"Chief Justice Jace, there's a ship approaching our position!" Marine Captain Pete announced, his voice carrying the crisp authority of marine discipline as he addressed the distinguished elderly man standing at the ship's bow.
The ship flying the World Government's official banner was no ordinary warship - it carried a judicial mission of the highest importance. They were bound for Water 7 to conduct a retrial of Tom the shipwright, the man who had built the Oro Jackson for the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
"Captain Pete, is that ship flying pirate colors?" Chief Justice Jace asked nervously, his weathered hands gripping the ship's railing. This trial carried enormous political significance, and any interference could have far-reaching consequences.
"No sir, it's not displaying a pirate flag. I can see what appears to be a cat's head emblem, which suggests it's a civilian ship," Pete reported after studying the approaching ship through his spyglass.
"Good, good. That's a relief," Jace exhaled. "Use flag signals to request their identification and intentions."
"Sir, we've already sent multiple flag signals, but they haven't responded. Moreover, their speed and heading remain completely unchanged," Pete replied with growing concern.
"What?" Jace felt a chill of apprehension. A ship that avoided pirate identification but ignored official marine communications while maintaining a collision course could only mean trouble.
"Chief Justice, that ship is dangerously close now! We must take evasive action immediately!" a Marine subordinate reported urgently.
Pete looked to Jace for orders - while Pete commanded the ship, he was ultimately escorting the Chief Justice on official business.
"Attempt evasive maneuvers," Jace commanded reluctantly. As a man of justice and compassion, he preferred to believe there was some innocent explanation for the other ship's behavior rather than assuming hostile intent.
Unfortunately, both Jace and Pete had underestimated the difficulty of emergency maneuvering in such strong winds. As the judicial ship attempted to change course rapidly, the stress proved too much for the rigging - one of the main masts snapped with a thunderous crack!
Seeing the broken mast, the chaos on his deck, and the other ship still bearing down on them without any change in speed, Pete made the only decision possible to save lives.
"All batteries, target the ship with the cat emblem! Fire!"
If they couldn't sink or disable the approaching ship, the collision would destroy both ships and kill everyone aboard.
Meanwhile, aboard Bamboo Staff, Gustave dozed peacefully in his lounge chair, a small trail of drool indicating just how deeply he was sleeping under the warm sun.
The thunderous roar of cannon fire shattered his tranquil nap.
"What the hell?! Where's that firing coming from?!" Gustave bolted upright, momentarily disoriented as he scanned the horizon in alarm.
Po, Tom, and Ace had likewise been startled awake by the artillery barrage. Only Luffy, perched in the crow's nest, remained blissfully unconscious despite the explosive sounds echoing across the water.
But Gustave had no time to deal with their negligent lookout - several cannonballs were screaming directly toward his head!
His electromagnetic shield instantly enveloped their entire ship while Po leaped skyward, detonating the incoming projectiles with precise air pressure attacks.
After the immediate danger passed, Gustave transformed into electrical energy and shot upward to assess the situation from above.
What he saw made the problem immediately clear: a damaged government ship with a broken mast, Marines frantically reloading cannons for a second volley, while his own ship continued its unmanned charge toward certain collision.
A misunderstanding, he realized with both relief and embarrassment. We all fell asleep and our ship became a runaway projectile. They're just defending themselves.
With one hand, Gustave intercepted and dispersed the second artillery barrage. With the other, he used his awakened electromagnetic abilities to forcibly alter his ship's trajectory.
His mastery over magnetic fields had grown tremendously since his fruit awakening. While someone like Magneto could only manipulate metals, Gustave's electromagnetic control extended to any matter that could be influenced by magnetic forces. Redirecting a ship's momentum was elementary - though he dreamed of one day wielding enough power to distort space and time itself through magnetic manipulation.
Aboard the judicial ship, both Chief Justice Jace and Captain Pete watched in amazement as a figure suddenly rose from the approaching ship, casually deflected their cannonballs with one hand, and redirected the entire ship with the other.
Pete felt both awed and alarmed by such overwhelming power - he wasn't certain he could defeat someone with those capabilities. However, the fact that the stranger had prevented collision rather than attacking suggested peaceful intentions.
Under Gustave's control, both ships safely passed each other, averting disaster through spectacular intervention.
Of course, crisis resolution was inevitably followed by accountability. When Gustave returned to his deck, he found Ace had already begun administering justice to their derelict lookout.
"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" Luffy wailed between the punches Ace was landing, his face already swelling impressively.
Gustave sighed heavily. While Luffy bore primary responsibility, the fault was ultimately shared - he shouldn't have entrusted such crucial duty to someone with Luffy's attention span.
Taking both boys with him, Gustave flew across to the government ship to make proper apologies.
The Marines watched warily as three figures approached - one adult and two children, one of whom sported fresh bruises across his face.
"Lower your weapons," Chief Justice Jace commanded calmly. "These people clearly mean no harm."
The Marines reluctantly complied, though they remained on high alert.
"My sincere apologies for that incident," Gustave began with a respectful bow. "It was a complete misunderstanding. Might I ask who commands this ship?"
Chief Justice Jace stepped forward, followed by Captain Pete.
"I am Chief Justice Jace of Enies Lobby, and this is Marine Captain Pete," the elderly jurist introduced himself formally.
"Chief Justice Jace, Captain Pete, please accept my deepest apologies. Everyone on our ship fell asleep, leaving only young Luffy here on watch duty. Unfortunately, he also dozed off, nearly causing a catastrophic accident."
Gustave gently pushed the battered Luffy forward as evidence of how seriously they took the incident.
Looking at Luffy's swollen face, Jace couldn't help but feel sympathy for the child.
"And what might your name be, young man?" Jace asked kindly.
"I'm Gustave. We're all practically family, actually - this is Ace, and both he and Luffy are grandsons of Marine Vice Admiral Garp. We recently departed from Mariejois."
From his inner pocket, Gustave produced an official document - a pass he'd shamelessly requested from Sengoku before leaving. Such documentation would smooth future interactions with Marine personnel, and upgrade from the one he got from Admiral Aokiji.
Jace examined the pass carefully before handing it to Pete for verification.
"Chief Justice, this bears the Fleet Admiral's official seal," Pete confirmed after thorough inspection.
At that moment, Pete's adjutant approached and whispered something that further confirmed Gustave's identity.
One of the Marines aboard had recently transferred from Mariejois to Enies Lobby and recognized Gustave from his famous sparring match with Zephyr - an event that had left lasting impressions on many Marineford personnel.
After Pete relayed this additional confirmation, Jace returned the pass to Gustave.
"Captain Pete has verified your credentials. Please accept my apologies for the hostile reception."
"Not at all! We were entirely at fault for creating this dangerous situation," Gustave replied graciously.
With their identities confirmed as fellow government affiliates, Chief Justice Jace felt even less inclined to assign blame.
Noticing the judicial ship's broken mast, Gustave inquired about their destination. Learning they were both bound for Water 7, he immediately offered assistance.
"Please, allow us to help. we can rig a towing line between our ships and we'll escort you safely to port."
It was the least they could do after nearly ramming a government ship.