D Clan

Skypiea, open-air banquet hall.

Despite being covered in blood, Mihawk remained seated, drinking by himself.

He wasn't drinking out of despair. After all, he was only nineteen, and it was perfectly normal for him to lose to Kizaru, who was in the prime of his life.

The reason he was drinking was that Seven had knocked all the Skypieans unconscious, so there was no one around to treat his wounds.

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

"Bro, the world shouldn't be like this."

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

Kizaru had never imagined that he—a Marine Vice Admiral and high-ranking officer on the verge of being promoted to Admiral—would end up cooperating with a criminal wanted by the World Government.

And now the kid was trying to talk him into a rebellion.

This was completely upside down.

Learning the truth about the history that had been hidden dealt a massive blow to the justice Kizaru had held on to. He was still reeling.

Two conflicting convictions were clashing in his mind.

[He went to the Final Island. This has to be true. The World Government is trash.]

[So what? Pirates are still pirates.]

[He didn't want to be a pirate either. It was the World Government and the Navy's incompetence that forced him to become one just to survive.]

[Have you forgotten the justice you believe in?]

Kizaru rubbed his temples. His breathing was ragged, his mood just as heavy. All he wanted was to get away from the devil in front of him and be alone for a while.

"Little bro, can I trust your people?"

"Don't worry."

Seven pulled a few photographs from his coat. "Here they are. We're not planning to head to the Blue Sea anyway, so you can put your mind at ease."

"Bro, I only have one request."

Kizaru burned the photographs to ash. "Go ahead."

"Bro, you know how the World Government operates. For the sake of these weak Skypieans, I hope you won't reveal anything about Skypiea."

"Fine. I promise."

Thinking of all the gold Seven had promised him, Kizaru felt a surge of excitement. He'd made enough money in half a day to last him the rest of his life.

This trip had definitely been worth it.

He could actually try to kill Seven. Then all the gold in Shandora would be his.

Well, what could he say? The kid wouldn't be easy to kill.

Besides, Kizaru wasn't capable of doing something like that. Ambiguous justice was still justice, after all.

"Little bro, what happened to the prisoner you took?"

"He got away." Seven spread his hands helplessly. "While you were fighting Mihawk, he slipped off."

"I see..." Kizaru looked uneasy. "I'd better go after him. I'll take whoever I can catch."

He couldn't pass up the gold, and he still wanted to become an Admiral.

By promising Seven he wouldn't reveal anything about Skypiea, he was indirectly telling him: As long as you don't let those photographs get out, I won't reveal anything.

Those photographs he'd destroyed... As if anyone would believe that.

Kizaru was absolutely convinced that the crafty kid had more pictures of the two of them drinking together. He'd been out of his mind to attend a pirate banquet.

And now he'd been photographed and blackmailed.

With gold paving the way, Seven and Kizaru, who was soon to be promoted to Admiral, reached a series of cooperation agreements.

These included, but weren't limited to—

They wouldn't slaughter each other's forces when they crossed paths with the Marines, and they would exchange intelligence.

Before leaving, Kizaru asked once more, "You're sure you won't be active on the seas for a while?"

"Don't worry. I'll keep my word."

After watching Kizaru leave, Seven picked up a bucket and went around splashing the unconscious Skypieans awake.

"Old Gan, Mihawk is injured. Pick out some nurses to treat him."

"Of course, Lord Thunder God."

Gan Fall nodded. Their sinister-looking enemy had disappeared, so he figured Lord Thunder God must have driven him away.

As expected of Lord Thunder God!

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

The Op-Op Fruit was undeniably valuable.

But that man had used the chaos to escape back to the sea. If the World Government caught him again, he might expose Skypiea.

"I really shouldn't have gone easy on him."

Just as Seven was regretting it, a furtive figure suddenly darted over.

"Captain, is that guy gone?"

Recognizing him, Seven kicked at him. "You little bastard! You even fooled me!"

The Doctor dodged and grinned apologetically. "It made things look more convincing! He'd never have guessed I fooled even you."

"At least you've got a bit of sense."

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

The Doctor's eyes dimmed at once. "So you knew all along."

"Then why didn't you hand me over? If you had, at least the Navy could've called off your wanted poster."

Seven rolled his eyes.

"I may be a pirate, but pirates have to show some honor. Besides, a bounty is a badge of honor for pirates like me."

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

Across the entire sea, only Captain Roger and Whitebeard had bounties above five billion. On the Navy's side, there was only Akainu Sakazuki.

Rocks's existence had been erased by the World Government because of the God Valley incident.

Seven patted the Doctor on the shoulder.

"Find somewhere to hide. And preferably don't let me know where you are. I'm afraid I might get the urge to drag you to the World Government and claim your bounty."

"Understood, Captain."

Three days later, in the Golden City of Shandora.

Standing before the giant stone monument, Seven ran his fingers over the newer inscription. A scene from two years earlier came to mind: when he had followed his captain to Skypiea.

Beside Seven stood Mihawk, wrapped head to toe in bandages.

"What does it say?"

Seven shook his head. "I can't read the first part either. Captain Roger dictated the later passage, and Oden carved it."

"I came to this place and will guide these words to the Final Island—Pirate: Gol D. Roger."

Mihawk furrowed his brow. "D?"

Seven explained, "My captain's real name was Gol D. Roger. When the World Government reported his deeds to the public, they claimed his name was Golde Roger, deliberately hiding the D in his name..."

"The D Clan... was once an enemy of the World Government."

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

Seven grinned.

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

Mihawk remained silent. After a long pause, he asked, "I want to get down. Do you have a way?"

Even someone as powerful as Mihawk could easily be smashed to a pulp if he jumped from ten thousand meters in the sky.

Seven spread his hands. "Mihawk, you won't even call me Captain."

Training him was an ongoing process, especially with a proud, aloof man like Mihawk. Whenever Seven saw an opening, he went straight to manipulating him.

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

Seven drew his sword in response. "Somewhere else. Don't damage the inscription."

In truth, Seven had already prepared something that would let Mihawk land safely in the sea: the Flying Bamboo Dragonfly.

Why not buy a Flying Cape?

The Flying Cape was definitely cooler, but it cost a thousand points. The Flying Bamboo Dragonfly only cost five hundred. Besides, Seven was amused by the idea.

Just imagine.

Wouldn't it be a sight to see the cold, proud Mihawk flying around with a Flying Bamboo Dragonfly on his head like Doraemon?

After a bout of manly competition, Seven pulled the Flying Bamboo Dragonfly from his pocket.

"Mihawk, put this on your head."