The restaurant staff were frozen in place.
Could this woman really be the Inspector from the World Government?
It seemed impossible.
But seeing how the previously arrogant marines were now trembling with fear, it might actually be true.
As for the chef who had just been mocking Kaguya and Perona earlier, he was now staring wide-eyed, thinking to himself how lucky he was not to have spoken his thoughts aloud—or he would have thoroughly embarrassed himself.
"You lot violated regulations, disgraced the navy, and severely damaged its image," Kaguya said coldly from her elevated stance. "Write a 10,000-word reflection and submit it to Zephyr. Understood?"
The marines' faces instantly collapsed in despair.
Everyone at Marine Headquarters knew how strict Zephyr was.
If he found out, they'd be in deep trouble—who knew what kind of punishment awaited them.
Anyone else might've tried to lie or wriggle out of it, but this was the Inspector. If she knew, it wouldn't just be punishment—they might never see the light of day again.
Seeing the once-boastful marines now with tearful expressions, the restaurant staff couldn't help but marvel.
So this was a true high-ranking officer of Marine Headquarters... maybe the navy wasn't all bad after all.
Just as Kaguya was about to leave, a voice called out behind her.
"Excuse me, beautiful lady, are you leaving already?"
She turned to see a young, curly-browed, blonde boy—it was Sanji.
Kaguya smiled gently. "You're the lady. Your whole family are ladies."
"Huh?" Sanji froze.
"What do you want?" Kaguya snorted.
"You've surely been to many places, right?" Sanji asked excitedly. "Do you know about All Blue?"
Who would believe a place like that exists?
But seeing the look of yearning on Sanji's face, Kaguya couldn't bring herself to shatter his dream completely. She smiled and said, "All Blue doesn't exist."
"Ah..." The smile on Sanji's face froze.
Kaguya said teasingly, "It's just something made up to trick children. You don't really believe it, do you?"
Sanji clenched his lips and shouted, "No! All Blue definitely exists!"
"And how can you prove that it does?" Kaguya asked with amusement.
"Even though I haven't been there, I know it's real!" Sanji declared, clenching his fists. "All Blue definitely exists!"
"So naive," Kaguya said. "Just a few sketches, a few vague rumors—and that proves All Blue is real? It's just a fairy tale."
"No! It's real! All Blue must be real!" Sanji said through gritted teeth. "Even a beautiful lady has no right to insult my dream."
"You can't even prove it, yet you insist it's real. How childish," Kaguya said with a mocking sneer. "But I suppose it's normal. Everyone has unrealistic fantasies when they're young. It's normal for someone your age."
Sanji's face flushed red as he shouted, "You're wrong! Everyone says All Blue exists!"
"That's just your wishful thinking. Like a child throwing a tantrum—you have no real proof," Kaguya said sharply. "It's all just your imagination."
Sanji froze at her words. His eyes went blank, and he collapsed to his knees.
His thoughts swirled in confusion.
How could it be?
Could it be that... All Blue really doesn't exist?
Was it just an unattainable fantasy all along?
Damn it.
The place he dreamed of so badly... was it really just an illusion?
Damn it, it was so hard to accept.
Sanji's eyes turned red, his teeth clenched, and tears the size of beans rolled down his cheeks.
Maybe she had gone a bit too far, crushing the dream of a boy so full of hope.
Kaguya thought to herself.
Judging from the condemning looks around her, it was obvious.
After all, even if most people in the restaurant said they didn't believe, deep down they still carried a dream of All Blue.
By saying such harsh words, Kaguya hadn't only crushed Sanji's dream—she had hit theirs too.
But constrained by Kaguya's status, and the fact that no one had ever seen All Blue, they could only remain silent, though their hearts simmered with resentment.
How could she destroy a boy's dream like that?
It was too cruel.
Then, Kaguya walked over and softly said, "Don't you want to find out for yourself?"
Sanji froze, his body going still.
"If you don't check with your own eyes, how can you be sure All Blue doesn't exist?" Kaguya said gently. "Only by confirming it yourself, even if it turns out not to be real, you won't have regrets. Right?"
Sanji's eyes widened, glowing brighter and brighter.
Suddenly, he stood up, wiped away his tears, and shouted, "I'll prove it! I will prove that All Blue exists!"
Kaguya smiled faintly, turned, and walked out of the restaurant. "Then I'll be waiting for you on the Grand Line. Don't disappoint me. I hate little brats who talk big and do nothing."
"I'm not just talking!" Sanji yelled, face flushed, clenching his fists. "I really will do it! I swear!"
"I hope so," Kaguya said nonchalantly with a wave, then left.
Sanji might still be a little brat right now, but the Grand Line was his true destination. To stay here as a small-town chef would be a waste of his potential.
Of course... whether there was a hint of playful mischief mixed in, no one could say.
...
A few days later, on the vast open sea—
"Hey hey, did you misread the map again?"
"Impossible! I'm not stupid."
"Then why are we getting farther and farther from the destination Nono marked?"
"You must be imagining it."
"No way, you idiot!"
As it turned out, while Kaguya never got lost on land, her sense of direction at sea wasn't as reliable. After all, the endless ocean offered no reference points, so it wasn't easy to stay on course.
Also, this map wasn't quite what she had expected, so veering off track was understandable.
Or so Kaguya claimed.
Still, her luck seemed decent this time. They hadn't drifted too far. Off on the horizon, an island faintly appeared.
When they finally reached the shore, they discovered it was a small town. At the harbor, a large ship was already docked. Judging by the pirate flag on the mast, it was clearly a pirate vessel.
When Kaguya saw the symbol on that flag, she froze.
That pirate flag was...
This was a small town located near the coastline. It didn't appear very large, surrounded on three sides by forested mountains. Lush and peaceful, it held a quaint charm unique to small towns.
The streets were paved with blue bricks, flanked by rows of closely packed buildings. Shops of all kinds were scattered throughout. But what struck Kaguya as strange was the emptiness—there were only a few people on the streets, and those who were there seemed panicked, hurrying away.
Had something happened?
Recalling the pirate ship docked at the harbor, Kaguya had a rough idea of what was going on.
At a remote house in the forest on the mountain.
"Wait! Who said that ten thousand was for me? That money is for my two daughters. I don't even have enough for myself," said a woman, bruised all over but still smiling.
"Hm?" The fish-man about to leave stopped and turned back, his eyes narrowing. "What did you say?"
"Bell-mère, you..." a middle-aged man nearby called out anxiously.
"Mr. Genzo, I'm sorry. I just can't bring myself to say I have no family," the woman said, biting her lip. "Even if it means... I lose my life."
"Too foolish..." Genzo cried out in anguish.
"Even though we're not related by blood, we're still a family. Even if it's just words, I want to be their mother," Bell-mère said with tears in her eyes, smiling. "They are my children, right?"
"Bell-mère!"
The two young girls threw themselves into her arms, wailing loudly.
"I wanted to buy you more clothes and books... I'm sorry," Bell-mère said as she held them tightly, tears streaming down her face. "I've never done anything a mother should do for you."
"That's not true!"
"We don't want anything else. Please don't die!"
"Stay with us forever."
"You haven't even seen the map I finished drawing!"
"Your map... right," Bell-mère said, gently stroking one of the girls' faces with a sorrowful smile. "You have to follow your dream. You must live."
"They're your daughters?" the saw-nosed fish-man stepped forward with a sneer.
The two girls turned sharply, glaring at him with hatred, but the fish-man ignored their stares.
"Yes," Bell-mère said through gritted teeth. "You have to promise not to hurt them, Arlong."
"Of course," said Arlong with a twisted grin. "As long as you obediently die."
"The navy..." the orange-haired girl bit her lip and shouted, "Why isn't the navy saving us?!"
"The navy?" Arlong burst into laughter as if hearing the funniest thing. "You dreamers think those guys would help you? You know why I'm here, right?"
Everyone's hearts sank, and their teeth clenched. They understood now.
"Under my rule, those without money must die. Got it, you lowly humans?" Arlong laughed maniacally, raising his gun toward Bell-mère. "Time to die, Bell-mère."
"Bell-mère!" The two girls opened their eyes wide in terror, trying to rush to her, but it was too late.
Just as Arlong was about to pull the trigger, a pleasant voice suddenly rang out from behind them.
"What are you doing? It's so lively here. Are you having a party or something?"
Everyone turned in surprise. In the distance, two figures were walking toward them.
Oh no.
Genzo's heart sank. He hadn't expected someone else to show up at a time like this.
If Arlong noticed them, they'd definitely get dragged into this too.
"Looks like we've got more customers. Luck's really on our side," said a fish-man with fins on his arms, grinning. "Right, Arlong? ...Arlong?"
When he turned to look, he froze.
Arlong looked like he'd just seen a ghost. Cold sweat poured down his face as his eyes widened in terror. His mouth hung open, unable to form words.
The octopus fish-man beside him was just as stunned, trembling uncontrollably.
"Hey! What's wrong with you two?! Hey!"
He had never seen the normally overbearing Arlong wear such an expression.
Kaguya curved her lips into a smile. "Looks like you recognize me. Didn't expect you two to grow up so much. Getting bolder, huh?"
"Y-You... why are you here?!" Arlong shouted, trying to sound fierce but clearly shaken.
"Why can't I be here?" Kaguya said curiously. "Didn't you just call for the navy? So I came."
"Who is she, exactly?" the finned fish-man asked in confusion.
The octopus fish-man, sweating profusely, stammered, "S-She's a Celestial Dragon... the World Government's Inspector, Kaguya."
"What?!"
All the fish-men recoiled in shock, stepping back instinctively as if the silver-haired girl before them were some monstrous Sea King.
How could she be here?
Coming from the Fish-Man District, how could they not know her name?
Back then, when Kaguya visited Fish-Man Island as a Celestial Dragon, they were still young and only caught a distant glimpse of her during the welcome ceremony before being chased off by the guards.
As children, they didn't understand what it meant. They just thought it looked cool to be welcomed by so many people.
But after growing up, they realized the terrifying truth.
It meant enormous power and unrivaled strength.
Especially after the earth-shattering battle between Kaguya and Whitebeard, when she casually destroyed half an island—it left an unforgettable mark. Even now, they remembered the horror of that day.
And so, all these years later, seeing her again made their legs go weak.
The townspeople looked confused. They had no idea why the once-arrogant fish-men were suddenly scared out of their wits by this silver-haired girl.
"Y-You're the Inspector?" Bell-mère asked in shock.
Kaguya paused and turned around. "You know me?"
Supported by the two little girls, Bell-mère struggled to stand and saluted with difficulty. "Reporting, ma'am. I'm Sergeant Bell-mère of the G10 Branch, 6th Unit, 3rd Squad."
So it's her.
Kaguya smiled.
If this was Bell-mère, then these fish-men were Arlong's crew. The two little girls must be Nami and Nojiko. They were quite the pretty girls already—no wonder they grew up into beautiful women.
"I understand," Kaguya said with a nod. When she turned back, her delicate face had gone cold. "You dared lay a hand on my people, Arlong and crew. You've got some nerve."
Octopus fish-man Hatchan quickly waved his arms. "No! We didn't! We swear!"
Just then, Arlong suddenly lunged forward, stomping the ground and charging at Kaguya like lightning.
"Celestial Dragon or not... die!"
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