The East Blue, known for its serenity, was suddenly swallowed by an unexpected darkness. The waters began to churn violently, raising waves that crashed with unusual fury, while the winds twisted with alarming intensity.
Amid the turbulence, a Marine warship advanced slowly, escorting Shirahoshi after her capture, unaware that they were about to witness something they would never forget.
"Despicable humans… you dared to threaten our Queen. Drowning all of you would be justice."
And then, the ship came to a halt. In a matter of seconds, it was surrounded by an imposing school of Sea Kings.
The smallest among them measured over a kilometer in length, while the largest reached colossal dimensions, surpassing three kilometers.
Their mere presence eclipsed the sun.
They emerged from all directions—first dozens, then hundreds. Their eyes, glowing like beacons in the gloom, locked onto the ship with a paralyzing intensity.
Inside the ship, panic spread.
The marines ran in all directions, unable to comprehend what was happening. A trembling lieutenant tried to reach the Den Den Mushi to contact Vice Admiral Momousagi and report the situation… but he never got the chance to speak.
In a synchronized movement, several Sea Kings extended their bodies beneath and alongside the ship, and without effort, dragged it downward, submerging it completely.
The screams of the marines mixed with the roar of the water bursting through every corner of the vessel. The hull groaned, the structures gave way, and the wood shattered.
Everything was coming apart.
And yet, in the midst of the chaos, Shirahoshi remained floating gently on the surface of the sea. Around her, the Sea Kings gathered.
"Queen, we arrived late to your rescue. We beg your forgiveness for your suffering."
And as one, they all lowered their massive heads.
"Queen, now that you can communicate freely with us, you can command us to eliminate any human who dares to lay a hand on you. Why would you allow them to harm you again?"
The question landed with immense weight, but Shirahoshi could barely respond.
"I-I… I didn't remember…" she whispered with guilt, her gaze lost in the disaster.
She hadn't expected this. The ship had been dismantled as if it were no more than a toy.
Around her, she could see humans struggling to stay afloat, their bodies twisting as they fought not to drown. And her heart couldn't take it.
"Please… help all those humans. Take them to solid ground…"
"..."
The Sea Kings remained silent for a few seconds, watching her. But a moment later, as if they shared a single consciousness, they moved.
"Your compassion honors your greatness, Queen. It's no wonder you are our sovereign. Your vision and nobility transcend these ignorant humans."
"Rest assured, Queen. Your orders are absolute to us."
One after another, they began to move their colossal bodies, surrounding both marines and pirates alike. Using their bodies as floating walls, they created channels where humans could stay safe from drowning.
Some even used their fins or tongues to gently push unconscious marines toward makeshift floating platforms.
Thanks to this, not a single human died.
When the marines were finally safe, they could barely process what had just happened.
Stunned, they looked around, unable to understand how they were still alive. Never in their lives would they have imagined that a pack of Sea Kings would be the ones to rescue them… and even less so after having completely destroyed their own warship.
Even the pirates, who had been dragged to the shore without understanding how, remained silent.
"Hmph! Pathetic marines… If it weren't for Lady Shirahoshi's mercy, you'd already be at the bottom of the sea or inside the belly of those beasts."
"Exactly! Didn't you know those Sea Kings obey Lady Shirahoshi… and Lord Tiberion? You dare capture her and expect to keep sailing like nothing happened? Do you even realize how stupid that sounds?!"
The marines lay on the sand, soaked, panting, with no strength or clarity. They could only listen—and what they heard left them breathless.
Some pirates, walking along the coast with defiant airs, began to speak. And their words fell like hammer blows.
They… can control the Sea Kings?
It was a completely insane idea.
Ships equipped with Kairoseki coating were usually an effective barrier against Sea Kings, but this time, it had meant nothing.
The Sea Kings had surrounded and sunk them as if they were nothing more than toys floating in a bathtub.
Now, everything made sense.
But at the same time, it was utterly absurd. Controlling the Sea Kings?! That was like directly defying the fundamental laws of the world!
The commanding lieutenant, trembling inside, desperately wanted to report this horrifying and shocking truth to his superiors. But the Den Den Mushi had vanished during the ship's destruction.
Meanwhile, Shirahoshi remained surrounded by the imposing presence of the Sea Kings. After making sure all the humans had been brought to safety, she gave her next order.
"Take me to my husband."
"Queen, do not worry. We have located Lord Tiberion's position. We will escort him to you immediately."
Upon hearing those words, Shirahoshi's eyes widened in surprise. And unable to hold back her emotions, tears began to stream down her cheeks.
"Really?! YES! I'm so happy! Thank you so much!"
...
It didn't take long.
The waters parted briefly before the advance of the Sea Kings. And there, in the middle of the vast ocean, under the watchful gaze of the Sea Kings, Shirahoshi was finally reunited with Tiberion.
She extended her arms, trembling, and gently took him into her enormous hands. She lifted him tenderly, slowly bringing him up to the height of her face. Her eyes, filled with emotion, could no longer hold back the flood.
"BUAAAAH! My dear husband! I missed you so much! Every day without you felt like an eternity!"
Huge tears burst from her eyes. Yet despite the crying, her face radiated relief. She had found the one she had longed for so deeply.
Tiberion looked at her in silence, his eyes now glowing with a peculiar warmth.
"If you managed to find me, that means you made an effort. Well done. Next time you face difficulties, push yourself even harder."
Shirahoshi nodded energetically, still sobbing, but with a smile so wide it seemed to shine.
"Yes, yes! I'll always listen to my husband!"
As she held him, she looked at him with sparkling eyes full of excitement.
"Where are we going now, husband? But I don't want to be away from you, not even a little bit!"
Tiberion, without taking his eyes off the horizon, replied without changing his tone:
"Now I'm going after Gion and Hancock. And after that… I'll destroy Kuma before I leave the East Blue."
Shirahoshi pulled him even closer, rubbing her cheek against his small body.
"Yes! Then I'll stay with you the whole time! I won't take a single step away from you!"
…
In a remote area of the East Blue, the sky remained covered in gray clouds as the waves dragged splintered planks and lifeless bodies, swaying them to the rhythm of the tide.
Toward that bleak scene advanced a Marine warship; from the prow, Gion and Tokikake silently observed the devastation, while in the distance, the few survivors clung to the wooden debris, exhausted and covered in wounds.
When the marines disembarked, they quickly scattered to rescue the wounded; among the debris, a smaller unit found Gecko Moria: one arm severed, bruised skin, a vacant gaze, and barely breathing.
Tokikake leaned toward the soldier who seemed to be in the best condition and, without beating around the bush, murmured:
"What happened here?"
The marine, covered in blood and shivering from the cold, straightened up as best he could before stammering:
"R-reporting… I-it was Tiberion Hanma who attacked us… by surprise…"
He paused, his eyes wavering as he glanced sideways at Moria, whose presence filled him with a deep sense of dread.
Tokikake noticed right away, and his tone hardened immediately:
"Say everything you know. Leave nothing out."
"Gulp…"
The marine swallowed hard and spilled everything he knew:
"Yes, Vice Admiral! During the battle between Gecko Moria and Tiberion Hanma, Moria… absorbed our shadows. All of them. That caused… when Tiberion destroyed the ship with a single blow, many of us no longer had the strength to swim… or even breathe. That's why… so many drowned."
His words were laced with helplessness.
"…"
Gion, who had remained silent, clenched her fists. She knew how dangerous Moria's ability was, but she never imagined he would use it against his own allies.
Her eyes shut in anger.
Tokikake glanced sideways and noticed her change.
"Calm down, Gion," he whispered. "Moria is nothing but a wreck now; we'll send him to Impel Down and he'll pay for every one of his crimes."
Then, without further words, he gave a subtle signal with his eyes. Three marines approached, shackled the broken Moria with Kairoseki cuffs, and roughly dragged him to the lowest cell in the ship.
Gion opened her eyes and followed the scene with her gaze.
"We must return and regroup as soon as possible," she said, turning to Tokikake. "Scattered like this, Tiberion will pick us off one by one; even the power of the Shichibukai is useless like this."
Tokikake nodded, though he let out a faint smile.
"Maybe, but not everything has been in vain," he replied. "We were going after Tiberion, and along the way, we already have two Shichibukai under our control."
He hoped that remark would ease the tension; however, Gion's response left him stunned.
"Right now, the only thing I want is to kill Tiberion," she said in a tone as cold as it was sharp. "If I don't kill him… even if we eliminate all the Shichibukai indirectly, I won't be satisfied. I won't be at peace!"
"…"
Tokikake looked at her in silence, unable to utter a response.
It was the first time Gion had treated him with such absolute coldness. Not even when she rejected his confession years ago had she been this harsh. And yet, there she was, looking at him as if there was nothing left between them.
With his chest tight, he lowered his gaze, unable to utter a single word.
Gion, in silence, closed her eyes for a moment. She took a deep breath, trying to steady the trembling in her hands. And when she looked up again, her voice came out low, filled with a calm that bordered on indifference.
"Forgive me, Tokikake. I've had a storm buried in my chest for days, and I'm sure you already know who's causing it."
She pressed her lips together, weighing the words she was about to say, and then spoke with blunt honesty—no sugarcoating, no comfort:
"You've always said you're drawn to me. That you'd walk by my side no matter the cost. Fine… then prove it. Find a way to remove Tiberion from my path. Kill him. And when you do… I'll accept being yours."
!
Tokikake raised his head, stunned, but she had already looked away. Only for a second. The light in her eyes flickered between emotional exhaustion and fierce determination, before she added in a whisper that pierced straight into him:
"But… you'll have to accept everything I am now. This broken version."
He felt his chest tighten.
For a moment, he forgot to breathe. For years, he had dreamed of this—any sign, no matter how small, that he still had a chance with her.
Gion, once so distant and unreachable, was now looking at him. Not with pity or disdain, but with sincere intensity.
And the most shocking part of all… she was offering something real.
He didn't care what had changed in her. Not her darkness, nor her anger, nor the scars now wrapped around her soul. To him, Gion was still his muse: powerful, resolute, lethally beautiful, with that voluptuous body that had long held him captive with desire.
Just having her near, just knowing that maybe someday he could touch her… was already worth dying for.
"How can you say that, Gion?" he murmured, his voice thick with restrained emotion. "Why would that matter to me? You're a victim too. But my feelings for you are sincere—you know that."
Taking a step forward, he clenched his fists tightly.
"So don't worry. Just those words from you are enough—I'd walk through hell itself if I had to. I'll give everything I have to help you eliminate Tiberion."
But then, without warning, the world seemed to crack open.
A terrifying presence exploded above them like a mountain. An invisible pressure, brimming with murderous intent, descended from the sky with such force that it crushed the very air around them.
The birds fell silent. The wind stopped. Even the waves seemed frozen mid-motion.
!
Gion's eyelids quivered. Tokikake snapped his head to the side, feeling as though something unimaginably terrifying was watching him…
The marines on the ship began to hyperventilate, feeling their lungs tighten. Some dropped to their knees. Others simply froze in place.
"Heh… old man… how brave you are. So you knew everything… and still dared to covet my woman?"
The words didn't need volume—everyone heard them clearly.
Boom
A dozen Sea Kings emerged without warning, rising from the depths. They surrounded the ship, displacing tons of water in an instant.
And atop the head of one of them, a gigantic creature shaped like an elongated and elegant seahorse, stood Tiberion Hanma.
At his side was Shirahoshi, but it was he who dominated the space with his mere presence.
He remained motionless, arms crossed over his chest, his hair flowing like flames. His entire posture demanded respect, but it was his gaze that truly froze the blood—piercing the distance like a blade, never once leaving Tokikake.
"Looks like by not killing you back on Fish-Man Island… I left you with the false impression that I'm not capable of it, didn't I?"
________
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