"If my calculations are correct, and if you haven't hit any severe storms along the way, you should be arriving in a few days or so." The man's voice replied from the den den mushi, and Viper smirked.
"Yeah, no problems getting here. Passenger's been bright as a daisy, too."
"I highly doubt that." The snail raised an eyebrow. "Based on her behavior, she will attempt an escape as soon as she sees or sets foot on the island." Viper chuckled deep in his chest.
"Oh, I assure you, she will. And I'll be there to drag her back to where she belongs."
Below deck, Summer, halfway through a set of push ups, had the sudden urge to sneeze. Her nose curled and she sneezed loudly, disrupting the guard of her cell. He banged against the metal bars in irritation.
"Quiet down in there!"
Shaking her head, she went back to her exercise, ignoring the beads of sweat getting into her eyes.
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki!" A Marine cadet exclaimed from behind the office door. The man in question looked up briefly from reports detailing the defensive strength regarding outreaching branches. Incessant knocking began to pervade his conscious, preventing him from focusing on the task at hand. Narrowing his eyes, he set the paper down with a puff from his cigar.
"Enter." He called in a gruff voice. Immediately, the young man burst through the door, hat slightly askew, with several papers in hand. His face was flushed.
"Fleet Admiral, there's something you should see." He huffed out, clearly out of breath, either from running the whole way or from shouting constantly, Sakazuki couldn't tell. Taking the cigar from his lips and crushing it in the small ashtray beside him on the table, he made no move to stand.
"What is it that so badly requires my attention?" He hated when payroll was wasted, especially his. If there was someone else perfectly fit to do the job, he believed they should be the ones accomplishing it.
The cadet looked back nervously, shifting on his feet with eyes that didn't rest on anything for too long.
"Well? Out with it." Sakazuki pressed with a growl. Wasting time…
"T-there's...a box...out at the front gates." Sakazuki arched an eyebrow.
"A box?" He stood, finding his curiosity beginning to stir. "And what is in this box, Cadet Yotume?" He asked, reading the man's name off of his nametag. At the sound of his name, the man slightly jumped. It was very intimidating to be standing in the presence of the Fleet Admiral, after all.
"We...don't know. There was a letter that said it was to be opened...only by you." He glanced up, gauging his superior's reaction. He seemed to be pondering something, but then quickly stood and walked towards him.
"Show me." He gruffly ordered. With a quick salute, the cadet swallowed.
"Yes, sir."
There, washed up on the shore in front of Marine Headquarters and surrounded by wary Marines, was a large, wooden crate. The outside was nondescript, but the size alone was suspicious. Sakazuki once again narrowed his eyes. Several Marines around him whispered nervously.
Upon approaching the large box, Sakazuki noticed a small, white envelope attached to the outside. It was wrapped in a plastic covering, most likely to prevent the ocean from ruining the message it held. On the front the name "FLEET ADMIRAL" was printed in bolded letters. As he stepped up to inspect it, several men stepped back, as if preparing for something to spring from the box.
It was then that he began to notice the strange...sound being emitted from within the box. It was nothing he'd ever heard before, pulsing in and out in no apparent pattern. It was low, almost too low to be heard, but it almost vibrated as it traversed the space surrounding it. It didn't sound like any explosive or weapon Sakazuki was familiar with, but his guard was not lowered for any reason.
Taking the note from the plastic wrapping, he carefully opened it, eyes narrowing as he read what was written:
.
"Fleet Admiral,
I don't believe I've congratulated you for your recent promotion. Your time will, of course, be taken up by chasing down us less-than-upstanding criminals, pirates, and thieves. But don't worry, I've taken the privilege of making your job a little easier with the contents of this box. They are very fragile. I advise you to be gentle, unless, of course, you would prefer to destroy them. I don't care either way, though I'm fairly certain their owners would…"
.
Underneath, a pawprint took up most of the remaining paper, but below the print was a jolly roger, stamped on where the signature should be. The ridiculous smiling mark left him seething. Even without seeing the author's face, he could almost see the arrogant smirk set upon his face, could almost hear the sarcasm dripping from every word on the page. Baring his teeth, Sakazuki ripped up the letter and turned on his heels. Pointing to one of the Cadets, he gestured towards the box.
"Break it open!" Several men, already holding crowbars at the ready, approached the box and placed the ends around the edges of the lid. With a lot of yanking and prying, the wooden top popped off with a creak. The men quickly removed it, and the Fleet Admiral peered inside.
The contents were covered with a thick, black cloth. Nonetheless, whatever was underneath was obviously moving, pulsing slightly, making the fabric covering it shift here and there. Grabbing a handful of the covering, he yanked it off, revealing what was inside.
Men around him who had gathered to see inside gasped in shock, disgust, horror, at the sight inside the box. Tens, no, dozens of red, beating hearts in small cubes pulsed in different patterns inside. Several men reeled away from the box, retreating to puke on the shore. Sakazuki only growled low in his throat, taking in the whole sight.
Looking closer, he could see small pieces of paper attached to each heart. Taking one up in his hand, he looked to see a name and number written on it.
'Captain John 'Slinger' Prince. 132,000,000 beli.'
Dropping the heart back in the box, he turned and headed towards his office. "Seal it and bring it into the examination chamber." He ordered some Marines nearby. They looked extremely hesitant to approach the box, but still followed what they were told. After all, you didn't go against the orders of the Fleet Admiral.
Sakazuki retreated back to his office, fingers steepled in front of him as he contemplated the sickening 'gift.' He had half a mind to destroy the entire thing, getting rid of it in anger. But no, the reasoning part of his brain, the cunning part, whispered that keeping the hearts would gain him leverage, leverage he so dearly needed if he wanted to begin taking down every single pirate reigning on the seas, one by one. He idly thought if his decision, which he came to in no time at all, would be a popular one. Quickly, he dismissed it. He was Fleet Admiral. The decision was only his.
Picking up the den den mushi sitting on his desk, he input the numbers and waited for an answer. He could hear it ringing.
Pururururu...pururururu...pururu...gatcha…
"Criminal and Piracy Database Office, this is Secretary Maki speaking." He leaned back in his chair.
"Miss Maki, this is Fleet Admiral Sakazuki calling."
"Good Morning, sir. How can I be of assistance?"
"I need you to issue a filling for the vacant Shichibukai position." In the background, he could hear the woman typing away at computer keys. She 'hummed' gently, examining something over her screen.
"Name of the recipient?" He closed his eyes a moment, finalizing his plan in his head. The closer you bring a pirate, the easier it is to control them.
"Trafalgar Law."
Deep below the ocean, on a small yellow submarine, Law was inspecting the daggers of his missing crew member. Suddenly, his nose began to itch with a familiar sensation. He tried holding it back, but the force of his sneeze could not be contained. He narrowed his eyes, going back to polishing the handles with care, wondering who could possibly be talking about him...
Arriving In: 3 Days
ns 15.158.61.55da2
