Several days passed after the battle of Vicks Davis Island. Shaska lay in her room, sound asleep, her torso completely covered in bandages. The heart monitor that was brought from the infirmary steadily beeped with every beat of her heart. She still hadn't woken up after nearly dying to von Esens. Next to her bed was Isha, sitting in a chair, reading the news of the day while sucking on her lollipop, and monitoring the rise and fall of Shaska's chest. Today's news: Queen Otohime of Fishman Island was assassinated, ostensibly by a human.

Finally, Shaska woke up, groaning from the pain of her wound as well as tobacco withdrawal.

"Ah, you're finally awake," Isha said, folding up her newspaper and standing up.

"Ow…" Shaska groaned, taking off her oxygen mask. "So much pain…"

"You almost died," Isha explained, pushing up her glasses. "Balthasar von Esens' sword only barely missed your heart. Two millimeters to be accurate. The operation to stitch you and your organs back together took over half a day. Frankly, it's a miracle we didn't run out of extra blood and anesthesia."

"K… Korla…" Shaska muttered, seemingly not hearing what Isha just said.

"Korla…? Ah, yes, I was informed about that incident. I'm sorry to say that they weren't able to recover her body after your encounter with von Esens. I'm sure you wanted to give her a proper burial."

"Y-yeah…" said Shaska, slowly sitting up and rubbing her chest.

"Careful there, boss," Isha warned. "Don't sit up too quickly. It took a lot of stitches to get you back together, and we don't want any of them opening up, now do we?"

"No…" said Shaska. She sighed heavily, reflexively reaching for where her cigar box would be in her usual blazer. "Oh yeah… I gave it to that grunt…"

Shaska turned to Isha and asked "any way you could run to the humidor and grab me a cigar? A premium Bahico sounds good right now. Or maybe a Zacanudo. Never a bad time for that."

Isha looked down and replied "…I genuinely hate to tell you this, but von Esens almost completely destroyed your right lung. You'll be able to fight, but not for as long as you used to without a break. And, probably more important to you… I highly recommend you give up smoking."

Shaska's blood ran cold, and the color drained from her face.

"I'm sorry, Shaska. The damage to your lung was just too substantial."

"Can I… get a second opinion…?" Shaska asked sheepishly.

"From whom? Puerco? He agrees with me."

Shaska flopped back down on her bed. She thought back to what Setzer had told her about Minus World's base in a place called the Twilight Kingdom.

"Twilight Kingdom…" she muttered.

"Hm?"

"Von Esens is headquartered at a place called the Twilight Kingdom."

"What of it?" Isha asked.

"I'm gonna turn it into a smoldering crater."

—

Several days prior, immediately following the incident at Vicks Davis, the Spirit of Liberty began sailing away from the island. Minus World leveled every city and village on the island. There wasn't a soul left alive on Vicks Davis; they had either joined Minus World, perished in the battle if they were a soldier, or were put to the sword if they were a civilian who refused to join. Every Marine battleship around the island had been sunk. All in all, the number of people who died that day totaled in excess of thirty thousand.

Under the castle on the Spirit of Liberty was a massive dungeon, though the prisoners in it were few, as the Balthasars had a policy of kill first, ask questions later. Only persons who had potential use to Minus World were kept in the dungeon. And two such prisoners were Roxanne of Worldwide Smoke and Commodore Franco of the Marines, chained to the walls of the same cell in sea prism stone handcuffs.

"Hallo. Friend," said Balthasar von Esens, crouched down outside the cell with a sly smile on his face.

"What do you want?!" Roxanne shouted. "You… you didn't do anything to me while I was out cold, did you?!"

"Perish ze sought!" von Esens responded. "No no, I vould nefer do sahmsing zat heino—"

"You and your creepy sister literally kill people for fun."

Von Esens pulled out a plate with a slice of cake on it. "Here. Vould you like sahm cheesecake?"

Roxanne spit at him.

As von Esens wiped the spit off his face, he said "now, now, Roxanne, I know you and I are not ecksacktly 'allies'…"

"I want nothing more than to kill your creepy sister, yes."

"Baht I belief ve can cahm to an… ahnderstanding…"

"I don't."

"You vant to be free, ja?" von Esens asked. "I can help. All you mahst do iss serve me, und—"

"I'd rather die," Roxanne growled.

"Roxanne, let me help. Ze vorld iss corrupt, und I alone haff been chosen by God to ficks zat. Allow myself und Minus Vorld to… 're-educate' you."

"Again, I'd rather die."

It was then that Franco woke up. "W-What?! Where am I?!"

He looked up and saw the circumstances he was in: locked in a cell with Roxanne and without his robot appendages. He saw von Esens crouched outside the cell and began struggling violently to get out of his single shackle.

"You…! Where are my limbs and weapons?!"

"Confiscated, dear soldier. Don't vorry, you can haff zem back iff you behave."

"I'll never submit to you!" Franco shouted as he thrashed. For his trouble, von Esens gave him a blast of Conqueror's Haki, which, while not knocking him unconscious, definitely stunned him.

"Yes. Yes, you vill," von Esens said casually. "Now, friends, people off your strengs und abilities haff great use to Minus Vorld. Und I vould like to see as many people in my utopia as possible. Vill you join me villingly? Or vill I have to 're-educate' you?"

"I'd rather die than betray my government to cultist scum like you," Franco growled.

"Re-education it iss, zen. Ze process vill start now."

Von Esens stood up and unlocked the cell, then proceeded to step inside. He grabbed Roxanne's right hand, pulled out a knife, then effortlessly cut her pinky off, causing her to howl in pain.

"Lesson von: refusal to sahbmit means pain. Und lots off it. Official classroom instrahction vill begin tomorrow. Aftervards, you vill face hard labor in ze Tvin Rifer Kingdom ahntil you realize ze glory off my mission. Only zen vill you be fit to serve."

He tossed Roxanne's pinky on the ground and left the cell, locking it and adding "zat finger iss your food for the next seferal days. I adfise you ration it vell."

—

Von Esens walked down the stairs to a lower level of the dungeon. The guards made sure to salute him as he did so, lest they be put to the sword. He walked down the cellblock, his armor making loud clanking sounds as he did so. The dungeon, fittingly, was dimly lit and dank, with the walls covered in Minus World standards and propaganda. In the few cells that had living inhabitants, the prisoners were emaciated, being almost nothing but skin and bones. The only one who hadn't been starved to near death was Freddie, who had only arrived earlier that day.

At the end of the floor was a thick, steel door protected by two guards. Von Esens approached them and gave a nod. The two guards nodded back and saluted, then produced keys for the door. They unlocked it with a loud SHUNK, and slowly opened it, revealing another cell. This cell was inhabited by one Vice Admiral Izmena, being held to the wall by sea prism stone shackles on her wrist and her arm stump.

"Hallo. Friend," von Esens said, kneeling down.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Balthasar von Esens…?" Izmena asked, a crooked smile on her face. "I'd think being kept in a special cell like this is a bit much for little old me."

"Oh? You don't sink a Marine Fice Admiral reqvires more security? I sahppose I should jahst ahnlock you… I'm kidding. A little Minus Vorld humor."

"Ha. Ha. Ha," Izmena replied sarcastically.

"Do you know vhy you are here, Fice Admiral?"

"Because you want to recruit me?" Izmena asked.

"Ecksacktly. Not to serve in Minus Vorld directly, but to still vork in ze Marines as a voman on ze inside. I already haff ze Varlord, Sefen Ford, ahnder my ving."

"I despise criminal scum like you and the Warlords. Why would I ever work for you?"

"Power. You can haff true power. I detest pirates as mahch as you do. Zey vill haff no place in my new vorld order. Ahnder me, you can haff ze freedom to pursue your justice vizout ze confines of ze Vorld Government."

He then explained his philosophy of equality.

Izmena paused, then said "…people aren't free if they're equal."

"Nonsense. True freedom only cahms vhen zere iss no need to vorry about material sings. Imagine! No possessions! No need for greed or hahnger! A true brozerhood off man!"

Izmena paused again, mulling it over in her head. "…you say I'll be able to enforce my justice absolutely under your rule…?"

"Ja. You vill be ze jahdge, jury, und executioner."

"Heh. I already conducted business that way. Once torched an entire city to get back at that whelp, Shaska the Greedy. But if I don't have to deal with any of that boring paperwork and complaints from the top brass… then you have a deal. I'll feed you as many government secrets as I can if you let me go. Besides, you'd probably kill me if I refused."

"You are correct, ja," von Esens said, standing back up.

He gestured to the guards to open Izmena's cell and unlock her shackles. The guards saluted and quickly obliged.

Izmena then stood up, cracking her stiff joints. "How do you want me to get back to Marine HQ?"

"Simple. Ve vill jahst return you to Ficks Davis und hide you in ze rahbble. Ze Government vill certainly send scout ships to look for survivors."

Izmena then started to leave her cell, but before she left, von Esens stopped her, asking "so, you know Shaska?"

"I do. I'm the reason her bounty is so big," she replied with a twisted smile. "Oh… I still remember the screams of those townsfolk as my men slaughtered them: men, women, and children. It was amazing."

"Hm. I'd vager you and my sister vould get along, zen."

"Toodles, my liege. I look forward to building a utopia with you," Izmena said as she walked away.

—-

Izmena had received an Eternal Pose to Vicks Davis and a small dinghy to sail from the Spirit of Liberty. She made it there before the Marines could, and as she was told, pretended to be unconscious in the rubble of a building.

A Marine battleship docked at Sens, then after several hours, a squad of Marines arrived in Lant. They had found no survivors in Sens, and were losing hope of finding in the other two cities. The Marines tore apart the rubble of every building in Lant, finding nothing but corpses. That is, until they uncovered Izmena.

"Admiral! We finally found a survivor!" called out a Marine grunt. "A Marine officer!"

A ten foot tall muscle-bound man in a blood red suit approached the rubble. He had a flower pinned to his lapel, and an officer's jacket draped over his shoulders. He was wearing a standard issue Marine cap, and under his suit was a floral patterned shirt.

"Hm… I recognize you from your last promotion ceremony," said the admiral. "Izmena, was it? What, exactly, happened here?"

"Crap! Of all the admirals to send, it had to be him…!" Izmena thought, standing up. "I'm dead if this doesn't go flawlessly!"

"Admiral Akainu, sir! Yes, sir!" she exclaimed, giving a salute. "As well you know, sir, the Celestial Dragon, Saint Legree was attacked. But, given the busy schedules of you admirals and the remote location of this island, I attempted to handle the situation myself. We were surrounded on both sides by Worldwide Smoke and Minus World, and the ones who attacked Saint Legree happened to be spies for the former. We managed to chase off Worldwide Smoke, but Balthasar von Esens, sir, can barely qualify as human. His strength is that of a monster."

Akainu crossed his arms and looked at the stump where Izmena's left forearm used to be.

"Tell me, soldier, how'd you lose that arm? Last I remember, it was still attached to you. It looks like it was just removed and has fresh bandages on it. Doesn't seem likely that you'd be able to do first aid like that under a pile of rubble."

Izmena began to sweat. "That's… because I got careless around a Sea King the day before the incident! Food rations were running low so we tried to catch one! But it ate my damn arm in the process!"

Akainu cocked an eyebrow at that.

"But… yeah. Terrible incident. Doubt there's any survivors. I'm the only one of the Marines stationed here who survived, for sure!"

"Awfully convenient," said Akainu.

"Sometimes it just shakes out that way…"

"Hm… I'm not too sure how much I believe your story. Frankly, if you were of a lower rank, I'd kill you where you stand to make our paperwork easier. But, you're a Vice Admiral. You're too much of an asset to the World Government to die now."

Akainu let out a sigh and said "come on. Let's get you back to HQ for debriefing."

"Maybe von Esens is right and there is a god! Because I can't believe that worked…!" Izmena thought, internally breathing a sigh of relief.

—-

Several days later, on the Humo Robinson, an air of malaise covered the ship. While the sun was shining, and the waters were calm, the feeling of dread was palpable. Shaska sat in a wheelchair big enough to fit her, and Isha wheeled her into the Robinson's situation room, where all the other officers (sans Roxanne) had gathered. It was possible to hear a pin drop with how silent it was.

Finally, Shaska spoke up.

"So… what'd I miss…?"

"Roxanne, for starters," said Schwarz. "We also lost about a hundred grunts in the battle."

"What? Where's Roxanne?" Shaska asked.

"Nobody knows, darling," Lulupo said. "We had to retreat in a hurry after that dreadful king impaled you and nearly cut you in half."

"Last we saw, she was smacked through building," said Ren. "But we never saw her again."

"We've been calling her transponder snail like crazy," said Puerco. "But nobody answers."

Shaska lowered her head. "I see… it's possible she was captured by the enemy, then."

"Should we… get her back…?" Zinnia asked.

"Obviously," Shaska replied. "But the problem is that we don't know where they've taken her. Minus World controls most of the seas at this point, and she could be anywhere in their territory."

"So we're up a creek without a paddle, then," said Schwarz.

"Do we know where the king is going, at least?" Shaska asked. The officers looked amongst themselves, but none could come up with an answer.

"Shaska, darling, are you sure it's wise to go after him again?" Lulupo asked. "He very nearly killed you last time."

Shaska closed her eyes for a moment, then said "it's my duty as a bounty hunter to chase bounties. I've never lost one. The king might think he's won against us, but he's wrong. I'll chase him to the ends of the world if it means I get to claim his head. You all might think that's foolish, and frankly, it kinda is. But I've made up my mind. I'm going to catch Balthasar von Esens or die trying. He's too dangerous to be left alive.

"Sure, the World Government is evil. I know full well how they tolerate slavery and commit all sorts of unspeakably horrible things every day. But they're the only thing standing between the common, not super strong person and the countless bands of pirates roaming the seas. And that king guy wants to get rid of that and replace the government with something even worse. At least under the World Government, you can start a business and accumulate wealth. He wants to take everyone's wealth and forcefully redistribute it, and kill anyone who disagrees. I can't abide by that.

"So, if anyone wants to jump ship, go back to your life as a civilian, I'm not gonna stop you. I built a business empire from nothing, and I'll do it again. And to do that, I'm gonna get that king and his creepy sister before they completely conquer the entire world."

The officers sat there in silence, before one by one, they started speaking.

"Sirhan Princip, the man who killed my family, is part of Minus World. Until I can bring him to justice, I'm with you, Shaska," Schwarz said.

"Darling, you're the best in the business. I've saved up so much money from you that I'll have no trouble finding the Kamabakka Queendom after this is done. So, I owe you," said Lulupo.

Shaska started tearing up.

"Y'know, back at Salt Town, I was a weenie. A damn fine doctor, but a weenie," said Puerco. "But, sailing with you has taught me that I'm so much more. I can kick ass with the best of them now. Yeah, you're abrasive, but… you pay well and you've got a great rack, so I can't complain."

Everyone else shot Puerco a glare for killing the moment, but Ren continued.

"I am without home to call my own ever since crooked Marine destroyed it," she began. "But…"

She looked at Schwarz, who didn't seem to notice. "I've found home here over past six months. And as fellow bounty hunter, I respect your unbroken record. I will help as best I can to defeat king."

"Miss Shaska, I see how strong you are. I want to emulate that strength," said Zinnia. "I was one of the weakest women on Amazon Lily when I left… but, if I keep following your example, I think I would be able to take on Boa Hancock herself!"

Ruth hissed in agreement.

"Frankly, I'm surprised you've lasted this long as a bounty hunter," said Johnson. "That mission to Vicks Davis was suicidally under planned… but yet most of us managed to survive. You have the devil's own luck, Shaska. I'm with you to the end… if only because I don't believe in breaking commitments."

It was Isha's turn to speak. "Shaska, when I first met you all those years ago, I hated you. And I still don't exactly have warm feelings for you. But… seeing your resolve in the face of almost dying like that… I must say I'm impressed. Until this bounty is yours, I'll keep patching you up. Just keep me off the front lines, 'kay?"

Tears were pouring down Shaska's face at her officers' candor.

"Th-thank you… my crew… my… friends…" Shaska said, sniffling.

She wiped the tears out of her eyes and smiled, then turned to Zinnia and asked "snake girl, where's the Log Pose pointed now? I want to head to the most stable island possible to recover and lick our wounds."

Zinnia nodded and said "according to the Log Pose and the charts in the navigation room, the next island we are headed to is Mesomeso Island, home of the Twin Rivers Kingdom. According to the map, it is a land of giants, similar to the land of Elbaf. Or. They MIGHT be giants, so I have read. No one is quite sure."

Shaska cocked an eyebrow, asking "they might be giants? How… how are you not able to tell?"

"Miss Shaska, I have not been there myself, I cannot tell you," Zinnia said, to which Shaska rolled her eyes.

"Alright, everyone, let's head to the Twin Rivers Kingdom and get some nice relaxation in," said Shaska. "And then…"

The officers waited with bated breath.

"And then we're gonna find the king and take his head!"

TO BE CONTINUED