A Single Legend  

Several days after the fierce battle on Drum Island, Kanata and her crew were recuperating in the Kamabakka Kingdom. Everyone was exhausted, but they had decided that remaining on Drum Island would be too risky. Fortunately, the Marines didn't seem to have the luxury of pursuing them from there, and it was remarkably quiet.

As Kanata lightly stretched, checking her physical condition, Ivankov entered after knocking on the door.

"How are you feeling, Witchy Girl?"

"Ivankov, huh? Did you bring today's newspaper?"

"Yes, it just arrived."

Kanata had expected their spectacular battle to be mentioned in the newspaper, but there had been no articles about it in the past few days. It was strange, but not entirely unexpected.

"There's nothing about the battle on Drum in today's paper either. What's going on?"

"It's impossible for the World Government or the Marines to publicly announce that they were defeated by a large force, including a Marine Admiral. It's only natural."

The newspapers were still filled with news about the "Golden Lion Pirates" appearing in the first half of the Grand Line. There was nothing about Kanata and her crew. As far as she could tell from a quick glance, that was the most noteworthy article. The "Roger Pirates" and the "Whitebeard Pirates" were still causing havoc in various places.

They planned to stay in the Kamabakka Kingdom for a while, but they didn't intend to remain there indefinitely. Ideally, they would head to Water Seven, famous for its shipbuilding industry, to have their ship repaired before venturing into the "New World," but they weren't sure what to do.

"I'd like to recruit a shipwright if possible..."

"Unfortunately, I don't know anyone like that."

As they were pondering their next move, a piece of paper slipped out of the newspaper. It must have been tucked inside.

"A wanted poster?"

"Yes... it's yours, Vanata. Let's see, the bounty is..."

Ivankov picked it up, checked the amount, rubbed his eyes and checked again, then massaged his temples and checked one more time.

"Th-This bounty in the first half of the Grand Line!? This is unheard of!?"

"Let me see."

Kanata took the wanted poster from the flustered Ivankov and glanced at the bounty amount.

──"Dragon-Slaying Witch" Kanata. Bounty: 1.2 billion Berries.

"...I see. This is certainly an amount I've never seen before."

"It's about you, Vanata!? Why are you so calm!?"

"No matter how much the bounty increases, what I need to do doesn't change. Though it might attract more troublesome people."

As she flipped through the newspaper, several more wanted posters slipped out.

──"Giant Shadow" Feiyun. Bounty: 230 million Berries.

──"Red Mane" Zen. Bounty: 330 million Berries.

──"Six Harmonies Great Spear" Junshi. Bounty: 300 million Berries.

──"Bomber" David. 70 million Berries.

Those who had demonstrated their strength in the recent battle were all listed as high-bounty criminals. Feiyun and David's bounties had been updated, and the amounts had increased significantly.

"This is incredible... What's the total bounty amount?"

"It's over 2 billion Berries, even with a rough calculation. We've become quite famous."

"You're so carefree, Vanata..."

Ivankov looked at Kanata, who was chuckling lightly, with a dumbfounded expression, hands on his hips. However, he then lined up the wanted posters.

"Dragon and Tiger aren't listed? I thought they would also have bounties since they fought against Zephyr and Sengoku."

"That's what I was wondering too... There don't seem to be any more wanted posters in the newspaper, so I guess we can assume they're not wanted."

It was a bit concerning that Dragon and Tiger, as well as Samuel and others who were fairly capable fighters, weren't listed.

They couldn't understand the World Government or the Marines' way of thinking. There was no point in dwelling on it.

"Samuel is going to be noisy about not having a bounty even though he worked so hard."

"Normally, it's better not to have a bounty... but well, pirates consider it a badge of honor."

"I don't recall ever calling myself a pirate. Our ship doesn't have a name, nor do we have a pirate crew name."

"Really? Now that you mention it, I've never heard of one. You're only ever referred to as the 'Witch's' crew."

If Zephyr's words were true, the Marines wouldn't have the time to focus on them for a while. They could take it easy and recuperate while planning their next move.

This island had the right environment for training to improve their strength. There was no need to move hastily, Kanata thought.

***

Marineford, a town located near the center of the world.

In a private room within the hospital attached to Marine Headquarters, Sengoku was sipping tea while reading today's newspaper. Then, a boisterous man made a noisy entrance.

"Hey, how are you doing, Sengoku! I brought you some okaki as a get-well gift!"

"Are your injuries okay? I brought some fruit, so I'll leave it here."

"Excuse me, Vice Admiral Sengoku. I brought you some tea."

"You're too loud, Garp! This is a hospital, can't you be quiet! And thank you for the fruit, Tsuru-chan. Berg, thanks for the tea."

Despite it being Sengoku's private room, Garp sat down on a chair as if he owned the place and started munching on his own senbei.

Sengoku and Tsuru sighed simultaneously, but they knew this was just the kind of man he was. Tsuru also sat down at Sengoku's invitation, while Berg prepared tea with tea leaves and hot water.

"I saw the newspaper. So you're not going to make that incident public after all?"

"There's no way we can. Even if it's just a Marine Admiral, we can't publicly announce that he went on a subjugation mission with three Vice Admirals and four warships but came back defeated without even capturing the target."

"That means they were strong enough to inflict such injuries on you. So, how were they?"

"Well..."

Sengoku explained how their strength was on a completely different level compared to when they fought a year ago, and how they had a crew with several eccentric individuals. He shared his impressions of Kanata and her crew.

Garp, sipping the tea Berg had prepared, seemed to be lost in thought, which was unusual for him.

"They're quite the rookies. Fleet Admiral Kong was also in a frenzy."

"I'm curious about where they were hiding for a year... but the biggest question is how they managed to improve their strength so dramatically in just one year."

"Couldn't you win one-on-one?"

"No, I fought several of them consecutively. But even if I had fought the 'Witch' one-on-one until the end, I wouldn't have come out unscathed."

They had cornered her with Zephyr, and they were confident that they had enough force to capture her.

But reality had proven otherwise.

If Sengoku had been able to fight her one-on-one until the end, he might have had a chance of victory, but the main reason for their defeat was the strength of Kanata's crewmates.

"Can you believe it? They have several crew members who can fight against me and Zephyr without backing down. It was like the Rocks' ship back then."

"Rocks..." Garp repeated the name of the pirate with a disgusted expression.

"The difference is that their crew members cooperate with each other. If the crew on Rocks' ship had gotten along, we might have been the ones defeated. There's a possibility that the 'Witch's' crew will become like that in the future."

"...You're praising the 'Witch' quite a bit, Sengoku. Did losing to them affect you that much?"

"...That's part of it, but... I can't help but see a certain woman when I look at the 'Witch.'"

"See a certain woman?"

"Octavia – 'Reverberation'."

This time, it was Tsuru's turn to make a disgusted expression, following Garp.

"Don't bring up that unpleasant woman's name. The government has countless incidents related to Rocks that they want to cover up, and adding that woman to the mix makes it even worse."

"But she's supposed to be dead. At least, that's what I heard."

"It's just hearsay. Her body was never found."

"It's doubtful that a body would even remain after that fierce battle."

"If she's alive, that would be a major incident. Can you imagine that woman, who causes trouble just by walking around, living peacefully for five years without causing any trouble?"

Tsuru took a senbei from Garp and took a bite as she spoke dismissively.

While pouring tea into Sengoku's empty cup, Berg asked a question, "I'm still a rookie, so I don't know much about the pirate 'Rocks'... but was this woman Octavia such a troublemaker?"

"She wasn't just a troublemaker. Basically, nothing good ever happened when she was involved."

"Royalty from countries she took a liking to would spend a fortune on her, causing their countries to collapse, and the islands where she rampaged would be reduced to ashes... Indeed, nothing good ever came of it."

"Bounty: 3.5 billion Berries. 'Reverberation' Octavia... Rocks was undoubtedly the strongest pirate at the time, but Octavia was the only woman he trusted."

There were countless anecdotes about her, but most of them weren't published in newspapers. That's why few people knew about her.

"She always hid her face with a mask. There were rumors that she possessed beauty that could bring down a nation, that she was an unbelievably ugly woman, that she had a major facial injury... all sorts of things were said."

"A user of Conqueror's Haki, with black hair and a spear as her weapon..."

"──..."

"...You three?"

All three of them fell silent at the same time. A heavy silence filled the room, and Berg, slightly confused, waited for someone to speak.

"Could she have had a child?" Sengoku was the first to break the silence, as if he had come to a realization.

"If we only consider the similarities... it's not impossible."

"Oh come on... This is too much. The government wants me to escort a Celestial Dragon to meet her instead of Zephyr."

"You, Garp? What is the government thinking..."

"Well, I have some personal business with her too... I guess I'll just ask her directly."

"...What business could a Celestial Dragon possibly have with that woman?"

"How should I know?" Garp replied nonchalantly to Sengoku's question.

The seas of the "New World" were already in turmoil. There was news of Whitebeard and Roger clashing, the Golden Lion making strange moves in "Paradise," and all sorts of other headaches for the Marines.

The last thing they needed was another former member of the Rocks Pirates causing trouble.

"Once Zephyr returns to the field, he'll be assigned to deal with the 'Golden Lion,' Garp will escort the Celestial Dragon to meet the 'Witch,' and I'll head to the 'New World' –"

As Tsuru was speaking, there was a knock on the hospital room door.

After they responded, the door opened, and the man wearing the "Justice" coat spoke hurriedly, as if in a panic.

"Excuse me, Vice Admiral Sengoku. I heard that Vice Admiral Tsuru and Vice Admiral Garp were here... Ah, good. You're both here."

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"An emergency summons has been issued for all officers."

An emergency summons was no small matter. Sengoku placed a hand on his forehead, anticipating another troublesome situation, and urged the man to continue.

The man checked the paper in his hand and spoke with a heavy voice.

"There are two important matters. First, 'Big Mom' Charlotte Linlin has made a move, and the Queen Mama Chanter, believed to be carrying her and her executives, has been sighted near the Sabaody Archipelago. Second... well, there's been a strange weather phenomenon in the West Blue where lightning has been striking continuously for several days."

"...Lightning striking continuously?"

"Yes. We don't have all the details yet, but the entire island has been reduced to ashes, with no survivors. And..."

"...He's alive, that bastard."

"Speak of the devil, huh. What kind of island was it that was reduced to ashes?"

"An ordinary town and... a large building that appears to be an orphanage has been confirmed."

"An orphanage... We don't know their objective, but it's almost certain that it was that woman."

The messenger and Berg didn't understand, but the three Vice Admirals seemed to know who was responsible just from the description of the incident.

It was no wonder Fleet Admiral Kong had issued an emergency summons, Sengoku thought as he sipped his lukewarm tea.

"This is urgent, right? Where are we supposed to gather?"

"Ah, yes. An emergency response headquarters has been set up in the main conference room –"

Garp and Tsuru were led out of the room by the messenger.

Only Sengoku and Berg, who wasn't included in the summons, remained.

"Here, you can have some too. It's delicious."

"Thank you."

Berg took an okaki from Sengoku and took a bite.

Silence fell over the room, but Sengoku muttered while holding today's newspaper. "The seas will be turbulent from now on. Considering that the former members of the Rocks Pirates are all making moves, the eye of the storm is likely the 'Witch.'"

For better or worse, things were about to change drastically.

After all, the nightmare of a pirate crew hadn't completely vanished.