A figure in a black trench coat emerged from the passage and walked into the afternoon light.
Zaraki wore no Marine coat over his shoulders and no ceremonial uniform beneath it.
Both hands remained in his pockets, Nozarashi rested at his waist, and his stride carried the unhurried ease of someone arriving at a quiet beach rather than an assessment arranged by the Five Elders.
Sunlight caught the gold in his eyes as he looked across the dock.
Quite a welcome.
Gion stood nearest the center of the Marine line, worry hidden beneath professional composure badly enough that Zaraki noticed it immediately.
Yamakaji held an unlit cigar between his lips and looked prepared to arrest either CP0 or Zaraki depending on who spoke first.
The three masked agents were less subtle.
Monkey stood half a step ahead of Bear and Dog, his posture shaped around the expectation that the afternoon would end with someone humiliated.
Zaraki descended the gangway.
The moment his boots touched the dock, Gion stepped forward.
"You're alive."
The words escaped more personally than she intended.
Zaraki looked at her.
"So everyone keeps telling me."
Her eyes narrowed.
"That is all you have to say after disappearing for nearly three weeks?"
"I sent Zephyr back with a message."
"You sent one sentence."
"It was an accurate sentence."
Yamakaji removed the cigar from his mouth.
"She was worried, brat. So was half of Headquarters."
Zaraki glanced from him to Gion, then toward the Marines aboard the Oni Slayer who were making an admirable effort not to listen.
"I noticed. My crew spent the first hour after the rendezvous yelling loudly enough to scare away every fish in the area."
Gion's expression softened by a fraction.
"You deserved it."
"Probably."
Monkey clapped twice, each sharp sound cutting through the exchange.
"How touching. Unfortunately, CP0 did not secure Grove One so Marine officers could hold a reunion."
Zaraki turned his head slowly.
Monkey continued.
"You arrived after the appointed time, the two candidates remain outside the dock, and Trafalgar Law—whose interest in the Warlord position was mentioned in preliminary reports—is nowhere to be seen. Before this assessment proceeds, you will explain whether Marine Headquarters has lost control of every person associated with you."
Zaraki studied the monkey mask for a moment.
"The doctor saw your little stage, decided surfacing inside it would be stupid, and stayed under the water. He is still considering the seat, but he is not part of today's evaluation and has no intention of letting you surround his crew for your convenience."
Monkey's voice sharpened.
"You admit Trafalgar Law is hiding inside the restricted perimeter?"
"No. I said he stayed under the water. If your people cannot find him, that sounds like a problem with your perimeter."
A few Marines lowered their faces to conceal their reactions.
Dog stepped forward.
"The order concerns Dorry and Brogy. Saint Nusjuro informed us of their identities. Where are they?"
"Coming."
"You were instructed to present them with your arrival."
"They are sailing a repaired ship built for giants. It does not accelerate like the Oni Slayer, and unlike some people here, they had useful work to finish before appearing."
Bear's hands tightened.
Monkey raised one arm before the larger agent could respond.
"There is another matter. Hawkeye Mihawk publicly challenged you. The World Government requires a formal answer before this assessment begins."
Zaraki's grin returned.
"That part is easy."
He looked directly toward the nearest visual Den Den Mushi rather than at CP0.
"Mihawk told me to return when I understood why half a step was enough. Tell him I understand now, and I haven't forgotten the rematch. Once I finish dealing with the candidates and the Government stops putting bodies in my path, I'll meet him wherever he wants."
Silence followed.
Gion stared at him.
"You already fought Hawkeye?"
"On Kuraigana."
Yamakaji's unlit cigar nearly slipped from his mouth.
"And you neglected to include that in any report."
"I was missing, remember?"
"That is not an excuse."
"It explains why no report arrived."
Monkey's posture stiffened.
The official recording had just captured Zaraki accepting Mihawk's challenge while revealing that the duel was not an act of sudden Warlord hostility, but a rematch arranged before the Government's current operation.
That weakened the narrative Saint Nusjuro wanted to build around it.
"You are remarkably casual about fighting the world's greatest swordsman," Monkey said.
"He was remarkably serious about showing me how badly I was swinging."
"And you believe one lesson makes you his equal?"
Zaraki's smile sharpened.
"No. That's why the next fight might be worth having."
The answer carried none of the boast Monkey had hoped to provoke.
Unable to turn the challenge into an easy humiliation, the CP0 agent shifted to the candidates.
"You personally recommended two pirates who vanished from the world almost a century ago. Their old bounties and historical reputation are not enough. They will demonstrate current combat ability, accept the obligations of the Seven Warlords, and submit to Government direction when summoned."
"They agreed to be evaluated," Zaraki said. "They did not agree to become obedient."
"That distinction may disqualify them."
"Then disqualify Mihawk first."
Monkey's head jerked slightly.
Zaraki continued before he could answer.
"You tolerate him ignoring summons because he is useful enough that forcing him would cost more than leaving him alone. Do not pretend obedience was ever the real standard. You want strength you can point at your enemies and enough cooperation to keep it from turning on you without warning."
Gion watched the exchange carefully.
Zaraki's language remained blunt, but he was not simply trading short insults.
He had understood the political calculation behind the Warlords well enough to strike at the weakness in CP0's position.
Monkey understood it too.
"Strength without loyalty is merely another threat."
"Then you should have chosen someone other than pirates."
Bear stepped forward at last, black Armament Haki spreading over his knuckles.
Dog shifted into a Rokushiki stance, one heel raised and his weight balanced for Soru. Monkey's hands left his pockets.
Their hostility tightened the air, but it did not crack the dock or create a supernatural storm. The danger came from three trained Government assassins preparing to move, not from an unexplained aura.
Gion drew Konpira several inches.
Yamakaji placed one hand near his own sword.
Zaraki did not touch Nozarashi.
"You three tried this in Impel Down," he said. "It was boring then too. Are you here to assess the candidates, or do you need me to remind you why the prisoners laughed when you left?"
Monkey's breathing changed beneath the mask.
"Do not mistake our orders for mercy."
"And do not mistake my patience for fear."
The standoff held for several seconds.
Then a horn sounded from the outer observation tower.
Every head turned toward the southwestern channel.
A Marine lookout leaned over the railing and shouted across the secured dock.
"Giant vessel approaching the outer berth! Surface contact confirmed!"
Monkey lowered his hands, though the Armament Haki remained around Bear's fists.
The mangrove roots concealed the ship at first.
Then an enormous mast rose beyond them, followed by a hide sail patched from the Island Eater's cleaned skin.
The repaired longship entered the channel on the surface, moving slowly beneath the pull of oars large enough to serve as bridges for ordinary humans.
It was immense by human standards, but not an island and not a vessel hundreds of meters high.
The hull had been built for a giant crew: ancient dark timber formed its oldest sections, fresh ironwood replaced what time had destroyed, and pale plates cut from the Island Eater's bones reinforced the ribs and bow.
A weathered warrior's face had been carved into the prow during the voyage, its horned helm matching the old emblem of the Giant Warrior Pirates.
The ship stopped at the outer anchorage rather than forcing its way into Dock Three.
Its anchor struck the sea with a boom that sent broad ripples through the harbor without capsizing a single vessel.
Two enormous figures stood on the forward deck.
Dorry wore blue armor and a horned helmet above his thick beard. Brogy stood beside him in red, one horn of his helmet still broken.
Each carried a completed weapon built during the journey: Dorry's new sword used a core of Island Eater bone reinforced with ironwood and salvaged metal, while Brogy's axe had been constructed from the same materials.
Gion's breath caught.
"Dorry the Blue Ogre and Brogy the Red Ogre."
Yamakaji stared at the two captains from the history books.
"The Giant Warrior Pirates really survived."
The CP0 agents did not react to the names.
Saint Nusjuro had already provided them.
What made Monkey's posture change was the sight of both giants standing with restored arms, new weapons, and none of the weakness expected from two men isolated for a century.
A giant Den Den Mushi near the longship's bow amplified Dorry's voice across the secured area.
"We came because Zaraki defeated us fairly, restored what his blade took, and offered us a road toward stronger opponents. We will undergo your evaluation."
Brogy rested the enormous axe against his shoulder.
"But we learned something during the voyage that must be settled first."
Monkey looked up at them.
"You are in no position to dictate terms to the World Government."
Dorry's expression did not change.
"Our crewmates Oimo and Kashii searched for us after we vanished. Your Government captured them, told them we were imprisoned, and used that lie to keep them guarding Enies Lobby for fifty years."
A murmur moved through the Marines stationed around the dock.
Gion looked toward Yamakaji, but the Vice Admiral's expression showed that the accusation was new to him as well.
Brogy's voice rolled across the mangrove roots.
"We will not accept a place among the Seven Warlords while two warriors of our crew remain bound by a deception. Release them, tell them the truth, and allow them to return to us."
Dog answered first.
"The guards at Enies Lobby serve the World Government under an existing agreement."
"An agreement built on a lie is no agreement," Dorry said.
Monkey tilted his mask toward Zaraki.
"You filled their heads with this demand."
Zaraki finally removed one hand from his pocket.
"I told them what the old records said. They chose the condition themselves."
"You brought candidates to an official assessment after encouraging them to challenge Government authority."
"I brought you two warriors strong enough to matter and honest enough to state what they want before taking the title. That is more than Weevil gave you."
The reference drew visible tension through CP0.
Monkey raised his voice.
"The preliminary test concerns combat power and suitability. Political demands will be reviewed separately."
Dorry lifted his new sword and planted its point against the longship's deck.
"Then record the demand separately. We will not withdraw it."
Brogy grinned, showing a row of enormous teeth.
"And if you still require proof of strength after that, tell us what you want broken. We did not cross Paradise to hide behind old stories."
The words were not an invitation to begin a meaningless brawl. They were a clear willingness to demonstrate exactly what the assessment demanded.
Zaraki looked toward the recording Den Den Mushi.
"These are the candidates I recommended. They came voluntarily, they understand the title is not a reward, and they have given you their condition. Test their strength if that is what you came to do—but if anyone tries using Oimo and Kashii as leverage, the assessment ends."
Monkey's mask turned back toward him.
"You do not control this process."
"No," Zaraki said, his tone calm enough to make the answer more threatening than a shout. "I control whether the people I brought continue cooperating with it."
No one on the dock spoke.
The Marines waited for CP0's response. Gion and Yamakaji watched the three agents carefully, while the official Den Den Mushi recorded every word for Marineford and the Five Elders.
Far beyond the secured perimeter, the Polar Tang remained submerged beneath the mangrove shelf.
Law listened through a relay snail without revealing his position, ready to move if CP0 turned the assessment into the ambush he expected.
And somewhere behind them on the route from Paradise, Kaido's fleet continued closing on Sabaody.
For the moment, however, all the pressure at Grove One rested on the three white-suited agents and the answer they would have to give two legendary giant captains.