◉◉◉◉◉
Luffy rubbed the massive lump on his head, sniffling like a child.
"If you explained earlier, I wouldn't have gotten hit… so mean…"
Across the room, Chopper was already in full doctor mode, preparing nutrient fluids and hooking Momo now a small girl onto an IV drip.
Thankfully, the Punk Hazard lab was still stocked with medical supplies.
Chopper wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead.
Everyone stared at him.
"What?" he asked, blinking innocently.
"Did something weird happen?"
Robin smiled and rewarded him with a fluffy cotton candy.
"You worked hard, Doctor Chopper."
"Really?!" His eyes sparkled as he happily kicked his hooves in the air, munching on the candy.
Izumi couldn't help but smile at how adorable he was.
Neji watched the scene unfold the chaos he himself had indirectly caused.
He shook his head.
This version of Momonosuke…
Honestly? He didn't deserve sympathy.
Letting him live was more mercy than the brat deserved.
That whole mess with Wano?
Neji had zero interest.
Right now, something far more important awaited him:
Doflamingo, Dressrosa, and step one of dismantling the underworld.
But before that… an old friend had arrived.
Neji glanced at Izumi and Robin.
"I'll be back," he said quietly and vanished.
---
The Man on the Penguin
Near Punk Hazard, a lone figure traveled across the frigid sea.
No bicycle.
No lazy pedaling.
Instead…
A penguin.
A huge penguin, standing upright and swimming like a motorboat.
Its name: Camel.
Perched atop it was Aokiji Kuzan, the former admiral, his long coat trailing behind him as chilled mist followed in his wake.
His left leg, once frozen and shattered by Akainu, was replaced by a smooth, icy prosthetic.
He gazed toward the island that had once been his battlefield.
On his journey, he'd run into Smoker…
But Smoker's condition was strange—dazed, off-balance, memory muddled.
Still, he was alive.
But the direction Smoker had come from worried Kuzan.
So he came to check.
He didn't get far.
Because a figure materialized in midair—calm, poised, suspended above the sea.
A chill swept the ocean instantly. Snow began falling where seconds before there had been none.
Aokiji narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses.
Neji hovered above him.
"Long time no see," Neji said. "Didn't think you'd leave the Marines too."
Kuzan scratched his messy hair lazily.
"The world's big. I figured… might as well go see it."
Neji blinked.
Then laughed.
"Did you actually use my line as your resignation letter?"
Kuzan froze.
Then slowly lowered his hand.
"…I didn't realize it was you. And yeah. I might've… borrowed that line."
He looked Neji up and down.
"You look way better like this, by the way."
Neji's smile twitched.
"What's that supposed to mean?
Was I ugly before?"
Kuzan shrugged.
The air between them softened calm, comfortable, old friends reacquainted.
Neji glanced toward the ocean.
"Come on. It's been forever. Let's drink. There's something I want to ask you."
He snapped his fingers.
Light folded.
In an instant, Kuzan, Camel, and Neji appeared in one of the Punk Hazard rooms.
Camel panicked at first, but Kuzan gently patted him until the penguin calmed down and exhaled a cold puff of steam.
Kuzan surveyed the room, expression unreadable.
The world government had a new problem on its hands.
Another one.
Not that he cared.
He wasn't part of them anymore.
He'd stopped caring the moment he left Marineford.
Neji tossed him a bottle of sake from his inventory.
Kuzan paused mid-air as he caught it.
His fingers tightened around the bottle neck.
"…This is Zephyr-sensei's favorite brand."
He opened it and took a slow drink.
"So," Kuzan said, leaning back against the wall, "you survived. They were so sure you were dead."
Neji drank deeply.
"Oh, I died," he said casually. "But I got back up. And I came back."
His gaze drifted toward Kuzan's leg.
Kuzan didn't flinch.
"Got a little carried away," he said dryly.
Neji snorted.
"A little? Your leg fell off."
He didn't pry further.
Just like Kuzan didn't pry into how Neji had returned.
The truth was written between them respect, history, and unspoken pain.
After Marineford, they had both changed.
Both lost something.
Both gained scars.
---
Smoker and the Weight of Justice
"Smoker," Kuzan said suddenly. "Was that you?"
Neji nodded. "Some things are better if he never knows."
"Agreed."
Smoker meant well but the man was reckless, stubborn, too honest for his own good.
If he knew the full truth, he'd charge at the World Government headfirst and die instantly.
Kuzan knew it.
Neji knew it.
They clinked bottles and drank.
After a long silence, Neji grinned.
"I bet the higher-ups turned green when you quit using that excuse."
A rare smile tugged at Kuzan's lips.
"Maybe."
He took another sip.
"You were right. Stepping away from that position… I can see things more clearly now."
Neji popped open more bottles and tossed one over.
"This world's like that. Change your angle, and you start noticing the rot."
He leaned forward.
"So? Want to help me out?"
Kuzan shook his head gently.
"No. I've got my own path and besides… You hardly need my help anymore."
Neji clicked his tongue.
"What's that supposed to mean? Of course, I need your help."
Kuzan didn't answer. He just drank quietly.
Neji sighed and poured another round.
"…How's Zephyr-sensei?"
That question hit harder than any attack.
Kuzan froze.
His eyes dimmed behind his glasses. He drank for a few seconds before answering.
"…Hard to say."
Neji went still.
"It happened, didn't it?"
The silence was the answer.
Kuzan didn't speak. Neji slammed the bottle onto the table, frustration boiling out.
"Sensei… suffered too much."
Kuzan's jaw tightened.
He remembered.
The shattered ideals.
The students were killed by pirates.
The government is turning a blind eye.
The descent into vengeance.
Zephyr had chosen a path he couldn't turn back from.
Kuzan couldn't stop him.
Could only watch him walk into the darkness.
Neji stared at the table, eyes burning.
"He deserved better."
"Yeah," Kuzan whispered.
Two former Marines.
Two ghosts of their past.
Two men mourning the same teacher.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access Patreon normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!