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Zephyr had intended to keep the full picture quiet. That plan dissolved the moment Hancock opened her mouth.
A Warlord of the Sea had stepped forward and called it out directly in front of everyone. Zephyr had no answer for that. The surrounding Marines, freed from any need for discretion, began talking among themselves, and none of what they said reflected well on Onigumo.
Onigumo stood with his head down for a long moment, saying nothing.
"I lost." The words came out low and halting. "Even with only swordsmanship. I still lost." He turned it over, like a man testing whether the ground beneath him was solid. "Ikki was right. My Six-Sword Style isn't worth boasting about. He beat me with a single blade."
He muttered it to himself, and the dejection that settled over him was heavy.
Zephyr watched from the side, his frown deepening. He had not expected this. It was a match, nothing more. But Onigumo, for all his rigid adherence to Absolute Justice, had been shaken down to something closer to despair. Zephyr had never been fond of the extreme path Onigumo walked, but he had no desire to watch him collapse along it either.
"That's enough. Stop standing there like that." His voice came out sharp, loud enough to cut through the murmuring around them. "If you feel your strength fell short, then train twice as hard when this is over. Is this what an elite Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters looks like?"
Onigumo's head came up. "Teacher Zephyr..."
"Enough of that." Zephyr put a hand on his shoulder. "After the war, you train properly. That's all."
It took time, but the weight on Onigumo gradually eased. He pulled himself together, then walked across the training ground to where Ikki was standing, his expression complicated in a way he made no attempt to hide.
There had been a time when the roles were reversed. When Ikki was the one seeking him out as a challenge. Now he was the one who needed to do the challenging. The shift sat strangely with him, made stranger still by the fact that even the first time, in the East Blue, he had lost.
At least that defeat had been less thorough than this one.
"I lost today," Onigumo said. "But I'll find stronger swordsmanship. And I'll challenge you again."
"If you bring enough Berries next time," Ikki replied with a grin, "I'll consider accepting."
Onigumo shook his head and held out the sword he had prepared in advance. Ikki took it. The sword had not appeared in any account he could recall, and he could not place its name. But the quality came through the moment he held it. This was a named blade, the kind that qualified as currency for a system draw.
"I wasn't unprepared for what losing might cost me back then. You told me that if you lost, you'd let yourself be dragged through the streets. I was ready to pay the same price." He paused. "I was fortunate enough to avoid it."
Ikki gave the sword a single swing. It vanished from his hand in a flash of white light, and simultaneously a notification registered in his mind confirming the draw.
"Just lucky, you say." Onigumo shook his head. "Don't make me laugh. You had plenty left in reserve."
He turned and walked off to the side. He had not taken serious injuries, but the loss sat on him, and he needed time away from the crowd to find his footing again.
Ikki stretched both arms overhead. "That's enough for today. Let's find somewhere to sit down."
He turned to leave the training ground.
Mihawk stepped into his path.
"Ikki. You seem to have time available."
"No, actually I'm quite busy. If you want a match, book it for another day."
Mihawk went quiet. He said nothing further. But those sharp eyes stayed fixed on Ikki without wavering.
"Can you stop looking at me like that?" Ikki said. "I'm not going to fight you just because you stare. I genuinely don't want a match right now."
"You don't want to settle who holds the top rank?"
"You're the world's greatest swordsman. With you holding that title, mine would be undeserved."
"You think very highly of yourself."
Ikki shook his head, let his gaze move briefly across the Marines still gathered around the ground, then stepped close and lowered his voice near Mihawk's ear.
"After the war. We're not on our own ground here. If we actually go all out, we'll tear this place apart. Fleet Admiral Sengoku would step in before we even got started."
That was the reason he gave. It was not the only one. The other reason was simpler: he had no intention of trading serious damage with Mihawk only to find himself compromised before the real fighting at Marineford began.
The Marines were treating him well right now, but that hospitality carried the condition of him being in full strength. He could not predict what either the Marines or the World Government might do if he arrived at the war already worn down.
Mihawk held the words in for a moment, as if weighing them. Then he gave a single nod.
"After the war, then."
He turned, decisive and unhurried, and walked back toward the recruit training grounds. The crowd parted for him without being asked, and he was gone.
"The nerve of that man." Hancock moved to Ikki's side, her displeasure obvious. "I should turn him into a statue and be done with it." She looked at Ikki, and the cold sharpness she carried with everyone else simply was not there. It melted as cleanly as ice under full sun. "Don't worry about him, Ikki. If he actually tries something, I'll handle it."
That smile reached the Marines still standing nearby before any of them could prepare for it. Heart-shaped expressions appeared across the crowd, and more than a few pairs of eyes turned to Ikki with something between envy and resentment.
"I'll count on you, Hancock." Ikki laughed.
"Of course." She straightened slightly. "By the way, I arrived at Marine Headquarters ahead of you. Would you like me to show you around? It is nowhere near as lovely as Amazon Lily, but there are still a few places worth seeing."
"Marine Headquarters has a number of restricted areas." Zephyr's voice came from behind them as he walked over. "I would advise against wandering without guidance."
Hancock turned and fixed him with a look of immediate displeasure.