Holy Land of Mariejois.
By the time the report came in, it was already the next morning.
Mars furrowed his brows. "This can't be called coincidence anymore. Anything tied to that name… in the end it always turns into trouble."
"Hunt him down." Peter narrowed his eyes. "He came out of CP after all. He's done plenty of dirty work. For the government's authority, he has to die."
Mars sighed. "There's no other choice then."
A secret order for assassination was issued immediately.
* * *
Amazon Lily, outer waters.
Thick black smoke shot into the sky, and from afar it seemed as if the entire sea was covered in darkness.
Seeing it, Shakky quickened her pace. She had rushed for hours without pause, yet she was still late.
As she drew close to the island, a sudden surge of deadly instinct exploded in her nerves.
"Hellhound."
A massive hound-shaped blast of magma surged outward from the shoreline.
Exhausted after hours of travel, she barely twisted her head aside in time. The strike grazed her, cutting off one of her ears.
Before she could retreat, on the shore, Sakazuki's body dissolved into writhing magma and vanished. At the same moment, the magma attack that had passed Shakky's head swelled, condensed, and reformed into his figure.
Sensing his presence, terror spread across her face. She tried to dash forward without looking back, but as soon as she stepped out, he appeared behind her. His right hand clamped down on her shoulder.
Crunch!
His blackened, Armament Haki-coated grip shattered the bone. He held her in place and spoke in a cold voice.
"Magma Burst."
Boom!
Over the sea outside the island, a mushroom cloud of molten fire nearly a kilometer wide erupted.
Though Shakky resisted with Haki, the close-range explosion tore through her defenses. The shock left most of her bones broken, her mind slipping into unconsciousness.
Sakazuki's half-molten form loomed above the sea. He reformed an arm of magma, seized her by the neck, and lifted her up.
Sizzle!
The sound of searing flesh crackled like hot iron branding meat. Choking awake from suffocation, she struggled, eyes locked on him.
His calm gaze met hers. "Quite the surprise. A great pirate who vanished for years, tied somehow to Amazon Lily."
He recognized her. In his memory, years ago, Garp had chased this woman across the seas. Like Roger, she had escaped time and again, vanishing despite the hunt spanning half the world.
Shakky's leg, wrapped in Haki, lashed out at him, but her battered body could muster little strength. For Sakazuki, it was nothing more than a scratch.
Her hands clawed at his arm as she forced out her words. "You… what did you… do to… Amazon Lily?!"
He gave her a flat look. "Don't worry. Not one was spared. They died peacefully, without pain. You can rest easy now."
Her eyes widened in rage. "You—!"
Crunch.
The crushing power of his palm snapped her neck. Her head tore free from her body.
After hearing the devastating news, she sank into darkness forever.
Her corpse dropped toward the sea, but Sakazuki caught her severed head in his hand. Then, in a flash, he flew back toward Amazon Lily.
* * *
At the shore, Nyon, bound in bandages, waited anxiously.
The night before, the islanders had slowly regained consciousness. Leaderless, the whole place had fallen into chaos. As an empress from generations past, she managed to hold things together, calming the people as best she could, and then rushed to the coast in hopes of warning Shakky.
But it had been pointless. Against overwhelming force, there was no chance, and the admiral was never one to waste words.
Tap. Tap.
Landing on the shore, Sakazuki casually threw Shakky's head at her feet. "What was her connection to this island?"
Nyon shut her eyes in grief. "She was Amazon's empress after me. Two generations back."
Sakazuki raised an eyebrow. His magma-forged arm froze mid-motion as the streams of smoke and molten rock across the island suddenly stilled.
Another empress of Amazon Lily. How many had he crossed paths with now? He shook his head. Fate, perhaps.
The black smoke rising from the island's molten outskirts faded as he drew the magma back. "Any more reinforcements?"
She gave a bitter smile. "No. Amazon Lily lives apart from the world. Our ties are few. There is no one left…"
"Then this appointment ends here," he said coldly. "You have three years to rebuild the Kuja Pirates. Choose a captain who knows her place. Three years from now, you will establish a defensive line on the Calm Belt's edge. Show results against pirates. If not…"
His finger flicked, and beneath Shakky's head, a hand of magma rose from the ground and lifted it to him. He caught it, weighing the head in his palm.
Nyon lowered her head. "Yes."
With a low snort, he turned and walked away.
Only after his warship disappeared into the horizon did she dare raise her head and release a long sigh.
* * *
Aboard the warship.
Sakazuki tossed Shakky's head to a soldier.
"Freeze it."
Carlo asked, "Should this one be sent to Punk Hazard too?"
He rolled his neck. "What for? She's useless. Freezing her is just to keep it from rotting. Later, we'll put her on the papers."
Carlo smirked. "I see."
His eyes moved to the ship filled with stone statues. He frowned. "And what about these? Only half the mission's done, right?"
"When that one is rebuilt into a weapon, we'll restore them," Sakazuki replied. "Send the statues back to G-8 for storage, then head for Punk Hazard. Also, call Enel. He should be in the Grand Line by now. Have him meet us there."
Carlo nodded. "Understood."
* * *
The Grand Line, first half.
On a massive warship sailing across the sea, Enel hung up the Den Den Mushi after a brief call. He stretched his arms lazily, then spotted the boy hiding behind Rosinante.
With a wicked smile, he vanished and reappeared behind him, covering Law's mouth and dragging him toward the cabin.
Law struggled in silence, panic flooding him as he was hauled away. His eyes darted desperately toward Rosinante. 'This idiot… save me already!'
But distance grew with each step, dragging him closer to the cabin.
Just as they reached the door, Rosinante seemed to finally notice. He turned a page of the newspaper, glanced up, and realized Law was gone. Looking around, he saw Enel with his cruel grin, clutching the boy who clawed helplessly at the frame.
Sighing, he stood and walked over. He took Law gently from Enel's grasp and said, "Big brother Enel, don't scare him like that."
Enel grinned mischievously. He bent down and tugged at the boy's cheek as he hid behind Rosinante again. "Did you hear that, brat? Your precious Rosinante calls me 'big brother.' And you call me a demon? What's that supposed to mean, huh?"
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