"Hmm, it's on fire!"
"Ah, it's burning fiercely!"
Nero and Hathaway stood on the deck of the golden rose, expressionlessly watching Ohara burn.
In the distance, some warships were still shelling the island, and the two could clearly hear the screams from Ohara with their Observation Haki.
"Hmm, the Marine now… hmm… no more pretense? Cards on the table?"
Nero spoke with a complex expression, struggling to articulate. This scene was a bit beyond her comprehension.
"Perhaps they discovered some major criminal, requiring a carpet bombing? Your Majesty, look, isn't there a civilian evacuation ship over there?"
Hathaway pointed to the distant sea, where an evacuation ship was fleeing into the distance.
"Hmm… Is that so?" Nero responded with a hint of doubt.
"Ah, it must be!" Hathaway nodded confidently.
No sooner had she spoken than a powerful cannonball struck the evacuation ship squarely.
"Hmm, it seems my perception is a bit off. This shot seemed to come from a Marine warship?" Nero said, uncertainly.
Hathaway didn't answer, because her perception yielded the same result. This group of Marine must have some issues.
Even the most heinous pirates rarely did such things.
"Hmm, I think I've heard of such a feat. It was a shield-wielding, perky-buttocked fellow. He said it like this."
Nero pulled up the corners of her eyes with her index fingers: "Old people and children? Let me kill them first!"
"...Such a fellow, burning him can only be called purification!" Hathaway's face was lined with black, what kind of extreme beast was this?
"Hmm, I think so too!" The Emperor who had burned down three islands two years ago nodded in agreement.
"But such Marine scum, it must be because of some internal problem within the Marine, right? It's even possible they're not Marine at all. People like Garp and Kuzan would absolutely never..."
Hathaway continued to theorize, and Nero listened quietly. The item she was looking for was, as usual, out of reach, so watching the development of this news story was not bad.
A refreshing cold wind suddenly swept in, significantly lowering the scorching temperature of the battle-torn area.
Nero tilted her head, glancing in the direction of the cold wind, then looked at Hathaway: "Hmm, this seems to be Kuzan's ability?"
Hathaway fell silent, standing there with her ears flushed red. A few short sentences had exhausted her lifelong trust in the Marine.
"Hmm, since I've met an old friend, I'll go take a look! Hathaway, I'll entrust the golden rose to your care."
"Aye!" Hathaway replied softly… "Absolute justice can sometimes become a murder weapon."
Kuzan sat by the sea, his expression hidden by his sunglasses. Beside him stood a little girl, only about seven or eight years old.
The little girl, Nico Robin, looked at Kuzan with tear-filled eyes, her frail body clad only in tattered clothes.
"I've decided to let you leave here. I also want to see what kind of plant the seed Saul protected with his life will grow into."
There was a small boat on the sea, with buoys made of ice frozen on both sides. Kuzan continued: "You have the right to resent anyone, but you must also cherish the life you've been given back. Try to live as inconspicuously as possible."
"Follow the ice and you can reach the next island."
Kuzan stood up and brushed past young Robin: "And one more thing you must remember, I am not your accomplice. I am your enemy who will arrest you the moment you commit a crime."
"My Mama is still on the island!" Robin said with hope, wishing that this Marine who had spared her would do something.
"No one on the island will be saved. If you want to go back and seek death, that is your freedom." Kuzan said coldly without turning his head.
Robin lowered her head, feeling wronged, as the images of Professor Clover, Saul, and her Mama Olvia appeared one by one in her mind.
A ripple spread around the small boat, and a golden-red figure stood at the bow, appearing at some unknown moment.
"Hmm, it's been a while. Have you Marine changed your profession, Kuzan?!"
Suddenly frozen in place, Kuzan's pupils under his sunglasses sharply contracted, then quickly settled.
"Are you going to get involved in this mess too, Nero Claudius!!!" Turning around, Kuzan entered a combat-ready stance.
Nero jumped off the boat and walked to Robin, stroking her head comfortingly, and taunted mockingly: "A mess? Hmm, with the things you've done? Even that idiot Roger would never attack civilians."
"Heh, a little girl? She must have done something unforgivable to make you, a Marine Vice Admiral, personally intervene, right?"
"Enough! Nero, you don't understand anything!" Kuzan's emotions were somewhat out of control: "At least it attracted a big shot like you, which proves that this matter..."
"Hmm, proves what?"
Nero tilted her head, looking at him playfully: "You look so pathetic trying to make excuses, Kuzan!"
"Big sister, my Mama is still on the island, can you help me?" Robin suddenly tugged at Nero's clothes, asking pleadingly.
Nero picked her up and gave her a big smile: "Hmm, of course, little smarty-pants!"
Without waiting for Kuzan, she walked towards the island with Robin.
A struggling fledgling, blood-stained feathers, desperately trying to grasp at life—such a Robin undoubtedly conformed to Nero's aesthetic.
Even if such a light was faint, Nero was willing to reach out and protect it.
"Wait! Nero!!" Seeing Nero's figure walk further and further away, Kuzan's duty as a Marine prompted him to speak.
"Hmm, are you going to stop me? Marine?" Turning half her face, Nero's pupils were already emotionless blood-red.
The word 'Marine' sounded incredibly sarcastic in Kuzan's ears. He had called out to Nero, but faced with Nero's question, he couldn't speak.
"Heh, you just keep hesitating here. Don't worry, I won't go far." With a mocking scoff, Nero had no interest in giving psychological counseling to the half-hearted Aokiji.
Turning back, she picked up Robin, and her crimson wings spread out behind her, then she soared into the sky.
"Didn't I tell you to stop?" Kuzan roared, cold air surging around him, raising his hand and aiming at Nero's retreating figure in the sky.
But Nero didn't look back, nor did she defend herself, simply leaving her back exposed to Kuzan.
His eye twitched, Kuzan's hand tensed and relaxed, and finally, even after Nero's figure disappeared into the horizon, he still didn't strike.
His raised hand fell powerlessly. The reflection of firelight shimmered in Kuzan's sunglasses as he stood there.
"Damn it!"
After a long while, he suddenly murmured softly.
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