Sanji exhaled a smoke ring, his eyes passing over Zaraki and Zoro before locking onto Isuka amidst the shattered glass.
His cold expression melted into heart-shaped eyes.
"Ah! This beautiful Marine lady, are you hurt? That damned insect dared to dirty your clothes—it deserves to die ten thousand times over!"
Zaraki leaned against the shattered wall, watching these two late-arriving idiots as his fingers tapped the hilt of his sword.
At least now the weapons shop felt more like his crew and less like a random street gathering.
But the farce wasn't over.
Heavy, thunderous footsteps echoed from deep within the misty street.
The ground trembled, making the swords on the shelves hum and rattle in their scabbards.
"ROAR—!"
A roar even more savage than the mantis tore through the rain.
Zaraki looked down the street.
A massive, gorilla-like shadow crashed through the buildings along its path. On the rooftops ahead of the beast, a purple figure held a long rifle could be seen sprinting through the rain.
She leaped across the gaps, leading the giant ape right toward a trap.
Zaraki narrowed his eyes, peering through the broken shop door to spot the girl with the signature purple hair.
Carina and she's currently gripping her modified Kar98k tightly.
"Big guy, over here!" Carina's laugh cut through the rain.
She stopped on the slippery roof tiles, pivoted, and raised her gun, her movements carrying a fluid, theatrical rhythm.
Hum—!
A tight, compressed sound tore through the air. The modified shot drilled straight into the charging ape's right eye.
ROAR—!
The monster's agonized scream shattered the surrounding glass.
Blinded and in pain, its massive body lost balance, toppling like a collapsing mountain right toward the deepest pool of rainwater in the center of the street.
"Now, Nami!" Carina shouted.
"Got it! Stop rushing me!"
Nami rushed out from the other side of the street, gripping her metal staff.
Nami used the rain and the chaos to set her trap.
With a sharp swing, she smashed the support wedge out from under a heavy cargo cart parked beneath an awning.
The soaked wood slipped, and the iron-bound cart tipped sideways, sending a full load of heavy barrels and thick chains crashing down the flooded slope.
Half-blinded and off-balance, the giant ape had no room to dodge.
Boom! Crash!
The cargo slammed into its legs and shoulder, driving the beast sideways.
Its massive body toppled into a heap, crushing market stalls and sending muddy water exploding into the sky.
Nami didn't stop.
She darted in close, drove the iron tip of her staff deep into the same wounded eye, and sprang back.
The ape thrashed and roared in agony, but it had lost its footing, its vision, and its rhythm.
That was enough.
Sanji's eyes narrowed. "Oi, Nami-san! Move back!"
He blurred forward, launching off the broken cobblestones with a savage kick.
"Concassé!"
His heel smashed into the ape's jaw with a loud crack, snapping its massive head around.
Zoro stepped in from the other side without a word, blades already crossing.
"Santoryu..." A flash of steel cut through the rain. "...Crossroad."
The gorilla's thick neck burst open from a diagonal slash.
Green-black blood sprayed across the flooded street. Its huge body shuddered once, then collapsed into the mud with a dying crash.
From Carina's shot to Nami's trap, to Sanji and Zoro's finishing blows, the whole sequence took only seconds.
The street fell into a dead silence.
"This..." Isuka clutched her chest, struggling to stand up from the shattered glass as her eyes went wide.
The green-haired swordsman and the blond cook already possessed absurd combat strength, but their coordination made them a terrifying force.
But that wasn't what truly stunned her.
After dealing with the threat, these four fighters didn't disperse.
Instead, they naturally converged on the ruined weapons shop.
"Hey, Zaraki," Zoro said, sheathing his swords with a sharp click. "Are you done here or not? If this shop still has anything decent left, I'm buying first."
"You just stood there watching again, Zaraki?" Sanji clicked his tongue, scanning the broken store for any injured civilians.
"If another bug came through the back, were you planning to charge us rent for handling it?"
Zaraki sighed.
Though he looked bored, a flicker of amusement shone in his eyes.
This was his crew.
Noisy.
Troublesome.
But they were finally starting to look like a real crew!
Watching their casual interactions and the natural gravity pulling them all toward Zaraki, something clicked in Isuka's mind.
A clue she had long overlooked finally connected.
Sixteen years old.
Backed by Vice Admiral Garp.
And these companions gathered around him, each possessing extraordinary skills... When did the East Blue ever produce a monster of this caliber?
No, wait.
A few days ago, an internal Marine report mentioned a specific name—a boy brought back to the East Blue by Garp, strictly forbidden from early contact with the pirate world.
"Wait!"
Just as Zaraki stepped over the threshold, a hand gripped his forearm.
Ignoring the pain from the glass cutting her palm, Isuka looked up, her gaze locked right on Zaraki's face.
Her voice trembled with excitement and disbelief.
"You... you're not just some wandering swordsman, are you?"
Zaraki stopped and turned his head, looking down at the justice-obsessed lieutenant.
He didn't pull away, instead he just asked, "Who I am—does it really matter?"
"Of course it matters!" Isuka gritted her teeth, pointing at the monster corpses, then at Zoro and the others.
"An ordinary person couldn't gather a crew like this, or face things like that without flinching! You're that—"
Before she could finish, a series of rapid, orderly footsteps echoed from the end of the street through the rain.
"Hurry! It's right ahead!"
"There was a huge roar and gunfire!"
"Protect the civilians!"
The distinct sound of heavy military boots stomping the ground signaled a large Marine force on the march.
Judging by the commotion, at least a full company of troops was closing in fast.
----
Shiki's arc happening early.