The duty of the Marines is to maintain peace across the seas; apprehending pirates is their daily routine.
The vast majority of pirates are a vile, despicable lot who stop at nothing to commit evil deeds. Profanity, obscenities, and crude behavior constitute their standard vocabulary for everyday communication.
Captain Hina is a beautiful woman—stunningly beautiful, in fact. Throughout her career of capturing pirates, she had faced her fair share of crude harassment, yet she had never been quite this angry before.
This was because, in the past, anyone foolish enough to harass her or comment on her body was promptly captured, thrown in a Black Cage, and subjected to a thorough, agonizing beating—a satisfying outlet for her frustration.
However, now that she faced the 'White Emperor' Darian, she found herself unable to subdue him immediately. Worse yet, she sensed that she was actually being subtly overpowered in close-quarters combat.
"Hina is very angry," she declared, pushing herself up from her painful split on the deck. "Once I catch you, Hina will make sure to give you a very special welcome in Impel Down."
No sooner had Hina's words faded than Smoker came crashing down onto the deck from the sky above. Having abandoned his futile attempt to fight the Iron Sand wings to come to Hina's aid, Smoker roared in fury. "Don't get too cocky, you bastard!"
Responding to the belated arrival of the Logia user, Darian clenched his right fist.
He didn't use lightning. A faint, white aura of kinetic energy coalesced around his knuckles. With a swift turn of his hips, he unleashed a single punch aimed directly at the space between the two Marines.
"Asura Path."
CRACK!
The very air shattered like a pane of glass, as a jagged web of white fissures spread outward from the impact point.
Upon witnessing the air itself crack open at point-blank range, Smoker's eyes went wide with shock. The sheer force of the vibration traveled through the atmosphere and slammed into his body.
Logia-type Devil Fruit users can be quite troublesome; unless imbued with Armament Haki, standard physical attacks are utterly ineffective against them. Whenever a user's body is subjected to a physical stimulus, it instinctively transforms into its elemental form to evade the incoming damage.
Although Smoker was furious and reluctant to retreat, his reflexes took over. If he didn't shift into his elemental form, he would have taken a direct, bone-shattering hit from the vibration punch.
The force of the vibration erupted, compressing the air into a terrifying shockwave. Smoker, having transformed into white smoke, was instantly scattered and blown backward across the deck by the concussive blast.
Smoker's attack diverted Darian's attention for a fraction of a second, and Hina seized the opportunity to launch another high kick at his head.
Faced with that long, incoming leg, Darian had plenty of ways to counter it. He could have used lightning to fry her nervous system, or iron sand to sever the limb. However, Darian's twisted sense of chivalry—and his appreciation for beautiful women—prevented him from wanting to permanently maim her.
He simply raised his left arm to block. Shin met forearm with a resounding THUD.
Even with his "Gear Second" activated, Darian felt a tremendous impact. Hina's raw physical strength and martial arts technique were truly impressive.
Seeing that Darian had effortlessly parried her full-strength strike without even flinching, Hina withdrew her leg and couldn't help but frown deeply.
Internally, Hina felt a cold sweat break out. Judging by his movements, Darian certainly appeared to be an ordinary human; yet, his physical durability, raw strength, and bizarre Devil Fruit abilities were formidable enough to be a Warlord-level threat. Was this the kind of enemy she and Smoker could actually hope to handle without an Admiral present?
After several rounds of combat, Smoker hadn't managed to withstand even a single one of Darian's moves. Although she herself had exchanged a few blows with him, the sight of the humming iron sand swirling around Darian made it clear to Hina that he had been holding back on lethal force.
Darian glanced down at the black iron shackle still binding his left wrist and gave it a tug. Just as he had expected, the iron bar clamped around his arm could not be removed by raw physical force; its magical properties suppressed his strength.
"It's no use," Hina spoke with a distinct air of confidence, lighting a new cigarette. "Hina's 'Black Cage' isn't something that can be broken so easily. You're losing strength by the second."
Responding to Hina's confidence, Darian smiled beneath his mask. "If you're into bondage games, Captain, we could give it a try sometime in a more private setting."
As he spoke, Darian manipulated the vibrating iron sand hovering behind him. The black cloud surged forward, transforming into a tiny, high-frequency buzzsaw. With just a few swift, precise motions, the vibrating sand sliced cleanly through the iron cuff binding his wrist, shattering Hina's Devil Fruit construct.
Although she didn't quite grasp the lewd double meaning behind his words immediately, seeing the very cuffs intended to suppress his power—cuffs she had personally generated—sliced open so effortlessly left Hina momentarily speechless.
"AGH! MY ARM!"
"AHHH! MY KNEE!"
Before Hina could dwell on her broken cage, the agonized screams of Marine soldiers shattered her focus.
While Darian had been exchanging blows on the command ship, Nico Robin had finally made her move from the pirate sloop.
Facing the barrage of cannonballs fired by the four flanking Navy warships, Robin had crossed her arms. First, numerous eyes sprouted high up on the warships' riggings, vastly expanding her field of vision across the entire fleet.
Then, as the scent of flowers drifted through the sea breeze, dozens of arms began to sprout from the bodies of the Marine cannoneers.
Demonstrating her ruthless mastery of the Flower-Flower Fruit, Robin systematically employed various brutal joint-locking techniques. Aided by multiple sprouted arms, the Navy soldiers manning the cannons—who were currently reloading to fire upon the Little Fish—were grabbed by their own necks, elbows, and knees.
SNAP. CRACK.
The sickening sound of breaking bones and dislocated joints echoed across the water, followed by piercing screams. The artillery barrage ceased instantly as the gun crews collapsed in agony.
Gazing at the gruesome scene unfolding on the adjacent ships, Hina shouted in fury, "White Emperor! What have you done?!"
Given the chaotic situation, Hina naturally assumed that Darian was using some invisible aspect of his Devil Fruit to attack her men.
Meeting Hina's furious glare, Darian simply spread his hands. "Aha, my dear lady, I didn't do that. But as long as your men stop attacking my ship, I'm sure they'll be just fine."
"That's enough, you bastard! Stop it!"
At that moment, Smoker's body coalesced back into solid form near the helm. Witnessing the plight of his fellow Marines on the flanking ships, he roared at Darian in a fit of absolute rage and helplessness.
Darian stood tall, the twin swords of humming iron sand swirling around him. Gazing at those blades—which were sharper than steel—and recalling the paralyzing electric shocks and the Whitebeard-esque vibration punches, Smoker realized a bitter truth.
He was no match for the White Emperor. Not without Haki. Not without Seastone.
To protect his fellow soldiers from being slaughtered by the invisible force breaking their bones, Smoker had no choice but to swallow his pride.
"Cease fire!" Smoker roared to the fleet. "Hold your fire!"
Facing the furious, defeated Smoker, Darian responded calmly. "Smoker, you brought this upon yourself. I wasn't the one looking for trouble with you, was I? You started firing first."
Stung by Darian's retort, Smoker could only growl in frustration, his fists trembling. "Apprehending pirates—that is the duty of the Navy!"
Glancing at Smoker, whose face had turned beet red with impotent rage, Hina remained silent. She cast a long, calculating look at Darian before quietly exhaling a plume of smoke.
It had been Smoker's idea to intercept Darian, and now it was Smoker who was forced to call it off. It was plain to see how stifled, mortified, and furious Smoker felt—yet without the requisite strength, his anger was utterly useless.
Smoker truly just didn't get it. Inside his head, he was roaring in silent fury: Damn it all! If you're so damn strong, why did you run away in Loguetown?! If you'd just fought me then, I wouldn't have kept hounding you relentlessly into a trap!
Darian was, by nature, a pragmatist. He had no desire to slaughter an entire fleet of Marines—especially since his crew hadn't suffered any real losses, and drawing an Admiral's attention right now would ruin his plans in Alabasta.
Ignoring Smoker completely, Darian turned his attention to Hina and—true to his cheeky nature—tossed a flirtatious parting remark her way.
"Smoking is bad for your health, Captain," Darian said smoothly. "A girl who smokes ends up with a bitter taste in her mouth. And I don't like kissing women who taste like ashtrays."
Hearing this, Hina shot him a venomous glare and retorted, "Mind your own business, pirate scum!"
Watching Hina's look of deep displeasure—and Smoker, who was so furious he was literally grinding his teeth—Darian burst into hearty laughter.
Immediately, he manipulated the iron sand to reform the massive pair of black wings on his back. Propelled by electromagnetic thrust, Darian launched himself into the sky amidst his laughter, flying away from the fleet to give chase to the retreating Little Fish.
Gazing after the swaggering, airborne figure of the White Emperor, and then glancing at the seething rage on Smoker's face, Hina found herself at a rare loss for words.
She recalled how, just moments ago, Smoker had been hell-bent on capturing the rookie; yet now, he had effectively surrendered and allowed him to leave. For a Marine like Smoker—whose sense of justice was so fiercely uncompromising—this was undoubtedly a monumental humiliation.
Yet, this incident also served to demonstrate that Smoker was an exceptional Marine leader.
Had a fanatic like Akainu been present, even if victory were mathematically impossible, he would have ordered his men to fight to the very last man aboard the ship, sacrificing them all for the sake of 'Absolute Justice'. When contrasted with such radicalism, Smoker appeared far more humane and rational. He swallowed his pride to save his men's lives.
Robin, who had been continuously using her Devil Fruit abilities to monitor the command ship, uncrossed her arms and let out a soft breath. She turned to the crew.
"The situation over there has been resolved," Robin reported calmly. "The Captain is on his way back."
Upon hearing this, Nami—who had been gripping the helm so hard her knuckles were white, staring tensely at the horizon—let out a massive, visible sigh of relief.
Smiles broke out across the faces of Vivi, Mikita, and Carmen.
Moments later, Darian flew down from the sky, the iron sand wings dissipating into his pouch as he landed safely aboard the wooden deck.
Nami ran up to him, a hint of anxiety still in her voice. "Darian! Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine. What could possibly happen to me?" Darian replied with a warm, arrogant smile beneath his mask. "The Navy simply couldn't beat me, so they let me go."
Turning his gaze toward Robin, he nodded respectfully. "I owe a lot to Robin. She took out their artillery crews and put a massive amount of pressure on Smoker to stand down. That's the only reason they let me go so quickly. Otherwise, given that guy's stubborn temperament, he would have kept hounding me endlessly until I beat him into a coma."
Hearing this, Nami—acting very much like the ship's First Mate—turned to Robin and expressed her genuine gratitude. "Is that true? Thank you, Robin!"
Robin offered a faint, polite smile in response. "You're welcome, Navigator. After all... we *are* on the same ship."
Although she wore a smile, Darian could tell that Robin had placed particular, sarcastic emphasis on the phrase "on the same ship," subtly conveying her lingering displeasure at having been forcibly kept aboard as a hostage.
Nami was a sharp girl. She, too, picked up on the subtle dissatisfaction in Robin's words and shot Darian a reproachful glare, knowing exactly whose fault it was.
Robin's displeasure? Nami's glare? Darian couldn't care less.
If he had let Robin leave on Summer Solstice Island, given the damned machinations of fate, she would have inevitably fallen into the hands of the Straw Hat Pirates. And where, then, would Darian have been left to weep over his lost opportunity?
Despite Robin's current icy demeanor, Darian remained supremely confident. As long as she stayed on his ship, he would sooner or later find a way to melt that ice and win her over.
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