Surprise

"So this was where he was executed." Rei muttered.

Imai stared at the podium, imagining the Pirate King being forced onto his knees as his head was cut off by the swords that came down onto his neck.

"It must've been rough." Imai muttered.

"What must've been rough?" Uta asked.

"The blade, I'm assuming they didn't cut the head cleanly which often leaves a bad aftertaste. Something like misfortune." Imai replied.

"Huh, and how would you know that it was rough?" Uta questioned.

"Well, it did leave misfortune for the marines since the pirate era began." Imai said with a laugh. "Now then, let's get to work."

Smoker had a frown as he watched Imai's cloaked figure jump onto the execution platform. He couldn't tell what she was about to do, she was too predictable to calculate.

"Vice Admiral, what is she planning?" Tashigi asked.

"I don't know, we can only wait and see." Smoker replied, the frown still on his face.

Imai glanced down to see Smoker's frown, she couldn't help but giggle when she also saw Tashigi's curiosity. When she opened her eyes, Tashigi's face had turned red, and the familiar anger had resurfaced.

"Hey, Smoker! Get ready to call your marines since this will surprise everyone!" Imai yelled, she was starting to gain attention from the citizens.

Smoker nodded towards Tashigi who ran off and gripped his blade. He didn't know what Imai was going to do, but if it was something that could harm the people, he had to at least protect the civilians.

However, it was nothing like that.

His eyes widened when he saw what came out of the bagged body. It was the one and only Shiki, the Golden Lion, from Roger's era. Old marines knew who he was and his golden hair that none of them could mistake for.

Smoker could feel the cigarette fall out his mouth and the light going out with a hiss.

Uta and Rei couldn't help but watch with excitement. Something big was going to happen either sooner or later. And they were going to be at the center of it all, no one could ignore them.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I present to you the corpse of the man who was once part of the Pirate King's area as well as a former member of the Rocks Pirates, Shiki the Golden Lion!

Horror, shock, and surprise could be seen among the citizens. Some of the citizens had been living in Loguetown for decades so of course they would know who he was.

"I can't believe it, it really is the Golden Lion."

"He was killed? But by who?"

"It must be her."

Imai smiled and glanced around at the civilians who were endlessly chattering amongst each other. Before their attention could be directed to somewhere else, she pulled them back in.

"A lot of you must be wondering who I am and I'll show you." Imai said, gripping the back of her hood. "I am the one and only, Fifth Emperor!"

The civilians could feel the air being sucked out of their lungs at the sight. The red eyes and the dark blue hair was all too familiar to them. The news of her massacring countless marines was widely spread throughout Loguetown.

"But don't worry everyone, I'm not here to harm any of you. This is just a warning to everyone who was once associated with Shiki!" Imai yelled. "So everyone who looked up to Shiki, come get your revenge! I await you!"

"Vice Admiral, backup has arrived." Tashigi whispered.

"Alright, let's get her down from there before she suddenly decides she wants to wage a war against other pirates and cause more than just a commotion." Smoker said.

Captain Tashigi and Vice Admiral Smoker both jumped onto the platform and raised their blades. Surprisingly, Imai had raised both of her hands, and let the corpse drop onto the wooden platform.

"As if I'd let you!"

"That's our captain!"

Imai smiled when the two figures appeared beside her and knocked away the two marines who had tried to apprehend her.

"Let's go!"

Imai pulled her hood over her head and dropped onto the ground as the two trailed behind her. She quickly ran away from the scene she had caused and weaved through different alleys.

"Captain, why did you surrender?" Rei asked.

"You could easily repel both of them, so why did you raise your hand?" Uta asked.

"Well, that was because I knew you two would help me. And there was also the fact that I revealed myself and if I had resisted, that meant I had broken the law. Though not like I didn't already and they don't know who the two of you are. That meant they wouldn't be able to do anything to me." Imai explained.

"I see."

"That's true."

From what they remembered, their hood hadn't been taken off once ever since they bought it from the store.

After running through the city, the three finally found a place to rest. Half of their stamina had been depleted from all the running they had to do.

"There's no one here so take off your hood if you'd like." Imai said.

The two took their hoods off immediately and breathed in the fresh air and enjoyed the cool breeze that brushed against their skin.

"Imai, you do know that you technically waged a war against a large number of pirates right?" Uta asked.

"I know, but it isn't like something is going to be different. It's going to be like we're fighting marines. Such titles don't matter when they're still human at the end of the day." Imai replied.

"Captain, I'm confident in our abilities, but are you sure we can win?" Rei asked.

"Of course." Imai said with a grin. "There's a saying to never pick a fight you can't win and that's why I pick fights with everyone."

Rei couldn't help but giggle, the heavy feeling that weighed in her heart had disappeared after Imai's reassurance. She had only recently joined the Seven Apostles, she didn't want her journey to end there.

She watched Uta and Imai talk as she leaned against the brick wall. Never had she once thought she would sail through the sea with the famous Empress of the Blade.

Imai Nobume, that was the name of her inspiration, she was the person who motivated her to grow stronger, and dream big.

And she now believed it, that hard work would be repaid.