"Don't you want to improve your strength?" Rodin asked, placing the high heels on the ground. "When you become younger, you can also have greater potential for improvement. This is an order!"
Sakazuki's body stiffened, unable to refuse. Despite her resistance, she slipped her foot into one of the shoes, and her long hair, face, and figure instantly changed, becoming more refined and youthful.
Just then, Baki flew over, laughing uncontrollably. "Hahaha, you've become more beautiful, Sakazuki!"
Dove approached with a smirk. "The dignified Marine Admiral, interested in this? So coquettish."
Sakazuki bristled, her hand erupting in magma, but it immediately dissipated as Rodin's rule—no killing intent among the crew—took hold. Her body went limp, and she fell. Rodin caught her.
"Don't touch me!" she shuddered.
"Your killing intent will naturally return when it's gone," he said, letting her go. He then looked at the new bounty posters.
"Captain, your bounty is 2.5 billion Berry!" Baki announced.
"One and a half billion Berry," Rodin told Dove.
"Two billion," he said to Mihoko.
"Why is mine only 900 million?!" Baki whined.
"Crocodile's is only 50 million," Baki laughed, and the two began to bicker.
"Sakazuki's bounty is 2.1 billion Berry," Rodin said.
The women were stunned. "For the first time?! The threat level is that high?" they all said in unison.
"Our total bounty is over 10 billion!" Baki exclaimed.
Rodin nodded and, after taking his new Physical Strength Pill, began a new round of training. With a 50x increase on his training card, he knew his physical body would be pushed to its limits.
In the Holy Land of Mariejois, the Five Elders were in a solemn meeting.
"The Rodin Pirates, even with three Admirals, could not be taken down?" said one old man, leaning on a cane. "His female crew members are truly strange."
Another, with blond hair and beard, added, "The new one has Sakazuki's abilities. Kizaru says that despite meeting her for the first time, it was as if he already knew her. It's a very worrying ability."
The old man with the long beard spoke gravely. "My concern is that as more powerful people emerge on his ship, the three great powers may collapse, which will directly affect the stability of the World Government."
The others fell silent. "This balance must be maintained," the bald old man holding a sword declared. "Perhaps we can talk to him first. If his ability is truly beyond our comprehension..."
"Ability will have its limits," an old man with a mustache interrupted. "Besides... is it possible that he can find people with the same abilities as the five of us?"
"And a woman, at that," another said, and the four old men broke into rare laughter, their joy echoing through the halls of Mariejois.
After nearly a day of travel, the Rodin Pirates' flying boat arrived at the vast Sabaody Archipelago, a massive collection of seventy-nine islands formed by trees. The crew lowered their ship and removed its transparent camouflage to prepare for a coating, a process necessary for deep-sea diving, as they intended to travel to Fish-Man Island.
On the pier below, civilians and pirates alike were shocked by the sudden appearance of the enormous airship with its "God" logo. "Is that the Rodin Pirates?" a pirate exclaimed. "They claim to be gods on Celestial Dragons' territory!" The news of the crew's recent exploits in Water 7 had made them infamous, and everyone, from old to young, recognized the ship's distinctive look.
As the flying boat descended, everyone on the pier scattered, afraid to even look at the crew members disembarking.
"Hee hee hee hee, Sabaody Archipelago, still the same," Dove chuckled, looking at her surroundings. "In my world, there would've been a human auction here under my command."
"You shouldn't be happy," Sakazuki said coldly.
"Why?" Dove sneered.
"Because it's going to be destroyed soon."
"What does that have to do with me?" Dover said dismissively.
A man dressed as a craftsman ran up, bowing his head. "Excuse me, do you need a coating?"
Rodin, in the lead, nodded. "Leave someone to watch the ship," he said.
Mihoko stepped forward. "I'll do it," she said. Rodin agreed, and then split the rest of the crew into two groups. Baki and Sakazuki would accompany him, while Dove and Crocodile would go shopping for supplies and look for a Devil Fruit.
On a bustling bubble street in the Sabaody Archipelago, Colonel Smoker, a man with two cigars in his mouth, was on patrol. Since his humiliating defeat at Logue Town, he had been determined to get stronger. He was transferred to Sabaody Archipelago to face more powerful pirates and gain experience.
"Colonel Smoker, all the troublesome pirates have been cleared out," a Marine reported.
"Hmm," Smoker replied. Just as he was about to continue his patrol, his eyes widened. "Ta... Tashigi?" he stammered. He saw a familiar figure in the crowd, and his heart raced. The guilt of Tashigi's death had haunted him, but now he was seeing a ghost.
"Wait, I read that right!" he said, and without a second thought, he turned into smoke and shot into the crowd, leaving his confused subordinates behind. He reformed in front of the woman.
"Huh? Who dares to touch this lady so casually?" Crocodile, in her new body, said, turning around.
Smoker froze. The woman in front of him, with her flowing hair, red-rimmed glasses, and open clothes, was not the reserved Tashigi he knew. "Sorry, I've got the wrong person," he mumbled, disappointed.
But just as he was about to turn away, he saw another woman standing next to her—a woman in a pink flamingo cape and peculiar glasses. He instantly recognized her from the bounty posters. "You're... Rodin's gang!" he exclaimed.
Smoker's mind raced. Why was the woman who looked like Tashigi with them? Was she not dead?
He tensed up. "You... do you know who I am?" he asked Crocodile.
"Humph, Smoker from Logue Town? My servant!" she replied, a smirk on her face.