Eve of War!

A bit later

Galan returned to Marineford and Olvia was waiting for him, smiling gently "Good?" Galan let out a breath and replied slowly "Excellent." Olvia smiled and held his bloody hand, saying "Let's clean you up." Galan frowned and she smiled "I need to shower too."

He let out a breath from his nose and followed her into the shower. They were both naked as she washed his body with a sponge, gently caressing every muscle, her actions filled with affection.

He sat on a stool in the shower and crossed his arms as she rubbed his back, saying "Everything is ready. Only need to announce it." He nodded and she came to his front, kneeling down and moving his arms, scrubbing his chest.

She slowed her actions and looked up at his face, asking softly with a concerned tone, "Galan… Are YOU ready for this… I mean…" she hesitated and looked into his eyes, continuing in a sad tone, "Killing Newgate…"

Galan tensed slightly and looked at her before closing his eyes, replying "I told you." Olvia sighed and scrubbed his body in silence for a few moments before replying "Why do you do this to yourself… It really hurts me to see you like this."

Galan didn't reply but his hands gripping his legs were a clear sign to Olvia. The veins on the back of his hands throbbed and his fingers were nearly digging into his flesh! She sighed and continued meticulously cleaning his body, scrubbing the blood off.

There was nothing sexual about this.

Olvia only felt sad for him, all for the sake of Justice, this man had to suffer every day in his life… Is this what it meant to be a hero? Could it be that Evil could drink, laugh, and indulge in carnal pleasure while Justice needed to dedicate their lives to eradicating evil, discarding emotions and sacrificing happiness…

Where was the Justice in that…

Olvia only hoped that she could make Galan's life a little brighter… She didn't dream of a happy ending, but maybe if she was allowed to hope… she would hope that he was happy with her.

She looked at the scars on his body and her tears mixed with the water from the shower, all this pain and suffering because of evil.

She really hated this world…

Galan looked at Olvia and his hand wiped the water from her cheeks, she looked up at him and smiled sadly "Is it worth it?" Galan touched her cheek gently, replying firmly after a few moments, "It's worth every single moment." she choked on a sob and held his hand gently, saying "I want you to know… No matter what anyone says about you. No matter who damns you in secret. No matter how the world views you…"

She looked at him with teary eyes, adding "You're my hero." Galan opened his mouth but no words came out after a few moments. He closed it and looked at her in silence, a shadow of a smile forming on his lips.

Olvia looked at the slight twitching of his cheeks and smiled gently.

More words were useless. They knew the meaning of this silence. Olvia had told Galan many times that she loved him, there wasn't a point in saying it again. She was here and she would never leave.

Maybe there was a part of Galan that longed for this… He sat in silence as she continued washing his body with a tender smile, full of affection.

He took the sponge from her hands and scrubbed her back as she sat in front of him, hugging her knees and resting her cheek on them. Her eyes closed with the same tender smile on her lips.

She didn't even think about sex… just these gentle actions were enough to warm her heart. The skinship between them was the most beautiful part of Olvia's life… She longed for these moments, every day.

The atmosphere was subtle and calm, a gentleness lingering around them as they sat in silence, cleaning each other.

A thought struck Olvia, 'Maybe this is what Love really was?' there was a need for sex, she felt happy just being near him… The thought filled her with a tender warmth and her smile widened slightly, Galan looked at her and shook his head.

He couldn't understand what this woman was thinking most of the time, all he knew was that she was extremely stubborn and annoying… But the deepest part of his heart vowed to fiercely protect her by any means necessary, even if he was to become enemies with the Entire world, he wouldn't care at all.

Galan couldn't lock down this emotion, he didn't know what Love was, it was irrational, ethereal… He was a genius at psychology and war tactics but something like love really confused him… He knew what it 'was' but not what Love actually meant.

Other emotions like anger, sadness, happiness… he could conceptualize them, understand them, mimic them, but love… He didn't know anything about it. From Galan's point of view, it was too strange, it made people do things they might never do otherwise.

He convinced himself it was a burden, something he could never understand nor feel…

But was that the truth?

Who knows…

The days passed

Galan announced to the world they were going to Publicly execute Portgas D. Ace at Marineford. He went on to add that the Marines had stationed Visual snails at many populated islands, letting the entire world watch as the Marines got rid of evil!

His words were righteous and filled with hatred for evil, some scoffed, some were awed, and others felt nothing.

The Emperors were stunned and laughed.

Sakazuki was ordered to stop Linlin and Kaido from interfering with the war. In order to prevent the obliteration of the Marines, Sakazuki was the only line of defense! As the days passed, he came into contact with the Beast Pirates being led by Kaido.

A special unit was tasked by Galan to smash Sakazuki's rudder and leave him estranged against Kaido's entire crew with his fleet. The plan went perfects as the fleet and Kaido started a massive war on their own!

The Good Marines outside were stunned and called Galan, who told them that they were to continue as planned.

They all knew that Whitebeard wasn't going to sit idly by and watch as his son was executed! This meant that Whitebeard was coming to Marineford to start a war! They desperately wanted to rush back and help, all of them.

However!

In the face of all these Marines, from recruits to Admirals, Galan only had one sentence for them.

I, alone, am enough!