Under the crushing resolve and mighty fists of Iron Fist Garp, Aokiji Kuzan and Bogard carried the Vice Admiral's hopes as they left the warship, retreating aboard a small boat.
Garp had volunteered to stay behind, of course—his plan was to draw the enemy's strongest fighters toward him.
"I won't die. That guy Souta Kiryuu and Dragon are allies!"
Those words, along with Garp's infamous "Fist of Love," finally convinced Aokiji to obey his orders. Frustrated and unwilling, he left.
Behind Garp stood several ice statues—each one a high-ranking Marine officer, frozen solid.
Aokiji and Bogard both wore standard Marine uniforms as they slipped away, a disguise meant to keep any members of Kiryuu's crew with special abilities from sensing their movements.
What they didn't know was that Kiryuu's crew's "Gaze-Gaze Fruit" user was still stationed at G-1 Headquarters and hadn't come to this battlefield at all.
Shortly after leaving the warship, Aokiji managed to make contact with the perpetually late Green Bull, Aramaki. Their new mission: to escort the Marines of G-9 Fortress and the nobles of the Kingdom of Adams back to the Grand Line as quickly as possible.
"Boss Kami! We've caught up to that warship!"
Eneru's eyes gleamed with battle lust. With the sheer power of this flying warship, taking down Aokiji Kuzan and Iron Fist Garp would be child's play.
Barrett stood at the bow, itching for a rematch against Aokiji.
This battle didn't even require Souta Kiryuu, Kaido, Big Mom, or the Red Earl to lift a finger. Kiryuu's elite alone were more than enough to crush what remained of the Marine forces.
"Then let's finish them," Kiryuu said, rising to his feet. "We'll weaken the World Government and Marine Headquarters once again."
His interest in Aokiji was personal. Even though Isaac, the Sea Phantom, had already been captured, a Logia-type ice ability was far too valuable to ignore. Kiryuu had no intention of letting Kaido or Big Mom get their hands on it.
"I can sense Garp's presence," Eneru said, narrowing his eyes. "But something's off about Aokiji."
With the widest range of Observation Haki among them, Eneru quickly detected that something strange was happening aboard that warship.
"Ma ma ma ma! Why don't you let me have Garp?"
Big Mom wiped a line of drool from her lips, still harboring an old obsession with the Marine hero.
She had once fantasized about bearing a powerful child with the man who helped defeat Rocks.
In truth, Garp wasn't the only man she'd dreamed about—Rocks, Whitebeard, Roger, and Shiki had all been part of her delusions at one point.
Too bad none of those "stupid men" had ever taken her seriously. Not one of them had been interested in the beautiful woman practically throwing herself at them. It infuriated her.
What was so wrong with having a few more husbands and children? These idiots cared far too much about silly social taboos.
By the time Kaido joined the Rocks Pirates at fifteen, Big Mom had already birthed ten sons and seven daughters.
During the God Valley Incident, when Kaido was twenty-one, she had nineteen sons and twelve daughters.
She'd even had her eye on the young Oni warrior's potential and had gifted him the Mythical Zoan Azure Dragon Fruit, treating him as a "prospective husband."
But right after Kaido made a name for himself as the Azure Dragon, the World Government captured him for experiments. Big Mom never got her chance to produce a child with him.
When Kaido eventually escaped and built his own Beast Pirates, growing in power, he completely ignored her.
That "fruit-gifting favor" still lingered between them, though Big Mom had twisted it in her mind into "sisterly affection," claiming it gave her the right to demand Kaido's help whenever she pleased.
"You want Garp?"
Kiryuu raised an eyebrow at her, stunned. Was Big Mom, after six years of inactivity, really thinking about a twilight romance at sixty-six—with seventy-six-year-old Garp?
Was she planning to give Dragon a little brother? Maybe make Luffy an uncle?
The thought made Kiryuu swallow hard, offering a moment of silent pity for Dragon.
"If you and the Revolutionary Army are allies," Big Mom said after a pause, "I'll release Garp after a year. Consider it… a temporary arrangement."
She shrugged, as if she hadn't already lost count of how many husbands she'd gone through. She was used to discarding them once the children were born.
She still remembered when Doflamingo took over Dressrosa—he'd even presented her with a few dwarves as tribute. Now, her dwarf daughter, Charlotte Normande, was already eight years old.
"..."
Kiryuu said nothing, but the silence was deafening.
Kaido froze mid-drink, shifting away from Big Mom with visible discomfort. Thank the heavens the World Government had captured him all those years ago.
If he hadn't been locked up back then, his naive younger self might've tried to "repay" Big Mom's generosity—and the world would have one more of her children calling him "Dad."
"I can lower the dowry," Big Mom declared, slamming her hand on the table. "But Garp is mine. I won't take no for an answer!"
Kaido just grunted, staying out of it. If Big Mom wanted Garp, fine—let the old Marine hero handle her himself.
"In principle, I've got no objection," Kiryuu said with a crooked smile. "But if Dragon comes after you for it, that's your problem."
He almost laughed. "Sorry, Dragon," he thought to himself. "Your father's about to become my bargaining chip."
Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. It would expand the lineage of the D clan, and if the child inherited Garp's steel body and twofold Conqueror's Haki potential…
Then the next generation's destined hero might well be the offspring of the Monkey D and Charlotte bloodlines.
"Boss Kami, something's wrong!" Eneru's voice snapped Kiryuu from his thoughts. "Aokiji Kuzan's gone!"
Through his electromagnetic Observation Haki, he saw it clearly—the Aokiji aboard that warship wasn't real at all. It was just an ice sculpture.
"What?!"
Kiryuu's eyes narrowed. He immediately understood what had happened. Aokiji had escaped, and Garp had stayed behind to cover his retreat, drawing their attention.
"What a man of resolve."
Kiryuu exhaled through his nose, though his thoughts turned darkly amused. You helped Aokiji get away, Garp? Then don't blame me for sending you to Big Mom's bridal suite. You won't die a hero—you'll live in regret.
"The hell? Just Garp?" Kaido growled, disappointed. "Then who am I supposed to fight?"
The Beasts' captain, who lived for battle, was clearly unhappy. Big Mom wanted Garp, and now even Kiryuu's crew were eager to test themselves against him. Kaido had no one left to punch.
"Forget it," Kiryuu said. "Garp's yours. We'll take our fleet to hunt down the Adams Kingdom convoy and G-9 Fortress. Maybe we'll find Aokiji there."
As the flying warship drew near, it became clear—the vessel held only Garp and a handful of Marines.
Kiryuu waved them off. "He's not a Devil Fruit user. He's not worth our time. Let Big Mom and Kaido deal with him."
The fleet shifted course toward their next prey. Rumor had it that Green Bull Aramaki was stationed at G-9 Fortress. Whether he was still there… was another matter entirely.