Chapter 171: Sudden
In the end, the team tasked with bringing Sanji back consisted of Luffy, Nami, Chopper, Brook, and Itachi.
"Please rest assured, Itachi-san!" Brook struck a pose, his cane-sword extended at a dramatic angle.
"That's right, Big Brother Itachi! Don't worry at all!" Chopper posed beside him, his tiny hooves attempting to form a ninja seal.
"We have completely memorized the primary directive of this operation: SNEAK IN!"
"Sneak in! Sneak in!" Chopper echoed.
Itachi and Law stood side by side, their faces identically covered in black lines.
"Ultimately..."
"It still..."
"Developed in a completely uncontrollable direction."
Law pressed his palm against his forehead. "Itachi-ya. Take these idiots. This is an internal matter for your pirate crew now. I originally envisioned the two of us handling this—quick insertion, clean extraction, maximum efficiency. At most, I was willing to accommodate one additional Straw Hat." His voice flattened. "Now look at this. I feel nothing but dread."
"Law, you..."
"That's right." Law turned to face the group, pointing his thumb backward at Itachi. His expression was pure nihilistic surrender. "If you all die, I'll only burn incense for Itachi-ya. The rest of you can haunt someone else."
"HOW CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING SO DEMORALIZING RIGHT BEFORE WE LEAVE?!" Nami, Chopper, and Brook shouted in perfect, indignant unison.
"YOSH! It's decided then! LET'S GO! Moving toward Big Mom's territory! FORWARD!!"
Luffy's triumphant advance lasted approximately three steps before he felt a murderous presence materialize directly behind him. He turned, very slowly, and found Itachi standing approximately two inches from his face.
"I repeat. This is an infiltration."
"Oh. Right. Infiltration." Luffy rose onto his tiptoes and began creeping forward with exaggerated stealth. "Like this. See? Sneaking. Very sneaky."
"...Forget it. Let's find the lion first. We need information about Big Mom's territory before we do anything else." Itachi waved a hand in defeat. He did not believe Luffy's promise of stealth. Not even slightly.
As the group departed the great Whale Tree and made their way back toward the town, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi fell into step beside Luffy. The two Mink rulers had a story to tell—the story of why they recognized the straw hat on Luffy's head.
Their adventures had begun on Whitebeard's ship. They had sailed alongside Kozuki Oden, who had been a division commander under the great Emperor. But Roger had eventually persuaded Oden to join his crew for the final voyage to Laugh Tale, and Nekomamushi and Inuarashi had chosen to remain behind. They had preferred the atmosphere of the Whitebeard Pirates—the rowdiness, the camaraderie, the strange sense of family that bound the crew together.
Their status at that time? Trainee crewmates. The same rank as two other young pirates who would go on to shake the world: "Red Hair" Shanks and the future Warlord, Buggy the Clown.
"Those were truly nostalgic days," Nekomamushi rumbled.
"Nostalgic indeed," Inuarashi agreed.
"Speaking of which," the Cat Viper's whiskers twitched with sudden purpose, "since we're about to undertake something as monumental as crusading against a Four Emperor... we'll need all the fighting strength we can gather. I'm going to find that person."
"Find someone? Who?" Luffy perked up, momentarily distracted from his Sanji-focused tunnel vision.
"The former First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. 'Phoenix' Marco."
"MARCO!" Robin's eyes widened.
"I didn't expect to hear that name here."
"A famous pirate?" Itachi asked.
"Very famous." Robin nodded. "Though... it's interesting. The Navy seems to have a fondness for avian epithets. Itachi-san was 'Hellfire' before he became 'Suzaku of the Gods.' Marco is the 'Phoenix.' Why are they always naming things after birds?"
"Perhaps they should call you 'Bone Sparrow' from now on," Zoro suggested to Brook.
"Yohohoho! Zoro-san, you're terrible!" Brook jabbed his cane into Zoro's armpit.
While the others discussed titles, Luffy was visibly straining his brain. Steam practically rose from his ears.
"Marco? Marco? Why do I feel like I've heard that name before?!"
"Wait, Luffy—you don't remember?" Usopp stared at his captain in disbelief. "You definitely met him. Two years ago. The Summit War."
"He was Whitebeard's right hand," Brook added.
"A very rare Devil Fruit ability user," Chopper supplied.
"You seriously don't remember?" Franky shook his head.
"Rare?" The word triggered something in Luffy's brain. The CPU whirred. The cooling fans engaged.
Robin leaned in. "The one who looks like a pineapple."
Click.
The formula resolved. The memory loaded. Luffy's face lit up with sudden, absolute recognition.
"IT WAS HIM! That guy was REALLY strong!"
He remembered now—the phoenix flames, the kicks that had clashed with Admiral Aokiji, the aerial battle with Kizaru. Marco the Phoenix. Whitebeard's most trusted commander.
"Then it's settled," Nekomamushi said. "Though there's little hope—they suffered terribly in that war. But I should still be able to learn where Marco ended up."
Kin'emon nodded. "Meanwhile, we'll head to Wano first. We'll gather the scattered samurai. Recruit those still loyal to the Kozuki cause."
"Going to Wano?!" Usopp felt his stomach drop. "Aren't the Beast Pirates still hunting you?! You'd be walking right into their hands!"
"It's alright." Law stepped forward. "If you take my crew's submarine, I can guarantee safe passage."
"Truly?!" Kin'emon's face lit up.
"Yes. But I need you to locate an absolutely secure landing point on Wano's coast. Somewhere hidden. Somewhere no one will think to look." Law's voice hardened. "Zou isn't safe anymore. And I have other urgent matters to attend to."
He walked to Itachi's side. "Since I won't be accompanying you to Whole Cake Island, Itachi-ya... I'll need a sample. Cells from your eyes. I'm going to attempt to clone a pair for you."
"You're seriously pursuing that?" Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"I have no idea if it will work. But it's worth attempting."
"Very well." Itachi nodded. If there was even the smallest chance...
He stopped.
"Wait."
Every muscle in his body had gone rigid. His head turned—not toward the town, not toward the forest, but toward the sea. Toward something far beyond the visible horizon.
"Do you feel that?"
Nekomamushi's ears flattened. Inuarashi's hackles rose. The Cat Viper's tail bristled to twice its normal size.
"Something's wrong." Zoro's hand moved to Enma.
Before anyone could react, the bombardment began.
Shells screamed through the air and slammed into the Elephant Lord's flank. The ancient creature—this being of incomprehensible size and age—let out a cry that shook the heavens. The ground beneath Zou buckled. The entire island tilted.
"It's coming from the sea!" someone screamed.
The group—nearly at the town's edge—was hurled forward by the violent lurching of the elephant's back. Robin lost her footing and tumbled toward the edge of a newly formed crevice.
"ROBIN!"
Itachi's hand closed around her wrist. He wrenched her back from the brink, his other hand already flashing through seals.
"Fire Release: Black Fire Crow!"
The construct materialized beneath Robin, catching her mid-fall. Itachi swept her onto its back in a single motion.
"Nami! Hold on to Luffy!"
Nami had Luffy by the neck—the rubber captain had already gone limp from the seawater spray. Itachi vaulted over a collapsing section of earth and pulled Nami onto the crow beside Robin.
"Chopper! Your hoof!"
The reindeer reached out—and Itachi stopped. His hands froze mid-motion. His eyes—still in their Sharingan state—went wide with something that was not fear. Not pain. Something closer to shock.
"BIG BROTHER ITACHI! WHAT'S WRONG?!"
Itachi didn't answer. He couldn't.
A voice had spoken. Not from the crew. Not from the minks. Not from anywhere around him.
The voice had spoken directly into his mind. And it was vast. Ancient. Impossibly, incomprehensibly vast.
The Elephant Lord was speaking.
(End of Chapter)
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