Ju Peter had just gotten off the transponder with Marine Headquarters as he reported to his fellow Elders.
"It seems that man's gone off to sea again."
"He probably just went sightseeing," Saturn said dismissively. "More importantly, it seems the Straw Hat Pirates are growing far stronger than we anticipated."
"Yes, they're actually starting to build a fleet now," V Nusjuro noted. "If it grows large enough, we won't have the resources necessary to keep them away from Laugh Tale, let alone capture or kill them."
"Then we'll have to handle things now before it can get that far. Which means finding a way to contain that Devil Child." Mars said. "Without her... The Straw Hats can't ever hope to find Laugh Tale."
The Going Merry made a stop at a new island.
"This is gonna be the last call before we hit Water 7. Let's restock here, then head onward!" Luffy noted
"Right then. I'm gonna gather some foodstuff." Sanji said.
Nami groaned. "No rats or frogs, please."
Ruby chuckled. "Trust me, Nami, once they're grilled up just right, you won't care how gross they are to look at alive."
The crew got together for a great campfire meal.
"We've certainly been getting a lot stronger since we first entered the Grand Line. And we haven't even hit the halfway point." Yosaku said.
"It still feels like we're behind where we should be," Merone admitted.
"Then again, if we hadn't had to rush out of Little Garden to help save Alabasta, we might not have been able to save Skypiea." Ariala pointed out.
"We did start building a fleet, so it evens out. Maybe we can take a break once we reach the end of Paradise to make up the training time we lost." Bella noted.
Vivi and Noctis looked very thoughtful.
"No, it'd be impossible..."
"What are you thinking about?" Conis asked.
"Probably the sacred treasure of the Alabastan royal family," Carue suggested. "It's said to be one of the ultra-rare Mythical Zoans!"
"Hehe! We already got a Mythical Zoan and that's moi!" Sonson smirked proudly.
"Don't forget me, N'Doul, and Hsiao, you doofus." Choi pointed out.
"Be that as it may, it sounds like something we could use." Double-D noted. "Do you have part of it with you?"
"It's still safe in the vaults of the palace at Alubarna. And while we still have the Eternal Pose for Alabasta, going backward on the Grand Line has always been highly discouraged for those seeking to travel it to the end." Vivi explained.
"We certainly made a lot of good friends along the way," Robin admitted.
"You know, I'm wondering if Porche and I might be related. She kinda reminds me of Mom but with longer hair that's a lighter color." Usopp noted.
"And a thicker nose," Luffy noted.
Chopper had been gathering medical herbs and noted a strange groove that ran down the path. Lithos all took notice of it, curiously inspecting with his hand.
"This looks like it was made by a bicycle. Come to think of it, there's only one person I know who rides a bicycle."
Ferros perked up. "Wait...could HE actually be here?"
Robin started to get a little nervous as the group followed the track through the jungle. Once they reached a clearing, they noticed a tall man with a mushroom-like afro leaning against a rock. Needless to say, Robin was now freaking out.
"A-Admiral... Aokiji...!"
"Kuzan!" Ariala beamed as she ran over to greet the man happily. "Long time no see!"
The Wind Logia User was suddenly grabbed by several grown arms courtesy of Robin as she began shaking the poor girl.
"HOW IN THE NAME OF ODA DO YOU KNOW THAT MAN?!"
"Who do you think helped us master our Logias?" Merone spoke up calmly.
"Uh...did something happen between you guys?" Ariala nervously asked.
Robin had a blank look on her face as she let Ariala go before dropping on her butt.
"What's with her?" Kuishi wondered. "She's acting like you killed her family or something.
"She doesn't have the best first impression of me," Kuzan admitted with a sigh, "If you knew her history, you'd understand why."
"So wait a minute, this is the guy who trained you guys?" Zoro asked the Children of Whitebeard.
"Yeah, after Dad left us in Garp's care," Ferros explained.
"When he learned about our Devil Fruits, he called in Kuzan because he's also a Logia. He ate the Chilly-Chilly Fruit, you see." Merone added.
"As one of the Big Three Admirals officers in the Marines, he's known as Aokiji. Which I think means Blue Pheasant in the language of Wano." Ariala said. "The other two admirals are Akainu and Kizaru. And then above them is Fleet Admiral Sengoku."
"Kizaru is a pretty lax guy, but Akainu..." Lithos scowled under his mask. "The less said about HIM, the better."
"How do you know all that?" Delphia asked.
"Well, you learn these things real quick when you're the children of one of the Yonko," Ferros said with a grin.
"So what's a big shot like him doing here?" Johnny wondered.
"I was taking a quick vacation. I happened to see your ship and thought I'd check in on my old students." Kuzan explained. "Unlike Garp, I never had any problems with the kids going pirate. Given their father is Whitebeard, it's almost destiny that they'd become famous pirates themselves."
"Hey, some people are forced into piracy. Others choose it because they think it's for them." Merone noted.
Kuzan nodded. "True, the world is unfair, but not unkind. And it can change people. Up until I trained you, I went by the motto of Lazy Justice. But when Garp kept motivating me to keep training you, I had to confront a lot of things about myself that I was uncomfortable with. Especially with Robin."
"What do you mean?" Robin asked.
"Twenty years is a long time to reflect on past sins. And you're not the only one scarred by that day." Kuzan pointed out. "Recently, however, I found out that some people involved never noticed their scars."
Just then, a few haggard-looking people stumbled out of the jungle.
"I thought this island was deserted," Tawna noted.
"They must be survivors from a wrecked ship," Kuzan realized. "There was a report a month ago regarding a passenger liner that went missing in the area."
Chopper and Double-D looked over the refugees' wounds while Sanji made sure they were given some decent food.
"It's amazing you were able to survive a shipwreck in the Grand Line," Hilda said.
"We were the lucky ones. We're the only ones who made it to this island." The leader of the group said. "We were just on our way back from a gourmet tour to the town of Pucci when our ship collided with a huge frog doing the front crawl. Our ship shattered into pieces upon impact."
"Wow, I thought all animals were automatically smaller here in the Blue Sea," Conis said.
"But don't frogs normally do the breaststroke?" Lara asked.
"A giant frog doing the front crawl... Sounds like Yokozuna." Kuzan noted.
"We barely managed to reach this island. We were on the verge of starvation for a month." The leader continued. "I guess we're just amateurs when it comes to survival, seeing how easily you were able to find food. Then, earlier, we saw a miraculous sight. That man over there, riding on the sea on a bicycle."
"Technically, he was riding over a thick sheet of ice he created. He likes to do that." Ferros pointed out.
"But why didn't you approach him earlier?" Lithos asked.
"Well, the next thing we saw was a pirate ship."
"Which means they saw Merry and freaked out," Nami realized.
"Wow, does everyone just assume the worst of us just because we're pirates?" Luna asked sarcastically.
"Right, well, first things first. As a Marine admiral, it's my duty to help civilians first and foremost." Kuzan said. "There's an inhabited island not far from here, all these people need is the means to get there."
"Maybe we should call in the fleet. I'm sure Sexy Foxy or the Mirai Pirates' ship, the Ex Machina, could ferry these people."
"These people might not be trusting of any pirate ship. It doesn't look like they have a Transponder Snail on them, so they might not have heard the SHJ broadcast." Kuzan pointed out.
"To be fair, it's really only been a month since they got stranded," Lithos pointed out.
"But there's the other issue. The island you're talking about is a backwards trip on the Grand Line, and we don't have an Eternal Pose for it." Merone said. "Guess you'll have to show off your Devil Fruit, Sensei."
Kuzan smirked and walked back to the edge of the island. The crew helped the refugees get their supplies set up. As Kuzan dipped his hand into the water, a Sea King breached the surface and started him down. Luffy, Zoro, and Hilda got ready to attack, but Lithos stopped them.
"Just watch."
Sure enough, Kuzan hadn't even flinched.
"ICE AGE!"
In an instant, the entire span of sea had frozen over, along with the Sea King. Everyone but the Children of Whitebeard felt their jaws drop.
"Did we neglect to mention that Kuzan is arguably the strongest of the Big Three Admirals?" Ferros said with a grin.
"Technically, Akainu's Magma-Magma Fruit can counter Kuzan's, but Kuzan is way better trained in using it." Ariala added.
Kuzan pulled his hand out of the ice and returned to shore as he approached the refugee leader.
"That should last about a week. You can head in that direction. Should take about four days of travel, with time for meals and sleep. Make sure to dress warmly. It should go without saying, but the journey's going to be a little chilly."
It took a bit for the refugees to realize what had just happened, but once it sunk in, they were grateful and started to head off, thanking both the Straw Hats and Kuzan.
"So then, I suppose it's time to address the elephant in the room. That being your association with Robin." Kuzan began.
"And what's your beef with her anyway?" Tawna asked.
"Up until now, any organization she's been involved with has crumbled. But that's only because she's a good person, and those organizations have been up to nefarious activities." Kuzan explained. "Even so, that association has given her a bad reputation thanks to the World Government believing her to be a serious threat."
"If they even try to come for her, we'll stomp them flat." Luffy declared.
"And would you take on the world if it came to that?" Kuzan asked calmly.
"The world and anyone else."
Suddenly, Kuzan launched an ice punch, only for Luffy to block with his own fist. Kuzan noted Luffy was using both Armament Haki and Second Gear. It was a narrow gap, but Luffy had just barely matched Kuzan's strongest punch.
"Hmm, not quite ready to reach the end of the Grand Line," but certainly strong enough to protect her if it came down to it." The Ice Admiral noted as he backed off. "Something I should mention. For some reason, the Five Elders have placed those who seek knowledge in the same category as pirates and criminals. Something about the Void Century terrifies them. Me and several others are starting to feel like the true purpose of the World Government is not to unite the world, but to keep a secret that could upset the balance of power. And not necessarily in a bad way."
"What does that mean?" Luffy asked.
"My so-called crime of exposing government secrets? It has to do with my hometown studying the Void Century." Robin explained. "We learned the hard way that said blank period of history is the biggest government secret of all time."
Later, the Going Merry was sailing off again.
"Crazy what happened there," Hunter noted.
"At least we know Luffy, Lithos, Merone, Ferros, and Ariala could beat Aokiji if we ever run into him again," Usopp said hopefully.
"No, that's not the case at all," Luffy said, causing the crew to look at him in shock. "I'm not strong enough to beat him yet. I can match his power, but I can't overcome it. And he's got way more experience."
Usopp gulped. "Well, maybe the others could do it?"
"Ice is made from water. Kuzan is an obvious hard counter for me." Merone pointed out.
"The rest of us have the capacity to counter and match the Chilly-Chilly Fruit, and Kuzan did teach us everything he knows about mastering a Logia." Lithos admitted. "But he's had way more time to master it than I have.
"Hate to say it, Usopp, but the only reason we got away from him is because he wanted to let us go. If he got serious, we'd all be ice statues by now." Ferros said.
Usopp walked off and climbed the mast before sitting down in the crow's nest.
"HOLY CRAP! WE ALMOST DIED!"
"I'd say that's an appropriate reaction," Robin noted.
Needless to say, the crew started to train harder than ever. Though Robin noticed none of the goofball antics she'd come to enjoy stopped, which honestly made her feel more at ease.
"He said they could take on the world if needed. Looks like I have nothing to worry about."
Zoro finished his reps when he noticed something interesting. Someone was swimming not far from the Merry using a front crawl.
"Is that a Fishman?"
Romaz took a look.
"Not unless Fishman suddenly evolved to have some members be part amphibian. That's a frog."
"A giant frog, doing the front crawl..." Eddy noted.
"Is it the Giant Frog Mutant from Swamp of Demise?!" Ed excitedly asked as he tried to get a closer look.
"Isn't this the frog that wrecked that other ship?" Ruby asked.
"Why is it covered in scars? And since when do frogs have hair?" Conis wondered.
"This seems weird even for the Grand Line," Lassoo said.
"It looks like it's heading for that lighthouse," Nami noted.
The ship started to reach the lighthouse when Katsu got a premonition.
"Hey! Stop the ship! There's a large metal track in the water!"
The Merry halted just in front of the lighthouse as a bell started sounding.
"Is that a train crossing?" Delphia asked.
"We must be close to Water 7. It's famous for a number of reasons, but the big one is something unique to this area." Lithos explained.
Ferros couldn't help but grin as a literal train ran over a track hidden just underwater.
"That, my friends, is called...the SEA TRAIN."
I really gotta put more focus on this story. I wanna help mtnetsurfer get back into Ash & Rubber, which in turn will help with The Four Great Captains going forward.