Inside the cold prison cell, Ace sat with his head lowered in silence.
Losing to Marshall D. Teach had been a crushing blow, only to be handed over to the Marines as Teach's bargaining chip to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. And Kojin had personally overseen it all.
The news that followed had driven him even deeper into despair: the Marines had known his true identity all along. Worse, they intended to use him as bait to lure the Whitebeard Pirates into a trap.
One blow after another had left him completely lost. Although he and Kojin had reached an understanding not long ago, the massive war looming ahead still seemed impossible to avoid.
'Where do I go from here?'
In the blink of an eye, he had fallen from heaven to hell.
"Kojin."
The silence of the Marine Headquarters prison was broken by a deep voice. Ace didn't look up, he recognized Sengoku's voice immediately. Remaining silent, he listened carefully, curious about what the two men were about to discuss.
"If we use Fire Fist Ace as bait, how high are our chances of defeating Whitebeard?" Sengoku's tone was grave.
Even after making every possible preparation, the Fleet Admiral still couldn't hide his concern. After all, the enemy they faced wasn't an ordinary pirate, it was Edward Newgate, the World's Strongest Man.
"If we're talking about taking down a man of his caliber... there will inevitably be a price to pay," Kojin answered calmly.
"I see..." Sengoku murmured, his voice heavy.
He had expected as much, but there was a world of difference between paying a small price and paying an enormous one. The consequences would be vastly different.
"That said... in the end, victory will belong to the Marines. As we stand today, the Whitebeard Pirates have no chance of winning." Kojin smiled faintly.
Inside the cell, Ace slowly raised his head, his fists tightening. He looked as though he wanted to argue, but in the end, no words came out.
"I believe that as well," Sengoku finally smiled. "After all, you'll be leading this battle yourself."
Understanding the burden weighing on the Fleet Admiral, Kojin glanced once toward Ace's cell before the two men walked away together.
"The World Government has officially approved Marshall D. Teach as the newest member of the Seven Warlords," Sengoku spoke as they walked. "We'll need to notify the three Warlords who weren't present over the next few days."
"You mean... Jinbe, Gecko Moria, and Boa Hancock?" Kojin asked.
When he spoke the last name, a strange expression crossed his face. For just a moment, his thoughts drifted back to Mariejois years ago, a young girl with flawless pale skin and delicate features, the girl who had once declared she was going to marry him.
"That's right. The girl you rescued has become the world-famous Pirate Empress. I bet you never expected that," Sengoku laughed.
"Time changes everything. It turns what was once familiar into something completely different." Kojin shook his head with a sigh, then added, "I'll handle this personally."
After a brief pause, he asked, "When are you planning to announce Ace's capture?"
Sengoku fell silent for a moment before shaking his head. "When the timing is right. Marine elites from all over the world are still arriving. At the very least, we'll wait until our preparations are nearly complete."
The two parted ways in the plaza, and Kojin turned toward Kuma, who had been quietly waiting nearby. Kuma stepped forward until he was standing behind him, his massive frame and silent demeanor making him look every bit like a loyal bodyguard.
"I'll have to trouble you to accompany me on another trip soon," Kojin said with a smile.
Kuma didn't ask any questions; he simply nodded.
There was no rush to notify the Warlord candidates, so Kojin returned to his residence first.
---
On the training grounds, the CP9 team was still pushing themselves through brutal combat drills. Following Kojin's methods, they sparred with full-contact realism, leaving every one of them covered in bruises and open wounds.
Rob Lucci's bandages, wrapped around injuries caused by Conqueror's Haki, were already soaked crimson with blood, yet his expression hadn't changed in the slightest. His opponent, Kaku, wasn't in much better shape; even with his nose visibly broken, he gritted his teeth and kept fighting.
There was no question about it: CP9 possessed extraordinary willpower, enduring the harshest training without complaint.
"Kuma," Kojin suddenly spoke. "Could I ask you to heal them?"
"Of course," Kuma nodded.
The next instant, he disappeared. With a single step, he appeared directly in front of Lucci, blocking Kaku behind him and bringing their fight to an immediate halt.
"Bartholomew Kuma..." Lucci's pupils contracted as he recognized the towering figure. He glanced toward Kojin, who was watching from a distance with his arms folded. "So... are you our next training opponent?"
A hint of confusion appeared in Kuma's eyes as he slowly raised one hand.
"A Warlord..." Lucci grinned, excitement flashing across his face. "Now that's a worthy opponent."
In the next instant, Lucci vanished, reappearing in midair on Kuma's right side to whip his leg around in a powerful kick,
But just as the attack was about to land, Kuma vanished as well.
Before Lucci could react, a massive shadow loomed over him, and a huge paw landed squarely on his back. Lucci's pupils shrank, his whole body jolting in shock.
'So fast! It was almost like teleportation... but it wasn't Soru!'
Then he felt something being pushed out of his body, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Lucci, are you okay?" Kaku called out anxiously. He too had been stunned by Kuma's terrifying speed. In an instant, Kuma had appeared behind Lucci, so fast that the eye couldn't even follow him.
"I'm fine," Lucci said, shaking his head. He clenched his fist, rolled his shoulders, and then blinked in surprise.
Turning to the towering man before him, he asked, "The pain... the exhaustion... they're gone. You did this?"
Kuma nodded. "My Paw-Paw Fruit can repel pain and fatigue from a person's body."
As he spoke, his palm quivered, and a red, paw-shaped bubble slowly emerged. "This is the pain and fatigue that were inside your body."
The bubble rapidly grew until it was nearly half the size of a person. Watching it expand, even Kuma's usually calm eyes showed a trace of surprise and admiration. To endure that much pain and exhaustion and still continue fighting... the man's willpower was extraordinary.
"Admiral Kojin was worried about all of you. He asked me to remove your pain and fatigue," Kuma spoke softly.
Then, with another step, he instantly appeared before Kaku. Before Kaku could even react, Kuma gently pressed a paw against his chest.
"So fast! Can this guy teleport?" The rest of CP9 stared in shock.
Kuma continued moving from person to person, patting each of them once. One red bubble after another floated into the air, gradually merging into a single enormous crimson bubble as large as a house.
Rob Lucci walked over and stared at it. "What happens if someone touches it?"
Kuma answered calmly, "This contains all of your pain and fatigue combined. The instant someone touches it, they'll experience every bit of that suffering at once. For an ordinary person, it would kill them instantly."
He looked at the cold-faced Lucci with growing respect. To endure such overwhelming pain without changing expression... a man with that level of mental strength was destined to become one of the world's greatest fighters.
"So... a normal person would die instantly," Lucci muttered to himself. He turned his head and glanced at Kojin, who was quietly watching from a distance, before a smile slowly spread across his face. "When a person stands between life and death, they can perceive powers they haven't yet awakened more clearly."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lucci thrust both hands straight into the enormous crimson bubble.
Kuma's eyes widened. 'This man really is insane.'
In the next instant,
'Snap! Snap! Snap!'
The white bandages wrapped around Lucci's body burst apart one after another like strings of firecrackers. His eyes instantly turned blood-red, and every muscle in his body trembled violently as an overwhelming wave of agony and exhaustion crashed into him like a tsunami. It swallowed his consciousness in an instant, plunging his mind into darkness.
'Drip.'
A drop of blood hit the ground, echoing through the training field.
"Lucci!!" the rest of CP9 cried out in alarm.
Watching from afar, Kojin narrowed his eyes before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Well done, young man! You've taken the step that you could never reach before! From this moment on, you finally possess the qualifications to stand at the summit!"
Surrounded by unbearable pain and brushing against death itself, Lucci suddenly sensed three strange forces. The first two were familiar: Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
But the third... it had only appeared after he'd willingly plunged his hands into the crimson bubble and embraced that unimaginable pain. It was tiny, vague, and almost impossible to grasp, yet it surged outward, not from his body, but from the depths of his very soul, bursting forth in every direction.
'Have I... broken through my limits?'
Somewhere deep inside, Lucci felt he had crossed a barrier he had never been able to reach before. His body shook violently as the endless pain pounded against him like an unceasing tidal wave, pushing him to the very edge of unconsciousness.
"...This feels..." Lucci clenched his teeth. "...like fighting Straw Hat over a dozen times in a row."
Kuma silently watched from the side. No one understood better than he did how terrifying that pain truly was, suffering intense enough to kill an ordinary person instantly, that would cause even powerful fighters to collapse and scream.
Yet this man simply gritted his teeth, not letting a single cry escape his lips.
"Hey. You still alive?" Kuma asked.
Lucci bared his teeth in a savage grin, looking like a beast crawling out of hell. "I've... never felt better."
(End of Chapter)