Chapter 17

The journey to the Sabaody Archipelago was a blur of exhausting training and high-calorie meals.

Inside the captain’s quarters of her stolen sloop (now repainted with Marine colors), Kurumi sat at a table piled high with sea king meat, pasta, and cakes. She ate with the elegance of a noble, but the speed of a starving wolf.

"You're going to get fat," Perona floated near the ceiling, hugging Kumacy. She was wearing a modified Marine ensign uniform—a white dress with blue trim—that Kurumi had forced her into. "And then I’ll be the pretty one."

"Calories are ammunition, Ghost Princess," Kurumi replied, swallowing a whole steak. "Zafkiel is a glutton. Every second I manipulate time costs me hours of energy."

She raised her hand. The golden flintlock materialized.

Zafkiel: Aleph (First Bullet).

For a split second, the air around her shimmered. She moved her fork. To Perona, the fork simply vanished from the plate and appeared in Kurumi’s mouth instantly.

"Fast," Perona huffed. " But you look pale."

"It drains my life force if I don't have stored energy," Kurumi wiped her mouth. "But I'm getting better. I can maintain a 2x speed boost for ten seconds now without passing out."

She stood up, the food vanished from the table. "Get ready. We’re arriving. Grove 66."

The Archipelago

Sabaody was breathtaking. Massive mangrove trees clawed at the sky, their roots forming islands. Iridescent bubbles floated everywhere, popping with soft chimes.

"So pretty!" Perona’s eyes sparkled. "Can I pop them? Can I ride one?"

"Focus," Kurumi adjusted her coat. "This place is beautiful, but it’s rotten to the core. We are entering the domain of the Celestial Dragons."

They docked at the Marine base. As a Commander, Kurumi’s arrival was noted, but she waved off the welcoming committee, claiming she was on a "covert assessment mission."

They walked through the groves. Kurumi noted the presence of the Eleven Supernovas.

Grove 24. She felt a magnetic field. Eustass Kid.

Grove 21. She heard music. Scratchmen Apoo.

Grove 13. The aura of a surgeon. Trafalgar Law.

"They're all here," Kurumi whispered. "The Worst Generation. The lambs gathering for the slaughter."

The Auction House

"Why are we going here?" Perona wrinkled her nose as they approached a large, gaudy building in Grove 1. "It smells like… despair."

"Because this is where the fuse gets lit," Kurumi said, pulling her cap low. "Keep your head down, Ensign Perona. And if you see a man in a bubble helmet… do not make eye contact."

They entered the Human Auction House. It was crowded with nobles, pirates in disguise, and wealthy merchants.

Kurumi and Perona stood in the back, in the shadows. Kurumi watched as the mermaid, Keimi, was wheeled out onto the stage. The crowd went wild, bidding millions of berries for her.

"Disgusting," Perona whispered, clutching Kurumi’s sleeve. "They're selling people? Even Moria-sama just took their shadows. He didn't sell them like cattle."

"Welcome to the World Government's true face," Kurumi replied coldly.

Then, the doors slammed open.

"KEIMI!"

Monkey D. Luffy charged in.

The Incident

The sequence of events played out exactly as Kurumi remembered from the anime, but seeing it in person was visceral.

Hatchan, the octopus fishman, tried to stop Luffy. His extra arms were revealed. The crowd screamed in racism and horror.

Bang.

Saint Charlos, the Celestial Dragon with the runny nose, fired his golden pistol. Hatchan fell, bleeding on the stage.

"I got a fishman!" Charlos cheered, dancing a jig. "He’s free! I shot him!"

The silence in the hall was deafening. Luffy stopped running. He turned slowly. His hat shadowed his eyes. He began to walk up the stairs.

"Straw Hat…" Hatchan wheezed, grabbing Luffy's leg. "Don't… you promised… not to hit them…"

Luffy gently removed Hatchan’s hand. "I'm sorry."

He walked up to Charlos.

"You dare approach me, commoner?" Charlos sneered, pointing his gun.

Kurumi held her breath. Beside her, Perona was trembling. "He… he's not going to…"

Luffy pulled his arm back.

DO IT, Kurumi screamed internally. Break the world, Luffy!

The Punch

CRACK.

Luffy’s fist connected with Charlos’s face. The impact was so hard it distorted the space around them. The bubble helmet shattered. Charlos was launched backward, smashing through rows of seats, his face caved in.

Color returned to the world.

"HE HIT A CELESTIAL DRAGON!" the crowd screamed.

Chaos erupted.

Marines swarmed in from the entrances. "Arrest the Straw Hats! Admiral Kizaru has been summoned!"

"Perona," Kurumi said calmly amidst the screaming nobles. "It's time to work."

"Work? Now?!" Perona shrieked.

"The Marines are blocking the exit. The Straw Hats need a path," Kurumi said. "I can't be seen helping them directly. But you… nobody knows who you are."

Perona blinked. Then a mischievous grin spread across her face. "Hollow-Hollow… Ghosts!"

She released five negative ghosts. They swooped down on the squad of Marines blocking the main door.

The Marines suddenly dropped to their knees.

"I want to be a mite in the carpet…"

"I'm sorry I was born…"

"I shouldn't hold a gun, I should hold a flower…"

The path cleared.

Luffy, carrying Hatchan, looked back, confused. "Huh? Why are they crying?"

"Who cares! Run, Luffy!" Sanji yelled, kicking a guard.

The Straw Hats burst out of the auction house.

The Admiral Arrives

Outside, the sky turned yellow. A beam of light shot down from the heavens, striking a massive mangrove tree.

Boom.

The tree exploded, falling in slow motion.

"Oh… oooh…" a slow, drawling voice echoed over the archipelago. "I seem to have overdone it…"

Admiral Kizaru (Borsalino) had arrived.

Kurumi and Perona stepped out of the auction house's rear exit. Kurumi looked at the pillar of light rising in the distance.

"An Admiral," Perona gulped. "He's… shiny."

"He is light itself," Kurumi said, checking her flintlock. "If he sees us, we die. He moves at the speed of light. My Aleph can't match that yet."

"So we run?"

"No," Kurumi smiled, her eyes narrowing. "We watch. The Dark King Rayleigh is about to step in. And I want to see how a legend holds back the light."

She grabbed Perona’s hand. "Stay close to me. If we get separated, head for Grove 12. And whatever you do… don't let Kizaru ask you for directions."

The separation of the Straw Hats was imminent. The greatest tragedy—and the greatest blessing—was about to begin. And Kurumi intended to be the last thing they saw before they vanished.