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"Okay, okay, I get it. If Fleet Admiral Sengoku blames me, I'll just tell them I pulled you away for a while. As for Grandma Tsuru, she's no monster about these things."
Kujaku said, unbothered.
After all, she was Tsuru's only granddaughter. Tsuru was far too busy doting on her to ever actually blame her for something like this.
Besides, in Kujaku's mind, borrowing Ikki for a short while wasn't any great sin. As long as he reached the plaza in time, nothing else really mattered.
As for Sengoku, he might grumble about it. But as long as Tsuru was willing to speak up on her behalf, he'd swallow whatever complaints he had.
There wasn't much else he could do. Fleet Admiral or not, Sengoku still found himself outmaneuvered by Tsuru more often than not.
Seeing that Ikki had agreed, a smile crossed Kujaku's face, though it faded quickly once she recalled his earlier indifference to her charms.
'What's wrong with him? A beautiful woman invites him so eagerly, and he still doesn't care? I refuse to believe he can hold out much longer.'
Kujaku gritted her teeth and quickened her pace once more. Ikki quickened his own pace to match her momentum, glancing back helplessly at Nami, Nojiko, and the others trailing behind them.
"Everyone, wait here a while. If anyone comes looking for me, just tell them Kujaku dragged me off. I'm sure they'll understand."
Ikki said.
Ikki felt confident enough about Kujaku's standing at Marine Headquarters. Her own position wasn't exactly low to begin with, and Tsuru's stood far higher still.
Given the relationship between Kujaku and Tsuru, the rest of the Marines probably wouldn't say much once they heard Kujaku was the one who'd taken him.
"No problem, Captain Ikki. Enjoy yourself."
Nojiko said, waving them off with a smile.
"Enjoy myself... sure, whatever you say."
Ikki shook his head and said nothing more.
Before long, he and Kujaku had disappeared into a nearby training base.
"Nojiko, are you really so sure Kujaku just took Captain Ikki out for fun? She's got no real reason to hand him a gift like that for free, does she?"
Nami said, looking at Nojiko with a puzzled expression once Ikki was out of sight.
"I was only saying. Does it actually bother you, Nami?"
Nojiko asked with a laugh.
"No... no, it doesn't."
Nami snorted and turned her head away, though her tone said the opposite of her words.
Even Hina, standing off to the side, could tell Nami was bothered by Kujaku sweeping Ikki off like that.
"Honestly, this is such a hassle."
Hina said, lighting a cigarette with some visible frustration.
"If you found it such a hassle, why didn't you stop her earlier? You're a Marine too, aren't you? Don't you want the rest of us to reach the plaza on schedule?"
Nami turned to ask Hina, a little confused.
"Nothing Hina can do about it. That's just how Kujaku is. Besides, they've got plenty of time to spare."
Hina said with a shrug.
Since Ikki had already been delayed once aboard the ship, Hina didn't mind him and Kujaku eating up a bit more time now. As long as they reached the plaza within a reasonable window, there wouldn't be any real trouble.
Even Sengoku would likely just scold Ikki lightly over it and wouldn't hold it against Hina at all. In Hina's eyes, the relationship between the Marines and Ikki ran far too deep for anything else.
Any Marine who wasn't blind could see how close Ikki and Gion had grown. Gion, for her part, was already a serious contender for Admiral, or more precisely, likely the strongest candidate the Marines had.
In terms of raw strength, she already stood at the level of a true Marine Admiral. After this war, she might well be promoted outright, and it wasn't out of the question that she'd eventually make a run at Fleet Admiral herself one day.
If Gion truly rose to Fleet Admiral, then what would Ikki's status as a pirate really matter in the end?
Setting Gion aside, Hina recognized Ikki's value to the Marines in her own right. Plenty of other Marines had gained strength through him, and she herself had grown considerably stronger under his help.
Compared to Ikki's own partners, or someone like Gion who'd shared certain special experiences with him, her own progress wasn't anything remarkable. But set against the rest of the Marine forces, it was clear enough all the same.
Given how valuable Ikki was, the Marines surely wouldn't let him slip into becoming an enemy. Unfortunately, Hina had no idea the World Government had already sent its agents to Marine Headquarters.
After Ikki had helped the Marines deal with the Whitebeard Pirates, those very agents had ordered the Marines to turn on him instead. The World Government preferred keeping Ikki firmly under its own control rather than working alongside him as an equal.
Only that arrangement could let the Five Elders, and Imu looming behind them, rest easy. What Hina could never have guessed was that Ikki already knew all of this, and was even preparing to help Whitebeard fight against the Marines when the time came.
Had she known, her feelings on the matter would have been hopelessly tangled. There was no getting around it. Ikki had made her stronger, and helped her in ways she couldn't easily set aside.
Beyond that, he was the only man who had ever seen her body completely bare, which left her with an inexplicable fondness for him she couldn't quite shake.
She'd sworn to herself long ago that only her husband would ever see her like that, and that anyone else who did would meet a swift end by her own hand, whatever it took.
When it came to Ikki, though, Hina would rather claim him as her man than kill him over it. Even so, she still felt caught in an unresolved tangle about the whole thing.
One thing was certain regardless: even if Ikki never became her man for whatever reason, Hina had no intention of killing him over it.
After all, it had happened entirely by a kind of well-meaning accident in the first place, and she'd genuinely enjoyed training under him besides.
With that thought settled, Hina glanced again toward where Ikki and Kujaku had vanished.
"If even Kujaku's willing to go this far, shouldn't Hina try a little harder too?"
Hina murmured to herself.
Ikki's situation was a bit complicated, but Hina still wanted to give it a shot regardless. She hadn't felt this urgency before, but watching the exchange between Ikki and Kujaku had left her with the sense that he might start putting distance between them going forward.
That was exactly what had sharpened her own feelings toward him so suddenly.
"So, what does Ikki actually plan to do once this war's over?"
Hina asked suddenly, turning to Nami and Nojiko beside her, driven by that strange feeling in her chest.
"Huh? Where's that coming from all of a sudden? And while we're at it, what did you mean earlier about trying harder?"
Nami asked, curious.