With the fallout between Ann and Marco, the news may not have made it to the public, but those who kept track of Whitebeard's group quickly heard of it. One of them was Cipher Pol.
"Hmm? Something wrong, Kalifa?" Jabra was eating grapes while watching a movie asked his partner when he saw her frowning at the paper she was holding.
"Firefist."
"Oh. That woman. Who would have thought that the infamous Firefist was a woman? It sure ain't me! Hahaha! Women can be deadly. I bet my ass that Whitebeard's heir was so furious as he was dumbfounded." His laughter echoed in the living room of their safehouse, making Kalifa roll her eyes at him.
"Blue is a woman. Firefist is a woman. Do you know what else they have in common?"
"No." Jabra sat up to look at Kalifa, curious what she was getting on. "What else?"
"Their public records said they came from the same orphanage. Fushia Village Orphanage. Many people verified from the orphanage's management that they never had records of Ann Ortiz. And I checked this morning. There was no record of Sab Regor either."
The realization was slowly hitting Jabra's mind, piecing two pieces together.
"Are you saying that they might be involved somehow?"
"It is possible. It is too much of a coincidence for them to use the same orphanage in their records. Their rise to fame in Grandline happened in the same year. It can't be a coincidence, can it?" A cold smile graces her lips from this possibility. She may not be sure, but her instincts are telling her that she was right.
"So, what are we going to do now? Sell this information to Whitebeard? They were looking for Firefist."
"Whitebeard may not oppose the World Government but we never had any cooperative relationship with them. We will be getting nothing if we sell it to them. Besides, they were not the only ones who wanted Firefist's head."
"Kaido or Big Mom?" Jabra asked.
"Kaido is a good choice but he was too busy spreading his business while dealing with the menace that Eustass was causing around the area. We are technically collaborating with Eustass. You should know what happened to the previous cooperation. We cannot make the same mistake. Big Mom was the best choice. While she hunts down Firefist, we won't have to worry about her involvement with Blue."
"You demon." Jabra knew that Kalifa was intelligent, but this analysis took her intelligence to the next level. Besides, even if her suspicion was incorrect, it does not matter to them. "Then, let's meet Big Mom's group, shall we?"
"Of course." They exchange manic grins, satisfied that their plans are going smoothly.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
"Cipher Pol gave this information?" A woman whose build looks like a mountain spoke while looking at her most trusted son, Katakuri.
"They did. It was nothing but suspicion, but their basis sounded solid. I think it might be possible."
"Hahaha! Damn that Firefist. I would have thought I have to cooperate with that old man to get her head, but it seems that it is not necessary." Brushing her palms using the hem of her dress, her head turned to the picture on the table. "This face. What a familiar face."
"Mama, what do you mean?" Smoothie asked.
"Mama, do you want me to hunt her down? Hehehe. I could imagine what kind of torture I can put her through after she destroyed our plans and our properties!" Perospero laughed to the side but was ignored by his mother whose eyes were squinting while looking at the picture of a beautiful woman. Suddenly, her eyes brightened as she reached for her phone and dialed an unregistered number. His children did not make a sound and listened to the conversation.
"Oi! It's been a while. Mamamama!" She placed the phone on the table after putting it in speaker mode, letting some of her children hear the conversation.
"What do you want?" A hoarse voice of a man asked, sounding like he had woken from a slumber.
"You might not be in Grandline, but you should know some things are happening here. Roger's devil spawn was a woman, correct?"
"You mean Firefist?" The man laughed maniacally. "Damn. Who would have thought that she would grow up like a fierce hunter? Sadly that father of hers was nothing but a coward."
"Mamamama! So, I was right!" Her three children present in the room were all dumbfounded. Even the most idiotic person would know what this conversation revealed - that Firefist was Roger's daughter. "She looked like her damn mother! That damn Rouge! That bitch whom everyone called Queen! How dare she?!"
"I am not interested in hearing you rant about your inferiority towards Rouge." The man said.
"Who are you calling inferior?! I will - "
"If you are interested in hunting her down, go ahead. But beware that the old monsters loyal to Roger might retaliate."
"Hah! Aren't you one of those old monsters from his group?! Not the loyal one, though." There was nothing but silence after that. Staring at the phone, Big Mom's smile grew wider. "You're quite right. The old monsters and the groups hiding might retaliate. Only if we kill her. Mamamama. It seems I can get my hands on this chess piece."
"Do whatever you want." The call ended afterward but Big Mom only shrugged at the rudeness of the old man. She looked at her children who were waiting for her orders.
"Work with Cipher Pol if needed. Capture Firefist and bring her to me. We need to rope that person to join our group."
"But Mama! She destroyed our factories and buildings!" Perospero protested. He was the one in charge of those buildings that Firefist destroyed. The amount of beating he received after that was as insurmountable as his hatred towards her. He vowed to capture her alive and kill her with his bare hands.
"Just do as I say!" She shouted at Perospero who flinched at his mother.
"What if the Whitebeard will get in our way?" Smoothie voiced out.
"Doesn't matter. As long as she agrees to join us."
"And what if she doesn't?" It's time for Katakuri to ask this question.
"Then, go ahead and kill her. Anyone who obstructs us from capturing her should be killed, understand?"
All of them nodded, clear on the orders. The three of them leaving Big Mom's room signals the beginning of their hunt for Firefist.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
An ache began crawling in Sab's head the moment she saw the message from Kidd.
'Another cooperation, huh?' She dreaded another cooperation, and as much as she wanted to cut things off, she never had any reason to refuse either, not when their target was the same. The information gathered will never be enough to dethrone Orochi from his public position. They can cover it up with no problem.
"Our goal is to stop the weapon factory Orochi has that incited wars all over Grandline. These weapons not only were sold to civilians but were also sold to the World Government. The method they were doing was inhumane. They sold the weapons to civilians and gave the list to the World Government which was cascaded to the police force. By using the law, the police force will arrest these civilians who wanted nothing but safety before confiscating the weapons... For free." Those were Dragon's words to Sab.
It was infuriating how the World Government would stoop so low just to get these weapons and even plotted propaganda against the civilians who they should be protecting against the massacres the Mafia Groups were doing.
Even if they expose Orochi with the ledger they got, it's not worth it. The list of accounts came from Kaido's group after all. It's useless.
Penetrating Wano City's underground world was harder than she thought, even with Kidd's help. It's not like she can call it assistance when they merely cooperate for a mutual benefit.
'Send me the details.' That is what she responded. Little did she know that she was agreeing to a doom coming her way. Kidd immediately sent him the details. They were straightforward, and what they needed to do was to raid the ongoing transaction of Orochi with the World Government.
At first, Sab was skeptical because the details provided were too 'detailed', but she shook off the doubts and just nodded in appreciation that at least there was a concrete plan this time and not round around like ticking bombs.
The location this time was within the territories of Big Mom and Whitebeard. She had no idea why, but she shrugged it off, writing the thoughts as nothing but an odd location for Orochi to perform his deals. After a quick research, she found out that the building was one of the World Government's abandoned laboratories, so it makes sense that Orochi will make use of it. She went alone as usual. Looking at her wristwatch, she frowned when she did not see any traces of Kidd or his men. They were supposed to meet here 10 minutes from now.
Looking around, she saw a couple of men standing as guards. Her instincts kept telling her that despite the number of guards around, it was still too eerie for her.
'Do they lack men to guard?' She cannot help but ask. When she received the message from Kidd, she immediately went to one of the facilities nearby. It was easy to hide from the guards and sneak into the old building.
She thought they were there, but the moment she stepped inside, the lights suddenly turned on, revealing several men. It won't take a genius to know that she had fallen into their trap.
"Fuck!" She cursed and was about to turn around but several men who might be in hiding barricaded her only escape route. Her situation was like a rat trapped and waiting for her death. 'Damn it, Kidd!' She cursed inwardly. Why did she not notice this before? Had she lost her touch because she was cooperating with him? Perhaps that might be the case. She subconsciously let her guard down because of him.
Years may have passed, but her feelings for him remained unchanged.
"Such a pleasure that you graced us with your presence, Blue." Sab turned around only to see the pleased look in the eyes of a man she was familiar with, having been at loggerheads with them. CP9. She frowned but kept her composure, but she felt chills down her spine when she noticed the grin slowly spreading as if mocking her. "Or should I say, Atty. Sab?"
Realization dawned on Sab like glaciers of ice piercing her body.
"Your little lover was upset when he found out about you. I am pretty sure once we deliver your head his anger will subside. After all, he led you here."
Before Sab could retort, she vaguely registered a sting on her back. She twitched, feeling her muscles go numb.
'Fuck!' Another curse rang in her mind as he consciousness started fading away. With the last bit of strength, she managed to push a button to send a distress signal to her sisters.
"Don't worry. You will not die yet. Hahaha!" And those were the last words she heard before everything turned black.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Ann was busy keeping a low profile while going after Big Mom's crew this time. She knew she cannot openly use her guise as Firefist when the Whitebeards are on her trail. Since she began targetting Big Mom, she knew getting the head will not be easy, so she decided to focus on her officers instead.
With her new disguise, and using the information they had about Big Mom, it was easy for her to target the officers. It's been a while since she graced them with her presence and with the news of her betrayal against Marco, they would think that she will not show herself for the time being.
They were all wrong.
She used the Whitebeard's death mark on her so she can target Big Mom now. With their guard down, she managed to assassinate four of her officers. Mozart, Marnier, Raisin, and Brownie by using her sharpshooter gun. Everyone was baffled at the sudden assassination. By the time they reacted, she was gone.
With her first assault that shook Big Mom's group, the security of the officers tightened, but she knew she can still find a loophole to kill them. She will kill them all till there was nothing left to help Big Mom when the time comes for her to meet her end.
She would have gone through her plans had it not been for the distress signal she received just now. Her mind raced upon seeing it came from Sab.
Panicking, she instantly called her yet received no response despite countless times she tried. A minute passed and she received Luffia's call, sounding as distressed as her.
"Ann! It's Sab!"
"I know! Tell Usopp to track her last location. We'll meet halfway." All possible scenarios circled in her mind but one thing is certain, Kidd had something to do with whatever happened to Sab. "That fucker." Her intense killing intent leaked through her eyes just by thinking that Kidd sold Blue to whoever the fuckers are. Even if he sold Blue without knowing her true identity, his actions did not sit well with Ann considering the sacrifices and pain Sab went through over the past two years.
Ann immediately left the area but still kept trying to reach Sab till someone else answered it.
"Hello there~" The voice belonged to a man who must have attacked her.
"Where is Blue?!" She stopped her big bike to listen to what the man had to say.
"Oh, feisty, aren't we, Firefist?" The mention of her alias had Ann shiver. Several scenarios played in her mind and some of them were the worst kind.
"Once I get my hands on you, I will wring your neck. I promise you will be facing death flashing before your eyes if you dare to touch Blue." Her threats only made the man laugh maniacally.
"Oh, dear. I cannot wait. But sadly, that won't happen. Watch out for the news of Atty. Sab Regor's death. Hahahaha!" The line ended just like that, leaving Ann huffing in anger and panic. She had to save Sab.
After receiving the last location from Luffia, she immediately went there without hesitation not knowing that someone was tracking her down.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
After the call with Firefist, Jabra gave the location to Big Mom as they agreed upon. With the technology they have, it is only as easy as snapping his fingers to locate the caller.
"Mamamama! It is time. Katakuri, Perospero, Smoothie. Go and capture her. Bring her to me." Big Mom was happily eating her snacks while ordering her favorite children.
"What if she doesn't? Can we kill her instead?" Katakuri, her strongest commander asked.
"It would be a shame to kill a pawn like her. Do your best to capture her. If she will come willingly, all the better! Mamama! I heard she is unmarried. All the best! We could tie her down to our family by letting you marry her, Katakuri." Big Mom's son only solemnly looked at his mother without saying anything. He knew this will come one day. After all, marrying her officers was her method of tying down allies all over Grandline.
Not like Katakuri will mind. Only someone strong like her was welcome to be his wife.
"If she still refused, rather than letting others have a walking bomb like her, then go ahead and kill her!"
With the orders issued, the three immediately took a few men to accompany them in capturing Firefist.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Zoro can feel the panic in Luffia's eyes when she heard the distress signal coming from one of her sisters. It is the second time that he saw her in this vulnerable state. All he can do is grab her arm to calm her down.
"Let's think carefully. Who else wanted Blue more than anyone else aside from the World Government?" He said to Luffia on their way to the old laboratory to check if Sab was still there.
"Cipher Pol," Robin answered for Luffia, bringing her back to her senses.
"She better be okay or else..." There was a threat in her voice that made Zoro wince. Such killing intent was enough for him to feel nervous about even though she was not directing it to him. Only did he realize that there are things he did not know about Luffia. Despite his situation, he felt thankful that he managed to know her little by little.
When they arrived in the old laboratory, Franky and Robin stayed inside the van while Zoro and Luffia went inside. It was a big laboratory, but some of the buildings were in the rubble which helped them search the vicinity.
"There's none!" Luffia began panicking again while racking her brains about where to find Sab and how to rescue her.
"If Cipher Pol were behind her capture, then it would make sense for them to use their safehouses nearby. Her last location came from here half an hour ago. If they left approximately 5 minutes after that call, they couldn't have gone far unless they used a helicopter." Robin said after Luffia and Zoro returned empty-handed.
"Where should we find her?" Luffia bit her lower lip, anxious about her sister's safety.
"Cipher Pol had several safe houses. But I only know a few of them within the area. There is one safehouse about an hour from here. Between the borders of Big Mom's West territory and the World Government's local HQ. Stussy brought me there one time." Both Luffia and Robin looked at him with reverence in their eyes, especially Luffia who was desperate to find her sister. She thought there would be no way to get her back till Zoro gave her hope.
After Zoro gave the location, Luffia called her other members to change their route to a new location using one of their helicopters. Most of the members were two or three hours away from where they are.
The next thing Luffia did was contact Ann only to find out that she was also in trouble.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Ann was speeding past the limit on her way to the old laboratory when she saw several cars chasing after her. She couldn't tell which group they are from, but she knew they were trouble.
The people chasing after her fired a warning shot which proved useless as it only made Ann grip her bike's handle to its maximum. The noise alarmed the people nearby which included Whitebeard's men.
Because of the grave desire to save her sister, Ann disregarded anything else around her except for the thought of shaking off her pursuers. Such carelessness led to a discrepancy in her judgment. She failed to notice the spikes lined up on the highway which resulted in her tires bursting.
"Shit!" She instantly rolled to the ground, muttering another curse when a few spikes hit her arms and back. It stings, but she ignored the pain in search of a way to get out of this situation.
But it was too late.
Her pursuers managed to catch up to her. Not only that, a few people surrounded her on the highway. But this is not the worse part of this whole situation. It was because of the three cars stopping a few meters in front of her, revealing none other than Marco, Curiel, and Rakuyo.
One against many. While she did not know who her pursuers were, all she knew was that their intentions were not good. The helmet she was wearing kept her identity from being revealed, but even that would be useless against these enemies.
"Tsk! Whitebeard's men. You don't have any business here." When Ann turned around, she recognized the man as Charlotte Perospero, one of Big Mom's officers.
Who would have thought that Big Mom was the one chasing her? Looks like they were keeping a track of her. But how? That is not something she cannot answer.
"It is our business because our territory is right over here. This is the borders, yoi." The familiar voice penetrated Ann's ears. The emotions surging were indescribable and she had to thank her helmet for serving as her only defense from being seen in her vulnerable state.
"We are not here to declare war or cause trouble with you. So better leave now." This time it was Charlotte Smoothie who spoke, persuading the Whitebeard group to leave. From this alone, Ann could tell that Big Mom's group doesn't want the Whitebeard to interfere.
'I have to buy some time till Usopp and the others get here,' she said. Luffia told her that Usopp and the others would get her via a helicopter. If she can buy some time to keep herself alive to escape this predicament so that she can rescue Sab.
Without hesitation, she took her helmet off her head to reveal her identity to the two groups, and she instantly saw Smoothie and Perospero clicking their tongue at her actions. It only proved that her speculations were correct.
From her rearview, she can see Marco looking at her with his cold blue eyes.
'Now is not the time, Ann. Focus. You must get out of here to help your sister!'
She forced herself to appear confident in front of her enemies.
"Wow. I didn't know I would get so many audiences." The sarcastic remarks were met with growls coming from Whitebeard's group and a few sneers from the men that the Big Mom's group brought.
"Firefist. The rumors were indeed true. You are as beautiful as you are deadly!" Perospero said, bringing his disgustingly long tongue out of his mouth, licking his lips while surveying Ann from head to toe. Ann rolled her eyes at his ridiculousness. 'Men and their lust'.
"So? I can let you taste how deadly I can be."
"Haha! So feisty! I don't mind, but that is if I can give you a chance." Ann gripped her gun, ready to exchange a few bullets with this bastard.
"Enough, Perospero," Katakuri growled, making Perospero back off for now. He turned to Ann and said: "Mama is letting you know she will write off everything you've done to us."
"In exchange for what?"
"That you will join our group. We will ensure to shelter you from anyone who was after your life." Katakuri made sure to look at Marco when he said that. The blonde did not appreciate this at all.
"Do you think we will sit to watch you do that, yoi?" He was ignored by Katakuri who turned his attention back to Ann.
"What do you say?"
"And if I say no?" She asked, waiting for their answer but the deadly silence was enough to make her scoff. "Ridiculous."
"Why would you say no? This is a rare chance of forgiveness from Mama! She never forgives anyone who dared to mess with her business! You even killed several of our officers, but she will forget that once you join! Not only that, she was even willing to let you marry my brother, Katakuri." Perospero bragged while lifting his chin as high as he could while smirking at Marco whose expression Ann cannot see. "It might be bad to say that when your ex-lover is here, but oh well. It doesn't matter. So? What do you say, Firefist?"
Everyone was waiting for her to answer. Even Marco was anxiously waiting while glaring daggers at her back.
The answer they waited for came in a form of a burst of laughter from Ann as if she heard the most insane joke of the century.
"Are you out of your damn mind? Wow. I didn't think you all were crazy. Also, a marriage? Hahaha! This is the most unromantic proposal in history. I'd have to say no. I don't have any interest in joining your group. Not now, not ever." Just the thought of joining the group led by one of the people who killed her father made her shudder in disgust.
"You're rejecting? Then, you leave us no choice but to capture you. Men!" Perospero was quick to signal his men to attack Ann. Four men immediately came forward but Ann was ready. She began counterattacking them with ease by using the martial arts she learned when she was a child. With her gloves reinforced with brass knuckles, the men that attacked her found themselves taken out by just one punch.
"Is this all you got? Pathetic. They're your men, right? They're as pathetic as you are." The insult was directed at Perospero who was quick to act on his anger. He shouted at Ann that she will pay for insulting him. Despite the warning from his siblings, he attacked Ann with his knife. His attacks were fended off. She kicked his legs and maneuvered herself perfectly to capture him instead.
It only took about two minutes before Perospero found himself kneeling on the ground, shouting in pain because of the pressure Ann was exerting on his shoulder.
"You - "
"Stay where you are, Katakuri. Or else your sibling's head will have a nice little hole here." She said. Even if Katakuri stopped, some of Perospero's men did not, forcing Ann to use the most effective method.
With ease, she fired a bullet at the two men approaching her. One bullet each and they found themselves on the ground, sullying the cemented floor with their blood.
It wasn't enough for her. She decided to shoot Perospero's knee before breaking his arm. The scream echoed on the deserted highway. Her brutal way of dealing with things made Big Mom's group grimace.
"Fuck you, bitch! Once I get my hands on you, you will fucking pay for this! I will kill you, aaahhh! Aaaahhh!" Ann ignored his ramblings and pressed her foot on his wounded knee, making him shout in pain.
"If you don't let my brother go, we will be forced to do something drastic," Smoothie warned her.
"Really? Then do it. I doubt it will sway my foot's comfortable position on your brother's wound." To prove her point, she stomped her foot, and Perospero screamed in agony.
"Then, you leave us no choice but to reveal to everyone here who you are and who your parents were." Smoothie's words roused the killing intent in Ann's eyes. Taking advantage of her shock, Smoothie continued. "Are you shocked to know that we know you you are? Huh! We could reveal it to the whole world and it is only a matter of time before everyone, including the World Government, come and chase you till the ends of the world!"
"That's right! Ahhh! Fuck! You will be dead once we tell everyone! Hahaha! You will never be at peace! Should we start by telling Whitebeard's group about the truth! Aaaahhh! Fuck you!" Perospero was screaming again when Ann gripped his broken arm harder than ever.
Their conversation made the Whitebeard's group curious. They should not be talking about Firefist's identity as Ann Ortiz but something else. Marco felt as if the depths of Ann's mysteriousness were deeper than he thought it was. There was more to find out.
With her silence, Big Mom's group thought that she would agree, but they were wrong. She laughed instead.
"Go ahead."
"What?!" Smoothie and Perospero were flabbergasted while Katakuri maintained his composure.
"Go ahead and tell them. I couldn't care less if you tell the whole world about my identity. The question is, can you handle it? The reason why your Mama wanted me to join or capture me alive was that she wanted a chess piece that can shatter the status quo of Grandline. And the reason why you did not kill me when you had the chance was that you are also afraid of a great war that my death will start. After all, you don't want the old monsters coming back right at your doorstep, right?" Smoothie and Katakuri exchanged looks. While their Mama may have given them a signal to kill her if she resists capture, they knew well enough what her death might mean.
War.
It is a kind of war where they will be blind as to which group will side with who. It may have been years since Roger's death, but his influence remains the same especially for those monsters crouching like dragons in the dark.
If his children managed to survive till this day, Big Mom's group knew that they have someone they are relying on. A force that may tip the tide and even groups like Big Mom's would have to pay a tremendous price if they carelessly kill her.
Before anyone could react to her words, they heard a helicopter approaching them. The window was open, revealing several sniper rifles pointed at them.
Seeing the red dots on their chests, Whitebeard's group was alarmed. Ann decided to take measures into her hands and fired a warning shot at them. Her warning shot grazed Marco's arm, shocking the blonde.
"Don't you dare move! If anyone of you moves, you will find your bodies full of holes." She glared at him, threatening Marco to keep his group from making any unnecessary movements.
This threat only made him flare in anger, but he acknowledged it. With their reluctant agreement, Ann proceeds to use the rope ladder to climb and escape.
Watching her retreating form, Marco fully realized the extent of what he never knew about Ann. She was no longer the person he used to know. She was akin to a lion that shed her sheep's skin.
As Ann left, Perospero felt himself relax as he inwardly swore to make her pay for this humiliation.