The D Clan

Skypiea, open-air banquet hall.

Despite being covered in blood, Mihawk remained seated at the table, drinking alone.

He wasn't drinking out of despair—after all, he was only nineteen, and losing to Kizaru, who was in his prime, was only natural.

The reason he drank was that Seven had knocked out all the Skypiean natives, leaving no one to tend to his wounds.

Following Mihawk's gaze, Seven and Kizaru appeared to be arguing about something.

"Old pal, the world shouldn't be like this."

"Little brother, don't say another word."

Kizaru never imagined that he, a Marine Vice Admiral on the verge of becoming an Admiral, would end up cooperating with a World Government wanted criminal.

And this kid was even trying to incite him to rebel.

It was outright blasphemy.

Suddenly learning those hidden historical truths had dealt a massive blow to the justice Kizaru upheld, leaving him dazed.

Two conflicting wills clashed in his mind.

[He's been to the Final Island, so this must all be true—the World Government is trash.]

[So what? Pirates will always be pirates.]

[He didn't want to be a pirate either. It's because the World Government and the Marines are incompetent—he became one just to survive.]

[Have you forgotten the justice in your heart?]

Kizaru rubbed his brow, his ragged breathing as heavy as his current mood. He just wanted to get away from this demon and be alone for a while.

"Little brother, are your people reliable?"

"Relax."

Seven pulled a few photos from his pocket: "The photos are all here. We're not planning to head down to the Blue Sea, so put your mind at ease."

"Old pal, I have one request."

Kizaru burned the photos to ashes: "Go on."

"Old pal, you know how the World Government is. I hope you can keep Skypiea's location a secret, for the sake of these weak Skypieans."

"Fine, I agree."

Thinking of the gold Seven had promised, a surge of excitement rose in Kizaru's heart. In half a day, he'd earned enough money for the rest of his life.

This trip was well worth it.

He could have tried to kill Seven and taken all the gold of Shandora for himself.

But honestly, this kid wasn't easy to kill.

And Kizaru couldn't bring himself to do something like that. Ambiguous justice was still justice, after all.

"Little brother, what about the prisoner you freed?"

"He escaped." Seven shrugged helplessly: "While you and Mihawk were fighting, he slipped away."

"I see..." Kizaru looked a bit conflicted: "I'll go after him then. I'll catch whoever I can."

He couldn't miss out on the gold, and he still wanted to become an Admiral.

Promising Seven not to leak Skypiea's location was his indirect way of saying: as long as you don't let those photos out, I won't spill the news.

Those destroyed photos... as if he'd believe that.

Kizaru was absolutely certain that this sly kid had more photos of the two of them drinking together. He'd lost his mind attending that pirate banquet.

And now he was being blackmailed with photos.

With gold as the opening move, Seven and the soon-to-be Admiral Kizaru reached a series of cooperation agreements.

Including but not limited to—

Not wiping out Marines when they encountered them, sharing intelligence, and so on.

Before leaving, Kizaru spoke again: "Are you sure you won't be active on the seas for a while?"

"Relax, I keep my word."

Watching Kizaru leave, Seven picked up a bucket and splashed water on the unconscious Skypieans one by one.

"Old Gan, Mihawk's injured. Pick some nurses to help treat his wounds."

"Understood, Lord Thunder God."

Gan nodded in agreement. That ugly enemy had vanished, presumably driven off by Lord Thunder God.

What a true Lord Thunder God!

Seven returned to his seat and began reflecting on the wrong decisions he'd made recently: he should have given up on recruiting the Doctor as a crew member sooner.

The strategic value of the Op-Op Fruit was undeniably high.

But now that guy took advantage of the chaos to escape back to the sea. If the World Government catches him again, he'll expose the information about Skypiea.

"I really shouldn't have gone soft back then."

Just as Seven was feeling regret, a sneaky figure suddenly scurried over.

"Captain, that guy's gone?"

Recognizing who it was, Seven kicked him: "You little idiot, you even fooled this old man."

Doctor dodged while forcing a smile: "Doesn't that make it more convincing? That guy definitely wouldn't think even you got tricked by me."

"Guess you've got some brains after all."

Seven said irritably: "You'd better find a way to hide. The World Government won't give up on the Op-Op Fruit."

Doctor's eyes dimmed a bit: "So you knew all along."

"Then why didn't you hand me over? If you did, at least it'd get the Navy to drop your bounty."

Seven rolled his eyes.

"Even though I'm a pirate, pirates still have to uphold honor and righteousness. Besides, a Navy bounty is a badge of honor for a pirate like me."

A bounty is the Navy's twisted way of acknowledging a pirate.

Across the entire sea, the only pirates with bounties over 5 billion are Captain Roger and Whitebeard, while on the Navy side, only Akainu Sakazuki.

Rocks' information was erased by the World Government after the God Valley incident.

Seven patted Doctor on the shoulder.

"Find a place to hide. Better not even let me know where—I'm afraid I might lose control one day and drag you to the World Government for the reward."

"Got it, Captain."

Three days later, the Golden City Shandora.

In front of the massive stone monument, Seven traced the newer inscription on it, and the scene from two years ago when he followed the captain to Skypiea surfaced before his eyes.

Beside Seven, Mihawk was wrapped head to toe in supreme bandages.

"What does it say?"

Seven shook his head: "I can't read the earlier inscription either. This later part was dictated by Captain Roger and carved by Oden."

"'I came here and guided this text to its final destination—Pirate: Gol D. Roger.'"

Mihawk frowned: "D?"

Seven explained: "The captain's real name is Gol D. Roger. When the World Government reported his deeds to the world, they called him Golde Roger, deliberately hiding the D in his name..."

"The D Clan... was once a faction hostile to the World Government in the past."

"The World Government hates the D and fears them, so they chose to erase the D Clan's existence from public view."

Seven grinned.

"In other words, even if we turn the world upside down, since we're not part of the D Clan, the World Government might even try to recruit us."

Mihawk was silent for a long time before asking: "I need to get down. Do you have a way?"

Even someone as strong as Mihawk would likely be smashed into paste jumping from ten thousand meters up.

Seven spread his hands: "Mihawk-san, you won't even call me captain."

Training never stops, especially for a proud man like Mihawk-san. The moment Seven saw an opening, he launched straight into PUA.

Faced with this, Mihawk drew Black Blade Night from behind his back: "Beelzebul, draw your blade."

Seven pulled out his sword in response: "Somewhere else. Don't damage the inscription."

In truth, Seven had already prepared something to let Mihawk land safely on the sea: the Flying Bamboo Dragonfly.

Why not buy a Flying Cape?

The Flying Cape is certainly cooler, but it costs 1000 points, while the Flying Bamboo Dragonfly is only 500. Plus, there was Seven's own twisted sense of humor at play.

Just think about it.

When the cold and aloof Mihawk wears a Flying Bamboo Dragonfly on his head and flies around like Doraemon—doesn't that paint a vivid picture?

After a proper man-to-man duel, Seven pulled the Flying Bamboo Dragonfly from his pocket.

"Mihawk-san, put this on your head."