The warships of G-5 Branch had already sailed away from the waters around Punk Hazard for about half an hour.
Under the heavy gazes of his subordinates, Smoker walked calmly through the crowd, cigar between his lips.
"Vice Admiral Smoker?"
"Vice Admiral Smoker!"
"Sir—"
Smoker ignored them all, striding straight into the cabin. Without knocking, he pushed open a door.
Inside was a small room with a single bed.
Tashigi was at the basin, wringing out a white towel, while Hina lay on the bed, eyes closed, fast asleep.
Seeing Smoker enter, Tashigi quickly set the towel aside and stood at attention.
"No need for formalities right now."
Smoker waved her off and dropped into a chair, his usual composure gone, replaced by a visible irritation.
"How is she?"
"The ship's doctor says it's nothing serious. She just needs rest,"
Tashigi replied honestly, glancing uneasily at the cigar in his mouth.
Hina might be a heavy smoker herself—but now, as a patient, she needed clean air.
Smoker noticed her look, paused, and seemed to realize what she meant. He pulled the cigar from his mouth, crushed it into the ashtray, and extinguished it.
Tashigi let out a subtle breath of relief, smiling faintly at Tina before looking back.
Smoker, though, was frowning. Things had not gone at all the way he'd imagined.
After the warship left Punk Hazard's waters, he had immediately started issuing new orders.
He told Tashigi to tend to the unconscious Hina, instructed the G-5 soldiers to look after those giantified children who feared even the sunlight outside—and then he himself went back to Punk Hazard.
After all, Aokiji, Akainu, Vergo, and that useless Spandam were all still on the island.
Once he'd confirmed his subordinates and the children were safe, he intended to return for support.
But before he could even reach the island, he encountered Aokiji.
Aokiji stood on a vast frozen sea.
Noticing Smoker's approach, he raised a hand in warning.
"Don't come any closer. I've been cursed."
He opened his palm—blackened, corroded by something unnatural.
"Since a while ago, I've been trapped in an illusion. Don't approach me. I can't even tell if you're real—or what I might do to you."
Smoker's heart sank. That black mark was identical to the one on Tina's hand.
He immediately told Aokiji what had happened.
Aokiji just smiled faintly, bitterly.
"Seems my case is far worse than hers. Probably because I actually came face-to-face with Davy Jones."
"Admiral Aokiji," Smoker said seriously, "let's return to Punk Hazard together and support Admiral Akainu."
"It's too late."
Aokiji shook his head.
"Not long after I regained my senses, I could no longer feel Sakazuki's presence…"
Could no longer feel Akainu's presence?!
For someone as skilled in Haki as Aokiji, that shouldn't have been possible at this distance.
There was only one explanation left.
Smoker's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You mean—"
"Davy Jones is an opponent even Sakazuki and I, at full strength, might not be able to defeat," Aokiji murmured darkly.
"And after our eight-day duel, Sakazuki was already wounded. His death… is partly my fault."
A heavy silence hung in the frozen air.
"Smoker, who else was left on Punk Hazard?"
"Vergo, Spandam, Nero—those are the missing personnel. Everyone else is confirmed dead."
"Then they're most likely gone too…"
Aokiji pressed his lips together, thinking.
"Smoker—take your people and return to G-5 immediately. Report everything to Marine Headquarters. No one is to approach this place again. That's my final order as an admiral."
"Your final order?"
Smoker caught on that word immediately.
"In this state, I can't return to Headquarters. If I lose myself to this nightmare again and harm my comrades… it'd be unforgivable."
"You're leaving?"
"Yes."
Aokiji turned toward him.
"Tell Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp… I'm sorry."
Smoker was silent for a long while. Then, uncharacteristically, he saluted.
"I hope you can break the curse soon… and come back."
That was their final conversation.
Smoker retraced his steps and returned alone to the warship.
When the G-5 soldiers saw him return by himself, their eyes were full of unspoken questions—but he said nothing, and none dared ask.
He went straight to check on Hina.
Seeing her safe, he finally exhaled.
He'd feared she might fall into the same "hallucinatory curse" Aokiji described—but thankfully, she hadn't.
Since the war at Marineford, Davy Jones' strange powers had only grown stronger.
Aokiji had fallen into madness after a mere encounter.
Hina, who'd never faced him directly, had only suffered a diluted effect.
Still—a time bomb was buried within her. Aokiji's example proved that much.
Smoker knew he had to warn her—and the Headquarters—about what happened, to find a way to lift this "curse."
And that wasn't even the worst of it.
"Davy Jones expanding his territory… Akainu dead… Aokiji gone… Vergo a traitor… human experiments on the island… Spandam's fate unknown…"
All this—news heavy enough to shake the world—he would have to report himself.
He could already picture the coming storm.
Warm sunlight spilled over Thriller Ghost Island.
Crocodile sat with one hand resting on his golden hook, lost deep in thought.
After the battle of Punk Hazard, he had been the first to receive a Den Den Mushi call from Davy Jones—and thus the first on the island to learn that Akainu Sakazuki had been slain by their captain.
He'd sat in silence for a long time afterward.
Killing one of the three Admirals…
He'd imagined it before.
The Four Emperors probably had as well.
But none had succeeded.
And yet—Davy Jones had.
Crocodile had once thought he understood the extent of his captain's strength and powers.
Now, it all seemed blurred again.
The captain had become even more terrifying—and it was precisely that terror that kept Crocodile loyal.
A knock came at the door—tok, tok, tok—breaking his reverie.
"Come in," he said without turning.
Alvida entered, clutching a stack of reports.
"Crocodile-san," she said, hurrying forward.
"I've gathered some disturbing intel from the underworld."
Crocodile took the papers and began reading slowly.
"It's rumored," Alvida continued, "that Charlotte Linlin has hired the Vinsmoke family—that killer clan—to target us."
"A hefty bounty…" Crocodile muttered, eyes unmoved.
"The evil army… the assassin syndicate… Germa 66."
He set the report down on the desk.
"Crocodile-san?" Alvida hesitated. "Shouldn't we prepare defenses?"
"Of course," he said. "Warn Jinbei and Kuro—we'll be screening everyone who comes and goes from the island."
He tapped his golden hook against the desk with a sharp clang, clang.
"The Vinsmokes deliberately leaked this information. It's a smokescreen—to make us panic while they calmly pick their real target."
Alvida nodded in agreement.
"And what about Captain Davy Jones? Should we send reinforcements?"
Crocodile actually laughed.
"Send the report to him, yes… But if they're insane enough to make him their first target—heh."
"Right," Alvida smiled faintly. "If they go after him, they won't be coming back."
Crocodile gave her a sidelong glance.
"You haven't contacted the captain yet today, have you? The matter at Punk Hazard is already settled."
"No, sir," Alvida said. "But since the captain himself took action, whatever was there has surely been annihilated."
"Annihilated indeed," Crocodile said softly.
Then he told her what had transpired—the death of Akainu.
Even Alvida, who revered Davy Jones almost fanatically, was left stunned—frozen where she stood.
"Alvida," Crocodile said, rising from his chair, "things are different now."
He walked to the window, sunlight gleaming off his golden hook.
"I can say it in advance—Captain Davy Jones is already one of the Four Emperors."
A thrill of awe rippled through him as he looked out over the sea.
"We need to change our mindset—to match the new age.
Oh, and how many ships has Fishman Island delivered so far?"
"Four," Alvida answered at last.
"Keep two," Crocodile ordered. "Send the other two—with supplies and personnel—to support Law and Kuro."
The golden hook rang against his palm—clang, clang.
"Fishman Island, Thriller Ghost Island, the Terror Ghost's Island, Black Pearl Island, Thunder God Island, and Punk Hazard—"
He turned, eyes glinting.
"They must all become one. Davy Jones' territory must form a single domain!"