Cover Story: Straw Hat Crew, Arc 5 – "It's a boy. Let's name him Luffy, shall we?"
「After the rain, the sky has cleared. A baby's loud cries suddenly echo from inside a dilapidated hut. Dragon, who had been anxiously waiting outside, immediately pushes the door open and rushes in. The young woman who just gave birth looks a little tired, but her pale face cannot hide her joy. She looks up and says to Dragon with a gentle smile...」
...
"Dark King," Silvers Rayleigh.
The first mate of the Roger Pirates, a man with a bounty of over 4 billion Berries.
A name that thundered across the seas. Even in the most remote corners of the Four Blues, where news was often slow to travel, there was not a soul who hadn't heard of him.
So now, the shock in everyone's hearts was only natural.
What was almost laughable, however, was this—
At first, the marines had marveled at how an ordinary-looking old man could actually fight Vice Admiral Nao on even ground.
But now, having learned his true identity, their perspective flipped entirely.
—As expected of Nao-san!
He was able to fight the legendary "Dark King" Rayleigh to a standstill and even forced him to retreat!
Nao's prestige among these Marines immediately rose another level, and it had even completely surpassed Sakazuki and the other two, getting closer to Sengoku and Kong.
Of course, the top spot would always belong to Garp.
Nao was naturally unaware of any of this.
After reassuring Emily and the others, he decided since he was already here, he might as well sweep up the other nearby human auction houses as well. He tore through them one by one, wiped out more pirates and underworld gangs, and freed countless pitiful slaves.
The news spread quickly to other areas.
For a time, the entire Sabaody Archipelago was in chaos. Many pirates who had just arrived at the port fled in a panic before they could get their ships coated.
And the dark forces that had been making deals all went silent with fear. They burrowed underground like ostriches and didn't even dare to show their faces, for fear of being caught.
Come to think of it.
The Marine's structure was currently incomplete. Zephyr had retired to the second line, and Garp had repeatedly refused promotion orders. On the surface, there was only one active Admiral, Sengoku.
But before anyone realized it.
The deterrent power of Nao's name seemed to have become comparable to that of an Admiral...
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Less than two days after Nao returned from his mission on the Sabaody Archipelago, Fleet Admiral Kong called him to his office.
"Explain yourself." Kong said sternly, his eyes locked onto Nao. "This time you've caused yet another mess. Should we hand you over to the prisons, or will you go sit quietly behind bars of your own accord?"
"Prison?"
Nao had his legs crossed and was fiddling with the Den Den Mushi on the table. When he heard this, he pouted and said.
"Don't be like that, Fleet Admiral. This time, I took out a whole bunch of pirate captains. Their combined bounties are almost a billion Berries. I haven't even been credited with that, so why are you asking about my crimes first?"
"You still have the nerve to say that?"
Kong's face was expressionless. He said coldly.
"You killed a kingdom's princess in public. The Machino Royal Family is furious. They've called the World Government a dozen times to complain about your atrocities. Do you have any idea how much pressure Headquarters is facing?"
"It seems to be a lot..."
Nao casually picked up a senbei from the table and threw it into his mouth. It was seaweed-flavored, so he immediately spat it out and disdainfully threw it into the trash can.
"It tastes awful. How can a taste as anti-human as seaweed exist? Ugh... It's a little impolite for me to let you take the blame, so how about I resign and we just announce that I've been fired?"
Fired my ass!
Looking at Nao's lack of seriousness, the old man couldn't hold it anymore. He kicked him and said grumpily.
"What Tsuru and Sengoku said about you was completely true. You little bastard, when you're not familiar with someone, you act polite and like an honest person. But once you get to know them, you just talk nonsense and act like a clown..."
Nao laughed without saying anything. He casually refilled his teacup.
Kong shook his head helplessly. In the entire Marine Headquarters, besides Garp, this kid was probably the only Vice Admiral who dared to be so casual in front of him.
Even Kizaru, lazy and indifferent as he normally was, would sit up straight like an obedient schoolboy the moment he entered Kong's office.
"Of course you don't have to resign, and Headquarters has no intention of punishing you."
Kong took a sip of tea and let out a cold snort:
"That Princess Hathaway blatantly violated the World Government's decrees, and even dared to lay hands on a marine. The Machino royal family dares to demand accountability? Hmph! If I couldn't shut something like that down, then I'd have no business sitting in this chair as Fleet Admiral."
"As expected of Fleet Admiral Kong—domineering as ever!"
Nao immediately applauded. Kong grew embarrassed, his weathered face turning slightly red, and waved his hand to make him stop. Nao chuckled, then asked curiously:
"By the way, Fleet Admiral, what about those useless Celestial Dragon brats? They must hate my guts, right? Did they have any objections?"
"They did cause quite a big commotion. They even planned to rush to Headquarters together to hold you accountable."
Kong glanced at him. "But this was just a child's tantrum. Their family elders stopped them very quickly. Do you know why?"
Nao thought for a moment, then ventured, "The Five Elders?"
"Quick on the uptake."
Kong gave him a look of approval and nodded slightly. "The Machino Kingdom's cries for justice made quite a stir, reaching all the way to the very top that same night. When the Five Elders found out, they immediately ordered the news to be sealed and rejected the Kingdom of Machino's request for accountability."
"Since their intention to protect you was so obvious, the elders of those Celestial Dragon families naturally wouldn't let their younger generations mess around."
With that, Kong smiled. "By the way, Nao, your wedding with Gion and the others is next week, right?"
"Yeah, the fifth of May." Nao nodded. Then his eyebrows raised. He asked in surprise, "Weren't we talking about the Five Elders? Why did you suddenly bring this up?"
"Because the Five Elders also asked about this when they talked to me yesterday."
Kong fixed Nao with a deep, meaningful look.
"After I told them the exact date, although they didn't explicitly say it on the phone, their intention was quite clear. If there are no surprises, they will also send someone to deliver a wedding gift on the day of your wedding…"
"…Huh?"
This time even Nao was caught off guard.
"Surprising, isn't it? My reaction was much more dramatic than yours when I heard it."
Kong laughed and patted Nao's shoulder.
"The highest authorities of the World Government sending a subordinate a wedding gift is an unheard-of precedent in Marine history!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Nao, it seems that the Five Elders are really optimistic about your future…"
Really optimistic.
When Nao walked out of the top-floor office and was walking alone in the hallway, his mind was still a little dazed. All he could hear was Kong's words.
No, this isn't how the script is supposed to go?
Nao rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
He had always followed his own sense of justice. Nobles, royal authority, rules and restrictions—none of those ever mattered to him. He walked his path freely, much like Garp.
Logically, he ought to have become the same kind of thorn in the side of the World Government's rulers—someone they found intolerable, yet couldn't pluck out, just like Garp.
So why did it feel like things were going in the opposite direction? Why did it seem like they were favoring him more and more?
Tch… don't tell me those old men actually believe that if I rise to lead the Marine one day, I'll end the Great Pirate Era and stabilize their dominion over the world?
What a joke.
Nao leaned against the railing, glancing in the direction of Mary Geoise, and let out a derisive chuckle.
Compared to that—
Those five old men would be better off praying that when he one day hangs them from lampposts, he'll at least do them the courtesy of using good quality rope, as repayment for their so-called "wedding gift."
...
Dark, humid, hot.
There were boiling blood pools everywhere and seas of raging fire. From time to time, pirates who had just entered were pushed into the scorching heat to be disinfected, making them let out miserable, inhuman screams.
The guards patrolled with their shirts off, constantly wiping the sweat from their foreheads. Even the Den Den Mushi on the wall couldn't stand the high temperature and had gone limp.
This was Impel Down, Level 4.
It was a true "Blazing Hell."
In a secluded corner, inside one of the cells—
A man was sitting against the wall, his long, messy hair scattered behind him. It was infested with lice, and his prisoner's uniform, which hadn't been changed for a long time, emitted a nauseating sour smell.
But none of this was comparable to his eyes.
Empty, numb, and listless, without a single glimmer of hope.
They didn't look like human eyes at all.
Only when his eyes occasionally fell on the greenish-blue plastic wristband on his wrist would a faint glimmer of light appear in his drooping triangular eyes...
Emily…
That was the only memento his fiancée, Emily, had left him.
The man still remembered that not long after they started dating, he went shopping with Emily. The penniless girl had carefully picked out this wristband from a street stall for a long time before she gritted her teeth and bought it for him.
She had also flushed with embarrassment and shyly promised that once her rank and salary increased, she would definitely buy him a better one...
But now…
Everything was like a shattered dream, and nothing could go back to the way it was.
Tap. Tap. Tap…
Suddenly, a steady sound of footsteps came from outside the iron bars, getting closer.
It's almost mealtime. Is the meal delivery guard here again?
Shiliew didn't look up. He was still looking down at the inferior green wristband on his wrist.
The unwillingness, resentment, and fury he felt when he heard the bad news had all been released in his carefree laughter when he killed all his enemies.
Now, he was nothing more than a puppet without senses. The state of his prison, the quality of his meals, the behavior of the guards—none of it mattered to him anymore.
Though he did notice… since last week, his treatment had changed dramatically.
He'd been moved to a quieter, more comfortable cell. Given hot water for daily baths. Meals personally delivered by guards—nutritious, balanced, far superior to those of other prisoners. And unlike the rest of Level 4's prisoners, he no longer had to endure scalding punishments of boiling oil.
This made the nearby criminals' eyes turn red with envy and drove them mad.
But before all of this—
When he was first thrown into Impel Down, because of the havoc he'd caused—and the number of jailer beasts he'd injured—his treatment had been the worst among all prisoners. Every single day, he received "special attention."
Shiryu wasn't an idiot. He knew perfectly well why things had now changed so drastically.
There was no doubt that Nao, that guy, had found out about the news and used a favor to put in a good word for him...
But.
The corner of Shiryu's mouth twitched slightly, revealing a bitter smile.
He was very grateful to Nao. If this were a normal day, he would have bought the best sake and gotten that guy completely drunk.
But to a man whose heart was already dead, what was the point of all this?
And that idiot Rosinante, they must have been worried sick after finding out about what happened to him...
"What are you thinking about?"
A deep voice cut into his thoughts. Shiryu blinked. That wasn't the familiar tone of the guard who usually brought his meals. Who was it?
He slowly raised his head and saw the cell door being pushed open.
A man who was even taller than him and had a pair of demon horns on his head strode in. He didn't care about the dirty floor and sat down cross-legged. He laid out all the sake and food he had brought in front of him.
Vice Warden Magellan.
Shiryu would never forget this man. That day, when he was causing a ruckus in Impel Down, it was this terrifyingly strong monster who personally defeated him and put him in prison.
"What is the meaning of this?"
He glanced at the feast of sake and food on the ground and sneered. "Do you think you lost too much face last time, and the military court's verdict wasn't enough, so you've decided to send me to my death early?"
"What are you thinking?"
Magellan looked at him speechlessly and casually tossed a cup of sake to him. "Do you have to think so darkly of me? I'm here specifically to bring you good news this time."
Good news?
What good news could there possibly be for me?
Shiryu's eyebrows furrowed. A cold light flashed in his drooping triangular eyes. Just as he was about to lash out, Magellan threw a letter at him.
He subconsciously looked at it. The name at the bottom right corner of the envelope was Natsuya Nao.
"This is an urgent letter that just came from Headquarters."
Magellan poured him a cup of sake and said with a smile. "Why don't you open it and take a look?"
"…."
Shiliew gave him a cold look. He didn't say anything, but he still opened the envelope and read it in silence from beginning to end.
After only a few sentences, his whole body trembled. He clenched the letter tightly, and an expression of disbelief burst out of his eyes.
"Emily... isn't dead?"
"Nao saved her?"
By the time he finished reading, his expression was still dazed, his mind adrift like a man caught in a dream.
"That's right. He threatened a CP9 agent to help, went to the Sabaody Archipelago himself, and even killed a kingdom's princess to save her."
Magellan looked at him, his eyes filled with undisguised envy. He said in a low voice, "Nao-san went to great lengths for you…"