Hera said to Aokiji with dissatisfaction, "What are you talking about? Since he's joined the World Government, how could he be an enemy of the Marines? We're of one mind."
Aokiji nodded and said perfunctorily, "Fine, fine, one mind. If you say so. I need to rest; I'm exhausted from the journey."
He pulled out his eye mask, hopped onto one of the escorting warships, and fell asleep on a lounge chair.
In the strike that knocked Luffy unconscious, Shanks seemed to sense something. He looked at Hera and asked, "Did you hear that drumming just now?"
Hera nodded. "Unfortunately, he ran out of stamina at the end. But that's a good thing; he and his crew still need to grow."
Shanks asked back, "So you intentionally let Jinbe be captured by Big Mom? With your strength, you could have easily crushed the eternal pose before the situation escalated."
Hera didn't answer Shanks's question, but said instead, "After Luffy defeats Big Mom, take him to the Giant Kingdom on Elbaf."
"There, he will meet new companions, one of the key figures who can defeat that person."
Seeing that Hera didn't want to answer, Shanks didn't press further. Instead, he posed a new question: "Hera, what is your justice? What do you act for?"
Hera thought for a moment, the smile fading from her face as she said seriously, "I want to create a new era—a world where rulers cannot oppress commoners, and the strong cannot bully the weak."
"Since I've come here, things cannot remain as they are, nor should they be."
Shanks was somewhat shocked by Hera's ideal, but he quickly regained his composure. "I see. That truly is a grand ideal."
Hera waved her hand, instantly breaking the serious atmosphere:
"But I haven't figured out how to do it yet. Anyway, let's just defeat the Old King who rules the world first. There will always be a way, won't there?"
Shanks nodded and sighed, "Yes, there will always be a way."
Afterward, he also left. Before leaving, Ace added:
"If you ever need anything, just contact me. Your dream is the dream of all of us."
Hera nodded, watching her brother and Shanks depart.
"Alright, that just leaves you and Baroque. What do you plan to do?"
Baroque and Bullet exchanged a look. Baroque spoke first: "I'm going to travel around. Brook told me about a few places they've sailed to, and I want to see them."
Then, he patted his tanuki companion and looked at Bullet, who was lying on the ground. "What, do you expect me to pull you up?"
Bullet turned his head away. "I don't need companions. Since I couldn't defeat you even after exhausting my stamina, this is my defeat. You can do whatever you want with me."
Baroque's sword rested against Bullet's neck, leaving a thin trail of blood:
"Fine, you've been defeated by me now. I demand that you are not allowed to leave until you defeat me."
Baroque pulled Bullet up. "Do you think I want to look after you? But during my travels, if I don't have an opponent to spar with, I'll be bored to death."
Garp said from the side, "Are you just going to let those two leave? Right now is the best chance to detain them."
Hera shook her head. "Let them go. They won't become enemies of the Marines."
Garp watched their retreating backs. "Talking about how strength in isolation is true strength... and yet, haven't you found yourself a companion after all?"
As Baroque supported Bullet while they walked further away, their bickering could still be heard:
"Don't think I've actually become your companion. Once my injuries are healed, the first thing I'll do is prove that I can defeat you."
"Yes, yes. Get better first. At your speed, you couldn't hit me even if I didn't fight back."
Garp curiously asked Hera again, "Now that this matter is resolved, have you thought about your next goal?"
Hera nodded. "Since Luffy is going to cause trouble for Big Mom, I naturally have to go help him out. I'll go have a chat with Kaido."
"Besides, there's a Devil Fruit and a person there that I'm quite interested in."
Hearing Kaido's name, Kuzan tossed an ice sculpture over. "If you're going to see Kaido, take this with you."
Hera looked at the frozen-solid Pachycephalosaurus wearing a mask inside. "When did you keep her? Did that guy Kaido not notice?"
"What! Ulti is missing?"
Kaido's angry voice echoed through the palace of Wano Country. Having drunk too much during the battle, Kaido's mind had finally cleared.
After doing a head count, he discovered that one of his Tobi Roppo was missing.
"Everyone, go find her! How could she be gone? Where did she go?"
At that moment, King remembered that when they were leaving earlier, he seemed to have seen an ice sculpture that looked a lot like Ulti frozen on the island.
Before he could report this, he saw Ulti's younger brother, Page One, run in soaked with water, shouting:
"Sister! Where is my sister? Has anyone seen her? She was frozen by Aokiji, too!"
King was now certain. It seemed Aokiji's ice had blocked everyone else's perception, preventing them from realizing that Ulti had also been frozen.
"Calm down. Even if she was taken by those Marines, she'll be fine. I'll go demand your sister back from them right now."
As he spoke, Kaido had already stood up. Concerned for Ulti, he prepared to head straight to Marineford to demand her release.
King and Jack immediately stopped Kaido. The current Marine Headquarters was different from before; its defenses were so tight that a single Four Emperors crew couldn't just charge in.
King analyzed calmly, "The Marines won't kill Ulti easily. When Jack and Ulti encountered the Nightmare Admiral before, the Nightmare Admiral didn't kill them."
"Otherwise, Jack would have lost much more than just his two tusks."
Jack painfully touched his newly regrown tusks, closed his eyes, and thrust his head in front of Kaido, saying with determination:
"Boss Kaido, do it. If my tusks can be traded for Ulti's life, then I'm willing to sacrifice them. But please, make sure you cut them quickly."
Queen looked at the determined Jack and then at Kaido, who was gesturing at Jack's face with his mace as if deciding where to start, and suggested in a low voice:
"How about we contact the Nightmare Admiral first and see what her demands are?"
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