Off the coast of Marineford, in the shadows of the Calm Belt.
Huang Zhong stood at the bow of the fast ship, his Sunset Bow already drawn, an arrow wreathed in a pale golden temporal glow nocked against its string. Dialga's power of time flowed around him, and his gaze seemed to pierce dozens of nautical miles, taking in every detail of the battlefield at Marineford with perfect clarity.
Jewelry Bonney stood beside him, her small hands clutching his cloak tightly. As she watched the flames and explosions on the distant battlefield, her little face turned deathly pale, and even her breathing grew rapid.
She had spotted that familiar figure in the crowd.
Kuma stood at the edge of the square, watching the battlefield without expression. He neither attacked nor moved, as though he were an outsider. Yet Jewelry Bonney could clearly see his fingers curling slightly. He was plainly not as calm as he appeared.
"Godfather... my father..." Jewelry Bonney's voice trembled slightly.
"Don't worry. He's fine." Huang Zhong slowly relaxed his fully drawn bowstring, and the temporal glow around the arrow gradually dissipated. "The World Government's people are watching him from right beside him. He can't make any unusual moves right now. Once the war draws to a close, we'll get him out."
His gaze shifted away from Kuma and finally settled on Marineford's harbor entrance, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
He paid no attention to Whitebeard on the battlefield, nor to the Three Admirals' attacks. His attention remained fixed on the direction of Impel Down.
The core mission His Majesty had entrusted to him had never been to participate in this Paramount War. It was to prevent Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach, from seizing Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"Wind-Listening Guard, any movement over at Impel Down?" Huang