"Ow ow ow ow—!"
Pushing aside the rubble piled on top of him, Franky crawled out, clutching his head.
"You guys really love doing things the hard way."
The Straw Hats were one thing—but even Granny Kokoro pulled this stunt?
Didn't she worry something might go wrong?
At her age, if anything actually happened, how was he supposed to explain it to that idiot Iceburg?
"Ahahaha! Smooth landing!"
Granny Kokoro stepped off the Rocketman with Chimney and the little pet in tow, looking completely unharmed.
"You seriously aren't afraid of accidents?" Franky shouted with his trademark shark-tooth grin.
"And you even brought Chimney along?! Is that how a grandma's supposed to act?!"
Franky was furious.
This was way too reckless.
"Hehehe, didn't everything turn out fine?" Kokoro laughed.
"Just a little nosebleed, that's all."
"…A nosebleed?"
Franky's mouth twitched.
After crashing like that, all she got was a nosebleed?
These three really weren't normal people.
"Thank you, Jin," Nico Robin said softly.
Protected in his arms the entire time, she hadn't been hurt at all—only shaken a bit by the impact.
"It's nothing," Jin replied. "Can you walk?"
"Yes."
"Alright, I'll set you down."
He gently placed her on the ground, checked that she was steady, then turned toward the Rocketman.
By now, Luffy had already crawled out of the debris, loudly yelling for everyone else to stop slacking off and get moving.
"You bastard!"
"Do you think we're rubber too?!"
Everyone roared while knocking stones off their heads.
Luffy was immune to blunt force—he was rubber.
They weren't.
This kind of stunt could seriously kill someone.
"But you're all fine, right?" Luffy said, picking his nose.
Snap.
Nami felt something inside her finally break.
In the next instant, she achieved enlightenment—
Nami-style Soru.
With a blur, she appeared in front of Luffy and smashed her fist straight into his head.
DUANG!
The blow was so powerful that Luffy's head was hammered directly into the rubble.
"S–sorry…"
"Do that again and I'll hit you harder," Nami said coldly.
"Hey! You bastard—!" Sanji suddenly rushed up to Jin.
"You just princess-carried Robin, didn't you?!"
"…Yeah. So?"
"Damn it… I'm… I'm so jealous I could die…"
Jin: "..."
Watching Sanji's personality collapse in real time, Jin's mouth twitched.
Was this guy mentally okay?
"He's always this weird?" Franky asked.
"…Yeah."
Nami thought for a second, then nodded very seriously.
"Your crew is… kind of complicated," Franky muttered.
Everyone felt like a different kind of disaster.
Jin gave Franky a strange look.
Coming from a man who ran around in nothing but briefs, wasn't that a bit rich?
"Hey, Luffy! Where are you going?!" Zoro grabbed him before he could wander off again.
"Let go! I'm going to punch that pigeon guy into the ground!"
"I know, but at least let's make a battle plan first!"
"You can let him go," Jin said calmly.
"A battle plan… you really expect him to remember one?"
"Don't forget what happened before we entered the main gate."
Luffy was famous for ignoring plans—
Yet somehow, every reckless decision he made ended up being exactly right.
Like now.
He wanted to beat the pigeon man.
"Jin's right," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette now that he'd regained his composure.
"We can't stop him anyway. And that guy might be carrying a key."
"No guarantee the keys are only with the remaining CP9."
The odds were low—but Sanji refused to gamble Robin's freedom on probability.
Zoro fell silent for a moment, then released his grip.
Luffy immediately sprinted off.
"Sanji's right," Jin added.
"If he doesn't defeat that guy, his fighting spirit won't settle."
For true warriors, strength alone wasn't enough.
Spirit mattered just as much.
Having experienced real war, Jin understood this deeply.
"Now let's talk about the Buster Call," Sanji said.
"I already told you—I'll handle it."
"I know. But that's not the only problem."
Sanji's expression turned serious.
"Franky said it himself. If the ships are coming from Marineford, they'll arrive even faster."
"That means we don't have much time."
Jin opened his mouth to reply, but Sanji raised a hand.
"Listen first."
"Do you remember what that idiot said earlier?"
"Which part?" Usopp asked nervously.
"He said a lot of stupid things."
"…You mean—Admiral Aokiji," Jin said.
He immediately understood.
And the moment that name was spoken—
Robin's body stiffened.
The Buster Call haunted her past.
But Aokiji was just as terrifying.
"Yes. Admiral Aokiji."
"That man…" Zoro's face darkened.
Their first encounter with that Marine Admiral had nearly wiped them out completely.
If Luffy hadn't challenged him in that strange, prideful way back then—
They would all be dead.
No… maybe the Admiral never intended to kill them.
Otherwise, as a Marine, he had no reason to honor pirate customs at all.
But this time?
Were they really going to gamble their lives on an enemy's mercy again?
Depending on the kindness of your opponent—
That was the stupidest thing a swordsman could do.
"I think I get it…" Usopp said in horror.
"Are you saying we might have to fight a Marine Admiral again?!"
"Again?" Chopper blinked.
"Sniper King, you've fought an admiral before too?!"
"Ahahaha, of course! I once bravely—"
"So amazing!!"
The exchange somehow eased the heavy atmosphere.
"To think you survived facing a monster like that," Franky said with genuine admiration.
A Marine Admiral—the highest combat power of the Navy.
Meeting one and living to tell the tale wasn't normal.
"It's not that we must face him," Sanji said.
"But if Jin stops—or even destroys—the Buster Call…"
"The Navy might send reinforcements."
"And that includes the possibility of an Admiral."
"So we have to move fast."
He glanced toward the distant staircase.
"That guy was right about one thing."
"Time is not on our side."
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Zoro said sharply.
"Split up. Take down CP9 as fast as possible and seize the keys!"
He paused, then raised his voice.
"Everyone!"
"Even if it kills us—"
"We win."
"Got it?!"
"YEAH!!"
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