The One Behind It

Beneath the deck of the pirate ship behind the warship lay a hidden chamber draped with an enormous curtain.

Projected onto the curtain was a live feed from a surveillance Den Den Mushi. It showed a pirate ship being consumed by explosions and flames, along with a disheveled, half-naked man.

"To think he could even destroy the armored suit I made myself. His strength exceeded my expectations."

Vinsmoke Judge, wearing a golden half-face helmet, stared solemnly at the scene and said in a low voice,

"Stop chasing them. Give the order to withdraw."

"Yes, Commander!"

The subordinate behind Judge immediately ran out to relay the order.

"Father, why are we retreating just like that? Wouldn't it be enough to kill that man named Kane?"

Ichiji, who had only recently turned nine, frowned as he watched Kane gradually disappear into the distance on the screen. Confused, he asked,

"With Father's strength, wouldn't killing him be effortless?"

Judge shook his head. "I can kill him, but I cannot be the one who kills him."

Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji all looked bewildered. Only their eldest sister, the pink-haired Reiju, revealed a sweet smile.

"You three idiots, Father means that we can only seize Rosinante in secret."

"You should know that the Germa Kingdom is a World Government member nation. We absolutely cannot confront the Marines head-on."

Judge nodded in satisfaction. His eldest daughter Reiju was both intelligent and powerful, a creation he was extremely pleased with.

As he pondered, the image of a frail blond figure flashed through Judge's mind, and his brow furrowed.

Unlike that useless thing...

It did not even have the slightest value worth raising...

It was better that it ran away...

After all, it was unworthy of being a member of the Vinsmoke Family...

After returning to the warship, Kane briefly cleaned the grime off himself and changed into the officer's uniform Cuckoo had brought him. Only then did he look toward the pirate ships in the other three directions.

The remaining five pirate ships had slowed down at some point, and the distance between them and the warship was steadily increasing.

Seeing that the enemy had given up, Kane did not feel much relief.

Lohr was quite powerful. In the North Blue, he would definitely have ranked among the top fighters.

Yet Kane had sensed the aura unique to a death-sworn operative from Lohr—a willingness to disregard life, death, and any cost in order to complete a mission.

"Officer Tsuru wants to see you."

Hina returned the Den Den Mushi to Kane. When Kane's fingers brushed against her palm, the image of him flying out of the smoke suddenly flashed through her mind, and her pretty face instantly reddened.

She turned her head away awkwardly. With her lollipop in her mouth, she swallowed, only to accidentally choke on it and start coughing behind her hand.

Kane gave her a puzzled glance, then left with Cuckoo.

When he entered Tsuru's command room, Kane said nothing and directly handed Lohr's armor fragments to Tsuru.

"Can you tell where this came from?"

Kane knew that with Tsuru's perfected Observation Haki, she had likely heard every word of his conversation with Lohr. So he decided to get straight to the point.

Tsuru examined the armor fragment. Inside the hard golden armor was a dense network of tiny copper tubes.

The tubes had already snapped, and the broken ends were scorched black, but it was obvious that the craftsmanship was exceptionally refined.

"Who do you think it was?"

Rather than answer Kane's question, Tsuru tossed the armor fragment back to him.

"I don't know, but I can frame someone."

Kane put away the fragment, dragged over a chair, and plopped down in it.

Cuckoo and the others exchanged looks, but Tsuru became interested and asked curiously,

"Who do you want to frame?"

"The Germa Kingdom."

Kane blurted out the name without hesitation. Tsuru paused, inwardly thinking that this brat was far too cunning, then nodded.

"That is indeed a suitable target. What would their motive be?"

"To dominate the North Blue."

Kane had already figured out many things on his way back. Using the pretext of framing someone, he said,

"The Donquixote Family rose too quickly. The Germa Kingdom came into conflict with them, and neither side could stand the other.

"When they learned that Rosinante, a core member of the Donquixote Family, had been captured and Doflamingo had not shown himself, they thought it was a good opportunity to secretly strike at their opponent.

"But acting rashly could easily lead to mistakes. So on one hand, they spread the news to draw in a large number of pirates to test me, while also using those pirates to wear down the warship's combat strength.

"On the other hand, they followed behind me, intending to act after we entered the Calm Belt. But to ensure nothing went wrong, they could not appear under Germa's name.

"So they disguised themselves as the Ironclad Pirates, set an ambush in the Calm Belt, and prepared to take Rosinante away. When they saw that they could not buy me off, they chose to use force."

The more Cuckoo and the others listened, the more something felt off. Kane's account was so detailed and convincing that it did not sound like a frame-up at all. It sounded like the truth.

Tsuru raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded in praise. "The logic is sound, and it makes sense. Do you have evidence?"

"I said I was framing them. Where would I get evidence?"

Kane spread his hands. Tsuru had not kept the armor fragment, which meant the thing could not serve as evidence at all. Therefore, Kane's words were destined to remain nothing more than an accusation.

But what did it matter if there was no evidence?

Even if a fish that had been hooked slipped free, its appearance could still be seen clearly!

Kane did not believe that Sengoku and Tsuru, with all their... shrewd calculation, would let the words "no evidence" tie their hands.

Sure enough, Tsuru did not ask Kane anything else. She nodded in satisfaction and said,

"Go back to your warship and rest. Gion said that since I intend to entrust you with an important task, I should temper you properly.

"So after she joins us tonight, she will put you through high-intensity training before we leave the Calm Belt."

The moment she finished speaking, Swift gave Kane a sympathetic look, while Grey Pigeon burst into hearty laughter.

Cuckoo, meanwhile, looked at Kane with concern. She had a feeling that for quite some time to come, she would not be able to spar with him.

Kane, who had just stood up, stiffened. He turned toward Tsuru with difficulty, swallowed, and said,

"I was actually seriously injured in the battle just now. I need to stay in bed for a long time, so I may have to disappoint Lady Gion's good intentions..."

"Are you sure you want me to tell Gion that?"

Tsuru smiled meaningfully. "I do not really mind, but Gion has never been gentle with those who deceive her.

"Back then, Tokikake only told her one lie to save face, yet Gion still has not forgiven him."

Kane shuddered for no apparent reason. His expression darkened as he fell silent for a moment, then he gritted his teeth, stiffened his neck, and left the command room.

Training was training!

It was not like I had never been trained before!

With everyone watching...

She would not dare beat me to death, would she?!

Besides, I am not who I used to be!

I am stronger now, and also...

Better at taking a beating!

When Kane returned to the warship with high fighting spirit and an unyielding resolve, Hina asked in surprise,

"Why are you walking with the same arm and leg forward?"

"Is... is that so?"

Kane awkwardly adjusted his gait, forced out a stiff smile, and returned to his cabin.

Lying on the bed with Robin pressed against him, Kane finally felt somewhat more relaxed and could not help letting out a long sigh.

"What is wrong?"

A finger gently toyed with his earlobe, while a floral-scented breath carried a concerned question into his ear.

"I am about to get beaten up. The kind I cannot avoid."

"Huh?"

Robin looked at Kane's bitter smile, pushed herself up, climbed onto his chest, and comforted him by pressing herself close to him without any hesitation.

"Why can't you avoid it?"

"Because the person who is going to beat me up is too strong."

Kane wrapped his arms around Robin, who resembled a flower fairy, and patiently explained as he recalled the past.

"When Marine Headquarters trains Marines, instructors are selected from among the commissioned officers.

"Usually, Vice Admiral Zephyr serves as the chief instructor, while the other instructors either volunteer or are chosen at random.

"One of them is named Gion, codenamed Momousagi. She is one of the most beautiful female Marines in the Marines.

"But even more famous than her beauty are the methods she uses to train recruits, which are harsh to an extreme.

"Once, a new Marine questioned her training methods and was beaten so badly that he was left gravely injured and near death.

"And during every training session afterward, whenever Gion came across that recruit, she would beat him mercilessly. She would not stop until she had sent him to the headquarters hospital."

Robin instinctively hugged Kane tighter and asked worriedly, "That is terrifying. What happened to that recruit later?"

Kane suddenly trembled and said with an ugly expression,

"That recruit..."

"Was me."