Dimon strolled over and hauled the suited agent upright. Even as a Cipher Pol 4 operative, the man had buckled under Kaido's Haoshoku.
Slap. Slap. Two ringing smacks.
The agent blinked awake, saw Dimon's face, and his lips started trembling.
"D d d do not kill me. Boss, I surrender."
"Who is your boss. I ask, you answer."
Dimon smiled pleasantly, almost kindly. "What is this ship's destination."
"Punk Hazard, the World Government's secret research base," the man blurted without hesitation.
It fit the papers. Dimon knew the island, which would one day become the Ice and Fire Isle after two Marine admirals clashed there.
"Change course for Hachinosu Island. You should have one on board," Dimon said. "An Eternal Pose."
"Y yes, of course. We will do it." The agent forced a hopeful smile. "We run missions everywhere, so we carry many pointers."
Unlike a Log Pose, an Eternal Pose fixes on a single island and never resets. It is the one true compass on the Grand Line.
"Good. You just saved your life. Wake a few men and take us to Hachinosu," Dimon said with a satisfied nod.
"Yes, right away."
Grateful for the reprieve, the agent roused several comrades and hurried them toward the helm.
Three days later.
On the Marine ship's deck, Dimon and Kaido arm wrestled. No Haki, only raw tendon and bone.
There was a sharp crack. The box under their elbows gave up and exploded into splinters.
"A tie," Kaido declared.
Dimon grinned. "Who said tie. I won."
"No. The box broke, so it is a draw." He turned to the third judge. "Alber, it is a draw, right."
"Uh, Lord Kaido, Lord Dimon."
Only eight years old, Alber was drenched in sweat, mind racing for an answer that would not get him killed.
Mercifully, the suited agent jogged up and saved him.
"Lord Dimon, Hachinosu is ahead."
Dimon looked to the horizon. Still some distance, yet the Skull Grand Hotel's silhouette already loomed from the island.
The agent ventured a bitter smile. "Ah, Lord, we have fulfilled your request. So we, perhaps, could…"
Dimon had no interest in bullying small fry. He waved a hand. "Once we dock, you are free. However…"
He offered a gentler smile. "You lost an important specimen. The Government will not forgive you. If you return, they will throw you in a cell. Defect."
The man's stomach sank. Escorting a Lunarian child had been a high priority assignment. He could already taste the prison rations. None of this anger could be aimed at Dimon. Fate had simply put the Rocks Pirates in his path.
Calamity from the sky.
While he wrestled with despair, the Marine ship slid into Hachinosu's harbor.
Dockside pirates stiffened at the sight of a World Government ensign gliding toward the pier. Then they remembered where they stood. This was Hachinosu. What was there to fear.
A mob assembled with theatrical menace.
When Dimon and Kaido stepped off the gangplank, the performance ended. The crowd became a purring carpet of kittens.
"Lord Dimon, Lord Kaido, you stole a Marine ship. As expected of the Rocks Pirates."
"Long live Captain Rocks."
Dimon had no time for obsequious pirates. Kaido rolled his neck until it popped. "Drink. Shaki's bar."
"I have never been. Good time to look," Dimon said. The memory of that woman surfaced, and he nodded. "Alber, with us."
"Yes, Lord Dimon."
Eyes wide, the boy drank in the legendary den of rogues as they moved through Hachinosu. Behind them, the docile lambs turned back into wolves.
"Our Storm Pirates are seizing this Marine ship."
"No, it is ours."
"Then fight for it. Winner takes the prize."
Chaos detonated on the pier.
On the deck above, the Government operatives stared. The suited agent barked, "Raise anchor now. Do you want to die."
Shaki's Bar was the island's hottest izakaya, and Shaki herself was called Hachinosu's treasure. A line snaked out the door. Pirates queued quietly and in immaculate order. This bar had one rule. No fighting inside. If you must fight, go a kilometer out and settle it there.
Which made the place a salon for monsters, a room where even titans could talk.
Dimon stopped at the sight. Even in this era of iron suppression, Shaki had the pirates housebroken.
All sycophants.
He was not about to stand in line. At this rate they would not get in before nightfall.
Inside.
Gloriosa sat at the counter with a hand mirror, admiring a face she insisted would outshine all comers in a few years.
"Oh Shaki, Shaki, you may be the favorite now, but give it time."
Shaki tied on an apron, a tray balanced on her palm. The former Kuja captain chuckled at her old captain's vanity.
"I am jealous, though. I went to see the brewer. He did not twitch at my looks. Infuriating."
One Devil Fruit for one cup of the elixir, but getting a fruit was the problem.
Stussy touched a finger to her lips, eyes tipped in thought. "Unbelievable. Perhaps he does not like women."
It was hard to deny that Shaki's charm was invincible in Hachinosu. The pirates here were her loyal fans.
"It is rude to talk behind someone's back," said a voice from the door.
Three heads turned. Shaki's eyes lit when she saw Dimon. Her smile curled at the edge.
"I was not talking behind your back, Dimon. I am Stussy."
Stussy rolled her eyes. "Dimon, Kaido, where have you been for days. Nowhere to be seen."
"Out walking," Dimon said, letting it drift away. He took in the room. Bigger than his own place, every table full, only the counter with space to spare.
He took a stool at the bar, to Stussy's right. Kaido sat to Dimon's right and thumped the counter. "Shaki, a cask of sake."
"Right away."
Shaki was no delicate flower. She was the former Kuja captain, a pirate Garp had chased more than once. She bent to haul a cask from behind the counter, then straightened with a smile for Dimon.
"What will you have. Your first visit is on the house."
"A margarita. Water for him," Dimon said, tipping his chin at Alber. Eight year olds did not drink.
He glanced around. "Just you two today. Where is Rocks."
"They went to Elbaf," Gloriosa sang, then smirked. "By the way, Dimon, you are new so you may not know. Rocks once courted Shaki."
Shaki slid the margarita to Dimon and set a water before Alber. "Here you go, little brother."
"Thank you, sister," Alber said with careful manners.
Dimon knew the rumor, but hearing it out loud still made him ask, "Back then."
"He quit because he could not win her," Stussy teased. "Seems he has set his sights on someone else now. Not sure who."
Shaki leaned on the bar, chin in one hand. "More than that. She may be having a child soon."
"What," Kaido blurted.
Dimon's expression went distant. Three women, one play. Gossip flowed like wine.
So then, was Blackbeard already born.