The next day, Kaito followed Kalifa and the others to the Headquarters building. Inside, he happened to run into a familiar face — Domino, whom he'd met before in Impel Down.
Seeing Kaito, Domino let out a startled cry, then jogged over, bowed to him, and said,
"Your Majesty, it's an honor to see you!"
Kaito nodded slightly and asked with curiosity,
"Why would a prison officer come work at Headquarters?"
Domino answered,
"My position has already been taken over by Little Sadi. As you know, the number of pirates has sharply decreased over the past few years, and the prison has become extremely quiet. I felt there wasn't much work left, so I applied to secretary Kalifa and came to work at Headquarters!"
"I see. Then work hard here. With your capability, you really are better suited for this place."
"Thank you for your encouragement, Your Majesty!"
Domino smiled brightly and bowed to Kaito. Then her expression turned serious as she looked at Kalifa and said,
"Secretary Kalifa, Dracule Mihawk just arrived at Headquarters. I've already arranged him in the reception room."
Kalifa blinked in surprise and asked,
"Mihawk? Why would he come to Headquarters?"
"He said he brought his disciple here to look around!"
Hearing that, Kaito immediately grew interested. He asked from the side,
"What's the name of his disciple?"
"Zoro!"
"Interesting. How did those two even end up together..."
Kalifa asked curiously,
"Boss, do you know this Zoro?"
"No, but I know of him — a navigation prodigy. Alright, you all go work. I'll go check on Mihawk."
Kalifa nodded, then left with Domino.
Kaito arrived at the reception room. As soon as he entered, he saw Mihawk leaning back with his arms crossed, hat covering his face, seemingly dozing.
There was only him inside — Zoro wasn't there.
After Kaito entered, Mihawk slightly lifted his head. When he saw it was Kaito, he immediately got up from the chair, looking shocked as he said,
"How is it you?!"
Kaito shrugged and sat down opposite Mihawk, saying,
"Surprised to see me? We can be considered old acquaintances, right?"
"Uh… I thought you weren't at Headquarters. And with your current status, it's not exactly easy to meet you."
"Haha, what's this? Even you have started caring about status? I still remember how you wolfed down food in front of me back then."
At that, the two shared a knowing smile. Mihawk couldn't help but sigh,
"I already thought you were terrifying back then. Never expected that in such a short time you'd achieve so much — you even toppled the World Government!"
"So today you're bringing someone to join me? Tsk tsk, raising you wouldn't be easy."
"Who's joining you? I just want Zoro to broaden his horizons. After all, during that war, you wiped out almost all the strong ones on the sea."
"Oh? That Zoro counts as your disciple? What made you decide to take one?"
"Boredom. Shanks got locked up by you, so I don't even have a rival anymore. Some time ago, I went to the East Blue, and on the way I saw that kid. He was lost."
"As expected. Did you two exchange blows?"
"Yes. The moment he saw me he got fired up. His swordsmanship is a bit lousy, but he has a solid conviction. I liked that, so I brought him back to the Grand Line. But he hasn't formally acknowledged me as his master yet."
"So where is he now?"
"He said he was going to explore on his own. He should be back by now."
"...You actually let him wander alone?"
Mihawk froze for a moment and said,
"Of course. He's not a kid. How would he get lost?"
"Really? Then tell me — in all the time you've spent with him, you never noticed anything… particular about him?"
"Not yet. Before this we were living on my island, and after I threw him to the baboons, I didn't bother with him much."
"Alright. Let me check where your disciple is."
A streak of golden light flashed through Kaito's eyes. The entirety of Marineford came into view, and almost instantly he located Zoro — he was at the training grounds behind the mountain.
...
Half an hour earlier—
Zoro frowned as he arrived at the back mountain. He scratched his head and muttered,
"Strange… Marineford isn't even big. How did I lose the big building from earlier?"
Suddenly, he heard crackling sounds of fighting, mixed with shouts:
"Gum-Gum…!"
"Take this! Love Fist!"
"Bang!"
"Ouuch!"
Following the noise, Zoro found three young men in Marine uniforms, around his age.
One had yellow hair and was sitting on a rock holding a metal pipe, smiling as he watched the other two fight.
Calling it a fight was generous — it was more like one-sided bullying. The one whose body stretched freely was being beaten senseless by the other.
Naturally, the three were Luffy, Ace, and Sabo.
Luffy had already been beaten by Ace until his nose and face were swollen. He breathed heavily while swinging his arms, looking for a chance to attack.
Ace had far fewer injuries than Luffy. He posed like a boxer and said,
"Luffy, how's this boxing style I learned from Grandpa?"
Luffy snorted and muttered,
"What's so great about it? I'm not scared anymore!"
Ace grinned and said,
"Oh? Then try this too — Fist...!"
Luffy stared wide-eyed at Ace's fist, not blinking, but Ace suddenly shot out a kick and shouted,
"Love Great Kick!"
Smack!
A bright red shoeprint appeared on Luffy's face instantly. He rolled wildly on the ground holding his face, while Sabo, sitting on the rock, rubbed his forehead helplessly.
Ace made a face at Luffy and mocked,
"Idiot! You couldn't dodge that? Luffy, your Observation Haki is still terrible!"
Luffy climbed back up, looking hurt as he muttered,
"You cheated! You said 'Fist,' then kicked me!"
"Tch, you always shout 'Gum-Gum' before your moves. I'm used to it~"
Their combat turned into bickering. Sabo suddenly raised his hand to stop them.
"Alright! Stop for now! Someone's coming!"
All three turned their heads and saw Zoro standing there with arms crossed, watching.
Sabo's eyes glanced at the three swords at Zoro's waist, and he politely asked,
"Hello, may I ask who you're looking for?"
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