The sky looked flayed—clouds torn open in ragged seams stretching to the horizon.
That was the stamp of Conqueror's Haki coating: when true monsters crossed fists, even the heavens winced.
Wonder if I'll ever qualify for that club, Dimon mused.
The floating platform ferried everyone up through the cloudbank and back onto the Saber of Xebec.
"Hold tight," Shiki said, already peeling away. "I'll bring Rocks up."
Stussy dumped the two Celestial Dragons on the deck. Brother and sister sat shoulder to shoulder, faces pale, eyes hollow—their "divine right" had no armor here.
Dimon stepped in front of them, voice pleasantly neutral. "Names and family?"
"I—I am Topman Gregory Saint. This is my sister, Topman Alexia Saint. Don't kill us. If you want Devil Fruits, we can pay!"
Topman… Dimon sifted his memory. One of the Five Elders bore that surname.
Stussy's smile thinned. "Topman Warcury—the Legal Deity among the Five Elders. Looks like we hit a family vein."
Right—Warcury. The one with the boar Zoan.
Gloriosa flicked a finger; the tame snake coiled along her arm slipped onto the Dragons, nosing through pockets. It emerged with a Den Den Mushi clamped in its jaws.
"Call your betters," Charlotte Linlin purred. "And tell them what the ransom buys."
A fresh boom rolled up from the clouds below—the aftershocks of a king-tier duel. The deck hummed with it.
Dimon drifted to the rail. The cloud-sea hid the battlefield, but the Conqueror's gusts kept slapping the air, rippling the sails. A normal person would have blacked out by now; Dimon barely blinked.
Kaido had crammed Haki fundamentals into him the past few days, but mastery wouldn't come in a weekend. File under: long grind.
Two figures burst through the clouds and landed hard—Rocks and Whitebeard.
Rocks sheathed his blade, brisk. "We pull out. Garp won't fold fast, and Marine HQ will be here any minute."
"—This is bad," someone said on the island below.
Sabaody, Grove 24
Garp stood on a heap of rubble, gaze thrown skyward. His Observation told him enough: the Rocks crew's auras were racing away.
Too far to chase. He snatched up a Den Den Mushi instead.
Marine HQ, half an hour by sea from Sabaody
In the Fleet Admiral's office, Steel Bone Kong nearly bit the receiver.
"Are you an idiot, Garp?! They kidnapped Dragons in front of you?"
Garp's voice came back helpless but frank. "What did you expect? That was half the Rocks crew."
"Rocks… that bastard!" Kong rubbed his temples. "He killed an Admiral at the World Conference a decade ago—we still haven't filled that seat. Now he's after the Dragons!"
"What now?" Garp sighed. "They're asking ten Devil Fruits…"
"Ten?!" Kong hissed. The Marines didn't have that many on tap. If they did, they'd be grooming rookies with them.
"This isn't my call," he said at last. "I'm contacting the Government."
Kong punched in the Elder line.
He'd barely opened his mouth when a cold snort cut through.
"This is an unforgivable Marine failure, Kong. You bear full blame."
"Warcury Saint…" Kong straightened. "Apologies, sir. You've heard."
"Rocks contacted us directly," Topman Warcury growled. "I've agreed to five Devil Fruits. Get our people back intact, by any means."
Kong swallowed. "Understood."
Back on the flying ship, Charlotte Linlin toed one of the captive siblings. "So much for your status. Your side offered five. Half price already."
The Dragons shook so hard the bubble helmets rattled.
Dimon thought the Government was being stingy. The nobles fed Fruits to slaves for sport; five was… couponing.
Rocks didn't mind. In fact, his grin widened. "They give half, we give half—return them minus a leg."
"Gehahahaha! Great plan," Shiki cackled.
Whitebeard looked bored; Stussy shook her head. "No need to maim. Swap one, keep one. Also profitable."
At this rate, the Dragons would faint from fear alone.
Dimon raised a hand. "Let me be the 'voice of reason.'"
Everyone looked his way.
"Debt first, business forever. We return them this time—professionally. Next time they'll deal faster."
Kaido snorted a laugh. This guy's already pitching a loyalty program for kidnappings. "Uorororo… smart. Dragons are a renewable resource."
The others stared at their two "interns." Did they just turn kidnapping nobles into a subscription model?
Rocks clapped once. "Settled. Five Fruits equals five bottles, which equals twenty cups. How do we split?"
Aside from Kaido, everyone wanted in. One cup for Rocks… four cups left. Shiki, Whitebeard, Streusen, Linlin, Gloriosa, Stussy—six claimants, four pours.
Static prickled between them. A wrong word would set off a duel.
Dimon smiled. "Relax. Five Fruits brew five bottles—twenty cups total. Everyone gets theirs. Call it… my brewer's discount."
Rocks barked a laugh. "Good man. Thank the brewer, people."
Tension bled off. For now.
New World, an unnamed sea
A Marine warship rode the swells. On the prow stood Admiral Sengoku, eyes on the man floating above the water.
"Items secured. Where are the nobles?"
"Gehahahaha. Fruits first," Shiki sang. "I don't trust Marines."
Sengoku glanced at Vice Admiral Tsuru. She lifted a chest and cracked it open: five Devil Fruits, each a ridiculous knot of pattern and color.
"The goods," Sengoku said evenly. "Release them, and they're yours."
Shiki narrowed his eyes. Observation skimmed the deck: only Sengoku was a serious threat. Tempting… but stupid. If he botched the handoff and lost the wine later, Rocks would take his head off.
He snapped his fingers. From high above, two bound Celestial Dragons drifted down from the Saber of Xebec and hovered at his side.
"Fruits first. Then I let go."
"That won't happen," Tsuru said blandly. "You don't trust us; why should we trust pirates?"
Stalemate dragged. Neither side blinked.
Sengoku gritted his teeth—and swallowed pride. "Tsuru. Give him the box."
Because today, the leverage wasn't theirs.
"…Understood," Tsuru said softly.
The trade was clean. Shiki closed the chest and released the pair.
"Gehahahaha! Thanks for the gifts. Prepare to be amazed!" His laughter climbed as he rose, vanishing into the cloudline.
The siblings hit the deck. Hands swarmed to cut their bonds.
The woman exploded. "Too slow! Useless—all of you! I was captured by pirates! My wrist is broken—bring a doctor!"
Sengoku's mouth twitched. He sent for the surgeon anyway, then forced himself to ask, levelly, "Gregory Saint, they didn't… do anything else, did they?"
Compared to his sister's frothing rage, Gregory had calmed. "They wanted Devil Fruits. They're… brewing some kind of wine."
Sengoku and Tsuru traded a long look.
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