Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's Office.
Having finished issuing orders, Sengoku set down the Den Den Mushi.
He stared at the urgent report on his desk—one he had already reread countless times—and rubbed his aching temples.
Vice Admiral Tsuru sat across from him, her expression equally grave.
"Fire Fist Ace… Blackbeard really handed us a burning coal."
Sengoku let out a long sigh, exhaustion heavy in his voice.
"Whitebeard's Second Division Commander, and they couldn't even keep track of their own man?"
Disappointment. Utter disappointment.
He looked up at Tsuru—and saw the same complexity in her eyes.
Given their relationship with Garp, how could they not know Ace's connection to him?
Precisely because they knew—
this situation was even harder.
Sengoku leaned back in his chair, voice weary.
"The World Government already knows. The Five Elders are personally involved."
"There's no sweeping this under the rug."
He shook his head.
Seeing Tsuru's troubled expression, he lowered his voice.
"We'll take it one step at a time. Try to… help that old fool Garp where we can."
"First his disciple betrays him. Now his grandson is captured…"
"We old ones… can only do what little we can."
Only in front of Tsuru would he reveal this side of himself.
Tsuru sighed deeply and nodded.
"There's no other way."
It was precisely this quiet understanding between the two of them—
that would later shape the war that shocked the world.
At Marineford, when absolute commitment should have been the standard—
only Akainu would be truly going all out.
Stubbornly carrying the banner of "Absolute Justice."
A tragic overachiever, one might say.
—
Meanwhile, somewhere in the New World—
Akainu, in the midst of hunting pirates, suddenly sneezed.
A chill ran down his spine.
Frowning, he slammed a magma fist into the pirate ship ahead—
reducing it to molten wreckage.
"Damn pirates."
He blamed the unease on being cursed by scum at sea.
—
Aboard the Thousand Sunny—
The usually lively Straw Hat crew was silent.
Chopper rushed back and forth between the injured, hooves moving nonstop, sweat soaking his fur.
Brook, the newly joined skeleton musician, did his best to help.
Clumsy—but earnest.
He was part of the crew now.
Nami sat beside Sanji, mechanically wrapping bandages around his wounds.
Too tight.
Too rough.
Anyone else might have complained.
But Sanji didn't.
She had injuries too—
but felt none of the physical pain.
The ache in her heart was far worse.
Leno's mocking eyes.
That humiliating pat.
The kick.
Shame. Fear. Anger.
It looped in her mind endlessly.
The worst injured were, of course, the Monster Trio.
Luffy lay wrapped in bandages like a mummy, on a padded mat on deck.
The normally boundless boy could barely lift a finger.
Only his eyes moved occasionally.
Zoro leaned against the mast, swords within reach.
Blood seeped through his chest bandages.
His eyes were closed, jaw tight.
Sanji sat nearby with one leg splinted.
His usual composure was gone.
Split lip. Unlit cigarette.
Eyes dark as storm clouds.
This was their second crushing defeat at Leno's hands.
And worse than the first.
They had been reduced to training dummies—
beaten by his crew.
Then spared like charity cases.
The silence was suffocating.
Then—
"…sniff… sob…"
A stifled cry broke it.
Usopp sat curled in the corner, face soaked in tears and snot.
"I… I was so scared… I'm still scared…"
His voice trembled.
"That guy… Leno… he's a monster!"
"We can't beat him! Twice! We almost died!"
He looked up at his battered crewmates.
"This isn't adventure! This is suicide!"
"I want to go back to the East Blue! Back home! Back to Kaya!"
"At least there… we wouldn't be one step from death every day!"
His breakdown pierced the fragile calm.
Chopper froze, tears pooling in his own eyes.
Brook fell silent.
Nami stopped wrapping bandages.
"Shut up… Usopp…"
Luffy's weak voice drifted over.
He tried to lift his head. Failed.
"If we're pirates… we were ready to die the moment we set sail… right?"
"But Luffy! We almost—"
"So what…" Luffy breathed heavily.
"I'm… going to be Pirate King…"
"I won't… be scared… of someone like that…"
Zoro opened his eyes.
"…Usopp. If you run now… what was everything for?"
"The weak don't get to choose comfort."
Sanji spat out his broken cigarette.
"Don't mess with morale…"
"You think Nami and Robin's humiliation… just disappears?"
"Next time… I'll kick that bastard into hell."
Even wounded—
their resolve held.
Usopp stared at them.
Bruised.
Bleeding.
Unbroken.
His sobbing quieted to sniffles.
Chopper walked over and patted him gently.
"Usopp… we'll get stronger next time! We'll beat the bad guy!"
Brook added cheerfully,
"Yohohoho~ I may not have eyes, but I can see everyone's determination!"
Franky raised a fist.
"SUPER~! We won't lose next time!"
Finally, Nami spoke.
Her voice hoarse.
"Usopp… running won't fix this."
"We need to get stronger."
"We'll take revenge."
Usopp looked at each of them.
They were broken.
But not defeated.
He wiped his face hard.
"…Yeah!"
"I'm Captain Usopp! Leader of 8,000 men!"
"I won't bow to Leno!"
—
As for the man who had left such a shadow on them—
Leno had already moved on.
The Straw Hats were irrelevant.
His ship now sailed steadily toward the Sabaody Archipelago.
The gathering of Supernovas?
Why shouldn't he join?
Sure, maybe his "rookie" status was slightly debatable—
But the title was real.
He debuted this year too.
And honestly—
no one likes being left out.
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