"Oh? You have been waiting for me all this time? Then my apologies for keeping a lady waiting."
Shirogai smiled faintly as he looked at the Vice Admiral who was respected by both Marines and pirates alike.
"I had already deduced that you would most likely appear in the Fleet Admiral's office."
He clapped his hands lightly and continued in a relaxed tone.
"As expected of Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Marine's greatest strategist. You even predicted my movements."
Tsuru looked calmly at the pirate who was infamous across the seas, a man whom even Sengoku and Garp spoke highly of.
"I have wanted to speak with you for a long time," she said softly.
"And what would you like to talk about, Vice Admiral Tsuru?"
Shirogai took a step forward, circled Sengoku's desk, and sat down in the chair opposite her. His posture was casual, his expression unhurried.
"I still have some time to listen. But do not take too long. The banquet of chaos outside is waiting for me to bring it to an end."
"As I expected," Tsuru replied calmly. "You are not a pirate in the traditional sense."
She observed him closely as she spoke.
"I do not sense the violence, recklessness, or blind chaos that defines most pirates."
"Those things?" Shirogai chuckled softly, tossing the deep red Devil Fruit in his hand. "I abandoned them a long time ago."
"Order and disorder are nothing more than choices people make for themselves," he continued evenly.
"If obeying order automatically makes someone righteous, and breaking it makes them a criminal, then there is no need for us to continue this conversation."
"You despise the Celestial Dragons," Tsuru said after a brief pause. "Does that hatred come from your past?"
"Does a person step on an insect because he hates it?" Shirogai asked in return.
"Yes," Tsuru answered without hesitation.
"It is the same for me," Shirogai replied calmly. "I despise the Celestial Dragons for the same reason."
He stood up and looked directly into her eyes.
"There is no deeper reason. They disgust me, so I want to crush them."
"So that is how it is…"
Tsuru slowly rose to her feet and extended her aging hand.
"Then, goodbye."
"Goodbye."
Shirogai reached out and clasped her hand.
The instant their hands touched, a flash of white light appeared in Tsuru's eyes.
Now.
The Wash-Wash Fruit activated.
Swish.
A strange power enveloped the entire Fleet Admiral's office. Sea-blue ripples spun rapidly, forming a barrier around Shirogai and Tsuru, sealing them inside.
"Heh," Shirogai said calmly. "Vice Admiral Tsuru, are you planning to make a move on me?"
Despite the immense power coursing through Shirogai's arm, Tsuru showed no fear.
"I am exchanging my life for a possibility," she said evenly.
The spinning ripples accelerated, and the room transformed into something like a massive washing machine. Both of them were caught within the whirling current.
"With the ability you possess, you must already know," Tsuru continued. "I am a Paramecia user who ate the Wash-Wash Fruit."
"This fruit can wash anything. People or objects, it strips them to their essence, reshapes them, and leaves them empty during the process. Power, memory, and will are temporarily erased."
"Oh?" Shirogai tilted his head slightly, amused. "So you plan to wash away my strength and leave me powerless?"
He continued tossing the blood-red fruit casually.
"I wonder if you truly believe that will work."
"The normal effect of the Wash-Wash Fruit is insufficient against monsters like you or Kaido," Tsuru admitted calmly. "I have already tested it on Kaido."
"So there is something more," Shirogai replied, his interest clearly piqued.
"The awakened ability allows two people to dye each other with their life colors," Tsuru said.
"Abilities, temperament, personality, even beliefs. One side may be stained by the other."
"Impressive," Shirogai admitted after a brief pause. "An ability that can elevate the strong and reshape the weak."
"But there is a price," he added, smiling knowingly.
Tsuru nodded.
"The result is uncontrollable. Either party may be influenced, or both may lose themselves entirely."
Shirogai nodded in agreement.
"If not for that flaw, the Marines would already be filled with monsters created from captured pirates."
"There is one exception," Tsuru said suddenly, her lips curving into a gentle smile.
Shirogai's eyes narrowed slightly as he felt the quiet resolve radiating from her.
"When I completely shatter myself," Tsuru said, "my life color will fully dye the other."
Her form began to fade, starting from her head downward, like color being washed from fabric.
"That is to say… now."
Her final words echoed softly.
"You intend to stain me with your sense of justice," Shirogai said calmly, watching the surrounding ripples turn pure white.
"Unfortunately for you," he added softly, "my justice stands above yours."
The sound of rushing water filled the space, spinning faster and faster until it finally slowed and vanished.
…
So she used it after all.
Outside the Fleet Admiral's office, Vice Admiral Peach Rabbit stood trembling, clutching her sword, Konpira, as she stared at the closed door.
Her chest ached.
If Tsuru's plan had succeeded, then Tsuru had completely vanished from this world. In return, Shirogai would inherit her justice and turn toward the Marines.
Click.
The door opened.
"Who's there?!"
Peach Rabbit stepped back instinctively, her gaze locking onto the young man who emerged.
It was Shirogai.
He smiled gently, a smile that felt strangely familiar.
"Peach Rabbit?"
Her heart tightened.
Did it work?
Hope surged through her grief.
But then his next words froze her in place.
"Sorry," Shirogai said calmly as he walked past her, lightly patting her shoulder. "I've disappointed you."
He sighed softly.
"My justice is not something Tsuru's justice could ever stain."
---