"Huh? That has to be the most arrogant thing I have ever heard."
Young as she was, Doll could not stomach Ozz's bluntness. To her, he was trampling the justice she served.
Ozz did not bother arguing. He struck a match and lit a cigar that cost ten months of Doll's salary, then blew a leisurely plu across her sharp, pretty face.
"Hey, you jerk."
She coughed, eyes flashing.
"You will understand one day, Doll."
"The title Black Emperor does things your Marines cannot."
"Pirates who ignore Marine orders listen to ."
"Dostic affairs in mber nations where the Marines have no mandate, I can touch."
"When the word Marine cannot bridle profit-chasing warlords, I can."
Marine power deters pirates and keeps regions safe. Ozz's claws pull on the world's economy, and if it ca to blows, he might not even lose to the Marines. He did not spell it out for her, but those few lines froze Doll where she stood. He got several steps before she heard her na and blinked herself back.
Still, a bit of doubt had taken root. Could Marine justice really calm a sea this wild.
…
"Oh. If it is not Kuzan. Sashiburi dana."
At the Marine Officer Training Camp, Vice Admiral Kuzan had been roped into lecturing. The mont he heard that voice he knew too well, his expression clouded.
"Dotor Ozz. You know I do not want to fight you. If you keep pushing it, I cannot promise I will stay rational enough to rember you are a Celestial Dragon."
His breath stead cold. New trainees went pale. Even Doll edged away, afraid the next wave of chill would freeze her and Ozz together.
Kuzan turned. Ozz wore that sa lazy smile.
They were nearly eye to eye as Kuzan approached, ice blooming under each footstep.
"How did you find ."
Two tall silhouettes faced off, pressure rolling out until even breathing felt heavy.
"Why, our mutual acquaintance, Vice Admiral Garp, told . Otherwise how would I know where to look."
In a blink Ozz sold Garp out without a second thought.
Doll got dinner for being his guide. That was fair. Garp. Not his problem. Who thought the Black Emperor's als were free. Even if the World Governnt picked up the tab, that was a different ledger entirely.
Kuzan's brow ticked at Garp's na. He had not expected his idol to be the snitch.
"So. Pirate and Celestial Dragon, what business do you have at the officer camp."
He could not lay hands on him. That did not an Kuzan owed him courtesy.
Ozz never saw them as mortal enemies. In his mind, they should be the kind of rivals Garp and the Pirate King had been.
"Do we need to be this cold."
He eyed the frost forming on Kuzan's cheek, spread his hands.
"I will admit we had our clashes. That is the past, Kuzan. Roger and that old bastard Garp were enemies and also friends. I think we could be the sa."
"Shut up."
Ozz started to continue. Kuzan's bark cut him off. Anyone else in uniform would have eaten a Conqueror-coated slap for that tone. Kuzan grabbed Ozz by the collar.
"You did not forget, did you."
"From more than ten years ago on, you hit with Black Gun one hundred and sixteen tis. I still have six scars on my thigh."
If he had not stopped trading straight blows and thrown himself into mastering Observation, the number would be worse.
"And that punch at Ohara. You did not forget that either."
Ozz raked a hand through his hair.
"I said it is the past. You were the one chasing . Now we have no reason to be at odds."
Maybe it was the wording. After a beat, Kuzan released his grip and turned to leave. Ozz did not stop him. He only made it a few paces before Kuzan halted.
They stood with their backs to each other.
"Do you really think my hostility is just old grudges, Ozz."
Ozz slid him a glance.
"What else. You have been sore because I kept singling you out."
"That is part of it, but not the fracture between us."
"At the root, it is you."
Ice crept from Kuzan's boots, climbed Ozz's shoes and crackled up his trousers.
"I admit your order kept the sea from collapsing into chaos. But precisely because of that, your whims and moods are this world's greatest latent risk. Do you rember your dream and your ambition."
"Absolute freedom to do whatever you want. I will stop that dream."
Ozz's mouth quirked. He turned to et that unwavering gaze.
"Stop my dream."
"Yes." Kuzan was gentle at heart, yet his face was winter.
"You hold the reins of the world and turn the sea into your playground. Then I will be the one who oversees the rider."
"If you try anything excessive to this world, Ozz, I will stop you even if it costs everything."
They faced each other.
From that mont, there would be no path for them to beco what Garp and Roger had been.
Friends.
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The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.
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