Chapter 3

Tequila Wolf, East Blue,

As she worked alongside the various prisoners on Tequila Wolf, Nico Robin was preoccupied with the thoughts of what was going on in the outside world. Though news was sparse, she could hear from the various snippets of dialogues from the prison guards about the 'Battle of Marineford' and could make some educated guesses as to what had happened. At that moment, she could not help but curse Bartholomew Kuma for sending her here of all places.

Cut off from all sources of news, this was worse than being shackled in seastone for someone of her intellectual capabilities.

As she tried to lean back on the wall of her prison cell, she began to plan the next step of her escape. For now, her identity had not yet been discovered, but once it was revealed, the situation could change at the drop of a hat once her captors realized what kind of prize they had on their hands.

Suddenly, there was an onset of screaming that could be heard from outside the walls as the guards began to scream bloody murder and the alarms began to ring all over the place.

"Stop him! Stop him now or we are all dead‼!"

"Who is he? Doesn't he know this place is important to the Celestial Dragons? Stop him at all costs‼!"

"He is too strong‼!"

"Call for backup‼!"

As she heard these various screams and deprecations, Robin clearly understood two things. One, Tequila Wolf was under attack and the guards were totally incapable of stopping the intruders. Two, the person attacking this place did not care that this place was under the patronage of the Celestial Dragons. Both pieces boded ill, if the person attacking this place was hostile.

Suddenly, the walls of her cell collapsed, and Robin covered her face and coughed as the dust made its way towards her. Slowly, she walked out of the hole and then realized that it was only her cell that had been breached. The other prisoners were still inside their cells. This meant that whoever it was, had come specifically for her.

As she walked out and beheld the carnage in the yards, Robin was dumbstruck at the sheer level of violence that had been inflicted upon the guards. And there standing in the middle of all those corpses in a literal puddle of blood, was a silver-haired man wielding a sword which she automatically categorized as a Ōdachi.

The man seemed familiar, but her mind could not immediately recall who it was even as he gently approached her.

"You have grown … little bookworm," the voice was gentle and the eyes looked at her with a kindness not seen before, but the impact of those words upon Robin was no less than that of ten buster calls combined.

Little Bookworm … it cannot be him … it is not possible … he is … her mind forcibly denied what her heart was telling her was true, and she began to tremble like a leaf in the wind, even as the men swept her into a gentle hug. Unbidden, hot tears freely flew out of Robin's eyes.

"Brother Sephiroth … you are alive," Robin sniffed, as unbidden memories of her childhood came back, as she recalled the memories that she had spent with her adoptive brother in happier times in Ohara. When she was three years old, her mother had brought home an orphan from one of archaeological digs in South Blue, and from then on Sephiroth had been a part of their family.

She recalled all the times that Sephiroth had spent fighting with the bullies on their homeland to protect her and the times when Professor Clover had taught them both in the Great Tree of Knowledge.

"You are alive … you are still alive," she bawled her heart out, while Sephiroth just held her to his chest and let her vent all her grief accumulated over the years.

"It must have been so hard for you, Robin, I am so sorry that I was not there for you," Sephiroth spoke out gently, even as Robin recollected herself with a blush and chided herself for her loss of composure.

"Where were you all this time?" she asked in a half accusatory, half curious tone, even as Sephiroth moved to the edge of the yard and sat on a stone, while Robin sat opposite to him and looked at him with a burning gaze.

"At the time of the Buster call, I could not find you anywhere," Sephiroth admitted with a scowl on his face, even as Robin winced at the memories those words evoked. "Then," Sephiroth continued quietly, "I was captured by the Marines and forcibly sent aboard the evacuation ship that was escorting the civilians of Ohara off the island. After the ship had collected all the survivors, Admiral Akainu set the ship alight with his lava attacks. I … was the only survivor of that attack," he admitted, even as he looked at her with a deep gaze.

"I drifted alone on the sea for days on a piece of flotsam, not knowing when I would die, when I was picked up by a ship of slavers," he continued, while Robin clenched her fists.

"It was lucky that you were saved by that Vice-Admiral, Robin, if you had been with me on that ship, you most definitely would have died, and even if you had survived with me, death would have been preferable to what those slavers would have done to you," Sephiroth spoke out softly, even as he looked at his adoptive sister.

It really did make him uncomfortable to hide some facts from her, but the presence of the system and his true nature could not be known by anyone, not even the one he considered family in this world. So, mixing truth with some bit of falsehoods sprinkled within, he explained most of what had occurred to him in what he hoped was a reasonable and coherent plot that would fool the most intelligent woman in the world.

"At that moment, I decided that if I was to take vengeance for what had occurred to Ohara, to you, to Aunt Olvia, to Professor Clover and the others, I would need strength of unimaginable scale. So, using the knowledge that I gained from Professor Clover I devised a plan," he admitted while Robin looked at him in surprise.

"In this world, there are three devil fruits, which can give power beyond the level of Gods according to the records of Ohara. One of them is the Op-Op fruit, which when awakened, can grant anyone immortality at the cost of the user's life. Second is a mythical zoan type fruit, the Human-Human Fruit: Model Nika, and the last … is the Space-Space Fruit. The first two are almost impossible to find, but the last one can be found only in one location in the world. Since the time of recorded history, according to the books of Ohara, it has appeared nine times consecutively in the same location, the sixth floor of Impel Down," he smiled with a wan look as Robin covered her mouth in shock.

"Therefore," Sephiroth continued his tale masterfully as his adoptive sister listened enthralled, "On the slaver ship, I came up with a plan. Once they sold me as a slave and brought me to the Holy Land, I would escape and make a very public attempt to kill Akainu, and get arrested on purpose. And once caught, the only punishment they could inflict upon me would be …," he pointed out, as Robin whispered in outright shock, "Impel Down."

"That is right," her brother admitted freely, even as he looked at her. "In the sixth floor of Impel Down, I finally managed to gain the mythical devil fruit that grants me absolute mastery over space, and for twenty years, I honed myself inside the most dangerous and inhospitable place in existence in this world. With knowledge I stole from the most dangerous criminals of all time, I absorbed their skills, their knowledge, their experience until I grew so strong that I now stand as the most powerful man in the world," he admitted, while Robin could scarce believe the words she heard. Was this her kind and loving brother? The one who used to get beat on relentlessly by the bullies on Ohara? What did he do to himself?

"The attack of Straw Hat Luffy," Sephiroth smirked as he looked at Robin who suddenly looked chagrined as her captain's name was brought up, "as well as that of Blackbeard, gave me an opportunity to escape without being detected. Otherwise, while I could have escaped on my own, it would have brought me unwanted attention. But thanks to the Summit war, they were focused on Whitebeard and his pirate crew and they ignored me, as they believed me to be a nobody. By the time the Marines could react, I enacted my plan successfully, and after twenty years, the first step to avenging Ohara was completed," Sephiroth admitted, even as Robin looked at him unevenly.

"Brother … what do you …," she asked hesitantly, as Sephiroth withdrew a newspaper from within his cloak and handed it over to Robin who took it.

As she began to read, her posture slackened even as she looked at her brother with fearful eyes.

"You…" she whispered, even as Sephiroth nodded in agreement, "Yes … I killed Akainu, and now … I am the new Fleet Admiral of the Marines."

"How could you join those who murdered our people…," she stared at him angrily with a blazing hatred in her eyes, even as Sephiroth looked at her indifferently.

"Because if I am to destroy the World Government, I can only do it from inside as part of them, and no matter how long it takes, I will burn the World Government to ashes and dust," her brother replied stoically, while she looked at him aghast and in no small amount of fear.

"Brother … please," she began, only to pause as Sephiroth raised a hand to stop her and turned around to look at the southern direction.

"Hmm…he has come earlier than I expected," Sephiroth admitted, even as he pulled his cloak around him and picked up his sword.

"Who … who is it?" Robin asked as she subconsciously moved near her brother, who smiled. "Your captain's father is here," he replied while Robin froze on the spot.

Her captain's father was Monkey D. Dragon, the revolutionary, also known as the most dangerous criminal in the world.

"Why is he coming here?" she asked apprehensively, while Sephiroth looked at her and shook his head in jollity. "He is here for you of course, or did you think Bartholomew Kuma sent you here by accident?" he asked in a rhetorical tone while Robin froze.

"Kuma…" Robin whispered, even as her brother interrupted her, "Bartholomew Kuma is a member of the Revolutionary Army whom Dragon inserted as a spy in the Seven Warlords. You are more valuable than you realize Robin. As the last officially recognized survivor of Ohara, you are known as the only person who can read the ancient languages of the Poneglyph stones. And for the Revolutionary Army, which seeks to overthrow the World Government, the knowledge in those stones can provide them the means to succeed. Do you now realize how valuable you are?" her brother asked her, while Robin stood rooted on the spot as her brother's word fell on her ears.

"Then, are you intending to co-operate with Dragon?" she asked shrewdly, to which Sephiroth scoffed.

"Of course not, on the contrary I will be one of his greatest enemies," Sephiroth replied with absolute conviction. "For my plan to succeed, for me to gain the trust of the Five Elders, I must obey any orders they give unconditionally and execute them flawlessly. No matter how heinous or outrageous they may be. Only once I become their trusted confidant and learn their secrets can I hope to overthrow them," he admitted to his sister, who looked dumbstruck.

"This is insane … you," she exploded in rage at her brother who indifferently shrugged off her concerns.

"I don't have much time," he continued as he looked at her. "As part of my appointment, I negotiated a condition with the Five Elders with regards to you. Your bounty is now frozen and will not be increased no matter what and it has been changed to capturing you alive only. The Cipher Pols will no longer hunt you, but you are free game to the Marines as a pirate. But Robin, no matter what, you cannot let anyone know that you have detected the location of the Ancient Weapons, if that happens, even I … will not be able to stop the World Government from doing its utmost to kill you," her brother warned her, while Robin's throat became dry as she looked at her brother with a fearful gaze.

"For now, stay with Dragon, until your crew reunites. Also, tell Dragon these two phrases. One, 'The Void Throne is not Empty' and two, 'The World Government always knew of Kuma's true loyalties.' This should be payment enough for protecting you for the next two years," Sephiroth spoke out, while Robin's eyes widened in shock as she comprehended the meaning of those words.

"No matter what, from now on, if you are in danger, know that this brother of yours will always come to save you, little bookworm. Take care of yourself," Sephiroth spoke softly even as he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, and then he was simply … gone.

Robin stood at the same spot frozen, and her mind awhirl and a mess of conflicting emotions, and it was in that state that the Revolutionary Army encountered her.

Pangaea Castle, Mariejois, A few days later,

"And, what else have you discovered?" the second elder asked the member of CP-0 in front of him who had knelt on the ground in front of them while giving his report.

"Sir, the new Fleet Admiral has remained in Navy Headquarters, and seems to be trying to establish his authority in the Marines. He has established a cordial, if not, professional relationship with the Chief of Staff, Vice-Admiral Tsuru, and there have been no major conflicts or differences of opinions so far."

"What about Aokiji and Kizaru? And the remnants of Akainu's faction? Have they made any moves to subvert his authority?" the fourth elder asked, to which the agent shook his head.

"No sir, there have been no indications of anything of that sort," the agent reported while the elders considered those words.

"Very well, you may leave," the first elder commanded, at which the agent bowed and quickly left the room.

"I do not like this. If it were not for Lord Im's orders, I would have ordered that brat to be thrown back in Impel Down for having the audacity to dictate terms to us, for behaving as if he was our equal," the fifth elder growled in annoyance, while the others showed irritated expressions on their faces.

"Indeed," the third elder grunted, "Did he think that just because of his sophistry and cleverly designed arguments, we would forgive the crime of killing an Admiral and appoint him as a replacement? This is not the first time that someone has tried to infiltrate the World Government in this manner. Did he really think we could not recognize his attempt at trying to deceive us? We have not remained as the undisputed rulers of this world for 800 years solely due to employing brutal tactics and firepower! That is hopelessly naïve," he banged his fist on the table, while the others became silent.

"Are we looking too much into this? Maybe…he really was earnest in his words, and his history with Sakazuki is undeniable. Perhaps we are making a mountain out of a molehill for nothing," the first elder mused, while the second looked at him crossly.

"Do not fool yourself," the second elder grunted. "He is from Ohara, and he is the adopted brother of Nico Robin. That means he is aware or at least has an inkling of the forbidden knowledge that Clover was researching. And did you find it a co-incidence that one of his conditions upon joining us was to freeze the hunt for his sister?"

"But the fact remains that he chose to join us voluntarily. As you said, he is not stupid and he should have considered all these facts before approaching us. So, he clearly has a plan of his own, but what is it?" the fourth elder grunted, while the other elders tried to rack their brains to come up with an answer.

"And the fact remains that the proposals he has submitted are indeed well thought out and reasonable, and stand to considerably increase the power of the Marines, and consecutively that of the World Government. This behaviour is … puzzling," the second elder admitted with a bit of frustration in his tone even as he pored through the proposals forwarded by the Navy.

"Why … did Lord Im overrule all our objections and order that he be appointed as the Fleet Admiral? Such an unknown and dangerous variable being given full reign over our most public and capable arm of power projection unsettles me to be honest," the first elder vented out the thing that was rankling in all their minds since Sephiroth's arrival at Mariejois.

Indeed, for the first time in more than three centuries, the hidden ruler of the world had flatly overruled the concerns of the five elders and had ordered that Sephiroth be appointed as not just an Admiral, but rather the Fleet Admiral at that, shocking the five elders to their core.

For their master to so cavalierly brush aside their concerns and appoint a young man of unknown and dubious loyalty as the Fleet Admiral without hesitation had caused no less amount of heartburn among them.

"Indeed, not just appointing him as Fleet Admiral, but granting him the right to use the Cipher Pols apart from Aigis Zero, what in the world is Lord Im thinking? Why does he grant this Sephiroth such favour?" the third elder asked in a pensive and rather aggrieved tone, while the others remained silent knowing that they would not get the answer to this question until their master deemed it fit to tell them.

For once, they found that feeling uncomfortable.

The Fleet Admiral's office, Navy Headquarters, few hours after the events above in Mariejois,

As they walked into the office of the Fleet Admiral, Rob Lucci, Kaku and Kalifa were apprehensive. It had been barely three months since they had cleaned the taint that had been associated to their names due to the betrayal of their former director, Spandam.

Ever since they had cleared their names, the members of CP-9 had been hard at work trying to prove their usefulness to the World Government once again despite their shameful loss at Enies Lobby. Much of the taint that had clung to them over their defeat at the hands of Monkey D. Luffy had evaporated, once his true lineage and abilities had been revealed during the summit war. The fact that Lucci had come close to killing the son of 'Dragon' had done wonders in having their case be reheard, and Spandam had finally gotten his just desserts for falsely implicating them.

Now, out of the blue, they had been summoned by the new Fleet Admiral into his office. This was another surprise. Breaking with tradition, for the first time, the Fleet Admiral of the Marines had been granted the authority to requisition the services of Cipher Pol when required. Even at the height of their prestige, neither Kong nor Sengoku had been granted that privilege.

The new Fleet Admiral was indeed a mystery. For a time, there had been rumours that he was an agent of the World Government trained specifically to succeed Sengoku among the various Cipher Pol groups. But this was just idle gossip and rumour-mongering, which no one took seriously.

As they entered the room, the three agents felt an oppressive presence looming over the room, which bore down on them for a second before vanishing. Taking a deep breath, the three of them walked in, only to realize that the Chief of Staff, Vice-Admiral Tsuru was also present in the room.

"Rob Lucci, Kaku, and Kalifa," the Fleet Admiral spoke out as he looked at various files on his desk, and then turned to face them directly.

"Are you aware that I have been granted the authority to requisition the services of Cipher Pol barring Aigis Zero, if need be?" he asked them directly, while they all stood rigidly at attention.

"Yes sir, we are," Kalifa spoke in a proper tone full of respect and subservience, while Lucci and Kaku stood still.

"Good, are you aware of my background, and how I came to this position? Of where I was, before I became the Fleet Admiral?" he asked them again, while Tsuru looked at him sharply.

As he looked at their faces, Sephiroth noticed that Lucci had narrowed his eyes slightly. So, he was aware or he had inclinations of it. Had he been approached by Aigis Zero for recruitment already?

"That is not our concern, sir," Lucci replied curtly, while Sephiroth looked at him and Lucci directly met his gaze without flinching.

After few seconds, Sephiroth nodded, and pulled out an old bounty poster and placed it in front of them. It contained the photo of a middle-aged man with dark skin and an afro, wearing festive attire.

"This is Buena Festa, the captain of the Festival Pirates. Once a known information broker and leader of the underworld during the heydays of Gold Roger. This is your target. Your job is to locate him by any means necessary. This man is rumoured to be in possession of an artefact that could literally destroy the balance of power between the Navy, the Four Emperors and the Seven Warlords. Your job is to find him and verify if this artefact exists in reality," the Fleet Admiral finished, while Lucci picked up the poster and looked at it intently.

"An artefact that can destroy the balance of the sea? What is it?" Tsuru asked after a moment's contemplation as she too took in Sephiroth's words. As someone from the previous era, she was aware of Buena Festa, but this was the first time she had seen someone considering him a threat of this level.

"If the rumours I have heard are correct, then this man has in his possession an eternal pose leading directly to Raftel," the Fleet Admiral spoke softly, while everyone in the room looked at him as if he was insane.

"That is not possible," Tsuru spoke out in indignation as she looked at the Fleet Admiral, while the three CP-9 agents looked at the Fleet Admiral in outright shock and horror. They clearly understood the significance of what this meant.

"Roger and Rayleigh destroyed the few eternal poses that some of their crew members had secretly made for Raftel at the end of their journey. They were very thorough about it, and even Aigis Zero concurred. It is not possible for an eternal pose to Raftel to exist," Tsuru insisted in a sharp tone, while Sephiroth patiently waited for her to finish her tirade.

"I heard it directly from Douglas Bullet himself," Sephiroth replied calmly, while the room became silent as a grave as everyone looked at him in shock and surprise. The CP-9 agents were wondering how the Fleet Admiral had encountered someone like Bullet of all people, while Tsuru who knew of Sephiroth's origins took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

"Are you sure?" she asked again as she looked at Sephiroth with a piercing gaze.

"The man is many things, but a liar he is not," Sephiroth replied softly, while Tsuru just grunted in agreement. The news of the eternal pose to Raftel had severely unbalanced her and she was wondering what the fallout would be if this news were to be revealed to the world.

"At this point, even though this information comes from a source like Douglas Bullet, I want this verified and I need proof that this eternal pose is real," Sephiroth spoke out softly.

"CP-9, your orders are as follows," he continued as he looked at Lucci, "Find Buena Festa, and confirm if this eternal pose to Raftel exists," he ordered, while the three agents nodded.

"And if we find out that it exists, Fleet Admiral?" Lucci finally spoke, at which Sephiroth looked at him squarely. "In case Buena Festa is alone, kill him and retrieve the pose. If he is however with Douglas Bullet, who has escaped from Level 6 of Impel Down," here Lucci paused and looked at the Fleet Admiral in shock as did Kaku and Kalifa, "If he is with Douglas Bullet, then track their movements and inform me directly. Under no circumstances are you to engage in combat with someone of Douglas Bullet's calibre. You are good, but you are not that good, not yet," the Fleet Admiral ordered, while Lucci clenched his jaw and nodded while Kaku and Kalifa heaved a sigh of relief at seeing Lucci accept the last bit of the order.

"At the moment, the only ones in the Marines who are aware of this matter are myself and Vice-Admiral Tsuru. It would be awkward for me to meet with Cipher Pol regularly, so you will give weekly progress reports of your mission to her. In case you encounter Bullet, you will immediately inform me. Is that clear?" he asked with a sharp tone laden with Haki, and the three of them nodded promptly, with beads of sweat rolling down their foreheads.

"Good! You're dismissed," Sephiroth ordered, as all three of them saluted him and quickly made their way out of his chambers.

"What are you planning, Sephiroth?" Tsuru asked after a moment's silence while he sighed and looked at her.

"If everything works out as intended, a deathblow to the era started by Roger himself," he softly admitted, while Tsuru took a sharp intake of breath and gazed at the young Fleet Admiral with a dumbstruck look on her face.