"Sure is a nice day today."
Sea Circle Calendar 1509.
After spending quite some time on it, Ozz had finally wrapped up most of the affairs tied to his tenure as an Emperor.
During this period, the overbearing image of the Black Emperor slowly faded in the eyes of the world. What lingered more deeply in people's memories was still that legendary pirate, the overwhelmingly powerful Black Gun.
That shift was not entirely natural. Ozz had nudged things along by nudging Morgans, having the news focus move away from "Emperor" and back toward "Black Gun."
Once he shrugged off the burden called "fame and power," he could feel his aura pressing faintly against some invisible limit, as if on the verge of breaking through.
That pleased him very much.
"Yo, Ozz. You heading out to sea already"
Sabaody Archipelago, by the shore.
Mihawk and Crocodile had long since left one after another, busy pursuing their own careers and ambitions. That left Ozz, the great Emperor, as a solitary bachelor with nothing better to do than haunt the red light district every day.
Today, though, he had come down to the beach, and from the look of it, he was getting ready to sail.
Right before he left, a half gray haired Rayleigh appeared, clearly seeing through Ozz's intentions at a glance.
"Yeah. Call it a spur of the moment trip."
Ozz had not told anyone. He had no idea where he was going, or when he would be back. He was just going because he felt like it.
"Come to think of it, Uncle Rayleigh, I gave you a chunk of pure gold. Why are you not using it"
Ozz was not using pure gold for now because he was not at his physical peak yet. He still counted as half a young man.
Rayleigh was different. He was not exactly young anymore. In a few more years, "old man" would be a fair description. And he still was not using it
"No need."
Rayleigh sat casually on a reef, tipping a small bottle of booze back, a relaxed, carefree smile on his face.
"For men of the sea, it is never about how long you live. As long as you have enjoyed the journey, that is enough. I am sure Roger and the others would agree with me on that."
"Ahahahahaha. That is really cool, Vice Captain Rayleigh."
Hearing him, Ozz had to admit he had not yet reached that level of enlightenment.
But that did not stop him from admiring it.
Because Captain Roger was exactly that kind of man. Someone who laughed boldly in the face of his own death.
Rayleigh kept smiling, then noticed that Ozz did not seem to be carrying anything.
"What, you are not bringing any gear at all"
Ever since Ozz had stopped traveling long distance together with Mihawk and the others, the Oro Jackson had been left docked and unused for quite a while.
Ozz nodded. He was wearing only a pair of flip flops and beach shorts, bare chested. His blades, firearms, and various supplies were all stowed in his personal pocket space.
It was not very large, but barely enough.
Whenever he needed his gloves or the Black Gun, he would take them out from there.
Rayleigh watched Ozz stretch lazily and then even start doing warm up exercises. His hand froze midway to his mouth, a few drops of cold sweat forming on his forehead as the corners of his lips twitched.
"Oi, Ozz. You are not planning to swim, are you"
"Yeah. Why"
Ozz nodded matter of factly, as if that were the most normal idea in the world.
"But… you are a Devil Fruit user."
As a lover of swimming, or rather a master of the art, Rayleigh was intimately familiar with crossing the seas in the water.
The problem was, Devil Fruit users were supposed to sit on ships or just fly. Swimming…
"That is nothing to worry about."
Ozz's lips curled into a grin. He waved at Rayleigh, then dove straight into the sea with a clean splash and disappeared beneath the surface.
"You little…"
Rayleigh blinked, then extended his Observation Haki. What he sensed left him stunned.
Ozz showed no signs of being weakened at all. Instead, he drove straight down into the depths with powerful strokes.
A few dozen seconds later, he surfaced far out at sea, took a breath, and continued to swim forward.
"So he is keeping the seawater separated from his skin by a hair's breadth. What an interesting ability…"
Watching the trail of rolling waves that Ozz left behind as he swam further and further away, Rayleigh could not help but smile.
Being young really is nice.
…
"Law, I will definitely bring back the Ope Ope no Mi!"
North Blue, Minion Island.
Forces from all over the world had converged on the island. Many lavishly decorated ships that had no business appearing in such a bleak place were moored along the shore.
Seeing this, Donquixote Rosinante tightened his feathered coat, his expression turning grim.
"No way. There are that many people targeting the Ope Ope no Mi"
Many underworld bosses, desperate to truly free themselves from Ozz's control, had the same thought.
Even though Ozz had announced that so long as their payments did not shrink, he would no longer interfere too much in the underworld's business, no kingpin liked the idea of having his "coordinates" permanently exposed.
They were not short on money or manpower. What they lacked was freedom.
To them, the Ope Ope no Mi was the key.
For Corazon, however, this was about far more than business.
He had staked everything on saving Law's life.
Huff… huff…
In the ice and snow, Corazon ran forward with the Ope Ope no Mi cupped carefully in both hands, his breath puffing white in the cold air.
Tears and laughter mingled on his face.
"Great, Law. Wait for me."
Holding the shivering Law in his arms, Corazon flashed him a goofy peace sign, then snapped his fingers.
A dome of absolute silence descended in an instant.
Within that soundless space, he pushed the Ope Ope no Mi toward Law's mouth. Somehow, shoving and fumbling, he really did manage to get it down his throat.
Once he rolled Corazon's body over, Law finally broke down in tears.
The smiling Corazon was already riddled with bullet holes.
It was impossible to imagine how he had escaped that hail of gunfire long enough to make it back.
At the same time.
A Marine battleship lay anchored off the northern coast of Minion Island.
They had also received intelligence that the Ope Ope no Mi had appeared there. The World Government wanted it retrieved, and with so many unknown forces moving in, the Marines naturally could not sit this out.
"…Where did I swim to"
"Looks like just going by rough direction does not work. Still have to follow the Log Pose."
Ozz had assumed that if he just swam straight in one direction, he would eventually end up somewhere in the right region.
In reality, veering off even a little on each leg of the journey added up to a massive deviation in the final course.
Which was how he had ended up, somehow…
"Hey, Marines. Where is this"
Without a drop of seawater clinging to his skin, Ozz popped into existence on the deck as abruptly as if he had just "refreshed" there like a random encounter.
This time, his spawn point happened to be a Marine battleship.
"You… you are…!"
"Lord Ozz, sir!"
The unexpected appearance of Ozz shocked every Marine on board, especially one of the officers leading the mission.
The man with the mushroom head haircut, Vergo, stared in disbelief. He had no idea why Lord Ozz would appear out here, but he still snapped to attention and saluted at once.
In the midst of snow and ice, Ozz stood bare chested for a moment, then decided to change into a comfortable black formal outfit.
"Well now. Fancy running into you here, Vergo."
Strolling along the deck, Ozz walked to the rail and looked out over the frozen landscape, taking in the bleak surroundings.
Then he turned and casually asked Vergo a question.
"Doflamingo should be here too, right"
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