Chapter 20: Nami's Struggle and the Golden Lion's Interest!
Marine Base Hospital, Loguetown.
The smell of antiseptic was the first thing Smoker noticed.
He slowly awoke from unconsciousness, gasping as he abruptly sat up. His chest ached fiercely where the fire claw had struck him, a dull throb that reminded him of his defeat. His mind was still slightly hazy, like smoke drifting in the wind.
"I'm... not dead...?"
He subconsciously touched his chest, feeling bandages under his hospital gown.
"Captain Smoker! You're finally awake!"
Tashigi's voice came from nearby, thick with relief.
Smoker turned his head. Tashigi was sitting in a chair next to his bed, her arm in a sling, her glasses cracked. She looked exhausted.
"Tashigi..." Smoker grunted. "Report."
Tashigi adjusted her glasses with her good hand, her tone both relieved and complicated.
"We suffered heavy casualties, Captain. Over three hundred men injured. But... miraculously, no fatalities. It seems we were... spared by that pirate, Suzaku."
Smoker silently bit down hard on the fresh cigar he had somehow already procured. The taste of tobacco calmed his nerves, but not his anger.
"Spared, huh?" he muttered, smoke leaking from his mouth. "Humiliating."
"That guy..." Tashigi struggled to articulate the memory, her face pale. "He intimidated us just with his aura. Hundreds of men collapsed without being touched. Could that have been..."
Smoker turned his head to look out the window, where seagulls were soaring freely across the blue sky. He heavily exhaled a plume of gray smoke.
"Ah, that's right. You were all affected by Haki."
His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper, suppressed resentment and shock visible in his eyes.
"Specifically... Conqueror's Haki."
"Conqueror's...?" Tashigi gasped. "The power of a King?"
"Yeah," Smoker confirmed grimly. "That damn kid... he isn't just strong. He possesses the 'Qualities of a King' found in one in a million. The East Blue is too small for him."
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
BAM!
Fleet Admiral Sengoku slammed his fist down on his desk, cracking the solid oak. The goat in the corner bleated in surprise.
"Not only is he a suspected Mythical Zoan user, but he also possesses Conqueror's Haki?!"
Sengoku roared, waving the urgent report from Loguetown.
"He defeated a Logia user—Fire Fist Ace—in a single blow?! And crushed Captain Smoker?! How could a newcomer monster like this emerge from the East Blue without any prior warning?!"
He angrily crumpled the report into a ball and threw it at the trash can.
"This is outrageous! The balance of the East Blue is shattered!"
"Bwahahaha!"
Garp, standing nearby, laughed heartily and carelessly. He casually snatched two more senbei from Sengoku's private stash.
"I told you I should have gone back to the East Blue, didn't I? It seems my home sea is finally getting interesting again!"
"Those are my senbei! Put them back!" Sengoku glared fiercely at him.
Then, he suddenly remembered something else in the report. His tone grew even more irritated.
"And it's not just him! Another brat has appeared claiming he will surpass the Pirate King—a Logia-Type Flame-Flame Fruit user!"
Sengoku practically ground his teeth as he spoke the name.
"Surpass the Pirate King? Named Ace... Tsk, the newcomers these days are getting more arrogant by the minute! They don't know the terror of the New World!"
Cough! Cough!
Garp, who was currently gorging himself, was suddenly choked by a senbei. He coughed violently, pounding his chest like a drum.
"Cough... wheeze... Ace?! Where did you just say he was?"
Sengoku paused. He narrowed his eyes behind his round glasses, sensing something amiss in his old friend's reaction.
"Loguetown. Why? Do you know him?"
Garp's gaze immediately became shifty. He looked at the ceiling, then at the floor, then at his goat.
"Ahahaha... N-no! No clue! Never heard of him!"
He tried to laugh his way out of it, sweat beading on his forehead.
"It's just that... my grandson also has a friend with that name? What a coincidence, right? Ahahaha! Didn't I tell him ages ago to become a Marine? Kids these days!"
Sengoku snorted coldly. He wasn't buying it for a second.
"Stop laughing! Your lying face is terrible!"
He exposed him mercilessly.
"Your 'grandson' probably became a pirate, and he was just punched into the ground by Suzaku in Loguetown! Reports say Suzaku defeated two Logia users! Your family is a magnet for trouble, Garp!"
"WHAT?!"
Garp's laughter stopped abruptly. His expression instantly fell, turning into that of a terrifying demon.
"He lost?! To a rookie?! That idiot Ace! I trained him better than that!"
Garp turned around, his cape fluttering.
"I need to go teach my disobedient grandson a lesson! And beat up this Suzaku kid while I'm at it!"
WHOOSH.
"Stop right there, you bastard Garp! You have paperwork!"
Sengoku's roar hadn't even finished echoing before the office was empty. Only the curtains of the open window fluttered violently in the wake of Garp's departure.
"He got away again!" Sengoku slammed his fist on the desk, shattering his teacup. "That arbitrary old bastard! I'm docking his pay!"
Somewhere High Above the Clouds. The Floating Islands.
In a palace that defied gravity, clouds flowed beneath the floor like a river.
A pirate wearing a gaudy, colorful shirt ran into the great hall. He clutched a brand new newspaper tightly in his hand, his face flushed with excitement.
"Boss Shiki! Boss Shiki!"
He leaped over a floating rock, landing in front of the throne.
"The East Blue! Something huge has happened in the East Blue! An incredible newcomer has appeared!"
Upon the throne sat a legend. A man with golden hair that touched the floor like a lion's mane, and a steering wheel embedded permanently in his skull. His legs were swords—the famous blades Oto and Kogarashi.
Golden Lion Shiki. The Flying Pirate. The man who rivaled Roger.
Shiki tilted his head, puffing on a cigar.
"The East Blue?" He sneered, his tone lazy yet carrying undeniable authority. "What kind of character could emerge from the weakest of all seas? Don't make such a fuss over small fry. Did someone beat a fish?"
"It's true! Look!"
The subordinate quickly unfolded the newspaper and pointed to the front-page headline.
"Right in Loguetown! That guy defeated two Logia users in one go! 'White Hunter' Smoker of the Marines, and the kid who just ate the Flame-Flame Fruit, 'Fire Fist' Ace!"
"Oh?"
The Golden Lion's previously casual gaze suddenly sharpened.
With a slight flick of his finger, his Devil Fruit power activated. The newspaper floated lightly out of the subordinate's hand and drifted into his own.
On the front page was a close-up photo of a black-haired youth. His eyes were sharp, golden, and arrogant. A hint of an unrestrained smile played on his lips, as if challenging the world.
Next to it was the conspicuous bounty amount: 150,000,000 Berries! (Updated after the Loguetown incident).
"Suzaku... Suzaku Yareon?"
Shiki looked at the excessively young face. A hint of amusement flashed in his single good eye.
"Hmph. They certainly are generous with the bounties for newcomers these days. Inflation, perhaps?"
He quickly scanned the article's content. When he saw the words "possesses Conqueror's Haki", a low, interested laugh rumbled in his throat like thunder.
"Jihahahaha... Conqueror's Haki? In the East Blue? How interesting!"
He suddenly lifted his head. He looked down, piercing through the floor of his floating palace, gazing toward the ocean thousands of meters below. Toward the East Blue.
"It's a waste to let a talent like this play house in the wading pool."
Shiki stood up. His sword-legs clanked on the stone floor.
"Go! Send Dr. Indigo!"
He waved his hand, his voice carrying the ambition of a man who once tried to rule the world.
"Send someone to find that brat named Suzaku! Tell him that the Master of the Flying Pirate Fleet, 'Golden Lion' Shiki, has taken an interest in him! Offer him a place as my right hand!"
His laughter echoed through the spacious hall, wild and free.
"The true stage of this Great Sea should be taught to him by a legend like me! I am the man who will rule this world from the sky! Jihahahaha!"
Above the East Blue. On the Vermilion Wing.
The sky was clear and bright, a perfect azure dome. The sea breeze was gentle, filling the sails.
The ship steadily cut through the surface, leaving two white wakes behind it as it headed toward the Reverse Mountain.
On the main deck, the atmosphere was... domestic.
Suzaku lay comfortably on a large cushion. The back of his head rested snugly on Albedo's thighs, which were soft, elastic, and surprisingly comfortable despite her armor.
Her slender, pale fingers massaged his temples with just the right amount of pressure. Her movements were elegant and focused, her golden eyes filled with devotion as if this massage were the most important mission in the world.
"Is the pressure acceptable, Lord Suzaku?" she purred.
"Perfect," Suzaku sighed, closing his eyes. "You have magic hands, Albedo."
Not far away, near the helm, Nami was extremely busy.
She was struggling to control the rudder with one hand to keep their course steady against the current. With her other hand, she held a paintbrush and a large sheet of paper, attempting to draw a pirate flag based on Suzaku's abstract and constantly changing descriptions.
The paper showed several unrecognizable patterns—some looked like chickens, others like burnt clouds.
"That hateful Suzaku!"
Nami finally couldn't help but complain. She slammed the paintbrush onto the chart table.
"He wants a 'sacred bird,' but then he says 'make it look fierce,' and then 'add some flames,' and then 'make it cute for Rem'! It's impossible!"
She glared at the pair relaxing in the shade.
"It's easy for him to say! He's just lying there enjoying himself on a lap pillow! And I have to steer the ship AND be the artist all by myself! That's too much!"
Hearing Nami's complaints, Suzaku didn't even open his eyes. He just sighed comfortably and shifted on Albedo's lap to find an even better position.
"Nami, ah—" He drew out the sound, his voice full of lazy trust. "Don't be like that. I'm relying on you because you are the best."
He raised a hand and gestured vaguely in the air.
"Think about it, Nami. We are now Great Pirates with a combined bounty of over 200 million. We defeated Arlong. We crushed Smoker. We are legends in the making."
He opened one eye, looking at her with a grin.
"How can we not have a flag that matches our prestige? The Jolly Roger is the soul of the ship!"
"The flag you design," Suzaku continued, his voice taking on a visionary tone, "will one day fly across every sea in the world! It will fly over Marineford! Over Mary Geoise! Everyone who sees this flag will know we have arrived—'Suzaku' and his crew!"
He pointed at her.
"How about that? Doesn't that give you a unique sense of accomplishment? You're not just drawing a picture; you're creating history!"
Nami's initially pouting expression slowly faded.
She looked at the paper. She imagined the scene based on Suzaku's words. A massive fleet... islands bowing to their banner... a flag designed by her own hands flying at the top of the world.
Her eyes gradually lit up. The artist in her woke up.
"Now that you put it that way..." she mumbled, picking up the paintbrush again. A determined smile replaced her frown.
"It really does seem kind of cool! Fine! You win!"
She dipped the brush in red ink.
"Don't worry, Suzaku! Leave it to me! I will absolutely design the coolest, most unique flag that best represents us! It will be a masterpiece!"
Hearing Nami's instantly energetic voice, a successful smile curled on Suzaku's lips.
Hook, line, and sinker.
He rolled over and sat up, stretching grandly. His joints popped. The warm sunlight bathed his body.
"Ah—" he sincerely exclaimed, looking at the endless horizon.
"A day like this... with good weather, a loyal crew, and a future full of chaos... is truly wonderful!"
[System Notification:]
[Detected: Approaching Reverse Mountain.]
[Warning: Grand Line Entry Imminent.]