I,Akaino will not die easily

"Drip!"

Sakazuki landed heavily on a frost-covered platform near the curly-haired Vice Admiral. He crouched slightly, gesturing for Nico Robin and the three other civilians—clinging desperately to his cape and neck—to dismount from his back. With Kuzan providing backup, he could finally catch his breath. Kuzan, noticing the white-haired woman still held firmly at Sakazuki's side, raised an eyebrow.

"And who might this be?" he asked.

Sakazuki maintained his composed demeanor. "I found these civilians near the center of the island. As for this woman..." He lifted Olvia by the collar and placed her in front of Kuzan, who now got a clear look at the white-haired woman's face, her head still bowed. His tone hardened.

"Nico Olvia!"

Kuzan recognized her immediately. She was the criminal apprehended by his friend Saul aboard the exploration ship and detained in a Marine prison. Before the Buster Call was initiated, Vice Admiral Saul had shockingly freed this woman, risking his life to do so. Saul's whereabouts had since been unknown.

"Looks like we might have just pinpointed Saul's location," Sakazuki said, his piercing gaze fixed on Kuzan's eyes. The round sunglasses Kuzan wore effectively concealed his expression, leaving Sakazuki unable to gauge his thoughts. With a serious tone, Sakazuki added, "If that's the case, and we now know Saul's location, junior, what do you plan to do?"

The way he posed the question had a hint of interrogation, even bordering on rudeness. However, as a fellow Vice Admiral, Sakazuki had no right to pry into Kuzan's personal decisions. Thus, he invoked their shared mentor, Zephyr, using his role as an elder disciple to avoid offending Kuzan.

"Senior brother..." Kuzan was momentarily taken aback. After all, he didn't have much familiarity with Sakazuki. He had only occasionally heard Zephyr mention Sakazuki and Borsalino, both of whom were a few years his senior. However, Zephyr never went into much detail and even seemed displeased when Borsalino's name came up. Naturally, Kuzan hadn't pressed the matter.

After being promoted to Vice Admiral, Kuzan had not interacted with either of them. Most of what he knew about Sakazuki came from rumors among the Marines—stories describing him as a grim, ruthless figure who dealt mercilessly with pirates. Many Marines, even senior officers, both respected and feared him.

But during this Buster Call, Sakazuki had demonstrated traits Kuzan found admirable—discipline, unwavering execution of orders, and rational handling of emergencies. These qualities made Kuzan regard his senior brother in a new light. (In the manga, Kuzan expresses shock when Sakazuki bombards the evacuation ship, saying, "I didn't expect him to be this extreme and resolute," indirectly confirming Kuzan's limited understanding of Sakazuki's character. Thanks to a reader's reminder, Sakazuki's personality won't shift too abruptly; his development will unfold gradually through future events. Overall, he represents a hardline sense of justice—a classic hawk-like figure.)

"If Saul resists arrest, even as his friend, I won't hesitate to act," Kuzan replied after some hesitation, finally voicing his true thoughts.

"Is this a test, senior brother?" Kuzan tilted his head slightly, countering with his own question.

Sakazuki, whose face was always tightly controlled, allowed a rare smile to break through. "Consider it one. Zephyr-sensei would be pleased to hear your answer."

Kuzan turned to walk alongside Sakazuki, trailing behind Olvia and the three civilians. Young Robin wanted to hold her mother's hand but stopped herself mid-reach, recalling Olvia's earlier instructions. Instead, she silently followed beside her.

The evacuation ship loomed ahead, prompting cheers from the civilians. Marines aboard the ship quickly lowered rope ladders to help the evacuees board. Robin glanced back at her mother, who remained rooted beside the two Marines. Olvia shook her head. Despite the stinging pain radiating from her wounds, she mustered a smile and silently mouthed to Robin, "Go on."

"Ah! A monster! I don't want to be on the same ship as a monster!" cried a group of children leaning over the ship's railing, making grotesque faces.

"I recognize her! That kid is the daughter of Olvia, the criminal from the news. Letting her on board might bring us trouble!" a pudgy middle-aged man, snot dripping from his nose, said pompously as he adjusted his crooked glasses.

Someone immediately refuted him. "Nonsense! She's just a child! Let her board!"

Not far away, Kuzan, observing the scene, lowered his gaze to Olvia and asked, "Is that girl your daughter?"

Olvia lowered her head in silence, but her heart was filled with anxiety. She hadn't expected things to go wrong at such a critical moment.

Kuzan frowned, speaking without pause: "Arara, even if she's the child of a criminal, a child is innocent. These people..."

Sakazuki interjected: "You don't know, Kuzan. This child is the Flower-Flower Fruit user. For the common people on the island who have never seen such abilities, treating her as a monster is all too normal."

He stared at Robin, feigning contemplation, as if making a significant decision. "Enough. Our Navy has already destroyed her homeland and family; we cannot allow this child's future to be mired in endless suffering. Very well, I'll take this child aboard the warship. From now on, I'll adopt her. This way, no further mistakes will be made."

Kuzan looked at the small girl retreating step by step, a little surprised. He hadn't expected such a young child to be a Devil Fruit user. Thinking back to how he himself had been viewed as a monster by ignorant pirates and even residents in other regions, he nodded empathetically.

"This is indeed a solution. With guarantees from the two of us as vice admirals and her future life under supervision in Marineford, the little girl will find a new home and family. Placing her under the Navy's watch in the headquarters ensures that, even if someone questions her identity as a criminal's child in the future, there would be no grounds for reproach."

(Initially, when Garp adopted Ace, he had a similar plan. However... well, let's just say Garp's parenting methods were... quite something.)

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Urgent and heavy footsteps echoed. Scholars, who were frantically salvaging precious books from the Ohara library and tossing them into the lake outside, looked up to see a panting, disheveled giant entering their line of sight.

"Where's Robin?!" Saul frantically looked around.

"Robin and Olvia have already been escorted away by the Navy. And you are?" A bespectacled scholar clutching books replied.

"What?!!!"

The giant clutched his head in panic, his large mouth agape, the thick beard around his jaw blending with his hair like a disheveled lion.

Grinding his teeth, he turned and sprinted toward the direction of the evacuation ship. "I can't let Robin be captured by the Navy!!" He had to save the new friend he'd just met!!!