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"Unexpectedly, we've actually found traces of the Red-Haired Pirates and the Beasts Pirates," Gion said, watching the two crews clash in the distance with unmistakable emotion in her voice.
She'd originally meant to head straight for Impel Down, in case Blackbeard struck there first. But after covering some distance, she and Astolfo had stumbled onto signs of a battle between the Red-Haired Pirates and the Beasts Pirates instead.
This was no minor skirmish between low-ranking crew members either. It was a battle led personally by Shanks and Kaido, two of the Four Emperors themselves. Even holding back, the clash between them was enough to send shockwaves visible from a great distance, let alone to someone like Gion, whose Observation Haki was exceptionally sharp.
"So this is what the Four Emperors look like in a real fight. It seems capable of standing up to some of the more outstanding Heroic Spirits." Astolfo stroked his chin, gazing at the distant battle. "Hmm, these techniques would probably qualify as Anti-Army Noble Phantasms."
"An exceptional Heroic Spirit... an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm..." Gion trailed off thoughtfully, studying Astolfo closely. "Astolfo, do you think the Four Emperors could measure up to the strongest Heroic Spirits out there?"
"How could they?" Astolfo shook his head. "If one of the truly strongest Heroic Spirits showed up, they could put both of these two down in an instant."
"That... amazing?" Gion asked, clearly startled.
It was no wonder she was surprised. If the very best Heroic Spirits could brush aside the Four Emperors that easily, then in whatever world they came from, beings like that would practically be unstoppable. Gion had always believed the Four Emperors and the Marine Admirals stood at the very peak of strength, and now here was something that apparently outclassed even that. Of course it startled her.
Still, surprised as she was, Gion never once doubted what Astolfo was telling her. Her love for Ikki gave her an unconditional trust in him, and since Astolfo was a Heroic Spirit Ikki himself had summoned, that trust extended naturally to Astolfo as well.
"Gion, what should we do now? Should we go take a closer look?" Astolfo asked.
"No, that's alright," Gion said, shaking her head. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku only tasked me with locating and monitoring Kaido and Shanks. There's no need to pick a fight with either of them. I just need to make sure neither shows up unexpectedly at Marine Headquarters and throws off the war against the Whitebeard Pirates. Besides, we still have the Impel Down situation to sort out."
Even with how much stronger she'd become, Gion didn't believe she could take on two of the Four Emperors, not even with Astolfo's help. She was too sensible a person to pick a fight she had no real hope of winning. Since Kaido and Shanks were already occupied with each other, she was content to leave that battlefield to them.
Besides, a clash between men like that tended to drag on. By the time it ended, the war between Marine Headquarters and the Whitebeard Pirates might already be settled one way or another. Gion had no real interest in getting tangled up in a fight between Kaido and Shanks under those circumstances.
"Understood. Let's head out, then," Astolfo said, preparing to steer the Hippogriff away.
"I'll let Fleet Admiral Sengoku know while we're at it." Gion pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed his number.
"Gion, did you find anything?" Sengoku's voice came through clearly.
"Fleet Admiral, I've located Kaido and Shanks. They're fighting each other right now," Gion reported.
"So the two of them really did cross paths." Sengoku frowned, his voice troubled. "I can't say whether that's good news or bad."
"I'll send you the coordinates, Fleet Admiral. After that, I need to head for Impel Down," Gion said.
"Alright, go ahead and send them over," Sengoku said with a sigh.
Under different circumstances, he'd have wanted Gion to stay close to that battlefield, keeping her eyes on Kaido and Shanks in case anything went wrong. But he'd already learned that the Gate of Justice had been forced open without cause, and the moment he heard that, his thoughts went straight to Blackbeard Teach, who'd vanished from Marine Headquarters entirely.
The idea of Blackbeard tearing through Impel Down was frightening enough that Sengoku couldn't bring himself to hold Gion back. As things stood, she was probably the only Marine with enough strength to reach Impel Down and provide real support in time.
After hanging up, Sengoku looked down at the paper where he'd jotted the coordinates Gion had given him.
"At the very least, we can send some Marines out to that location to keep watch over Kaido and Shanks," he murmured to himself.
"Strange. They're not coming over," Yasopp said, lowering his binoculars with a puzzled look. As one of the finest snipers in the world, he'd spotted Gion and Astolfo despite the distance separating them from the Red-Haired Pirates.
He didn't recognize Astolfo, but Gion he knew well, one of the most famous officers at Marine Headquarters. Yasopp had assumed that even if the two of them didn't approach directly, they'd at least linger nearby to keep watch, given there were two Yonko clashing right in front of them. It would be strange for the Marines to simply let a fight like that go unmonitored.
"What's wrong, Yasopp?" Benn Beckman, the Red-Haired Pirates' first mate, stepped up beside him, glancing over at Shanks and Kaido still locked in combat. Once he'd confirmed Shanks hadn't been hurt, the tension in his expression eased slightly.
Yasopp recounted what he'd just seen, which only deepened the confusion on Beckman's face.
"They spotted us, and still chose not to stick around. They just left." Beckman stroked his chin. "That tells me they had something more important to deal with."
"More important? What could possibly be more important than this right now?" Yasopp asked. "It's not like they've already found the Whitebeard Pirates, is it? Are you saying they're planning to move ahead of schedule?"
"No. The Marines have gathered too many troops at Marine Headquarters for that. That kind of buildup isn't going to waste. If there's going to be a real fight, it'll happen there," Yasopp said, answering his own question.
"Exactly. Yasopp, which way did Gion head off in?" Beckman asked.
"Of course I saw that, I'm the sniper here." Yasopp shaded Beckman's eyes with his hand and pointed. "That direction, if I remember right, that's where Impel Down is."
"She left in that much of a hurry," Beckman said. "Something must have happened there."
"Should we send someone to check it out?" Yasopp asked.
"No need," Beckman said, shaking his head as he turned back to watch Shanks and Kaido. "We don't have the spare attention to deal with that right now. This isn't the time to worry about other people's business, not with the rest of the Beasts Pirates clearly getting ready to make their move."
As he spoke, Yasopp raised his rifle again, sighting in on the Beasts Pirates' officers. If any of them were foolish enough to try an ambush on Shanks, Yasopp intended to strike first.
"Hmph. If they really try something," Beckman said with a snort, "it'll at least give me a chance to stretch my legs."