It Takes Two

"Kuzan, be serious."

Zephyr glared at Aokiji.

When the kid had first joined the Marines, he had been a hot-blooded young man.

"Okay, okay."

Aokiji raised his hands in surrender.

"What exactly happened?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned and asked gravely, "Who's behind this?"

Sengoku fell silent for a moment, then said, "Unless something unexpected happened, it should be Byrnndi World."

"World?"

Zephyr was taken aback. "Hadn't that guy been frozen for over twenty years?"

"Impel Down doesn't know the details either."

Sengoku shook his head. "But those prisoners all addressed him as 'my lord,' and..."

He paused, then added, "Magellan said that, besides the More-More Fruit, World also displayed another Devil Fruit ability!"

"What?"

All three were shocked.

Even Aokiji couldn't help raising his voice. "Was Magellan serious?"

It was an ironclad rule that one person could only possess one Devil Fruit ability.

"There's no mistake."

Sengoku said, "According to Magellan, it was an ability that could create invisible objects. Even if the More-More Fruit had awakened, it absolutely shouldn't be like that."

"This..."

Zephyr frowned as well.

"So how exactly did World get free?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru pressed.

"That's unclear too."

Sengoku shook his head again. "Redfield and Bullet watched everything happen, but neither of them will talk. There's no chance of making them submit through torture, either."

"However, Magellan has a theory."

He looked at Zephyr. "He thinks it's very likely connected to that mother and son."

Zephyr was taken aback. "You mean the mother and son we captured?"

"They also addressed World as 'my lord,'" Sengoku said. "And the son was imprisoned on the sixth level. When he was locked up, World was still frozen in the ice, and the riot began just a few hours later."

"Magellan's theory is that the woman might have been a member of the World Pirates back then, and that she got captured this time to rescue World."

"..."

Zephyr pressed his lips together.

If that was the case-

"That group has become a little too powerful."

Sengoku said gravely, "Byrnndi World, whom even Magellan could do nothing about; the formidable 'Son of Whitebeard'; Swift Sword Salt, whose bounty exceeds four hundred million; Nation-Stealing General Anthony; plus the other prisoners from the sixth level and more than a hundred other prisoners who were released."

"We have to deal with them as soon as possible."

"I'll have Borsalino come back."

Sengoku looked at Aokiji. "Until then, Kuzan, take some men to Impel Down. Search the surrounding area from there, and leave some men behind as well. The Impel Down guards were almost completely wiped out this time, so they need reinforcements. I'll put all the forces headquarters can mobilize under your command."

"Ara ara, what a chore. Searching the Calm Belt won't be easy."

Aokiji scratched his head. "All right, I'll head over right away."

Sengoku continued, "Besides that, I'll notify the nearby branches immediately and have them send ships to help with the search. As for the government, I'll go to Mary Geoise to see the Five Elders shortly. The Cipher Pol System needs to act at the same time."

"That's all we can do for now."

Vice Admiral Tsuru nodded slowly.

But just then-

"I'll go too."

Zephyr suddenly spoke up.

"Zephyr?"

Sengoku looked at him in surprise.

"I was the one who sent that mother and son to Impel Down. I can't escape responsibility for this incident."

Zephyr said seriously, "How can I just stand by?"

"What does it have to do with you? Who could have anticipated that those two would be so cunning?"

Sengoku said, "Besides, I've put all the available men under Kuzan's command. Are you going to search on your own?"

Zephyr paused, then smiled faintly. "Don't we still have those kids?"

"You mean those recruits?"

Sengoku nodded thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, that does seem feasible."

According to Zephyr, the recruit named Naito was extraordinarily strong, comparable to a headquarters vice admiral, and he had been the one who earned the credit for capturing the mother and son earlier.

With him helping Zephyr lead the team, there really wouldn't be a problem.

"All right, Zephyr. Take the recruits to the Sabaody Archipelago."

Sengoku said, "If those prisoners want to go to the New World, they'll have to pass through the Sabaody Archipelago."

"But remember, your mission is to investigate and search. That group is strong, so even if you encounter them, don't act rashly."

Zephyr had struggled enough against the mother and son last time. Their enemies were even stronger now, so Sengoku felt a reminder was necessary.

"You really are looking down on me."

The usually composed Zephyr pushed up his glasses, looking a little annoyed, but still nodded. "All right, we'll disguise ourselves as civilians."

"Good!"

And so, a little later.

Naito was sleeping soundly when the emergency assembly bell woke him.

He forced his sleepy eyes open and assembled on the training ground, surrounded by sighs and groans.

We've already graduated, and we're still doing emergency assemblies?

But when Zephyr spoke, everyone froze.

"Emergency mission. There's been a prison break at Impel Down, and a group of criminals has escaped out to sea. They may be heading for the New World. Our mission is to go to the Sabaody Archipelago and search for traces of them!"

Exclamations rang out all around him. Everyone was quite at a loss over the sudden mission.

Only Naito yawned.

Couldn't this have waited until tomorrow morning, Teacher Zephyr?

Getting the prisoners out of the Calm Belt was hard enough. I'm really tired, you know? I'd only just started wandering through my dreams.

But the Sabaody Archipelago? Aren't we going to run right into each other?

Chapter 13: It Takes Two (Please keep reading!)

The Sabaody Archipelago.

Generally speaking, it was the end of the first half of the Grand Line.

It was formed from the exposed roots of a single Yarukiman Mangrove, the largest tree in the world. As a result, it had no magnetic field and could not be reached using a Log Pose or an Eternal Pose.

But that made no difference. All ships seeking to reach Fish-Man Island would eventually be guided by their Poses to the vicinity of the archipelago.

The Sabaody Archipelago was divided into seventy-nine areas, each supported by a giant mangrove.

This was Area 16, one of the island's notorious Lawless Zones. The people gathered here were a shady lot: pirates, gangsters, human traffickers, and underground merchants.

That didn't mean the area was a ruin, however. After all, even outlaws needed to spend money.

There were plenty of commercial establishments in the area as well.

Outside a certain tavern, beneath a parasol.

Ain wore a baseball cap and yellow sunglasses, with a glass of juice in front of her. As she flipped through a newspaper, she discreetly watched the building not far away.

She wasn't wearing a Marine sailor uniform. Instead, she had changed into civilian clothes: a light purple sleeveless fitted top and blue micro-shorts, with her long, slender, fair-skinned legs crossed.

Naito sat in the chair beside Ain, his face blank. He had slid down in his seat, the back of his head resting against the chair.

Naito had also changed into civilian clothes. He wore a loose gray graphic T-shirt, light blue shorts, and flip-flops, with a small bag slung across his chest and a bucket hat on his head. He looked very much like a tourist.

He simply stared blankly at the underside of the parasol. If he hadn't still been breathing, he could easily have been mistaken for a dead man.

Ain glanced at Naito, who looked ready to fall asleep at any moment, and tried to suppress the smile tugging at her lips. "Don't fall asleep, Naito. The escapees could show up at any time."

Naito's voice was hollow, as though he were nothing more than a soulless shell. "Are you enjoying my misery, Ain?"

"I'm just reminding you."

Ain's lips were on the verge of curling into a smile.

Naito's mouth twitched.

The entire Sabaody Archipelago was already under lockdown, and the Marines were searching everywhere.

But that still wasn't enough. The Sabaody Archipelago was too large, and there were still many places that needed watching.

So, on Zephyr's orders, the recruits had split up.

They worked in pairs. The weaker ones were responsible for the safer areas, while the stronger ones handled the more dangerous areas.

Ain and Naito had been assigned to the Lawless Zone in Area 16, where they were to keep watch on the building nearby.

It was an underground shipyard that specialized in coating ships for pirates. If paid enough, it could even provide ships that had already been coated.

If the escaped criminals wanted to go to the New World, they would almost certainly come to Sabaody.

And if he came to Sabaody, there was a chance he would come here.

The reasoning made sense, but Naito was having a hard time.

After training to the point of exhaustion yesterday, he had caused an uproar at Impel Down last night and taken the prisoners out of the Calm Belt in one go. His mental energy had also been severely depleted.

He had just been about to wander through his dreams to recover when he was woken up, made to pack his things, and whisked away by ship to the Sabaody Archipelago.