Itachi stood by the railing, reaching out as far as his senses were able to. His vision was returning slowly, but he could only see the light of the sun as it warmed his face.
Off to the side he felt a massive aura of grief and sadness.
"Shanks, turn starboard a bit more. I can feel them in that direction."
"You got it."
The Red-Hair Pirates had been chasing after the Whitebeard Pirates for two days now, both crews putting as much distance between them and Marineford as they could.
A News Coo had dropped off a newspaper with multiple newspapers, all of them saying that although the marines had failed to execute Portgas D. Ace and Sabo the Revolutionary, they had been successful in taking down Whitebeard. It still painted the Marines in a positive light saying that the Whitebeard Pirates had turned tail and ran at the order of their captain. It continued saying that Ace and Luffy had been severely injured, the possibility of their wounds being fatal incredibly likely. The article did have some stuff on him describing how he had been the one to free Ace and Sabo five days before the actual execution, but it excluded his role in stalling the Marines from chasing after the Whitebeard Pirates (the article did hint at the fact that there had been someone else there, speculations of who exactly could've created the giant wooden structure were unclear). They instead had given that honor to Whitebeard including the fact that two Admirals had fallen to the man before he had died. There was a small section about the life of Admiral Kizaru, praising his services to the Marines and for making the ultimate sacrifice to kill the Strongest Man in the World. Another section detailed that Admiral Aokiji had been severely wounded in the battle as well and had slipped into a coma. Details of his recovery were still unknown.
The news instilled nothing, but a sense of remorse in Itachi. He had taken lives for the sake of revenge. He had gone against his own creed. Even in the Elemental Nations, he had only killed when absolutely necessary.
The fact that he had killed just to kill weighed heavily on his mind. Kizaru didn't need to die. He had been subdued by the wood dragon already. He didn't need to use the True Several Thousand Hands technique. He could've easily used any of the other techniques that Senju Hashirama had developed to just trap the marines or even something of his own. Stop them from getting any closer to the harbor, but he had chosen the one that had the most destructive power instead because he just wanted them hurt. To feel even a smidge of the heartbreak and rage that had been coursing through his body.
"Never again. I can't lose control of myself like that ever again."
The Red Force pulled up next to the ship that the Whitebeard Pirates were residing on.
As Itachi stepped down from the railing, the sorrow and grief that filled the air was almost suffocating, but in the center of it all was a pillar of calm and acceptance.
Whitebeard.
Although he couldn't see it, there was no doubt that the old man was sitting in his seat at the bow of the boat. He walked with sure steps towards the calming presence, cries of joy and happiness rising from the crew at the sight of him.
"So… you made it out alive... Itachi," Whitebeard wheezed out. His rumbling voice sounded weaker than Itachi had ever heard before.
He nodded.
"Did you get what you wanted when you switched places with me?"
He shook his head. His heart was still hollow, the killing and the destruction had done nothing to fill it.
"Gurarara… so it would seem that even you can be impulsive, Itachi…"
"We're all only human, old man."
A weak chuckle.
"Of course we are."
Another ragged breath.
"I waited as long as I could, but I'll just have to trust you to deliver my message to Ace, Itachi."
The rest of the crew stiffened at his words, their underlying message clear as day to them.
It is time for me to go.
"I've been on the seas for a long time… I was prepared to end my time in this world at Marineford, but fate had other plans."
Although Itachi couldn't see it, he could feel Whitebeard's eyes on him.
"I can't be the strongest forever. I'm only human and just like any human, I have to die. I've held out until now because I wished for Itachi and Ace to be here, but it seems it'll be awhile before Ace comes back to us."
He took a drink of sake.
"I want to thank all of you. For being my family. You've made this old heart of mine happy for countless years just by standing by my side and living your lives under my name. It fills me with joy to have been a place of happiness and joy to even my most wayward of sons. To be a place where you all come home. Even though I will not be in the world of the living for long, just know that inside of each and every one of you, my will still lives. Inside your hearts there is a piece of me -so take that- take it and hold onto it tight. Rage across the seas for yourselves and for me. That's all that I ask of you. Live your lives to the fullest that they can be. Live a life of no regrets!"
Tears dripped down the faces of everyone present at his words, many members of the crew weeping openly.
"Gurarara… Enough of this crying. How about one last party? For old times sake?"
The Whitebeard Pirates roared in agreement and despite their injuries and their sadness, they threw the best damn party they possibly could, the Red Hair Pirates joining in with them.
That night, watching his beloved family let loose all the sadness and frustration in their bodies, Edward Newgate, the Strongest Man in the World known across the world as the legendary Whitebeard, passed away surrounded by his family and their love.
And though his family noticed, they continued to laugh and sing and drink with tears streaming down their faces, determined to carry out his last wish as best as they could.
It had taken another few days, but Itachi's vision finally came back, good as ever (he had breathed a sigh of relief as he did not want a repeat of his previous vision loss from his original Mangekyo). He departed from the company of the Whitebeard Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates as soon as it had returned. They had been going to the New World to bury Whitebeard last he saw. He himself headed to the West Blue. He warned Marco against going after Teach. He knew in his heart that nothing good would come out of it.
He had to go somewhere. A scroll in his pocket weighed far too heavy.
It had been a peaceful trip to say the least. His trek through the Calm Belt had been uneventful save for a few Sea Kings breaching the surface to take a look at him.
One had decided to follow him for a day, and it had been rather interesting. They had chatted with the limited knowledge a Sea King had of humans and at night, when Itachi decided to rest, they had shared a meal. Although the food Itachi had cooked for the Sea King was smaller than its normal portions, it still enjoyed it.
Having satisfied itself with its little adventure, the Sea King had bid him farewell and dove back into the ocean.
So here he was, laying outside on the deck of the Konoha observing the blanket of stars that hung in the sky. A waxing crescent moon rose above him, a shape that he was oh so familiar with.
He unhooked an earring from his ear, holding the silver moon in front of him, watching as the moonlight danced on its polished surface. It had felt so long ago that she had given him these earrings, but it had really only been about eight months. Less time than he had actually spent with her on the island of Artopoki, yet so much had happened in the last five months that it seemed that he had been away for much, much longer.
He placed the earring back on his ear, looking up at the twinkling sky above him as a passage from a book he had read long past came to mind.
"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE! I WILL KEEP FIGHTING! IF IT'S FOR PEACE, FOR AN END TO THIS ENDLESS CYCLE OF HATE, I WILL FIGHT AND FIGHT AND FIGHT!
The leader of Kon looked at the exhausted form of Naruto on the ground as he walked to the forbidden scroll.
"I admire your ambition and your Nindo, Naruto. But this technique, it will be mine. With it, I will reunite the Kon and Ton villages into one. Shuku has wronged us, Naruto. Look above us. Those stars, hanging in the canvas of the gods. The moon peeking out behind the clouds. They witnessed it. They always remember. Always present. They know our history better than we ever could, and it is from them that I learn."
Naruto rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky.
"You should step back and listen to the world around you, Naruto. The natural world around us remembers things more than you'd think. It's why the Gukoizan is something that can even exist. I don't know who first used this technique to destroy Ton, but I will use it to restore my village to its former glory."
Naruto struggled to get up, "Why must you do this though? Those who have wronged Kon from Shuku are dead. Passed into the Pure Land. Everyone in Shuku is innocent of the crimes you accuse them of!"
Kauso walked back to Naruto's downed form.
"I understand that, but this is something I must do. If you wish for this to stop, then you must kill me."
As darkness creeped into Naruto's vision and Kauso began to sound more and more distant, he caught the last thing the man said.
"Look to the sky above. The stars, the moon, the planets. They will always carry the answers you so desperately want."
Itachi smiled fondly. Jiraiya certainly had a way of words. A shame that his only non-smut novel was the only one that didn't sell well.
Thinking back onto the passage, he stared up at the stars above. He began to trace many of the constellations that he had learned from the Whitebeard Pirates. His eyes finally landed on one specific constellation. It was one of Pokian origins, a large battle fan used by the Popoki goddess to defend her mortal lover from those that wished to separate them.
Keoni had been the one to show him the constellation as well as tell him the legend associated with it. The memory of the calm night on the hilltop tugged a small smile from his lips.
On the thoughts of a battle fan, Itachi's thoughts began to drift on tangents.
"Madara and Obito both used a battle fan, didn't they?"
Itachi docked on the small pier that he knew was near Makani's forge. It was the one that he had left from many months previous.
The swordsmith herself was already standing on the beach, having recognized the ship from her vantage point on the clifftop.
"Welcome back, Itachi."
He offered her a tired smile but it didn't reach his eyes, but Makani didn't ask. She already knew.
She turned around and began walking back up to her forge.
"Come. Let's have some tea."
Itachi followed her, taking in the familiar sights and smells and sounds of the island of Artopoki.
It was truly a tropical paradise. It saddened him that Keoni would never be able to see it again.
He stepped into Makani's humble abode, fresh tea steaming next to a plate of pastries on the table.
He sat down across from her.
"How have you been?"
Since she died?
He stared into the surface of his cup, his distorted reflection looking back at him.
"I've been better…"
He had cried his tears and come to terms with it. There wasn't much else to do but move on.
She looked at him with an unreadable expression.
"She didn't deserve to die like that. She should've been here, safe… Alive…"
He looked up at her.
"Why'd you let her leave?"
"It was not my place to deny what she wanted."
And he knew that she was right. Keoni had been her own person. It just wasn't Makani's place.
He sipped at his tea, the pastries were left untouched. Reaching into his cloak, he grabbed the scroll and gently placed it onto the table.
"This is her…" He couldn't get the last word out.
Makani understood.
"Just open the scroll and it'll be unsealed."
He stood up, finishing the rest of the tea.
"I won't be here long. Just going to visit the hilltop and then I'll be gone. Give Halina and all of them my regards, will you?"
He walked out the door, Makani watching him with a resigned look.
If only the poor boy knew, all his suffering, all his guilt would dissipate like ashes in the wind, but she couldn't tell him. It was their most closely guarded secret, one that they told nobody. There were rumors of course, but they had safeguards. Preventive measures to make sure that it would only stay as a rumor.
Pokians could come back from death.
Each Pokian was blessed with nine lives, given to their lineage by a Popoki cat goddess from times long past.
To cheat death not once, but nine times was something many would wish to have for themselves, so the island had guarded such a fact away from the eyes of the public. It's why the island was so secluded. To prevent the majority of people from ever coming to them, and they kept their business with merchants and clients purely professional, transactions and commissions were agreed on and traded with minimum contact. When illustrators or other artists ventured off the island to conduct their business, they always went out with a guard detail. They took no risks when it came to the possibility of their secret getting out.
If they had no way to attach him to the island, to keep their closest secret guarded, she could not tell him. And it hurt. To deny him and Keoni what could've been something wonderful. If only he were the strongest in the world, someone untouchable from the greedy underbelly of the world, she might've been able to.
A tear dripped from her eye. The world was truly cruel was it not?
Itachi sat at the top of the hill at the spot that he and Keoni used to frequent during his time on the island.
A strong wind blew from the east, ringing the golden bell that hung in front of Keoni's hut down in the village below. Warm sunlight on his face.
He basked in that moment, just taking it all in. It would be a while before he came back here. He would need to head back to the Archipelago to meet up with the rest of his crew soon. It probably wouldn't be for a while due to Luffy's injuries, but he would be there to receive them.
He would always be there for them, even if they couldn't be there for him.
It was something he had accepted a long time ago, but he knew. Even if they couldn't be there for him now, they would eventually.
And that's all that mattered.
He stood up. With a small gesture, a pillar of wood rose from the earth and he took out what remained of Fuyukokyo. He stabbed the broken sword into the top of the pillar before squatting down and carving a poem into it.
Satisfied with his work, he turned and walked back down the mountain, all the way to the dock and set out to sea, not once looking back.
It would not be until months later that Keoni, perfectly alive and healthy, could muster the courage to go back to that spot, but what she found made her collapse to the ground, tears of sorrow and longing marring her beautiful face.
It was a simple poem titled What I Never Got To Say and it went like this:
silently if, out of not knowable
night's utmost nothing, wanders a little guess
(only which is this world) more my life does
not leap than with the mystery your smile
sings or if (spiralling as luminous
they climb oblivion) voices who are dreams,
less into heaven certainly earth swims
than each my deeper death becomes your kiss
losing through you what seemed myself, i find
selves unimaginably mine; beyond
sorrow's own joys and hoping's very fears
yours is the light by which my spirit's born:
yours is the darkness of my soul's return
-you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars
and that is mine of sound mind and spirit
what i never got to say
in the infinity of time and the darkness above was that
i loved you
He held onto the sketchbook.
It held all her letters to him and he couldn't bring himself to part with it.
He fingered the pages thoughtfully.
He would continue to write. About everything he possibly could. He would travel to the ends of this world and explore every bit of it. He'd do it for her.
Nami wanted to draw a world map, right? It would fit right with her dream.
Write everything that happened and paint anything he saw.
A News Coo swooped down to him.
Straw Hat and Fire Fist visit Marineford in Symbolic Visit!
As can be seen in the pictures above, Monkey D. Luffy and Portgas D. Ace visited the destroyed Marine Headquarters. The sons of two of the worst criminals in history sailed around on a stolen warship with none other than the ex-Warlord, The Knight of the Sea Jinbe, the Pirate King's Right Hand, Dark King Silvers Rayleigh and the Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff, Sabo the Revolutionary! They sailed around the island once in a ceremonial gesture that many recognize as the ritual for a burial at sea! They then landed on the western edge and rang the Ox Bell 16 times. The Ox Bell is a holy bell that used to grace an ancient warship called the Ox Royce. The Marines ring it 16 times at the end of every year as a custom. Eight times to give thanks at the end of the year and another eight times to celebrate the new year to come.
But it's nowhere near New Years and such a gesture could only mean one thing! These two of sinful lineage are heralding a new era and not for the better! With Whitebeard's death at the War of the Best and the resignation of Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha and the Hero of the Marines, Vice-Admiral Garp the Fist, the old era is now in the past! This is a new one with fresh faces leading the Marines and even more horrible pirates raging in the world. Reports have been coming in from all over of an increase in pirates heading out to sea, as well as a general increase of pirate activity! Could this be Whitebeard's doing with his declaration about One Piece? More of this story on page A2. To read more about the 11 Supernovas turn to page B4. Details regarding the life of the Strongest Man in the World, Whitebeard, can be found on page B7.
Scattered across the globe, nine individuals received the same message.
Staring at the image of Luffy with a tattoo written on his arm, they understood.
Two years to Sabaody Archipelago
"Aye aye captain. Message received."
"No! That's too high! We can't do that! The public would know in an instant!"
"But what else are we supposed to do!? This man is a massive threat! You saw what he could do! You saw what he did to Admiral Kizaru and Admiral Aokiji! We may have given that credit to Whitebeard, but we can not deny this man's power!"
"But this! It's just too much! It'll be the highest starting bounty ever! And by a long shot!"
"The Celestial Dragons are out for blood though! They demanded that we bring them his head! For the deaths of Saint Rosward and Saint Sharlia!"
"But wouldn't putting such a high bounty on his head be counterintuitive to actually bringing him in? There are very few people that have achieved a bounty this high."
"What else are we supposed to do though?! He killed one admiral, injured the other two, one of which is still in a coma, and fought a fleet admiral to a standstill! No matter what we do, I'm sure if there's to be any marine movement against him, whoever is going to become Fleet Admiral will throw everything we have at him, especially if the new Admiral candidates are as strong as they're said to be."
The group stared contemplatively at the image of Uchiha Itachi, the strange sun-like design in his eyes dominating the picture. When they had first seen the image, the amount of hate and rage etched into his face had made them flinch. They had requested for another picture, but all other pictures of the pirate were too blurry or didn't show his face.
"How about this then?"
A number was put up. Lower than what was previously written, but still respectable by any means.
Someone else scribbled out the back half and replaced it with another set of numbers.
"Yeah, I think this is fine."
"We could always ask for input from Sengoku or Sakazuki, they are the ones who actually fought against him."
"True…"
"We'll leave it as is for now and wait for input from Sengoku and Akainu before we issue anything. We need to increase Monkey D. Luffy's bounty for his involvement in the war as well as the reveal of his lineage. Same with Portgas D. Ace. Eustass Kidd's been making some noise in the New World so we'll have to change his too. Someone bring me those reports on Capone Bege and Basil Hawkins! They've been getting a little chummy with some of the Yonko!"
Itachi stared out at the sea before him.
He didn't need to rush back to the Archipelago anymore.
He had two years and that was plenty of time.
The others would no doubt be training to get stronger, but he was in no hurry.
The Heavenly Sun Wheel swirled into existence in his eyes and he stared lazily at its reflection in the water beneath him.
There would be plenty of time to improve himself, but for now?
He just wanted to travel.
Learn.
Paint.
Make.
And so he sailed.
Weeks passed and Itachi sailed wherever the wind took him.
He painted and sculpted and weaved across the West Blue, his pieces garnering much attention from the Underworld scene as well as a few rich collectors, but he didn't bother with them. He left his art in places to be found as the basis of them was the spirit of adventure, heavily inspired by his captain and by Keoni.
On one island, he had left a massive stone sculpture, carved out of the mountain that dominated the mass of land. He hadn't picked out a specific subject to sculpt, just mindlessly chipping away at the stone. When he finally took a step back to observe his work, he was quite surprised when it looked way too similar to a certain Pokian.
Guess he just couldn't get her out of his head, and so he indulged himself. He finished the massive sculpture with extreme care and attention to detail. The end result was one of the most life-like sculptures he had ever created, and it just happened to be 60 meters tall. He couldn't help but be reminded of the two massive statues of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama that stood at the Valley of the End.
She deserved only the best.
Weeks turned into months and he had left the West Blue by then.
Before he had ventured into the North Blue, he had made one final stop at the ruined island of Ohara. After their heart to heart conversation on Thriller Bark, he and Robin had grown closer, bonding over their shared pain and one night they had gotten to describing their original homes. Her Voice had brightened as she described and reminisced on the greatness that had been the Tree of Knowledge that dominated the entirety of Ohara. A 5,000 year old organism that scraped the sky and whose branches spread out across the island like a great cover. She described the great library that resided in the giant tree and the countless books and artifacts that archaeologists had brought from all over the world. She had been plagued with sorrow when describing the loss of those priceless books and objects due to the Buster Call. In return, he described Konoha to her. The great forests that surrounded it and the comfort of the Uchiha Clan Compound. He knew that she picked up on his discomfort when describing it. The memories of his clan's massacre were too deeply rooted with the other more pleasant ones.
Although he couldn't do much about his clan, he could at least do something for her. With his newfound abilities with Wood Release, it just wouldn't feel right if he didn't at least try to restore the island. When he had arrived, the earth was still scorched and blackened, even after 20 years since the Buster Call that had razed the country to the ground. It had been a sobering experience and it made him realize just how scared Robin had been at Enies Lobby when Spandam had so casually waved it in front of her face.
He had easily been able to spot the charred stump that used to be the Tree of Knowledge and it saddened him to think of the countless pieces of history that had been lost when the great tree had fallen. When he had walked up to it, he had not been surprised at all to find that it still had a Voice.
Listener… why have you come?
He only smiled, "You still have a lost child in the world."
Yes… The last will of Ohara…
"She sure tries her best, I'm sure. Let's get you up and going though, I'm sure she would appreciate it."
I am nought but a charred husk. Barely alive. What could you possibly do, Listener?
"Just watch."
Itachi had planted his hands on the ground by the charred trunk of the tree and for two days and two nights, he saturated the entire area with his chakra. When he was ready, the Tentaiyo swirled into existence and then he heaved and from the roots that were still deeply embedded in the ground, untouched by the fury of the Buster Call of 20 years past, a tree burst forth and it grew and grew high into the sky, until it could grow no higher. Branches snaked out from the gargantuan trunk, spreading out across the sky, and like a great ripple of water, trees and plants grew around him from the base of the great tree to the edges of the island turning the once scorched wasteland into a lush green paradise. The joy that had emitted from the Tree of Knowledge had been radiant and as Itachi had succumbed to chakra exhaustion, he couldn't help but smile.
He had awoken a week later to a massive headache and a growling stomach, but he thought it was a decent trade off. He had left the island soon after, continuing his journey, traveling around, leaving paintings, sculptures, and tapestries at every island he encountered, inhabited or not.
It wasn't long until news began to spread of the mysterious art found across the West and North Blue.
Resurgence of Art and Adventure!
These past few months have seen an interesting increase in the art scene here in the West Blue! The Five Great Families have been commissioning pieces from artists all over our great ocean and putting out rewards for pieces made by a specific artist! Who is this artist? Nobody knows, but the one thing we do know is that the massive sculpture on an unnamed island south of the island of Pofanoo has been confirmed to be made by the same elusive artist that the Five Great Families seek.
"His art… it's unparalleled. I've never seen anything like it. So incredibly life-like it just seems like the drawings will pop out of the canvas at any second. It's not just the paintings either, his sculptures and his tapestries are just as phenomenal. They just draw you in and you could just lose yourself looking at them," a spokesman for the Capone family commented. "We were only able to buy a few pieces off of him, but he said that he had left plenty of others scattered about the ocean. If someone were to bring those pieces to us, we would pay quite handsomely for them. You'll know instantly if you find a piece of his, and even if you don't, he signs them with a sun. This intricate swirly sun that he works into each piece in the most interesting ways. You'll know it when you see it."
The Capone family spokesman's words were echoed by the other four families as well as plenty of other influential figures in our great ocean. Their words have not only caused a great increase in "art hunters" going out to sea, but also a general increase in funding for the arts. Plenty of schools of art, performance, and music have popped up all around and are quickly gaining prestige. A new age of art and adventure is upon us! What does the future bring next?
Others focused on seemingly more pressing events.
The Revival of the Demons of Ohara?
Reports have come in that the ruins of the island of Ohara are ruins no more, it's razed ground now sporting a great forest. For those that don't remember, the horrid citizens of Ohara were plotting to destroy the world by reviving terrible ancient weapons. Thanks to the efforts of the World Government and the Marines, the threat was neutralized, but what could the sudden revival of the Tree of Knowledge mean?
Marine arborist and expert botanist, Lief Maplesen, has offered us an analysis of the new growth.
"It's unnatural. The cell sample that I took from the Tree of Knowledge had a carbon date of around 5,000 years old. That's about how old the tree was before it was burnt down by the Marines in the Buster Call 20 years ago, so it completely baffles me how this came to be. Even more interesting was the surrounding plant life. I sampled the trees and plants close to the giant tree, but my tests have shown that they are only a few months old. I've never heard of something like this in my life. It could quite possibly be some form of technology that terraformed the island or a Devil Fruit ability. It would at least explain the growth of plant life surrounding the Tree of Knowledge, but it would not explain how the great tree itself is still biologically as old as it used to be. I will be staying on the island for some time to investigate further."
It's unclear at the moment, but other experts have offered their opinions as well, stating that no such technology has ever been created, and that the most likely course is either a Devil Fruit user or some form of ancient technology. If it was a Devil Fruit user, what did this individual have to gain by doing such an action? If it was some form of ancient tech, is the "Demon Child" Nico Robin, the only link to the island of Ohara, on the move again? She has been sited working with known Revolutionary rebels, aiding them in their cowardly attacks against the World Government. The Marines have increased their patrols within the West Blue on the off chance that the Demon Child is here. The Straw Hat Pirates that she was a part of have disappeared off the face of the planet with only their captain having shown his face at the War of the Best at Marineford months ago. We can only watch and wait for what happens next.
Both articles had brought a smile to his lips when he had read them. It brought him joy to find that he could bring around such a change without bloodshed or violence.
Art was powerful. Perhaps not an explosion like a certain someone and not immortality like another certain someone, but it was indeed something very special.
But what had really made him smile were the bounties that had been in the same paper. He was happy to see that Luffy's had been increased to 450 million berries as well as another increase on Robin's to 85 million. Seems like she had made it safe and sound to the Revolutionaries after all.
He was still quite surprised to find that a bounty for him hadn't come out at all. He didn't care about having a bounty like many other pirates did, but it made him curious about why he didn't have one. Normally, the World Government was quite diligent at issuing them for wrongdoers and he couldn't help but think that you couldn't get more wrong against them than by killing two Celestial Dragons and a Marine Admiral
He had only sighed and folded the paper up before returning to the painting he had been working on. No use dwelling over it. If it happened it happened. If it didn't, that was their loss.
The wind had been blowing him towards the True North so as the temperature around him dropped, he aimed on his current piece to bring warmth in comfort, so he drew a scene of a family gathering around a large hearth, its great flames warming their bodies as they sat, laughing and smiling in each other's presence.
The temperature continued to drop and he sailed on in those icy waters.
Kuzan opened his eyes. The harsh white of a fluorescent light sent a shock of pain through his head. He lifted his hand to black it out as he tried to sit up on the bed.
He rubbed his face, feeling a mustache and a beard on the lower half.
"Huh? Just how long-"
A door opened and two sets of feet walked in.
Doctor and his assistant.
"How are you feeling, Kuzan?"
He groaned. He felt weak. Exhausted. He heard a pen scribbling on paper.
"I see. Can you get out of bed?"
He pulled the covers off his legs before looking in mute shock at just how thin his legs had become.
"You've been in a coma for eight months, Kuzan. You are subject to the advances of time just like every other human, Devil Fruit or not. I hate to break it to you but the rest of your body is in a similar state."
Kuzan looked at his hands and then his arms and his chest. He was a stick. An atrophied bag of skin and bones.
He made to get out of the bed, feet touching the cold tiled floor.
"Alex, notify Fleet Admiral Sakazuki and Instructor Sengoku that Admiral Kuzan is awake from his coma. And call Commander Jones from Intelligence, he said he needed to speak with Kuzan when he woke up."
He jerked at the words.
"The dog? Fleet Admiral? Sengoku an instructor? What happened?"
Before long, four people filed back into the room. The doctor, finishing his check up on Kuzan, left with his assistant, leaving the Admiral in the room with Commander Jones, Chief of Intelligence, Marine Instructor Sengoku and Fleet Admiral Sakazuki.
"What's happened? Since I've been out."
Commander Jones began to speak.
"The reason I'm here is to gather some more info on Uchiha Itachi. We've withheld posting his bounty to try and separate him from our loss that happened at Marineford, but also due to the fact that we are still unsure of his full capabilities. You are the only Admiral to encounter him three times. Although we have everything that he did during your second and third encounters, we have nothing on what transpired between you two on Long Ring Island."
He took out a notebook, "Could you fill me in on what happened? I know you said he could cast illusions, but could you elaborate? When Borsalino described his Tsukuyomi technique, you stated 'That's different from before.' Did he happen to cast a different kind of illusion on you?"
Kuzan opened his mouth to reply only for the door to his room to fly off its hinges before he could speak.
"BWAHAHAHA! I hear the brat's alive! How ya holding up Kuzan?"
Garp walked through the now broken door, happily munching on a bag of rice crackers. Commander Jones kept a stoic face, while Fleet Admiral Sakazuki only huffed in annoyance. A vein popped in Sengoku's forehead as he knocked Garp upside the head.
"What are you doing here, Garp? This is supposed to be an important meeting!"
"Bwahahaha! Important? What's so important that you're already badgering poor Kuzan?"
Commander Jones shuffled some papers around in the folder he was holding.
"We were discussing Uchiha Itachi, Vice-Admiral Garp sir."
Garp turned to look at him, a rice cracker halfway to his mouth.
"Eh? You're here too Jones? Don't tell me you still haven't posted that man's bounty yet? It's been eight months! You're just being a cock tease at this point!"
The vulgar language didn't affect the commander.
"I say this time and time again, Garp. We have to wait to put this bounty out. It'll make waves throughout the world with how big it is, especially for a starting bounty. If we did it too close to the Summit War, everyone would know that he was the one to create the huge statue. They ran articles for weeks about the wooden structures he created, trying to figure out who had made them. Although we made it seem like Whitebeard was the one who decimated our forces, people already suspect that there was a second person with him. If we had released this bounty earlier like the others, the press would connect too many dots. At least now, with all of that dying down and the art tour that the Celestial Dragons are conducting in the West and North Blue filling up the media, the release of this bounty won't make nearly as big of a splash. The most we can do to separate him from Marineford is name his hand in killing Saint Rosewald and Saint Sharlia."
He pulled out a poster and when Kuzan's eyes trailed down to the actual bounty, his eyes almost bugged out.
"That's- That's insane."
"It's the only choice. We could have given him a way lower bounty, but I fear if we did, it would make too many people underestimate him. People that help keep the balance of power. Kizaru was one such person who underestimated him and he paid the price for it."
Kuzan looked at the others, but they didn't show any surprise at the poster. Seemed like they had already seen it.
"What about the rest of his crew? He's part of Straw Hat's group."
"None of them have been sighted since their landing on the Sabaody Archipelago eight months ago. Other than Monkey D. Luffy's appearance at Marineford and Nico Robin's appearance with known Revolutionaries, the rest of the crew hasn't been seen so their bounties will remain unchanged. We can only assume that they are all alive. We have been attempting to keep tabs on Uchiha Itachi, but we lost him when he began to sail towards the True North. We have no idea what he plans to do up there, but our agents were unable to follow him."
"And why did you wait until I was awake before even considering putting out his bounty."
Kuzan eyed the commander.
"Uh, in all honesty, sir, I was just trying to push it back. He killed two Celestial Dragons, so the nobles on Marie Jose have been pushing for the bounty to be released. I was only able to make them back off when I said that you had crucial information regarding him that I needed before I could make the final decision on the bounty value. Sorry about that, sir."
The commander bowed his apology, but Kuzan waved him off, "Don't worry about it, Jones. I know how stuffy they can be. If you don't need me for anything, then just go about your day."
The commander nodded, saluting to him and the other three people in the office before exiting.
Kuzan looked up at Sakazuki.
"Fleet Admiral?"
The man only grunted pointing at Sengoku.
"This guy wanted to nominate you, but with you out of commission, I was the only option left. Want to fight for it, Frosty?"
The ice logia shook his head. Even if Sakazuki didn't have an arm anymore, eight months of inaction had taken a massive toll on his body. He would lose in an instant.
"Keep it, I don't want a tighter leash than I already do."
Sakazuki only grunted at the backhanded comment.
Sengoku began to make his way out of the room, pulling Garp by his shirt collar.
"I hope that your recovery is swift Kuzan. As of right now, we have yet to nominate anybody to the position and with you unavailable, Sakazuki here had been stretching himself thin with both Fleet Admiral and Admiral obligations. Your return to the active force would be a great boost to morale and our firepower."
Sakazuki made his way out as well, but he stopped at the door with a parting comment.
"Kuzan, I know that we have a difference of opinion on what type of justice is right, and I know how you feel about serving under me. But, if you stay long enough for the new admirals to be promoted, I will be lenient with how you operate."
He closed the door behind him leaving the admiral to his thoughts.
"Eight months? They'll probably promote the new admirals before I'm even fit to leave the hospital. Those were probably empty words from that stupid mutt. He knows I won't be out of here for at least another two months, much less back to my former strength."
Kuzan stared at the bounty poster left behind by Commander Jones, those blazing suns seemed to stare right into his soul.
WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
UCHIHA ITACHI
EPITHET: THE HEAVENLY SUN
BOUNTY: 1,902,600,000 BERRIES