The Humo Robinson drifted along the waves, sailing toward the Twin Rivers Kingdom. Shaska sat on the deck in her wheelchair, torso still heavily bandaged, sipping a glass of wine. Next to her was Isha, continuing where she had left off earlier in the newspaper and sucking on a new lollipop. She pulled out new wanted posters for the Balthasars, both of whom got a bounty increase in the hundreds of millions of berries. Also included were posters for Michael and Gabriel, whose bounties were in excess of a billion berries each.

Shaska sipped her wine and said "the money for them doesn't matter to me anymore. All I want is to stop Minus World now."

Isha was taken aback by this. "Wow, that near death experience must have really scrambled you, huh," she said, crunching on her sucker.

"It made me realize that, despite my dangerous lifestyle… I hope that I get old before I die…" Shaska said.

Johnson walked up to the pair. He asked "hey, Shaska, if we're gonna be taking on Minus World again, wouldn't it be wise to get all those troops you had move to Fishman Island and get them to the Robinson?"

Isha replied with "Fishman Island isn't the best place to head right now. Queen Otohime just got assassinated by a human, apparently. So a crew full of humans would do their best to make themselves scarce around there."

"I sent out a notice as soon as I heard the news," Shaska added. "They're currently stationed at the Sabaody Archipelago until the mourning stops."

She reflexively tried to flick ash off a cigar, but realizing she didn't have one, sighed and took a sip of wine.

"Besides, right now, we're in relaxation and healing mode, not fighting mode. So, go chill somewhere, okay?"

Johnson nodded, and went back inside the ship to go read.

—-

A Marine battleship drifted along the waves. In the comms room of the battleship, a nine foot tall fishwoman with light purple skin and darker purple, shoulder length hair wearing a pristine black suit stood smoking a cigarette while talking on a transponder snail.

"Mmhmm, yeah I'll be home in like a week or so. Just taking care of some business in the New World," Zeiko said. "See you then, hon. I love you too."

Caaaalick

Zeiko blew smoke and left the comms room. As she did, two of the (human) Marines stationed there whispered to themselves.

"Damn fish freaks. Can't believe the government lets them serve."

"What's she even doing here? Ain't she a Cipher Pol agent…?"

"Ugh, the faster we finish this mission to the Twin Rivers Kingdom, the better."

Zeiko made her way out to the deck. There stood her twin brother, Zeimaru, as well as another Cipher Pol W-2 agent. He was much shorter than the twins, being only around seven feet tall. He was a somewhat tan human who had messy black hair and stitches around his mouth that formed into a twisted smile. Slung over his shoulder was a bow and a large quiver filled with arrows.

Zeimaru flicked ash off his cigarette, then pulled out his cigarette box and asked "want one, Salvatore?"

Salvatore held up his hand and said "I'm good. I'm nervous for my first real Heavenly Tribute collection mission and I think nicotine won't be the best for my current head space…"

"Nonsense! It sharpens the mind!" Zeimaru declared as he blew smoke.

"Still, you'd think an island run by a Warlord would be more cooperative with the government," said Salvatore. "Sending three of us seems a bit overkill."

"That's the thing," said Zeiko. "You're green and Ford's really strong. His former bounty was over four hundred million berries."

"I thought us guys from CPW-2 were among the strongest the government had to offer, though," Salvatore said, crossing his arms.

"We are," Zeimaru stressed. "Like she said, you're still a rookie. Because the World Government takes its taxes so seriously, its strongest agents are reserved for CPW-2. We're even tougher than the Cipher Pol force they don't want the rest of the world knowing about: CP9."

"I've heard rumors of a CP0, though…" Zeiko commented, stroking her chin.

She blew smoke and said "regardless, even with this Marine escort, we should be on our guard; I hear the Twin Rivers Kingdom is a weird place."

"Why do we even need a Marine escort?" Zeimaru whined.

"Because our friend here can't swim," Zeiko responded. "He's a human and he has a Devil Fruit. Bad combo for swimming."

A Marine with an officer's coat draped over his shoulders approached the Cipher Pol trio.

"Alright guys, we should be at Mesomeso Island in a few days. You sure you don't want my men's help?" the officer asked.

"We'll be fine, Rear Admiral," Zeiko replied. "Each of us is as strong as an entire army."

"If you insist, ma'am," the officer said, taking his leave. As he left, he muttered "fish freaks" under his breath, causing Zeiko and Zeimaru's skin to bristle.

As soon as the officer was out of earshot, Salvatore turned to the twins and asked "why did you two let him call you 'fish freaks'? You guys could easily turn him into a pretzel!"

Zeiko flicked ash off her cigarette and said "racism against folks like us is extremely common. Frankly, humans like you are the exception, not the rule."

"Beating up everyone who calls us fish freaks would just be a waste of time. Long as the government continues to tolerate slavery, at least," Zeimaru added. "Besides, it'd just add to the stereotype that we're mindless brutes. Not worth it."

Zeimaru flicked his cigarette butt over the edge of the ship and said "let's go inside. We still got some time to kill before the mission tomorrow," to which his compatriots nodded.

A deathly thin man in a large overcoat but no shirt hopped off a throne fit for a giant and began walking around his throne room. His hair was unkempt and was various shades of green, and he had the kanji for "seven" tattooed on his face. As he walked, he puffed on what looked like a cigarette, but the smell was… definitely not tobacco.

"Ooooooh yeah… that's a good, ah, batch…" he said, blowing smoke.

Purupurupuru

Purupurupuru

Purupurupuru

"Hm…? What's that?" he asked.

Purupurupuru

Purupurupuru

Purupurupuru

"Oh yeah. Transponder, ah, snail…"

Purupurucaaaalick

"This is, ah… Doctor Feelgood," Ford said, puffing on his "cigarette".

"Doctor Feelgood! We have intel! There's a Marine battleship on its way to Mesomeso Island. There's Cipher Pol agents on board!"

"…huh…?" Ford asked, coughing heavily as he blew smoke.

"Cipher Pol agents!" the subordinate stressed. "They're gonna come poking around your books, boss! We can't let them know we're working with you-know-who!"

"…oh yeah."

Caaaalick

"Hmmm… that could be, ah, problematic," said Ford, coughing a little more.

He pocketed his transponder snail and snuffed his "cigarette", also stuffing it in his pocket.

"Fortunately, I'm, ah, prepared for such an, ah… occurrence…"

He dialed the transponder snail.

Caaaalick

"Hey, it's, ah, Ford. We're going into, ah… crisis mode for the next… ah, while."

"Yes, sir!"

"Vhat do you mean, crisis mode?" von Esens asked into a transponder snail.

"I mean that, ah… the government's about to come, ah, poking around," said Ford. "Gotta make my business seem, ah… legitimate."

"Ze Happy Happy Grass iss not illegal ahnder Vorld Gofernment law, zough."

"Yeah, but the, ah, weapons I'm making for you are…"

"Hm. Vill you still haff room for my new 'recruits', comrade?"

"There's always… ah, room for new… ah, 'talent', sir."

"Ecksellent," said von Esens.

—-

In a large, windowless room on the Spirit of Liberty, a single candle burned dimly. The walls were lined with Minus World standards and propaganda. Posters included portraits of Balthasar von Esens crushing the World Government symbol with his hand, and von Esens holding the severed head of a business person caricature who bore more than a passing resemblance to Shaska. Others featured Minus World soldiers standing on the bodies of Marines, while others featured the Five Elders made up to look like demons. A large transponder snail sat in the center of the room, sleeping.

The room was filled with row upon row of desks, each with a "student" chained to it by a sea prism stone shackle. Among these "students" chained to their desk were Roxanne, whose missing finger stump had been stitched up by medics, Franco, who still hadn't been provided with his robot limbs, and Freddie, who had yet to be tortured.

A lanky man in Minus World fatigues entered the room and took his place at the front of the room at a large desk. He was bald and had a bushy mustache.

"Good morrow, comrades!" he declared. "And congratulations! You have been hand picked by Comrade Balthasar von Esens himself to help lead the world into a brighter future! A future free of greed and class struggle! A future… of equality!"

Roxanne rolled her eyes.

"I am your teacher. You can call me Comrade Lestahl. In fact, you will call me that, comrades, or face the firing squad! In fact, any sort of reactionary or anti-equal thinking will be met with the harshest punishment! First offense, you lose a finger. Second, you lose the whole limb. And third, you meet the firing squad! Is that clear, comrades?"

Silence rang over the room.

Lestahl pulled out a gun and shot one of the "students" dead. "I said, 'IS THAT CLEAR, COMRADES'?!"

"Yes!" everyone else replied in unison.

"Remember, new comrades… for our more equal future, a sacrifice here or there does not matter. The only thing that matters is making sure Comrade von Esens' vision becomes reality! Now then…"

Lestahl pulled down a large white screen, then walked to the center of the room and turned on the transponder snail, who began projecting light from its eyes.

"Enjoy this film about the atrocities of the World Government."

"Hmph. The World Government doesn't commit atrocities!" Franco muttered. For that comment, Lestahl pistol-whipped him, then pulled out a knife and cut off the pinky on Franco's remaining arm. Franco gritted his teeth through the pain, even as he bled profusely.

"Comrade… Franco, was it? You of all my students will have the most to learn," Lestahl growled.

The "students'" eyes were glued to the screen. They learned all about the horrible things the government had covered up in the name of justice. The tolerance of slavery, the incident at God Valley, the Buster Call at Ohara and the events leading up to it, all of it was laid bare for the "students".

As the film wrapped up, the new recruits were left with tears streaming down their faces. Especially Franco, who was blubbering like a baby.

"No… NO! I refuse to believe all of my training was for this…!" he shouted.

"Believe it, young Marine comrade… this is the truth of what your beloved government does to its citizens," Lestahl said, twirling his gun around his finger.

Franco grabbed his head and began to scream to the ceiling, much to Lestahl's delight.

"Hee hee! Just wait for tomorrow, comrade. Tomorrow comes your lesson on the evils of capital and greed."

Lestahl let out a contented sigh, then said "class dismissed, comrades. Everyone back to your cells."

Minus World soldiers filed into the "classroom" and unlocked the shackles that attached the "students" to their desks, then escorted them back to their cells in the Spirit of Liberty's dungeon.

—-

On the Humo Robinson, the crew kept to themselves, milling about, as the Twin Rivers Kingdom was still several days away. Zinnia was feeding mice to Ruth, while Johnson sat in the dormitory reading a book. Puerco was in the infirmary, changing the bandages of wounded soldiers, while Shaska sat on her bed and crocheted with a large glass of wine beside her. Lulupo, for his part, was swamped in the galley, feeding the hungry troops without Roxanne, but he kept his good humor the whole time.

Meanwhile, on the deck, Schwarz sat on a crate, strumming his guitar as some of the grunts gathered around him to watch him play, including Deacon and Delilah, the latter in a wheelchair with a huge cast on her leg. Ren pulled up a crate next to him, asking "is this seat taken…?"

"Go ahead."

Schwarz strummed a familiar melody: Binks' Brew to be exact, a popular sea shanty among pirates.

"You know this one, Ren?" Schwarz asked.

Ren blushed and replied "…yeah. You… want me to sing with you…?"

"Of course!" Schwarz exclaimed. "We can all sing it!"

"I don't think we know this one, Schwarz," said Deacon. "The only songs at the Collective were for glorifying Dear Leader."

"Can you teach us?" Delilah asked with a smile.

Schwarz responded by continuing to strum. He began to sing.

Yo-hohohoooo, yo-ho-oooooh

Yo-hohohoooo, yo-ho-oooooh…

Yo-hohohoooo, yo-ho-oooooh

Yo-hohohoooo, yo-ho-oooooh…

Then Ren joined in with:

Gather up all of the crew,

It's time to ship out Binks's Brew

Sea wind blows, to where, who knows?

The waves will be our guide…

O'er 'cross the ocean's tide,

Rays of sunshine far and wide

Birds they sing of cheerful things

In circles passing by!

Bid farewell to weaver's town,

Say so long to port renowned,

Sing a song, it won't be long

Before we're casting off

Cross the gold and silver seas

A salty spray puts us at ease

Day and night, to our delight

The voyage never ends!

Schwarz then played a solo, and continued with

Gather up all of the crew,

It's time to ship out Binks' brew.
Pirates, we eternally

Are challenging the sea!

With the waves to rest our heads

Ship beneath us as our beds,
Hoisted high upon the mast,

Our jolly roger flies!

Somewhere in the endless sky,

Stormy winds are blowing by,
Waves are dancing, evening comes,

It's time to sound the drums.

But steady men, and never fear,

Tomorrow's skies are always clear.
So pound your feet and clap your hands

'til sunny days return!

Then the whole small gathering of the crew sang

Yo-hohohoooo, yo-ho-oooooh

Yo-hohohoooo, yo-ho-oooooh…

Yo-hohohoooo, yo-ho-oooooh

Yo-hohohoooo, yo-ho-oooooh…

The crew sang it again from the top, and a good time was had by all. After the crew dispersed, Schwarz headed back to the dormitory to put his guitar away. Ren snuck along behind him, trying to keep her presence hidden.

"Yup… I definitely… like him. LIKE LIKE him…" she thought, blushing intensely. "I should… I should let him know…"

As Schwarz clasped the last buckle of his guitar case, Ren snuck behind him.

"What's up, Ren?" he asked, not even turning around.

"Oh! I— I—" she stammered, desperately trying to hide her blushing.

"You have a pretty good voice too, y'know," he said, pretending not to notice her obvious feelings.

"H-How did you know it was me…?"

"My noble blood gives me sensitive hearing. I know every officer by their footsteps," Schwarz said. "Just kidding. It's the ninja training that did it."

He sat down on his bed, crossed his arms, and asked "so, what's up?"

"I—I—…" Ren continued to stammer. "I'm glad I got to encounter crooked Marine again!"

"Shit!" she shouted in her head.

"Hm, I bet. It was pretty cool when you took out that toady of hers, to be honest. Hopefully we'll run into her again so we can put her down for good!"

"Y-yeah…"

Schwarz stood back up and patted her on the shoulder. Ren's eyes whited out and turned an even brighter shade of red.

"Well, listen, kid. If you need my help taking her out when the time comes, I'm here for you."

"Y-yeah…"

"Just like I can expect your help when taking out Princip?"

"Y-yeah…!"

"Awesome. Well, I'm gonna head to the galley and get something to eat. Have fun with your… Pandaman comics or whatever," Schwarz said as he walked out of the dormitory.

"O-okay…!" was all Ren could respond with, weakly waving goodbye.

After Schwarz was out of earshot, Ren walked over to her bed and flopped down, screaming into her pillow. She raised her head and muttered "I need to untie my tongue. He might die soon, given our line of work. I could die soon! I don't want to die with regrets!"

She sighed, then pulled the latest issue of Pandaman out from under her bed.

"Oh well… time will come to tell him eventually…" she said as she opened the cover.

TO BE CONTINUED