Chapter 110: A Chance Encounter with Akainu

In a flash, many years have already passed.

I wonder how Junichi is doing now; it truly makes one nostalgic.

Siano quickly reined in his thoughts, a smile breaking across his face: "It happens to be the season when cherry blossoms are in full bloom; everyone can enjoy the flowers and spring outings along the way, settle their moods, and then head together to North Island for a whole day of unrestrained fun!"

The crowd immediately erupted in cheers of celebration.

"Awesome!"

"I want to ride the Ferris wheel! Who's coming with me?"

"That's too boring; let's go for the roller coaster and the pirate ship instead!"

Amidst the noisy clamor, the Curtain Fall slowly sailed into the harbor.

At the same time.

Toll Island, North Island.

The usually bustling main street was now silent as death, with only the heavy echo of military boots treading on the stone pavement.

Squads of Marine soldiers roughly kicked open the doors of casinos and taverns, dragging panicked tourists out into the street to compare them one by one against the wanted posters.

"Report! No targets found in the Casino District!"

"Theater sweep complete; all just ordinary tourists!"

"The amusement park has also been fully cleared; we only caught two minor characters with bounties in the low millions from the Ferris wheel!"

One disappointing report after another ultimately converged at the fountain plaza in the center of the street.

Before the fountain sculpture, Akainu paced back and forth with a gloomy expression; the marble ground beneath his feet had already developed fine cracks, his rage clearly becoming increasingly difficult to suppress.

Behind him, six people were handcuffed to the ground, each weeping bitterly, while beside them a sled dog about a meter tall also lay curled up on the ground, whimpering in grievance.

"We were wrong, we truly know we were wrong!"

"We shouldn't have imitated and impersonated those vicious pirates, deceiving people everywhere for free food and drink!"

"Officer, please forgive us just this once!"

The Marine soldiers responsible for guarding them exchanged glances, their expressions all somewhat strange.

This group was entirely composed of professional-level cosplay enthusiasts, having almost exactly copied the styling and attire of that Curtain Fall Pirate Crew.

Three men and three women; the black-haired man at the front carried a long blade on his back, while the white-haired man beside him had a ring of cigars tied around his arm.

And the one disguised as an old chef even had his right leg wrapped in a layer of steel...

If not for the fact that they trembled all over upon seeing the Marines, immediately kneeling and kowtowing in surrender, they could truly have passed for the real thing.

In fact, they had indeed achieved exactly that before.

The Marine intelligence squad stationed here had been deceived.

They had monitored continuously for several days without detecting any flaws; if not for that...

"I would not have traveled ten thousand li at full speed to rush here."

Akainu finally turned around, casting a cold gaze over the group: "Although you are not the targets, based on past records, you are also habitual offenders of fraud, robbery, and extortion."

"Of course, these crimes would normally amount to nothing more than a few years in prison before release, but this time, you insisted on impersonating that specific group, wasting so much of my time."

Akainu slightly raised his right hand; his right arm began to turn into magma, the scorching heat causing the air to distort and rise. "Such evil deeds are unforgivable."

Seeing this scene, the surrounding Marine soldiers hastily retreated to both sides.

As for the several handcuffed individuals, they were so terrified that they huddled together, screaming with tears and snot flying everywhere.

"No... don't!"

"Help!"

"We really dare not do it again!"

Akainu paid them no heed, raising his arm with an expressionless face: "Fire Breath!"

Boom!

A surging torrent of scorching magma poured out, instantly engulfing the six people and the dog.

The piercing screams lasted only an instant before cutting off abruptly.

When the steaming heat dissipated, hardly any human form remained at the site; within the bubbling magma emitting small bubbles, only a patch of charred, blurred traces remained.

Is this truly Admiral Sakazuki's style?

So ruthless...

The surrounding Marine soldiers could not help but shudder.

Step, step, step.

Footsteps sounded from behind; Akainu turned around to find standing before him the two Vice Admirals he had specially dispatched from Headquarters to ensure the perfect completion of this mission.

"Mr. Sakazuki."

The Headquarters Vice Admiral walking in front, a cigar dangling from his mouth, spoke in a deep voice:

"The entire town has been searched; it can now be confirmed one hundred percent that this is merely a farce caused by this group's audacity in using the name of the Curtain Fall Pirate Crew to eat and drink for free."

"The real Great Swordsman Siano and his crew never even set foot on this island!"

His name was Dalmeccia; he had been promoted to Headquarters Vice Admiral many years ago, ranking among the top in both seniority and strength, possessing the Zoan-type Dog-Dog Fruit, Model: Dalmatian, and maintaining a half-human, half-beast form year-round.

"Indeed so; however, this time was not entirely without gain; stumbling upon and capturing over a dozen bounty-bearing pirates means we did not come here for nothing,"

the other Vice Admiral, a tall and slender woman, licked the corner of her mouth and said with a grin.

Her name was Bormea; originally serving as the Deputy Base Commander with the rank of Rear Admiral at G-2 Branch, she had just been promoted to Headquarters Vice Admiral two months ago.

Not entirely without gain?

Akainu sneered; such insignificant minor characters, no matter how many were caught, did not deserve to be called a gain!

What significance could they possibly have, enough to cover up the shameful fact that his operation this time had returned without merit?

A Marine Admiral had personally taken the field, leading a fleet composed of four large headquarters warships and over five thousand elite soldiers, surging forward with imposing momentum.

Yet he had found nothing?

It was simply a massive humiliation, especially since he had spoken such harsh words just before departing...

He could already imagine what kind of reaction those two fellows, Kuzan and Borsalino, would have upon seeing him again.

"Send a squad to take those idiots who spread false intelligence to the Enies Lobby military court for severe judgment."

Akainu forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart and issued an order in a flat tone, "As for the remaining soldiers, organize the withdrawal; bring those bounty hunters along and prepare to return to headquarters."

"Yes, sir!"

The two Vice Admirals immediately saluted, turned, and departed.

With the orders issued, the entire North Island immediately bustled with activity; well-trained Marine soldiers, escorting the captured pirates, began withdrawing from the town in succession.

This process would take at least half an hour.

Unwilling to wait idly on the ship, Akainu simply went alone to the southern shore.

He planned to walk along the shore alone, feel the sea breeze, and use the beautiful sea of cherry blossoms on the opposite South Island to slightly calm his mood.

The South Island was a sparsely populated rural place; when he had first arrived at Tor Island, he had specifically scanned it with Observation Haki, finding mostly local farmers at work and detecting no suspicious aura.

Now, naturally, there was no difference... Hmm?

Akainu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Just a moment ago, he had subconsciously released his Observation Haki to scan the area, only to sense many unfamiliar auras, among which one, the most powerful, was drawing closer, drawing closer...

It was already right before his eyes!

He whipped around abruptly.

"Haven't you come over yet? I'm already on this side of the bridge."

Siano said as he walked slowly, speaking into the Den Den Mushi.

"Heehee, not yet, brother," Nami's giggling voice came through the receiver, "We plan to collect a few more petals so Uncle Zeff can make cherry blossom cakes; it'll probably take another ten-plus minutes, so just wait a little longer!"

"Alright."

Siano sighed helplessly, "Then I'll wait for you all at the bridgehead; once everyone has arrived, we'll go to the North Island together."

"Okay!"

Just as he was about to hang up, suddenly, a needle-like sense of crisis shot up his spine, making him frown and instinctively look up.

A tall figure clad in a dark red suit stood on the opposite bank, the white Justice cape behind him fluttering loudly in the wind.

The two simply stared at each other in stunned silence across the natural stone bridge, which spanned merely a few dozen meters.

Time seemed to freeze at this very moment.

(End of Chapter)