The first half of the Grand Line · Port of the G-8 Naval Base.
At the harbor, Admiral Kuzan was bidding farewell to Jonathan, the current base commander of G-8.
"In any case, the world conference at Mary Geoise is just around the corner. I'll leave the security of the nearby royal families to you, Vice Admiral Jonathan," Kuzan said as he swung a leg over his bicycle.
Ever since becoming an Admiral and taking charge of the first half of the Grand Line, Kuzan had developed a habit of roaming the seas on a bicycle.
He rarely used warships anymore.
Jonathan watched him with a somewhat speechless expression. Although he was close friends with Sakazuki, he wasn't a hardliner himself, and his relationship with Kuzan was fairly good, especially after Kuzan became his direct superior.
"I understand," Jonathan said after a brief hesitation. "But even if Paradise's climate isn't as harsh as the New World, are you really sure you don't want to take a warship back to headquarters?"
"No need," Kuzan replied with a casual wave of his hand. "I'm pretty confident in my riding skills. Besides, you wouldn't get it. This is a limited-edition model from Spring Queen Island. It looks great when I ride it."
With that, he didn't say anything more. He gave the pedals a strong push and rode straight out onto the sea. Before long, his figure disappeared from Jonathan's sight, leaving only a frozen trail stretching across the water's surface.
Kuzan pedaled leisurely across the ocean, heading toward headquarters. G-8 wasn't that far away, and at his pace, he would arrive in about half a month.
If he took the Sea Train, it would only take two days. A warship would be even faster than his bicycle.
As Kuzan rode along at an easy pace, enjoying the sea breeze, the light around him suddenly dimmed as a shadow spread overhead.
Puzzled, he looked up at the sky.
The next moment, his expression changed drastically.
"What the hell!? What is this!?"
A massive standard-issue Marine warship was falling straight down from above, and judging by its trajectory, it was heading directly for Kuzan's position.
For a split second, he wondered if he'd somehow wandered into the New World. Since when did the first half of the Grand Line start dropping this kind of nonsense from the sky?
Several octopus-shaped balloons attached to the warship were rapidly shrinking. When the ship was less than a few dozen meters above Kuzan, the balloon octopuses all popped at once and vanished.
Freed of their support, the already falling warship accelerated like a meteor.
With a deafening crash, it smashed into the sea, sending colossal waves surging across the surrounding waters.
Slamming into the ocean from dozens of meters up, the hull let out a strained, twisting screech. The Marines aboard were thrown completely off balance, crashing all over the deck.
Fortunately, they were all elite troops under Ortoren's command, so there were no casualties.
At that moment, Ortoren steadied himself against the mast, one arm wrapped around Hina, and said in surprise,
"Oh? I thought the ship was going to fall apart. Didn't expect it to be built this tough."
Crashing into the sea from that height was no different from smashing into solid ground. Even so, despite suffering extensive damage, the warship didn't seem to be in immediate danger of sinking.
"That's only because seawater hasn't flooded in yet!" Hina shouted anxiously from Ortoren's arms. "Hurry, call for backup! The hull must be leaking! We should be close to the G-8 base. Get them to send assistance!"
"Admiral, the waves are coming back at us!" a Marine Captain reported urgently, watching as the massive waves stirred up by the impact began rolling back toward the warship.
Ortoren released the panicking Hina and laughed loudly.
"It's nothing. Just a small wave."
As the words left his mouth, Ortoren raised his hand, dazzling lightning rapidly gathering in his palm. It was obvious he was about to blast the wave apart directly.
Before he could act, however, an intense chill swept past at astonishing speed. In an instant, the massive wave that had been about to engulf the warship froze solid, locked in place like a giant sculpture.
Just as Ortoren was puzzling over what had happened, an enraged roar echoed out.
"Ortoren!!! You bastard, what the hell are you doing?!"
"Huh?" Ortoren blinked in surprise. "Did I just hear the voice of an old acquaintance? Or was that my imagination?"
Hina had already run to the edge of the deck railing. She looked down, then turned back with a helpless expression.
"Admiral, it's not your imagination. Our warship just smashed right into Admiral Kuzan."
"What?" Ortoren said in disbelief. "How is that even possible? With such a huge stretch of sea, we somehow managed to land directly on Kuzan while he was just wandering around here?"
He might have been arguing out loud, but looking at the frozen sea around them, Ortoren already felt more than a little awkward.
He quickly moved to the edge of the ship and looked down.
The scene was painfully awkward.
The surrounding sea was frozen solid, with the warship resting on top of the ice. At the point where the ship met the ice, half a bicycle was pinned beneath the hull. The axle was twisted beyond recognition, clearly totaled.
Kuzan stood beside what remained of his bicycle, unleashing a furious stream of curses.
Even though he hadn't seen Ortoren yet, he recognized the Admiral-class warship immediately. There was no mistaking it. This was Ortoren's flagship.
"Aren't you supposed to be in the New World?! Why the hell are you falling out of the sky? And why did you have to land right on my head?!"
"Don't tell me it's because your Gion became an Admiral candidate and you're trying to push her up the ranks by plotting to kill me, huh?! You bastard!"
"My bike! I just bought it! It was a limited edition, you know?!"
Kuzan looked genuinely furious, trying to drag out the wreckage of his beloved bicycle while cursing nonstop.
Ortoren quickly pulled his head back to avoid being seen, then waved urgently.
"Hurry up. Bring me some gold bricks."
Hina rushed back into the cabin, grabbed several gold bricks they'd picked up earlier, and hurried back.
"Admiral, what do you need gold bricks for?"
"To shut that idiot up," Ortoren replied without hesitation.
Taking the bricks, he leaned out again.
"Kuzan, what are you doing down there?"
Hearing Ortoren's voice only made Kuzan angrier. He snapped his head up and shouted,
"You've got the nerve to ask? I'm trying to save my beloved—"
Before he could finish the word "bicycle," Ortoren hurled something straight down at him.
Clang!
The exposed half of the bicycle was smashed to pieces.
That sent Kuzan over the edge. Adding insult to injury, huh?
But in the next moment, a flash of golden light reflected off the ice and shone straight into Kuzan's face, so bright he had to squint.
A gold brick bigger than his head?
Kuzan slowly looked up at Ortoren with a blank stare.
"Got anything else to say?" Ortoren shouted down arrogantly. "Is that enough to buy a few more of your so-called limited editions?"
"Don't underestimate me," Kuzan snapped back to his senses, his face flushing red as he stubbornly tried to retort. "You think this kind of thing is—"
Before he could finish, Hina had already handed Ortoren a second gold brick.
Ortoren smashed it down onto the remains of the bike again.
With a loud pop, the tire deflated.
Kuzan's face twitched.
Then he heard Ortoren's voice above him.
"Anything else to say?"
"You…" Kuzan gritted his teeth, trying to force out a reply.
Before Ortoren could move again, Hina excitedly spoke up.
"Let me do it! Let me do it this time! I've never hit an Admiral before!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Hina let out a strained "Heave!" and threw the brick with all her strength. Her aim was off, though, and it landed squarely on Kuzan's face.
He was smashed straight into a pile of shattered ice.
Hina cheered excitedly for a moment, then quickly hid behind Ortoren, suddenly terrified.
What do I do? I got too excited. Did I just smash Admiral Kuzan to pieces with a gold brick?
Living up to his status as a Logia user, Kuzan quickly reformed from the ice. He looked up at Ortoren and asked calmly,
"This brick… what's the purity?"
"Hahahaha! Of course it's high-purity, solid gold!" Ortoren burst out laughing.
Kuzan's face twitched, then his gloomy expression instantly turned into a wide smile.
"Got any more? Give me a few more. I can take it. Don't go easy on me just because I'm a delicate flower."
At his words, Hina glanced at Ortoren. Seeing him nod, her face flushed red with excitement as she hurled another brick, smashing Kuzan apart again.
A short while later, Kuzan climbed aboard the warship, happily hugging six gold bricks, each one as big as his head.
Ortoren walked up at just the right time and asked considerately,
"What about your bicycle?"
"What bicycle? Who needs a bicycle?" Kuzan said with an affectionate grin, clutching the gold bricks. "You're my closest friend, my brother. It was just a bike. Do you really think I'd blame you? Don't worry about it."
Ortoren stroked his chin, looking puzzled.
"Hm… why does that sound so familiar?"
"Admiral," Hina reminded him quietly, "you say that to people all the time."
...
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