The torn sky stretched on without end.
This was the natural aftermath of Conqueror's Haki clashing in full coating.
Do I have that kind of potential, Dimon wondered.
The floating platform carried them swiftly through the clouds and back onto the deck of the Saber of Xebec.
Shiki turned away. "I will bring Rocks up. Wait here."
Stussy dropped the two Celestial Dragons at her feet. Brother and sister sat side by side, faces chalk white as they stared at the crew.
Their status did not comfort them now.
Dimon stepped forward and asked evenly, "Names and family."
"I am Saint Topman Seito. This is my sister, Saint Topman Airi. Do not kill us. If you want Devil Fruits, we can provide them."
Topman.
Dimon sifted his memory. One of the Five Elders carried that name.
He only clearly remembered Saturn's full name as Jaygarcia, the one that transformed into a massive spider. The others were a tangle of syllables.
Stussy chuckled. "Figures. The Law Saint's line. The War Saint's kin. Looks like our luck is good."
That made it click for Dimon. Mercury. The one with the walrus-like form.
"You have a Transponder Snail on you," Gloriosa said. The snake coiled on her arm slithered down and began to search them.
The two nobles trembled and did not dare move as the serpent checked pockets and folds. After a moment it fished a gilt snail from Seito's coat.
Charlotte Linlin narrowed her eyes. "Call home. Tell your elders to prepare the ransom."
A thunderous detonation rolled up from below. Even above the clouds the shockwaves from a duel of kings were palpable.
Dimon did not press. He walked to the rail and looked down.
The cloud cover hid the fight. Only a white sea of vapor churned.
The booms kept coming. Each wave of force was enough to make an ordinary person faint on the spot.
Dimon was fine. They were only aftershocks, and as a demon his body was unaffected.
Kaido had shown him Haki over the last few days. He had started training but progress would take time.
Two figures burst through the clouds and landed on deck.
Rocks sheathed his blade at once. "We pull back for now. There will be no quick decision against Garp. If we keep at it the reinforcements from Marineford will arrive."
This got troublesome.
Sabaody Archipelago, District 24.
Garp stood atop the ruins and stared up. In his Observation Haki the auras of Rocks and the others were already racing away. He could not catch them. He had to call it in.
Elsewhere.
Marineford, less than half an hour from Sabaody.
On the top floor of the fortress headquarters, in the fleet admiral's office, Kong had a face like iron as he roared into a Transponder Snail.
"Are you a fool, Garp. You let them snatch Celestial Dragons right in front of you."
Garp's weary voice came through the receiver. "What could I do. That was half the Rocks Pirates."
"Rocks. That bastard again."
Kong kneaded his brow. "At the Reverie over ten years ago he killed an admiral. That seat is still vacant. Now that low creature sets his sights on Celestial Dragons."
"What now," Garp asked with a sigh. "They want ten Devil Fruits as ransom."
Ten Fruits.
Kong sucked in a breath. Where would he find that many.
If the Marines had that kind of stock, they would have promoted a generation of prodigies already.
"This is above my pay grade. I will contact the World Government."
He ended the call and dialed the Five Elders.
He barely began to explain before a cold snort cut him off.
"This is an outrage for the Marines, Kong. You bear no small share of blame."
"War Saint." Kong stiffened. "I am sorry. You already know."
"Rocks contacted us directly," the War Saint said, seething. "I have agreed to five Devil Fruits. However you do it, you will bring them back alive. Understood."
"Yes."
Kong did not argue. He could not. He agreed at once.
Aboard the flying Saber of Xebec.
On deck.
Charlotte Linlin clicked her tongue and kicked one of the nobles. "Your status is not worth much. They will only give five Fruits. Half of what we asked."
The siblings shuddered, too frightened to talk back.
Dimon also found the World Government stingy. The Celestial Dragons surely outnumbered Devil Fruits. They fed Fruits to slaves sometimes, yet would pay only five as ransom.
Rocks was unbothered. "If they give half, we give half. Then we cut off their legs and send them home."
Shiki barked a laugh. "Good plan."
Whitebeard said nothing, bored. Stussy shook her head. "No need to maim them. Exchange one and keep the other."
The siblings nearly wet themselves at the casual cruelty in these voices.
Dimon stepped in. "Let me say something fair."
All eyes turned his way.
"Debt repaid makes the next loan easier. We should keep our word. Return both this time and the next time we seize one we can negotiate on better terms."
Did you hear yourself, Kaido thought. We are still arguing about the ransom and you are already planning the next time.
He liked the idea.
"Ora. True enough," Kaido said. "Celestial Dragons are valuable. Catching them and trading them to the World Government for bounty could be a long term business."
The veterans exchanged looks. The two apprentices had reduced kidnapping nobles to a business model.
Rocks smiled. "So be it. Five Fruits make five bottles of the Wine of Immortality. That yields twenty cups. How do we divide them."
Everyone present besides Kaido wanted it.
Rocks would take one cup, leaving nineteen.
Shiki, Whitebeard, Streusen, Charlotte Linlin, Gloriosa, Stussy. Six claimants.
Glances clicked like flint. Sparks leapt. It would not take much for the mood to turn.
Dimon shook his head inwardly.
No wonder a crew that once ran rampant would fracture two years later. A pack of pirates each with a private agenda needed only the slightest misstep to turn on one another. While Rocks lived he could suppress them. Once he fell, no one would bow to anyone. They would scatter like birds.
"I know you are impatient, but hold on."
Dimon stepped forward with a pleasant smile. "Five Fruits make five bottles, which pour twenty cups. One cup each as a courtesy from your brewer."
"Good. That is worthy of our brewer," Rocks said. "Then you do not have to fight over it. Thank you, Dimon."
The tension breathed out of the deck.
The next day.
The New World, a certain sea.
A Marine ship drifted on gentle swells. Admiral Sengoku stood at the prow and gazed up at the man hovering in the air.
"The goods are ready. Where are the Celestial Dragons."
"Hahaha. Show me the Devil Fruits first. I do not trust the Marines."
Shiki was giddy. The Wine of Immortality was almost in hand. How could he not be excited. He had been assigned to handle the exchange and had to make sure nothing went wrong.
Sengoku glanced at Vice Admiral Tsuru.
Tsuru opened a jewel chest for Shiki to see. Inside lay five Devil Fruits, each a different shape.
"They are here. Release the hostages and the Fruits are yours."
Shiki narrowed his eyes and swept the ship with Observation Haki.
Only Sengoku stood out as a threat.
Should he just take them.
He strangled the thought. There was no need to ruin the deal. Once the exchange was done they could brew the immortal wine. If he started a fight now and botched it, the others would make him pay.
He snapped his fingers.
The two Celestial Dragons drifted down from the sky and came to rest beside him.
"Hand over the Fruits first and I release them."
"No," Tsuru said calmly. "You do not trust us and we do not trust pirates."
The standoff stretched. Neither side yielded.
At last Sengoku swallowed his pride. "Give them the chest."
He did not like it. But this was about Celestial Dragons and the Rocks Pirates held the advantage.
"Understood," Tsuru said quietly.
The handoff went smoothly. Once Shiki had the Fruits in hand, he released the two nobles.
"Hahahaha. Thank you for the gift. Wait and see. You will be astonished. Hahaha."
Shiki rose, laughing, and dwindled into the clouds.
The siblings boarded the Marine ship and attendants rushed to untie them.
The woman snapped, "Too slow. Useless trash, all of you. You let pirates take me. Filth. My wrist is broken. Fetch a doctor."
Sengoku's mouth twitched. He sent for the ship's surgeon and asked patiently, "Saint Topman Seito, did they do anything else to you."
"No."
Compared to his sister's bluster, Seito was composed. "They wanted Devil Fruits. I think they intend to brew a so called elixir of immortality."
"Elixir of immortality."
Sengoku and Tsuru exchanged a look.