A piercing siren blared through Marine Headquarters.
It was the sound of a Silver Den Den Mushi, a sound that never rang under normal circumstances, now activated by a signal from a Golden Den Den Mushi.
The high-ranking officers of Marine Headquarters, who trained relentlessly for any contingency, moved just as they had always drilled. This time, however, five Vice Admirals who had been briefed in advance by Sengoku were already assembled, their preparations to set sail complete.
That being said, the time was already past midnight.
Even Sengoku, who had been asleep, could not afford to rest leisurely now that a Buster Call had been issued. By the time he had woken and reached his office, he was simply met with a report that ten warships had already departed.
"A Buster Call from Sakazuki at this timing? That's not his style."
"The Five Elders had previously issued an order for a Buster Call. Could it be related to that matter?"
It was Sengoku who had dispatched Akainu at the Five Elders' request for the authority to issue a Buster Call regarding the Nico Robin case. Of course he knew about it, but he shook his head at his subordinate's words.
The target was wrong, he thought.
"At the very least, the place the Five Elders planned to use the Buster Call on was not Enies Lobby."
Furthermore, he had received reports that the intended target, Water 7, was currently in the midst of a storm. Considering the time, the storm had likely passed, but there was still no reason to issue a Buster Call on Enies Lobby.
When he acts, he is thorough.
For Akainu Sakazuki, whose creed was "Thorough Justice," this felt somewhat sloppy.
As he was pondering this, a subordinate, looking flustered, knocked on his office door to deliver a report.
"Excuse me! My apologies for the late hour! This is an urgent report!!"
"Let's hear it. What happened?"
"The Twilight Pirates' fleet is assaulting Enies Lobby!! They have already breached the Tower of Justice, and their follow-up fleet is currently deploying around Enies Lobby!!"
"They've made their move!? Much faster than expected…!"
Sengoku had assumed that, at the very least, a difference of opinion on whether to rescue Nico Robin would buy them a few days' time. This far exceeded his predictions. The Navy should have had the initiative, but perhaps it was better to assume they had been anticipated.
"…That woman would do it."
Her relationship with Dragon of the Revolutionary Army.
The thorough elimination of any spies who tried to infiltrate her organization.
The fact that she had supported Ohara twenty years ago.
Even in a top-down organization with Kanata at its head, Sengoku had believed that abandoning their position as a Warlord would not be easy while they were still hostile to the Four Emperors alliance—but it seemed he had been a little naive.
"Tell them to report the number of enemy forces immediately. Send additional troops if necessary."
"Understood!"
He knew that Kanata herself was not present, but even so, Twilight possessed forces that neither the Navy nor the government had a grasp on. He didn't believe the forces revealed in the previous battle with the Four Emperors alliance were all they had in hiding, and there were other matters of concern.
The ship of the Emperor "Red-Haired" Shanks was in Alabasta.
"Red-Hair is not a man to proactively start trouble… but he has dealings with Kanata. The frightening part is that it wouldn't be surprising if they had secretly joined forces."
It was unlikely they had formed an alliance based on commercial transactions alone, but both Kanata and Shanks were cautious pirates. He couldn't deny the possibility that they were meticulously connected in a way that the government and the Navy wouldn't detect. Since the advent of radio had made eavesdropping on Den Den Mushi nearly impossible, they could now communicate without having to worry about counter-espionage on their White Den Den Mushi. If one considered the worst-case scenario, it was not something to be taken lightly.
In the first place, the reason for Shanks's appearance in Alabasta was unknown. He had heard that Twilight was planning a goodwill concert in light of the effects of the previous battle, but he couldn't possibly imagine Shanks visiting just to attend something like that.
"In any case, failure is not an option. Secure Nico Robin, no matter what!!"
…
"We're pulling back for now, Luffy!" Pedro said, responding to Akainu's words.
Hearing this, Luffy's eyes widened in surprise and he pushed back.
"Why!? Robin's right there in front of us!!"
"I'm not telling you to give up! The odds are against us, but that's not all… he just pressed the button on the Golden Den Den Mushi! We can't handle a Buster Call!! We have to go tell our allies so they don't get killed!!"
Besides, with Akainu here, they couldn't make a move anyway. It wouldn't be a struggle to defeat a Marine Admiral if all it took was a little Haki, and Akainu in particular was a Logia-type ability user. The slightest touch could be fatal, and if Luffy were left behind, there was a risk he would charge in without any regard for his own life.
They had to formulate a plan.
"Tobi, do you have a baby Den Den Mushi?"
"Unfortunately, I do not. Lady Caterina should have one, however…"
"Then hurry back and tell Caterina. If the reinforcements are nearby, we can intercept the warships."
"Wait a minute! Wouldn't I be better for delivering the message!?" Usopp interjected.
"Can you slip past the fight between Kaie and the two CP-0 agents to get to Caterina?"
Usopp fell silent at Pedro's question. The aftershocks of that battle alone could cause serious injury.
Only Caterina or Kaie could coordinate with the Twilight fleet. Since giving detailed instructions to Kaie while she was in the middle of a fight was out of the question, it was best to leave it to Caterina.
Tobi nodded once and immediately began to move, heading back the way they came with the speed of a ninja.
The four remaining—Luffy, Pedro, Zepo, and Usopp—put their heads together and shared what information they had.
"Listen up, Luffy! Akainu is a magma man who ate the Magu Magu no Mi… The moment you touch him, you'll be the one who gets melted by the high-temperature magma!"
"Magma!? How are we supposed to beat that!?"
"We can't! We could stand on our heads and still not win against him!!"
"Then what are we gonna do!!!"
Luffy knew he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He understood that there were a mountain of things he couldn't do, and that he had crewmates who could do what he couldn't. But being told to give up on a friend was the one thing he could never accept.
In response to Luffy's glare, Pedro, his face set with resolve, spoke quietly.
"Zepo and I will be the decoys."
"Well, that's probably the only way. But what about the CP-0 and CP-9 members further in?"
"That's the problem," Pedro said with a bitter expression.
Even if Tobi returned, she could only handle one CP-0 agent at best. And even if she held out to her limit, she had no chance of victory. Lucci of CP-9 could likely be defeated by Luffy, but that still left one more CP-0 agent. No matter which of the Straw Hat crew caught up, they wouldn't be a match for CP-0. Pedro, who had crossed blades with them once in Water 7, knew that for a fact.
"We can get to the top from the pillars of the Bridge of Hesitation up ahead. That's our only chance."
If Twilight's reinforcements were nearby, if Yuisheeze had arrived, they could hold off CP-0. With their forces and numbers lacking, they had no choice but to hope for reinforcements.
…
Atop the Bridge of Hesitation.
This bridge passed through the underwater passage, emerged from a pillar to a bridge above the sea, and then connected to the escort ship via a drawbridge that was normally raised.
With Luffy and the others who had been chasing them having temporarily retreated, they had been able to reach the top of the bridge unimpeded, and Spandam was in a good mood.
—Until he emerged onto the sea and saw the sight before him.
"…H-Hey. Am I dreaming?"
"No, this is reality."
"Surprising. I didn't think they'd act this fast."
The escort ship meant to take them through the Gates of Justice to the underwater prison, Impel Down, had already been taken over.
A single warship had passed along the outer perimeter of Enies Lobby, destroyed the defensive fence, and entered. The whirlpool that should have been raging between the island and the Gates of Justice had vanished, a consequence of the gates being fully opened to receive the Buster Call.
"Hmm. I heard there were four CP-0 agents…"
"Kaie must have been here. She's likely holding two of them back."
"I don't sense any other strong 'voices,' and the 'voice' that seems to be Kaie is fighting two other 'voices.' It seems there's no mistake."
"But… I didn't hear anything about Akainu being here. What do we do?"
"What do you mean, 'what do we do'? We take back Nico Robin."
Silver hair with red streaks. A handsome man with a billowing cape—the "Adventurer," Yuisheeze.
A giant wearing a helmet with horn-like decorations, his brawny physique on full display as he crossed his arms—Dilus.
As the two stood on the Bridge of Hesitation, blocking their path, the Marine Admiral, Akainu, stepped forward.
"Twilight soldiers. You've moved quickly."
"We began to act the moment you made your move in Water 7. We were delayed by the distance, however."
Bubbling magma erupted from Akainu's body. The incandescent substance was an extremely troublesome and powerful ability, capable of taking a person's life with a single touch.
But even so, Yuisheeze did not flinch, his gaze fixed on Akainu. He then called out to Dilus, who was waiting behind him.
"I'll take him. Dilus, you prioritize rescuing Nico Robin."
"Very well. I can't hold back Akainu myself. But with two CP-0 agents, it will be a bit tricky, no?"
"No need to worry. It seems they've caught up from behind."
Yuisheeze smiled faintly as he saw the three people climbing up the pillar. But Dilus, thinking he couldn't rely on them much, frowned and offered a complaint.
"Oi, are you sure they're okay?"
"We'll have to let them handle the Cipher Pol agents. Even I won't have the leeway to provide support while facing Akainu."
Yuisheeze alone could probably stop Akainu, but if he were to plant himself in the middle of the bridge, Dilus wouldn't be able to get past. Even to create an opening for him to break through, they would have to have the others deal with the three Cipher Pol agents and the one extra for a while.
Without letting his guard down, without holding back, he clad himself in surging Haki and clenched his fists.
And then—he called out to Luffy.
"Straw Hat!! I've heard the situation!! We're on your side this time, so do what you can!! We'll provide the follow-up!!!"
"Yeah, thanks!!"
As the incandescent magma and the Haki-armored fist clashed, the two CP-0 agents collided with Pedro and Zepo, and Lucci and Luffy exchanged blows.
"Give us back Robin!!!"