Cobra stepped up to the loudspeaker, addressing the entire nation as he recounted everything that had happened.
In a corner, a line of Marines stood in perfect formation, standing out sharply against the chaotic crowd.
In front of the Marines knelt more than a dozen Baroque Works agents, all already captured.
Next to them, Hina—wrapped in her Marine coat—was reporting something into the Den Den Mushi in her hand.
Just then, a flicker of electricity shot through the crowd.
Zzzzt…
Leno materialized. Hina shot him a glance but said nothing, still listening to the call.
But the Marines behind her erupted. The moment they recognized Leno, their eyes went wide with fear. None of them understood why this man was here.
"Th–Thunder God?!"
They instantly raised their weapons toward him, as if that alone could give them a moment of safety.
Hearing the commotion behind her, Hina waved a hand dismissively for them to calm down, then rolled her eyes at Leno.
"That's the situation, Your Excellency."
"Yes, Crocodile is confirmed dead…"
"Hina understands. I will complete the mission."
She lowered the Den Den Mushi and stared at Leno in confusion. Weren't they supposed to talk after everything was handled?
"What are you here for now?"
"I'm giving you something. And… I kinda missed you."
The moment he saw her bright red lips, he couldn't help himself. If there weren't so many people around, he would've kissed her already.
Seeing Hina's face redden in anger, he quickly waved his hand and dropped Crocodile's corpse onto the ground.
The crowd gasped as soon as they recognized it.
"That's… Crocodile?"
"He's actually dead?!"
"The king said he was the real culprit—was that true?"
In no time, a huge crowd gathered, murmuring in shock.
Seeing the crowd grow larger, Leno was about to leave—then suddenly froze.
"Hm?"
"What is it? You still have something to do?"
Seeing his strange reaction, Hina approached him curiously.
"Oh, nothing."
"Right—after everything's handled, come to the royal palace."
He only had time to say that before he vanished in a flash of lightning.
It seemed he had accidentally discovered something incredible and needed to confirm it immediately.
Back at his residence, Leno hurriedly opened his backpack (inventory)—and sure enough, inside was a round cactus-like fruit patterned with swirls.
"This is… the Sand-Sand Fruit? How…"
He retraced everything he'd done: he killed Crocodile, stored the body in his spatial backpack… and nothing more.
Right—there were other foods and fruits stored in the backpack, but they were all kept separately, with no interaction.
Could his crazy idea actually be correct? Kill a Devil Fruit user inside a sealed space filled with fruits, and the Devil Fruit ability would randomly attach to one of them?
If that were true, then a spatial backpack absolutely met all the conditions.
If this method could be repeated… then Devil Fruits would never be in short supply. Wouldn't this be like cheating the system?
Realizing this, Leno's heartbeat went wild.
He had no idea how much time passed before the outside noise finally died down.
The sky began to rain. To avoid misunderstandings, Hina stood out and explained the reason—so the citizens wouldn't think the king had used "Dance Powder" again, the same substance that caused the chaos a year ago.
With the Marines backing up the claims, Crocodile's crimes were finally accepted as fact by the people.
While everyone cheered the long-lost rainfall, Hina accompanied King Cobra back to the palace.
But the moment she stepped into the great hall, a figure shot toward her with lightning speed.
Nami stared at the stunning Marine in front of her, eyes full of curiosity.
"So you're the 'Ms. Hina' that big idiot keeps talking about? No wonder he fell for you."
Before Hina could respond, several other girls rushed over and immediately surrounded her.
Being suddenly circled by so many beautiful women—each one a top-tier beauty—Hina froze on the spot.
She recognized them vaguely… weren't these all members of Leno's adventuring crew?
Why were they surrounding her? Could it be… they found out about her and Leno?
She quickly scanned the hall, searching frantically—until she found Leno watching helplessly from afar. Only then did her heart settle a little.
Her face burned bright red, and she suddenly felt guilty and shy. She had no idea how to face these girls.
And that bastard wasn't even coming over to help her!
But what she didn't know was that Leno was helpless too. All the girls had unanimously decided to "personally evaluate" this Marine beauty.
As captain, he currently had zero authority. If he dared to intervene, the consequences would be severe.
Sensing Hina's discomfort, Nojiko gently stepped forward, taking her hand reassuringly.
"Ms. Hina, don't worry. We're not here for anything bad. We just want to get to know you."
She gently guided the shy Marine officer to a seat before continuing:
"Leno told us everything about you two. We just want to know what you think."
Hina felt like this was harder than being surrounded by pirates. And technically, she was surrounded right now.
She was completely unprepared for her relationship with Leno to be exposed like this, and faced with so many "Ladies," she didn't know what to do.
She looked toward Leno with pleading eyes, hoping he'd help her.
Leno didn't disappoint. Smiling softly, he told her:
"Relax. Just say what you want to say. We're all family now."
Robin and the others glared at him immediately. This bastard…!
Hina took a breath and answered firmly:
"Hina still wants to remain in the Marines and uphold the justice in her heart."