After Liam and Robin arrived at the Red Port on the New World side, there was no need for them to identify themselves. The Marines stationed at the harbor recognized them immediately and quickly reported their arrival to Marine Headquarters on the other side of the Red Line at Marineford. Fleet Admiral Kong issued orders authorizing their passage and dispatched a battleship to escort the two members of the JoJo Pirates.
They ascended the Red Line via the giant lift bubble, crossed over to the Paradise side's Red Port, and transferred to the Marine battleship bound for Headquarters. Listening to the sound of waves crashing against the hull, Robin couldn't help but feel the absurdity of the entire situation. She was actually heading to Marine Headquarters, and she was about to become a Shichibukai. She touched her cheek. Fortunately, Liam hadn't actually used flesh from his butt to make her "Jolyne mask."
As Marineford came into view in the distance, they spotted a familiar red palace ship flying a pirate flag with a snake-haired skull. Both of them smiled, and Robin couldn't help but recall their days on Amazon Lily.
After they disembarked, Admiral Sengoku and several others quickly met them at the harbor. Liam didn't bother playing word games with the famous "Resourceful General" and got straight to the point.
"Being a Shichibukai is fine," Liam said. "But what kind of nonsense is it for a crew member to become a Warlord while the captain gets ignored? If anyone is becoming a Shichibukai, it should be my captain, Jolyne Cujoh."
Akainu stood nearby with a cold expression. Liam particularly enjoyed watching the Vice Admiral's face; the man clearly wanted nothing more than to blast him with a 'Meigō (Hellhound)', yet had to stand there and endure it. Naturally, Liam made a point of looking over at him a few extra times.
"That request can be considered," Sengoku replied, "but we'll need to consult Fleet Admiral Kong first."
Just then, the excited voices of Sandersonia and Marigold called out from behind them: "Giorno! Jolyne!" Liam and Robin turned around.
---
### Marineford - Harbor Town Conference Building
Inside the spacious conference hall of the Harbor Town Conference Building, a long wooden meeting table stretched across the room. At the far end, beneath a wall-mounted plaque bearing the word 'Justice', sat three large chairs. Facing them on the opposite side were seven chairs arranged symmetrically. Liam occupied the center seat, with Hancock on one side and Robin on the other. Sandersonia and Marigold stood behind Hancock's chair, ignoring the four remaining empty seats.
Among the Seven Warlords, only Hancock had bothered showing up for the appointment ceremony; the other five had apparently skipped it entirely. Typical.
The sides of the conference room were packed with reporters, their camera shutters clicking nonstop. Some pleaded with their recording Den Den Mushi to cooperate and capture good footage, mentally promising the snails premium feed afterward. Naturally, the reporters wanted to swarm the three pirates for interviews, but none dared. In a world ruled by pirates, journalism was a profession built on countless bloody lessons. One of the most important was simple: never approach a Great Pirate whose temperament you don't understand. That wasn't looking for a story; that was looking for death.
The people before them were either current Warlords or about to become Warlords, possessing legal authority to plunder. Technically, Warlord privileges only applied against territories outside the World Government's protection, but everyone knew that if a Warlord casually killed a reporter or two, the Marines weren't about to revoke their title over something so minor.
As they continued snapping photos, some reporters secretly stole glances at Hancock. After avoiding direct eye contact and checking their shots, they noticed that in every picture, Hancock had returned to her usual appearance: cold, proud, and expressionless, the aloof Pirate Empress. The shy, blushing girl who had let Giorno rub her hair and pinch her cheeks yesterday seemed as though she had never existed. Had they all imagined it? Maybe their relationship wasn't actually that close after all?
The room wasn't occupied solely by reporters; several Marines were present as well. Smoker and Hina had slipped in under the pretext of maintaining order, quietly observing Giorno, Jolyne Cujoh, and the Pirate Empress from the edge of the room. Unfortunately for them, there wasn't much to observe. The five of them, Liam, Robin, Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold, were simply chatting and catching up.
Liam suddenly turned toward Hancock's younger sisters. "Back when Hancock became a Warlord, there was a newspaper photo of her blowing a kiss," he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Who was that kiss for?"
Sandersonia and Marigold leaned against Hancock's chair and grinned. "Who do you think?"
"Maybe Jolyne?" Liam guessed.
"Correct!"
Marigold burst into laughter, wrapping an arm around Sandersonia's shoulders as both sisters giggled endlessly. Hancock immediately glared at them in embarrassment, while Robin couldn't help laughing too. For a moment, the conference room was filled with cheerful laughter, sending the reporters into another frenzy of frantic shutter clicks. The five of them chatted and laughed as though nobody else existed, paying no attention to the cameras or the Marines' stares. Meanwhile, the three Marine seats at the opposite end of the table remained empty.
Before long, Sengoku and the others returned. Even before entering the room, Sengoku's annoyed voice echoed through the hallway: "Garp, why do you insist on coming along? Sakazuki is already more than enough!" An Admiral and a Vice Admiral were already a sufficient display of respect for a newly appointed Shichibukai; there was no need to bring the Hero of the Marines as well.
"Hahaha!" Garp laughed, pushing open the door. "Because I'm pretty interested in this kid!"
Sengoku followed him inside, and the moment he entered, his eyes fell on Giorno sitting comfortably between the Pirate Empress and Jolyne Cujoh. And they were still claiming Jolyne was the captain? Since when did a crew member sit dead center while the captain sat off to the side? Had anyone ever seen a pirate crew arranged like that?
Akainu snorted. "If you want Jolyne Cujoh to be the Shichibukai, then you should stand where you belong."
"Vice Admiral Akainu, you're absolutely right!" Liam grinned, standing up and stepping behind Robin's chair.
Sengoku immediately barked, "Giorno, watch your wording!"
Liam blinked, looking puzzled. "What's wrong with my wording?"
From the edge of the room, Smoker couldn't help speaking up. "'Akainu' is Vice Admiral Sakazuki's codename!"
"Oh," Liam said. "Isn't that exactly what I called him?"
What an uncultured pirate. Akainu couldn't be bothered arguing about it further. He and Garp took their seats on either side of Admiral Sengoku beneath the large "Justice" plaque.
Garp crossed his legs and laughed loudly. "You've got personality, kid. I'm starting to like you."
"GARP!" Sengoku roared.
"Oh, right. You're pirates." Garp scratched his head and turned to the reporters. "Forget I said that. Don't print it."
"Of course! Of course!" the reporters nodded frantically.
Sengoku swept his gaze across the room, passing over a bored, expressionless Hancock, then over Giorno standing casually behind a chair like the two Kuja sisters, before finally settling on Jolyne Cujoh. In a deep voice, he said: "The Fleet Admiral has approved your request. Now then... let's begin officially."
---
At the edge of the crowd, Headquarters Lieutenant Commander Smoker endured the torture of Hina's cigar smoke while secretly observing Giorno and Jolyne Cujoh. Back then, they had been two rookie pirates he had chased through the streets. Seven or eight years later, they had reached heights he could barely imagine, shaking the New World and crossing paths with the legendary Whitebeard. Now, they were being personally received by an Admiral and two Vice Admirals while the eyes of the entire world were focused on them. Meanwhile, he could only stand in a corner of the conference room and watch. What a cruel difference.
By late afternoon, nearing evening, the reporters finally departed, loaded down with material and happily rushing off to prepare tomorrow's headlines. Sengoku, being an Admiral, didn't have time to babysit a few pirates, even if they were Warlords. Akainu led a group of Marines to escort Warlord Boa Hancock and the newly appointed Jolyne Cujoh away, with Garp tagging along as well.
Garp casually slapped Liam on the shoulder and asked curiously, "Giorno, I heard you've got some kind of ghost ability. The Roger ghost incident back in West Blue, that was your doing, wasn't it?"
"I was just messing around for fun," Liam waved his hand modestly.
'That's not a compliment!' Akainu and several nearby Marines wanted nothing more than to punch him, but they couldn't. After all, he was technically a subordinate of Warlord Jolyne Cujoh, even though everyone knew perfectly well that he was the one truly running the JoJo Pirates.
Suddenly, Hancock stopped walking. To the surprise of the surrounding Marines, she tilted her head toward Liam and Robin and said imperiously, "You two. Come with me."
So their relationship wasn't actually that good? Many of the Marines secretly rejoiced, convinced that the shy, blushing Empress who had let Giorno pinch her cheeks yesterday had merely been a collective hallucination. Several of them quickly erased the memory to preserve the image of Hancock as their proud, untouchable goddess. Akainu, Garp, and the others watched as Giorno and Jolyne followed Hancock and the Kuja warriors back toward their red pirate ship, leaving a few weak-willed Marines looking on with naked envy, wishing they could swap places with Giorno.
---
### The Next Day - Early Morning
Robin slowly opened her eyes. She stared blankly at the ceiling of the castle bedroom for several seconds, and then her cheeks rapidly turned red.
Oh no.
Oh no.
Oh no.
She groaned inwardly, unable to stop herself.
'I actually did something like that...'
As memories of the dream resurfaced, her face grew even hotter. She slowly turned her head, past Liam, who was sleeping in the middle…
And then she caught sight of Hancock lying on the other side...
(End of Chapter)
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