Chapter 281
The frozen air seemed to harden around them.
Every gaze felt like an invisible probe aimed at Zaraki, trying to pierce through his battered body and pry open whatever thoughts were moving behind those calm golden eyes.
Sharp pulses of pain continued stabbing through the wound in his abdomen; the cold had slowed the bleeding, but it had done nothing to dull the agony, and each throb reminded him exactly what kind of battle he had just survived.
If anything, the pain left his mind painfully clear.
A golden cage... or a storm-tossed sea.
'Hell of a choice.'
Beside him, Zaraki felt Garp's muscles tighten.
The old man suddenly resembled an aging lion prepared to tear apart anything that came too close.
From the Moby Dick, meanwhile, excitement spread through the Whitebeard Pirates.
"A new division?"
A confused whisper drifted from the nearby Marine formation.
"Whitebeard already has sixteen. Is he seriously offering to create another one just for Zaraki?"
"What happens to the current commanders?"
The voices were quiet, but the question itself showed how seriously everyone was taking Whitebeard's offer.
Zaraki looked across the frozen field toward the Moby Dick.
Beside Whitebeard stood a blond man with pineapple-shaped hair.
Marco.
He had his arms folded across his chest, and rather than looking insulted by the possibility of another division being created, he wore an amused smile, clearly enjoying Garp's steadily worsening expression.
Then Ace leaned over the railing.
"HEY! Pops, are you serious?!"
He grinned broadly.
"I mean, it pisses me off that he beat Hawkeye before I got another shot at him, but if this guy joins us, I can fight him every day!"
That was enough to set off the rest of the crew.
"Ace is right!"
"The world's greatest swordsman as our brother? Who the hell would mess with us after that?!"
"Come on, kid! We've got more booze than you could ever drink!"
"We'll throw you the biggest welcome party on the sea!"
The Moby Dick erupted with laughter and shouting.
They were not talking about recruiting a disposable subordinate.
They were welcoming someone into Whitebeard's family.
"DON'T YOU DARE—!!"
Garp's roar finally drowned out everything else.
The sound made ears ring.
He glared across the frozen sea at Whitebeard, spraying enough spit that Zaraki nearly caught some himself.
"NEWGATE! ARE YOU TRYING TO START A FULL-SCALE WAR WITH THE MARINES?!"
Garp jabbed a finger toward Zaraki.
"THAT'S MY BRAT!"
"HE'S A MARINE!"
"AND YOU'RE TRYING TO POACH HIM RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME?!"
The old man was genuinely losing his temper now.
Zaraki could feel the grip on his uninjured shoulder tightening again without Garp realizing it.
His bones complained.
"ZARAKI! DON'T LISTEN TO THAT OLD PIRATE'S BULLSHIT!"
Garp rounded on him.
"Pirate 'freedom' is a load of crap!"
"Come back to Marineford with me."
His expression hardened.
"With this old man standing there, I'd like to see which one of those Five Elder bastards tries another Kalles!"
The frozen field descended into noise.
Garp roaring from one side.
The Whitebeard Pirates cheering from the other.
The Marines arguing among themselves behind him.
Zaraki simply stood between them.
He drew in a deep breath of freezing air and let it out slowly. White vapor drifted from his lips.
When he finally spoke, his voice was rough from exhaustion and injury, but it cut through the noise clearly enough.
"Compared to sitting on a shelf..."
Zaraki raised his eyes.
"I'd rather keep cutting people."
That was his answer to both sides.
He rejected the idea of letting the World Government hide him away indefinitely.
And he rejected Whitebeard's protection.
Zaraki was not interested in exchanging one shelter for another. He was simply stating the only part that actually mattered to him.
His sword was not done yet.
The Marines stared.
Even Garp's fury stalled for a moment.
Across the ice, the cheering aboard the Moby Dick quieted.
Then Whitebeard threw his head back.
"GURARARARARA!"
His laughter rolled across the frozen sea.
There was no anger in it.
If anything, his expression carried approval.
"What an interesting brat."
Whitebeard grinned.
"That attitude of yours—like the whole world can go to hell if it gets in your way..."
His eyes narrowed with distant amusement.
"Reminds me of Roger."
Garp's face became even darker.
Whitebeard eventually let his laughter fade.
"I'm not taking the offer back."
His gaze remained on Zaraki.
"There'll always be a place for you on my ship if you ever decide you want it."
Whitebeard turned.
"The sea will teach you what freedom means better than I can."
He raised one hand.
"Set sail."
The Whitebeard Pirates began moving.
Ace remained at the railing, still looking toward Zaraki as though he had several more things he wanted to shout.
Zaraki reached inside his coat.
Then he flicked his wrist.
Whoosh—!
A white blur crossed the frozen distance.
Ace caught it instinctively with one hand and looked down.
An envelope.
His eyes immediately lit up.
"A challenge letter?!"
"No."
Zaraki's voice carried after the departing ship.
"It's a letter for home."
Ace froze.
His fingers tightened around the envelope.
Whatever question came to mind afterward went unanswered as the Moby Dick continued pulling away through the open channel and gradually disappeared into the distant mist.
Only after the enormous vessel had moved off did the pressure hanging over the Marines begin to loosen.
Several officers released breaths they had apparently been holding for far too long.
"You damn brat..."
Garp muttered.
Annoyance crossed his face first, then relief, and finally the helpless frustration of an older man who had long since accepted that some younger idiots could not be controlled.
"Forget it."
He sighed.
"With your personality, if you joined Whitebeard, you'd probably set his mustache on fire before the first week was over."
Zaraki's mouth twitched.
Garp finally removed his hand from his shoulder and looked toward the Marines spreading across the frozen battlefield.
"Oni Slayer!"
The senior captain straightened.
"You take command of the recovery here. Count the casualties, help Shanks' people get Mihawk off the ice without starting anything stupid, and get every Marine wounded during this mess back aboard."
"Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"
Gion had already reached Zaraki with the medics.
She took one look at the blood soaking his abdomen and pointed toward the ship.
"You heard him. Hospital."
Zaraki looked at her.
Gion's eyes narrowed.
"Try arguing."
He decided not to.
Garp turned toward the rest of the Marine personnel.
"All Marines, prepare to return once the wounded are aboard!"
Then his gaze settled back on Zaraki.
"And you, brat, are coming back to Headquarters with me."
His eyes dropped to the wound in Zaraki's abdomen.
"Whatever happens with Sengoku's medical-leave order later, I'm getting you into a Marineford hospital before you leak the rest of your blood onto Kuzan's ice."
Zaraki grunted.
Garp looked toward another stretch of sea where the Kuja vessel had already begun withdrawing.
After Kaido pulled his strike force away, Jinbe had transferred to Hancock's battered ship to help the Kuja Pirates clear the remaining Beasts Pirates routes and make sure their damaged vessel reached safer water. Sandersonia and Marigold were both aboard with their sister.
Garp rubbed his temple.
"What a pain in the ass of a day..."
His eyes followed the distant skull-and-serpent flag.
"Hopefully Jinbe and that Kuja girl don't cross Kaido's withdrawal route before everybody gets clear."
The concern remained on his face for only a moment.
Then he turned back toward Zaraki and the approaching medics.
The duel was over.
The title had changed hands.
But judging from the mess waiting for Zaraki at Marineford, the real trouble was nowhere near finished.