A modest grave rested near the coastline, distinguished only by the three swords thrust into the earth before it.
Two were shattered blades. Sōzai and Kogarashi.
The third remained whole, its polished steel gleaming dully in the afternoon light. Oto.
No inscription marked the grave, but the swords alone told the story. Anyone who knew swords would recognize them instantly. Golden Lion Shiki lay buried here.
Not far from the unmarked tomb, Finn sat on the rain-worn rocks overlooking the sea. The white cloak of Justice draped across his shoulders fluttered in the salt breeze. He raised a half-empty bottle to his lips, eyes distant as he watched waves crash against the shore.
Seven days had passed since the incident at Impel Down.
Shiki's prison break had ended before it truly began. One step beyond those legendary walls, and the legend himself had died. Because of that, the escape attempt triggered no chain reaction. The incident never reached the newspapers. Few people knew it had even happened.
After all, the prisoners on Level Six were criminals whose very existence the World Government preferred to erase from history's memory. Their stories weren't meant to resurface.
"Drinking again?" Gion's voice came from behind him, carrying a teasing lilt.
Finn glanced over his shoulder, then turned back to the sea with a slight smile. "What do you mean, 'again'? I just happened to walk this way."
"You've been brooding all week." Gion moved to stand beside him, arms crossed beneath her chest. "What's going on? You killed the Golden Lion yourself. Are you really getting sentimental about it now?"
"Sentimental? Me?" Finn laughed, the sound sharp and bitter. "I'm a Marine Admiral candidate. Why would I waste sentiment on a bastard pirate?"
Gion didn't argue. Her gaze drifted to the grave, noting the three swords, the careful placement. "You built him a grave though. Lucky there's no inscription, or explaining this would be difficult."
"I've just been thinking," Finn said after a long pause. "Why did someone like Shiki die the way he did? What was he missing?"
Gion opened her mouth to respond, but the words caught in her throat.
What had Shiki lacked? Fame? He'd been legendary. Power? Few could match him. Status? He'd commanded armadas. Strength? He'd fought Roger and Whitebeard as equals.
He'd possessed everything a pirate could want. All of it first-rate.
Yet he'd died so easily, so pathetically.
"Maybe just... a little bit of luck," Finn murmured.
Understanding flickered in Gion's eyes. "Yes. Shiki had everything except luck."
"Before he died, he asked me something." Finn swirled the remaining liquor in his bottle. "He wanted to know what the world would look like if that storm at Edd War had never happened."
"What did you tell him?"
"I said if there'd been no storm, perhaps Shiki would have been unparalleled in the world." Finn's expression grew distant. "I meant it at the time. Or maybe I just admired how gracefully he accepted death. Either way, those words were meant to comfort a dying man."
He took another drink, grimacing slightly at the burn.
"But if he could ask me again today," Finn continued, voice hardening, "I'd give a different answer."
"What answer?" Gion's curiosity was genuine now.
Finn's eyes blazed with sudden intensity. "Storm or no storm, it wouldn't have mattered. He would have been defeated by me."
Gion stared at him for a heartbeat, then burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! Now that's the Finn I know. How arrogant."
"This sea is too small." Finn gestured broadly at the horizon. "Barely enough room for me to explore. How could there be anyone worthy of being called 'unparalleled in the world'?"
"That's quite an underestimation of the world's heroes." Gion's eyes narrowed in mock offense. "The sea is only big enough for you? What about the rest of us?"
Finn smiled but said nothing.
After a moment of studying his infuriatingly smug expression, Gion decided not to pursue the argument. She patted Konpira at her waist. "You know, I did offer you this sword once. You refused it then. Now you've given Sōzai to Shiki, and you don't even have a broken blade anymore. That Oto over there is a fine sword. Why not use it? Leaving it stuck in a grave seems wasteful."
Finn glanced at the sword before Shiki's tomb. "When Shiki first broke out of Impel Down, I'll admit the thought crossed my mind. But after he died..." He shook his head. "I lost all interest."
"What do you mean?"
"Everything about him should become legend alongside his name. Never to appear again." Finn's voice carried an odd note of finality. "You have no idea what I gave up by killing him. So why should I care about a sword anymore?"
Gion rolled her eyes. "So you killed Shiki in Impel Down, got nothing in return, and even lost your own sword in the process?"
"Shouldn't there be some reward from Headquarters?" Finn rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Gion's expression turned thoughtful. "Well... from Headquarters' perspective, this might not count as much as you think."
"What?" Finn raised an eyebrow.
"Originally, because of our G-7 prisoner transfers, Impel Down had a lot of contact with us. From Headquarters' viewpoint, you and Impel Down have a certain... integration." Gion chose her words carefully. "Plus, you were on site during an emergency. Handling it was your duty. How can that count as exceptional merit?"
She paused, then continued. "And even if it did count, you're already an Admiral candidate. You're one step away from the top. How can they reward you with more merit?"
Finn burst out laughing. "So basically, I leveled up too fast?"
It made sense when he thought about it. At this stage, having already planted one foot in the Admiral ranks, his relationship with Marine Headquarters had fundamentally changed. It wasn't a simple superior-subordinate dynamic anymore.
They were approaching the same level.
One glory for all, one shame for all.
Merit meant nothing now because he'd become an Admiral candidate, just one step from the summit. What he lacked wasn't merit. It was the final nod from above.
From this perspective, additional merit really served no purpose. Look at Admiral Sengoku, who'd worked tirelessly for decades. Did anyone talk about his "merit points"?
Because Sengoku had transcended that system. He'd become someone who created merit for others, not someone who accumulated it for himself. Finn, though not yet in position, effectively operated at that same level now.
Merit and rewards were useless to people like them.
What they should pursue was continuously strengthening the Marines' collective power and interests. That was the foundation of their existence now.
The stronger the Marines, the more authority they wielded, the more they could accomplish.
After his laughter faded, Finn's eyes grew thoughtful.
Shiki's death had affected him more deeply than he'd expected. The pirate's final heroism, that defiant acceptance of fate, had shaken something in Finn's spirit.
It made him question whether he'd been too cautious. Too measured.
He'd always approached this world carefully, treating it like the powder keg it was. Before this, his ambitions had extended only to interfering with the Seven Warlords system. But really, what were the Seven Warlords?
Twenty years in the future, Fujitora would arrive and immediately demand their abolition. How domineering was that?
Finn already possessed enough power to stand among this world's strongest. Why should he remain so cautious?
The Warlords were just the first step. The second step should be eliminating the so-called Four Emperors.
There was no need to even allow a Four Emperors pattern to establish itself in this ocean.
This sea only needed one voice. The Marines' voice.
And he happened to be a Marine.
But Finn quickly shelved those thoughts. Perhaps that thinking was correct, but for now, securing the Admiral position came first.
"Speaking of collapsed situations," Finn said, changing the subject, "how's the New World holding up? I heard Borsalino suffered another defeat."
Not long ago, while Finn had been dealing with O'Hara, Borsalino had skirmished with the Big Mom Pirates in the New World. Or rather, he'd been ambushed.
Back on Kusagumo Island, Borsalino and Finn had teamed up to defeat Charlotte Linlin. After that, Finn had returned to G-7. Even if Linlin possessed both courage and ability, she couldn't possibly reach G-7 to retaliate.
But she could still vent her rage.
All of it had been directed at the unlucky Borsalino. If he hadn't fled at light speed, he and his entire fleet would have been destroyed by the Big Mom Pirates.
"It's not just the New World." Gion's expression darkened. "The first half of the Grand Line is collapsing too. Vice Admiral Vislan was killed. The entire G-16 base was annihilated. Over five hundred Marines are missing. Even Spring Queen Island fell." She paused, jaw tight. "And this might just be the beginning."
"In this pirate surge, there are always one or two dazzling talents," Finn sighed.
He'd never even heard of the person who destroyed G-16 before.
The man's name was Craster. Current bounty: 460 million berries. He'd formed a powerful fleet with nearly seven thousand pirates under his command.
His ability was particularly troublesome. Paramecia, the Blood-Blood Fruit. Reportedly, he could control blood itself.
Apparently Vice Admiral Vislan had been careless, suffering a small cut in combat. Instantly, his blood had erupted like a broken dam, draining him completely dry in seconds. The ability's strangeness defied imagination.
And it wasn't just Craster. Many new, arrogant powers had emerged across the seas, far beyond just the few Finn knew about. Doflamingo, Gekko Moriah, and others.
Beyond those recognizable names, countless brutal newcomers had appeared.
Pirates with bounties exceeding one hundred million were becoming common.
Just as Finn contemplated this troubling trend, the Den Den Mushi in his pocket began ringing. He pulled it out, glanced at the shell, then hesitated slightly.
"It's Stussy from CP."
Gion's expression soured instantly. "That vixen." She turned on her heel and walked away without another word.
Finn watched her retreating back with amusement, then answered the call. "Lady Stussy? What can I do for you?"
Hearing Finn's teasing tone, Stussy laughed. "I wouldn't dare give you orders, Lord Finn. Actually, I have two pieces of good news for you today."
"What good news?" Finn's interest perked up.
"First, I've become the Chief of CP-0's Special External Asset Group, Pleasure Street. From now on, you could call me a 'big shot.'" Pride colored Stussy's voice.
Finn grinned. "Congratulations, Queen Stussy."
"Queen? Haha, I quite like that title." Stussy's pleasure was audible even through the transponder snail.
But her mood stabilized quickly. She wasn't someone who lost perspective easily.
"Second," she continued, voice becoming more professional, "there's news about that famous sword you asked me to find."
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