Chapter 109: An Unexpected Encounter with Akainu
So many years have passed in the blink of an eye.
He wondered how Junichi was doing now. The memories were fond.
Shane quickly shook off his thoughts and smiled. "It's the perfect season for cherry blossoms. We can enjoy the flowers, relax, and then head over to the north island for a full day of fun!"
The crew cheered.
"Yeah!"
"I want to ride the Ferris wheel! Who's coming with me?"
"That's so boring! Let's do the roller coaster and the pirate ship instead!"
Amidst the cheerful chatter, The Curtain Call slowly sailed into the port.
...…
Meanwhile, on the north island of Thor Island.
The once-bustling main street was now dead silent, the only sound the heavy tread of military boots on the stone pavement.
Squads of Marine soldiers were kicking down the doors of casinos and taverns, dragging terrified tourists into the street and comparing their faces to wanted posters.
"Report! No sign of the target in the casino district!"
"The theater has been cleared! All civilians!"
"The amusement park has also been checked! We only caught two small-fry with bounties of a few million on the Ferris wheel!"
One disappointing report after another was delivered to the fountain square in the center of the street.
In front of the fountain statue, Akainu paced back and forth, his face grim. The marble ground beneath his feet was already starting to crack; his anger was becoming harder and harder to contain.
Behind him, six people were handcuffed on the ground, all of them crying their eyes out. Beside them, a one-meter-tall sled dog was also whimpering pitifully.
"We were wrong! We really know we were wrong!"
"We shouldn't have impersonated those vicious pirates and scammed people for food and drinks!"
"Sir, please forgive us this one time!"
The Marine soldiers guarding them looked at each other, their expressions strange.
This group was a professional-level cosplay troupe. They had almost perfectly replicated the appearance of the Curtain Call Adventurers.
Three men and three women. The black-haired man in the lead had a longsword on his back, and the white-haired man beside him had a band of cigars on his arm.
And the one disguised as an old cook even had a steel prosthesis on his right leg…
If they hadn't started trembling in fear and immediately kneeled and begged for mercy the moment they saw the Marines, they might have actually been convincing.
In fact, they had been.
The Marine intelligence team stationed here had been completely fooled.
They had been under surveillance for several days, and no one had noticed anything amiss. If not for that…
"I wouldn't have rushed all the way here at full speed from thousands of miles away."
Akainu finally turned and swept his cold gaze over the group. "Although you're not the targets, according to your records, you are habitual criminals, known for fraud, robbery, and extortion."
"Of course, those are minor offenses. A few years in prison would have been enough. But this time, you had to go and impersonate them, and you've wasted so much of my time."
Akainu slowly raised his right hand, and his arm began to turn to magma. The intense heat distorted the air. "For such a heinous act, there is no forgiveness."
Seeing this, the surrounding Marine soldiers quickly backed away.
The handcuffed group huddled together, screaming and crying.
"N-No!"
"Help!"
"We'll never do it again!"
Akainu ignored them, his face impassive as he raised his arm. "Great Eruption!"
BOOM!
A torrent of scorching magma surged forward, instantly engulfing the six people and the dog.
The piercing screams lasted for only a moment before they were abruptly cut off.
When the steam cleared, there was barely a trace of human form left. In the bubbling magma, only a blackened, blurry mark remained.
So this is Admiral Sakazuki's style? So ruthless…
The surrounding Marine soldiers couldn't help but shiver.
Thump, thump, thump.
Footsteps sounded from behind. Akainu turned to see the two Vice Admirals he had specially brought from Headquarters for this mission.
"Mr. Sakazuki," the Vice Admiral in the lead said, a cigar between his teeth. "The entire town has been searched. We can now confirm with one hundred percent certainty that this was all a ridiculous farce caused by this group of audacious fools, who were using the name of the Curtain Call Pirates to get free food and lodging."
"The real Tachi Swordsman, Shane, and his crew have never set foot on this island!"
His name was Dalmatian, and he had been a Vice Admiral at Headquarters for many years. He was one of the most experienced and powerful, a user of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Dalmatian, and he was almost always in his half-man, half-beast form.
"Indeed. But it wasn't a complete waste. We accidentally caught a dozen or so pirates with bounties on their heads, so it wasn't a total loss," the other, a tall female Vice Admiral, said with a grin, licking her lips.
Her name was Broumaya. She had formerly been the Deputy Commander of the G-2 branch and had just been promoted to Vice Admiral two months ago.
Not a total loss?
Akainu sneered. Catching such insignificant small-fry, no matter how many, could hardly be called a gain!
What was the point? Was it supposed to be a fig leaf to cover up the embarrassing fact that his mission had been a complete failure?
A Marine Admiral, leading a fleet of four large Headquarters warships and over five thousand elite soldiers, had come all this way with great fanfare, only to find nothing?
It was a huge embarrassment. And to make matters worse, he had made such bold claims before he left…
He could already imagine the reactions of Kuzan and Borsalino when they saw him again.
"Send a team to take those fools who spread the false intelligence to the military tribunal on Enies Lobby for a harsh trial," Akainu said, forcibly suppressing his anger. "As for the rest of the soldiers, you can organize the withdrawal. Take the bounty heads and prepare to return to Headquarters."
"Yes, sir!"
The two Vice Admirals saluted and left.
With the order given, the entire north island became a hive of activity. The well-trained Marine soldiers began to withdraw from the town, escorting the captured pirates.
The process would take at least half an hour.
Akainu had no desire to wait on the ship. He went to the south shore alone.
He planned to take a walk along the coast, enjoy the sea breeze, and let the beautiful sea of cherry blossoms on the south island calm his nerves.
The south island was a sparsely populated countryside. He had scanned it with his Observation Haki when he first arrived on Thor Island and had only detected local farmers at work, no suspicious auras.
And now, it should be no different… Hmm?
Akainu's pupils suddenly constricted.
Just a moment ago, he had subconsciously sent out a wave of his Observation Haki and had felt many unfamiliar auras. One of them, the strongest, was getting closer, and closer…
It was right here!
He spun around.
…
"Are you there yet? I'm already at the bridge."
Shane said into the Transponder Snail, walking at a leisurely pace.
"Hehe, not yet, Big Bro," Nami's cheerful voice came from the other end. "We're going to gather some more petals so Uncle Zeff can make cherry blossom cakes. It'll probably be another ten minutes or so. You'll just have to wait a little longer!"
"Fine," Shane sighed. "I'll wait for you at the bridge. We'll all go to the north island together when you get here."
"Okay!"
Just as he was about to hang up, a sharp sense of danger shot up his spine. He frowned and instinctively looked up.
A tall figure in a dark red suit stood on the opposite bank, a white "Justice" coat flapping in the wind behind him.
The two of them stood on opposite ends of the short, natural stone bridge, staring at each other.
Time, in that moment, seemed to stand still.
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