"The Golden Lion…"
"Captain?" Midway slid the golden slipper toward me—the one I used as an ashtray—and stared with his blank black eyes. Tufts of dark hair stuck out forever from his scarred skull. It used to unsettle me a little. After a few years, it hardly seemed worth noticing.
"I was saying," I clarified, shifting in my captain's chair, "that the infernal bastard slipped the Navy's leash and will start hunting."
We were crossing the Southern Strait. Which, incidentally, wasn't much of a strait. Some idiot had named it that two hundred years ago, but sailing through it took barely two days. In my opinion it was a sea channel. Of course no one ever asked me.
"So we're the target?" Red-haired Azaello smiled in that ghastly way of his while cleaning the rust spots from the blade of his ever-present dagger.
Honestly. No respect for weapons. Or manners.
"We are," I said. "Shiki won't sit quietly for the next ten years. I know him too well."
"And what do we do about it? Hunt him?" Midway asked.
He was smoking by the cabin windows. Despite being a fool, he understood the seriousness of the situation. It wasn't fear exactly. Just the simple awareness that a pirate like the Lion could cause us problems.
At least until we caught him and chopped off his empty head.
"We wait," I decided after a moment's thought.
I stretched my legs across the beautiful cherrywood desk, which was buried under maps.
"He'll show himself sooner or later. Patrol the area. Don't stray too far from Goa. I may call you back—we might have to cross the Red Line again."
I tapped ash into the golden slipper.
"As long as I have the children with me, I don't want blood."
"And if Shiki goes after the territories?" Azaello suggested.
I cleared my throat.
"He must have heard about Edward's intervention. And about the fact that Newgate and I remain on very good terms." I leaned back slightly. "If he dares, I'll go after him with the whole fleet. And I'll make sure that this time he won't even have the chance to think about cutting anything off."
A thin smile crept onto my face.
"Whitebeard will serve as my second."
"Captain always has a plan," Midway chuckled from under the porthole.
Then he tilted his head.
"But what if the Lion decides to test all of this? What if he finds out about the tiger cubs?"
I had quite enough of their speculation.
"You're worth a whipping just to teach you some tact," I growled. I sat up straight. "If he learns about my sons, you'll be the first one offering your neck for them."
I pointed at him with the cigarette.
"And if you try to wriggle out of it, I'll bring a whole herd of priests onto this ship and let them drench you all with holy water, you cursed demons."
Midway snorted.
"Pirate imagination, truly…"
The date of my return to Goa became clear soon enough. After visiting the rest of my dominions and finding no real trouble anywhere, there was simply nothing left to delay me.
A few locals who needed reminding of their manners. A handful of debts that required collecting. A couple of ships that needed sinking. And a few pirates who had yet to learn the value of respect.
Nothing unusual.
I lingered longest on Polaris, where old Yangtze had taken up residence that year. We had a long conversation. She congratulated me on the expansion of my brood and forced yet another amulet into my hand.
After that, nothing stood between me and home.
For a day or two I considered stopping by the Sabaody Archipelago, just for a moment. In the end I decided against it. There would be time for that later.
I was eager to see my triumvirate.
The journey had already stretched several weeks longer than planned. I didn't need any more delays.
Goa greeted me with the quiet calm of late afternoon. I stepped onto land with a sigh of relief, giving a few final orders to my officers before I left.
I sent the Banshee down to the depths to enjoy a well-earned rest. As for me, I slung a heavy sack over my shoulder and headed toward home.
The path led through the forest. I made a wide detour around Gray Terminal, walking lightly beneath the trees and chuckling quietly to myself as I imagined the boys' faces when they saw the presents.
Sabo and Ace were already ten years old.
Gods. I wondered what they had been doing while I was gone. How much their skills had improved. How much they had grown. Whether their hair needed cutting.
And Luffy.
That eternally smiling child, who talked about food even in his sleep. Locked in a permanent war with Ace, forever seeking Sabo's support, standing bravely upright during the most terrifying moments of my stories.
A wonderful boy.
I reached the treehouse just before sunset.
As expected, it was empty.
I hid the sack inside a salt barrel that served as my table and decided to go looking for the pups. I left my captain's coat, hat, and Habanero behind—there was no reason to drag all that nonsense through Gray Terminal.
I lit a cigarette and jumped down to the ground.
My knees complained loudly upon landing.
Age, unfortunately, refuses to negotiate. I was no longer young enough to leap about like a gazelle.
The great dump of Gray Terminal had not changed one bit since the day I first arrived on the island.
Except that it had grown.
That decided it. I would have to speak with the mayor about it. Another few years and they'd start cutting down the forest.
I had no desire for neighbors.
As far as I was concerned, every green stretch of Goa belonged to me, and I preferred to be left alone. The Terminal itself was a good forty minutes' walk away, but it was better to deal with such things early.
"ACE! SABO! LUFFY!" I shouted, pushing my way through the piles of scrap.
The scum of the Terminal seemed to have evaporated.
Not a soul in sight. The entire place was silent which I did not like in the slightest.
Good God, something was always happening here—even if it was happening quietly out of fear.
By now someone should have tried to rob me at least three times.
"Did they all get drunk or what the hell… Ace! Sabo!"
I stepped around a corner, nearly gagging from the smell, and saw Ace sprinting toward me with a metal pipe in his hand.
Sabo was right behind him, as usual.
They were heading straight for a cluster of poorly assembled shacks.
"Stop right there!" I roared.
They froze.
Both turned toward me—and very nearly burst into tears.
"Pebble! Luffy! There! Hurry!"
What in the seaven seas...