"You're late, Sengoku."
At the Marine garrison in Arabasta, Zephyr greeted Sengoku—who had come from Mary Geoise—with a relaxed demeanor.
Having departed several days behind schedule, his arrival was similarly delayed, meaning he'd missed the battle with Kanata and her crew entirely.
If Sengoku had been there, things might have turned out differently. Even knowing it was just hindsight, Zephyr couldn't help but think so.
He would've given chase immediately, but with all their warships sunk, pursuit was impossible. Since he was stuck waiting anyway, he'd decided to wait for Sengoku.
"You let them escape even with you there, Zephyr?"
"Yeah. After hearing she knocked you into the sea to make her getaway, I can believe she's got the skill to back it up. That girl's a genius—if she'd joined the Marines, she could've aimed for Admiral someday."
Though rising through the Marine ranks required both a proper service record and education. Even Garp, who seemed to do things haphazardly, possessed all the necessary knowledge.
Zephyr took a drink of water and settled back into the sofa, thinking about the girl he'd crossed fists with.
"The fact she can outsmart both you and me shows she knows how to use her head. She can use Haki, she's a Logia Devil Fruit user, and she's got real strength. Did you look into her background?"
"Born in the West Blue, she was one of the founding members when the Georges Family merchant company was established six years ago... but we can't find any records from before that."
"Can't find any? What do you mean?"
"I don't know. No matter where we search, we can't find a single child by the name 'Kanata.'"
"...She's currently sixteen. The Marine records show she was already operating as a merchant six years ago."
Garp's report on pirate damage had included her name. That man himself might be careless, but his subordinates handled their paperwork properly.
The records suggested it was shortly after she'd begun working as a merchant.
Zephyr stroked his chin and furrowed his brow.
"No records before age ten... That woman's a complete mystery."
"Orphan records aren't exactly well-kept, so I figure it's probably something along those lines."
"Even so, a ten-year-old girl as one of a merchant house's founders? There's definitely something there, no mistake."
Marx Island, where numerous pieces of evidence and records likely existed, had been scorched to ashes by Marine hands—under World Government orders, granted. Obtaining information was now impossible.
Considering that, it felt like a failure, but for the World Government, saving face mattered above all else.
The Marines had lost face too, suffering such a major incident despite having a Vice Admiral as escort. Fleet Admiral Kong must have had quite the headache.
Sengoku sat across from Zephyr, poured water from the pitcher into a glass, and downed it in one gulp.
"What was your impression fighting her?"
"Her Armament Haki was strong enough to properly clash with mine, and her Observation Haki was just a step below mine. According to you, she can use Conqueror's Haki too, right?"
"...She wasn't that strong when I fought her. My Armament Haki was overwhelmingly superior, and same with Observation."
"And yet that girl still outsmarted you. Ability users who can use their heads are truly troublesome."
Even back then, Sengoku had been exceptionally strong among the Vice Admirals. To outsmart him, knock him into the sea, and escape—that wasn't something you could do with just a bit of strength.
It couldn't be written off as just good luck either. A fifteen-year-old girl escaping from Sengoku—everyone at Marine Headquarters had been shocked.
And now she'd escaped from Admiral Zephyr's grasp as well.
The Marines couldn't overlook this.
"Looks like the new wanted poster's been made, but the bounty didn't increase much."
"Honestly, I think it should've gone up more, but the concern is that too large an increase would draw attention and make her a figurehead."
A high bounty didn't necessarily equal strength.
It measured danger level to the World Government, so someone could have a high bounty without much actual combat ability.
But this case was different—she'd defied and killed a Celestial Dragon, escaped from a Marine Vice Admiral, stayed hidden for a full year without being found, and even evaded a Marine Admiral. It was unprecedented.
Sengoku sighed and leaned back into the sofa, gazing at the ceiling as he muttered.
"This is just me thinking out loud, but Celestial Dragons make plenty of enemies."
"...Ah, I see..."
Regardless of who gathered under her banner, what the Government truly feared was Kanata becoming a figurehead for those victimized by Celestial Dragons.
An anti-government force. Or a revolutionary army.
If such a thing came into being, the World Government would have no choice but to fight it with absolute priority.
That's precisely why the World Government deliberately kept the bounty from rising too high, leaving the subjugation to the Marines. Dispatching Sengoku to join Zephyr was a clear expression of that intent.
However—
"If that's the case, what's with the 'capture alive only' order? For a public execution?"
"That part apparently isn't from the World Government. According to Fleet Admiral Kong, it's a request from Donquixote Homing, the brother of the slain Donquixote Chrysaor. The Government approved it since they planned a public execution anyway."
"His brother... wants revenge with his own hands?"
"No. I don't know why, but he wants to speak with the 'Witch' once."
"Speak with her? ...I'll never understand how Celestial Dragons think."
Zephyr sighed and leaned back into the sofa.
Sengoku sat up and placed another wanted poster on the table—the one for "Colossal Shadow" Feiyun.
The photograph captured a giant Feiyun lifting a warship over the sea, making the warship look almost like a toy.
Size-wise, they were roughly equal. You could call it a humanoid battleship.
"Either way, she's got subordinates we can't take lightly. Even with both of us working together, we can't afford to get careless."
"You're right... It was incredible seeing it in person. My eyes went wide with surprise."
"I doubted my eyes when I saw the photo. Never imagined there'd be a human that enormous."
Nearly ten times the size of a normal giant. Sea Kings could grow that large, but for a giant to reach this size was hard to believe.
Kanata's ship wasn't particularly large either. It was clearly the work of a Devil Fruit ability.
Even so, in shallow water his feet only got wet, making it difficult to completely seal his powers.
The force that sank six warships was nothing short of a threat.
"From what I sensed with my Observation Haki, there are at least two more reasonably strong ones in the crew."
"...Truly a threat. What exactly were they doing on this island?"
"That's the thing."
Zephyr stood up, retrieved some documents from another table, and returned.
He handed them to Sengoku and sat back down on the sofa, prompting him to "Take a look."
Sengoku quickly skimmed through the several pages and made a puzzled face.
"...Levee construction manual labor? Dangerous creature subjugation? What's this about?"
"They hid their identities, did honest manual labor to earn travel money, then took on the job of subjugating a dangerous creature that Prince Cobra had been trying to deal with, and finished it off. Both payments have already been completed."
"Earning travel money... I assumed they were pillaging."
"According to reports, they were remarkably well-behaved. They worked normally, earned money normally, and even got along well with the construction workers."
At the very least, it wasn't how pirates operated.
Though they never called themselves pirates anyway, so they were provisionally called the "Witch's Crew"—but calling them outlaws seemed harsh.
Being former merchants, they acted in an orderly fashion. Some pirate crews had absolute discipline, but peaceful pirates like this were rare.
They hadn't harmed any civilians either, apparently.
"Their only crime is killing a Celestial Dragon, but precisely because of that, it's such a waste... A talent like that, I'd want her in the Marines."
"It's the worst possible crime. There's nothing the Marines can do now. Sympathy... well, I'm not without it."
Given the circumstances, both Sengoku and Zephyr felt sympathy for Kanata.
But that was separate from their duty. As Marines, they absolutely had to apprehend her.
And for that, they needed forces.
"The Headquarters Commander Belk who filed the report was originally under Garp, but I'm having him transfer from the garrison to serve under me. He can handle paperwork and, more importantly, he's strong. With practical experience, he could rise even higher."
"We need every bit of combat strength we can get. I'll request additional reinforcements from Headquarters as well."
"When she escaped from you she was seriously wounded, but when I fought her, I could barely land a scratch. We can't let our guard down—get fired up, Sengoku."
"To grow that much in one year... Next time, she won't escape."
Next time they met would be her crew's last—Sengoku downed more water and steeled his resolve.
☆
"Wahahahaha!! Hey Rayleigh, you drinking!?"
"Yeah, I'm drinking. You're in quite the good mood today, Roger."
"How could I not drink! Kanata's alive, and now she's escaped from Zephyr too!"
Roger laughed cheerfully with sake in hand.
Rayleigh nibbled on snacks while reading today's newspaper.
Marine Admiral "Black Arm" Zephyr and the "Dragon-Slaying Witch" Kanata clashed off Sandy Island in the Arabasta Kingdom. Nine warships sunk, followed by her escape.
Naturally Kanata's bounty increased, and the giant who appeared to be her subordinate had also become a wanted man.
"About the same size as a warship, huh? Tremendous scale. Another Devil Fruit power?"
"Probably. I'd love to meet them sometime."
"That girl will make it to the New World eventually. No need to rush."
Conquering the first half of the Grand Line wouldn't be difficult for them.
The problem would be when they went to Fish-Man Island.
They'd need to coat their ship at the Sabaody Archipelago to reach Fish-Man Island, but Marine Headquarters wouldn't overlook that moment.
After all, Marine Headquarters' base of Marineford was right next to the Sabaody Archipelago.
It was easy to imagine them deploying massive forces, starting with the Admirals.
"Nah, she'll win through no matter who she's up against."
"You certainly think highly of that girl. That's unusual for you."
"Yeah. Normally you'd think what could a tiny little girl like that possibly do, right?"
But, Roger poured sake into his mug, took a sip, and swallowed it appreciatively.
Finding the sake delicious, he poured some into Rayleigh's empty mug and continued with a grin.
"That's why this is intuition. My intuition's pretty accurate, you know? Partner."
"...True, your intuition is uncannily accurate. Maybe you should become a fortune teller?"
"I'm not doing something that boring! I'm happiest living free as a pirate!"
As Roger began devouring meat, Rayleigh smiled and returned his gaze to the newspaper.
The World Government seemed reluctant to draw too much attention to this case, but the journalists working for the newspaper companies appeared quite spirited.
With the bounty this high and locations gradually becoming known, she'd be targeted not just by the Marines but by bounty hunters as well.
Whether any bounty hunters existed who'd go after someone even a Marine Admiral couldn't catch was unclear, though.
"Hehe... I look forward to the next time we meet, Kanata."
Rayleigh smiled while looking at the wanted poster.
Seeing someone's shadow in the face captured there.
☆
"Haven't heard much about you lately, so I thought you'd kicked the bucket, Golden Lion. What do you want?"
"Jihahahaha...! Still got that sharp tongue, Whitebeard! But today, there's something I wanted to ask you."
In one corner of the New World seas—
On Whitebeard's ship, the Moby Dick, two great pirates were talking.
For the World Government and Marines, it was a fact that might make them faint, but the Golden Lion could fly through the air with his Devil Fruit power. Slipping through Marine blockades was child's play for him.
Lighting a cigar and taking a puff, he pulled out a recent newspaper from his jacket.
Now that Marco mentioned something about an outrageous rookie, Whitebeard thought, stroking his chin, figuring it was related to that.
"Look at this. You recognize her, don't you?"
"This is..."
"Jihahahaha. I was shocked when I saw it too. Wondered if that woman was still alive... But that's impossible. That woman died."
"Yeah, I can vouch for that. That woman definitely sank into the sea."
"Then who the hell is this?"
One year ago—
When she became wanted for killing a Celestial Dragon, he'd investigated thoroughly. He'd even sent people across the Calm Belt to search the West Blue in case she was still there.
And just recently, the incident that made headlines again and two wanted posters.
Seeing the wanted poster where the face of the girl called the "Dragon-Slaying Witch" became much clearer, Golden Lion Shiki couldn't sit still and came to Whitebeard's ship.
Whitebeard furrowed his brow in thought and arrived at what was likely the correct answer.
"...Her daughter, maybe?"
"Well, that's about the size of it. But the next question is—who's the father?"
"...Even with good looks, her personality was the worst. The guys who tried to hit on her and nearly got killed—you'd run out of fingers and toes counting them."
"Jihahahaha!! True, she only had the looks going for her!"
That woman always wore a mask on the ship. Not many knew her real face, Whitebeard said.
But, Shiki said with a smile still on his face.
"If this girl really is that woman's kid... what are you going to do?"
"Nothing to do about it. I'm not part of that crew anymore—no obligation to do anything."
"I see... Then I can take her for myself?"
"Do what you want."
Whitebeard, indicating he had nothing more to say on the matter, called for sake.
Shiki decided to drink some before leaving and sat down, checking the wanted poster once more.
The woman Shiki knew had a wanted poster but showed her face to almost no one. Even among crewmates on the same ship, few knew her real face, and her background was completely unknown.
But her beauty and strength were in a league of their own.
"The more I look, the more they resemble each other... Octavia. To think the child of the woman who sailed on Rocks' ship would appear now."
***
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