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"I never taught them much about Armament Haki. They figured it out themselves."
Ikki said it to Garp with an easy smile.
"Ha. You expect me to believe that?" Garp snorted, then dropped the subject and returned his full attention to his donuts.
Ikki turned and walked over to Moria. He raised a hand and set it lightly on the large man's arm.
"I know you care about Perona. You don't have to worry about that. She's doing well. As you've just seen, I'm not bad at bringing people along." He let that land, then continued. "Your situation isn't entirely stable right now either. She'd be safer with me than with you. If you really want to see her, wait until things have settled down. Or once she's strong enough, I'll give her the time to go find you herself."
Ikki already knew how Moria's story would unfold. During the Marineford War, the Marines would turn on him. Without the Shadow-Shadow Fruit's escape capability, Moria likely would have died then and there. The butterfly effect had changed many things, but the broad shape of events still followed its original course. Marineford included.
There was a real possibility that what had nearly happened to Moria would still happen. For Perona's sake alone, Ikki could not allow her anywhere near Moria right now. When Marineford came, he would be dealing with the Marines, the Blackbeard Pirates, and everything in between. He would not have the capacity to keep watch over someone as weak as Moria on top of all that.
Moria stared at Ikki for a long moment. He wanted to push back. He searched for the words and found nothing. Argue about ability? His crewmate had just demonstrated a combined attack that would have killed him outright. He had no ground to stand on.
In the end, he turned and walked away.
No one moved to stop him. No one could honestly say they would have done differently.
"Hmph. Useless."
Hancock watched Moria go, then stepped to Ikki's side without further comment.
"We meet again, Ikki."
"Good to see you, Hancock."
Ikki smiled and nodded. Two plain sentences, but the warmth in them ran deeper than the words. The people nearby noticed it and felt the strangeness of it. Those who admired Hancock felt it most sharply. Several sets of eyes fixed on Ikki with a particular intensity. If killing intent were enough to do the job, he would have been dead several times over by now.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, there's no reason for us to keep standing around out here, is there?" Ikki glanced at Sengoku. "We came a long way. Can we at least try the food at Headquarters?"
"That much I can guarantee." Sengoku allowed a brief smile. "Follow me."
He led the group toward the dining hall. Hancock, at ease with Ikki in a way she was not with most people, stayed close to him. Mihawk, who had taken an interest in Ikki's swordsmanship since watching Nami draw her blade, followed along as well. By the time they arrived, the hall was filling with Marines coming in for lunch, and the crowd built steadily around them.
It was not long before Ikki spotted a familiar face approaching his table.
"Vice Admiral Onigumo. Something you need?"
He looked up at the man with a relaxed expression.
Onigumo held his gaze for a moment. "You look like you have time to spare. Spare some of it on me."
The dining hall went quiet the instant the words were out. Every head turned toward Onigumo with visible disbelief. Word of Ikki's strength had reached everyone present, even those who had not seen it directly.
Some believed he was already operating at the level of a Marine Admiral. Onigumo was powerful, no question, but he was a Vice Admiral. Watching him walk up and issue a challenge drew open concern from more than a few of the Marines around them.
"A challenge." Ikki raised an eyebrow. "Why? You understand my overall ability outstrips yours."
He had seen Onigumo among the welcoming party at the docks. Onigumo had been standing right there when Nami and the others moved against Moria. He had seen the whole thing. He had to know that a direct confrontation might not even get him through Nami and Nojiko's guard, let alone Ikki himself.
"I'm aware your Haki surpasses mine, and that your swords are exceptional." Onigumo's voice was steady. "What I'm proposing is a pure swordsmanship match. No Haki. No special weapons."
"Are you serious?" Nami cut in, her tone flat with disbelief. "You walk up here to challenge Captain Ikki, and then you want to strip out everything that makes him what he is? Everyone here knows how far ahead his Haki is, and that our weapons outclass yours. What possible reason does our captain have to agree to those terms?"
She looked at Onigumo like she was trying to locate the part of him that was supposed to be thinking.
The Marines nearby shifted uncomfortably. Onigumo was one of their own, but they could not argue with what Nami had said. A challenger setting terms that stacked the deck in his own favor was not a good look, and most of them knew it.
Onigumo said nothing. He reached behind his back, drew out a blade wrapped in white cloth, and set it on the table in front of Ikki.
"Win, and it's yours. I think you'll find it worth your time."
Ikki, who had been half-listening up to that point, sat up. The sword itself only offered him a single draw from the system, but a free draw was still a free draw. He had no reason to say no.
"Alright. Let's find somewhere to do this properly."
He stood, expression brightening noticeably, and followed Onigumo out toward the training ground of the naval base.
Since Onigumo had challenged him directly, Ikki saw no reason to bring Nami or the others. This was his to handle.
Word spread quickly. Onigumo had challenged Ikki to a match. Before long, anyone at Headquarters without something pressing to do had found their way to the training ground to watch. Among them were former Admiral Zephyr and Gion, both of whom had trained under Ikki and had their own reasons to see how this played out.