As it turns out, no matter how hard one tries, mere courage and passion alone are not enough to defeat an enemy.
The three vice admirals lying heavily injured on the ground were the best proof of this.
To be fair, their swordsmanship was not as bad as Kaguya had claimed. After all, they were vice admirals of the Navy—without sufficient strength, they would not have reached such a position.
Unfortunately for them, their opponent was Kaguya. Against her keen perception, their techniques were rendered useless. Before her, there were no secrets—she could see through everything. Not even Observation Haki could achieve such a level of insight.
Even without counting her overwhelming strength, Kaguya's swordsmanship alone was enough to defeat them effortlessly. This was a fundamental difference in skill.
Vice Admiral Strawberry struggled to reach for the longsword lying not far from him. Yet, what should have been a simple movement felt like an insurmountable task to his battered body. Just as his fingers brushed against the hilt, a foot stepped on his back, pressing him down.
"So this is what a Navy vice admiral amounts to?" Kaguya sighed, looking down at the defeated man under her foot. "How pathetic."
"Damn it…"
Strawberry's face was filled with resentment. He had never felt so humiliated before—defeated by a mere young girl.
"Stop!"
A hoarse voice suddenly rang out, followed by the appearance of a massive ice bird soaring through the sky. As it flew, everything in its path was frozen solid, heading straight toward Kaguya.
It was Aokiji's ability—Ice Age Pheasant Beak.
Kaguya turned to look at the battered Aokiji and chuckled softly. "Still haven't learned your lesson? With just this, you won't be able to defeat me."
As she spoke, she raised a finger and snapped it.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation."
The moment her words fell, flames burst into existence out of thin air, growing larger with the wind. In the blink of an eye, a scorching wall of fire formed, swallowing the incoming ice bird whole.
Before the ice bird could even explode, it was vaporized in the intense heat within seconds.
Kaguya smiled faintly and said, "I told you, you're still too inexperienced."
Aokiji stared at the blazing flames, his face filled with disbelief. His heart sank to rock bottom.
Who exactly is she?
How could someone so young possess such terrifying power?
Not only had she easily defeated five vice admirals, but she also remained completely unscathed.
Even more unbelievable to Aokiji was the fact that Kaguya didn't seem to be a Devil Fruit user. He had never heard of any Devil Fruit that could grant control over wind, fire, water, and even those eerie black spheres she wielded.
Who is she really?
But no matter the answer, no matter how powerful the enemy, no matter how wounded he was, or even if he were to die here—Aokiji would not take a single step back. This was the justice he believed in.
His usual laziness was nothing more than a facade. The justice he held in his heart had never wavered.
Just as Aokiji resolved himself for a final, desperate fight, Kaguya suddenly walked toward him and stretched out her hand.
"Hey, do you have any money?"
Aokiji, on high alert, was momentarily stunned, unable to comprehend what Kaguya meant.
Kaguya frowned and asked, "A dignified vice admiral… Don't tell me you don't even have 500 Berries?"
"Ah… 500 Berries?" Aokiji snapped back to reality. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. But before he could even feel its warmth, Kaguya had already snatched it from his hand.
So fast!
Aokiji's pupils shrank. If she had wanted to kill him just now, he would already be dead.
Kaguya flicked her thumb, making the 500 Berries coin spin in her hand. Turning away, she said, "Alright, since you're so sensible, I'll let you all go this time."
Let them go?
Aokiji froze at her words.
Was this some kind of joke?
After such an intense battle, could she really be letting them go over such an absurd reason?
And was the life of five Navy vice admirals only worth 500 Berries?
Yet, looking at her expression, she didn't seem to be joking.
Moreover, with all the Navy's forces already gravely injured, killing them would be as easy as flipping her hand. There was no reason for her to joke about something so cruel.
As Kaguya's figure gradually disappeared into the distance, Aokiji hesitated before calling out loudly, "Wait, are you really letting us go?"
"Of course," Kaguya turned her head, grinning mischievously as she bared her teeth. "Or… do you all actually want to die? If that's the case, I'd be happy to oblige."
As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeves.
"N-no, that's not what I meant!" Aokiji quickly waved his hands, then hesitated before asking, "Can I ask… why?"
"You're asking why I attacked the Navy, right?" Kaguya said with amusement.
"Attacking the Navy outright means declaring war against the World Government," Aokiji said in a deep voice, his gaze locked onto her. "I assume you're fully aware of that."
Kaguya nodded, her playful expression fading into one of seriousness. "Actually, I have a very profound reason."
A profound reason?
Aokiji was taken aback. Could there be some hidden force backing her?
"Because…" Kaguya said earnestly, "I was hungry."
Hungry?
Aokiji's eyes widened in disbelief. Did he hear that right?
What kind of ridiculous reason was that?
Seeing his stunned expression, Kaguya seemed to guess what he was thinking and explained, "You see, I just arrived here, alone, without a single coin to my name. I couldn't even afford a 500 Berries piece of bread. A little girl was kind enough to share hers with me."
She spread her hands and continued, "So, tell me, after receiving such kindness, how could I not repay the favor?"
Aokiji struggled to process it. "That's… the reason?"
"Believe it or not, that's up to you," Kaguya shrugged nonchalantly. "If you don't believe me, I can't do anything about it."
Couldn't she have come up with a more reasonable excuse? This was just too absurd!
Aokiji was speechless.
Declaring war against the World Government… over a 500 Berries piece of bread?
Only an absolute fool would do something like that.
Besides, even if it were a high-end loaf topped with cream and cheese, it still wouldn't cost 500 Berries.
Do you take me for a fool?
...
For the first and only time in naval history, the Buster Call ended in failure due to the intervention of an unknown individual. Out of the ten Navy battleships, seven were sunk, one was heavily damaged, and only two managed to escape by navigating north of Ohara Island.
Among the five vice admirals dispatched, four were gravely wounded, with only Aokiji suffering relatively minor injuries. Akainu, on the other hand, was the most seriously injured, remaining unconscious even after being taken to a naval base for treatment. Of the ten rear admirals, three perished, two were critically injured and near death, while the remaining five sustained varying degrees of wounds.
As for the ordinary naval soldiers, the casualties were even more devastating. Out of ten thousand soldiers, seven thousand perished in battle, another thousand were critically wounded and required urgent medical attention, and the remaining two thousand suffered varying levels of injuries. The total combat losses amounted to nearly the entire deployed force.
When Fleet Admiral Sengoku received the report, he slammed his desk in fury, berating his subordinates for presenting him with such an absurdly fabricated report.
And who could blame him? Five vice admirals, ten rear admirals, ten battleships, and ten thousand naval soldiers— even if they failed their mission, it was unthinkable for them to suffer such catastrophic losses, nearly wiping out the entire force.
Even if Whitebeard himself had shown up, the defeat wouldn't have been this disastrous.
However, as his subordinates repeatedly confirmed the authenticity of the report, and even Aokiji called in to corroborate the details, Sengoku had no choice but to accept the shocking truth.
He sat in his chair, stunned for a long time, even neglecting his favorite rice crackers.
This was the most devastating defeat in the Navy's history. Even during battles against the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, the losses had never been this severe. And to make matters worse, the entire Buster Call fleet had been obliterated by a single individual.
Yes, just one person had annihilated an entire elite naval fleet.
Such a notion was beyond belief.
By all rights, this naval fleet was one of the strongest in the headquarters. Rising stars like Kuzan (Aokiji) and Sakazuki (Akainu) were being groomed as future admirals. Though they had not yet officially attained the rank, their strength was already comparable to admirals.
And yet, they had been utterly powerless against this opponent's assault.
According to reports, the enemy had not suffered a single injury during the battle.
This level of strength was beyond Sengoku's comprehension. Even Golden Lion Shiki, who once wreaked havoc at Marineford, was not this powerful.
This was a serious problem.
As a navy admiral at the time, Sengoku massaged his temples in frustration.
The Buster Call's objectives had been twofold: to eradicate Ohara's defiant historians and to showcase the Navy's overwhelming strength, deterring pirates emboldened by Roger's dying words from seeking the "One Piece."
The failure of the operation had instead delivered a humiliating slap to the Navy's face.
To make matters worse, the World Government—more specifically, the Five Elders—were deeply dissatisfied with the Navy's failure. They considered it an act of incompetence and ordered that every possible measure be taken to track down the individual responsible.
This was not just about the secret of the Void Century—it was about the dignity of the World Government itself.
At that moment, the office door suddenly swung open. A tall, burly middle-aged man swaggered in, his booming voice filling the room as he called out, "Hey, Sengoku! Got any more rice crackers?"
"Garp!" Sengoku roared in frustration. "How many times have I told you to knock before entering?!"
But, as always, Garp ignored him completely.
Digging a finger into his ear, Garp chuckled nonchalantly. "Come on, we're old friends. No need for formalities."
Upon spotting the rice crackers on the table, his eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he grabbed a handful and started munching noisily.
Sengoku sighed helplessly. He was already stressed about the Buster Call's failure, and Garp's presence only added to his headache.
Noticing Sengoku's troubled expression, Garp continued munching away and mumbled through a mouthful of crackers, "Still worried about that incident, huh?"
The Navy's defeat had become the talk of the town, and as a vice admiral, Garp naturally knew the key details.
Sengoku nodded solemnly. "To be able to defeat five vice admirals with ease and destroy eight warships… this individual's strength is unfathomable. But what's even more baffling is—"
"Baffling what?" Garp asked as he continued munching. In no time, half the bag of rice crackers had disappeared.
"What's baffling is," Sengoku said gravely, "that despite possessing such immense power, we can't find any information on her. There's no record of her in the Navy's intelligence archives, and even the World Government's intelligence agency, Cipher Pol, knows nothing about her. It's as if she appeared out of thin air."
Garp chuckled through his chewing. "Maybe she's just a rising star."
"Even if she's new, her abilities are beyond comprehension," Sengoku tapped a finger against the documents on his desk. "She can manipulate wind, water, and fire with incredible skill. She can create devastating black spheres of destruction. She also wields masterful swordsmanship that allowed her to easily defeat three vice admirals. And on top of that, she's so young."
A person with such extraordinary power would be impossible to overlook. Yet, there were no leads on her origins. Even the World Government's top intelligence agencies had nothing on her.
It was truly perplexing.
"Maybe she's an alien," Garp joked, biting into another cracker.
"An alien? You actually thought of that?"
By the time Sengoku snapped back to reality, he realized that his beloved rice crackers had mysteriously disappeared. He turned to see Garp licking his fingers, the empty bag already discarded in the trash.
A vein throbbed on Sengoku's forehead.
"What's wrong, Sengoku?" Garp leaned in curiously. "You look terrible. Are you sick?"
A furious roar echoed through the office.
"GARP!"
Unbeknownst to them, Garp's offhanded remark wasn't too far from the truth.
In a way, Kaguya really was an alien.
...
Meanwhile, in Ohara, the residents who had survived the terrifying disaster had been evacuating since morning. By the afternoon, most had already left, leaving behind only a few archaeologists, busy moving books and historical records.
They knew the Navy wouldn't take this defeat lightly. A second fleet could arrive at any moment, so they had to act fast.
As for the town's inhabitants, they had completely lost faith in the Navy—or rather, the World Government. The very force meant to protect them had instead ordered their massacre. It was an unforgivable betrayal.
At that moment, the so-called "alien"—Kaguya—was also preparing to leave. It wasn't that she feared the Navy, but she had other things to do.
"Wait, wait!"
Just as Kaguya was about to depart, a familiar voice called out from behind.
Turning around, she saw none other than young Nico Robin, still panting from running to catch up.
Kaguya looked at her in surprise. "What's the matter?"
"Are you… leaving?" Robin asked, her large, expressive eyes blinking up at Kaguya.
"Yep." Kaguya ruffled Robin's hair and joked, "I still have to go find One Piece, you know."
Of course, she was just teasing. Whether One Piece even existed was another question altogether.
"One Piece…?" Robin was momentarily stunned, then quickly blurted out, "Can I come with you?"
"Come with me?" Kaguya raised an eyebrow.
Robin nodded firmly. "I want to find the truth about the Void Century."
Kaguya crouched down, gently patting Robin's head. "Don't you want to spend more time with your mother? You two haven't seen each other in years."
Robin hesitated for a moment before replying, "It's okay. My mother would understand."
"Even so," Kaguya shook her head, "the Grand Line is incredibly dangerous. You're still too young. Wait until you're older to think about this."
Robin's face fell in disappointment, but she quickly steeled herself and said earnestly, "I'll do my best."
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly added, "Oh! I have one more thing to say."
"What is it?" Kaguya asked.
Robin bowed deeply and shouted, "Thank you!"
Kaguya was momentarily taken aback. Then, she chuckled. "No need to thank me. It was just a small favor."
"No, it wasn't." Robin shook her head vehemently, her eyes slightly red. "If it weren't for you…"
"No need for gratitude," Kaguya interrupted, smiling. "Didn't you give me bread? We're even."
Robin looked at her silver-haired savior with deep gratitude. Even though she was still young, she understood—this was just an excuse. Kaguya had saved her life for reasons far beyond a piece of bread.
"Well, it's getting late." Kaguya stood up, stretching. "If there's nothing else, I should get going. I still have things to do. Maybe we'll meet again someday."
She patted Robin's head one last time, flashed a smile, and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Robin called after her. "I still don't know your name!"
Kaguya paused mid-step. Then, looking over her shoulder with a playful grin, she said, "Don't ask for my name. Just call me Liuli."
With that, she disappeared into the distance.
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