"Cover Story Serial · Straw Hat Crew Part 13 · 'You've gone too far, Garp!'"
[At Marine Headquarters, Sengoku slammed the table in anger, furiously scolding the old man sitting across from him who had been on leave for a whole three months. The latter simply hugged Ace in his arms, grinning without a word of explanation, letting his old friend vent his anger…"
...
After a few simple pleasantries, or rather, insults, Aokiji leisurely rode his bicycle and followed Nao into the coastal town.
The kingdom's soldiers, along with the civilians who had previously retreated and hidden away, were finally recovering from the shock of that world-shaking display of Ten Thousand Thunders: Heavenly Pull.
Thus, the men who had saved the town at the critical moment—Nao and Aokiji—were instantly welcomed as heroes of the highest order. Applause, cheers, and whistles resounded without end.
Especially Nao. As he walked down the street, he was nearly drowned in adoring gazes, blown kisses, and showers of rose petals fluttering from the sky.
His arms were piled with flower bouquets stacked so high they were taller than he was.
"They always said Dressrosa was the country of love and passion… guess they weren't lying."
Pushing his bike from behind, Aokiji sighed wistfully, then muttered bitterly,
"Speaking of which, I'm the single one here. Why aren't any cute girls giving me flowers…"
Damn it.
So this was what it was like to appear on stage alongside Nao?
The spotlight never landed on him—it always had to be on the handsome, sharp-eyed guy instead.
Soon, they crossed the entire street. Ahead, the temporary palace came into view, where King Riku was already waiting at the gates with Kyros and the other guards.
"Vice Admiral Nao! Vice Admiral Kuzan!"
Before the two even set foot on the steps, King Riku had already hurried down himself, unable to hide his excitement as he extended his right hand.
"Thanks to your timely arrival in defeating those invading pirates, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable…"
King Riku's eyes were slightly red and swollen. When Kyros was defeated and the battle situation took a sharp turn for the worse, he, who was also fighting desperately, had truly been filled with despair.
"It's nothing—this is simply our duty as Marines."
Nao smiled, and together with Aokiji, he bowed slightly and politely shook hands with the king. At the king's enthusiastic invitation, they entered the palace to attend the celebratory banquet that was almost ready.
"This guy's not bad at all."
Looking at King Riku, who was personally leading the way, Aokiji suddenly whispered softly to Nao.
When he had carried out missions in the past, he had often been on the receiving end of poor treatment from the royalty of the World Government's allied nations.
Some royalty, even when saved by the Marines, took it as a given. Not only did they look down on him and order him around, but some even angrily blamed the Marines for arriving too late, causing significant property losses...
But this King Riku was different. He had personally led troops into the frontlines to resist invaders, he wasn't arrogant about his status, he knew how to be grateful, and he treated them with sincere humility.
Clearly, he was nothing like those pampered royals who thought themselves above all.
"Yeah. A rare one indeed." Nao nodded slightly, sharing the sentiment. Out of over 200 allied nations across the world, kings with this kind of character and vision were probably fewer than ten.
At that moment—
Beside the corridor in front of the palace, a black-haired girl of about ten years old hurriedly ran past.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the two strangers entering. Curious, she turned her head to look—when she clearly saw Nao's face, her eyes widened in surprise, and she froze on the spot.
Nao and Aokiji also noticed the black-haired girl, but their reactions were completely different.
Nao glanced at her, gave her a kind smile, and then looked away.
Aokiji, however, instantly narrowed his eyes, his breathing suddenly quickening.
Nico Robin?
Shouldn't she still be in the West Blue? How could she possibly be here?
What on earth had happened…
His thoughts spun wildly. After a moment's hesitation, he was just about to step forward to ask when a strong hand landed firmly on his shoulder to stop him. At the same time, Nao's lazy voice reached his ear:
"Don't be stupid. That's King Riku's daughter, Dressrosa's little princess, Viola—not the person you're thinking of."
"Huh?"
Aokiji turned back in astonishment, only to see Nao shrugging, looking at him speechlessly.
"Unbelievable. Are you face-blind or something? How could you mistake her? Take a closer look."
Dressrosa's princess?
Aokiji, doubtful and unsettled, looked at the black-haired girl more closely.
Her face was indeed almost identical to Nico Robin's, as if they'd been carved from the same mold. But there were clear differences—like the color of her pupils, which was completely distinct.
Fortunately, Nao had stopped him. Scratching his hair, Aokiji looked a little embarrassed.
Nao, watching this, found it rather amusing. This guy must've been too concerned for his own good. After all, it seemed he had quietly stepped in to help Robin clean up her messes more than once during her childhood—practically raising her as if she were his own daughter…
Still, it wasn't entirely his fault for mistaking her.
After all, Viola really did look a little too much like Robin.
Watching the small figure of Viola shyly run off, Nao touched his chin, his gaze thoughtful.
This princess, though born in completely different circumstances from Robin, hadn't had a much better fate—in fact, hers was even more tragic and miserable.
In the original timeline of the story, to prevent her father from being killed by Doflamingo, she was forced to take the alias "Violet" and serve as an assassin under the Donquixote Family's Trebol Army. She endured ten years of humiliation, working for her enemies.
When the dark clouds above Dressrosa were finally dispersed, and just before the Straw Hat Pirates departed, Violet, with a rose clenched in her teeth, danced a flawless flamenco under the sunlight—her expression blank, her movements honed to perfection through ten years of hardship…
That scene had been truly heartbreaking.
But now…
"Since I'm here, Dressrosa doesn't have to endure that kind of suffering again."
Nao lifted his head, his gaze seeming to pierce the sky toward the distant North Blue. His eyes flickered.
"The Donquixote Family… Doflamingo, huh…"
If he remembered correctly…
In the latter half of this very year, Sengoku would dispatch Rosinante to the North Blue, to infiltrate the Donquixote Family, gather evidence, and provide coordinates for Vice Admiral Tsuru's pursuit.
It was then that "Corazon," and the story with Law, would quietly begin to unfold…
…
The banquet wasn't particularly grand. After all, this wasn't the royal capital, and they had just endured a fierce battle.
But the atmosphere of the banquet wasn't affected at all. Dancers performed in Dressrosa's unique tropical style, music flowed gracefully, and at the tables cups clinked together as hosts and guests enjoyed themselves.
When the banquet ended, the Marines formally stationed itself in Dressrosa.
At King Riku's request, Momonga and Onigumo led marines every day, coordinating with the kingdom's royal guards to patrol the coastline separately, maintaining strict vigilance against any further pirate invasions with ill intentions.
But as it turned out.
King Riku was clearly overthinking it. He underestimated the deterrent effect of Nao's name on the pirates of the New World and overestimated these pirates' courage.
Since that day when "Ten Thousand Thunders: Heavenly Pull" descended, instantly vaporizing thousands of pirates, Dressrosa had become a forbidden zone in the eyes of pirates—a place where anyone who went would die. No one was willing to provoke the big shot currently stationed on the island.
A full three days passed.
The coastline remained calm and peaceful. Forget large-scale cannon fire and mass invasions—not even a single pirate skiff was seen…
Nao was fine. Most of the time, he stayed focused on his training, not much different from his routine back at Headquarters. He even spent time every day chatting on the den-den mushi with Gion and the others.
Aokiji, on the other hand, was left all alone and bored out of his mind. Every day he could only ride his bicycle, circling the entire island, hoping he might bump into some reckless pirate sneaking ashore.
But—
On the morning of the fourth day, something finally happened.
Not long after Nao and Aokiji finished breakfast, while they were arguing whether Dressrosa's specialty roasted pork knuckle was better dipped in sugar or salt, the urgent "Buru Buru" sound of a Den Den Mushi suddenly rang out.
After connecting the call, a voice of an unfamiliar middle-aged man came from the other end.
"Is… is this Vice Admiral Nao?" The voice was weak and strained, as if he was covering a wound and enduring the pain.
"I'm Shumi, a squad leader of CP-0, and the commander of this Poneglyph operation. We're on Hall Island. A major battle broke out here last night, and Karina's crew is also here..."
"The situation is not good. We desperately need help. Please come as soon as possible…"
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion suddenly drowned out his voice.
Then the communication signal cut off abruptly, and the Den Den Mushi returned to its normal state.
Nao and Aokiji's expressions both turned serious. They immediately called for someone to bring a sea chart of the nearby area. According to it, Hall Island wasn't too far from Dressrosa—at full speed, a Marine warship could reach it in about a day and a night.
However, it was clear.
This squad leader named Shumi was probably in a bad situation. And since this involved a Road Poneglyph, if they relied on a warship…
By the time a day and a night had passed, it would be far too late. Not just Shumi—even his entire CP-0 squad could be wiped out.
"Alala… looks like we finally have something to do."
Aokiji looked at Nao. "Although I'm not a big fan of those CP guys, we should help them at a time like this... Are you going, or am I?"
Even though Dressrosa had been calm these past few days, it was only because they were stationed there. Someone still needed to stay behind.
"These past few days, I've seen you riding your bike all over the place whenever you're free."
Nao glanced at the sea chart and shrugged. "if your riding skills have improved enough to break through your limits, and you can pedal faster than I can fly, then—
"You go. I'll stay." Aokiji cut him off before he could finish, sighing with quiet resignation.
——————--
The New World, somewhere at sea.
That morning, the weather had been clear and sunny. But suddenly, dark clouds gathered, and without warning, a torrential downpour began.
High above, wings of thunder crackled. Nao's figure moved like an arc of azure lightning, soaring through the clouds. The stormy conditions barely slowed him at all.
This kind of "battle aura wings" full-speed flight consumed a tremendous amount of stamina.
But the situation was urgent, and Nao couldn't afford to worry about that. Besides, his stamina bar was unusually high. Even after flying all the way to Hall Island, he still had about seventy to eighty percent of his stamina left—more than enough to deal with whatever situation awaited him.
In comparison—
What exactly the CP-0 Poneglyph retrieval squad had been up to these past few days, and what predicament they had encountered on that island, were what he was more concerned about.
Unfortunately, no one could give him answers.
Even at Headquarters it was the same. When he first set out, he had contacted Sengoku via den-den mushi, but the old man was just as baffled, answering every question with, "I don't know."
Clearly, this world government operation had been conducted independently of the Marine. From start to finish, no details had been disclosed to them.
The only up-to-date intel was that, starting last night, all three of the Sea Emperors seemed to have noticed something, urgently deploying more manpower, with each of them even sending out top-tier fighters.
There was a faint sense in the air—like the ominous pressure before a storm—that a great war was about to erupt at any moment.
"Hm? That is…"
Suddenly, Nao seemed to notice something. His brow arched, and his gaze turned toward a certain spot below.
Amidst the raging sea storm, a pirate ship with a figurehead shaped like a giant scorpion was struggling to sail through the waves.
And the black pirate flag flying on its mast… looked very familiar.
Nao's eyes flickered. After a moment's thought, his wings suddenly vibrated, and his figure shot downward like lightning.
...
"Damn it, what kind of cursed weather is this!"
On deck, a tall, thin man wrapped in rugged leather armor slammed the railing with his hand, scowling darkly as he cursed:
"Of all the rotten luck! I spent days searching for that Karina, finally got some intel, and now I'm ordered to sit here doing nothing—just monitoring the outskirts until Queen arrives, and then act?!"
"Lord Kaido is great and all, but he's way too biased! We're both Calamities—so why is that fat bastard allowed to be the commander for this mission, while I'm stuck doing dirty, menial work on the sidelines, and still have to take orders from him?!"