Cover Story Serial · Four Emperors Arc 4 · "Kozuki Yamato"
"On Onigashima, these past few days, the top officers of the Beasts Pirates have been trembling with fear, afraid of angering the person in the palace. After all, ever since that battle, Kaido-sama has been in a bad mood, drinking alcohol to drown his sorrows every day, and getting furious over the smallest things..."
"What on earth happened?" Yamato, still shackled in chains, held back for a few days, but finally couldn't resist. She sought out Aunt Sena, who had always been kind to her, to ask for the truth…
...
BOOM!
Lightning poured down. The black hawk didn't even have time to scream before plummeting from a thousand meters in the sky, smashing straight into that ancient giant rock and blasting a hole through it.
A scent of charred flesh, like roasted meat, wafted out from the cavern…
"Well, that was a coincidence."
On the deck of the Thunder Hawk, Nao lowered his outstretched finger and shrugged.
"Another Black Hawk Fruit user, huh?"
The previous wielder of the Black Hawk Fruit was Misaya, nicknamed "Hawkeye."The reason William, one of the Seven Warlords, wanted to kill him was also inseparable from this woman.
Hard to believe more than four years had passed since then… it really stirred up some memories.
…
Meanwhile, the pirates floundering in the sea stared wide-eyed, utterly stunned.
Captain Adu… was dead? Just like that?
Their captain was a pirate worth nearly 100 million berries! And once he transformed into the Black Hawk, his body was like solid steel, impervious to blades and bullets.
And yet, this guy killed him with just a flick of his finger?!
Even if he was the infamous Natsuya Nao, wasn't this way too absurd?
The marines aboard the Thunder Hawk, however, barely reacted—they were used to it. Their attention had shifted instead to the three G-5 branch warships still bearing down at full speed, showing no sign of slowing.
"This doesn't look right."
Onigumo frowned.
"They must've seen the lightning strike—even from this far, they should know it was Vice Admiral Nao. So why do they look like they're coming to accuse us of something?"
Sure, the G-5 branch was full of troublemakers, but even they knew better than to act tough in front of a Vice Admiral. Normally, they'd be standing at attention, showing proper respect.
"Maybe they didn't recognize me."
Nao smiled indifferently.
After all, he'd only eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit a few months ago. Not everyone had paid attention to the details of the battle on Hall Island. If G-5's commander hadn't recognized him from that single lightning bolt, it wasn't that strange.
And sure enough—
"Kuzan! Get your ass out here!"
Before the flanking ships even drew near, a tall, curvaceous figure shot into the air using Moonwalk, shouting furiously as she landed hard on the bow of the Thunder Hawk
She didn't recognize Vice Admiral Nao, but she recognized Kuzan-san?
In an instant, countless marines' eyes all turned toward Aokiji.
Wait… she's the one leading the fleet?
Aokiji's face stiffened. Instinctively, he tried to retreat into the crowd. But after just two steps, Nao's boot connected squarely with his backside, sending him stumbling forward until he smacked into the railing at the bow.
"Kuzan…"
The silver-haired woman—Vice Admiral Molly—locked eyes with him, her lips curling into a cold smile.
"So it really was you. The moment I saw that ice wolf from afar, I guessed it was your doing."
"Didn't you just finish fighting a huge battle recently? Shouldn't you be on your way straight back to Headquarters? You already made such a great contribution—what are you doing here, stealing some tiny little fish from me?"
"…."
Aokiji clutched his sore backside and shot Nao a vicious glare—his eyes said it all: Just wait until I get through this, you bastard. Then I'll settle the score with you!
But when he turned back to face Molly's icy stare, his expression crumpled into that of a man chewing bitter melon. In a weak voice, he said—
"Don't get the wrong idea, Molly. I only came because I picked up that distress signal your people sent out earlier. I just wanted to check the situation—then I happened to run into these pirates…"
"Oh, and you 'just happened' to blow up their ship, kill Adu on the spot, and conveniently pocket all the credit for yourself?"
"You're being unreasonable now."
Aokiji was visibly displeased and couldn't help but retort:
"These pirates had screws loose in their heads—they came charging at me, what else was I supposed to do? And besides, it wasn't even me who killed Adu—"
"Unreasonable?"
Molly's brows shot up as she cut him off mid-sentence. She suddenly stepped forward and kicked him hard in the thigh. Aokiji yelped in pain, hopping backward, while nearby marines quickly cleared a path.
"This little bit is already called unreasonable, huh?"
"When you used to stand outside my dorm room every single day, you didn't think that was unreasonable?"
"When I told you to stop bringing flowers and you still insisted on doing it daily, you didn't think that was unreasonable?"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Kick after kick rained down, each harder than the last, making the spectators wince in sympathy.
Well damn—so those earlier suspicions were true. These two really have a history.
Nao's eyes lit up; he eagerly hopped onto the railing, settling in like a bystander munching melon seeds.
"It hurts, it hurts! This is too much, Molly—cut it out already!" Aokiji wailed in anguish.
"There are so many subordinates watching! I'm a Headquarters Vice Admiral, for crying out loud—show me at least a little dignity…"
"Too much?"
Molly sneered and kicked even harder.
"Compared to you, I'm the one being too much?"
"Was it too much for me to kick you? Or was it you disappearing for years, not daring to face me, not even picking up my calls, that was too much?"
"Was it too much for me not to give you face? Or was it you making me the laughingstock among our peers, that was too much?"
Kick after kick landed.
Her legs were wrapped in Armament Haki, while Aokiji—unable to risk dodging by turning into ice—took them all like a sandbag, howling as he was booted all the way from bow to stern. He looked as miserable as could be.
At last—
It was kindhearted Nao who finally couldn't stand to watch anymore. He stepped in to stop her.
Sure, watching drama unfold was fun, but if he didn't intervene soon, Aokiji might end up bedridden for half a month after returning to Headquarters…
...
"So let me get this straight."
In the corner, Nao stared at the black-and-blue Aokiji with a deadpan expression.
"This Vice Admiral Molly, deputy commander of the G-5 branch… she's your childhood sweetheart? And you were the one who pursued her first?"
"…Yeah."
Aokiji gave a wry smile.
Just now, he had explained to Nao the messy love-hate history between himself and Molly.
In truth, it was nothing more than a cliché story.
The two had known each other since youth, entered the Marine together, and became disciples under Zephyr. The young, green Kuzan quickly fell for Molly and launched a fiery, relentless pursuit.
In the end, persistence paid off. After months of effort, by the time of graduation, Aokiji had won the beauty's heart.
The two became a couple, and under the care of Kong, they were even assigned to the same branch, fighting side by side for the long term.
By all rights, this should have been the beginning of a happy tale.
But unfortunately, as time went on and they neared the stage of marriage talks, Molly's increasingly domineering personality in daily life became something Aokiji found harder and harder to accept.
And afterward, the Ohara Incident became the true spark that shattered their relationship.
At that time, Aokiji began to waver deeply in his own convictions—his personal creed, his sense of justice—everything was thrown into doubt. His will faltered, and he no longer had the energy to care about love. When Molly came specifically to comfort him, he was the one who proposed breaking up.
Later on, he was sent to the West Blue to oversee new recruit training in place of Zephyr.
Although, under Nao's guidance, Aokiji eventually pulled himself out of his slump, he never considered rekindling the relationship. From then on, he and Molly completely cut ties.
But Molly had never given up—she often tried to reach out first. Aokiji, however, always avoided her, which left him with a constant feeling of guilt.
"Scumbag."
Nao looked at him with open disdain, spitting out the word.
And here I thought you were a lifelong bachelor. Turns out you've got a whole romantic history hidden away?
—Wait, seriously? You've got the nerve to call me that?
Aokiji stared at him in disbelief.
All I did was run away because I couldn't bring myself to face that relationship again. But you—you actually plucked that untouchable flower, Gion, and then still managed to get involved with two other women as well!
Sure, in the end it all worked out—with the four-person wedding and three bridal gowns—yeah, people envy that. But it doesn't change the fact that you were riding three boats at once, and that's pretty damn scummy, you know?
"Vice Admiral, Nao-san isn't like you at all."
Beside him, the Vice Admiral's adjutant handed him some medicine while kindly explaining:
"The difference is, the whole world is full of boats that want him to step on board, but in the end he only chose three. That's not being a scumbag—that's actually quite devoted."
"But you—you struggled so hard just to find one boat, and yet you never knew how to cherish it…"
Now that's what I call talking sense.
Nearby, Onigumo and Momonga exchanged approving glances and gave their colleague a discreet thumbs up.
That… does make sense.
Aokiji instantly deflated like a balloon with the air let out.
You really couldn't compare conditions between people—and especially not when it came to Nao, who'd been a heartthrob admired by thousands since his recruit days.
Take Molly, for example. She was clearly a very proud woman, always domineering toward him.
But when Nao stepped in with a smile to stop her, she'd flushed red and gone dazed for half a minute, the anger melting completely from her face as she obediently let him go.
At that moment, she'd seemed as meek as a little white rabbit…
Watching that had left Aokiji with an odd sour pang in his chest, like he'd just bitten into a lemon.
"So, you really plan to just muddle through like this?"
Nao glanced at Molly in the distance, who was busy directing her subordinates as they secured the captured pirates, then turned back to Aokiji:
"Come on—you still can't let go of her, can you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have stayed single all these years, and you wouldn't have taken those kicks without fighting back just now."
"Bullshit."
Aokiji's face was swollen like a pig's head, and he gave a muffled snort through his nose.
"That was just me being a gentleman, letting her get it out of her system. But only this once—if she pulls that again, I won't be so polite."
"Stubborn."
Nao couldn't be bothered to argue. He just tossed out one last line:
"When people in love have problems, the best thing is to sit down and talk it out. Speaking as someone with experience—I'd say you should take the chance to go to her yourself. Otherwise, you'll just live under the shadow of regret."
"…We'll see."
Aokiji grumbled.
Nao shook his head, then stood up and returned to the bow. By now, with the help of the Thunder Hawk marines, the G-5 branch had finished securing all the pirates in custody.
This victory had been theirs to begin with, and Nao never intended to compete for credit anyway. A pirate worth a mere hundred million berries wasn't something he cared about.
"Well then, we'll be taking our leave, Vice Admiral Nao."
Molly waved at him with a bright smile, her whole demeanor refreshed and spirited:
"I've heard of your name for years, always wanted to meet you but never had the chance. I never imagined I'd be lucky enough to run into you here today. I'll be heading to Headquarters at the end of the year for debriefing—let's meet again then."
"Mm. Until then."
Nao smiled and waved back.
Molly cast a sidelong glance in Aokiji's direction, but when she saw he was still lying on the ground, making no move to see her off, she bit her lip lightly and turned back toward her ship.
The sails of the G-5 branch ship rose, and their marines began boarding in preparation to return to base.
Nao was just about to turn back when suddenly, a figure busy tying up pirates caught his attention.
That figure also seemed to have been watching him, looking somewhat nervous and apprehensive.
"Well, would you look at that—didn't think I'd find this kid in the G-5 branch."
Nao couldn't help but smile and wave his arm in greeting.
Seeing him take the initiative to wave, the figure's face instantly lit up with joy, and he sprinted over at full speed.
"Boss Nao!"
He was as thin as a monkey, and his facial features and expressions, that wretched look, were as if they were carved from the same mold as Kizaru.
Who else could it be but Kawakawa Shuma, the old comrade who had trained and fought alongside him back during their G-2 internship days?