East Blue.
Cocoyasi Village.
"Shahahahaha! Inferior humans are born to be ruled by fish-men!"
"You're the first to be punished by Lord Arlong... for something as stupid as love."
Arlong, with his saw-like nose, stood with one hand on his hip and the other pressing a gun against a human woman's forehead.
"Nojiko, Nami... I love you."
Arlong pressed the gun against Bellemere's head, laughing cruelly. "Shahahaha! Under my rule, anyone who can't pay will die!"
"Understand now, you lowly race?!"
The villagers around them trembled with fear and pity.
"Hah... If you love them, shouldn't you be protecting them instead?"
A lazy voice cut through the tension like a hammer to the heart.
From the road, a figure carrying a long sword slowly approached the crowd.
Bellemere, blood trickling from her lips, had been waiting for death—but this voice made her heart pound.
"Inferior—"
Whoosh!
Before Arlong could finish, a flash of white light blinded everyone.
Then, a massive arm flew through the air.
"G-GAHHHH!!!"
Blood gushed from the stump as Arlong screamed. Before the fish-men or villagers could react, Dillon kicked Arlong to the ground and pressed Shura against his chest.
"Superior race, huh?"
A salmon fish-man holding a bottle of liquor shouted in panic, "H-Hey! You bastard! Our boss is a Shichibukai—"
Arlong's pupils shrank. "Shut up! We don't rely on that traitor's name!"
"Jinbe? That fat blue bastard?" Dillon sneered. "I heard he used to slaughter humans without mercy. When I find him, I'll turn him into fish head soup!"
"You—!" Arlong spat blood, his expression defiant. "Shahaha! Pathetic human! Do you think this will make a noble fish-man submit?"
"No?"
Dillon smirked. A surge of energy flowed into Shura, sending a visible shockwave through the ground. The impact crushed Arlong deeper into the dirt.
"Arlong Pirates—charged with attacking human villages and slaughtering civilians. Sentence: execution!"
A blur of black streaked through the air, accompanied by the faint sound of slicing.
When the movement stopped, every member of the Arlong Pirates—except for Arlong himself and an octopus fish-man—lay in pieces.
The stench of blood and fish filled the air.
"Hey, octopus. Jinbe's name won't save you. Why don't you try calling out Silvers Rayleigh instead?"
Hatchan's trumpet-like mouth trembled. "Nyu... Y-You—!"
Seeing the terrified octopus, Dillon turned away and walked back to Arlong, lifting Shura again.
"So... what now, 'superior race'? Want to buy your life with money?"
"How much is a ribbon fish like you worth? Five Berries? Ten?"
"You bastard! Humans will never—"
Clap clap.
Dillon planted Shura beside Arlong's neck and applauded.
"Admirable courage. Too bad..."
He gripped Shura's hilt.
A black-red blade aura erupted from the ground.
Arlong's body vanished—only his head remained.
"I don't play games."
Hatchan trembled in fear. The villagers stood frozen in shock.
"Hey, octopus."
Dillon kicked Arlong's head toward Hatchan.
The octopus instinctively flinched but froze under Dillon's gaze, reluctantly catching the still-snarling head.
"Go back to Fish-Man Island. Tell that fat blue bastard and the trash in Fish-Man District..."
Shura slid back into its sheath, its aura vanishing.
"If I see even one so-called 'superior race' on the seas again... I'll wipe out your entire district."
After the villagers cleaned up the corpses, only Genzo and Bellemere's family remained, watching the young man sitting on a rock.
"Are... are you a Marine?" Genzo swallowed hard.
Dillon crossed his legs and leaned Shura against an orange tree.
"Yeah. I am."
"Then... who are you looking for?"
"Someone." Dillon glanced at Bellemere.
Bellemere stiffened. "Me?"
"Yeah." He tapped Shura's sheath. "I'm here to invite you to join my unit. Return to the Marines."
Bellemere hesitated. She had been retired for nearly a decade, and Nami and Nojiko were still young.
"I'm a Marine, not a pirate. I won't force you or hold this over you. Protecting civilians is our duty, right?"
Bellemere bit her lip, glancing at her daughters.
"Then I..."
"Join!"
Genzo suddenly shouted.
"You have to join, Bellemere! I know this is your dream. Nami and Nojiko will be safe with me and the village."
He grinned. "Go chase your dream! Just come back strong and protect the village, alright?"
Nojiko, older and wiser, tugged Nami's sleeve. The two girls hugged Bellemere tightly.
"Auntie... thank you for raising us. Come visit often, okay?"
Nami looked up with teary eyes. "When I'm older, can I sail on your ship to draw maps?"
Bellemere laughed, hugging them back. "Since when did protecting the village become a man's job?"
Genzo grinned. "That's not like you, Bellemere. Didn't you say women must have courage?"
Dillon rolled his eyes. "It's the Marines, not Impel Down. No need for the dramatic farewells. You can visit anytime."
Bellemere wiped her tears. "Right. With a man as strong as you, I doubt I'll even get hurt."
She stood up. "But... why me?"
Dillon smirked. "Pirates need comrades. So do Marines. As for why you... it's your 'courage.' I believe that's the greatest potential of all."
Buruburu~ Buruburu~
"Dillon here."
"Arara, already in the East Blue? Road's head has been verified. Also, HQ reassessed your merits. Congratulations, Vice Admiral Dillon."
"Vice Admiral? Meh... passable."
"Upset? What a headache. By the way, didn't you say you ran into the Charlotte Family? What happened?"
Bellemere's eyes widened. That's Admiral Aokiji!?
"I cut him up. But let him go..."
"Let him go?"
Dillon stood, resting Shura on his shoulder. "Yeah. Now's not the time to fight the New World pirates. So I made a deal with Linlin—she bought her son back."
"..."
Silence.
Finally, Aokiji sighed. "You didn't have to tell me that."
Dillon laughed. "What, gonna report me to Sengoku? If I'd brought Daifuku's head back, then he'd lose his mind."
"Arara... you know Sengoku too well. Fine, letting him go is fine. But won't the Charlotte Family talk?"
"Relax. If word gets out, worst case, I get discharged. But the Charlottes would be humiliated in front of other pirates. They won't talk. And that crocodile isn't stupid enough to blab."
"Good. Now that you're a Vice Admiral, wrap things up in the East Blue and return soon. I need you to—"
Click.
Marineford.
Aokiji stared at the silent Transponder Snail, deep in thought.
Who's the Admiral here—him or me?
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"Power stones, power stones, power stones~~"
┌(・.・)┘