Even the salt-heavy sea wind seemed quieter after Sengoku's request.
Dragon studied the Fleet Admiral's slightly stooped back for several seconds.
There was a kind of sorrow in the scene that only people standing on opposite sides of the same broken world could understand.
Then he looked toward Zaraki.
"Sengoku has carved his Reigning Justice into his bones."
There was neither praise nor mockery in Dragon's voice.
"You are the first person I know of who has made him lower his head and ask a favor of me."
Dragon's eyes narrowed.
"Zaraki, I admire your refusal to bend, but Mary Geoise is not Loguetown, and it is not some pirate stronghold you can treat casually."
His tone became heavier.
"It is where the so-called gods live."
"The most heavily protected ground in the world."
"Are you certain you want to walk into a noose simply because they summoned you?"
"Don't make me sound like an idiot marching off to die."
Zaraki rose from the rock and dusted off his trousers.
"I've got nothing against your Revolutionary Army. I'm just not joining it."
His gaze shifted toward the horizon.
"As for those old men on top of the Red Line..."
A reckless smile spread across his face.
"I don't like bending."
"If they try putting a collar on me, I'll break it."
His hand settled against Nozarashi.
"And if they try killing me?"
The grin widened.
"Even better."
"I'd like to find out whether their authority is harder than my blade."
It was not blind confidence.
Zaraki knew Mary Geoise contained unknown dangers, but he also knew what he could already do.
Between Future Sight, his physical ability, Nozarashi, the Eight Gates he had actually mastered to a limited degree, and the recovery tools available to him, he believed he could force open an escape route if the situation turned impossible.
That did not mean he expected it to be easy.
Sengoku stared at him.
"If everything falls apart up there, are you confident you can get out?"
"Getting out is only part of the problem."
Zaraki rolled his neck.
"The real problem is what happens afterward."
His tone turned amused.
"Next time we meet, you might have to call me a pirate."
"Or a wanted criminal."
Zaraki laughed.
"So don't get stingy if you end up putting a bounty on me."
One corner of Sengoku's eye twitched.
Then he drew a slow breath and straightened.
"As long as you come back alive, this old body of mine can still hold things together for a while."
His eyes hardened.
"Even the Five Elders cannot pretend consequences don't exist."
"Reason from those people?"
Zaraki laughed again.
"That was almost funny."
He turned toward the shore.
As he passed Garp, his footsteps slowed.
"Old man."
Garp looked at him.
"These rice crackers are damp."
Zaraki gave him an entirely serious look.
"Next time buy the Panda brand."
"Those are crunchier."
Garp's face darkened.
Zaraki walked away before the inevitable explosion.
A fast Marine cutter was already waiting off the island, the same vessel that had brought him from Sabaody. Its engines started as he stepped aboard.
"I'm off."
The cutter pulled away.
Within minutes, it was racing back toward the Red Port route.
"You ungrateful little bastard!"
Garp shook his fist after him.
"THOSE WERE LIMITED-EDITION RICE CRACKERS!"
His roar followed the cutter across the water.
Only when Zaraki's vessel had become a distant speck did Garp lower his arm.
The foolish expression disappeared from his face.
"Garp."
Dragon stood several steps behind him.
"If he really attacks them up there..."
His voice was quiet.
"What will you do?"
Garp did not turn around.
He sat back on the rock, crushed the empty rice-cracker bag in one fist, and stared toward the sea.
"I'm the Hero of the Marines."
His voice was heavy.
Then he added, "But I'm also the old bastard who vouched for that brat."
His fist tightened until the packet disintegrated.
"If those Celestial Dragon lapdogs decide that means I should stand around while they butcher one of my own..."
Garp's eyes hardened.
"...then they can have every damn achievement I've earned in my life."
Dragon said nothing.
For a moment, he saw the man who had once fought the Pirate King to the brink over and over again.
Garp the Fist.
...
Later that day, the royal delegations gathered at Red Port beneath the Red Line.
After Gecko Moria had been secured at Sabaody, Yamakaji and Gion resumed their original escort duty and accompanied the Alabasta party onward.
King Neptune's delegation had arrived from Fish-Man Island as well.
The enormous Bondola slowly climbed toward the summit of the Red Line, carrying the royal parties toward the Holy Land.
At the front stood King Neptune, his orange-red beard stirring in the wind.
Beside him were his three sons—Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, and Manboshi—all visibly tense despite their attempts to maintain royal composure.
Near them floated a specially reinforced transport bubble containing Shirahoshi.
The mermaid princess had drawn herself nervously toward one side of it, her enormous clear eyes filled with uncertainty.
For someone who had spent almost her entire life beneath the sea, the open sky alone was overwhelming.
Mary Geoise was worse.
When the Bondola finally reached the upper port, spotless white roads and palatial buildings spread before them beneath painfully bright sunlight.
"King Neptune."
Yamakaji still had his usual cigar between his teeth, but his mild smile had lost most of its ease.
He moved half a step closer to the royal delegation.
"Stay near the Marine escort from this point forward."
Then he lowered his voice.
"And Princess Shirahoshi should avoid staring at anyone for too long."
Neptune's heart tightened.
"What exactly do you mean?"
Yamakaji's eyes shifted toward the far end of the broad avenue.
"No matter what you see or hear, don't react unless Gion or I tell you to."
His voice became quieter.
"Especially if someone wearing one of those glass bubbles approaches."
Shirahoshi's face went pale.
She understood that description.
Every fish-man did.
Something old and instinctive tightened inside her chest.
Celestial Dragons.