In the cabin, Finn sat reading a book. In his other hand, he idly manipulated two small stones, making them orbit and weave through the air via subtle gravity control. The stones traced impossible patterns, defying natural motion.
The cabin door suddenly swung open as Hina strode in.
Finn glanced up, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, this isn't your office at Marineford. What if I were doing something compromising and you just barged in? Should I kill you to silence you, or—"
"At worst, Hina just see something Hina shouldn't," Hina said without missing a beat. "Since we'd both have dirt on each other, neither could say anything."
Finn's eyes widened slightly with genuine surprise. "When did you become so shameless?"
Was she really driving the conversation in that direction?
Hina shrugged nonchalantly. "Hina learned it from you, Admiral. If Hina want to become stronger, Hina must first abandon shame."
"That... actually makes sense," Finn conceded with a nod.
Hina's expression turned serious. "Admiral, Vice Admiral Onigumo's ship has already sighted the uninhabited island."
Finn's eyes lit up. He stood immediately, the stones dropping harmlessly to the floor. "Excellent. Success or failure depends on this."
Meanwhile, on the uninhabited island, Ben Beckman sat perched atop a tall tree, holding a monocular telescope to his eye as he scanned the horizon.
Onigumo observed the island from the sea, but Beckman naturally spotted the ships gradually appearing at the edge of the ocean.
"In this remote place, there's actually a merchant fleet?" Beckman muttered around the piece of gum he was chewing. He lowered the telescope.
He didn't take it too seriously initially.
Although it seemed somewhat strange, the two inhabited islands to the east and west, both within three days' sailing distance, had thriving smuggling black markets and sizable populations. No matter how a merchant fleet calculated their route, they should have chosen those islands first. Why come this way?
Still, he didn't overthink it, simply assuming this group was planning to force their way through the Calm Belt, taking risks to earn massive profits.
This kind of thing was common enough. Although the Calm Belts were extremely dangerous, with the promise of enormous returns, many merchants still chose to gamble.
Just as Beckman was about to climb down from the tree, he suddenly paused. His brow furrowed. He lifted the monocular telescope again, studying the merchant ships gradually becoming clearer on the horizon.
After observing carefully for several moments, he found nothing obviously wrong. But where was this vague sense of unease coming from?
"Is it just my imagination?" Beckman murmured.
Just as he was about to dismiss this ridiculous suspicion, he suddenly noticed a specific detail. His expression changed drastically. "Yasopp!"
Yasopp, who'd been sleeping against a tree trunk on an adjacent branch, was startled awake by Beckman's shout and nearly tumbled off.
"What's wrong?" Yasopp asked quickly, catching his balance.
"See that fleet over there? I suspect they're Marines. Try taking a shot," Beckman said seriously.
Yasopp quickly grabbed his telescope and looked. "Looks like merchant ships to me. How can you tell they're Marines?"
However, even as he spoke, he was already disassembling his rifle, transforming it into a long-barreled sniper configuration.
"On the surface, nothing's wrong. But look closely at their fleet formation. Doesn't it look familiar?" Beckman asked, a glint of sharp intelligence in his eyes.
Yasopp froze, then looked again more carefully. He exclaimed in surprise, "You're right! It does look a bit like Marine Headquarters' fleet formation..."
"It's not 'a bit like.' It is that formation. They're almost certainly Marines, possibly even coming specifically for us. Fire a test shot," Beckman said without hesitation.
It had to be said that Beckman was genuinely brilliant. Even though the navigator, Vice Admiral Onigumo, had achieved nearly perfect disguise, Beckman had still noticed something off about the fleet's sailing formation.
This detail was something almost everyone instinctively overlooked. After all, who had nothing better to do than analyze how another fleet maneuvered?
Even Finn hadn't caught this flaw.
On the deck of the lead merchant ship, Vice Admiral Onigumo wore the clothes of a caravan boss, commanding Marine personnel disguised as merchant sailors as they steered toward the uninhabited island.
At that moment, Vice Admiral Onigumo suddenly froze. His hair instinctively animated via Life Return, forming into an arm that reached out and snatched a bullet from the air.
Then his expression changed sharply, realizing his action had likely exposed everything.
On the island, Yasopp lowered his rifle. "Definitely Marines. Human instinct is hard to hide. That guy just used Life Return from the Six Powers, didn't he?"
"Let's go notify Shanks," Beckman said, already jumping down from the tree without dwelling on the details.
Soon, Beckman and Yasopp had disappeared into the forest.
At the same time, aboard the merchant fleet, Finn received a Den Den Mushi call from Vice Admiral Onigumo.
"It was just an instinctive reaction. Don't blame yourself. Now that we've been discovered, there's no point hiding. Pass my order: the entire fleet moves forward at full speed," Finn said, not scolding Onigumo but simply issuing clear instructions.
Soon, the fleet of armed merchant ships began accelerating toward the uninhabited island.
Meanwhile on the island, Beckman and Yasopp found Shanks.
"What? The Marines?" Shanks was momentarily stunned. "How did the Marines find us?"
"What methods they used isn't the issue we need to consider right now. The question is whether we fight or retreat," Beckman interrupted Shanks' confusion, cutting straight to the point.
Shanks thought for a moment, then said, "Let's retreat. We chose to camp here specifically so that if we were exposed, we could quickly retreat into the Calm Belt and escape pursuit. Even though it's the Marines chasing us now instead of the Big Mom Pirates, it's basically the same situation. There's no need to fight them to the death here. Let's head into the Calm Belt for a while, then come back."
Shanks was the captain, and the captain's orders naturally took precedence. After he finished speaking, everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates quickly gathered their important belongings and started boarding the ship. As for miscellaneous items, there was no time to pack those.
But just as the pirates were about to embark, Beckman grabbed Shanks' arm. "Let us go first. You hide on the island and don't move."
"What do you mean?" Shanks looked confused.
Was the captain supposed to stay behind while the crew escaped first?
Wasn't this backward? Shouldn't he go first while Beckman and the others covered the rear?
"The Marines disguised themselves as merchant ships and accurately located our position. This is clearly an organized, premeditated operation. When Yasopp fired that test shot earlier, that man was able to instinctively catch the bullet from such a distance. He must be at least a Vice Admiral. Judging by this formation, I estimate there might be a Marine Admiral hidden in this fleet. More than a month ago, Admiral Finn entered the New World in a high-profile manner, then disappeared. I thought he was waiting to see what the Big Mom Pirates and Kaido would do. Now it seems he might be on one of these ships..." Beckman said gravely.
Shanks' expression turned serious. "Finn? That man is extremely troublesome to deal with."
"So we split up. We'll take the ship into the Calm Belt. The Marines will probably assume we've all escaped inside. After all, we only have one ship, and they'll likely chase us in. That way, you'll be safer here. After we get inside and shake off the Marines, we'll come back for you," Beckman said calmly.
Shanks' face hardened. "How is that acceptable? I'm the captain! How could I hide here alone while watching you go on an adventure?"
"I don't have time to argue with you. If you feel guilty about it, we'll leave you a lifeboat. Once the Marine ships pass, you can follow behind. Maybe we can launch a pincer attack," Beckman said without hesitation.
"But I think—" Shanks tried to continue.
Beckman cut him off directly. "I don't care what you think. I care what I think!"
After saying that, he ignored Shanks entirely and quickly went to make arrangements.
Shanks stood there bewildered. Am I the captain or are you?
But there really was no time to be particular about it. Thinking it through carefully, although Beckman's plan carried some risk, it could indeed ensure Shanks' safety to the greatest extent. It even had a backup option for attacking the Marines from both sides. With Shanks' strength, if both sides maintained contact via Den Den Mushi and he suddenly attacked the fleet from the rear, he might be able to sink several ships in one strike and completely change the tactical situation.
Soon, under observation from the Marine fleet, the Straw Hat Pirates' Red Force was spotted sailing out from the uninhabited island, heading toward the distant Calm Belt.
After receiving the news, Sakazuki immediately ordered Onigumo to give chase.
Finn's ship was at the rear of the fleet and had just reached the island from the sea.
As his ship began passing the uninhabited island, Finn stood on deck, gazing at the lush green landmass. He suddenly said, "Bring me my sword."
Not long after, Hina approached, carrying Finn's demon blade.
Finn didn't take Shindokutō immediately. Instead, he gripped the handle while letting Hina hold the scabbard, then drew the cursed blade free.
The strange, ominous, dark curse aura instantly radiated outward from the weapon, forcing Hina to take two steps back.
"Admiral, what are you planning?" Hina asked curiously.
"Our ship can't catch the Red Force. Their ship is faster than ours. We're just ordinary armed merchant ships. Therefore, if we want to stop the Red Hair... no, the Straw Hat crew, we'll have to keep chasing them, engaging in a prolonged pursuit. We're well-stocked with supplies. I wonder how many days their ship can sail. Before that happens, I'll cut off their retreat and lock them in the Calm Belt." Finn paused, then smiled slightly. "Besides, who knows? There might be someone hiding on this island."
As soon as he finished speaking, Finn suddenly swung Shindokutō toward the uninhabited island.
An invisible slash, carrying wind pressure and gravitational force, instantly tore across the sea surface. The moment it touched the island's shore, it cleaved the coastline in half. The slash's power didn't diminish at all, cutting through the ground and extending deep into the island's interior.
It seemed as if Finn's single sword stroke intended to bisect the entire island.
At the same time, shadows fell from above.
"Starfall Impact..." Finn murmured softly.
Two massive meteorites plummeted from the heavens, heading straight for the island.
After completing this display, Finn casually returned Shindokutō to the scabbard in Hina's arms.
He'd actually just meant it casually, firing the opening shot of this pursuit while warming up. There'd been no deeper strategic calculation behind it.
One second after he sheathed the blade, a powerful aura suddenly erupted from the island. Then two massive slashes shot skyward, directly cleaving the falling meteorites apart.
Finn froze momentarily, staring toward the island.
Hina's eyes filled with excitement and admiration. "Admiral, you're incredible! You even calculated someone was hiding there?"
What did I calculate?
Oh, right. I did just boast, "Who knows if someone's hiding on this island?"
Finn calmly waved his hand, his momentary surprise vanishing behind a mask of confidence. "It's nothing. Just the basic responsibilities of a Marine Admiral. Don't be so surprised. Follow me closely and learn. Once you've mastered even a fraction of my skills, I'll be able to send you out on independent operations."
"Yes, Admiral!" Hina responded with genuine enthusiasm.