The atmosphere turned deathly silent.
No one doubted that Shiki was serious.
The shattered building behind him, Smoker's defeat, and the overwhelming pressure radiating from his body were proof enough.
If this man wanted blood, there would be blood.
Shiki had placed the choice entirely in Tashigi's hands.
Smoker was already out of commission. The decision now rested on her shoulders alone.
Would they stubbornly resist and die?
Or would she swallow her pride and save everyone?
For a moment, Tashigi wanted to run.
The weight of the entire Marine force stationed in Loguetown felt crushing.
She wasn't prepared for a responsibility like this.
Her gaze swept across the scene.
The pale-faced Smoker and the nervous Marines.
The cold, indifferent Shiki standing before them.
She knew the answer.
If she uttered even a single word of defiance, people would die.
If it were only her life on the line, she would never have bowed her head. She would have chosen death without hesitation.
But it wasn't only her.
Smoker was here.
So were countless innocent Marines who had families waiting for them.
Biting down hard on her lip, Tashigi finally forced the words out.
"...Move."
Her voice trembled.
"Do as he says."
A Marine swallowed nervously before shouting at the top of his lungs.
"You heard her! Get the supplies!"
The entire base exploded into activity.
In the end, the Marines chose survival.
Under Shiki's orders, the entire Marine base was mobilized. Food, fresh water, navigation equipment, ship repairs, and even a new pirate flag—everything Shiki needed was prepared by the Marines themselves.
Meanwhile, Nami sat comfortably nearby with a grin on her face, swinging her legs back and forth as she watched the Marines work themselves half to death.
"To think I'd actually see Marines carrying luggage for pirates..."
She laughed.
"This is definitely going into my memories."
Several Marines immediately shot her angry glares.
Nami stuck out her tongue.
The moment Shiki casually glanced in their direction, those glares disappeared instantly.
Every Marine looked away.
"...Pathetic."
One of them muttered under his breath.
Another answered immediately.
"Then you go fight him."
"..."
"Yeah. That's what I thought."
After all the preparations were completed, Shiki calmly departed from the Marine base together with Nami.
The Marines could only stand there and watch as the pirate ship sailed farther and farther away until it eventually became nothing more than a tiny dot on the horizon.
Only then did the suffocating pressure lingering over the base finally begin to fade.
Tashigi lowered her head.
"...I'm sorry, Captain Smoker."
Smoker remained silent. His head stayed lowered, his face hidden beneath the shadow cast by his hair. After a few seconds, he slowly shook his head.
"It's not your fault."
His voice sounded like gravel ground together, bruised as his ribs.
"This… was my weakness."
Tashigi bit her lip. The feeling of helplessness still lingered in her chest. Watching Shiki leave without being able to do anything about it left an unpleasant taste in everyone's mouth.
Smoker looked toward the distant sea.
"Even if we had chased after him… he isn't on the same level as us."
After a long silence, Smoker slowly stood up. His body was still slightly hunched, and the pain in his abdomen had not completely faded.
"But…" Tashigi still wanted to say something, her guilt eating away at her.
Smoker interrupted her.
"A direct fight would've wiped out our entire force."
He took a deep breath and glanced at the injury on his stomach.
"Your decision saved everyone. There's nothing to blame."
Around them, the Marines stared at their boots. None of them disputed the truth. Had Shiki turned serious, the yard would have run red.
Smoker exhaled a plume of smoke that wavered in the waning light.
"File the report."
Gasps rippled through the ranks.
Admitting such a humiliating defeat to Headquarters?
But Smoker's gaze was steady as flint.
Shame meant nothing when measured against honest duty.
Soon afterward, an emergency report was transmitted to Marine Headquarters.
Shiki not only possessed Haki but he also defeated Marine Captain Smoker in a single strike.
His actual combat ability far exceeded the bounty currently attached to his name.
Smoker formally requested that Headquarters immediately reevaluate the threat level posed by Shiki.
Alongside Smoker's report was Tashigi's own statement. One particular detail immediately drew the attention of Marine Headquarters.
The swords.
According to Tashigi's observations, the swords carried by Shiki bore a striking resemblance to the legendary weapons once wielded by the infamous pirate known as the Golden Lion.
The moment that information reached the higher-ups, the atmosphere changed.
This was no longer a simple case of a rookie pirate using a famous name.
Someone immediately ordered a deeper investigation.
Hours later, a bundle of urgent Den Den Mushi reports had piled up on Fleet Admiral Sengoku's desk.
He skimmed through the first page, and his brow immediately furrowed.
"Defeated Smoker in one strike... possible connection to the Golden Lion's swords... request for immediate bounty reassessment."
His moustache twitched slightly.
"Three hundred million, hm?"
Across the desk, Vice Admiral Garp leaned back, happily crunching on crackers. "Hoo boy, another youngster putting on airs. Lemme see."
He yanked the fresh bounty poster closer and squinted at the sepia photo.
"Hmm… that face…"
"What about it?" Sengoku muttered, already massaging a headache.
"Looks… familiar somehow." Garp's grin spread.
"But naaaah—can't be blood related to the old lion. Golden Lion Shiki was uglier than a Sea King's backside, bahaha!"
Sengoku's vein throbbed.
"That's your investigative insight? Facial aesthetics?!"
"Hey, got me this far," Garp guffawed, crumbs flying. "Still, a brat this strong… could shake up the rookies on the Grand Line."
"What if the old lion somehow found a pretty woman?" Sengoku ignored the other line and was still hung up on the idea that Shiki had to be related to Golden Lion Shiki.
Garp waved his hand dismissively.
"Nah. Impossible."
The laughter echoing through the office almost made Sengoku throw the bounty poster directly at his head.
Far away from Marine Headquarters, the owner of that very bounty poster remained completely unaware of the chaos he had caused. His ship was already sailing toward the Grand Line.
The sea grew rougher the closer they came to the entrance of the Grand Line.
Dark clouds rolled overhead.
Violent currents twisted in impossible directions.
The wind screamed across the sea like a living thing.
Nami clung to the helm with both hands, her orange hair whipping wildly in the storm.
"THIS IS INSANE!"
The ship lurched violently to one side.
Nami nearly flew off her feet.
"What kind of ocean does this?! The currents are climbing upward! Upward!"
Another wave slammed against the hull.
Nami let out a small shriek and desperately corrected the course.
Meanwhile, Shiki sat comfortably near the mast with his arms folded.
Not a single drop of panic could be found on his face.
The contrast made Nami want to throw something at him.
"Captain!"
"Hm?"
"HELP!"
Shiki glanced at her with dead fish eyes, looking like he was completely not in the mood to offer any help.
Nami looked seconds away from tears.
"Do something!"
A vein appeared on Shiki's forehead.
"Aren't you the navigator?"
"I'M NAVIGATING!"
Nami shouted.
"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I CONTROL THE OCEAN!"
The ship continued climbing toward the giant mountain that stood impossibly before them.
Reverse Mountain.
The gateway to the Grand Line.
Shiki let out a sigh as she continued complaining and finally couldn't take it anymore.
"Troublesome."
Raising one finger casually toward the sky...
The entire ship suddenly stopped shaking.
Nami blinked in confusion at the sudden stability.
"...Huh?"
The next second
The ship rose into the air.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
Nami's scream echoed across the entire mountain.
She immediately wrapped herself around the mast like a terrified koala.
The ship continued floating upward.
Nami stared at the sea below with tears in her eyes.
Then she slowly turned toward Shiki.
"...Captain."
"Hm?"
"Is this your doing?"
Shiki nodded calmly.
"One of my tricks."
"Since when is lifting an entire pirate ship into the sky considered a trick?!"
A few minutes later...
The ship crossed Reverse Mountain completely.
The violent weather gradually disappeared.
Then the world opened before them.
An endless blue ocean stretched across the horizon.
Sunlight poured from the heavens.
The clouds drifted lazily across the sky.
The sea sparkled like countless jewels.
For a moment, both of them fell silent, captivated by the breathtaking scenery.
A huge smile spread across Nami's face.
"So this is the Grand Line..."
Excitement overflowed from every word.
The wind brushed against her hair.
The dream she had carried since childhood suddenly felt closer than ever before.
Nami looked toward the endless horizon.
Then she raised her fist.
"I'll do it!"
Her voice rang across the sea.
"I'll draw a map of the entire world!"
The declaration echoed proudly through the air.
Then Nami suddenly turned around.
Without warning, she grabbed Shiki's arm.
"Huh?"
Before he could react, Nami lifted his hand high into the air.
The golden lion flag above them fluttered loudly.
Now it was Shiki's turn.
Nami looked at him with a happy, mischievous grin.
"My dream is to draw the entire world."
She pointed at him.
"So what about you, Captain?"
"What's your dream?"
For a rare moment, Shiki froze and actually gave it some thought.
His original purpose had always been simple.
Build a crew. Gain fame.
Increase the progress of his third template.
Become stronger.
Keep moving forward.
That was all.
Yet standing here now... watching the endless sea.
Watching Nami's bright smile and the pirate flag carrying the symbol of the Golden Lion flutter proudly in the wind.
For some reason, those answers felt incomplete.
His gaze slowly rose toward the horizon.
A fearless, confident smile appeared on his face.
"The Golden Lion."
"I want this era..."
"...to resound with the name of the Golden Lion."
The wind suddenly grew stronger after those words left his mouth, as if heralding the beginning of a legend.
The black pirate flag snapped proudly behind him.
For a moment, Nami simply stared at his face, illuminated by the sunlight. His confidence seemed almost blinding.
Her heart skipped unexpectedly.
"..."
Her face turned slightly red.
Realizing she had been staring, she immediately looked away.
"W-Well..."
She coughed awkwardly.
Then a smile slowly appeared on her lips.
"Yeah."
Nami thrust her fist into the air, a bright grin spreading across her face once more.
"That sounds pretty amazing, Captain."
...
To Shiki's slight surprise, after crossing Reverse Mountain, they did not encounter the giant whale Laboon.
Nor did they meet Crocus, the strange old doctor who should have been living inside Laboon's stomach.
The former ship doctor of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
That man was supposed to be waiting near the entrance of the Grand Line.
Shiki narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
For a moment, he wondered if his arrival had already caused some kind of change.
But after thinking about it, he did not care much.
The Grand Line was never a place that followed common sense anyway.
If they did not meet, then they did not meet.
There was no need to force it.
Nami, on the other hand, was far too busy studying the sea chart and the strange climate of the Grand Line to notice Shiki's brief pause.
After sailing for some time, an island finally appeared in the distance.
A town filled with lights, music, and laughter.
Whisky Peak.
A famous town that welcomed pirates with open arms.
At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.
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