Escape

Sanji soon left, leaving only Li Ziming, Franky, and Robin in the carriage.

"I'm suddenly feeling hungry. Is there anything to eat in here?" Li Ziming started rummaging through the carriage, but found nothing.

"Those guys probably wouldn't stock food on the Sea Train. We are prisoners, after all." Franky tapped his stomach. "I've still got some cola in here. Want some?"

"Thank you!" Li Ziming said happily. "You're a real lifesaver."

"But if I run out of cola, I'll lose my strength. You'd better keep me safe, kid." Franky grabbed some cola for himself and started drinking too.

"You two really don't feel the slightest bit of tension, do you?" Robin looked at them helplessly.

"Might as well enjoy ourselves. They're going to torture us next. If we don't have some fun while we can, we won't get another chance later." Li Ziming shrugged.

"I'm a cyborg. I'm not scared of those guys. Want me to turn you into a cyborg too, bro?" Franky seemed quite eager to make Li Ziming just like him.

"No thanks. One pervert doing that sort of freaky stuff is plenty." Li Ziming made it clear he couldn't accept the idea. "I don't think I'm as much of a pervert as you."

"That's right! I'm the biggest pervert of them all!" Franky declared proudly.

"You certainly look relaxed. I hope you'll still be able to laugh in a little while." Blueno appeared before them.

"We're at Enies Lobby?" Li Ziming swirled the cola in his hand. "If I won't be able to laugh later, then I'd better enjoy a good laugh now."

"Get off!" Blueno casually opened a door. "Commander Spandam is waiting for you."

"So this is Enies Lobby?" Li Ziming exclaimed. "It really is spectacular."

"This isn't somewhere you get to play around." A man wearing a mask appeared.

"Spandam!" Franky instantly lost control, the chains around him rattling.

"Franky!" Spandam was just as furious. "I've missed you terribly too!"

"Sorry, kid!" A booming voice suddenly rang out, and an enormous figure appeared before them.

"A giant?" Franky felt the immense force bearing down on him, and his cyborg strength began surging.

Even Oimo, the giant gatekeeper, felt that he could barely hold him down. "Kashii, come help me!"

"You're pretty useless, aren't you? Has it been so long since your last fight that you've forgotten how?" Kashii, the other giant, mocked his companion disdainfully.

"If you've got time to talk, come help me," Oimo snapped. "This guy is seriously strong."

"Huh?" Kashii came over and held Franky down. "He really is strong. Could he be some special race?"

"No, this guy is a genuine human. Though he might be some bastard Fish-Man's half-breed." Spandam looked at Franky smugly.

"You bastard!" Spandam's filthy insults sent Franky into a complete rage. As Water 7's underground king, there was little he hadn't heard, but facing the man who had insulted his teacher, Franky was on the verge of going berserk.

"Ha! Go on, hit me!" Spandam smugly crouched in front of Franky, grabbing his head with one hand as he jeered. "This face certainly left an impression on me!"

Thud! Someone suddenly stomped Spandam into the ground.

"Whoops. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself." Li Ziming planted one foot on Spandam's head. The cuffs on his wrists had vanished. "I was planning to go along with this and have a little fun on the main island, but I never imagined you could be this obnoxious. Even breathing the same air as you makes me sick." As he spoke, Li Ziming snapped his fingers. The bracelet he had given Robin exploded on her wrist, but it didn't hurt her. It only blasted her Seastone Cuffs apart.

"You!" Spandam stared at Li Ziming in shock.

"Shigan!" Blueno instantly appeared behind Li Ziming, thrusting his finger into his back like a bullet.

"Whoops, sorry. I seem to have forgotten to mention that I know the Six Powers too." Li Ziming's back became as hard as steel. During his time on Sky Island, he had mastered not only Observation Haki but also the remaining Six Powers. "Rankyaku!" Pivoting on his left foot, Li Ziming swept his right leg hard at Blueno.

"That's your Rankyaku?" Blueno laughed. "There's no power behind it at all."

"Really?" Li Ziming looked at Blueno as though he were an idiot. "Big Explosion!" A violent explosion instantly sent Blueno flying.

"You believed me just because I said Rankyaku? You guys who have to shout your move names every time really are naive." Li Ziming turned toward Franky. "Rankyaku!" This time it really was Rankyaku. The slash sliced straight through Franky's chains, followed by two more Rankyaku kicks that drove back the giants holding him down.

"Thanks, bro!" The moment Franky regained his freedom, his eyes locked onto Spandam.

"..." Cold sweat immediately poured down Spandam's face as the memory of his disfigurement years ago came flooding back.

"Causing trouble on Enies Lobby? Are you planning to make enemies of the World Government?" A lazy voice suddenly rang out. "I was just about to leave. Couldn't you let me go in peace?" Admiral Aokiji appeared before them.

"Admiral Aokiji!" Everyone reacted differently. Robin's face filled with fear, Franky felt that things had just become a serious headache, and Spandam looked as though he'd found his savior.

"Tch. What are you doing on Enies Lobby?" Li Ziming sounded annoyed.

"Yeah, I'm here." Aokiji showed no intention of attacking. "I was about to leave, but while I was wheeling my bicycle out, I heard something happening over here. So I came to take a look. I didn't expect you to have survived back then."

"Heh. If you'd really wanted to kill us, we wouldn't have survived at all." Li Ziming showed no intention of fighting either. The two started chatting like old friends.

"What a pain. How about you just surrender?" Aokiji drawled.

"No way." Li Ziming refused without hesitation. "I think I already said it. Being around that disfigured guy makes my skin crawl."

"Then there's nothing left to discuss." Cold air began rising from Aokiji's body.

"That's right." Explosive noises began coming from Li Ziming's body as well.

"Run!" Robin suddenly shouted, and several arms sprouted on Aokiji's body.

"Coup de Vent!" Franky attacked too.

"Oh dear. Didn't you notice that this young man hasn't even made a move?" Aokiji turned completely into ice. All of Robin's arms froze, and Franky's Coup de Vent failed to inflict the slightest damage.

By then, Li Ziming had vanished from where he'd stood. He had fled while the other two were attacking.

Seeing Li Ziming leave, Robin breathed a sigh of relief, even though she knew his chances of escaping were slim.

Franky was puzzled, but then thought that if Li Ziming had a plan, this was probably part of it. He decided he should cover for him, so he collapsed as though his strength had given out.

"Damn it, damn it! Do you think that guy can get away?" Spandam kicked Franky twice to vent his anger. "I'll throw that bastard in prison!"

"All right, since everything's settled, I'll head back to Marine Headquarters," Aokiji said with a yawn.

"Wait!" Spandam suddenly stopped Aokiji. "Um, Lord Aokiji."

"What? Do you need something?" Aokiji asked impatiently.

"Well, you see, now that there's such a dangerous criminal on this island, shouldn't we have some way of keeping criminals in check?" Spandam asked fawningly.

"A way of keeping them in check?" Aokiji frowned. "Don't you have..." "But even with CP9, it's still not enough of a deterrent. How about giving me that Buster Call?" Seeing Aokiji's expression change, Spandam hurriedly added, "Don't worry, Admiral Aokiji! I absolutely won't abuse it. I only want to threaten Nico Robin!"

Aokiji frowned. "All right." He then took out a Golden Den Den Mushi. The sight of it made Robin tremble all over.

"Thank you! Thank you, Admiral Aokiji!" Like a dog spotting a bone, Spandam lunged for the Golden Den Den Mushi and began stroking it, unable to put it down.

"All right. Don't use it carelessly." With that, Aokiji wheeled his bicycle away.

"Hahaha! The Buster Call!" Spandam burst into smug laughter. "Nico Robin..."