Chapter 251
The Oni Slayer carved through the water at steady speed while the broad emptiness of the Calm Belt slowly gave way to more ordinary currents near the far edge of their route.
Zaraki stood alone near the forward deck for a while, letting the moving air pull at his short hair as he watched the horizon.
Marineford was far behind him now.
Dorry's five-exchange victory would probably keep Headquarters busy for weeks.
Sengoku had already seen enough to start turning the giants' methods into formal drills, and once Marine officers began arguing over which parts actually worked, the process would spread on its own.
That was fine.
Dorry and Brogy could teach what they genuinely knew.
Observation Haki, selective Armament, fighting in formation, breaking formation, and learning how to put giant-scale power into a target without flattening everything around it were all things the Marines could study without anyone needing to know where Zaraki's more dangerous knowledge came from.
The Eight Gates remained his problem.
His first test had been useful, but Law's examination afterward had made the cost impossible to ignore.
The First Gate alone had torn muscle fibers when Zaraki opened it without enough conditioning, and the system's warning had been clear from the beginning: understanding the method did not grant mastery.
'No reason to rush it.'
There were enough dangerous things waiting ahead without crippling himself for the sake of satisfying curiosity.
Zaraki flexed one hand and looked at his palm.
Template synchronization had already reached one hundred percent.
There was no hidden percentage left for Mihawk, Kaido, or anyone else to unlock for him.
Whatever came next would have to come from actual combat, better control, experience, and whatever new system functions appeared in the future rather than another convenient increase to a number that was already complete.
That thought did not disappoint him.
If anything, it made the road ahead more interesting.
Nozarashi had become easier to communicate with after stabilization, but controlling the blade under pressure was still his responsibility.
Mihawk had exposed how crude Zaraki's swordsmanship became when he relied too heavily on overwhelming power, and Kaido had shown him how quickly even improved control could fall apart once the fight became violent enough.
The rematch with Mihawk still waited somewhere ahead.
Just not on Kalles.
Kalles had its own problems.
The Warlord candidate had been told Zaraki intended to arrest him rather than evaluate him.
Director Dapus had three Aegis operatives planted inside the island under separate identities. Seastone launchers covered the inner harbor, and the old fortress at the island's center had been prepared as the final killing ground.
It was a good trap.
At least on paper.
Zaraki's smile returned.
The Five Elders had made one mistake.
They had allowed him to hear about it before he arrived.
The command-room door opened behind him and Gion stepped onto the deck with several sheets of intelligence in one hand.
"Tsuru sent the updated harbor survey."
Zaraki took the papers and glanced over them.
Three marked approach channels had been crossed out in red.
"They moved the batteries?"
"Or the earlier map was deliberately wrong. Either way, we are not entering through the central harbor."
"That's where they expect us."
"Exactly."
"So we should use it."
Gion stopped walking.
"No."
Zaraki looked at her.
"No?"
"No. You can fight whoever is waiting after we prevent the ship from being trapped between seastone launchers. I'm the official observer, and unlike you, I would like the crew to survive the evaluation."
Zaraki handed the map back.
"You worry too much."
"You don't worry enough. Between us, that almost produces one functional officer."
He considered that for a moment.
"Maybe."
Gion stared.
"That was not agreement."
The corner of Zaraki's mouth lifted.
The sea ahead was beginning to change. More birds appeared over the water, and the first faint signs of distant land could be seen beyond the haze.
Kalles was getting close.
Whatever happened at Marineford, whatever the Five Elders wanted from Garp and Sengoku, and whatever Director Dapus believed he had prepared inside the fortress would matter soon enough.
For now, Zaraki rested his hand on Nozarashi and waited for the island to appear.
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
The Oni Slayer had been gone since the previous day, but the arrival of CP0 that morning had left a heavier tension behind than the giant spar ever had.
Zephyr stood near the edge of the western training ground with his restored arms folded behind his back, staring toward the distant Red Line.
The medical teams had finished with the Giant Vice Admirals, the banquet tables were being cleared away, and Dorry and Brogy had finally been convinced to postpone any second round until another day.
None of that occupied Zephyr's thoughts.
The Five Elders had summoned both Sengoku and Garp just as Zaraki approached Kalles.
The timing bothered him.
"Standing around brooding, old man?"
Tsuru's familiar voice came from behind him.
Zephyr turned.
Her expression was composed as always, but there was nothing casual in her eyes.
"What?" he asked. "Don't tell me you're worried Dorry embarrassed the Giant Corps so badly they'll all resign."
Tsuru gave him a flat look.
Then she caught him by the arm and pulled him toward an empty section of the nearby training grounds.
Zephyr allowed himself to be dragged along.
"What's with all the secrecy?"
Tsuru waited until they were behind a stone equipment building and out of sight of the nearest officers before reaching inside her coat and producing a compact recording Den Den Mushi.
Zephyr's expression changed.
Devices of that quality were not used for ordinary field reports.
"Where did you get that?"
"From the compromised relay recovered after Monkey's assessment operation. This is the recording Zaraki heard before the Oni Slayer entered the Calm Belt."
Zephyr's eyes narrowed.
Tsuru activated the snail.
A distorted voice filled the quiet space.
"The Oni Slayer's course is consistent with Kalles."
Another voice followed.
"Director Dapus and the Aegis Execution Unit are already in position. The candidate believes Zaraki is coming to arrest him rather than evaluate him."
The recording continued.
"The seastone launchers?"
"Installed along the inner harbor. Three senior operatives entered under separate identities."
Zephyr's jaw tightened.
Then came the voice Tsuru had been waiting for him to hear.
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro.
"If Dapus fails, I will go."
A second Elder answered.
"You will remain concealed unless the earlier stages fail. No Elder is to be connected to the operation unnecessarily."
The recording dissolved into static.
Tsuru switched the Den Den Mushi off.
For several seconds Zephyr said nothing.
His restored hand slowly closed into a fist.
"So Sengoku already knew."
"Yes. Gion knows as well, and Zaraki heard the same recording."
"Then why send him?"
"Because the official mission still exists, because turning around immediately after receiving classified evidence would reveal exactly how much we intercepted, and because Zaraki refused to abandon the evaluation once he knew what was waiting."
Zephyr gave her a long look.
"That sounds like him."
"It does."
Tsuru slipped the recording snail back into her coat.
"What worries me is what happened this morning. The Five Elders waited until the Oni Slayer was committed to the route, then summoned both Sengoku and Garp away from Headquarters."
Zephyr looked toward the Red Line again.
"To keep them from interfering."
"That is my concern."
His expression hardened.
"Then Tsuru, why are you still here instead of ordering the ship back?"
"Because Sengoku already transferred operational authority to me before leaving, and Gion has discretion to abort the mission. I have sent the newest harbor map and instructed every Marine vessel within range not to obey Cipher Pol orders concerning the Oni Slayer."
Zephyr's eyes narrowed.
"You think CP0 may try to isolate them from our side."
"I think we should assume everything on Kalles has a second purpose until proven otherwise."
A long silence followed.
Finally Zephyr exhaled.
"That brat attracts trouble like Garp attracts paperwork he refuses to finish."
Tsuru's mouth moved faintly.
"That may be the most accurate thing you've said all morning."
...
Meanwhile, far away in the New World, the air over Totto Land was saturated with the sweet smell of cream, chocolate, caramel, and baked sugar.
The formal tea party was not scheduled until the following evening, and the Kuja Pirates had not yet arrived, but Whole Cake Island was already receiving a guest far more unusual than any Warlord.
Charlotte Perospero stood at the harbor with several of his siblings, his long tongue occasionally sliding over his lips as he watched a black vessel emerge from the haze.
The ship carried no World Government flag.
No identifying number marked its hull.
Only the discipline of the crew and the armed men positioned along the rails suggested that it belonged to something more dangerous than an ordinary merchant fleet.
Perospero's expression became serious.
The vessel docked without fanfare.
Five men stepped onto the pier.
Four wore black suits and white masks.
CP0.
The fifth walked ahead of them in traditional robes and wooden sandals, a long sword resting at his side.
Perospero's pupils tightened.
Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro.
The Elder who had originally intended to remain concealed near Kalles had changed course only hours earlier.
Director Dapus had been ordered to proceed without him, while Nusjuro took responsibility for a second part of the Government's plan personally.
Perospero lowered his head.
He did not dare stare for long.
Nusjuro stepped onto Whole Cake Island without showing any interest in the candy buildings, living Homies, or rivers of juice surrounding the harbor.
He simply raised his gaze toward the distant Whole Cake Chateau.
Charlotte Linlin was waiting there.
The Government had already used Kaido once to put pressure on Zaraki.
Now it intended to see whether an older relationship between two Emperors could be turned in the same direction.