The greatest surge of the "Aqua Goddess" did not swallow the inner districts of Water 7. The people, who had been drowning in despair only moments ago, now wept with joy.
"This wall of ice! These falling snowflakes! It's a miracle! The gods are saving us!"
A priest who had witnessed it all ignored the pouring rain and flooded streets, falling to his knees to proclaim divine salvation.
A noblewoman, who had come merely to behold the spectacle of the "Aqua Goddess" but fainted in terror at the overwhelming tsunami, slowly regained consciousness under the frantic shaking of her servants.
Only those who had brought telescopes—and dared to watch the scene through their lenses—knew the truth: that above the Aqua Goddess there loomed a black ship of calamity, and in the skies, a battle raged between man and monster.
How many would carry that sight as a nightmare, and how many would take it as inspiration… no one could say.
But none of this mattered to the hurried, stumbling steps of Spandam.
His face, bruised black and blue, was so swollen that even the leather mask he wore could no longer fit properly. Like a fat man in clothes too small, his bulging flesh made him appear all the more grotesque.
He charged forward, emitting angry, pitiful growls like a dog under threat, leading the CP9 rookie Nero and several Marines, shoving aside anyone in their path.
At last, on the platform of a shipyard dock, they found Admiral Kuzan (Aokiji) and Captain Smoker.
Kuzan stood with his hands in his pockets, gazing at the still-surging sea.
Smoker sat a few steps lower on the stairs. He pulled a cigar from his coat and placed it between his lips, only to sigh and put it away again, reminded that the storm had not yet passed.
They heard footsteps approaching. Both turned, saw Spandam, and then looked away again, unimpressed.
"What on earth are you two doing?!"
Spandam, his speech slurred by the swelling of his mouth, would not let the matter go.
"Why haven't you captured Davy Jones and his crew? And why was no one assigned to protect me? Do you even know what I went through? A band of pirates dared to take me hostage! To threaten me!"
At that, Smoker's eyes narrowed. He turned, seeing Spandam ranting wildly while Nero lowered his head in shame. At once, Smoker understood everything.
"…Nico Robin was taken?"
"So what if she was?! The point is, I was taken hostage by pirates! The Straw Hats and Davy Jones' crew are clearly in league! One draws the fire, the other—"
Before he could finish, Smoker seized his mouth in one hand.
Smoker's expression turned savage, his presence so oppressive that Spandam trembled in terror.
"I'll ask you once more. Nico Robin was taken. Yes, or no?"
Spandam's jaw and lips were crushed painfully between Smoker's grip, like a nut in a cracker. Fearing his jaw would snap, he nodded frantically.
"Tch."
Smoker released him, shoving him roughly to the ground. With an irritated swipe of his hand through his silver hair, he slicked it back.
"Not a single good piece of news tonight, huh…"
Indeed, in another one or two hours, dawn would break.
With Nero's help, Spandam scrambled to his feet. Though he still feared Smoker, the sight of Nero reminded him of his own position—he was the commander of CP9.
And CP9 was directly under the World Government. As long as the organization existed, there was no reason for him to fear a Marine. Their chains of command were entirely separate.
With that thought, his arrogance swelled again.
"Smoker, how dare you treat me like this! Do you know who my father is? The great Spandine, the man who launched the Buster Call that annihilated Ohara—"
Smoker shot him a cold glare, uninterested.
"I don't care who your father is. It has nothing to do with how I treat trash like you."
"T-Trash?!"
Spandam's face flushed with rage.
"No wonder you've been stuck as a Headquarters Captain all these years! It's a miracle you've even climbed that high! I'm telling you now—you've made an enemy of me, and you'll never rise again. Not ever!"
Smoker only snorted. He had no desire for promotion, and that gave him strength.
"…Where's Rob Lucci? Where's Kaku?"
Unable to stand being ignored, Spandam nearly leapt in fury—but realizing he was no match for Smoker, he turned to find allies instead.
"Where did those fools all go?!"
No one answered.
Spandam gradually calmed.
Even if they disliked him, CP9 agents would never abandon their mission without orders—especially not with Admiral Kuzan present.
Which left only one possibility…
A chilling thought seized him, his lips trembling.
All dead?
Not a single one left?
The ruthless Lucci. The composed Kaku. The cunning Jabra. The calm, intelligent Kalifa…
Of CP9's nine operatives, only he and Nero remained alive?
What horrors lay hidden on that ship? Why had even those monsters—veterans who could kill Revolutionary commanders—perished there?
Could it be that Davy Jones' crew was stronger even than Lucci and Kaku?
Spandam and Nero both shuddered, grateful they had not set foot on that vessel.
When he had first arrived, Spandam had puffed himself up like a balloon, ready to accuse and demand. Now, the air had drained from him completely. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his head in despair.
CP9's elite force—gone. Only Nero remained, a rookie at best. What now?
Without his agents, Spandam's family resources meant little. His future suddenly looked bleak.
He no longer cared about Smoker's rank. He cared only about his own prospects.
Kuzan ignored the entire exchange.
His eyes remained fixed on the black ship amid the waves. He exhaled, and his breath froze the falling rain into tiny shards of ice before him.
Meanwhile, the Terror Ghost gnawed through another drifting piece of wood, its hull now almost fully restored.
To Alvida, it already looked completely repaired. After all, the ship's ragged, decayed appearance was one of its defining traits.
Once she confirmed the toppled mast had been righted, and that the Jolly Roger still flew intact above, she turned—only to nearly jump out of her skin at the sight of her captain's waxen, tentacle-covered face.
Even as one of the earliest crew to board, she still shuddered at the sight.
The captain stood in the rain, eyes closed, silent.
Gathering her courage, Alvida extended her Observation Haki—only to instantly regret it.
From the direction of Water 7, wisps of black energy drifted, flowing into her captain's body. Some tendrils even seeped from her own body, and from the ship itself.
She severed her Haki at once, forcing a smile, pretending she had seen nothing. She opened her mouth to offer congratulations for repelling an Admiral—
—but Davy Jones spoke first.
"How are the others?"
His gray-blue eyes opened, sweeping over her.
Swallowing, Alvida answered:
"Buggy, Law, and Hachi were all injured. Buggy is the worst off, but Law is treating them—they should be fine. Kuro was also wounded, but thanks to his pact with you, his injuries are slowly healing."
She paused, then added:
"Mikita only just woke up. She and Porche are assisting Law for now. As for Crocodile… he watched your battle with Aokiji from the ship. He said nothing. Just returned to his cabin."
Davy Jones gave a small nod, then turned his gaze to the waves.
The Terror Ghost was being carried out with the retreating tides of the Aqua Goddess, sailing toward the open sea.
"…Why is this tsunami called the 'Aqua Goddess'?"
The question came suddenly, his voice low.
Alvida thought back to her earlier conversation with Porche, then replied:
"Because the citizens of Water 7 named it after a goddess—'Akula Ragna (OC),' the Sea Goddess. They say she is violent and fickle, and the tsunami is the embodiment of her moods."
"…Akula Ragna, the Sea Goddess."
Davy Jones pressed his lips together, saying no more on the subject.
"Come. Let's check on Law and the wounded."
PS: Access advance (200+) chapters at