The morning after the concert dawned bright and clear, the air in the cove still carrying a faint, happy scent of woodsmoke and grilled meat. The crew was scattered around the remnants of the bonfire, moving with the slow, deliberate care of those who had celebrated a little too hard. Eliane, ever the morning person, was diligently handing out plates of simple fish and eggs.
Atlas, chewing slowly, watched as Marco accepted a plate. The former Whitebeard commander's eyes kept flicking towards Marya, who was sipping from a mug of tea, her expression as unreadable as ever.
"You waiting for something to happen?" Atlas rumbled around a mouthful of food.
Marco's attention snapped back to his plate, his expression pinched. "No," he muttered, focusing on his breakfast.
A soft giggle from Eliane drew their attention. Jelly had just ingested an entire plate of food in one gelatinous gulp. With a soft patooey, he spat the clean, empty plate back out, sending it spinning and clattering across the ground.
"You blithering blob, that's disgusting!" Jannali scolded, though the effect was ruined by her own wince of hangover sympathy. Jelly, oblivious, just bounced happily.
Vesta was the last to stir, sitting up with a groan. Her rainbow hair was a spectacular mess, defying gravity in three separate directions. She rubbed her eyes, blinking slowly at the world.
Atlas chuckled. "The songbird rouses after her big debut."
Vesta merely groaned in reply. Eliane wordlessly held a plate of food under her nose. Vesta took it and began eating small, unconscious bites, her brain still booting up.
Galit, his focus entirely on his data slate, broke the sleepy silence. "Marya, in what order are we going to frequent these locations?"
"Read them off again," Marya said, setting her mug down.
"Wano, Mary Geoise, Tawantin, Ushirika, and Zou."
Atlas visibly cringed at the mention of Zou. Both Marco and Aokiji looked up from their meals, their interest sharpened by the list.
Marya was about to speak when Marco interjected. "Wano. And Mary Geoise." It was less a question and more a statement of grim fact.
Galit nodded. "Correct."
Aokiji put his empty plate down with a soft clink. "Are you really going to go to Mary Geoise?" When Marya merely considered it, he continued, "You might as well turn yourself in to the Marines and save them the trouble."
A faint smirk touched Marya's lips. "Mary Geoise isn't our first stop. But… if that's what we have to do?"
Aokiji shook his head, a rare look of genuine concern in his eyes. "I would not recommend it."
Atlas swallowed hard, looking between them. "You sound as if you aren't coming with us."
Aokiji sighed, the sound full of finality. "About that. This is my waypoint. I'll be stepping off here."
The announcement landed like a stone in the quiet cove. Everyone turned at the sound of a ceramic plate crashing to the ground. Eliane stood rigid, her lower lip trembling. "You're leaving?" she asked, her voice small.
Aokiji slowly nodded. "It was fun and all. But I have to take a different path."
Galit, ever the diplomat, broke the tense silence. "That is understandable. You will be missed."
Atlas grunted in agreement. "Yeah, Frosty. Guess we'll have to chill our drinks the old-fashioned way from now on."
Aokiji let out a low chuckle. "Good to know I was useful."
Jannali stood and put a comforting arm around Eliane's shoulders. "It'll be okay, little chef. Maybe we'll see the old frosty giant again."
Eliane looked up at Aokiji, her eyes wide and hopeful. "Really?"
Aokiji gave a noncommittal shrug. "Anything is possible."
Seemingly bolstered, Eliane wiped her wet cheeks with the back of her hand and began stacking dishes with renewed, if slightly wobbly, determination.
Vesta, finally emerging from her grogginess, yawned around a mouthful of eggs. "Good luck following your dream."
Marco chuckled, shaking his head, while Aokiji attempted to counter, "I, ah, wouldn't really call it…"
"Okay," Galit interrupted, refocusing the group. "So, I recommend we attempt Mary Geoise much later. I don't know that any of us are really interested in taking on the Celestial Dragons or God's Knights right now. So that leaves: Wano, Tawantin, Ushirika, and Zou."
Marco interjected again, his tone dry. "You think you'll be able to just walk into Kaido's territory, unannounced and unnoticed?"
Jannali cursed. "Kaido? Really?"
Marya's lips thinned. "One of the Four Emperors," she mumbled, the weight of the name settling on her.
Marco nodded grimly. Marya sighed, looking at Galit. "Maybe put that one at the bottom, too. It may be a coin toss between Wano and Mary Geoise when the time comes."
Galit made a note on his slate. "Okay, so that leaves Zou, Tawantin, and Ushirika."
"Can we please not go to Zou right now?" Atlas interjected, uncharacteristically pleading.
Both Galit and Marya chuckled. Jannali asked, "Why?"
Atlas shifted uncomfortably, looking away. "Let's just say I'm not in any rush to return home."
Marya nodded. "Zou can wait. I have reasons, too." Atlas breathed an audible sigh of relief.
"Okay," Galit said, finalizing the plan. "So that leaves two, after Elegia: Tawantin and Ushirika."
Marya was about to agree when Galit continued, a sly grin spreading across his face. "I was doing the calculations, and it looks like the Dreadnought Thalassa is closest to Elegia."
Marya's smirk returned. "Okay, you win. Elegia, then we check out the Thalassa. But…"
Galit's grin widened. "Yeah, I know…"
Vesta, now fully awake, blinked. "What's Elegia?"
Marya turned to her. "It's where my cousin Uta is."
Vesta froze, the piece of fish on her fork halfway to her mouth. "What did you just say?" Everyone turned to her as her eyes bulged, fixed on Marya.
Marya replied with a confused expression. "It is where my cousin is."
Vesta shook her head slowly, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Not that part. Did you say your cousin's name is Uta?"
Marya blinked. "Yes."
Vesta swallowed hard. Atlas gave a low, teasing warning. "Easy, songbird."
Vesta continued, slowly standing up, the plate in her hand forgotten. "Is she… The Uta? The diva? The global sensation?"
Marya tilted her head. "The Uta?"
"Yes!" Vesta nodded, her voice rising with each word. "She's my inspiration! The reason I have a dream!"
Jannali chimed in, "What about that skeleton bloke you're always goin' on about?"
Vesta ignored her completely, laser-focused on Marya. "Tell me. Is Uta your cousin?"
Marya nodded. "Yeah."
Vesta jumped straight into the air, unleashing a squeal of pure, unadulterated joy that made everyone wince and duck from the flying cutlery her sudden movement dislodged. "WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?!" she shrieked, landing in a whirlwind of color. "WE NEED TO GET MOVING!" She began rushing around the campsite, scooping up items with frantic energy. Everyone watched in amused bewilderment as she then tried to lift the heavy iron grill, grunting with the effort. "Come on! We have to go!"
Atlas stood, shaking his head with a fond smile, and easily lifted the grill himself, carrying it towards the sub.
Aokiji turned his attention back to Marya, a thoughtful frown on his face. "If Uta is your cousin… and Mihawk is your father…?" He left the question hanging, the implication dawning on him.
Marya smirked. "You mean none of you put this together?"
Marco and Aokiji shared a puzzled look. Jannali and Galit stared, equally confused.
Marya answered their silent question. "Shanks. Shanks is her father."
The reaction was instantaneous. Aokiji, Marco, Jannali, and Galit all snapped their heads around to stare at her. The only noise was the distant sound of Atlas fussing at Jelly from inside the sub.
"The Emperor Shanks?" Jannali breathed.
Marya nodded.
Aokiji rubbed his chin, a slow smile spreading. "Shanks is your uncle. That means… well, I guess that makes sense. Should have figured that out a long time ago."
Marco, however, looked utterly lost. "But… they had that legendary duel! At the Valley of Spiders!"
Marya raised a brow. "Oh, yeah. That. That wasn't Shanks."
Marco jumped to his feet. "What do you mean, that wasn't Shanks?"
Marya replied with a flat, matter-of-fact expression. "That was his twin brother."
Marco's jaw dropped. Aokiji muttered, "Well, I'll be damned."
Unconvinced, Marco rushed to Marya, grabbing her shoulder as she turned to walk away. "How? What? That's impossible!"
Marya sighed. "It's true. I met him in Elbaph. I didn't believe it either, but they look exactly like each other. Except he has both arms and no facial scar." She shrugged. "And we didn't kill each other."
Marco stood in shocked confusion, his world view visibly fracturing.
Marya gave him a pat on the arm. "Don't over-flex your brain. It isn't really that big a deal." A wicked little smirk played on her lips. "I mean, does it really make sense for my father and him to be rivals?"
Marco just blinked, speechless.
"I think that's enough revelations for one morning, don't you?" Marya said, picking up her empty plate and walking towards the sub.
Marco nodded dumbly. Aokiji shook his head, placing a consoling hand on Marco's shoulder.
"First I learn that Mihawk has a daughter," Marco muttered to no one in particular, "and now Shanks has a twin brother."
He looked up at Aokiji, seeking solidarity. "Did you know about this?"
Aokiji gave his signature lazy shrug, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Don't really care." And with that, he turned to follow Marya, leaving Marco alone on the beach to grapple with the seismic shifts in the world's understanding of power.
The campsite was cleared, every trace of their impromptu festival packed away into the sub with an efficiency born of practice and a touch of lingering haste from Vesta's frantic energy. The morning sun was warm on their backs as the crew assembled on the beach for the final, awkward ritual of farewell.
Eliane stood before Aokiji, her small hands clenched at her sides, doing her absolute best to imitate Marya's stoicism. But her lower lip betrayed her, trembling uncontrollably. She sniffled, looking up at the towering former admiral with wide, glossy eyes.
"Right," Aokiji said, his voice even more gravelly than usual. He shifted his weight, clearly out of his depth. He awkwardly patted her head, his large hand making her silver hair bob. "Don't… ah… do that."
"I'm not!" Eliane insisted, her voice cracking as a single tear escaped and traced a path through a smudge of flour on her cheek.
Jannali stepped in, pulling Eliane into a one-armed hug. "Crikey, leave it to you to make a mess of a goodbye, Frosty. It's alright, squirt. He's just goin' for a walkabout."
"A very, very long walk," Atlas added, a grin softening his usual taunt. He gave Aokiji a firm nod. "Don't freeze any oceans we might need to sail, yeah?"
Aokiji's lips quirked. "I'll try to restrain myself."
Galit offered a more formal, respectful nod. "It was an honor to have your perspective. Travel safely."
Vesta, buzzing with her newly acquired mission-fueled zeal, grabbed Aokiji's hand and shook it vigorously. "Thank you for not letting us splatter into the sea! And good luck with your… mysterious, brooding, non-dream following!"
Jelly simply bounced into Aokiji's leg with a soft splorch and chirped, "Bye-bye, Cold Man!" leaving a faint, glittery residue on his trousers.
Marya was the last to approach. She didn't offer a hand or a hug. She simply met his gaze, her golden eyes steady. "Keep your head down," she said, the simple phrase carrying the weight of their shared understanding of the world's dangers.
"You too," Aokiji replied. "And try to stay out of Marie Geoise."
A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Marya's lips. "No promises."
With final nods and a last, wobbly wave from Eliane, they filed onto the sub. The engines turning with a definitive hum. Soon, the vessel was backing away from the sandy shore, its engines churning the turquoise water into foam.
On the deck, the core of the crew stood in a line: Marya, her arms crossed, the wind tugging at her hair; Atlas, a solid, russet-furred presence; Jelly, wobbling at the railing; Jannali with a comforting arm around Eliane's shoulders; and Vesta, practically vibrating with the excitement of their new destination.
They raised their hands in a silent, unified wave to the two figures left on the beach.
Marco stood with his arms crossed, a wry, resigned smile on his face as he watched the strange, wonderful, and infuriating group depart. Beside him, Aokiji stood perfectly still, his hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable but his posture relaxed.
The sub turned, its nose aiming for the open sea. It picked up speed, shrinking against the vast, blue horizon until it was little more than a dark speck, and then, nothing at all.
On the quiet beach, the only sounds were the gentle lap of waves and the cry of a distant gull. Marco finally let out a long, slow breath. "Well," he said.
Aokiji didn't reply. He simply watched the empty horizon for a moment longer, then turned, his own path stretching out before him on the island of legends and ghosts. The adventure moved on, leaving its echoes in the sand.
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