Leno had no idea that the Navy had already dispatched Admiral Kizaru to search for him.
At this moment—
He was looking somewhat disdainfully at Domino lagging behind.
He could already vaguely make out the clear outline of the distant island.
Yet Domino was still trailing far back at a leisurely pace.
After waiting for quite a while—
She finally caught up to Leno, panting heavily.
Her face flushed with embarrassment.
"Si… sumimasen, Lord Leno… I held you back…"
She was simply too slow.
Lord Leno was so fast.
Leno: You haven't even tried it—how dare you slander me!
Still, Domino couldn't suppress her curiosity.
"But… why are you swimming so fast?"
"It's like you're completely unaffected by the seawater?"
Hearing her question, Leno slapped his forehead lightly, only then recalling the issue.
He didn't answer directly. Instead, he said:
"Stay close behind me. It'll save you a lot of effort."
With that, he continued swimming forward.
Domino was full of doubts—
But she was obedient.
She faithfully followed closely behind him.
Sure enough—
She was astonished to find that the resistance of the seawater ahead seemed to lessen considerably.
Swimming became much easier!
Though she didn't understand why…
Lord Leno was amazing, as expected!
Her admiration deepened yet again.
And her resolve to warm his heart strengthened.
Leno, meanwhile, had no idea what was going on in her mind.
All he knew was—
The Chop-Chop Fruit was ridiculously useful.
Devil Fruits only feared the Seastone particles within seawater.
But the abilities themselves could still act upon the sea.
Whitebeard could quake the ocean.
Aokiji could freeze it.
So naturally—
His Chop-Chop Fruit could affect it as well.
Just now, he had continuously activated his ability—
"Chopping apart" the resistance of the seawater in front of him.
No wonder he swam so quickly.
Of course, there was no need to explain that to Domino.
—
After some time,
Through their efforts, the two arrived near Enies Lobby.
With Leno's current abilities and familiarity with Navy facilities,
Avoiding the giant guards and sentries to infiltrate the island—
Was not particularly difficult.
Before long, the two of them silently set foot on Enies Lobby.
Leno remained calm.
Domino, however, was extremely nervous.
Lowering her voice, she asked anxiously, "Lord Leno! Why are we at Enies Lobby?"
"Shouldn't we be getting as far away from Marine Headquarters' sphere of influence as possible?"
"Idiot." Leno shot her a glance.
"Swim past the Gates of Justice? Are you stupid, or am I insane?"
He looked deeper into Enies Lobby.
"We're here to borrow a warship. And conveniently avoid whatever pursuit the Navy sends after us."
"And… test Domino," he added silently to himself.
There were plenty of Marines stationed at Enies Lobby. Spandam also held a Golden Den Den Mushi.
If Domino were an informant and made a move here, he would have almost no way to escape.
Of course—
He had his own trump card.
Leno never acted without confidence.
Besides, handling a warship alone wasn't ideal. If he remembered correctly, Domino's talent as a navigator was quite decent.
That was one of the reasons he had brought her along.
As if recalling something, he looked at her again.
A teasing smile appeared on his face.
"It's not too late to regret this."
"The one coming after us is probably an Admiral. Right now, I'm not certain I can beat one—or protect you."
At those words—
Domino's expression turned cold.
She glared at him and snapped, "Regret? Don't insult my resolve, you bastard!"
"I, Domino, have chosen you for life!"
She met his eyes without the slightest retreat.
On matters of principle like this, she had to defend herself.
Her feelings for Leno would not be sullied by anyone!
Under her utterly sincere and resolute gaze—
Leno felt a faint stir in his heart.
But he did not soften.
Now was not the time for romance.
"Is that so?" he replied coolly, then turned away.
"Let's go. Time to pay a visit to that idiot Spandam."
Seeing his continued indifference,
Domino's face showed a trace of dejection.
But she would not give up.
The two cautiously moved toward the Tower of Justice.
Along the way, they chatted intermittently.
From Domino, Leno confirmed the approximate timeline.
There was no sense of time in Eternal Hell.
According to his memories from his previous life, Luffy should have already defeated Crocodile and entered Water 7.
Leno pondered whether Robin had been captured by CP9 yet.
"Still… this timing works in my favor."
There was no need for him to force an escape from Enies Lobby.
He could simply wait for Straw Hat Luffy to deliver himself and cause chaos.
A cold curve formed at the corner of his lips.
"Perfect. Let that old bastard Garp witness firsthand the consequences of betraying me and shielding Koby."
The current Leno no longer needed to show any sentimentality.
Nor leave any face-saving grace.
Crushing a mere Luffy would be effortless.
Back in his previous life, he had found the Enies Lobby arc—especially the rescue of Robin—quite moving.
But now?
Heh.
Different positions.
Perhaps he could replicate Golden Lion's methods from the movie…
Lost in thought—
Domino remained vigilant beside him, constantly scanning their surroundings.
And then—
Unluckily for them—
They ran headfirst into a man walking with swagger and delight written all over his face.
Spandam.
"Bastard!"
His good mood interrupted, Spandam immediately barked arrogantly,
"What are you doing here?! Who told you to come over?!"
He didn't even properly look at who it was.
Out of habit, he began issuing orders.
"Guards! Take this idiot who dared to bump into me and throw him in custody!"
"CP9 completed their mission today, so I'm in a good mood. Consider yourself lucky—I'll spare your dog life!"
As his words fell,
several Marines stepped forward immediately.
Their expressions clearly said, You're in trouble.
They moved to seize Leno.
At that moment—
Spandam suddenly noticed Domino beside him.
His eyes widened.
"Chotto matte!!"
His face instantly twisted into a disgusting lecherous grin.
Pointing at Domino, he waved dismissively at Leno.
"Didn't expect such a pretty female soldier in the Marines…"
"Alright, alright. Let this brat scram! For this beauty's sake, I'll let you off!"
In Spandam's mind,
Enies Lobby was his domain.
Disobedience?
Imprison them—or beat them to death!
After all, he was a direct official of the World Government.
"In your dreams!" Domino glared at him and shouted angrily.
Leno, too, snapped fully out of his thoughts.
He looked at Spandam, eyes icy.
His voice carried undisguised mockery.
"Spandam. After all these years, you're still this brainless. You dare touch my person?"
Hearing the domineering tone—as if Leno were the one in charge here—
Spandam froze for a moment.
Then burst into laughter.
Finally, he looked properly at the Marine he hadn't bothered to acknowledge.
Just one glance—
And it was as if he'd been struck by lightning.
The arrogance and sleazy grin on his face instantly froze.
Replaced by pure, extreme terror.
Memories resurfaced—
Of the fear of being utterly dominated after his previous bouts of swagger.
Cold sweat drenched his back in an instant.
His face turned paper-white.
His body began trembling uncontrollably.
"Le… Le… Leno!!!"
His voice shrieked, twisted thin by terror.
Like a eunuch whose courage had been castrated.
"Y-you… why are you here?! Weren't you thrown into Impel Down's Eternal Hell?!!"