For several moments after Sengoku ended the call, only the wind and the steady slap of waves against the hull disturbed the silence.
Ace stood near the railing with his fists clenched tightly enough that heat shimmered around his fingers.
Teach had not merely escaped Mary Geoise after Zaraki drew Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro away, he had exploited the Government credentials attached to his provisional Warlord status to infiltrate Impel Down, survived Magellan only because Shiryu betrayed the prison and supplied his crew with an antidote, then descended into Level 6 and walked away with some of the worst criminals buried inside Eternal Hell.
Catarina Devon. Avalo Pizarro. Vasco Shot. Sanjuan Wolf.
The man Ace had originally intended to hunt alone was building an entirely different kind of crew now.
Zaraki stared toward the horizon for a while before a faint smile slowly returned to his face.
'That sly old bastard.'
Sengoku had called to warn him, and the concern behind the warning had been genuine, but Zaraki was not foolish enough to miss everything woven underneath it.
The old man had handed him every important piece of information Marine Headquarters possessed on Teach, knowing full well that Ace was standing close enough to hear every word.
He had not issued an order.
He had not asked a wanted former Marine for help.
He had simply dropped the problem in front of Zaraki and trusted the rest to take care of itself.
"That old man's scheme is loud enough to hear from the East Blue," Zaraki muttered. "Wants free labor out of me without actually asking for it."
Ace looked over.
"You're going after Teach?"
"Eventually."
Zaraki's expression grew more serious.
"Not now."
Ace frowned. "What could possibly be more important?"
"Kaido and Linlin invited me to Onigashima in four days, remember?"
Zaraki leaned against the railing and looked toward the New World ahead.
"I just stopped being a Marine, Morgans slapped some ridiculous 'Fifth Emperor' title on my head, and two actual Emperors decided to test whether there's anything behind it. Walking straight into their banquet with only one new crew member and this floating pile of firewood would be stupid even by my standards."
Issho, seated quietly nearby with his cane sword resting across his knees, smiled faintly.
Ace crossed his arms.
"So you're still planning to recruit more people."
"That's the idea."
Zaraki's mouth curved.
"I've already got someone in mind for the next stop."
Ace stared suspiciously at that expression, but Zaraki gave him no explanation. Instead, the humor disappeared from his face as he turned fully toward the younger pirate.
"And you're not chasing Teach alone anymore."
Ace immediately stiffened.
"Zaraki—"
"No."
The single word cut him off without needing to be shouted.
"The man you started chasing left Whitebeard's ship with one Devil Fruit and a handful of followers. The man out there now has Shiryu and several monsters from Eternal Hell standing behind him."
Zaraki's golden eyes narrowed.
"I fought Teach myself. He was already dangerous before Impel Down. Whatever you think you owe Thatch, running straight into that group alone won't settle anything. It'll just give Whitebeard another son to bury."
Ace's jaw tightened.
For several seconds, stubbornness and responsibility fought openly across his face.
Zaraki did not interrupt him.
Eventually, Ace exhaled through his nose.
"I'm going back to Pops."
His voice remained rough.
"I'll tell him everything Sengoku said. Marco too."
Zaraki nodded.
"But Teach is still ours."
"I never said he wasn't."
Ace looked directly at him.
"And you watch yourself too. I don't know whether the Five Elders deliberately intended Teach to become another piece against you, but they were willing to deal with him when it suited them. After everything they pulled at Mary Geoise, I wouldn't put anything past them."
"Yeah, yeah."
Zaraki waved him off.
Ace glared at him for another second before stepping onto the Striker moored alongside the small sailing vessel. He settled himself onto the narrow craft, then fed a burst of flame into its propulsion system.
The Striker surged across the water.
"Don't die before I get another chance to punch you!" Ace shouted back.
Zaraki cupped one hand beside his mouth.
"Try not to get captured by anybody!"
"WHY WOULD YOU EVEN SAY THAT?!"
Ace's furious answer followed him across the sea.
Zaraki laughed until the Striker became a distant speck and finally vanished beyond the horizon.
Only then did he turn toward Issho.
"Well, Uncle Issho."
Issho raised his head slightly.
"You've still got time to regret this."
Zaraki gestured around the tiny boat, which creaked ominously beneath a harmless wave.
"I'm guessing whatever Government job they might eventually have offered you came with a better ship, steady pay, and probably some kind of pension."
Issho chuckled.
"Are you attempting to persuade me to leave after going through the trouble of recruiting me?"
"Just making sure."
Zaraki shrugged.
"I don't like listening to people complain after they choose something themselves."
Issho tapped the end of his cane sword once against the deck before asking, "Then there is one matter I would like to understand properly. Why did you leave the Marines?"
Zaraki gave him a curious look.
Issho continued.
"And why did you kill a Celestial Dragon knowing what the consequences would be?"
Zaraki blinked.
Then laughed.
"You make that sound complicated."
He rested both elbows against the railing.
"Charlos tried to turn Shirahoshi into a slave right in front of me, used thousands of other slaves as disposable bait, and kept screaming about being a god while everybody around him was forced to pretend that was normal."
Zaraki's smile disappeared.
"He pissed me off, so I cut him."
Issho listened without interruption.
"As for the Marines, I'd already submitted my resignation before Fish-Man Island. Being special envoy was useful for a while, but eventually the Government decided my sword belonged to them."
Zaraki looked out across the sea.
"I don't like people deciding where I'm allowed to point it."
His answer contained no speech about replacing the Marines, saving the world, or becoming some new symbol of Justice.
It was simply the truth.
Issho remained quiet for several seconds before a deep laugh escaped him.
"Hahahahaha... how remarkably straightforward."
He turned his face toward the sea.
"I have spent much of my life wandering precisely because banners tend to demand obedience long before they earn respect. The Marines contain many honorable people, but the structure above them has never been one I wished to serve blindly."
His smile faded into something more thoughtful.
"You, at least, have made no attempt to pretend you are something nobler than you are."
"Was that a compliment?"
"In a manner of speaking."
Issho rose and bowed toward him.
"I already made my choice on Hannabal Island, but allow me to state it without ambiguity."
He rested one hand upon his cane sword.
"Issho will sail with you."
No invented Admiral alias.
No elaborate oath.
No crew name that had somehow materialized without anyone choosing it.
Just a man making his decision.
Zaraki stepped closer and placed one hand on his shoulder.
"Good."
His grin returned.
"Welcome aboard."
...
Far away at Marine Headquarters, Sengoku slowly lowered the receiver from his ear.
He remained seated behind his desk for several seconds, staring at nothing while the weight of everything that had happened over the last few days settled heavily across his shoulders.
Zaraki was gone.
Teach had broken into Impel Down.
The Seven Warlords system was collapsing before the Reverie had even formally decided its future.
Marine Headquarters had nearly come to blows with one of the Five Elders inside its own plaza.
And now Zaraki had somehow found Issho before the Government could even formally approach him.
'That brat really doesn't know how to do anything quietly.'
The heavy office doors opened.
Sengoku raised his head.
Director Dapus entered first.
The field director of CP0's Aegis Execution Unit wore an immaculate dark suit, every detail of his appearance carefully controlled.
Two Government officials followed him carrying a sealed case bearing the insignia of the Chamber of Authority.
Garp and Tsuru entered behind them.
Garp was chewing rice crackers.
That normally meant very little.
Today, the way he chewed them made the sound unnaturally loud.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Tsuru looked exhausted.
Sengoku's stomach sank.
Dapus stopped before the desk.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
His voice remained perfectly even.
"I am here under direct instruction from the Chamber of Authority."
Garp swallowed his rice cracker.
"What a damn embarrassment."
Everyone looked toward him.
Garp brushed crumbs from his uniform.
"To deal with one troublesome brat, the Government arranged a trap at the Reverie, threw the Warlords at him, let Cipher Pol turn the Holy Land into a battlefield, and sent an Elder after him when that failed."
His expression hardened.
"And somehow you people still managed to let him walk back into Marineford alive."
Dapus's eyes chilled.
"Vice Admiral Garp."
"What?"
Garp grinned.
"You going to tell me I'm questioning Government judgment?"
His smile became openly hostile.
"I'm not questioning anything."
He leaned forward.
"I'm telling you the whole operation was rotten."
The officials behind Dapus visibly stiffened.
Sengoku rubbed his forehead.
Tsuru said nothing.
Dapus slowly returned his attention to the Fleet Admiral.
"I did not come to debate Mary Geoise."
He placed the sealed case on Sengoku's desk.
"The Chamber has reached a decision concerning Marine Headquarters."
The room became quiet.