News spread across the New World like wildfire carried on a storm wind.
Headlines screamed from every paper:
"CROSS GUILD MASSACRE: BUGGY & CROCODILE DEAD! OVER 500 CREW SLAUGHTERED!"
"MIHAWK CLAIMS EMPEROR TITLE AMID HORROR!"
"STRAW HATS ESCAPE VANISHED ISLAND – MARINES LOSE 29 MEN TO MYSTERIOUS SLASH, 80 TO PIRATES!"
"THE NEW WORLD IS NO LONGER AN ERA… IT IS NOW 'HELLSEA'"
Mihawk arrived at the Cross Guild flagship exhausted, shoulders slumped, Yoru heavy on his back. The moment he stepped aboard, the stench of blood hit him.
He saw the horrors.
Bodies everywhere in the mess hall throats slit, groins mutilated, faces frozen in agony. Cabaji, Mohji, Richie, Mr. 3, Mr. 1… all gone. Then someone told him about Crocodile.
Mihawk's golden eyes widened slightly the first real emotion he had shown in years.
He had never liked Buggy. Never hated him either. The clown was simply… there. Annoying, flashy, irrelevant.
But seeing the red-nosed corpse sprawled on the deck, face purple from a stroke induced by pure terror, something dark and unfamiliar stirred in Mihawk's chest.
Rage.
Cold, deep, personal rage.
He gripped Yoru tighter.
"Whoever the invincible man is… I will find him. And I will make him pay double for what he has done here."
His voice was quiet, but every surviving crew member felt the weight of it.
Mihawk straightened.
"From this moment, I am the Emperor of the Cross Guild. Anyone who disagrees can test me."
No one disagreed.
The next morning, the Straw Hats were already far from the vanished island, sailing under Nami's strict navigation.
The sand copy of Sanji moved among them flawlessly cooking breakfast, flirting with Nami and Robin, complaining about Zoro, exactly as expected. No one noticed anything different.
Luffy punched the air. "We got the Poneglyph info! That's what matters!"
Robin remained quiet, still shaken by the slave-pit revelations.
No one spoke of the strange slash they had all felt.
Toku was on Fujitora's ship.
He had slipped aboard the Hot Wind without a single Marine noticing. The awakened Suke Suke no Mi made him a ghost among them.
He wasn't done having fun.
His eyes had settled on Vice Admiral Doll.
The old Sanji would have hesitated before stepping onto an Admiral's ship.
This Toku did not.
Unnoticeable and imperceivable, he walked directly behind Doll on the deck. His hard cock pressed against her ass hugging her closely, the invisible girth nestling between her cheeks through her uniform.
Doll yelped, spinning around.
Nothing there.
She knew. She felt the phantom pressure, the weightless-yet-brutally-heavy shaft. But she said nothing. She didn't want to frighten the already traumatized crew any further.
Instead, she excused herself and walked to a secluded corner of the lower deck.
Toku followed.
He kept groping her unseen hands sliding over her breasts, squeezing her ass, fingers tracing between her legs. Doll's expression was priceless: calm on the surface, eyes calculating, jaw tight.
She endured it.
When night fell and it was time for bed, she retreated to her private quarters.
Toku followed.
She lay on the bed sideways.
Toku removed his clothes, wearing only boxers, and lay in the same position, pressed closely against her back.
Finally, Doll turned to face the empty air.
"What do you want?" she said, voice steady but edged. "You bastard."
Toku's invisible hand touched her cheek in a strangely romantic, almost tender way.
"You."
Doll didn't flinch.
Were you the one who fought Mihawk? Killed Buggy, Crocodile, and 500 of his crew?"
Toku answered softly, amused. "Why do you think such?"
"Because everything adds up! The Straw Hats would never kill Buggy or Crocodile like that. Luffy wouldn't. And Luffy doesn't stand a chance against Mihawk and escape unharmed."
"Hmm. Smart girl."
Doll's eyes narrowed. "So you know it is easy for me to kill you. That's why you played along. A bit disappointing you didn't put up a fight though."
"I am a Marine," she replied coolly, "but I'm not stupid."
Toku was impressed by her calmness, her sharpness… and how attractive she looked even now.
He leaned in and kissed her neck, then her lips.
No reaction. No surprise.
He kissed her again, deeper.
"Now," he whispered against her mouth, "let's make a deal, Vice Admiral Doll."
"What deal?"
"Become my girlfriend. I will make you the most decorated female Admiral in history. I will personally catch pirates for you. Whatever Devil Fruit you want, I'll get it for you. You will be strong. No one will look down on you."
Doll lifted an eyebrow, fascinated yet disgusted.
"You want me a Marine to date a filthy pervert invisible pirate?"
For the first time, she laughed.
It wasn't a pretty doll laugh.
It was a murderous one sharp, cold, fitting her name.
She kept laughing. Laughing. Until Toku leaned in and kissed her again.
She stopped.
"It's a good deal," he said finally. "And you know it. No one will know. You can't see me or touch me, so I don't exist. Besides, you can't fake emotions to someone you can't see or touch. But if appearance matters to you, I can find a Devil Fruit that allows me to steal faces."
"Ewww," she said flatly.
"Alright then. I agree. But how do I trust you?"
Toku brought out the Suna Suna no Mi.
"Take it. It's worth one billion. But I'm giving it to you. Doll replied, " They know I wasn't on the island, so I can't keep it anyway."
Doll stared at the fruit, then at the empty air.
"Very well. I trust you now. Not like I have any choice besides you killing me."
"And I prefer our relationship to be consensual."
Toku smiled.
He kissed her deeply now, groping her breasts.
"I love you".