On the island's desolate shore, Aramaki dragged himself out of the crashing waves, looking utterly disheveled. His nose was broken, and a mix of blood and seawater streamed down his face, giving him a grotesque appearance.
Still, the fact that he had taken a direct punch from Ortoren and managed to crawl back from the sea was proof enough that, even without a Devil Fruit, his strength was nothing to scoff at.
"Damn bastard… I told you I'm not a pirate…" Aramaki cursed under his breath as he struggled to his feet on the sand.
Then, a distant peal of thunder caught his attention. He turned quickly toward the source of the sound and saw Ortoren's wild figure descending from the sky, while atop the wreckage of a shattered ship stood Kozuki Oden—like a warrior determined to draw his sword even as the world crumbled around him.
In the blink of an eye, Oden's figure was swallowed by Ortoren's overwhelming presence. From this distance, Aramaki couldn't make out the details, but what followed left him speechless.
The sea itself split open, forming a gaping abyss that reached all the way to the ocean floor. Both Kozuki Oden and Ortoren vanished into the depths of that chasm.
"He… punched through the ocean?" Aramaki swallowed hard, stunned.
Instinctively, he touched his broken nose and suddenly realized—Ortoren hadn't even been serious with him. That punch had been restrained.
He had been planning to confront Ortoren and demand an explanation, but that thought evaporated immediately.
"One after another… they're all monsters. Yeah, no thanks. Guess the Mori Mori no Mi and I just aren't meant to be."
Coming to his senses, Aramaki turned away and began walking toward the island's interior. But as he went, his thoughts kept racing.
"Are the Marines really this strong? Should I… join them? With their power behind me—and my own—I could really become someone above the rest…"
He had never once considered joining the Marines. He believed he could live just fine on his own. Maybe he couldn't compare to monsters like Ortoren, but in the New World, there weren't many who could push him around.
But today, that single punch from Ortoren seemed to have awakened something in him—a growing urge to join the Navy.
"To stand against a monster like that is terrifying… but to have one as an ally—that's reassuring. And the Marines have plenty more monsters like him… After all, the Navy is the strongest power on these seas. If I joined them, climbed the ranks, maybe even reached Mary Geoise… who knows? If I played my cards right, I could even become a real Noble someday."
The thought alone made Aramaki's heart race.
...
Ortoren, however, couldn't have cared less about Aramaki. He had no intention of paying him any mind.
Now, deep beneath the sea, Ortoren stood upon the seabed, staring at Kozuki Oden—half-buried in the sand and stone from the force of his strike.
More precisely, only Oden's legs were visible. The rest of his body was almost completely buried beneath the seabed.
"Is it over?" Ortoren didn't bother to strike again. He simply stood there, asking the question calmly.
As if in response, Kozuki Oden's legs twitched weakly, as though struggling to free himself from the crushing weight of the sand. But after a few feeble attempts, they fell still, his strength finally gone.
Seeing this, Ortoren sighed softly. "So, the dance ends here after all… What a disappointment. I really thought I'd found a true beast."
He glanced around. The seawater that had been blasted away was already rushing back. Staying any longer meant being swallowed by it.
As a Devil Fruit user, Ortoren had no intention of experiencing that helpless feeling firsthand.
He took two steps forward, grabbed Kozuki Oden's ankle, and yanked him out of the sand and gravel as easily as pulling a leek from the ground.
Only then did Ortoren finally see the man's condition clearly. The left arm Oden had used to block his attack was now bent at an unnatural angle, jagged bone piercing through torn flesh and exposed to the open air—a clean fracture.
His chest had partially caved in, several ribs likely broken. Two dark streams of blood ran from his nostrils. His eyes had rolled back; he was completely unconscious.
The truth was that naval combat had severely limited Kozuki Oden's strength. The confined space of the wreckage had restricted his movements. If he had faced Ortoren's Elbow Bolt on solid ground—on an island or open land—he would have had enough room to maneuver and wouldn't have been forced to take the attack head-on.
Had that been the case, the battle's outcome might have shifted. Perhaps he could have struggled on a bit longer, giving Ortoren a more thrilling fight.
But unfortunately, on the narrow remains of the ship, he had no space to evade. He was forced to meet Ortoren's strike directly.
At that moment, Oden had likely intended to bet everything on a single exchange—meeting Ortoren head-on. Since Ortoren had made no effort to defend or dodge, charging straight in, Oden must have believed that if he could endure Ortoren's full-force Jūryūbaku, his own Enma would, in turn, inflict a devastating wound.
Perhaps the tide of the battle might have tilted in his favor.
But such hopes were only wishful thinking.
In this vast sea, there were a few who could endure Ortoren's all-out attack head-on—but Kozuki Oden was not one of them.
Gripping Oden firmly, Ortoren lifted off from the seabed, soaring upward and out of the deep crater in the ocean's surface. He landed effortlessly on the Whitebeard Pirates' flagship.
The deck was littered with fallen crewmates, victims of the earlier clash of Conqueror's Haki. A massive hole gaped in the planks where Jozu had been smashed through moments before. Now there was only silence—perhaps he had fallen into the sea?
But Ortoren had little interest in Jozu. With a casual motion, he tossed Kozuki Oden's limp body onto the deck.
Looking around, he found himself at a bit of a loss.
Before the fight, it had been driven purely by interest. But now that it was over... how exactly was he supposed to end it?
Leaving them alone—wouldn't that go against Marine justice? After all, no matter how you look at it, they're still pirates, aren't they?
"But if I take them to work in the mines... tch, Admiral Sengoku has repeatedly warned me not to mess with the Whitebeard Pirates. If I drag their Second Division Captain and Third Division Captain off to dig mines—or worse, send them to Impel Down... with Whitebeard's personality, he'd never let that slide. At his current peak, he might actually sink Marineford to the bottom of the sea..."
Ortoren rubbed his chin, looking slightly troubled. Thinking it over, still uncertain, he pulled a Den Den Mushi from his pocket and dialed. Moments later, the call connected. Admiral Sengoku's warm, composed voice came through, carrying a trace of humor.
"Ortoren? I heard you're vacationing with Gion. Relaxing, are we?"
"Ahem... Admiral, funny thing—I accidentally took down Kozuki Oden and Jozu from the Whitebeard Pirates. How should I handle this? Should I send them to headquarters?" Ortoren asked, sounding a bit embarrassed.
The other end of the line went silent. Sengoku's laughter faded, replaced by a heavy pause.
Sensing the tension, Ortoren quickly added, "Oh, right, there's also Bloodhand Lion Reingal... He should be fine, right?"
Before he could even finish, Sengoku's furious voice exploded through the receiver.
"You idiot! How many times have I told you—if the Whitebeard Pirates don't provoke us, don't provoke them! You didn't take a single word to heart, did you?"
"No, Admiral, listen! I just wanted to snag some of their loot, that's all. Everyone says the Whitebeard Pirates' Second Division Captain is incredibly strong, so I thought I'd test him a bit—trade a few blows and then call it even. No harm done, right? But once things got heated, I couldn't pull my punches... accidentally knocked him out cold. The other one... I think I hit him into the sea. Wait—don't tell me he drowned? He's been under for ages…"
Suddenly realizing what that might mean, Ortoren hurried over to an unconscious pirate underling, crouched down, and slapped him hard across the face several times.
When the pirate groggily came to, Ortoren barked, "You can swim, right? Get in the water and check! Your Captain Jozu's probably drunk half the ocean by now—any more and he's done for. Go fish him out!"
The pirate blinked in confusion, unsure what was happening. But the moment he heard Jozu's name, he dove straight into the sea to rescue him.
Before Ortoren could say another word to Sengoku, a violent surge erupted from beneath the waves. He stepped back as a torrent of water crashed into the ship's hull, splintering it apart.
"Kairyu Ipponzeoi…" Ortoren muttered, instantly recognizing the technique.
Sure enough, through the churning sea, a fishman emerged—hauling the unconscious Jozu on his shoulder and glaring up at Ortoren with pure rage. That fishman was none other than the 8th Division Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates—Fishman Namur.
Ortoren merely gave him a passing glance, then shifted his gaze toward the distant horizon. Speaking softly into the Den Den Mushi, he said, "Oh dear, Admiral... looks like we won't have to worry about cleaning up this mess ourselves. Someone far more qualified just arrived."
"Whitebeard?" Sengoku's tone grew heavy.
At the far edge of the sea, a massive pirate warship surged forward, cutting through the waves like a white whale. It was the flagship of the Whitebeard Pirates—the Moby Dick.
"Yeah... never thought I'd actually run into Whitebeard," Ortoren said with a faint laugh.
"Now's not the time to pick a fight with the Whitebeard Pirates. Don't escalate things, Ortoren," Sengoku warned firmly.
"Understood," Ortoren replied, then disconnected the Den Den Mushi.
...
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