...
In the Fleet Admiral's office at Marine Headquarters, Sengoku and Garp were sharing tea.
A subordinate knocked and entered. "Reporting, Fleet Admiral. Admiral Kizaru has successfully escorted King Cobra of Alabasta to the World Conference. He has since been dismissed and is on his way back."
"Good. Send him to me when he arrives." Sengoku set down his cup. He had a task in mind for Kizaru, something connected to the situation around Iron Fist Zephyr. As Zephyr's former student, Kizaru was the most appropriate choice. His Devil Fruit abilities were well suited to the confrontation as well. And since coming out of his last period of intensive training, Kizaru's overall combat strength had grown considerably. Sending Akainu or Aokiji felt like the wrong call.
The door opened not long after.
A man in a yellow plaid suit strolled in with his usual unhurried ease. Sengoku looked up to greet him and immediately lost the battle with his composure.
"...Pfft."
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Kizaru's face was clean. Completely, unusually, startlingly clean. The scraggly beard that had defined his expression for as long as either of them could remember was simply gone.
"Borsalino," Sengoku managed between laughs, "your beard. What happened to your beard?!"
Garp was already slapping the armrest of his chair.
"I shaved it," Kizaru said, running a hand across his bare jaw with perfect calm, apparently unbothered by either of them.
"You shaved it," Sengoku repeated, dissolving again.
Neither of them could quite explain why it was so funny, except that some faces become so inseparable from a particular feature that removing it feels like meeting a stranger wearing a familiar person's clothes. Kizaru, for his part, had never put much stock in his own appearance and seemed content to let them laugh themselves out.
"Who on earth convinced you to do it?" Garp wiped his eyes, genuinely curious now. "I didn't think anyone had that kind of influence over you."
Sengoku straightened up and composed himself with some effort. "I have to admit, I'm curious as well. This isn't a small thing."
"Someone who sells jars," Kizaru said simply, and gave them the broad outline of what had happened, including the part about Crocodile.
There was a pause. Then both of them lost it again.
"Crocodile turned into a girl?! HAHAHAHAHA!"
The image of it hit them at exactly the same moment, and neither man was equipped to handle it gracefully. Crocodile's reputation was built on menace and intimidation. The mental collision between that and what Kizaru was describing was simply too much.
"Yep," Kizaru said, when they'd settled somewhat. He offered nothing further.
"That's Amon's work, all right," Garp said, nodding to himself with satisfaction. "Only he'd come up with something like that. Borsalino gets pranked too, haha. What a kid."
Garp had long since placed Amon in the category of people he was quietly proud of, the way an older relative might feel about a younger one who keeps finding creative trouble.
"Amon," Sengoku muttered, shaking his head. "That explains it."
A Marine burst back through the door before any of them could say more.
"Reporting! Urgent transmission from Water Seven. Spandam-sama has been killed. A large number of Marine personnel have been incapacitated. Status of the injured is currently unknown."
Sengoku's expression shifted completely. "Show me."
He took the visual feed and watched.
"That's Nico Robin. And Amon is there too."
"Amon?" Garp reached over and pulled the feed toward himself. He watched for a moment, then let out a low whistle. "That Conqueror's Haki is getting scary. That's getting close to Shanks' level, I'd say."
Shanks' Conqueror's Haki sat at the upper tier, the advanced level where the output alone was enough to render people unconscious outright. What the video showed Amon doing was sitting in exactly that range.
"Garp!"
Garp glanced sideways at Sengoku's tone and kept his expression pleasant.
"You think this is funny? That boy has caused a serious incident!"
"You're reading it wrong," Garp said. "Amon doesn't act without a reason. You remember the Cocoyasi Village situation? He held back that time too. Those Marines are unconscious, not dead. If he'd actually wanted to cause damage, the outcome would look a lot different." He leaned back in his chair. "You've got his Den Den Mushi number. Call him. Hear it from him before you decide anything."
Sengoku held the irritation for a moment, then let it out slowly. Garp wasn't wrong. He picked up the Den Den Mushi and dialed.
...
Aboard the ship, Amon was horizontal on his beach chair, letting the afternoon sun do its work, when the Den Den Mushi beside him began to ring. He checked the ID and picked.
"Sengoku?"
"Amon." Sengoku spoke professionally. "The incident in Water Seven. Was that you?"
Whatever gratitude Sengoku privately held for what Amon had done for him, he had never been someone who let personal feeling blur the line between public and private business. The question was direct, and the tone made the expectations clear.
"Yes," Amon said. "It was."
"Hey, kid, is that really true?" Before Sengoku could follow up, Garp's voice came barging in from the background. "Because Spandam was CP5's chief. If you actually did this, it's going to land on the Five Elders' desk, and even I won't have much room to help you when that happens."