One piece: Black Cat

"So, about that story..."

The heavy oak doors of Marine Headquarters groaned shut as several high-ranking officers gathered in the war room, their faces etched with lines of exhaustion and barely contained fury. The morning sun streaming through the tall windows seemed to mock the darkness of their discussion, casting long shadows across the polished table where damning documents lay scattered like accusations.

"Marine slaves... what a ridiculous story." Vice Admiral Tsuru's weathered hands trembled almost imperceptibly as she lifted the report, her usually composed demeanor cracking to reveal the rage burning beneath. The only woman among the assembled officers, she had seen countless horrors in her decades of service, but this—this struck at the very heart of everything she fought to protect.

"The mafia appears to be the main driving force behind this organized operation," Sengoku explained, his voice heavy with disgust. "Vice admiral Kuzan is currently investigating their networks in the West Blue, working alongside the pirates mentioned in that report."

Tsuru's sharp eyes found Sengoku's across the table. "Yes, he's the one who rescued the captured Marines. Infiltrated their district headquarters alone and reported the situation to us." Her voice carried a mixture of pride and concern, pride for Kuzan's courage, concern for what it had cost him.

"Hey, Sengoku." Garp's gruff voice cut through the tension like a blade. "Are we really calling them pirates?"

Sengoku's shoulders sagged slightly, the weight of command pressing down on him. "Unfortunately... yes. That's their official classification." His eyes fell to the incident report bearing his own signature, every word a reminder of how the system had failed those under their protection.

The same fury that burned in Sengoku's chest blazed in Sakazuki, who stood rigid behind him, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white. The younger officer's jaw worked silently, his restraint hanging by a thread.

"'Black Cat' Kuro, huh..." Garp leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful. "I see. So that's him."

"You know him, Garp?" Sengoku's eyebrows rose with interest.

"Famous bounty hunter. Made quite a name for himself in the East Blue." Garp's weathered face grew grim as memories surfaced. "Entire bandit crews would disappear without a trace, wiped out before they even knew what hit them. Started with a measly thousand berry bounty, but within a year it had shot past ten million."

The legendary Marine who had faced Gold Roger himself sighed deeply, a sound that seemed to carry the weight of years. "I thought something was off about his pattern. Never touched a single civilian, only went after bandits and those shadow-dwelling slave traders. Couldn't figure out why he had a bounty at all, but now..." His voice turned bitter. "Those scum must have had their eyes on him. How pathetic."

"Garp! Watch your language!" Sengoku's rebuke lacked its usual force.

"What's wrong with calling trash exactly what it is?!" Garp's massive frame shot upright, his face twisted with a rage rarely seen from the usually jovial man. "They prey on young Marines who just joined to serve justice! I might as well turn pirate myself and hunt down every last one of them!"

"Garp!"

"Is there a single Marine in this room who wouldn't be furious after hearing this?!"

The air crackled with tension as the two titans faced off, their anger feeding off each other like flames meeting gasoline.

"Both of you, calm down." Tsuru's voice cut through their fury like ice water. "I understand your feelings, we all do. But we need clear heads for what comes next."

The authority in her tone was absolute. Both men reluctantly resumed their seats, though their anger continued to simmer just beneath the surface. Everyone present knew that rage was justified—that it was, perhaps, the only sane response to such betrayal.

"So where is 'Black Cat' now?" Tsuru's question refocused the room.

Sengoku pulled out another report, his expression growing heavier. "According to Kuzan's account, they encountered Gecko Moria while he was attempting to use both the captured Marines and the criminals as pawns for his own schemes. A battle ensued. Kuzan arrived to assist, but..." He paused, the weight of the next words visible on his face. "Moria's wounds were severe. He's currently recovering while overseeing treatment for the other Marines."

A different kind of tension rippled through the room at this revelation.

"Gecko Moria?!" The name sparked hushed conversations around the table.

"I heard Kaido defeated him..."

"He's been on the run in the West Blue..."

"To think a fourteen-year-old could stand against him..."

"The situation involved both captured Marines and criminals, correct?" Tsuru's sharp mind cut straight to the tactical implications.

"More precisely," Sengoku clarified, his voice tight, "Moria had placed the shadows of Marines into the corpses of criminals he'd killed."

"I'm surprised they didn't flee." The observation came from one of the younger officers, voicing what most were thinking.

The room fell silent as everyone considered the implications. Facing Moria with only civilians to protect and no backup, any rational person would have run. The odds of survival were virtually zero.

But Sengoku shook his head slowly. "He's not the type to abandon others. If he were, he never would have gone to that base in the first place, risking everything to ensure the Marines' families weren't taken hostage."

The words hung in the air, carrying a weight that pressed down on every person present. Frustrated sighs and bitter expressions painted the faces of seasoned warriors who had seen too much injustice.

"What a remarkable young man," Tsuru murmured, her voice soft with something approaching wonder.

No one challenged her assessment, inappropriate though it might seem for someone branded a pirate. The evidence spoke for itself, this young man's actions had saved dozens of Marine lives, whatever his official classification might be.

"Commander-in-Chief Kong," Sengoku's voice carried a formality that signaled the gravity of his next question. "Has the World Government made any official response?"

Kong's expression darkened, aging him another decade in an instant. "There was... a communication. But..."

The room held its breath. The World Government's responsibility for this catastrophe was undeniable. Their response would determine not just policy, but the very relationship between the Navy and their supposed masters.

"They've issued a gag order until they can 'confirm the facts' and provide 'appropriate instructions.'" Kong's voice dripped with disgust at having to repeat such bureaucratic doublespeak.

The silence that followed was deafening.

"Are you kidding me?!" Sengoku's fist crashed into the table with enough force to crack the ancient wood. "They're buying time! Planning to destroy evidence and minimize their responsibility while our people suffer!"

"But I can't act!" Kong's anguished cry silenced the room. "Don't you think I want to? With Gold Roger's final words, we've entered the Great Pirate Age! Conflicts are escalating everywhere, look at the war between Kaido and Moria on the Grand Line! Plus increased piracy in all four seas as every scumbag with a boat tries to reach Raftel!"

The Commander-in-Chief voice cracked with emotion. "If we create friction with the World Government now, if something ignites this powder keg, innocent civilians will pay the price in blood!"

Kong's raw confession struck every Marine present like a physical blow. Some felt tears prick their eyes, overwhelmed by the helplessness of their situation, sworn to protect justice yet chained by the very system they served.

"I won't let them eliminate the Marines they've branded as slaves," Kong's voice hardened with resolve. "I'll get every single one back, I swear it."

His next words came barely above a whisper, heavy with the burden of command. "So please... bear with me just a little longer..."

•~•

"Captain, how's your leg?"

"Good as new, I'd say." I tested my weight carefully, then jogged a few steps along the cliff's edge where the salty sea spray had carved smooth paths in the stone. No pain, no stiffness—just the familiar strength returning to my limbs like an old friend.

The temporary medical facility buzzed with quiet activity around us. What had once been a ghost town's abandoned warehouse now served as a makeshift recovery center, its walls echoing with the soft conversations of healing Marines and the gentle scratch of medical reports being filed.

"I should thank Perona and the ship's doctor properly," I mused, flexing my leg one more time to be certain.

"The ship's doctor is just an apprentice," my companion reminded me, though his tone carried respect rather than dismissal.

"Anyone who can heal wounds like this deserves the title." The medical trainee who'd worked alongside Perona had shown skill beyond his years, combining naval training with the island girl's knowledge of local medicinal plants. Together, they'd created something approaching miraculous healing.

"Speaking of which, where are Perona and Robin now?"

"While you were testing that leg of yours, they've been preparing special meals for the rescued Marines." His expression grew serious. "They'd been kept in those conditions for so long that normal food could actually harm them now."

The casual mention hit me like a physical blow. "They were planning to dispose of them," I said quietly, remembering what Robin and I had discovered during our investigation of the facility.

We'd found the seawater intake system, the hidden drainage leading directly to the ocean. The plan had been sickeningly simple—flood the chamber, make it look like an accident, then dump the bodies where they'd never be found.

"Vice admiral Kuzan?"

"Just returned. He was rounding up stragglers, seems they had people positioned near the families' homes, keeping watch." My companion's voice carried grudging respect for the thoroughness of the operation, even as he condemned its purpose.

"Ah, that explains the timing." I'd wondered how Kuzan had arrived so conveniently, but it made sense. He'd been tracking the network, following the threads back to their source.

The creak of hinges announced a new arrival before I heard his voice.

"My, you're mobile again, Kuro-kun." Kuzan's distinctive lazy drawl filled the room as he appeared in the doorway, looking every bit as unflappable as ever despite the bandages visible beneath his uniform.

"Recovered enough to run cliff faces, apparently." I gestured to where I'd been testing my mobility.

"Cliffs are for climbing, not running... though I suppose that's just how you operate." Kuzan pulled up a chair with his usual unhurried movements, settling beside my makeshift bed. "So, Kuro-kun. I sent that letter to Fleet Admiral Sengoku about everything you told me. Are you certain about this course?"

"What do you mean?"

"It would be better for you personally to keep this incident quiet. Play your cards right, and you might be able to clear your name entirely." His tone remained conversational, but I caught the underlying concern.

"If I go legitimate, who protects Robin?" The question hung between us, heavy with implications we both understood.

Kuzan would meet Luffy and his crew twenty years from now, but that left Robin facing two decades of constant pursuit, essentially alone. The thought of that brilliant, haunted child spending her entire youth running from shadows was unbearable.

"My, you're committed to this path." There was something approaching admiration in his voice.

"I told you before, I have no intention of abandoning her."

"Indeed you did. So why would I suggest hiding this incident?" Kuzan's question carried the weight of larger concerns.

"The Navy and World Government are heading for a confrontation," I said carefully. "A major conflict between them right now would be catastrophic for everyone."

After all, Roger's execution was still fresh in everyone's memory. The Great Pirate Age was just beginning to gather momentum, and already the seas were growing more dangerous by the day. Reports from the West Blue painted a picture of escalating chaos, and rumors suggested the North Blue wasn't far behind.

"I imagine the World Government is secretly terrified of pushing the Navy too far," I continued.

"Both Commander-in-Chief kong and Sengoku were furious, that's certainly true." Kuzan's confirmation carried the weight of firsthand observation.

"Then the World Government must be feeling quite vulnerable right now."

Which meant, in a twisted way, that I'd painted an even larger target on my back...

"Did you see your new bounty?" Kuzan's question carried an undertone of something, amusement? Concern?

"I saw it. Couldn't believe my eyes." The memory of that ridiculous photograph still made me cringe. Where had they even gotten that image?

'Black Cat' Kuro - 98,000,000 Berries

"At least it didn't break a hundred million," I muttered. "Small mercies."

"The government wants you dead," Kuzan observed with characteristic bluntness.

"But they can't order the Navy to hunt me without creating more distrust among those who know the truth. So they're making me a target for bounty hunters and pirates instead." The logic was coldly efficient, I had to admit.

"You really are perceptive, Kuro-kun. That's exactly their strategy."

The casual confirmation made my stomach churn. Those bastards really would sacrifice anyone to protect their own interests, wouldn't they?

———

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[10 Advanced Chs]