When the smoke and dust cleared, only the monotonous sound of waves slapping the cliffside remained on D-Sector's pier.
The surf beat against the blackened rock with a dull, heavy rhythm. The ship that had once glittered—symbol of luxury and sin—the Diamond Queen, was now nothing but a scorched, twisted skeleton, half-sunk in murky seawater, thin strands of black smoke curling upward.
Gion stood on the shore and slowly sheathed her blade.
Though she was the highest commander in name, at some point along the way, whenever a moment demanded a decision, her body seemed to move before her mind.
Almost unconsciously, she turned and looked at Rain behind her.
The feeling was strange—not because of the terrifying power he had just displayed, but because of a habit carved deep into instinct. As if, as long as he was here, this stormy sea could always offer a harbor to dock in.
"Rain… what do we do now?"
There was a faint, barely noticeable reliance in her voice.
Killing a great pirate was one thing. Killing two CP0 agents directly under the World Government was completely different. That was a sky-piercing disaster—handle the aftermath wrong, and it was eternal ruin.
"What about two CP0?" Rain wore a careless expression, as if he hadn't killed World Government agents before.
He glanced at the bodies floating on the sea, tone relaxed, like he'd just put down two stray dogs.
It was a pity he didn't get the sin points from those two CP0, but now that he was stronger, he didn't care about such small change.
"But that was CP0—" Gion frowned.
"Dead men don't speak, Rear Admiral."
Rain walked to her side. He didn't look at the corpses; he stared into the distance.
"Victor is still just a wanted pirate, not a Warlord. So there's only one conclusion: the great pirate Victor attacked G-17, trying to seize supplies. Base commander Nelson died fighting to the end. We, as inspectors, assisted in suppressing the rebellion."
"That's reasonable, isn't it?"
Rain smiled and pointed at the still-burning wreckage.
"As for the two CP0—battlefield chaos, stray shells don't have eyes. Who knows how they died? Maybe a pirate's stray shot hit them, maybe they slipped and fell into the sea. Either way, the bodies are soaking out there—dead men don't testify."
"The higher-ups will pinch their noses and accept it. They'll want to cover the scandal and keep the Warlord plan's filth from being exposed. The board is already set—are they really going to execute two Headquarters officers who just earned merit, just because we killed a pirate?"
Rain paused, then turned to Gion and added meaningfully:
"And tell me—when Vice Admiral Tsuru heard that Smoker and I were back, why didn't she immediately order us to return for debriefing? Why did she instead have you continue the inspection route as planned?"
"I think…" Rain said quietly, "…with the Great Strategist's intelligence, she may not have been unaware of what could happen."
Gion jolted.
She remembered the slightly abnormal pause in Tsuru's voice during their earlier call—and the seemingly illogical arrangement.
So that was it… the strategist known for her wisdom might have foreseen this outcome long ago.
Gion looked at Rain's composed, certain profile. The tight cord in her chest finally loosened; the last trace of worry faded from her eyes.
"…Fair." Gion steadied herself. "But those hundreds of surrendered soldiers are a problem."
She turned toward the pier, where hundreds of trembling surrendered troops knelt. They were Nelson's confidants—witnesses to everything.
"Hundreds of mouths. The three of us can't watch them."
"Don't worry. I have a plan," Rain said calmly. "Your ship still has plenty of direct subordinates, right?
Send them down to take over. Move all these men onto the warship and lock them in the lowest hold. Impose the highest level of information lockdown. If Vice Admiral Tsuru gives the green light, there'll be a way to deal with them."
"Alright."
With their plan settled, Gion immediately went to fetch her aide and bring troops down to secure the scene.
As for who would hold the line right now—obviously Smoker.
With a Logia monster like Smoker present, those broken soldiers wouldn't dare act up even if they had ten times the courage.
Once the scene was arranged, Rain and Gion headed back toward the fortress.
On the way back, they walked side by side.
Hands in his pockets, Rain asked casually, "By the way, Gion—why was Victor Hugo's bounty so high? His Haki and physical skill were pretty average. He was basically carried by his Devil Fruit."
Three hundred sixty million at this stage of Paradise was a terrifying number.
Gion seemed not to notice that Rain had dropped the "Rear Admiral" honorific—or perhaps she unconsciously allowed the slightly intimate way he addressed her.
"I don't remember the exact details," she said. "I only recall that about a year ago, he attacked the Black Steel Empire."
"Black Steel Empire?"
"Yes. A World Government allied nation famous for military industry—very strong. Supposedly they pay plenty of Heavenly Tribute every year."
At the words "Heavenly Tribute," Gion's brows tightened slightly, a flicker of disgust in her eyes. As a Marine who spent years at sea, she knew how many nations that system had driven to despair.
"Victor infiltrated the palace and attempted to assassinate the king—overthrow the regime."
Gion sighed. "He failed, but caused massive damage. Directly challenging an allied nation's authority is extremely serious, so the bounty was that high."
"So that's it…" Rain nodded thoughtfully.
Attacking an allied nation, assassinating a king, overthrowing a government—why did that sound a little like Monkey D. Dragon's Revolutionary Army?
"But the Revolutionary Army wouldn't turn living people into statues and sell them to Celestial Dragons."
Rain sneered inwardly.
He glanced at Victor's system info.
[Sin Points: 105,000]
One hundred thousand. Numbers didn't lie.
Back at the fortress, Gion got busy immediately. She sent her aide to the pier to take custody of prisoners, then called Tsuru on an encrypted Den Den Mushi.
Rain sat on the outer sofa and poured himself a glass of water.
Gion's report was clear—emphasizing the pirates' brutality and Nelson's "heroic death." The truth itself no longer mattered.
What remained was political bargaining among the Marine top brass.
They weren't going to execute two living officers who'd just earned major merit over dead CP0 agents and a corrupt official.
And Rain had just demonstrated strength capable of suppressing an entire region—plus he was so young. Even if only to secure a future top-tier asset, Marine leadership would know what to choose.
With nothing to do, Rain let his mind sink into the system space.
"Let's see what 'His Grace' dropped."
He opened Victor's reward screen.
There were five options:
Option 1: Physique Inheritance
Description: Inherit "Crystal-Diamond Duke" Victor's Advanced physique.
Option 2: Haki Inheritance · Armament
Description: Inherit Victor's Advanced Armament Haki.
Option 3: Haki Inheritance · Observation
Description: Inherit Victor's Advanced Observation Haki.
Option 4: Skill Inheritance · Sculpting
Description: Inherit Victor's Top-tier sculpting skills as an "Artist."
Option 5: Skill Inheritance · Noble Etiquette
Description: Inherit Victor's Top-tier noble etiquette from years in high society.
Rain: "…"
He read the list three times, frowning.
"As expected. No Devil Fruit."
He'd noticed it during the fight: despite an SSR rating, Victor's base was mediocre. Now it was confirmed—his physique and Haki were only "Advanced," far below Rain.
Victor's SSR rating came entirely from his Devil Fruit mastery.
That "Crystal Boundary"—creating massive crystal constructs and reshaping the environment—was unmistakably the sign of an awakened Paramecia.
"What a waste," Rain sighed. "He's dead, the fruit has reincarnated somewhere out at sea. The system can't just extract fruit abilities."
If he could inherit Victor's development insights for the Crystal fruit, maybe it would help his own Rumble-Rumble Fruit reach awakening sooner.
Without anything fruit-related, the remaining options were underwhelming.
Advanced physique and Haki meant almost nothing to Rain now.
As for Sculpting—
"What am I supposed to do with this? Make figurines?" Rain shook his head, speechless.
His gaze finally landed on option five.
"Noble etiquette?"
He couldn't help complaining: "A pirate with top-tier noble etiquette? That's honestly insane."
But on second thought… Victor had been courting Celestial Dragons, playing 'duke,' holding wine glasses and putting on airs every day. It made sense he'd trained hard in that.
"Too bad etiquette didn't save his life."
Rain originally planned to pick Advanced Physique just to take something—mosquito legs were still meat; stacking was never wrong.
But just before confirming, he changed his mind.
"Sure, biting off too much is bad… but skills don't weigh you down."
He was a Marine. As his strength grew, he would inevitably have to deal with royal courts all over the world.
Knowing how to kill wasn't enough.
Top-tier noble etiquette could be unexpectedly useful in certain situations. Advanced physique wasn't worth agonizing over anyway.
"This one."
[Acquired Skill: Noble Etiquette (Top-tier).]
A massive stream of knowledge flooded his mind. In that instant, Rain felt his presence shift subtly—his sharpness didn't disappear, but it became easier to conceal.
After processing the reward, Rain was about to close the panel when a special icon lit up below:
[Victor's Wish List]
"That's some obsession with the 'Warlord' title…" Rain muttered, surprised. "Even dead, still thinking about it."
With curiosity, he activated it.
Victor's Regret: Protective Obsession
Description: "Roca Kingdom… a land abandoned by the gods. Our barren land cannot become Heavenly Tribute; the World Government shut us out. The Black Steel Empire's army tramples my homeland every year—my people are crying… I must obtain Warlord status. Only then will the World Government's protection shelter us!"
Objective: Protect Roca Kingdom, preventing invasion by the Black Steel Empire.
Rain froze.
"…So that's it."
He leaned back on the sofa, silent for a long time.
All the threads connected at once.
Victor's obsession with becoming a Warlord wasn't vanity. He wanted to use that status to classify his poor homeland—unable to pay Heavenly Tribute and thus barred from allied status—as his "pirate territory."
In other words, he'd gain de facto World Government protection—a blood-soaked umbrella for a nation the world had discarded. Even the powerful Black Steel Empire wouldn't dare attack a "protected" territory lightly.
Just like the future Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, using Warlord status to protect Amazon Lily.
"To save his country… he turned himself into a man-eating devil?"
Rain's feelings were complicated.
"So what is this—evil with a tragic reason?"
Was Rain the villain who crushed someone's dream of saving their homeland?
But then he thought of the basement—those crystal statues that would never wake again, the despair of innocent victims.
If Victor succeeded, Roca Kingdom would be saved and he'd be a hero.
But to those turned into statues, he was a monster.
Rain shook his head, throwing the messy thoughts away.
This world was sick. Victor tried to cure it with a virus… and became a monster himself.
~~~
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