[Grand Line Unknown Sea Area]
In the skies above the Grand Line, a bear paw-shaped energy shield streaked across the sky at a speed of over a thousand meters per second. From the ground, it appeared as a flash of white light, leaving a long, thin trail of turbulence before disappearing into the horizon.
Inside this bear paw energy shield sat a six- or seven-year-old boy, staring listlessly at the endless expanse of ocean around him.
This boy was Reno, who was using Bartholomew Kuma's ability to travel to Marine Headquarters. For three days and nights, he had been flying nonstop, crossing the towering Red Line and the perilous Calm Belt. At this point, he had no idea which part of the Grand Line he was flying over.
Squatting inside the energy shield, Reno rested his chin on his hands with a look of utter despair as he watched the ocean beneath him retreat rapidly. He muttered to himself,
"What the hell was I thinking? Flying alone for this long... Just endless ocean all around. I'm gonna die of boredom!"
"God, please save this poor child!"
Reno's muttering reflected his frustration. Normally indifferent to gods and spirits, he was now pleading for divine intervention. Anyone who saw him acting like this might think he'd lost his mind.
But Reno couldn't help it. The sheer monotony was driving him insane. For three days and nights, it had been nothing but water everywhere. To keep from going mad, he had to entertain himself, hence the prayers and self-talk.
It wasn't like he had any choice. Being stuck in this energy shield wasn't something he wanted; it was something he had to endure. Unlike traveling at his own pace where he could fly for a few days, stop to rest, and then continue this time, he was "working" under duress.
The energy shield wasn't his ability. While he could destroy it to take a break, he wouldn't be able to create another one to continue his journey. After all, he needed this shield to make it look like he had been sent flying by an enemy, allowing him to approach Marine Headquarters without drawing suspicion.
If he flew there using his own powers, he would almost certainly be intercepted and forced to fight the Marines. But his goal wasn't to fight it was to complete a mission.
So, even though the boredom made him want to punch something, Reno endured. That's why he ended up praying to gods, a sight that set the scene for his absurd predicament.
As Reno entertained himself, he extended his Observation Haki to scan his surroundings for any islands. It seemed his prayers were finally answered his Haki detected an island ahead.
Reno's face lit up with excitement as he muttered to himself,
"Please, let this be Marine Headquarters. Don't let it be another island I just pass over again!"
Previously, Reno had come across a few islands, but every time, he flew over them without stopping. This only meant one thing: he hadn't reached his destination yet.
After so many cycles of hope and disappointment, Reno was on the verge of a breakdown. But as the island drew closer, he could see it more clearly. When he finally spotted the two giant characters for "Marine" on the island, he nearly jumped for joy.
Seeing those massive letters, Reno knew he had arrived. Only Marine Headquarters would have such an iconic display.
As he approached the island, Reno couldn't hide his excitement and shouted,
"Finally! The days of boredom are over!"
"Whoosh!"
A sharp sound cut through the air, drawing the attention of the Marines stationed on the headquarters' main plaza. They all looked up to see a streak of white light descending toward them.
Every Marine in the plaza stared blankly at the approaching light.
"Enemy attack! Sound the alarm!"
One Marine finally snapped out of his daze and shouted,
"Enemy attack!!!"
"Inform the Fleet Admiral immediately!"
Panic erupted among the Marines. The white light fell too fast for anyone to react, and with no high-ranking officers nearby, no one dared to intercept it. The light grew closer and closer to the plaza.
"This is bad! No one's stopping it?!"
"Run!"
"Get out of here now!"
As the light hurtled toward the plaza, the Marines scattered in all directions to avoid being hit.
"BOOM—RUMBLE!!"
The white light struck the plaza with a deafening crash, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. From outside, no one could see what had landed.
When the dust began to settle, the Marines saw a giant paw-shaped crater where the light had struck.
Seeing this scene, the Marines didn't dare to approach recklessly and instead watched cautiously from a distance.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
As groups of Marines gathered in small clusters to discuss the bear paw-shaped crater, the strong figures of Marine Headquarters began arriving one after another. The commotion had alerted everyone except Fleet Admiral Kong. Even Sengoku, who was busy handling matters related to his promotion, rushed over.
Staring at the crater, Sengoku observed for a moment before saying,
"There's someone in that crater. To prevent any potential traps, I'll check it out myself. All of you, stay back!"
"Yes, Admiral Sengoku!"
At that moment, Sengoku was the only admiral present, making him the only one capable of handling any sudden developments. While the surrounding vice admirals were strong, they weren't yet at the level where they could confidently face such situations.
Hearing Sengoku's command, the vice admirals and soldiers immediately backed away without hesitation. In the Marines, higher rank equated to greater strength, so it was rare for subordinates to try and take the initiative. Typically, they would stand aside, cheer, and watch the higher-ups fight.
Sengoku began approaching the bear paw crater, his expression calm and confident. He had enough faith in his strength to believe that no scheme or conspiracy could faze him.
Meanwhile, Reno was lying in the crater, checking himself for injuries. Suddenly, he sensed someone approaching.
He quickly stood up, and upon seeing Sengoku, he smiled brightly and waved.
"Hello there, Marine uncle!"
Sengoku, who had been steadily walking toward the crater, froze with a bewildered expression when a small child suddenly stood up inside it.
He had considered countless possibilities: an enemy infiltrating Marine Headquarters, a ploy to disrupt their operations, or even the chance that the figure in the crater was one of their own, sent there as part of an enemy's revenge scheme.
But never not once had he imagined that the person in the crater would be a seven- or eight-year-old child. Sengoku stood there, utterly dumbfounded.
Using his Observation Haki earlier, Sengoku had confirmed there was someone in the crater, assuming it was an enemy. Yet, what emerged was a child. What was going on?
After a moment of standing there in shock, Sengoku finally regained his composure. As he examined Reno's face more closely, he realized the child looked familiar.
Flipping through his memories, Sengoku suddenly remembered who Reno was. His expression shifted as he thought to himself,
"Isn't this the kid who brought in Roger to claim the bounty? What's he doing at Marine Headquarters?!"
Back then, while Garp had been in charge of escorting Roger from Alabasta, Zephyr had mentioned Reno to Sengoku after returning to headquarters. Zephyr had even had a portrait of Reno drawn, and Sengoku had later ordered an investigation into the boy. The file on Reno was still sitting on Sengoku's desk of course, he would recognize him.
Sengoku was filled with questions about Reno. Originally a civilian, Reno had disappeared after a shipwreck in the New World years ago. When he reappeared, he was escorting Roger, the Pirate King, to claim a bounty.
How had a five-year-old child survived a shipwreck? How had he traveled to the first half of the Grand Line? And how had he captured Roger?
Each of these feats was nearly impossible, even for an ordinary adult, let alone a five-year-old child.
Reno, observing Sengoku's initially dumbfounded expression turn into a blank stare, couldn't help but grumble internally,
"Is this guy an idiot? First, he's confused, and now he's just standing there. Could he actually be a fool?"
Of course, Reno knew Sengoku wasn't an idiot. He was just teasing in his mind because Sengoku hadn't responded to him yet.
Seeing that Sengoku still wasn't responding, Reno began slowly climbing out of the crater, muttering to himself as he did so. Combined with his childlike appearance, he looked incredibly adorable.
Some of the female Marines in the plaza couldn't resist his cuteness. If not for Sengoku's order to stay back, they might have lost their composure and rushed over to smother Reno with affection.
Hearing Reno's muttering as he climbed, Sengoku finally snapped out of his daze.
Watching Reno struggle up the side of the crater, he asked,
"Reno, from a certain island and kingdom in the New World. Am I right?"
Just as Reno climbed out of the bear paw crater, he heard Sengoku's question. Internally, he rolled his eyes.
"So this old schemer finally decides to talk, huh? I was starting to think he'd gone completely dumb."
Dusting himself off, Reno replied with a lazy grin,
"Yeah, yeah, you've got it right. I'm from that island, that kingdom, whatever you say."
Sengoku's face instantly darkened at Reno's blatant perfunctory attitude, but he quickly suppressed his anger. He then questioned, "This is Marine Headquarters, Marineford. You've fallen from the sky without warning our Marines need a reasonable explanation!"
Reno had already thought up an explanation before arriving, so he wasn't nervous in the face of Sengoku's questioning. Tilting his head, he casually replied, "I'm a bounty hunter. You Marines should know that, right?"
Hearing Reno's words, Sengoku nodded, agreeing with this claim. Although the Marines weren't entirely sure whether Reno was really a bounty hunter, they hadn't discovered any other identity for him. In their database, Reno was indeed labeled as a bounty hunter. Thus, Sengoku didn't refute Reno's statement.
Seeing Sengoku nod, Reno continued, "A few days ago, I was hunting down a pirate. That guy looked like a bear and was also a Devil Fruit user..."
When Reno got to this part, he suddenly put on an exasperated and helpless expression, spreading his hands as he went on, "While fighting him, I accidentally got smacked by him. Next thing I knew, I ended up here!"
After hearing Reno's explanation, a tall figure appeared in Sengoku's mind, and he verified, "The pirate you're talking about is he a man named Bartholomew Kuma?"
Based on Reno's description, Sengoku immediately thought of Bartholomew Kuma, a pirate who had risen to fame in recent years. Among pirates, only Kuma, who looked like a bear and had the ability to send people flying, fit Reno's description.
When Reno heard Sengoku's response, he was thrilled inside. He had been worried that Sengoku wouldn't know Kuma, which would make his explanation harder to sell. This was like a pillow appearing just when he needed to rest his head!
Thinking this, Reno immediately pretended to look angry and cursed, "Yeah, yeah, that's exactly the jerk Kuma! He couldn't beat me, so he slapped me away! That guy's such a jerk—I was flying in the air for several days and almost died of boredom!"
If Kuma knew that the person he had helped wasn't grateful but was instead cursing him like this, who knows what he'd think?
After hearing Reno's explanation, Sengoku silently speculated: The part about Kuma slapping him here might be true, but the rest of the story was unverifiable. Whether Reno was lying or not, Sengoku decided he couldn't let him leave Marineford today. This kid was just too suspicious!
Not only were Reno's various extraordinary experiences questionable, but the matter with Roger also seemed fishy. With all these factors combined, there was no way Sengoku would let Reno leave.
In fact, Sengoku had another reason for wanting to keep Reno around: he wanted to recruit him into the Marines. However, he needed to investigate first. If Reno turned out to be clean, then Sengoku would invite him to join the Marines. After all, a six- or seven-year-old who could defeat notorious pirates alone was a rare talent that any organization would covet.
But if Reno turned out to be a problem, Sengoku wouldn't be recruiting him for the Marines—he'd be inviting him to Impel Down instead!
With that thought, Sengoku asked, "Kid, can you explain how you got from the New World to the first half of the Grand Line? And how did you capture Roger?"
Reno raised an eyebrow at Sengoku, surprised at how direct the "old schemer" was. But Reno had already planned for this question and calmly replied, "I was shipwrecked and saved by a kind old man. Later, the old man took me to an uninhabited island on the Grand Line and passed away there. I stayed on that island for about a year. Then one day, a sickly pirate happened to pass by, so I caught him to claim the bounty!"
When Sengoku heard this explanation, his face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Internally, he cursed: This little brat's story either has no evidence to back it up or is unverifiable because all the witnesses are dead! How is this even fair?
Feeling exasperated, Sengoku rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "Your luck sure is great getting rescued by a kind old man after a shipwreck and then having a sickly pirate conveniently show up when you're broke!"
Reno, acting as if he didn't pick up on Sengoku's sarcasm, smugly replied, "Of course! Back in my village, my luck was famous far and wide!"
Seeing Reno's sly demeanor, Sengoku realized he wouldn't get anything useful out of him. He cut the conversation short and said, "Since you're so lucky, stay here for a while and bring some good luck to the Marines. Consider it compensation for trespassing at Marine Headquarters and damaging the plaza!"
After saying that, Sengoku turned and left, walking up to a Marine soldier to quietly instruct, "Find him a place to stay. Kuzan is on his way back. Once he arrives, have him keep an eye on this kid and make sure he doesn't leave his quarters."
Unbeknownst to Sengoku, Reno had deliberately come to Marineford because he wanted to stay. This arrangement played right into Reno's hands.
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
The Marine soldier promptly approached Reno, ready to lead him to his lodging.
As Reno watched Sengoku walk away, he stood quietly in place. From the beginning, he hadn't worried about being allowed to stay because everything was under his control.
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