Chapter 6

The morning newspaper was damp, the ink smudging under the grey, weeping sky of Water 7.

Kurumi sat on a bench under the awning of a closed shop, her legs crossed elegantly. She unfolded the Water 7 Times. The headline screamed in bold, jagged letters:

MAYOR ICEBURG GUNNED DOWN! STRAW HAT PIRATES SUSPECTED!

"Dead… or close enough to it," Kurumi murmured, reading the frantic reporting. The article claimed Iceburg was in critical condition, clinging to life by a thread. The city was in an uproar. To the citizens, their beloved mayor had been betrayed by the very pirates he had welcomed into his shipyard.

"Right on schedule," she whispered, folding the paper neatly and tucking it into her bag.

From where she sat, she could hear the angry shouts of the shipwrights. Mobs of Galley-La workers were running through the streets, armed with saws, hammers, and planks, screaming for Straw Hat Luffy’s head.

"It’s almost theatrical," she noted, watching a group of workers sprint past, ignoring her completely. "CP9 plays the villain so well. Rob Lucci… Kaku… hiding in plain sight for years just for this moment."

She took a sip of her tea, which had gone cold. Her knowledge of the future—the anime timeline—was her greatest weapon. She knew Iceburg wasn't dead. She knew Nico Robin was currently framing the Straw Hats to save them. She knew that tonight, the Aqua Laguna would hit, and the madness would shift to the sea train, Puffing Tom.

She had to do nothing. Absolutely nothing.

If she intervened—if she told Nami about Robin's sacrifice, or stopped Franky from being kidnapped—the Straw Hats wouldn't go to Enies Lobby. They wouldn't declare war on the World Government. Luffy wouldn't invent Gear Second or Gear Third.

And without those power-ups, Moria would crush them in the Florian Triangle. And if Moria won, Kurumi would never get her hands on the Toki Toki no Mi, Model: Zafkiel.

"Suffering builds character," Kurumi decided, standing up and smoothing her skirt. "And I need you strong, Monkey D. Luffy."

The Opportunity

However, "doing nothing" didn't mean wasting time.

The city was in chaos. The Galley-La foremen were distracted. The Marines stationed in the city were overwhelmed trying to manage the evacuation for the approaching Aqua Laguna.

This was the perfect time for rats to scurry out of the sewers.

Kurumi adjusted her Marine coat, draping it over her civilian dress to signal her authority. She walked toward the lower districts—the areas that would be flooded first.

As she expected, while the heroes were busy with the plot, the scum were busy with the loot.

A group of twenty pirates, clearly not associated with the Straw Hats, were smashing the windows of a high-end jewelry store. They were frantically stuffing gold and gems into sacks, laughing as the evacuation sirens wailed.

"Hurry up! The water's rising! No cops are gonna stop us now!" their captain, a man with a jagged hook for a hand, shouted.

"My, my," a voice chimed from the alleyway. "Taking advantage of a tragedy? How… unrefined."

The pirates spun around. Standing in the rain was a single girl, her red and gold eyes glowing in the gloom.

"A Marine?" The captain laughed. "Just a little girl! Kill her and take the rest!"

They rushed her.

Kurumi didn't draw her flintlock. She didn't draw her rapier. She needed to practice her Rokushiki.

Soru.

She vanished.

Wham.

She reappeared instantly in front of the captain, her fist buried in his gut. It wasn't just a punch; it was a Shigan (Finger Pistol) technique modified into a knuckle strike to avoid lethal penetration but ensure internal rupture.

The captain’s eyes bugged out. He crumpled without a sound.

The other pirates froze.

"Now then," Kurumi smiled, cracking her knuckles. "The evacuation shelters are full. The prison cells, however, are on high ground. Would you like a captivating escort?"

The Aftermath

By the time the Aqua Laguna struck, threatening to swallow the lower city whole, Kurumi had single-handedly tied up three separate pirate crews who were trying to loot the chaos.

She sat in the Marine office on the upper level of Water 7, dry and composed, while a bewildered Sergeant processed the pile of unconscious criminals she had dumped at his doorstep.

"Lieutenant Commander Kurumi…" the Sergeant stammered. "While the rest of us were panicking about the assassination… you captured the 'Red Tooth' Pirates AND the 'Smasher' Brothers?"

"Order must be maintained," Kurumi said, checking her nails. "Even in a storm. Especially in a storm."

The Sergeant saluted, eyes wide with respect. "I'll put this in your report immediately to Headquarters! This is promotion material, ma'am! To maintain justice while the CP9 agents are… uh… elsewhere…"

"Excellent," Kurumi said.

Outside, the wind howled. She looked out the window toward the raging ocean. Somewhere out there, the Rocket Man sea train was chasing the Puffing Tom. The Straw Hats were on their way to Enies Lobby to grow stronger.

"Go on, Luffy," she whispered to the glass. "Go break the world. I'll be waiting for you in the fog."