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His clenched fist crackled, and the ice behind him reflected Robin's suddenly pale face.
Kuzan glanced down at that fist, then up at the boy's taut lips, and suddenly let out a very soft sigh.
"Looks like negotiations have broken down."
He lowered his hand and slipped it back into his coat pocket.
"Then we'll settle this the Navy's way."
The sea wind lashed their faces with grains of ice, like countless fine needles piercing their skin.
The boy in the straw hat took a step forward, his boot crushing the thin frost on the deck.
"If you want to take her, you'll have to get through me first."
The tall, lean man leaned against the railing, his white breath instantly shredded by the wind.
He leisurely adjusted his sleep mask, a certain amused weariness in his voice.
"Garp's grandson wants to attack one of the Navy's strongest fighters? This script is a little too ridiculous."
"You're the ridiculous one!"
The boy did not raise his voice, but he bit out every word.
The woman behind him hunched her shoulders, her nails digging deep into her palms.
"The girl I know couldn't possibly have committed a crime worth seventy-nine million."
Ice crystals formed at the man's fingertips, shattered, then formed again.
The winds across the entire stretch of sea began to shift erratically, and dark clouds rolled in from the horizon.
"How much do you really know?"
He lowered his eyes, watching the cold air swirl in his palm. "A child wanted since she was eight, surviving to this day through betrayal and flight.
"Every group that ever sheltered her-"
The deck groaned under the strain.
An invisible pressure pulled the ropes taut and swelled the sails, while ice crept up along the ship's sides.
"Not one escaped unscathed."