One Piece: The Arm of Fate

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

On the top floor of the fortress, inside an office with a plaque reading "Justice Reigns Over the World."

"What did you say?!"

Sengoku's expression changed. He stood up abruptly, staring at the Den Den Mushi in front of him. "Doflamingo really said that before he died?"

"Yes, Admiral."

The Den Den Mushi—holding a cigar and wearing a broad-brimmed brown hat—spoke in a gloomy tone, "That guy was in a miserable state. Half his body was gone. It was obvious he had been cut cleanly by something extremely sharp."

"Looking across the entire first half of the Grand Line… only that swordsman could've done it, right?"

Cut in half with a single slash?

This detail shattered Sengoku's last shred of hope.

"…I see."

Sengoku sat back down, rubbed his temple, and felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.

That troublesome boy… could he really still be alive?

After the battle at Enies Lobby, when Borsalino reported in, Sengoku already had a vague sense of unease. A monster capable of turning the Grand Line upside down in just a few months… it was hard to believe he'd died so simply.

Now, it seemed that long-buried fear had finally come true.

"There's been no news for over two months," Sengoku said in a low voice. "He must've been hiding out on some remote island, training or recovering…"

"I don't think we can afford to let him rest peacefully."

The Den Den Mushi slowly exhaled a smoke ring. "Marshal, there are indeed a few inconspicuous islands in the direction Doflamingo was sent flying. Not far off. How about I spend a few days checking them one by one?"

"Good idea."

Sengoku nodded slightly. "I'll have nearby bases send reinforcements. If you find him—"

"Ah, I understand," the Den Den Mushi said, mimicking Chaton's voice with a grin. "I won't be as careless as Mr. Borsalino. I'll definitely bring his body back to Mari—"

"No."

Sengoku cut him off. "If you find him, do not act rashly. Report to headquarters immediately. I'll send Kizaru at once."

"Eh?"

The Den Den Mushi was stunned. "Marshal, did you forget? I was promoted to admiral candidate at the start of this year, alongside Gion. Dealing with a pirate with a billion-Beri bounty—surely it doesn't require…"

Sengoku shook his head.

"If he'd just set out to sea, I'd entrust him to you. But Kake… young, powerful individuals continue to grow and evolve…"

After a few months—can someone who repeatedly escaped from admiral-level hands really be taken down by just an admiral candidate?

"No more debate. Follow orders."

"…Understood."

On the other end, Tea Pig was clearly unconvinced, but ultimately said no more.

After hanging up—

Sengoku rested his chin on his hands and fell into a long silence. Eventually, he pulled open the bottom-left drawer and retrieved an old wanted poster.

The man in the poster had short blond hair and wore a flamboyant pink feather coat. Arms outstretched, he grinned arrogantly at the camera.

The poster was slightly yellowed with age but impeccably smooth—no wrinkles. It had clearly been pressed away in storage for many years.

"Little Rosinante…" Sengoku murmured as he stared at the photo. "You can finally rest in peace…"

That kid named Shano had killed a third Warlord of the Sea, giving Marine Headquarters quite a headache.

But in doing so… he also helped Sengoku fulfill a wish he could never accomplish as a Navy Marshal.

Does that mean he now owes the boy a favor?

…How ridiculous.

Sengoku sat there for a long time in silence.

Eventually, he rolled up the wanted poster, tucked it under his arm, took out a bottle of wine, and walked downstairs—heading toward the graveyard behind Marineford.

Kuraigana Island.

In the thick fog, a small boat quietly docked.

A tall, lean man in a wide-brimmed hat stepped ashore, returning to his most familiar residence.

But this time, unlike before, he was not alone.

Behind him trailed a nervous girl.

As shadowy figures darted through the fog, the girl's body trembled. She instinctively gripped her sword tighter.

"Mr. Khomi…"

Tashigi's voice quivered. "Those baboons that can fight with swords… there are too many of them! Do I really have to survive three days among them before you'll formally accept me as your disciple?"

At that name, Hawkeye's face darkened like a thundercloud.

Reading it backwards… Khomi… yes, he had said it first. But any other sane person would've dropped it.

Yet this stubborn girl took it seriously, insisting on calling him "Khomi" all along the journey.

Every time she said it, it annoyed him more.

Where's that Shano? Come take your followers back already! Are you really dead, as the World Government claims?

…Impossible.

Tashigi didn't believe it.

And neither did Mihawk.

For the past two months, he'd scoured every island around Enies Lobby—and still found nothing.

He finally lost patience and assumed the boy had slipped into the New World. So he gave up and returned to Kuraigana Island… with the persistent Tashigi trailing behind.

"A promise is a promise," Mihawk said flatly, glancing at her. "No matter how hard it is for you now, it can't be changed."

He turned and walked toward his castle.

As he left—

The baboons, understanding his intentions, began to gather. Their numbers swelled, and strange chuckles echoed through the mist.

It's over…

Tashigi's face turned pale. How could she possibly win against so many sword-wielding monsters?

The biggest one, the leader, carried a sword several times larger than hers.

This was clearly an impossible test.

Was Mihawk just trying to make her give up?

Boom—boom—boom!

The massive Baboon King stomped forward, swinging his giant sword dramatically.

But when it stepped through the fog and saw Tashigi's face—

It froze.

Clang!

The sword slipped from its hands and crashed to the ground.

"Roar… roar?!"

It broke into a cold sweat, eyes wide, staring in terror.

Wasn't she gone for days?

Why was she back?!

Plop!

The Baboon King dropped to its knees and kowtowed, slamming its forehead into the ground.

"Roar! Roar!"

It pointed its claw at Tashigi's face and roared rapidly at the other baboons.

"Roar?!"

"Roar! Roar?!"

The rest were stunned for a moment—then realization dawned.

They all dropped their weapons, knelt, and kowtowed to Tashigi in unison.

"…"

Tashigi stood frozen, her mind blank.

…Huh?

W-What is going on?!

At the same time.

The End was sailing at full speed through a storm.

Seven days had passed since they left Kuraigana Island. The weather had been terrible, and the ship had been in rough waters nearly the whole time.

Despite some delays, they reached their next stop and rested for half a day to resupply food and water.

From the locals, they learned this was the last island on the route.

Next stop—if nothing went wrong—was the end of Paradise:

Sabaody Archipelago.

The final convergence point of the seven routes in the first half of the Grand Line. A massive island group made up of 79 Yalkiman Mangroves.

Since it wasn't a true island, Sabaody didn't have magnetic fields, so a log pose couldn't lock onto it.

But because it was the only landmass en route to Fishman Island, and its massive silhouette could be seen from afar…

Even without magnetism, most navigators wouldn't miss it.

Unless they were a directional disaster like Zoro.

Inside the ship's pool.

Shano was enjoying a hot bath.

Ever since Nami ate the Flame-Flame Fruit, the ship never lacked hot water—there were even hot springs.

Unfortunately, most of the crew were Devil Fruit users and couldn't enjoy soaking.

So only Shano and his two pets used the bath daily.

"Hey, Nuomizi…"

Shano looked down at the puppy-beast lounging on his chest. "Ever since you evolved, you've been clinging to me more than before, huh?"

You used to lie on Nami's head all the time.

"Woof~!"

Nuomizi whined pitifully. What could he do? He was too big now. Nami's head wasn't a kennel!

"Woof, woof—yeah, I thought so."

Shano poked its cheek. "Digimon usually learn to talk early. You're in the growth stage already—why can't you speak? Do you need to become humanoid first?"

Hiss…

He suddenly realized—if Nuomizi turned into Angewomon and still clung to him like this during bath time… that'd be bad.

Better break that habit early!

He picked Nuomizi up and placed it aside—but it immediately jumped back onto him, tail wagging.

After several attempts, he gave up.

…Must be a dog's instinct.

Surely Angewomon will be aloof when the time comes. Nothing to worry about…

Shano sighed, then opened the system panel to check this month's trading market.

As expected—nothing good. Just like last month. That crazy streak of luck from two months ago clearly had a price. Now was payback time.

Before closing the panel, he checked his recent gains:

[You sacrificed Doflamingo's severed leg — gained 3000 points]

[You sacrificed Mansherry's crystal shoes — gained 200 points]

[You sacrificed Hawkeye Mihawk's velvet bed — gained 3800 points]

"3800 points… guess that bed was really important to Hawkeye."

Shano shook his head.

He didn't find Mihawk's sword or anything more valuable in the castle—and didn't run into Mihawk himself. After comparing everything, he settled for sacrificing the bed.

His previous total was 34,200. Now, with 7,000 more, it reached 41,200.

Nice and comfy.

If the point store refreshed next month, and his bad luck passed… then he could go shopping.

Besides—

The further he traveled in the Grand Line, the more valuable wool there'd be to shear.

Shano looked out the porthole, his eyes gleaming.

Sabaody Archipelago… that final island before entering the New World…

Had one hell of a target worth plundering.

Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 13.

Inside Shakky's Rip-off Bar.

The smoky bar buzzed with noise. Shakky lazily wiped a glass, occasionally glancing toward the corner where a group of pirates was in heated discussion.

"Man, so many supernovas gathered at Shampoodi! It's wild!"

A bald pirate slammed a stack of bounty posters on the table.

"How many are there? Five! The highest bounty is that guy from the Knox Pirates—Pedro the Tree! He's a Mink! His bounty's up to 180 million!"

"Minks are rare. Don't think they're that strong," another drunk, thin pirate said, slurring. "I bet on Sasaki! He's at 170 million, defeated a Vice Admiral, and has over ten ships. Definitely the top swordsman among this year's supernovas!"

"The top swordsman?"

A nearby pirate raised an eyebrow. "What about that katana guy—Shano?"

"He's dead!"

The thin pirate belched. "If he were alive, would we even be arguing? Besides, 'supernova'? That's an insult to him!"

That was true.

The pirates nodded.

"Supernova" was the top title for any pirate reaching Sabaody in the first half of the Grand Line.

But for that man?

That was just dirt under his feet.

Forget his dazzling achievements—for that bounty of a billion alone, the rest were like kids playing make-believe.

"Anyway—next!" the bald pirate shouted. "There's Pokoms from the Knox Pirates—150 million! Harta at 132 million! That guy's wanted poster—wow, what a handsome kid!"

"And the last one—Charlotte Garrett. Only 100 million, lowest of the five, but she's BIG MOM's daughter. She came to the first half alone to train. She'll probably return to the New World and get reused by the family."

Five in total. All with bounties over 100 million.

Who would go furthest? Who'd be the most dazzling star of the New World?

The pirates argued, drawing in nearby customers until the bar grew rowdy.

"Too noisy…"

Shakky put down her glass and frowned, ready to scold them—

"Don't worry about those idiots! Big news incoming!"

Bang! The bar's doors burst open as a flushed pirate rushed in, breathless.

"The End! The End Pirates—missing for two months—just docked in this very area!"

"What are you waiting for? Let's go see for ourselves!!"