The nights in Borudoana were still warm.
Kizaru and Monet looked at Jake, who had already fallen asleep, with faint smiles on their faces.
The fact that someone with a Zoan-type ability and powerful recovery skills could be pushed to this level of exhaustion spoke volumes about Jake's recent workload.
Monet extended her hand, and a chill slowly emanated from her palm, instantly cooling the sweltering surroundings to a comfortable temperature.
Even though she was too tired to speak, Monet still wanted Jake to rest a little better.
Watching this, Kizaru lowered his voice and chuckled.
"Monet you're so considerate. When you and Jake get married, you must invite me to celebrate with you."
Blushing slightly at Kizaru's teasing, Monet didn't refute him.
Instead, she smiled and said.
"If that happens, Borsalino-sensei, you'd better not skimp on the wedding gift. Otherwise, we'll throw you out."
"How terrifying~ You're just as much of a little brat as Jake~"
As they chatted, they watched the crowd gathering near the Ark Maxim in the distance.
Though their smiles were weary, they never faded.
Because everyone knew this operation would save everyone on the entire island.
Even Kizaru and Kuzan, who were usually the laziest, were utterly exhausted now.
Why wasn't Kuzan here?
The reason was simple—Sengoku had assigned him to the New World, his main battlefield.
To ensure Whitebeard's tsunami would perfectly crash before the Celestial Dragons, Aokiji needed to manually create massive glaciers as barriers.
This would guarantee the tsunami's convergence point stayed as close as possible to the Celestial Dragons' location.
It required extensive calculations and measurements, leaving Aokiji so exhausted lately he could barely eat.
If Monet was merely maintaining the ice bridge and providing localized cooling, then Aokiji was traveling all over the world to create glaciers, cooling the planet on a massive scale.
Kizaru once ran into Aokiji during this time, and honestly, he barely recognized the man—unkempt stubble, skin stretched over bones, dark circles under his eyes heavier than a panda's.
Aokiji, meanwhile, took one look at Kizaru—still well-fed, relaxed, and glowing—and said nothing. He just hurled a massive ice storm at him.
Naturally, Kizaru wasn't about to provoke an overworked laborer.
He knew better than anyone how crushing the resentment of overtime could be—so oppressive that not even his Glint-Glint Fruit could pierce through that darkness.
So without hesitation, Kizaru slipped right past Aokiji and vanished.
Garp wasn't much use either, but Sengoku clearly had no intention of letting the old man slack off.
He was assigned directly to a Celestial Dragon's ship as their personal bodyguard.
Though the task disgusted Garp, he understood why Sengoku had sent him.
Aside from the fact that he genuinely had little else to do, there was another crucial reason: Garp was the only one who could actually keep those Celestial Dragons in line.
After all, Garp's infamy for being a reckless idiot was legendary even among the Celestial Dragons.
No one wanted to test his patience—because there was a very real chance he might just punch them, and the World Government wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.
Back in the day, Garp had protected many of their elders among the Celestial Dragons, so most of them still held a grudging respect for him.
That was precisely why Garp had to stay there—because only he could stop the Celestial Dragons from running amok and screwing up the plan.
As for Sakazuki, he was currently stationed at Impel Down, assisting Magellan in processing the death row prisoners slated for transport to Borudoana.
Would anyone notice that Impel Down had suddenly lost so many prisoners? Would the cells feel emptier?
No, no—not at all.
Impel Down had long been overcrowded.
Standard cells meant for eight prisoners now held nearly thirty.
Since the dawn of the Great Pirate Era, the prison had been perpetually bursting at the seams.
If not for the fact that the prison kept a large number of blue gorillas—which were regularly sent out to hunt Sea Kings for extra rations—Impel Down might not even have been able to afford meals anymore.
Shipping out these death row inmates immediately alleviated the prison's population pressure.
Sometimes, Magellan would look at the hordes of criminals threatening to burst the prison's walls and find himself missing that bastard Shiryu of the Rain.
Sure, the guy had slaughtered prisoners indiscriminately, but at least he'd saved the prison a fortune in expenses.
As for the prisoners Sakazuki wanted, Magellan agreed wholeheartedly—so much so that for three days and nights, he barely rested except for essential bathroom breaks.
Even the pudgy, big-headed Vice Warden Hannyabal was sporting dark circles under his eyes, and his once-plump belly had visibly shrunk over those few days.
"Admiral Sakazuki, when did you say the Ark Maxim would arrive?"
Magellan and Sakazuki stood at the entrance of Impel Down, chatting idly as the salty sea breeze blew past them.
"Soon. Jake said it should arrive in about five minutes."
"Rear Admiral Jake? He's truly an extraordinary young man. With someone like him leading the future world, I imagine there'll be far fewer criminals around."
Hearing this, Sakazuki rarely allowed a faint smile to appear.
"In that case, Magellan, you might find yourself out of a job. After all, there wouldn't be any criminals left."
"Hahahaha! If it really comes to that, I'd be overjoyed. I'd use my Doku Doku no Mi abilities to hunt down monsters threatening civilians and become a great monster hunter—that was my childhood dream."
The two men shared a hearty laugh.
...
Meanwhile, Jake, currently piloting the Ark Maxim, looked rather pale.
He swore to himself that after this trip, he'd demand ample vacation time from Sengoku.
This was utterly exhausting.
The massive Ark Maxim came to a stop before Impel Down's gates, where Jake was nearly mistaken for a prisoner by Hannyabal due to his haggard appearance resembling the inmates.
In the end, a red-faced Magellan had to physically drag Hannyabal away by the collar.