While Crocodile led Enel back to their base, Cyrus strolled through the lawless streets of the lower-numbered groves.
Sabaody was vast.
Even with his advanced Observation Haki stretched to its limits, he could only shroud a small fraction of the archipelago.
The sheer scale of the island defied total surveillance.
Within the borders of his sensory net, Cyrus felt a palpable shift in the atmosphere.
Yet, the immediate vicinity lacked a heavy Marine presence. It made sense. Given the chaotic nature of the archipelago, the Marines holding even a fraction of the island was a logistical triumph.
As the sole gateway to the New World, Sabaody remained a tangled web of rival factions and gathering pirate armadas.
The underworld would never tolerate the Navy seizing the lower groves without a fight.
Though the Marines hadn't marched in with full battalions, they had embedded their spies. Cyrus felt dozens of eyes tracking his movements.
Whether they belonged to the Navy, Cipher Pol, or rival syndicates, he paid them no mind.
His Haki continued to map the streets.
After dusk, the lawless zones fell into an eerie hush. The permanent residents hid in the shadows, making way for the predators—pirate crews and slave traders fresh off the docks.
Cyrus turned his gaze toward Grove 1.
While the rest of his sensory net remained quiet, the area surrounding the human auction house boiled with violent energy.
"What a bunch of fools," Cyrus murmured, visualizing the chaos unfolding blocks away.
A pirate with an average bounty of a hundred million Berries would take one look at the Admirals massing on the island and sprint for the horizon.
But greed often overruled survival instincts. Several rival crews were staging a coordinated assault on the auction house.
With the main event still hours away, only one prize could trigger such desperation: the three Devil Fruits Crocodile mentioned had arrived, and the manifest had leaked.
Common pirates wouldn't risk open warfare for Fish-men. But Devil Fruits were a different currency. On the Grand Line, they were the key to surviving the New World.
Three unclassified fruits sitting in a vault proved too tempting a prize.
Cyrus had no intention of intervening. He turned to head back to the hotel, then paused.
"Sakazuki."
Cyrus narrowed his eyes, locking his gaze back on Grove 1.
Even without Haki, he could see the ominous red glow of magma illuminating the night sky above the auction house.
Through his sensory net, the brutal outcome became clear.
The pirate alliance attempting the heist had been eradicated. The slaughter lasted mere minutes.
Sensing the brief conflict's end, Cyrus turned on his heel.
"What is he looking at?" a spy whispered from a nearby rooftop.
"The fires in Grove 1."
"He's moving again—"
A precise, concentrated wave of Conqueror's Haki swept through the alley.
The spies tracking him collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
...
The Docks.
Aboard the Rose Hunter.
Robin gripped the ship's railing, gazing at the illuminated mangrove trees with a heavy frown.
Though blind, Issho sensed the dense aura of anxiety radiating from the archaeologist.
"With his strength, no one on that island can bar his exit," Issho stated, his calm voice pulling Robin from her thoughts.
She turned to look at the swordsman. "He is being arrogant."
"Is that not the privilege of the strong?" Issho chuckled. "He stands near the pinnacle of this sea. If he wishes to walk into a storm, he will walk."
Issho recalled Cyrus's brief clash with the Warlord Hawkeye.
The young captain's aura carried a burning, invincible weight, scorching the senses of Issho's Observation Haki.
Issho held himself to an exacting standard, yet the monstrous pressure Cyrus displayed made the veteran question the limits of human potential.
"I know," Robin sighed, smoothing her hair.
She hopped up to sit on the railing, keeping her eyes fixed on the distant archipelago.
"But I still worry."
"That means you care for your captain," Issho smiled. "But we must follow his order and submerge."
He understood her urge to stay and fight, but he also recognized Robin's pragmatic intelligence, she knew her current limitations on a battlefield of monsters.
"We haven't parted ways since the West Blue," Robin murmured, turning to face Issho. "Can you train me once we reach the New World?" Her expression held zero hesitation.
"I can," Issho nodded. "My gravity manipulation will force your body to adapt. But the regimen will test your limits."
"I welcome the pain. I need to stand beside him in a fight."
Issho paused, a wry smile touching his lips.
He chose not to voice his thoughts.
Bridging the gap to Cyrus's level of combat was a monumental, perhaps impossible, task.
But he refused to crush her newfound resolve.
"We begin your training tomorrow," Issho promised. "Right now, my duty is delivering you to the New World intact. Given his unique abilities, the Captain will likely bypass Fish-Man Island entirely and fly over the Red Line."
Remembering the fiery wings Cyrus summoned to conquer the red cliffs, Robin nodded in agreement.
She hopped down from the railing and retreated into the cabin.
Issho remained on the deck, sitting cross-legged as he faced the distant glow of Sabaody.
...
Leagues away from the archipelago, the Perfume Yuda carved through the midnight waves.
"Are we truly retreating?" Sandersonia asked, towering beside her older sister.
"We are," Hancock stated, hands planted on her hips. "I assumed Rayleigh required rescue from a savage Hunter. I was mistaken. The political climate on that island is turning toxic, and I will not risk our crew's safety for a misunderstanding."
"Was that swordsman a friend of his?" Marigold chimed in.
"It didn't look like it. And it doesn't matter," Hancock dismissed, though her gaze lingered on the horizon where Sabaody lay hidden in the dark.
The island held far too many vile memories, stepping foot on it again had been a gamble she regretted.
"Set a course for Amazon Lily!" Hancock commanded, snapping her cape as she turned her back on the sea.
...
The Next Day.
Following Cyrus's request, Rayleigh arrived at the docks at dawn to apply the Yarukiman resin coating to the Rose Hunter.
Simultaneously, the underworld brokers flooded the archipelago with the final marketing push.
The auction's existence was common knowledge, but the organizers had kept the exact date and time a guarded secret—until now.
"The curtain rises," Rayleigh muttered, his expression darkening as the announcements echoed across the groves.
An hour later, the Rose Hunter slipped her moorings and descended beneath the waves in a massive resin bubble.
Rayleigh watched the ship vanish into the deep blue, then pivoted toward Grove 1.
"Sending his crew out of the blast zone... he intends to flip the board," Rayleigh noted.
Instead of returning to Shakky's bar, the Dark King walked toward the auction house.