One Piece: It All Started When I Found Shanks' Arm

He remembered the appraisal from the staff officer, Brannew, during the bounty meeting back at Headquarters.

"…we can confirm that this wolf is the hidden second-strongest combatant of this pirate crew!"

"One of Vice Admiral Onigumo's Rear Admirals was severely injured after fighting it for only a short time, nearly having his neck bitten through. And according to his post-battle report, the wolf was fighting casually and not using its full strength!"

At the time, Dalmatian had just listened with a cigar in his mouth, completely unimpressed.

Just a wolf. How strong could it really be?

He had always believed that the only one worth paying attention to in the Curtain Call Pirates was the captain, Shane.

And now, he had seen it with his own eyes…

He had sent two of his Rear Admirals, along with several Captains, to deal with the giant wolf, but they had been unable to contain it. The creature had thrown the entire battlefield into chaos, disrupting their formation.

And in the end, it had even found an opening to assist its comrades, seriously injuring Broumaya and buying a significant amount of time for the Curtain Call Pirates to board their ship.

Its strength might not be on par with a veteran Vice Admiral like himself, but it was definitely not inferior to an average one!

"...Additionally, Mr. Sakazuki," Dalmatian added, "besides the ones with bounties, the Curtain Call Pirates have another, previously unknown accomplice, and they should also be quite strong."

"Another hidden accomplice?" Akainu frowned slightly.

"Yes. This person must have snuck onto the warship while we were engaged in battle on the shore. They sabotaged the masts and the sails. There were over a hundred Marines guarding the ship, but not a single one noticed."

"It wasn't until we were hastily boarding, preparing to pursue The Curtain Call, that the masts suddenly collapsed and the sails were torn to shreds… only then did we discover the problem."

Akainu's gaze darkened even further.

A mysterious hidden accomplice.

A crew far stronger than expected.

And that Shane…

"The Curtain Call Pirates are hiding quite a lot…" Akainu said, his voice low and icy. "Return to Headquarters. Tell the intelligence department to step up their investigation. I want to know everything about that hidden accomplice."

"Yes, sir!" Dalmatian quickly responded.

Akainu turned his head, his murderous gaze lingering on the distant horizon.

"There will be a day, brat… the next time we meet, I will personally send you and your entire crew to hell."

Hell, not Impel Down!

It was my own carelessness that allowed you to escape this time.

But… this shame, of being bested in my own game, I will one day have it all back!!!

————

Soon, the warships were repaired. The Marines from the south and north islands gathered at the docks, preparing to set sail.

And neither Akainu nor any of the other Marines noticed a black vulture circling high above.

And on the vulture's back sat a sea otter in pajamas, sketching furiously on a piece of paper…

————

Hundreds of kilometers away at sea, the last rays of the setting sun cast a golden glow on the surface of the water.

Splash!

Shane burst from the water, his soaking wet black hair plastered to his forehead. He gasped for breath, the veins on his arms bulging as he used the last of his strength to pull himself onto a reef.

"Hah… hah…"

His chest heaved like a bellows, every muscle screaming in protest.

He collapsed onto his back, letting the seawater drip from his chin.

Where am I now?

Who the hell knows!

But he had definitely shaken off the Marines. There was no way they could track him now.

After escaping the waters around Thor Island, he had swum for several hours straight, changing direction multiple times.

Even he didn't know where he was. How could the Marines possibly find him?

"Cough…"

The sunlight was still a bit too bright. The black-haired young man raised a trembling arm to shield his eyes. Through his fingers, he looked up at the sky, which was painted red by the sunset.

The image of Akainu's magma fist was still burned onto his retinas, and the searing pain from all over his body had not yet completely faded.

I'm in a pretty sorry state…

That old geezer was, without a doubt, one of the strongest in the world. A Marine Admiral was truly ridiculously powerful.

Even with all his trump cards, his inhuman physical defense, and his regenerative abilities, he had only been able to last for a little over half an hour.

And he had been battered and bruised the entire time. Countless times, his flesh had been scorched black, revealing the bone beneath.

If not for that Senzu Bean… he would have probably been turned into a Brook-like skeleton by now.

But, as Akainu himself had said, the fact that he hadn't been defeated in the first few moments, and had held on for so long, was something to be proud of for someone his age.

And besides, he had even managed to injure him in the end, something that even Akainu himself had not expected.

"The rewards were pretty good, though," Shane grinned.

He didn't care about fame.

What mattered was that he could feel that after this all-out, life-or-death battle, his Armament Haki and his combat experience had improved.

It wasn't a huge leap, but at his current level, every little bit of progress was precious. And if he kept accumulating these small gains—

One day!

One day, I will also stand at the pinnacle of this sea!

…

The last rays of the sunset sank below the horizon, and the night rolled in like a tide.

Shane pulled himself from his thoughts and looked at the system panel before him.

Here, another of his gains was recorded.

[Sacrifice: Sakazuki's Marine Cap]

[Quality: Epic]

[Value: 4500 Points]

[Appraisal: The Marine cap of Marine Headquarters Admiral Akainu. It has accompanied him for many years and carries his fanatical obsession with "Absolute Justice." The scorched marks on the brim are a testament to his countless clashes with powerful enemies; the indelible bloodstains speak of his merciless, iron-fisted methods in suppressing both pirates and civilians.]

A full forty-five hundred points, even more than the dog-head hat he had "borrowed" from Garp.

The two of them should be on the same level of strength, so for the point value to be so different… it was probably because Garp's hat didn't get as much "screen time," while Akainu's cap, even after he became Fleet Admiral, was practically glued to his head.

His remaining points had suddenly jumped to forty-five thousand five hundred. He could go on a nice shopping spree the next time the store refreshed.

And now…

Shane closed the system panel and lay there, spread-eagled.

He was so tired.

So tired that he couldn't even lift a finger. All he wanted to do was lie on this reef and sleep.

As for contacting his crew… the Transponder Snail hadn't survived, so he couldn't do anything about that for the time being. He would deal with it after he got some sleep.

Anyway, with his Observation Haki, he would automatically wake up if any danger approached.

But that was highly unlikely.

Unless he was extremely unlucky and ran into a certain curly-haired pretty boy on a bicycle, there was no danger to him in these waters…

His consciousness began to fade, his eyelids as heavy as lead. A moment later, a wave of exhaustion washed over him.

"Hah…"

With a soft snore, the young man fell into a deep sleep.

————

The moonlight was as cool as water.

The waves gently lapped against the reef. In the quiet sea, a large, blurry figure suddenly appeared.

It was a massive sea turtle, leisurely swimming over. It wore a cowboy hat and had an old-fashioned pipe in its mouth.

On the turtle's back, a slender figure in a purple crop top stood up. The sea breeze rustled her smooth, shoulder-length black hair, and the moonlight outlined her delicate profile, giving her a mysterious and intelligent beauty.

When she noticed the figure on the reef, she let out a soft laugh. "Ara, so this is where you were. I've been looking for you for hours."

She leaped lightly onto the reef.

The moment she landed and got a clear look at Shane, Robin's pupils constricted, and her face changed.

The black-haired young man before her was a deathly shade of purplish-blue.

Fine black lines were even faintly visible on the surface of his skin, as if a deadly poison was spreading through his body.

If Shane had been awake, he would have known instantly that it was the lingering effects of Broumaya's poison.

He had noticed the change in his skin color as he was escaping. It would be normal one moment, then turn a sickly bluish-purple the next.

But after confirming that the poison was not life-threatening, and couldn't even corrode his internal organs, only affecting the surface of his skin, he had been too busy escaping to care. He would deal with it after he had rested and had a good meal.

Unfortunately, Robin didn't know any of this.

To her, the sight of Shane, unconscious and purplish-blue, was a clear sign that his life was in danger.

How could this be?!

Robin was in disbelief.

After secretly following him for so long, she knew just how terrifyingly strong this black-haired young man was.

Not to mention the earth-shattering battle today, but even in Little Garden, she had seen him blow a hole through a mountain with a single punch…

What kind of poison could possibly take down a man like that?

He needs medical attention, immediately…

Without a moment's hesitation, she crossed her arms over her chest and said in a low voice, "Ocho Fleur: Crane!"

SWISH!

Eight pale arms sprouted from under Shane's body, gently but firmly lifting him and moving him to the turtle's back.

Robin deftly used her coat to cushion his head and then carefully checked his pulse and breathing.

"Thank goodness, his vital signs are stable," she said, letting out a small sigh of relief. She turned to the turtle. "Banchi, I'll have to trouble you. We need to go at full speed. We have to find a doctor for him as soon as possible."

"No problem," the sea turtle said, nodding with the pipe in its mouth. It began to paddle its flippers much faster, but then it looked back. "But where exactly are we going?"

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