The blinding sun seemed stuck overhead as the Whitebeard Pirates sailed leisurely through the Grand Line. Everything was perfectly ordinary - Teach sat at a table munching on a cherry pie, Vista and Jozu sparred behind him, and there was a steady gulp, gulp sigh from Pops as he drank and watched Izo's patient attempts to teach some of the newer recruits the traditional dances from Wano.

It was a perfectly ordinary, if not hot, day.

Which made the sudden cry from the lookout tower all the more troubling.

"There's someone hanging off a piece of driftwood!" Fossa shouted. "Port side!"

"Is there anything else around? Any other ships?" Pops called, already rising to his feet with Murakumogiri in hand.

"No, Pops! Nothing else!"

"Marco, go."

Marco vanished, his blue flames almost disappearing against the color of the clear sky. Still, the crew watched anxiously as he floated above the barely-visible driftwood and teenager, surveying the surroundings and the state of the kid.

Teach wondered if they were even still alive, although a bit part of him doubted it. They wouldn't be reaching another island for at least a few days. Unless the driftwood had once been a boat with rations, he couldn't see great survival odds.

To his surprise though, Marco scooped the teenager into his arms and bolted back to the Moby Dick, screaming out for medical equipment.

Well shit, the kid was stronger than he thought.

That, or had fantastic luck.

"Teach, Johan, help me out with this, would you?" Marco called, not even looking his way as he sprinted to the infirmary. Teach and the rookie followed wordlessly, concern knit across their faces.

"Is she really alive?" Teach asked, frowning in concern at the horribly thin teenager laying on the bed.

"For now, but that's why I need your help," Marco said. "She's probably been without food for a few days… but she looks like she's been malnourished for a while now. Get Thatch to start preparing some soft foods, would you Johan?"

Johan nodded, disappearing again. It was when Marco moved away from the girl that Teach noticed something strikingly familiar about her.

"Marco. Her clothes."

Marco paused as he hung up an IV bag on a line, then took a deep breath.

"Get Izo."

When Teach did, Izo took a sharp inhale of breath immediately. "The pattern is a specialty of Ringo. I'd recognize it anywhere."

"So she's from Wano, then? How the hell did she end up here?" Teach asked with a frown.

"I don't know… but I admit, I'm concerned. Lord Oden wanted to open Wano's borders. Why haven't we heard anything about that by now?" Izo asked, alarm written on his face.

"We'll ask her when she wakes up," Marco said softly, the heart monitor's steady beeping the only thing to break the tension that suddenly hung in the air.

It was nearly ten-thirty at night by the time the girl let out a groan, one dark brown eye cracking open.

"Where 'm I?" she whispered, voice ragged.

"You're safe…" Marco said, leaning over to check her vitals. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Akio."

"Do you remember what happened, Akio?"

Izo rose to his feet as well, leaning over anxiously.

"I - I stole one of Lord Orochi's boats… I needed to get out of the country. H-he wanted me to be a concubine… but I couldn't - I couldn't! He'd already taken my parents! I couldn't let him take me too!" Akio's breath quickened, panic overtaking her.

"Orochi?" Izo said sharply, and the teenager's breath suddenly slowed. "What happened to Oden?"

Akio's face flickered with fear. "N-no one must speak of him!"

"Please, you're safe here. My name is Izo. I left Wano decades ago. What happened to Lord Oden and his retainers?"

Akio's eyes filled with tears. "H - he's dead. They're all dead. L-Lord K-Kaido and L-Lord Orochi s-saw to it three years ago."

The air was sucked out of the room.

"Who is Orochi?" came Johan's voice.

Marco gave Teach a look, and he nodded in understanding, dragging Johan out of the room. The door closed behind them just as Izo screamed in devastation, the echo rippling out to the main deck of the Moby Dick.

"Commander Izo!" Johan cried. "Teach, c'mon, we have to make sure he's okay!"

"He ain't gonna be okay for a long time, Johan," Teach said.

Pops was on his feet when they arrived. "What happened?"

"Commander Izo started f-freaking out for some reason, Pops! I - I don't know - " Johan was too new, still too intimidated by Whitebeard to finish his sentence.

"Teach?" Pops asked, raising a brow.

For once in his life, Marshall D. Teach wished he could look away from his captain's gaze. He felt a strange, uncomfortable knot in his stomach as the reality of the girl's words set in.

"Oden is dead. His whole family, Pops, and their retainers… including Izo's sister. The girl said it was Kaido."

For the first time since Teach had been sailing with the crew, Pops' face went nearly as white as his mustache. Jozu looked like he'd been slapped, Vista's swords clattered to the ground, and Curiel bowed his head in respect. The newer recruits stared at each other in confusion.

Pops took a deep breath. "When?"

"She said it's been three years," Teach said, bowing his head.

Pops' face darkened, fury brewing in his gaze.

"What do we do, Pops? Are we going to invade Wano?" Jozu asked, his arm hardening into diamond.

For a moment, Pops was silent.

"No," he finally ground out. "We aren't invading Wano. There's no point. Oden's already dead, and the casualties would be too great, between us and the Wano citizens."

"But Pops, he killed some of us! We can't just sit here and let that go!" Fossa spoke up this time. "And Momonoskue and Hiyori - they were just kids !"

"I said no! The damage is done. We'd be doing nothing but causing trouble for innocent people," Pops sighed. "Drop anchor. We'll have a memorial for them tonight."

It was a solemn scramble to get the sake poured and the cannons ready for the salute. Marco managed to coax Izo out onto the deck with him, getting him a seat right next to Pops.

Izo's usually carefully placed makeup was smudged, tear tracks worming their way down his cheeks. He was pale and drawn, staring at the sake in his hand as if it were a lifeline.

Pops let out a sigh, standing before the crew with his larger than life sake bottle in hand. "Oden was a good man, as many of you are aware. He was bright, curious, and brought a light to this family. And Toki, Momonoskue and Hiyori as well. Tonight, we drink for them, for their retainers. For their country of Wano as a whole. Fire!"

The sound of cannons rang out into the air, the sound echoing in the darkness.