Clatter...
The sound of sliding doors echoed softly.
Aokiji walked into the bathhouse casually, steam swirling around his tall frame.
Without saying a word, he lowered himself into the warm water beside Bai Yu.
"It's rare. I didn't expect you to be the type who enjoys hot baths," Bai Yu remarked, his tone relaxed.
"Days like these… they're not so common for someone like me," Aokiji shrugged, his voice low and somewhat distant.
The two men lapsed into silence, their surroundings filled only with the soft bubbling of the spring water.
A while later, it was Aokiji who broke the quiet.
"Tell me something—why did you join the Navy?" His eyes were closed, but the question carried subtle weight.
"There's no complicated reason," Bai Yu answered after a beat. "If anything, I just can't stand pirates who burn, loot, and laugh while they do it. I believe in justice—the kind that stands on solid ground."
In Bai Yu's heart, pirates were fundamentally lawless. Unlike the Navy, which could stand at the pinnacle of power openly and with legitimacy.
"Haha..."
"That answer... it's surprisingly in line with how I feel," Aokiji chuckled, genuinely amused.
"But you know," he continued, voice dropping slightly, "the Navy… doesn't always get things right."
His tone turned melancholic, laced with disappointment.
"Let me ask you another question."
"If you had the blueprint for Pluto... what would you do with it?"
The sudden shift in topic made Bai Yu pause. The question wasn't casual—it was deliberate, a test.
After a moment of contemplation, Bai Yu met Aokiji's inquiry head-on.
"If I held the blueprints to Pluton," he said, "I would use it to bring the Pirate Era to an end."
"At the same time, I'd use that leverage to rise to the highest position I can reach."
"And if I reach the top, I'll reshape the system—eradicate corruption, break the World Nobles' grip, and build a Navy that embodies true, unshakable justice."
His words flowed confidently, his gaze burning with ambition.
Aokiji opened his eyes slowly, turning to Bai Yu with surprise.
What he saw wasn't recklessness—but conviction.
A calculated desire to cleanse both sea and system.
An end to the Pirate Era…
The fall of the Celestial Dragons' chokehold...
True justice that answers to no tyrant.
Such ideals, if spoken aloud, would brand one a traitor—to both Navy and pirate alike.
"You… really dare say that to me?" Aokiji asked, voice low and sharp.
"Not afraid I'll turn you in right here?"
"You won't," Bai Yu replied calmly, shaking his head.
"My instincts tell me you're not my enemy."
"Maybe... you and I could even be friends."
He wasn't guessing. As someone familiar with the One Piece world, Bai Yu knew Aokiji's dissatisfaction with the World Government's rot—especially its protection of the Celestial Dragons.
He knew that one day, Aokiji would resign from the Navy after losing faith in Sakazuki's extreme justice.
If Bai Yu could win him over early, the road ahead would be far smoother.
"Instinct, huh?" Aokiji murmured.
Truthfully, he'd already begun to question the Navy's current path. Sakazuki's rigidity, the Government's double standards, the blind obedience to the World Nobles…
"Hahaha…"
"You're a strange one, you know that?"
"So young, but you talk like an old revolutionary."
Aokiji's laugh echoed in the steamy air.
Neither pursued the topic further.
But on that night, a vital seed was planted between the two.
In time, Aokiji's choices would be influenced by this meeting—though that would be a tale for another day.
---
By dawn, Bai Yu had returned to his warship, joined by Koby and Helmeppo.
Aokiji had departed earlier, likely headed straight for Marine Headquarters.
With the Pluton blueprints now secretly in his possession, Bai Yu saw no reason to remain.
And since Franky wouldn't report their loss, to maintain secrecy—it would be as if nothing had occurred.
Under Bai Yu's orders, the warship set off again, retracing its route back toward the 188th Branch.
Oooo~
Not long after departure, a News Coo swooped down over the warship.
With a loud thump, a package fell from the sky.
Koby hurried over to pick it up and rushed back to Bai Yu, who was warming up for sword practice on deck.
With a nod from Bai Yu, Koby tore the string and opened it.
Inside were two official Navy documents sealed with the 188th Branch's emblem.
Koby opened the first and his expression changed immediately.
"Colonel Bai Yu!"
"This is from the 188th Branch. It says Vice Admiral Garp has instructed us to proceed directly to our next mission—no need to return to base!"
He looked up, concern flashing in his eyes.
"According to the note… Vice Admiral Garp went to Marineford. It says he's demanding an explanation from HQ—likely about your clash with Admiral Kizaru."
Bai Yu laughed aloud.
"That old man..."
It made sense. Knowing Garp, he wouldn't let it go if someone like Kizaru had fought Bai Yu seriously.
He could already imagine Kizaru getting a 'righteous beating' from the irate Garp.
It warmed Bai Yu's heart. Garp's stubborn support was something rare and fierce.
"Let's see what the mission is," Bai Yu said next.
Koby opened the second document—this one sealed even tighter.
Once opened, its contents made Koby stiffen.
"Colonel Bai Yu…"
"This mission is to apprehend a Navy defector."
"A man named… Gasparde."
At the name, Bai Yu's eyes narrowed.
Gasparde?
He took the bounty poster and scanned it.
"Just as I thought. It is him."
Gasparde—former Rear Admiral of Marine Headquarters.
Now a pirate captain, commanding the Gasparde Pirates.
Bounty: 95 million berries.
A Paramecia Devil Fruit user—the Candy Candy Fruit.
Bai Yu recalled him from a One Piece movie—The Dead End Adventure.
A rogue Marine turned underworld pirate, infamous for dealing addictive drugs disguised as candy.
Bai Yu flipped through the attached mission intelligence.
According to the report, Gasparde would be appearing at Hannabar Island—location of the annual Dead End Race.
With 300 million berries in prize money, it drew pirates like moths to a flame.
Bai Yu and his team were to infiltrate the race... and quietly eliminate the threat.
Just as Bai Yu finished absorbing the intel—
A system notification sounded in his mind.