Leaving aside the Straw Hat crew, who were currently being targeted by a certain bored "God" ten thousand meters in the sky, let us talk about the events occurring ten thousand meters below.
On a Marine warship heavily laden with prisoners...
Smoker suddenly realized that ever since he had resolved to hunt down the Straw Hat crew and left Loguetown for the Grand Line, his luck had become exceptionally poor.
First, relying on intelligence from his old classmate, "Black Cage" Hina, he had tracked them to the desert kingdom of Alabasta. The result? He had been thoroughly taught a lesson by a fellow Logia-user, Sir Crocodile. Had it not been for the "humanitarian aid" provided by the very pirates he was trying to capture, the White Hunter would likely have gone to see the Pirate King in the afterlife by now.
Then, he had encountered this "Little Disaster." Ever since Rear Admiral Alan had begun traveling with them, this smoke-addicted old veteran hadn't been able to touch a single cigar. To him, this was more grueling than any form of torture.
He had finally managed to reach a small town that actually sold cigars, only to find the place destroyed by some damn scoundrel. Meanwhile, his targets, the Straw Hat crew, had once again slipped away right under his nose. He had accomplished absolutely nothing!
"Dammit! Not just Straw Hat, we didn't even catch that masked swordsman. That guy is definitely working with the Straw Hats!"
Recalling the mysterious swordsman whose Devil Fruit ability seemed to counter his own, Smoker slammed his fist onto the ship's railing, his expression terrifyingly grim. "If I ever run into him again, I'll make him pay!"
"It couldn't be helped, Captain Smoker."
Tashigi smoothed her hair, which had been ruffled by the sea breeze, and tried to comfort her superior. "That man's swordsmanship was very strong, and his Devil Fruit ability was incredibly troublesome. Plus, he was just too fast; we couldn't keep up at all."
As she spoke, a trace of regret flashed across the fair face of the blue-haired Marine. She clearly held a bit of a grudge regarding the famous blade "Juexi" in Rovick's possession.
Hearing the words of his airheaded subordinate, the White Hunter let out a long sigh. "Rear Admiral Alan said that the Straw Hats seemingly took the Knock Up Stream to reach Skypiea. Hmph, what a bunch of reckless, pirate fools."
"Eh? Skypiea?" Tashigi wore a look of shock. "Captain Smoker, does Skypiea really exist?"
Smoker was about to answer when, at that moment, a soft, high-pitched young girl's voice suddenly rang out from behind them.
"Skypiea naturally exists."
"Rear Admiral Alan?!" Tashigi cried out in surprise, hastily snapping into a respectful military salute. Though the White Hunter was extremely resentful toward this "eternal loli" who had snatched his cigars, he didn't dare be too insolent. He turned around but did not salute.
"Honestly, while Skypiea is quite mysterious in the eyes of civilians, how can you, as a Marine Chief Petty Officer, be so uninformed?"
The young girl, dressed in a black Gothic Lolita outfit with twin tails, walked up to the two of them and curled her lip. "It seems you really should go to Marine Headquarters for some proper schooling, Tashigi."
"Uh, you're right to scold me..." The Marine woman, whose head was usually filled only with famous swords, lowered her head in shame.
Completely ignoring the resentful glare from the White Hunter, Rear Admiral Alan took out a premium cigar from the Goldglint Trading Company, lit it, and took a long, blissful puff.
A sea breeze blew past, causing her black-and-white mismatched twin tails to flutter in the wind, giving her an ethereal look.
"However, speaking of Skypiea..." Blowing a gentle smoke ring, Rear Admiral Alan looked up at the sky.
The clear sky was cloudless, appearing as if it had been washed clean, a blue so deep it was refreshing to the soul.
"Many years ago, I visited Skypiea. Back then, Roger hadn't even become the Pirate King, but the Grand Line was already in a chaotic era of warring factions."
Alan spoke with an air of seasoned authority. Her amber right eye, the one not covered by an eyepatch, showed a look of reminiscence. Combined with her adorable "loli" appearance, the effect was jarringly inconsistent.
"Eh? You've been to Skypiea before?" Tashigi was stunned for a moment before realizing that this "little girl" was a bona fide "senior veteran" within the Marines.
"Then, can you tell us what Skypiea is like?" the blue-haired Marine asked like a curious child, her eyes sparkling. Although Smoker didn't say a word, he quietly pricked up his ears.
"What it's like? I only remember there being a lot of clouds and many strange shells. I don't remember much else."
Rear Admiral Alan scratched her head, her tone turning impatient. "After all, I wasn't there for sightseeing. That time, I was brought to Skypiea by Sengoku and the others to subjugate the captain of the Flying Pirates—'Golden Lion' Shiki."
"Golden Lion?!" Smoker exclaimed. "The 'Legendary Great Pirate' who once rampaged through Marineford and later escaped from Impel Down?!"
"The owner of the famous blades Oto and Kogarashi?!" The sword-obsessed Marine's focus was, as always, on the weapons.
To this new generation of Marines, the fierce reputation of Shiki the Golden Lion was truly legendary.
"Yeah, that guy. Why are you two reacting so dramatically?"
Tossing the finished cigar butt into the ocean, Rear Admiral Alan's expression turned somewhat peculiar. "Though my strength doesn't match those true monsters due to physical reasons, and I wouldn't have stood a ghost of a chance against Shiki himself... I am the 'Enemy of Nature.' Back then, the Logia-type user under Shiki was quite a handful."
(And at that time, the 'grandfather' of those two siblings was apparently on Shiki's ship...) At this thought, Alan's fair, porcelain-like face shifted into an inscrutable smile.
"Although we failed to capture Shiki during that expedition, that Rumble-Rumble Fruit user fell right then and there."
As she spoke, the twin-tailed Gothic girl patted her small chest and said proudly, "Wasn't it all thanks to me? Otherwise, how could a 'Great Buddha' like Sengoku ever have caught up to lightning?"
It was true that the Marine high command tolerated this "troublemaking" eternal loli for several reasons: first, her background; second, her seniority was simply too high. But the third point was her status as the "Enemy of Nature" and her ability to counter Logia users.
After all, even if Armament Haki could bypass elementalization, highly developed Logia users—like the current three Marine Admirals—weren't easily restrained by Haki alone. The World Government and the Marines had to be wary of that terrifying power, which was comparable to a natural disaster.
"That fellow died on Skypiea, so the reborn Rumble-Rumble Fruit is likely somewhere near that island. I wonder if anyone has eaten it by now."
Rear Admiral Alan hopped up and sat on the ship's railing, muttering to herself. "The Rumble-Rumble Fruit is one of the strongest even among the Logia types! Of course, no matter how strong he is, he still couldn't beat me."
"After all, I am the 'Enemy of Nature'! Hahahaha..." As she spoke, the loli let out a string of bell-like laughter, her small legs swinging back and forth.
"..."
Smoker and Tashigi remained silent. Somehow, they both thought they heard a faint trace of helplessness and sorrow hidden within Rear Admiral Alan's boastful laughter.
After a moment, the Gothic loli stopped laughing and said softly, "Alright, full speed ahead to G-8. Is that Sand Crocodile still being held there?"
"Yes, that should be the case. We haven't received any word of Sir Crocodile being transferred to Enies Lobby or Impel Down." Tashigi thought for a moment and added, "And Colonel Hina hasn't captured the remaining members of Baroque Works yet."
"Hmph, those higher-ups who only know how to give blind orders... aren't they afraid someone will break Crocodile out of jail?" the White Hunter cursed under his breath, his face unchanging.
"I see. Well, forget it." Rear Admiral Alan jumped down from the railing.
"The Straw Hat crew won't be coming down from the sky anytime soon. Let's go exchange this ship full of pirates for some Berries first. Hehe, although these pirates' bounties aren't very high, it's still a decent bit of extra cash!"
With that, the legal loli walked back toward the cabin with cheerful steps, leaving Smoker and Tashigi staring at each other, unsure of what to say.
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