Dragon, burdened by unresolved mental trauma, was temporarily taken away by Garp.
For the foreseeable future, he would remain under his father's supervision to recuperate.
Aokiji and Aramaki, on the other hand, followed Lloyd back to the Navy School, where accommodations were arranged alongside the other incoming students.
The three of them, including the absent Dragon, were assigned to the same dormitory.
When the day's activities concluded, Lloyd found a moment to lean closer to Aramaki and spoke in a low voice.
"Wait for me on the school's training ground tonight."
Aramaki froze briefly, instinctively opening his mouth to respond, but Lloyd raised a single finger in a silencing gesture.
The meaning was unmistakable.
Lloyd gave him a long, unreadable look, then turned and walked away as if nothing had happened.
---
That night, the dormitory lights went out.
Once Aokiji's steady snoring echoed through the room, Aramaki placed a wooden dummy beneath his blanket.
His body dissolved into twisting vines, which slipped quietly through the narrow gap in the window.
He reassembled beneath a towering tree on the training ground, his eyes darting around nervously.
Lowering his voice, he called out,
"Senior Lloyd?"
"I am here."
The voice descended calmly from above.
Aramaki looked up and saw Lloyd seated on a thick branch, his back resting against the trunk, posture relaxed yet imposing.
Aramaki quickly put on an honest, almost harmless smile.
"So you were already here, Senior Lloyd. Sorry to keep you waiting. That ice idiot sleeps way too deeply."
"Enough," Lloyd said flatly.
"Do not waste my time."
In an instant, Lloyd was standing directly in front of him.
Aramaki stiffened.
Up close, Lloyd's presence was completely different from the composed senior he had shown earlier that day.
His eyes were dark and hollow, like bottomless voids.
There was no warmth in them, only calculation.
Aramaki swallowed and forced a smile.
"May I ask what you need me for, Senior Lloyd?"
A smile appeared on Lloyd's face, faint and measured.
Instead of easing the tension, it sent a chill through Aramaki's spine.
"Tell me," Lloyd said softly.
"Who sent you to the Navy School?"
A flicker of panic crossed Aramaki's face before disappearing behind a carefully crafted expression of confusion.
"I came on my own. You could say I was inspired by your achievements, Senior Lloyd. Kuzan is the same."
Lloyd's smile widened slightly.
"I see," he replied.
"So that is how it is."
Aramaki nodded enthusiastically, appearing sincere and simple.
Then came a sharp sound.
In the next moment, Lloyd's hand closed around Aramaki's neck, lifting him off the ground as though he weighed nothing.
The speed was overwhelming.
At such close range, Aramaki had no chance to react.
His eyes bulged as he clawed desperately at Lloyd's wrist.
Guttural choking sounds escaped his throat as his feet kicked uselessly in the air.
"If you keep pretending," Lloyd said with a grin,
"you will die."
His hand darkened instantly as Armament Haki surged, layered with an ominous pull.
The energy radiating from his grip burned and twisted violently.
Elementalization was impossible.
Aramaki's Devil Fruit ability was completely suppressed.
His face turned a deep shade of purple as his breath ran out.
With what little strength he had left, he shook his head frantically.
Lloyd's eyes narrowed.
A dark vortex formed in his palm, and gravity began to intensify.
Aramaki felt his neck bending at an unnatural angle as the force increased.
"I already know the World Government sent you," Lloyd continued evenly.
"You know who I am. I thought you had potential and decided to give you a chance. Instead, you chose foolishness."
Without memories of the anime and knowledge of Aramaki's nature, Lloyd might have believed he had joined the Navy out of genuine admiration, like Aokiji.
But this man's reverence for the World Government and the Celestial Dragons made the truth obvious.
Aramaki's neck began to deform under the pressure.
With his final strength, he nodded.
Lloyd released him immediately.
Aramaki hit the ground hard, gasping for air as his lungs burned.
Had it lasted a few seconds longer, death would have been inevitable.
Once his breathing steadied slightly, Lloyd crouched in front of him, his voice quiet and merciless.
"This is your last chance. Speak."
Aramaki felt no desire to resist.
Whether in status or strength, Lloyd was far beyond him.
Worse still, Lloyd had already exposed the truth of his origin.
Confessing was his only option.
If Lloyd killed him here, no one would truly care.
The Navy might conduct a token investigation, but it would end without consequence.
Aramaki was loyal to the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, but even that loyalty had limits.
Had Lloyd not been a Celestial Dragon himself, Aramaki would never have spoken.
Taking a deep breath, he bowed his head respectfully.
"Senior Lloyd… Saint Lloyd. I am CP0. I was sent by Saint Warcury."
Lloyd raised an eyebrow.
Saint Warcury was a name Garling had mentioned before, a man who openly harbored hostility toward the Figarland Family and never missed a chance to stir trouble.
That explained everything.
"What did he send you to do?" Lloyd asked.
"Monitor me?"
Aramaki flinched and pressed his forehead to the ground, trembling in silence.
That alone was confirmation.
Lloyd paused briefly before speaking again.
"What is his objective?"
"Saint Warcury did not explain," Aramaki answered hurriedly.
"He only ordered me to report everything you say and do within the Navy."
Lloyd let out a cold laugh.
"Monitoring the Figarland Family," he said.
"He certainly has courage."
Tears welled in Aramaki's eyes.
Grabbing onto Lloyd's leg, he spoke desperately.
"Saint Lloyd, I never wanted this mission. Saint Warcury said my Logia ability and my age made me the perfect candidate to enter the Navy and get close to you."
"So he planned it thoroughly," Lloyd replied.
He shook Aramaki off and stood.
"Get up."
Aramaki staggered to his feet, his face streaked with tears and mucus, utterly pitiful.
Then Lloyd spoke again, and the words nearly shattered him.
"The moment you accepted this mission, you committed a capital offense," Lloyd said calmly.
"Tell me, should I end it for you, or will you do it yourself?"
____
Power stones please?