continued.
And The Celestial Dragon wasn't done.
He inhaled slowly, making sure he was still somewhat composed, then exhaled venom,"To be entirely honest, this entire charade exists for one reason: to capture your captain."
He then points his finger right at the vice captain,"You, swordsman… are a pawn."
He leaned in, single eye gleaming with malice, "And when the time comes… I will have your head on a silver platter. That is how easily I wipe out a life."
The gallery recoiled, horror flashing across once-doubtful faces.
Even the Marines exchanged nervous glances.
Then Saturn rose to his full imposing height, his voice booming,"In this world, I decide who lives and who dies. I am the god you pray to, even if you don't know it. I am the highest authority in both body and mind. I command the Navy. I shape nations. I dictate fate."
He pointed the cane downward like a judgment, "You pitiful commoners exist only to serve us Celestial Dragons. You are dogs and we are your leashes."
The room held its breath for an excruciatingly long time before he finally continued.
Saturn finished with a sneer so cruel it chilled the marrow, "No amount of twisted words will ever change that."
The room went cold.
Not metaphorically or rhetorically or poetically or theoretically or in any other fancy way, it was genuinely cold, as if the very air had thinned in the wake of Saturn's declaration of supremacy.
The temperature dropped enough for the gallery to pull their shawls and sleeves tighter.
The jurors sat rigid, hands trembling over parchment.
Their pens hovered uselessly above ink pots.
No one knew what to write anymore.
No one knew if they were even supposed to.
The gallery's murmurs rose like a nervous tide:
"He… he said it openly."
"He thinks he's a god."
"Are the Celestial Dragons really like that?"
"I always heard rumors, but—"
"Shh! You'll be killed!"
It was obvious, painfully, horrifyingly obvious that no one in this courtroom agreed with Saturn's words.
Not the civilians.
Not the lower-ranking Marines.
Not even most of the jury.
But what could they do?
This was the world.
This was the power above all other powers.
This was the face behind the World Government, cruelty with a crown.
And at the center of it all, the only one speaking fearlessly was the man in chains.
And here, at the center of it, the only person with enough spine to speak against it was the chained swordsman.
He leaned back in his seat, chains clinking casually, like this was a tavern dispute and not a supernatural politician admitting he viewed the world as cattle.
Truthfully?
Zoro had expected this shit, he could bet on it.
He'd seen enough of Celestial Dragons to know what came out of their mouths before they even opened them.
Nothing Saturn said shocked him in the tiniest bit.
Now Zoro could have gotten angry and upset over it, but he still had a plan to try to get out of there, and there was nothing in this world that could provoke him enough to mess that up.Zoro leaned back, chains clinking in lazy percussion. "You're right," he said so calmly that it sounded obscene in the charged silence.
The single sentence landed like a verdict of its own.
The words dropped into the silence like a cannonball.
Heads snapped toward him so fast a ripple of motion swept through the benches.
Even Saturn's practiced face blinked, the elder's composure cracking for the faintest fraction of a second.
For a fraction of a second, disbelief flickered across the Elder's face.
The old man grew colder beneath that flash of surprise, but he did not lose control, well not yet anyway.
Zoro pushed out another breath and continued, voice low, sardonic,"There's no point in me trying to plead my case. Since the second I walked into this room, you'd already decided what I am."
He glanced lazily at the gallery,"Who I'm supposed to be. Where I stand in your perfect little world."
He rolled his shoulders, chains rattling with a dull metallic groan,"There's no point fighting that."
A woman in the front row inhaled sharply, clutching a rosary until her fingers turned bone-white.
Zoro's visible eye drifted to the briefcase beside the clerk's desk, humming faintly with the presence of Wado, Kitetsu, and Enma, and back to Saturn, the grin at the corner of his mouth slowly curdling into something sharper,"So if a murderer is what you think I am… I shouldn't have any problem going along with it. If that's the version of me you want, I'll play along."
He let the implication hang, and then with a casualness that sent a fresh wave of panic through the courtroom he said, very plainly, "You know what? Since we're on the subject, how about we do this—?"
A few Marines flinched automatically.
"I could reach for a sword in that case. The guy guarding it keeps it real close, almost like he thinks it makes him safe, should be easy enough to get it from." He flicked his chin once with the faintest gesture.
"Take one of my swords out and decapitate the piece of—"He cut himself off with a bored, short laugh, letting the sentence die in the imagination of every horrified soul in the room.
People rose from their seats in panic.
Mothers shielded their children.
A chair toppled when one of the jurors hopped up from his seat in a reflexive state..
A clerk's quill dropped and skittered across the floor.
Guards screamed orders but tripped over each other trying to aim rifles they weren't brave enough to fire.
Saturn's cane slammed down with the might of a God.
CRACK!
The sound was enough to settle down the court and get everything back in order, well, mostly.
However despite him trying to maintain some order in the courtroom, even Saturn was surprised.
He had expected defiance.
But to agree with him and turn his own logic into ammunition to boldly imply an imminent assassination in his presence?
That wasn't exactly something he was fully expecting, if at all, really.
Seriously, these pirates nowadays were starting to make him more curious by the second.
He could only wonder what the Straw hat captain was like.
"What have we here?"He tilted his head, dreadlocks shifting like coiled serpents,"Our prisoner has grown some backbone."
His voice was ice wrapped around a blade,"You feel comfortable enough to threaten my life now do you?"
"Well, I'll have you know, This court will take no tolerance of open disrespect and forced threats. Defendant—" he began, voice thundered, "—do I make myself cle-?"
Zoro interrupted, not with fear but with a bored correction,"Oh no. It's not a threat, your honor."
His tone practically oozed disrespect, "I genuinely, with every fiber of what's left in me, believe it's going to happen in the next five minutes."
Every head snapped toward the courtroom doors.
A murmur swept through like wind in tall grass:
"Five minutes?"
"Something's coming—"
"Did he mean… someone?"
"What does he know?!"
OK now he was starting to irritate the celestial dragon.
He wasn't about to sit here and allow this blatant threat to go unpunished
Especially from a peasant such as a swordsman.
If he thinks he could come here and begin a joust with a celestial dragon., well, he was in for a rude awakening.
Saturn leaned forward, face a mask of warning, but beneath it the beads of sweat at his temple glinted like the first sign of a storm. "You will—" he started, furious, then forced the authority back into his tone. "You will not dictate the proceedings here. The authority belongs to me and me alone, and only I will decide if or if not Order will be maintained."
Zoro's grin widened faintly.
He had him right where he wanted him.
Zoro only let out a lazy snort. "You can tell them that, if you want. But it doesn't feel very… enforced upon me."
He shrugged, the movement small but deliberate enough that the chains protested. "I'm nothing but a filthy pirate, remember? Your rules don't apply to me."
Zoro went on, the grin widening into something dangerously playful,"All I can do is tell you that something crazy is going to happen."
His voice dropped to a cold murmur that carried to every corner of the room,"And when it does, this room is going to erupt."
He ticked off predictions like they were mundane facts,"This isn't just any type of crazy event either, it's a type that'll cause disorder and disarray within this entire room. People will scream their asses off. Guards will panic before pissing themselves. And the next thing you know—"
He nodded toward the judge's bench,"I'll be standing right where you are, mall my Chains will be snapped like twigs, ill have my swords, all three of them, from that convenient case right there—"
Two guards jerked backward instinctively.
"And i'll have one blade…", He raised his hand as far as the shackles allowed, mimicking the movement,"…right up against your throat..."
Zoro finished with the softest, deadliest line yet,"....ready to gut you like a fish."
The courtroom had gone so still after Zoro's prediction that the air felt tight enough to tear.
Every breath, every shifting coat, every small tremor of a juror's hand sounded like a drumbeat against the suffocating silence.
Even the ceiling fans seemed to turn more slowly, as if the machinery itself feared provoking the swordsman.
Zoro sat there unbothered, eye half-lidded, waiting.
The Elder leaned back in his chair, posture straightening in one fluid, practiced motion.
His face was a mask of polished marble, the faintest twitch in his lips the only crack in the veneer.
He let the panic marinate.
Fear was the language the World Government had spoken for centuries.
And Zoro had spoken it fluently.
He'll give it to the young swordsman he could make quite a threat sound intimidating to the normal person.
But Saturn wasn't a normal person.
That's where his first mistake was.
He intended to speak louder.
Saturn casually leaned forward, interlocking his fingers on top of his cane, staring down at the swordsman,"Well now… isn't that a peculiar vision you have?"
His voice rolled through the room like smoke in a sealed chamber.
The Elder Elder began theatrically, mockingly, scanning the room, eyes darting from door to door, looking under his desk, peering down the aisles as though expecting something, anything, to leap out of the shadows.
The gallery watched him with horrified fascination.
Seconds ticked by.
Aaaaannnnndddddd ...….Nothing.
There was absolutely nothing.
Saturn clicked his tongue softly and smiled,"Well… if I didn't know any better, I'd say that was all just a massive hoax."
A few nervous people chuckled, not because it was funny, but because laughing felt safer than silence.
Those same people instantly regretted making a noise.
Saturn continued, voice rising with patronizing grandeur,"I will give you credit, however. Fine wordplay. Very dramatic. Especially the bit about gutting me like a fish."
Zoro just blinked at him, unimpressed.
Saturn turned to the room with a sweeping gesture, as if presenting an exhibit at a museum,"As you can see, nothing has happened. No chains breaking. No swords drawn. No… unscheduled executions."
His cane tapped twice sharp, hollowtok! Tok!, a rhythm to reassert control,"We will not be intimidated by a braggart in chains."
The words ricocheted off the walls, steadying the gallery even as their fear lingered like smoke.
He inhaled, lifting his chin with regal superiority,"Well, as much as I would love to entertain the soon-to-be demise of your little crew, the work of the World Government cannot, and will not be halted because of a pir-"
RUMBLE.
It rolled through the floorboards like a beast turning in its sleep.
Everyone froze.
A few gasps slipped out.
One man in the back whispered, "What was that…?"
A guard tightened his grip on his rifle.
Another rumble, deeper, more insistent, made dust trickle from the beams overhead.
Zoro slowly lifted his gaze toward the ceiling, lips curving, not into a smirk this time, but into the faintest whisper of acknowledgment.
Right on time.
The single syllable of Saturn's proclamation was cut short by a deep, rolling RUMBLE that slithered up through the foundation of the courthouse like an earthquake whispering laughter.
The courtroom froze as every head turned towards the door
It felt like the world itself had inhaled and refused to exhale.
Saturn's jaw clenched, the thin veneer of superiority flickered, not gone, but undeniably shaken.
His cane tapped once. Twice.
A precise rhythm, an attempt to reseal control over the room as if he could hammer order back into the planks beneath them.
What the hell was that
He watched the faces around him: jurors with blanching cheeks, guards whose breaths had shortened.
He saw, too, Zoro's smirk, small, impossible, and utterly sure and felt the first real prick of irritation.
"Sergeant," Saturn said, voice carefully level but edged with iron, "your men — step outside and report. Immediately. Find the source of that disturbance and secure the perimeter."
The sergeant, a broad-backed man who had been the very picture of composure minutes earlier, swallowed and gave the curtest of nods.
His boots thudded on the planks as he bounded to the doorway, helmet under arm, voice lowered as he barked orders that were already metastasizing into a nervous chorus out in the antechamber,"A-Aye, sir."
He rushed to the double doors, two guards with him, helmets under their arms.
Their boots thudded in panicked rhythm as they disappeared into the hallway.
And then—RMMMMMMMBLE.
Worse this time.
The kind of sound storms made when rolling over the horizon.
The windows rattled.
Dust drifted from the rafters.
The entire courthouse groaned as though pushed by invisible hands.
But beneath the rumble… another sound emerged.
At first faint, distant, like chanting underwater.
And the unmistakable clang of weapons striking wood.
And the blaring of horns used only by Water 7's shipwright guilds.
The gallery began to buzz in terrified confusion.
"What is happening out there?!"
"Could it be pirates? More Marines? Rebels?"
Saturn's fingers tightened around his cane.
He did not let the panic show, but the tremor travelled up his cane and into the bone in his hand.
He had felt many dangers in his lifetime, rebellions, mutinies, uprisings, but none of those were this raw, this immediate.
There's no way this boy could cause this much of a complication for them, could he?
Moments later, the sergeant reappeared, only this time with a line of Marines crushed behind him, as though they were using their bodies to plug a sinking ship.
His helmet was gone, His hair was wild, His breath came fast and shallow, and his face was pale. He gave Saturn a short bow and reported in a voice that tried to be steady."Your Excellency— outside— by the southern quay— a crowd, sir. Dozens… then hundreds. They surged in from the docks like a wave. They've broken through the perimeter. They're trying to enter the building. I've stationed men to hold the doors but… we won't last long."
They've broken through the perimeter.And are trying to enter the building.. I've ordered men to hold the doors.But I don't know how long they could hold out." He swallowed the last words as if they tasted ash.
The courtroom rippled with panic after hearing that.
Saturn felt the edges of his plan, so carefully laid, begin to tremble.
He began to quickly start trying to brainstorm any solutions on how to deal with this.
Reinforcements?
A buster call?
A total lockdown?
No. No.No, no, no, no, no.
He couldn't escalate too quickly, not unless he wanted everything to transform into chaos.
He forced his shoulders to relax, his jaw to unclench,"Arrest and capture any individual who enters. Anyone who trespasses is to be subdued immediately. Get this situation under control."
The sergeant saluted again and rushed back out.
Zoro watched all of this unmoving, his chain links producing a deliberate, slow rhythm.
He knew each tremor of the planks under his boots like a map.
He knew it all too well who was probably leading this little party.
At that Saturn's face, so carefully composed, tightened for an instant into something sharper than anger: recognition. He swallowed the look and spoke to the gallery instead of to the sergeant. "Remain civilized and keep this court under control! Figure out what's going on outside and Oh, contain it immediately!"
But his command was drowned beneath the rising roar outside.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
Like the fists of giants pounding the courthouse walls.
The sergeant returned again, breathless."There are flags," he reported. "The Straw Hat flag, sir. They're armed. And they're tearing through our men like a tidal wave."
Saturn's cool reserve almost snapped, but he held it as he thought.This plan was starting.
Outside, the noises intensified as boots hammering like war drums, the metallic scream of rope pulleys and grappling hooks being thrown.
He had to figure out a way to capture this boy before he became a nuisance, but that wasn't going to help him if he didn't know where he was coming from.
It didn't take long until suddenly.There was a bang outside the court room door. They had already broken through the perimeter, entered the building and were now trying to break the door down.
Saturn felt that heat. He felt his plans fold and re-form under the pressure.
Saturn's composure began to waver for the briefest moment.
Zoro noticed this and his smirk grew,"Sounds like your schedule's getting a little crowded."
Saturn ignored him, though his grip on the cane tightened until his knuckles strained white.
His mind raced as he tried to figure out any way to get this situation bac-
BOOM
And a huge brawl began.
A slam struck the courtroom door so violently that dust rained from the ceiling beams.
Guards jumped back,""They're ramming the door!"
The gallery surged away from the entrance like a wave recoiling from the shore.
Two jurors screamed,"Brace it! BRACE IT!"
Several men threw their bodies against the wood, stacking benches, chairs, anything they could find.
Their boots scraped across the floorAs they were trying with all of their might to keep that door closed.
Their grunts mixed with the roaring chaos on the other sideAs the much larger.Kraut was.Managing to push through their defense.
Saturn rose slightly from his seat, cloak shifting like a shadow, heat simmered under his skin.
This is not how this trial is meant to go at all.
And there would only be for so long until that door finally started to-
BOOM.
CRACK.
BOOM.
The hinges strained as splinters shot across the floor.
The gallery was losing their minds.
"They're coming inside!"
"Protect us—someone—!"
But unfortunately the Marines were already losing their footing.
The barricade shuddered as benches scraped forward an inch… two… three…
Saturn felt his plan fold, like paper crushed beneath a boot.
People weren't listening.
The room was dissolving into panic.
Order, his order, was slipping beyond reach.
He opened his mouth to command the evacuation—
But the door exploded before the words even formed.
KRAAAAAAAAAAASH!!!
The double doors blasted inward with the force of a cannonball as Wood shattered and Metal hinges tore free and spun across the floor like deadly shrapnel.
The front line of Marines flew backward, crashing into desks and the jury benches.
Ink pots burst and Scrolls scattered.
A cloud of dust, smoke, and splinters swallowed the room.
Through it came Water 7.
Not the tourists or gentle civilians of midday commerce but the shipwrights, the dock workers, the carpenters, the fighters, and the loyalists who hadSupported the Straw Hats in their fight in Marine Ford years ago and lived to spit at the World Government for it.
They surged into the courtroom like a tidal force.
Boat hooks raised like spears, Wrenches and mallets brandished as war hammers, Ship chains swung like flails, Smithing tongs clamped like iron jaws, Sailmakers wielding needles longer than forearms, and Carpenters holding sharpened planks like greatswords.
And leading them were the loudest shouts:
"FREE THE KING OF HELL!!!"
"ZORO!! ZORO!! ZORO!!"
"STRAW HAT ALLIES—FOR WATER 7!!!"
Marines scrambled backward, weapons up but hands trembling, trying their best to get some distance away from the civilians in order to avoid being overwhelmed.
Unfortunately, that plan would fail as the civilians had no intention of soldiers in edge over them or their numbers.
It didn't take long for them to make their way inside the courtroom, turning it into complete chaos as a wild brawl erupted immediately.
A shipwright slammed a guard through a bench after running up to him and picking him up..
A sailor cracked a mallet against a Marine's helmet.
A carpenter hurled a tool chest like a battering ram.
A woman from Dock 3 bashed a guard over the head with a bucket of nails.
A masked figure swung through the broken frame of the door on a rope, kicking two Marines square in the jaw.
And at the front, a massive Galley-La foreman smashed a guard aside with a timber beam and roared,"YOU DON'T TOUCH OUR HEROES!!"
Behind him another man shouted,"FREE ZORO!! THE STRAW HATS SAVED ROBIN! THEY SAVED US ALL!!"
Another voice,"WATER 7 STANDS WITH THE STRAW HATS!!"
At this point, it was pretty clear which side the crowd was on.
The room became a maelstrom of fists, metal, and bodies.
Marines swung rifles like clubs and workers swung tools like war hammers.
It got so bad to the point where a harpoon embedded into the wall inches from Saturn's head.
The elder ducked using his observation haki, eyes blazing with killing intent,"HOW DARE YOU—!!"
The roar tore from his throat, heavy with authority and fury, but it died halfway as something far more offensive caught his attention.
And it was Zoro, who was just sitting in the middle of a courtroom that had devolved into a riot, but he sat like a king on a ruined throne, watching it all with a lazy, satisfied gleam in his eye.
He snapped his head toward the destruction, rolling his shoulders as if warming up before a sparring match. His grin widened, sharp and knowing, like someone who'd already read the ending to the book everyone else was still panicking through.
"You know," Zoro said casually, almost conversationally, his voice cutting through the din just enough for Saturn to hear, "I can't help but say I saw this coming."
He tapped a finger against his chin, pretending to think it over, then shrugged.
Chains rattled as he cracked his neck, muscles shifting beneath his coat. He glanced down at his right wrist, turning it as if checking an invisible watch,"Well…" he said lightly, lifting his head.
"Guess it's showtime,"and then he moved.
Thankfully for Zoro, most of the guards that had been stationed around him were already gone, dragged into the chaos at the doors. Only two remained, both shaken, both distracted, both very much unprepared for what came next.
Zoro turned left.
CRACK.
His elbow smashed clean into the first guard's face.
The guard dropped backward with a wet grunt, collapsing into a heap, clutching his mouth, which was hit in the process.
The second guard reacted too late, panic flashing across his face as he swung his rifle like a club.
Zoro ducked effortlessly, the movement smooth and economical, and drove his elbow straight into the man's stomach.
The guard folded instantly, air blasting from his lungs in a choked wheeze as he clutched his stomach.
Zoro then grabbed him by the collar, pivoted once, and threw him bodily over the defense table, sending wood and parchment exploding outward as the man crashed to the floor.
Then, with an almost effortless pullSome of his might, snapping the chains away like old rope.
Metal screamed, cuffs split, iron rings skittered and bounced across the floor.
Zoro straightened as the last restraint fell away, rolling his wrists, flexing his fingers.
Oh yeah.
That felt good.
He stretched his arms, rolled his shoulders, worked the stiffness out of his neck with a satisfied grunt.
Whoever had restrained him had at least had the decency not to overtighten them, "small mercies" he guessed.
A guard nearby saw it happen and screamed, voice cracking with terror,"OH NO—HE'S FREE!!"
Panic rippled through the Marines like a disease, as heads snapped toward him with eyes widened.
How could they not panic?
Roronoa Zoro...
The King of Hell…..
Straw Hat Luffy's right hand.....
Was now loose in the middle of a riot.
Zoro didn't even spare them a glance.
His eye was locked on something far more important.
The black briefcase.
Two paces beyond a fallen clerk, lying on its side near another overturned table that had his swords inside it.
Wado.
Kitetsu.
Enma.
He could almost feel them calling to him, that familiar weight humming in his bones.
The guard who'd been carrying the case had dropped it in the chaos, abandoning it to try and stem the tide at the doors.
Now it sat there unprotected ripe for the taking.
All Zoro had to do was reach it.
Unfortunately, the guards realized that too.
"GET HIM!" someone howled near Saturn's bench.
Rifles snapped up as fingers tightened on triggers.
Zoro's instincts flared, his Observation Haki painted the future in brief, brutal flashes.
Before the first shot could fire, Zoro kicked the table in front of him upward, flipping it vertically just as bullets tore through the air.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Lead bit deep as the table shuddered under the impact as Zoro ducked behind it.
"Keep firing!" a guard shouted, "Don't give him time to move!"
They fired again though unfortunately they were too slow for the swordsmen..
Because behind the table, Zoro wasn't hiding.
He grabbed three of the thick, solid wooden legs of the table, which weren't flimsy sticks, but dense, reinforced beams, and snapped them off one by one with brutal efficiency.
He spun two into his hands and slid the third into his mouth.
The guards edged closer, heartbeats pounding, rifles raised, hoping he'd been pinned down.
Which unfortunately was a huge mistake on their end.
Zoro kicked the table outward, sending it crashing into them like a battering ram.
Guards toppled over each other, bodies slamming into the floor like scattered pins.
Zoro burst forward as he leapt, landing heel-first on one guard's face, smashing him flat before pivoting mid-motion.
A second guard rushed him but Zoro swung a chair leg straight into the man's gut, the impact folding him in half.
Another came from behind and Zoro turned and cracked the wooden leg across his skull, dropping him instantly.
A third charged head-on and Zoro brought the leg down like a hammer, BOOM, smashing the man into the floor.
He flowed through them.
A sweep kick sent two guards skidding across the floor into a pile of shattered benches.
One swung a rifle but Zoro caught the arm, locked it, smashed the man's face with the chair leg, and threw him like trash into a heap of bodies.
A gunshot rang out and a bullet hissed past Zoro's ear.
He ducked without thinking, already knowing where it came from.
He looked up And saw that one of the guards had his rifle pointed at him from a distance.
Before the man could fire again, Zoro threw one of the chair legs.
It smashed into the guard's face with a dull THUNK, bounced off, and—
Zoro caught it mid-run.
He closed the distance in two strides and knocked the guard flat with the remaining leg.
His attention locked on the black briefcase two paces beyond the nearest fallen clerk, the promise of cold steel and remembered weight right in his grasp.
And he was gonna make it there no matter what.
Saturn's panic didn't show at first.
Not the way it would on a lesser man, scrambling backward from the bench.
Saturn had lived too long, crushed too many rebellions, watched too many "impossible" threats die choking on their own pride.
But panic still found him.
It crept in through the smallest cracks with the twitch at the corner of his mouth, the way his knuckles whitened around his cane, the fraction of a breath he took too sharply when Zoro's path lined up perfectly with the fallen briefcase.
His gaze snapped from the overturned benches to the black case lying like a gift on the floor.
Then back to Zoro.
He's going for the swords.
And he's going to get them, unless—
Saturn's worry curdled into something heavier, sharper.
He rose from the judge's seat with a calm that didn't match the chaos, his silhouette unfolding like a guillotine being lifted into place.
The cane in his hand was no longer a symbol of office.
It was a weapon.
He lifted it once and slammed it into the floor.
The sound itself was ordinary, wood and iron striking wood, but what followed wasn't.
A pressure swept through the chamber like an invisible tide turning violent.
It didn't come as a gust or a wave so much as a presence, a dominance that rolled outward from Saturn in an instant and filled every corner of the courtroom, pinning the air itself to the walls.
Conversations died mid-syllable as shouts strangled into silence.
A guard near the door froze so hard his rifle slipped from his hands and clattered to the floor with a metallic clang that echoed like a funeral bell.
Then a room full of knees buckled.
One Marine's eyes rolled back as if someone had yanked the strings holding him upright, he collapsed face-first onto the planks.
A civilian woman staggered, tried to grab the bench, missed, and slid down into an unconscious heap, her flag slipping from her fingers like it had suddenly weighed a thousand pounds.
Two more guards dropped and a juror's quill slipped from numb fingers, scratching a dark line across parchment before it fell.
Ink pooled and bled like a wound all over.
Bodies began to fall in waves, Marines, townsfolk, and clerks started toppling into each other, slumping over benches, crumpling beside overturned tables.
The entire riot ended with a thud like a battlefield going quiet after the last cannon fires.
For a heartbeat the only sounds left were the soft creak of settling wood, the faint hiss of candles, and the slow, controlled tapping of Saturn's cane as it lifted an inch from the floor again.
Saturn exhaled through his nose and in that sudden emptiness, he finally looked satisfied.
Until—
Zoro's boots scraped forward half a step, staying upright.
The pressure hit him too, he'd felt it bloom the moment the cane struck—but instead of breaking him, it merely tested him. His jaw tightened. The muscles in his neck flexed. His shoulders lifted as if he were taking on a heavier weight.
And then something answered.
A second presence flared up in the room, different, but just as real, like a second storm front colliding with the first.
The air between them crackled with tension so sharp it felt like it could slice skin.
Candles guttered papers on the clerk's desk shivered, edges lifting, then slapping down again as if the room itself were breathing too hard.
Saturn's eyes narrowed as Zoro's visible eye sharpened.
Two wills pressed against each other with raw certainty.
For a long moment, the courtroom wasn't a courtroom anymore.
It was a cage, inside it stood two predators, measuring which one would make the other blink first.
This was the power of SUPREME KING HAKI.
Saturn's lips curled, not quite a smile, not quite a snarl.
"Well," he murmured, voice low now, no longer speaking for an audience, because the audience had become a sea of unconscious bodies, "So it's true."
He tilted his head, studying Zoro the way a collector studies a rare blade, "It seems the stories about you Straw Hats… aren't just exaggerated drunken sailor gossip as I originally presumed."
Zoro let out a breath through his nose, a smirk tugged at his mouth, but it wasn't lazy anymore,"Yeah," Zoro said, voice rough around the edges from exertion and adrenaline as he removed the table leg from his mouth. "Kinda happens when your crew beats an emperor of the sea."
Saturn's eyes flicked, quick as a blade-draw, around the room, then back to Zoro.
"Well.Was not expecting your captain to put on quite a show for us this afternoon.," Saturn said. His tone was almost conversational—like they were discussing a game board, not a massacre of morale scattered across the floor, "You should be proud."
Zoro's gaze drifted to the case too.
It was right there, close enough to touch.
The latch glinted in the candlelight like a promise.
Zoro's fingers flexed once at his side, an unconscious itch for steel.
Then his eye returned to Saturn.
"Yeah, well. That unpredictable nature of his....," Zoro said, and there was something cold in his voice now, something that promised violence without needing to shout. "....has always been a highlight of his personality. Even if it can make him look like a complete idiot sometimes."
Saturn's cane tapped once against the floor.
"You seem strained," Saturn observed, voice smooth as silk wrapped around iron. "Breathing hard. Sweat on your brow. And yet…" his smile sharpened, "still standing."
Zoro's grin widened a fraction. "Yaeh, I'm pretty stubborn like that."
"Yes," Saturn corrected softly. "It is quite the interesting quality you pirates have.."
It sounded like the cruelest compliment imaginable.
Saturn stood unbowed in his place, the cane still ringing in his hand.
Staring down at the swordsman, waiting for him to make another move.
Zoro was doing the same on his end, waiting to see what this old man would pull out of his ass
He looked up at Saturn and saw, reflected in that old man's narrow eyes, the same fierce, blank measure he'd seen in a blade or in the eye of a charging beast: a king's presence.
It was a wonder why people were so afraid of him.
Saturn's voice lowered into something private, something only meant for the one man still conscious enough to hear it.
"Whats wrong, swordsman?" Saturn asked,"You were so adamant about retrieving your weapons." His chin tipped toward the case. "Well? Go on. Take them."
Zoro's eye flicked to the latch again.
Then back to Saturn.
And in that look, the humor shifted into something predatory.
"Oh, I'm getting to it," Zoro said. His tone was calm, but the calm of a man holding a knife behind his back. "It's just…" he rolled his neck once,"this little staring contest is more interesting than I thought it'd be."
Saturn's mouth curved. "You think this is a contest?"
Zoro's grin widened just enough to show teeth. "Don't you?"
There it was, an almost playful insult buried under the threat.
Zoro's gaze swept Saturn's face, then lingered just a little too long on the elder's eyes,"…But if I'm being honest," Zoro added, voice dry, "you might have an advantage."
Saturn's smile thinned. "An advantage?"
Zoro tilted his head. "Yeah. You've got both your eyes."
For a half-second the air sharpened again.
Then, unexpectedly, Saturn gave a low chuckle like the sound of a blade being drawn halfway from its sheath.
"Pirate humor," Saturn murmured, "I would call it pathetic."
Zoro's shrug was lazy, but his stance wasn't. "Call it whatever you want."
Saturn stared down at him from the judge's seat, The environment felt like the edge of a cliff.
"You have been entertaining," Saturn said, voice smooth, almost polite, "But unfortunately… you cannot be allowed to leave this courtroom alive."
Zoro's reply came instantly, a humorless snort,"Aw," he said flatly. "That sucks."
He glanced toward the briefcase again, then back at Saturn, eyes hard,"Just when we were starting to enjoy each other's company."
The sarcasm was so thick it could've been cut with one of his swords.
Both of them understood what came next.
Neither moved, they stood in a courtroom filled with unconscious witnesses, surrounded by the wreckage of Saturn's perfect plan.
His cane hovered slightly off the floor, poised like the first strike of a bell.
Zoro's hands Tightened around the Table legs, cautious enough to dare Saturn to react first.
Silence hung between them like a held breath, two wills facing one another over a black case, when a sound cut through the hush and the static of a thousand dropped voices.
Zoro stood near the black case like a wolf at the edge of a trap, shoulders rising and falling in slow, controlled breaths.
Sweat gathered at his hairline and slid down the side of his face, catching on the scar that sealed his left eye.
His fingers hovered, just a few inches away from the latch, close enough to feel the promise inside without touching it.
Across from him, Jaygarcia Saturn remained upright, uncollapsed, unshaken—at least on the surface.
His cane was planted into the floor like a spear, and the iron cap at its tip had bitten into the planks hard enough to leave a small, spiderweb crack.
His hat shadowed most of his expression, but his single visible eye watched Zoro with the patient cruelty of an executioner who enjoyed the pause before the drop.
For a breath, neither moved.
Then the hush broke.
With..... laughter?
At first it was faint, so faint it almost sounded like a hallucination left behind by the clash.
A single ripple of sound drifting down the corridor like a misplaced note at a funeral.
It didn't belong in a courtroom or anywhere near a Five Elder.
Saturn's brow creased.
The muscles in his jaw tightened, then loosened, as if his face couldn't decide whether to sneer or listen.
He turned his head slightly, angling his ear toward the sound like he was trying to catch a whisper behind a wall.
Zoro's expression changed into relief, realizing who this was.
The corner of his mouth tugged upward, small and sharp, "Tch," he murmured, voice barely above a breath. "Took him long enough."
The laughter came again, clearer now, rolling closer, it carried with it the damp salt scent of Water 7's canals, the groan of dock wood, the muffled chaos of bodies moving in the hallway beyond.
It didn't sound like desperation.
It sounded like someone was having fun.
Saturn's eye narrowed.
For the first time, his control didn't feel like a wall, it felt like a pane of glass with a crack running through it.
He looked to the courtroom doors.
Then back to Zoro.
Then back to the doors again.
The laughter swelled, then abruptly—
Stopped.
A clean, unnatural cutoff. Like the world inhaled and refused to exhale.
Even Zoro's smile thinned, not in doubt, but in anticipation, like he recognized the timing of a punch before it landed.
A heartbeat passed.
Then—
BOOM.
The doors burst inward so violently that the brass fittings screamed. Splintered wood snapped off the hinges and skittered across the floor like thrown knives. Dust billowed in a thick, rolling wave, swallowing the doorway and turning the air into a smoky veil.
And through that smoke, a figure dropped from above.
Falling in like a cannonball.
Feet hit the floor with a heavy THUD, boards flexing under the impact.
Dust burst upward in a ring around him.
For a fraction of a second, the outline was all anyone could see: shoulders squared, stance wide, head lowered.
Then the laughter returned, full-volume, echoing off the courtroom's wooden ribs,"SHISHISHISHI—!!"
Zoro's grin widened like he'd been waiting to hear that sound for hours.
Saturn's eye sharpened into something colder than anger.
It was the sudden, sickening confirmation that the plan had worked too well.
The dust began to settle.
And there he was.
Emperor of the Sea Straw Hat Captain: Monkey D. Luffy.
He wasn't the scrawny, reckless kid the world remembered from old posters, the one who looked like trouble wrapped in a grin. Two years had carved him into something harder. He stood slightly taller now, his body visibly more muscular, not bulky but honed, thicker neck, broader shoulders, stronger arms. His chest was more defined, and right across it, unmistakable even through the haze, was the X-shaped scar, a brutal, permanent reminder of Marineford that looked like it had been carved into him by fire.
His outfit was familiar, but changed in a way that felt like a warning.
The straw hat was still his, worn and beloved, its brim slightly bent like it had survived a hundred storms. He wore an open, red three-quarter-sleeved cardigan with gold buttons, hanging loose to expose his scarred chest. Light blue shorts sat low on his hips, and a yellow sash was tied at his waist, the tail of it hanging off his left side like a banner. His sandals scraped softly against the floor as he shifted his weight.
He reached up, slow and deliberate, and set his straw hat properly on his head.
The motion was so calm it felt violent.
When Luffy lifted his face, the smile was gone.
His eyes locked onto Saturn.
And the air changed.
It wasn't just anger, it was something denser, hotter.
Veins stood out against his temple and forehead.
His jaw was set.
His posture looked relaxed at first glance, but Zoro knew better.
It was the stance of someone who could explode forward at any second.
Saturn, Jaygarcia Saturn, one of the highest authorities alive, felt his throat tighten in a way that annoyed him more than fear ever could.
Because he had seen that look before.
In men who didn't care who they were standing in front of.
In men who only cared who was in their way.
For a moment, the courtroom was nothing but the three of them: the elder, the swordsman, and the captain.
Saturn's cane creaked slightly as his grip tightened.
His mind moved like gears.
There he is.
The boy that had been disrupting order since the moment he crawled onto the sea.
The boy the world had begun to whisper about like a myth.
The boy who had survived things he shouldn't have survived and won battles he had no right to win.
Saturn's lips parted, already forming words, something sharp, something holy, something meant to crush—
And then Luffy's stare flicked sideways to Zoro.
And in the blink of an eye, that terrifying, murderous seriousness vanished like it had never existed.
A goofy, bright grin spread across Luffy's face so fast it was almost insulting,"Oh!" he said, like they'd run into each other at a market. "Hey, there you are, Zoro! You okay?!"
Saturn's expression stalled, caught between disbelief and rage.
Zoro, still breathing a little hard, lifted one hand in a lazy wave like he wasn't standing in a courtroom full of unconscious bodies and shattered doors,"Hey, Luffy," he said casually. "Yeah, I'm good. Y'know… another blackout drunk situation."
Luffy blinked. Then his brow furrowed like he was doing serious math,"Again?" He planted his hands on his hips. "Zoro, that's like… the third time. Not in a row, but still! How do you get that drunk?!"
Zoro shrugged, chains now gone from his wrists, arms loose at his sides. He nodded toward Luffy's stomach like he was pointing out an obvious truth of the universe,"I dunno," Zoro said. "Same way you clear out an entire restaurant. When you're put in front of a buffet, you can't just turn away from it."
Luffy froze.
His face turned thoughtful in the most dramatic way possible, finger going up to his chin as if Zoro had just delivered ancient wisdom.
"Hm…" Luffy hummed, eyes narrowing as he considered it. "That's… true."
He nodded to himself, satisfied,"Oh yeah," Luffy concluded confidently. "Makes sense."
Zoro's smirk deepened, like he couldn't believe that actually worked.
Meanwhile—
While those two were talking.
Saturn just sat there.
Staring.
Watching the two most wanted pirates in the world casually chat like they were in the Sunny's kitchen arguing about chores.
His eye twitched.
Not from fear.
From pure, furious disbelief.
They were ignoring him.
Ignoring the Five Elders.
Ignoring the courtroom.
Ignoring the unconscious bodies.
Ignoring the fact that Saturn had just declared himself a god not five minutes ago.
The insult cut deeper than any blade ever could.
How dare this pirate simply ignore him?
Jaygarcia Saturn felt it crawl up his spine like a sickness.
How dare these pirates speak over him, dismiss him,as if he were some dockside drunk shouting nonsense into the wind? As if he were a nameless commoner, another insect scuttling beneath their feet. He was not of this world in the way they were. He was an Elder. A Celestial Dragon. One of the Five who stood closest to Imu themself. A hand that shaped history with a gesture, a voice that ended bloodlines with a word.
He was above them.
Above their dreams.
Above Joy Boy.
Above rebellion, above hope, above consequence.
And he would not be treated like background noise.
Saturn drew in a breath, deep and deliberate, swallowing his fury and letting it ferment into something far more lethal. Authority hardened his spine; menace poured into his veins,"YOU!"
The single word cracked across the ruined courtroom like a whip.
Luffy and Zoro stopped mid-conversation.
Slowly, almost reluctantly, they turned.
Saturn was on his feet now, posture rigid, presence swelling as he let every ounce of his will press outward.
His coat fluttered despite the still air, the floor beneath him groaning faintly in protest. His eyes burned with fury, veins standing out along his temple as his voice climbed higher, louder, echoing off shattered walls and fallen beams,"WE MEET AT LAST—!!"
He threw his arms wide, as if presenting destiny itself,"MONKEY D. LUFFY!"
The name boomed through the chamber, heavy with years of obsession, fear, and rage.
This was the nuisance, the infection that had spread through the world unchecked.
From East Blue to the New World, from whispers to war, this was the face that had haunted reports, shattered plans, humiliated admirals, and toppled emperors.
Saturn had waited for this.
He had planned for this.
"I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT," Saturn roared, his voice swelling into a grand, venomous oration, "FOR FAR TOO LONG, TO BE RID OF THE HEADACHE THAT IS YOUR EXISTENCE!"
He pointed a trembling finger at Luffy, accusation and execution wrapped into one gesture,"BY ORDER OF THE WORLD GOVERNMENT, IT WILL BE MY PERSONAL PLEASURE TO WIPE YOU OFF THE FACE OF—"
Yo, Zoro,"The interruption was casual.
Luffy hadn't even looked at Saturn.
He turned his head slightly toward his vice captain and pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the red-faced Elder like Saturn was a piece of furniture in the way.
"Who's this old guy?",The words landed like a slap.
Saturn's mouth hung open for a fraction of a second, just long enough for disbelief to curdle into pure, unfiltered rage.
Zoro blinked.
Then blinked again.
"Oh… yeah, hold up,"He squinted at Saturn like he was trying to remember where he'd seen him—tilting his head, tapping his fist against his forehead repeatedly as if knocking loose a stubborn memory.
"Fuck… fuck… fuck… come on…" Zoro muttered. "C'mon, old guy, what was your name again?"
He paused.
Then waved it off,"Ah, forget it. Doesn't matter."
Saturn's face flushed a dangerous shade of crimson.
Zoro shrugged and turned back to Luffy, completely dismissing the Elder's existence.
"Anyway, this dude apparently wants us dead. Made up this whole fake trial and everything just to lure you here. I think," he added thoughtfully. "I was still kinda hungover through half his speech, so I might be missing details."
"Ohhh," Luffy said, nodding like this was fascinating new information.
He turned back toward Saturn, eyes bright with curiosity rather than fear,"Really?"
Saturn was shaking now, not with weakness, but with fury so intense it threatened to tear him apart.
And then Luffy's face lit up.
"Oooo," he said, grinning wide as he looked back at Zoro. "Should I send him flying?"
Zoro shrugged.
"Yeah," he said easily. "Go ahead, Cap."
The two of them smiled.
Together.
Saturn's eye twitched.
How—how—was this laughing child supposed to threaten him?
This boy looked like someone who treated the world like a playground a.
What could he do to him?
The answer came faster than thought.
Luffy bent his knees and jumped.
The air exploded.
Wood cracked under the force of his launch, dust and splinters kicking up as Luffy shot forward, body coiling midair like a spring released.
His arm snapped backward, stretching, stretching, stretching whipping past the broken doors, past the antechamber, all the way down the corridor in a blur of motion.
"NOW — GUM—GUM—PISTOL!!"he shouted.
The punch came screaming back like a meteor.
Saturn barely had time to register it.
There was no time to dodge. or counter.
Just to feel the impact.
A single, absurd, devastating CRACKas Luffy's fist smashed into Saturn's face.
The Elder flew.
For an instant there was no sound but the echo of that impact and the thin rattle of the old man's body sliding against shattered masonry; the influence of his Conqueror's Haki ebbed like a receding tide.
His hat went spinning one way.
His cane went tumbling another.
His body tore through the judge's bench like it was paper and punched clean through the far wall, stone and plaster erupting outward in a roaring cloud.
The sound echoed like a cannon blast across Water 7.
For a heartbeat, the world held still.
Then the dust settled.
Saturn's presence, his crushing will, his suffocating authority, drained from the room like water from a cracked vessel.
Luffy snapped his arm back with a loud THWAP and landed lightly on his feet.
He planted his hands on his hips, chest rising and falling, that familiar grin plastered across his face.
The trial, the world's attempt at a quiet, surgical capture, was over in the moment a laughing boy chose to throw a punch.
(End of chapter)