The headlines screamed across the front pages of every newspaper delivered by News Coos to the corners of the globe: The Golden Lion Armada Clashes with the Roger Pirates and the Witch's Fleet.
The Mobejumul Sea—already a nightmare for sailors—had become one of the most dangerous zones in the New World. The sheer scale of the Haki released during the three-way conflict had permanently scarred the local atmosphere, leaving behind a wake of erratic, violent weather patterns that served as a grim reminder of the monsters who had fought there.
As the gulls flew east and west, the world reacted.
In the West Blue, on an island known for its ancient history, a woman in an archeologist's coat breathed a sigh of relief at seeing her friend's face in the paper, though her expression quickly turned to worry as she read the updated bounty.
On another island in the West Blue, famous for its breweries, a legendary pirate who had turned his back on the New World's chaos scowled at the familiar faces staring up at him from the page.
In the North Blue, a young boy who had once been a World Noble clutched the paper with hands trembling from hatred, his eyes devouring every word of the "Witch's" exploits.
At the Twin Capes, the entrance to the Grand Line, a doctor laughed softly as he shared the news with a massive island whale. "They seem to be doing quite well for themselves, Laboon."
And in the medical kingdom of Drum Island, within the first half of the Grand Line—the region the world called "Paradise"—a woman narrowed her eyes as she read the report.
"Roger... is it?"
"A friend of yours? You look like you want to kill someone," a voice teased.
"An acquaintance," Octavia replied, her voice cold. "We've tried to kill each other enough times for the word to stick."
She was thinking of the man who had stood against Rocks and dismantled his dreams. But Octavia had no intention of pursuing that old grudge now. "It's the path my daughter chose. I have no right to interfere."
"Hmph. A mother is supposed to worry; that's just how it works," Catherina said, tidying up the medical journals scattered across the table.
Dr. Kureha was currently out, and the two were tasked with cleaning the room. However, the moment the paper had arrived, Octavia had stopped working, leaving the young Catherina to pick up the slack.
"Come on, Octavia! If we don't finish this, Kureha's going to have our heads when she gets back!"
"Right..." Octavia set the paper down. She moved a heavy cabinet with her left arm—now fully healed and functioning perfectly—and finished the cleaning in minutes.
When Dr. Kureha finally returned, she sat by the fireplace, adjusted her glasses, and took her time with the news. "Hee-hee-hee! That little brat is becoming quite the celebrity."
"She is her mother's daughter, after all," Octavia noted.
"A pair of troublemakers. It must be in your blood," Kureha grunted. She peered over her glasses at Octavia. "So, your arm is healed. There's no reason for you to linger here anymore. When are you leaving?"
Octavia had spent her downtime teaching Catherina the basics of medicine, but the girl was still a novice. Octavia shrugged. "I have no reason to stay. I simply didn't have a destination... until now. I think it's time I head for the New World."
"Are you going to see your daughter?" Catherina asked, her eyes lighting up. "I want to meet her too!"
"You're still planning on following me?"
Octavia had hoped the girl would stay and apprentice under Kureha, but Catherina shook her head. "I want to see the world! Please?"
Octavia let out a long sigh, realizing the girl was as stubborn as Kanata. "Fine. You can come. But if you die, don't blame me."
"I won't! Besides, you're strong enough to protect me!" Catherina winked, giving a thumbs-up.
"A journey needs a purpose," Octavia mused. "If we're going to the New World, I have one place I need to visit. Fullalead."
"What's there?"
"Not much... but I left something there in place of Xebec's grave."
***
The scent of ale was thick in the air, even in the middle of the afternoon.
Having danced on the razor's edge of death, the crew was now being rewarded with an endless supply of food and drink. The fighters had slept for nearly a full day to recover their strength. Fortunately, with so many non-combatants aboard Kanata's fleet, the logistics of the feast had been handled with ease.
The Roger Pirates had joined them for a joint victory banquet on Fullalead. But before the first keg was tapped, Kanata gathered her people for a necessary solemnity.
"Geek. Jet. Roz..."
Kanata read the names one by one. One of her subordinate ships had been lost in the battle. While many had been rescued and were currently standing behind her, wrapped in bandages, others hadn't been so lucky.
She finished the roll call and tossed a handful of flowers into the sea. "We are pirates. We knew this day might come. But that doesn't mean we forget those who fell."
It was a simple ritual, but it was essential. Once the spirits were honored, the celebration began.
"We didn't take the Golden Lion's head, but we dealt him a blow he won't soon forget," Kanata announced, raising a glass. "Savor the taste of victory! Cheers!!"
"CHEERS!!!"
The banquet was legendary. Spread across a section of Fullalead's stone plaza, the two crews drank, sang, and laughed, the survivors reveling in the simple fact that they were still breathing. Even Kanata, who usually avoided alcohol, took a drink.
"Your bounty jumped again," Roger noted, leaning back with a grin.
"It was bound to happen," Kanata replied. "We're the only crew in recent memory to push the Golden Lion that far in a frontal assault."
Many had tried to challenge Shiki only to be absorbed into his armada or sunk. By dealing significant damage to his fleet and wounding the man himself, Kanata had proven her strength to the world.
Roger flipped through a stack of new wanted posters. "Your crew is starting to look like quite a handful. But..."
"I have many non-combatants," Kanata said. "I concentrated our strength because I couldn't allow our flagship to sink. I have women and children to think about."
Indeed, a group of children from Kanata's ship were currently talking with two boys from Roger's crew who looked to be about the same age as Kaye. The two boys—one with vibrant red hair and the other with a prominent red nose—noticed her gaze and ran over, juice boxes in hand.
"Buggy and Shanks are still just brats," Roger laughed. "Try to get along with them."
"I'm not great with children," Kanata muttered, though she didn't push them away.
"Hey, Captain! Were you talking about us?" Shanks asked.
"Can I have some of that snack?" Buggy added, reaching for a plate of appetizers on the table.
"Where are your manners? Sit down before you eat," Kanata ordered.
"I'm a pirate! I don't need manners!" Buggy barked back.
Kanata didn't argue. She simply delivered a sharp rap to the top of his head.
"OWWW!! What was that for?!"
"Don't give me excuses. Manners exist so you don't make the people around you uncomfortable, whether you're a pirate or a noble."
"Wahahaha! Don't be so stiff, Kanata!" Roger laughed. "They're just kids!"
"That's exactly why they need to learn it now," Kanata countered.
Buggy shrunk back behind Roger, eyeing Kanata with suspicion. Shanks, meanwhile, sat down properly and began to eat. Seeing that Kanata didn't strike the one who followed orders, Buggy cautiously sat on the other side of Roger and grabbed a piece of Sea King meat.
Shanks noticed the newspaper next to Kanata. "Is that today's? Can I see?"
"Go ahead. It's mostly sensationalist garbage claiming Roger and I have formed a formal 'Pirate Alliance' to take down Shiki."
"Wait, did we?" Shanks asked.
"We didn't!" Roger roared with laughter. "The papers just like to make things up. Let 'em talk!"
The Navy and the World Government were likely terrified of the prospect, but the reality was simpler: Roger had intervened in a friend's fight. Nothing more.
"The bounties are incredible," Shanks whispered, flipping through the new posters.
"Sharp Claw" Samuel: 75 Million Berries.
"The Bombardier" David: 90 Million Berries.
"The Storm" Scotch: 95 Million Berries.
Finally, the world was recognizing the threat posed by Kanata's officers.
"George didn't get a bounty yet," Kanata noted, "but it's only a matter of time."
"Is he strong?" Shanks asked.
"Strong enough. Though not on the level of Shiki's Grand Commanders."
The mention of the Grand Commanders—Aps, Lelampago, and Lucian—reminded everyone of the weight of the battle. Those who had faced them had seen their rewards skyrocket.
"The Canopy" Gloriosa: 138 Million Berries.
"Dragon Claw" Dragon: 255 Million Berries.
"The Giant Shadow" Feiyun: 280 Million Berries.
"The Six-Point Spear" Junxi: 380 Million Berries.
"The Red Stallion" Zen: 400 Million Berries.
Every one of them was now a recognized elite of the New World. Even Dragon, who had managed to stay off the Navy's radar for years, was now a marked man.
"And then there's you," Roger said, his voice turning serious as he picked up the final poster.
"The Dragon-Slaying Witch" Kanata: 2.24 Billion Berries.
"I've lived a long time, and I haven't seen many bounties hit two billion that quickly," Roger said. "You should be proud. You stood toe-to-toe with the Golden Lion and lived."
"I have no intention of belittling myself," Kanata replied. "Next time, I plan on taking his head."
"He's obsessed with you," Roger noted. "Do you have some personal grudge against him?"
"I have no grudge. I'm just swatting a fly that won't leave me alone. He says he hates my mother. He told me to join him or die... so I beat him. Twice."
"Bwahahaha! It's a woman thing?! Your mother must have been a real beauty to leave a mark like that on Shiki!"
"You should know," Kanata said. "You've met her."
"Hm? Me? I don't recall..."
"My mother is Octavia."
"PFFFFFT!!"
Roger sprayed a mouthful of sake directly into the air. Buggy and Shanks fell over in surprise, and Kanata only narrowly avoided the spray by manifesting a small ice shield.
Roger coughed violently, his eyes wide as saucers. "Octavia?! You're... you're her daughter?!"
His voice was slightly slurred from the booze, but his shock was absolute.
"I am. My parents were both complete disasters," Kanata said with a self-deprecating laugh. "When I look at my lineage, it's just one villain after another. I suppose I'm just following the family business."
Roger slumped backward, his head hitting the stone floor with a thud.
"So... you're hers..."
He sat back up, his eyes suddenly clear and sober. He stood up and began walking in circles around Kanata, examining her from every angle before sitting back down across from her.
"Now that I'm looking... your silhouette is identical to hers."
"The Rocks Pirates recognized me the moment they saw my face," Kanata noted.
"Octavia always wore that mask," Roger reminded her. "Only her crewmates saw her face. I just remember the aura."
Roger rubbed his chin, watching Kanata eat a piece of Sea King meat. "But even if you look like her... your spirit is completely different."
"I've only met her once. I wouldn't know."
"She was... sharper," Roger recalled. "More cynical. She had zero interest in anyone she considered 'weak.' You care too much to be like her."
"And your father...?" Roger started, then closed his mouth.
He hesitated, looking for the right words. He realized that asking the daughter of the man he helped kill who her father was might be a bit too much, even for a pirate. He stammered for a moment before scratching his head. "Actually, never mind."
Kanata laughed at his awkwardness, joined by Shanks and Buggy who teased their captain for making "weird faces."
"Shut up! Anyway, Kanata... what's next for you?"
"Next?"
"Are you just gonna keep running? Do you have a goal for this journey?"
"I'm heading for Lodestar Island," Kanata said. "After that... I'll decide based on what I find there."
"Lodestar, huh?" Roger mused.
The final island reachable by the Log Pose. The goal for every serious pirate who wanted to say they had conquered the world.
"That's the spirit! Being a pirate is about freedom, not just running from the Navy!"
"I suppose I can't keep claiming I'm not a pirate anymore," Kanata sighed. "The world has already decided what I am. I might as well embrace it."
"Finally!" Roger grinned.
"In the end," Kanata added, "I think I'll take down the remaining survivors of the Rocks Pirates. Shiki is a nuisance, and Big Mom is even worse. I haven't met Whitebeard yet, but if he was on that ship, I don't expect him to be a saint."
"Newgate is strong," Roger warned. "On par with me."
Kanata's eyes sparked. "Then he's a wall I'll eventually have to climb."
"WAHAHAHA! I love it!"
Shanks and Buggy grumbled beside him, annoyed at the implication that Roger could be matched or surpassed. "The Captain is the strongest! No one can beat him!"
"Eras change," Kanata told the boys. "Even the man who was called 'the strongest' was taken down by Roger and Garp. Roger will fall one day, too. And so will I."
The boys went silent. Roger rubbed his chin, his expression turning solemn. "Rocks, huh..."
"The World Government did everything they could to erase his name from history," Roger said. "How does a girl as young as you know so much about—"
Roger's voice trailed off.
Kanata had turned her gaze away from the boys and was looking directly at him. In the fading light of the sunset, her red eyes shivered with a familiar intensity.
Rocks and Kanata were nothing alike in personality, build, or mannerisms. But in that moment, seeing those eyes, Roger felt a chill go down his spine.
The greatest enemy he had ever faced. The man he had needed the Navy's help to destroy. And the woman from the same crew who claimed to be her mother.
Every piece of the puzzle clicked into place.
"You... don't tell me..."
"Don't say the name out loud," Kanata whispered, her expression darkening as she took another drink. "It's a headache I don't need."
Roger leaned back, finally understanding Shiki's obsession. Shiki had seen it too. The daughter of the man he once called 'Captain' and the woman who surpassed him in everything but rank. Kanata was the ultimate legacy of the world's most dangerous crew.
"You've got a heavy burden on your shoulders, kid," Roger said softly.
"I'll manage. Peace was never an option for me anyway."
Kanata let out a long sigh as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the island into shadow. The banquet was in full swing now, a roar of voices and music filling the night. In the glow of the bonfire, for just a fleeting second, the silhouette of the girl merged with the memory of the "Devil" who had once tried to rule the world.
***
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