"The Mini Kara Army: A Pre-War Chaos"
Sengoku walked with firm steps toward the meeting room, closely followed by Tsuru. Upon entering, all the high-ranking officers of the Navy were already gathered, including the three admirals. Each sat in their designated seat at the central table, leaving two seats at the front empty for Sengoku and Tsuru.
As usual, Garp was casually sitting with his feet crossed on the table, eating rice crackers without the slightest regard for the formality of the moment.
Kara was in her seat, right between Tokikake and Momousagi, arms crossed and eyes fixed on the ground, breathing calmly as if she had no interest in the meeting whatsoever.
Sengoku looked at her with some surprise, thinking she would have already escaped from headquarters after the chaos she caused last week to avoid paperwork.
"It's good that Kara's here. That saves us from having to send someone to fetch her," he said with a raised eyebrow, glancing at Garp, who simply responded with a cheerful wave, as if he didn't catch the hint.
"Yeah... but I think she's been asleep since she got here," Tokikake added, pointing at her while sweating slightly.
Kara began to snore softly, confirming his point.
"Wake her up!" Sengoku ordered, a vein bulging on his forehead.
Tokikake's eyes widened in horror, as if he'd been asked to go to hell and steal a tooth from Cerberus. He looked to Momousagi for help.
Momousagi sighed with resignation, shook her head, and gently tapped Kara on the shoulder.
"Kara… Sengoku's here."
But Kara didn't react.
Momousagi paused for a second, then, with a playful smile, pulled a small packet from her jacket.
"Kara… I brought some new chocolates for you. The Swiss kind you love."
Kara's eyes shot open immediately, glowing with excitement, and she grabbed the bars as if they were treasures.
"Thanks!! You're the best, Momo," she said with her mouth full.
"Let's stop wasting time and get started already," interrupted Akainu, his voice harsh and his brow furrowed, clearly irritated as he glared at Kara with disdain.
"Alright. It's time to begin the war plans and everyone's positions. As you know, this was saved for the last moment precisely to prevent any leaks," announced Sengoku, taking back control with an authoritative voice. Everyone nodded seriously.
"If you're really concerned about security… then why is she still here?" Akainu shot, pointing coldly at Kara.
Kara paused for a second, still chewing chocolate, and looked at him emotionlessly.
"What do you mean, magma head?"
"Everyone knows you have close ties with certain Shichibukai and pirates who, according to you, are innocent. You're not someone the Navy can trust," Akainu spat with contempt.
Kara put the chocolate aside and stared at him, her tone subtly shifting.
"Oh, right… but I seem to recall that none of those pirates killed innocent civilians. Meanwhile, you, one of the Navy's most powerful admirals… how many have you killed this week? Three hundred? Four hundred?"
"It was all in the name of justice. If their deaths were necessary, they'll be remembered as martyrs," Akainu growled, raising his voice.
"Oh, really? Then tell me their names. Names, Sakazuki. Of the poor civilians who died because you can't fight a pirate without leveling half a city in the process?" Kara asked, a sharp edge of anger in her voice. The air around her trembled slightly.
Many vice admirals tensed. The tension between them was palpable. Some began preparing to intervene.
"That's enough!" Sengoku shouted, slamming his fist on the table.
But Kara didn't back down.
"No, Sengoku. This needs to be said. This red-suited idiot thinks his rank gives him the right to kill innocents. He doesn't deserve to wear the symbol of justice! If he switched sides, no one would be surprised. He's worse than many pirates. Or have you all forgotten how one of his subordinates was selling our own marines as slaves? And he didn't hesitate to attack me to kill without even investigating!"
The room fell silent. Even Garp had stopped chewing.
Marines on Akainu's side averted their gaze awkwardly. Some knew Kara was telling the truth.
A scorching heat began to radiate from Akainu's body. Magma seeped through his gloves, which started to burn.
Kara stared him down without fear. Her mana surged like an invisible wave, creating a pressure so intense that some vice admirals felt as if the very air was crushing them. Across Marineford, many marines dropped to their knees, unable to understand what they were feeling.
"I said that's enough!" Sengoku repeated, even more irritated.
"Tsk..." Kara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her power receded as if it had never been there. She sat down with an annoyed expression, while Akainu gritted his teeth and clenched his magma-scorched fists.
"So scary..." Kizaru said in his usual drawn-out tone, looking at them as if nothing significant had happened.
Aokiji, who had remained silent until now, crossed his arms and spoke calmly.
"She's right. Akainu… sometimes you cross the line. That puts us all at risk."
"Let's move on with the meeting," Sengoku intervened, as a secretary placed a large map behind him.
"The army will be positioned at the front alongside the giant vice admirals. The Shichibukai will cover the left flank, and the right will be held by the support troops, along with the central point..." he began to explain, pointing to each location.
"What if they use bubbles to appear right in the center?" Kara asked, completely serious.
Sengoku paused thoughtfully for a few seconds.
"In theory, that would be favorable for us. They'd be surrounded. But even so, we'll prepare a specific attack for that area. We won't leave loose ends."
"Then the only real issue is attack capacity," said Tsuru, drawing everyone's attention.
"It's unlikely that Whitebeard would unleash his full power just to save a single subordinate. It would be dangerous even for his own crew," she added logically, receiving nods in agreement.
"The same goes for us," Aokiji added. "If we go all out from the start… we'll end up harming our own allies."
"If it's to defeat a pirate like him, casualties will be necessary," Akainu stated firmly.
Kara rolled her eyes with annoyance, but Momousagi stepped forward before she could reply.
"We'll try to keep casualties to a minimum, Akainu," Sengoku said quickly, giving him a stern look.
Akainu pressed his lips together and said nothing.
The meeting continued for several more hours, detailing formations, reinforcement points, and specific tactics. Eventually, Kara was dismissed and allowed to step outside for a breath of fresh air before the war began.
...….
Chopper was receiving instructions on his position and the strategy he needed to follow. Although he had proven to be a good fighter during the tests, his true value in the war would lie in his skills as a doctor. And with the number of injuries anticipated... yeah, better not to let go of his coat.
Uta had also been assigned to the support section by Kara's decision, supposedly to "look after" Chopper. In reality, all the higher-ups were so fond of her that just the thought of seeing her in the middle of the battlefield gave them hives.
"Too young…" they said. "Too cute…" they said. "Too likely to break all the enemies if she sings a note," they didn't say, but they knew it.
Despite her enormous potential, they kept her as backup… for now.
Both of them left their respective meeting rooms just as Zoro appeared walking alongside Tashigi and Smoker, as they would share a defensive zone.
"It seems like there's only one day left," Zoro said seriously, touching the handle of his three swords.
Since he received Gin's black sword, he had trained with it alongside Hawk Eyes... the gorilla. Obviously, he had gotten used to it in record time. Although he still hadn't beaten the ape, he could now tie with him. Which was an impressive achievement... if we forget that we're talking about a gorilla wielding a sword and styles copied from the original, who trained alongside the marines' swordsmen all the time.
"I hope everything goes well…" said Tashigi, shivering slightly. It was natural. Not every day did they face a living legend.
"Hey! Tashigi! Smoker! Long time no see!" Chopper greeted, walking up with Uta, who nodded happily.
"Looks like you're getting used to being marines," Tashigi responded with a smile, greeting energetically.
"Well... following Kara doesn't resemble anything like when I trained on Professor Zephyr's ship," Uta said, laughing.
Because following Kara, in practice, was like participating in a reality show: a lot of running, annoying people, and zero respect for ranks.
"As long as you don't catch their stupidity…" Smoker grumbled, arms crossed.
"Hey! It's not like Sister Kara does crazy things all the time!" Uta tried to defend her… just before seeing Smoker's confused face staring behind her.
"Seriously?" the vice-admiral muttered, frowning.
Uta slowly turned around… and there they were.
A small army of Mini Karas was marching toward them, led by one with a whistle who had clearly taken command.
"Mini... Karas?" Chopper said, blinking in confusion. He had seen one during the battle at Enies Lobby, but now there was a whole legion!
"What are you doing?" Zoro asked, just as confused.
"I was testing a spell… and it worked differently than I wanted," replied the Mini Kara leader, smiling proudly. "Now I'm stuck like this," she added, as if speaking about the weather.
"Idiot! We have important things to do tomorrow!" Smoker complained, rubbing his face in exhaustion.
"Don't worry, Whitehead," the Mini Kara responded with a defiant smile. "Even like this, I can kick your butt."
The mini Kara army started mocking Smoker. Some even stuck their tongues out at him. One tugged at his cloak. Another stole a cigarette.
"SHUT UP, IDIOT! AND FIX YOUR PROBLEM!" Smoker yelled, red with fury, turning to walk away before committing a war crime.
Tashigi, the kind soul as always, decided to stay.
"What do you need to get back to normal?" she asked quickly.
"First… find the ones that escaped," said the Mini Kara leader. She turned sharply. "YOU GUYS! Get back in line!" she shouted.
Several mini Karas were crawling in the opposite direction. When they realized they were caught, they protested.
"Boo! Boring! We want to go play!"
And yes, they all had Kara's personality.
And yes, that meant even Kara had problems controlling herself.
Amidst the chaos, Momousagi appeared with a couple of mini Karas cuddled in her arms.
"Has anyone seen Kara? I found these little ones who say they're her..." Gion said sweetly, holding them while they purred against her chest like satisfied kittens.
And that's how an official search for runaway Mini Karas was organized across Marineford.
They found a group in the kitchen, causing a riot to demand desserts.
Another was fighting with Garp and Sengoku in the yard as if it was part of the training.
And a couple more were at Kara's house... being pampered by Hancock, who hugged them like magical dolls freshly fallen from the sky.
Finally, after recovering all of them, Kara returned to her normal form, stretching with joy.
"That was fun!"
Everyone looked at her with a mix of exhaustion and resignation.
"Please… don't do that nonsense again," Momousagi murmured, while one of the mini Karas was still hanging from her leg.