AN: Today's song is "Glitter and Gold" by Barns Courtney.

Thatch

The deck bucked like a wild animal faced with the butcher's block, thanks to the young hotheads burning, freezing, or melting everything on the sea that wasn't being blasted with Kizaru's light show. A caustic bubble, drifting over from the Utakata-and-Akainu fight, melted a hole in the deck just behind Kizaru's squared-off boots.

Of course, the admiral didn't trip into it. That'd be too easy.

For the last minute or so, he and Marco had been tearing into the third admiral with everything they had. The man was fast . Faster, in fact, that anybody Thatch had ever fought or even thought of fighting. He had the attack range to shoot anyone on their side of the fight if he could see them, and the only thing saving everyone from opportunistic bombardment by lasers was the persistent fog. It scattered his light into a mess just unreliable enough that Kizaru preferred to focus on the targets in front of him.

Well, that and Thatch's half-frantic use of the Yami Yami no Mi's gravity well, which turned almost all of Kizaru's attacks into curveballs he couldn't aim. Each shot diverted toward Thatch every time he used even a fraction of any of his fruit's powers, which turned Kizaru's laser death maze into the deadliest game of dodge ball ever played, only without the cannonball ammunition. Once twisted away from anyone else, the blasts mostly hit the sea and dissipated in the first two hundred meters of water, scattered into glittery uselessness.

Marco jerked his arm, dismissing the last of the blue-gold fire healing his shoulder back to perfect condition.

Except for that first shot. In Thatch's defense, he hadn't known about the worst of the refraction and Marco could heal faster than anyone. Even if there was no lasting harm done, only Kizaru was happy about that attack getting through their haki defenses.

He should have practiced more before volunteering to fight Kizaru, even if the Yami Yami no Mi was powerful. Teach had months to perfect his killing technique.

That still hadn't saved him in the end.

So with that cheery thought in mind and observation haki working overtime, Thatch felt Kizaru's next move before he made it.

Kizaru brought his hands together in front of his sternum, yellow light building until it was too bright to look at directly. In a bored drawl that still carried, he said, "Sacred Yata Mirror," a beam exploding from his hands that refracted in a jagged line, jumping from weapon to water to porthole, so fast that Thatch hadn't even blinked before the yellow suited bastard was upon him, his long leg arched back in a spinning strike.

Blue-gold flames blocked Kizaru's attack before it met in its energy form, and Marco matched him haki-powered kick for kick. The air rippled and cracked for the force of their impacts, whether the foot that met Kizaru's boot was tipped with talons or not. The pair of them slammed into each other fast enough that the Marines around them were too busy shielding their eyes to track anyone's movements.

Truly, the lightshow was blinding.

The ship rocked with the force of haki radiating out, shockwaves disturbing the sea with every resonating strike. And then, as if in slow motion, Thatch's world started to tip.

Thatch scrambled from there to the next ship, right as the pair of dueling light shows misjudged something. A shot hit the underside of the ship even as it was in the process of rolling, a thunderous crack ripping through multiple decks before splitting open like an unripe tomato, exploding spectacularly in a gout of flames, black smoke billowing. Going by the split in the hull before it vanished under the waves, it was a toss-up between Marco's talons or Kizaru's laser sword that had detonated the magazine.

It exploded once more with a muffled bang that sent water fountaining up everywhere, steam hissing as chunks of metal and wood planks spun from the epicenter. Marco and Kizaru had already resumed their duel on the ship farthest from Thatch, taking no apparent notice.

Thatch quietly decided to just blame Kizaru for the explosion and move on.

Light ricocheted around the sea, faster still than the Shave technique as it struck the waves and rebounded high into the air. Faster than either Marco or Thatch were, but maybe not so much that they couldn't make him pay. They just had to catch him first.

Marco let out a noise that was only human at a stretch, wings powerfully slamming down as he leapt into the air in his full phoenix form, flying in pursuit.

Then in an explosion of light, Kizaru rematerialized high above them. Thatch couldn't hear him, but he could see his lips move as he crossed his arms, stance indicative that he was preparing an attack.

And attack he did, bright bolts rained down like a hailstorm, covering the immediate sky in an array of blinding light. The fog laid by Kei's friend didn't split, but it was a close-run thing between the sea spray and Thatch's frantic dodging. He couldn't climb onto Marco's back and risk slowing him down, either.

By the time the shooting stopped, there were noticeably fewer ships around. Thatch's foothold was the burning, barely-upright bulk of a Marine battleship that had become a casualty of Kizaru's approach to fighting. While Marco circled overhead, launching another storm of kicks at his smug face, Thatch could only stare up at them in frustration. The second he got in the air, Kizaru would probably kill him.

Together, they could outrun or attack him, but not both at once as he'd clearly shown in the clashes so far. Hell, the damn admiral could probably attack faster than they could yell at each other within spitting distance if he so chose.

Welp, it was either take his lumps or do nothing. Better than sitting with his thumb up his ass and gaping like a fish.

"Here goes literally nothing..." Thatch said under his breath, half dreading the next few moments. Eyes shut against the dazzling light show, he shouted, "Marco! Clear out!"

And that was when the entire sea froze underneath them. Almost stealing his thunder and throwing him off balance as he was still rolling with the waves. Fucking hell that's cold !

Aokiji, then. While Thatch had no way of telling what was going on past the fog bank, the ice couldn't be anyone else. About the only consolation prize was that, if Kei and her friends were right, Aokiji couldn't tell if anyone was taking advantage of the footing he'd given them. Good enough for now.

Now more stable, Thatch planted his feet and braced his sword arm with his left hand. Blade-tip pointed at the light Logia looking his way, he shouted, "BLACK VORTEX!"

The ice beneath him opened into a black void, like the pupil of an island whale's eye. Darkness crawled up Thatch's legs and wound around his arm, reaching for Kizaru with grasping tendrils as fast as flames. His hands and sword vanished into the darkness. The very air around him went gray and unfocused, like the the warp devoured color and light and life.

And Kizaru plummeted like a stone .

Thatch swung at him the instant he landed, darkness anchoring them both. Not even light escaped this void.

Kizaru blocked, arm coated with haki as that formerly-yellow sleeve bounced Thatch's sword away, ringing like he'd struck a steel hull. The ice beneath him bowed with the weight of the strike and Kizaru eyed him curiously, his smarmy little pig eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "That was a mistake."

"Maybe!" Thatch replied, feeling his voice hitch higher out of nerves and the abrupt withdrawal of his powers, the darkness sucking back into him like a retreating octopus. It was hard to describe. He felt weirdly… goopy and unpleasant. God, why did he eat this thing again? "Say, what're your feelings on concussions?"

"Why—"

Marco kicked Kizaru in the head out of left field, the hollow thwack ringing loud in the air between them.

Kizaru dissolved into light again, though the way he reeled from the hit before vanishing was a dead giveaway. Marco's attacks could hurt him. Just needed to get through the tough bastard's skin first. He zipped away with a little pew before they could do anything.

"Having fun?" Thatch asked, a little breathless from all the running.

His brother didn't respond aloud, though he did roll his eyes before turning back into a full-fledged bird and lifting off the ground.

They both felt the instant Kizaru reformed and aimed a solid axe kick at Thatch again, who caught the strike on his haki-coated sword. Yanking Kizaru over to him was worse than playing with fire. The Yami Yami no Mi had no defensive function, beyond one singularly nasty trick.

Before Kizaru could teleport out of range, Thatch grabbed his ankle at the exact instant Marco lashed out with both taloned feet, claws black with armament haki. That awful yellow suit the Kizaru wore for reasons not even Thatch could explain split right above the knee, blood splattering across Thatch's off hand.

The third kick was blocked by an equally haki-coated hand on the part of the admiral, who was taller than either Marco or Thatch were and had double the wingspan. Gave him just enough reach to be annoying about it.

"You've actually managed to hurt me?" The only indication of Kizaru's surprise was the faint interrogative tone, dour eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "Maybe I actually have to take you seriously."

Thatch locked eyes with Marco, whose arms were once again flaming wings. He thought he saw a flicker of recognition in his face, the years of working together paying off in silent communication.

But before Thatch could fully drag Kizaru down with him in a tangle of void, every single one of them felt their observation haki start screaming bloody murder at once. Thatch's powers dropped away from Kizaru like a hot pan at the same time Marco dove forward, enveloping Thatch in his blue flames midway through the transformation. The next thing Thatch saw as his vision cleared of fire was a gray sky from atop Marco's fire-feathered back.

It felt like death.

It felt like the way the Tailed Beasts all slammed down with their bootleg Conqueror's haki the instant Saiken got launched the length of Fishman Island. Like the world was cracking beneath their feet and heaving them into the abyss.

What the hell was going on over there?

And then Kizaru's lasers nearly took off his pompadour, which removed any chance to spend time speculating.

The next few minutes were of more hectic fighting as Kizaru capitalized on the "mysterious" distraction. While worry for his friends kept the back of his mind occupied, Kizaru's attack speed didn't leave room for turning anything like a blind eye to him. During the worst part of the brawl, Marco got one of his wings shot twice in close succession and sent both him and Thatch plummeting toward the unforgiving ice.

Marco's regeneration caught them before they went splat. It reminded Thatch unpleasantly of some of the rickety rollercoasters on Sabaody and the desperate attempts to hold in his lunch. Marco would never forgive him if he upchucked on his shoulders.

And on the way up from that death-defying dive, Thatch's ears rang with the sound of pounding stone. It was a rhythmic galloping, slamming the air four beats at a time before a gap, and then repeating.

On Marco's back, the swirl in the mist was as obvious as Kizaru's slow appraisal of their trajectory. At the same time, the noise got closer and louder the longer it went, the gray mist bowing inward in time with the beat.

And then, abruptly, the noise stopped.

With ice providing a sure foothold and Marco's wings beating overhead, Kizaru didn't have much to worry about until the two of them could get back down there and attack. The second he refracted off the ice, he'd be in their faces.

He started glowing. The yellowish light pointed directly downward, showering the nearby ice in dozens of rays.

"Marco, buddy, this isn't working—" Thatch began, trying to lean over his side so he could drop and keep his dead weight from slowing his brother down.

Marco leaned into the turn to keep Thatch right where he was, defiant.

Then the ice split like the Gates of Justice.

Ice shattered for hundreds of feet in every direction, launching icicles the size of grown men into the air. Steam exploded upward next like a geyser, bathing the entire area in the smell of old seaweed and salt. The heat alone sent Marco into a wild spin as the air currents shifted, and Thatch clung to his back with all his might before they got close to stabilizing again. He just barely caught sight of Kizaru, already in the air and looking down curiously.

Then the steam almost bent, brushing Marco and Thatch aside with a squawk and a startled shout.

"Keep an eye out for the dolphin horse, and the guy in red armor. At least, I think he's in armor now," Thatch recalled in Kei's sotto voce, which did not even begin to describe the massive white creature that burst out of the steam cloud at the perfect moment to smash into Kizaru with four curved horns.

Kei could've done better than that to avoid giving people (read: Thatch) a heart attack.

Kizaru was a yellow blur as he hit the ice and bounced, refracting brightly enough that he stood out even against the sparkly new crater he'd made on impact. A pale hoof bigger than a ship slammed him deeper into it before he could retreat or even reel from the first charge.

"I think reinforcements have arrived," Marco said, tilting his wings so that he looped back toward the creature's head.

And as for the creature in question, strictly speaking, it was the exact opposite of a Water Seven Yagara Bull. While they had horse heads and large fins to help them through the water, this huge white monster had horse legs, a whale's head with four horns, and a pure-white hide except for red marks around huge green eyes. The five smooth-coated tails trailing behind it looked like they belonged to one of the other Tailed Beasts, but their number marked this as one of their family.

"Guess so!" Thatch calculated the distance to the ground, winced, and forced a smile at the same time he tried to suppress the Yami Yami no Mi's powers. If he tripped Marco up now, they'd both end up in the ice. Or worse. Because he definitely would be called out if he didn't keep talking, he said, "Hey, isn't that our guy over there?"

He pointed, Marco's gaze following the direction of his finger, and lo and behold there was a figure in red armor marching along the beast's spine toward the head.

"'Our guy' is a strong term for it." Marco banked left to duck around a tail that whipped forward to swat him like a fly. Raising his voice, he added, "But if there's anyone else riding a giant white beast like that, I don't want to know."

Another earth-shaking stomp shook the ice. Shards flew and slammed down like hail, but the white beast took no notice. Its attention was on the flickering light show darting around its feet as Kizaru ran for cover.

What cover there was, now that a Tailed Beast was on the prowl. Large green eyes darted to follow his movements, tracking like a hawk, the whale-like mouth curling into a sneer as the creature danced about in the most dangerous jig known to man, tails whipping with a crack .

"Hey," Thatch called down to the man in armor, cupping his empty hand around his mouth the best he could manage. "Thanks for the save! Mind if I get your names?"

The armor shifted, allowing Thatch to see...basically nothing of the man wearing it, given the all-concealing hat and veil, even besides the red armor covered by a sleeveless Wano-style shirt and pants. Aside from that, the man didn't react to seeing two Whitebeard division commanders flying over his head.

For a second, Thatch wondered if he'd somehow managed to call out to a different beast-riding, armored samurai type of guy. There couldn't possibly be that many candidates, right?

Then the man waved them down with an armored hand, like any friendly subordinate captain. Even if none of them knew each other, this was a pretty good time for a first impression. Fighting Marines had a way of bringing most outlaw groups together for a common cause.

Or scattering them to the winds like confetti. Fifty-fifty for most people who weren't Whitebeards.

Marco swooped lower, circling the horns once. "I hope he's friendly."

"What, you don't want to repeat being Matatabi's cat toy?" Thatch asked, grinning. "I thought you were—"

Perhaps for that reminder, Marco shifted back in midair except for his arms, which dumped Thatch the remaining twenty feet to the top of the beast's head. He landed on his tailbone, and bounced, his ass not thanking him in the least for the treatment, but he'd get over it.

"Oof! Geez, Marco. It was a joke!" More startled than hurt, Thatch got to his feet once he was done selling the impact to a skeptical, unsympathetic audience of two. Then, Thatch shrugged off the retaliation for his snide remark and dusted off his chef's uniform to greet their new ally.

Just in front of him, the man who'd ridden to their rescue on a…very large white horse stood with his arms crossed. Silently judging.

"The name's Thatch," he said, and bowed quickly to the stranger. "Fourth Division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. This," he added, pointing to Marco as his brother changed entirely back into a non-chickeny human, "is Marco, commander of the First Division. I know we haven't met, but Kei and Yugito were kind enough to throw their lot in with us. If I could get the name of the prince on a white horse who just saved our hides…?"

The man looked at his hand for a long second, then said, "This is Kokuō. I am Han, and I am here for her sake."

"Nice to meet you, then." Marco put in, eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the person.

Thatch found himself giving the man a second look after putting his snubbed hand away, and noticed that Han was probably a hand's span shorter. The armor made it hard to tell much of anything, but the voice coming out of the lower face mask seemed completely level despite all the chaos around them.

Something in those flat brown eyes softened a little. Maybe he expected people to be rude to him? It reminded Thatch of Kei during those first couple weeks; always walking on eggshells around even the friendliest of Whitebeard's children.

It wasn't the warmest welcome in the world, but he got the impression that Han was a reticent guy in general. He couldn't possibly take offense when almost the entire crew knew Ace made a hundred attempts on Pops's life back when he'd first joined. With no harm done? Laugh it off. It was the Whitebeard Pirate way.

"Nice to meet ya, Han," said Thatch. "And you too, Kokuō—"

He would have said more, but that was when Kokuō lifted her head abruptly and turned the world a little topsy-turvy.

Han stayed perfectly still, as though his feet were glued to her head and his body was made of steel, and he caught Thatch's wrist before he could tumble hundreds of feet to the ground, which he appreciated. He hauled Thatch back as Kokuō returned to the ice, hooves slamming downward with enough force to cause even Aokiji's work to crack ominously, a resounding thoom of arctic shelf splitting like an egg.

Marco, who'd turned into his phoenix form, looped back in a belated, abortive reflex to save Thatch from death before he realized Han had done the job for him. He circled Kokuō's head, uncertain.

Thatch looked at Han. "So, what now?"

Kokuō chose that precise moment to let her voice be heard, vaguely reminding Thatch of a wizened old woman. "It is done."

"What, seriously?" Thatch squawked, skittering to the edge of the beast's crown to lean over and try to get a look at Kokuō's massive hooves, expecting to see just a sparkly smear.

What he got instead was a fist clamped into his drawers because he nearly slipped off to his death. Thatch got the feeling that Han was getting a little tired of babysitting him, if by the reluctant way he reeled him back was any indication. Either that or he was totally warming to his roguish charms and he was just taking a moment to soak it in.

Han unceremoniously hauled Thatch back onto Kokuō's head. He didn't bounce, but it was a near thing.

Yeah, okay.

Kokuō pawed at the ice with one huge hoof, scooping a vaguely red-and-yellow figure out of the crater she'd made. With a snort, she sent a jet of high-pressure steam at an angle, buckling the ice beneath the shattered remains of Kizaru.

The once-powerful admiral disappeared into the mist in fairly short order, and Thatch honestly didn't care one bit where he ended up crashing back to earth. Hopefully it'd be on something that deserved the impact.

Han leaned down, placing his hand flat against the broad white surface of Kokuō's head. "The battle is over." His eyes cut toward Marco, still circling anxiously. "Was there a plan?"

Now that Thatch paid some attention, he could see the fine, barely-raised white hairs that covered the entire beast. It reminded Thatch of seeing someone soothe a huge…horse. Horse-like thing.

Peripherally, tangentially horse.

"…Oh, right. The plan." Thatch stumbled a little, but Han didn't really know him well enough to call him on it. "I mean, kinda? We're here and we won—thanks for that, by the way—but this is like one part of a lot of moving pieces? At the same time?"

He could feel Marco rolling his eyes from on high.

"Well, you can come explain it!" he called up to his brother.

Marco declined, it seemed. He didn't come back down, anyway.

"Anyway," Thatch said, since there was no help coming from that quarter, "Kei went up against Vice Admiral Garp, Yugito and Ace were fighting Admiral Aokiji, Utakata decided on his grudge match against Admiral Akainu—" Here, he made a sweeping gesture to encompass the still-circling Marco and himself. "And yours truly and Marco the Phoenix decided that if anyone was gonna take on Sparkles, we were the best fit for the job. And hey, now he's not a problem anymore. Go team!"

Though Thatch couldn't see much of Han's face, every inch of his body language screamed something along the lines of "I don't know how to react, so I'm taking advantage of the fact that no one can see my expressions." It was a pretty common first reaction.

"It is quiet now," Kokuō said, and while it wasn't the first time Thatch had heard her talk, the voice once again struck him as the softest of the Tailed Beasts he'd met. Matatabi was polite, but firm. Kokuō, for her size, spoke in a whisper. "We should go."

Han waved Marco down, though strictly speaking he didn't have to. Perhaps in response, Marco's fiery shape whipped through Kokuō's tails and slipped up the length of her back, coming to rest on one of her horns.

Good enough.

"Where are we going?" Thatch asked, since Marco hadn't said anything yet.

And while it wasn't exactly quiet, as he could still hear the sounds of battle going on somewhere in the mist, Thatch didn't think that was what Kokuō had meant. Her focus was elsewhere, her gaze pointed in a part of the mist that Thatch could have sworn Aokiji's ice had originated.

He felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold.

Had something gone wrong?

Kei

Is this a bad time? Isobu asked hesitantly, peering over my figurative shoulder. I felt him going through my immediate memories like a roll of film, trying to be sensitive. It did not work, but I appreciated the effort.

As long as you don't say anything to Saiken, probably not. I blinked my eyes free of tears, since I didn't dare move, and asked him, What's going on?

I have found a submarine embedded in the ice.

…What? I kept perfectly still on the outside, but there was no shortage of confusion to send through our mental link.

It bears a pirate emblem I think I have seen before. Isobu sent me a mental snapshot of the sub. Look.

It was shaped more like a submarine than anything I'd seen so far, I supposed, but that was definitely a mast for a proper sail. The Jolly Roger on its side looked like a hubcap with a stylized skull, with six spokes radiating out from the center. While the bulk of it was free of the edge of the ice attack that had started half of this mess, the back end was trapped. As the cherry on top, Isobu could clearly see a human face staring out at him in horror, his tiny red pompom on top of a hat labelled "PENGUIN" completing the metaphor.

I closed my eyes briefly. Just go ahead and dig it out as gently as you can. A thought sparked in my exhausted brain. Ah, hell.

What?

Those might be the Heart Pirates, I told him, trying to picture their bounty posters with any level of detail. Nope. Mostly fuzz. I think I remember something about a submarine going with the Surgeon of Death. Maybe Gaara mentioned it? I wished I could shake my head and clear it, but no. I had no intention of disturbing Utakata before he was ready. But if we play our cards right, we might be able to ask their captain for medical help.

It wasn't like I was qualified to fix Ace's situation.

Your "cards" displace tens of thousand tons in seawater.

Just dig them out, please. They'll probably die if you don't.

Isobu didn't even grumble. Instead, he allowed me to stay keyed into his senses as he carefully pried the ice away from the submarine, ignoring the screaming going on the inside. His blunt fingers were huge, but they didn't pose same kind of risk to a contained vessel like Matatabi's might be. A claw puncture would make the whole effort pointless.

It popped free after a few minutes, by which point I had stopped watching. Isobu could take care of them.

And by that point, Utakata muttered something and started leaning away from me. Probably as clear a sign as there could be, except for…pretty much all of human interaction, actually. Nonetheless, I let him go immediately.

And he didn't react badly. Didn't react much at all.

"You all right? Physically," I added quickly, peering at Utakata's face as he edged away from me. His chakra was in turmoil, but it usually wasn't a good idea to mention that to someone's face. Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure that all of my allies realized I could read them like that. It wasn't exactly a part of the Tidal Blade package.

"I'm fine." Much like nearly every other use of the phrase in history, it sounded like a lie. Instead of allowing himself to be fussed over, Utakata spared a last glance for the pit in the ice before making his way over to the still-frozen Ace.

I followed him, still feeling the conversation with Isobu rattling around in my head like a loose marble. After mainlining so much Tailed Beast chakra, I was a little punch drunk despite taking few noteworthy hits.

Matatabi eyed us as we passed, though she still seemed busy tending to her exhausted partner, purring like an idling motor. Yugito had rolled onto her stomach since being brought out of her berserk state, but otherwise there was no response. Going by Matatabi's demeanor, Yugito was probably going to be fine.

Eventually.

With some trouble, I focused instead on Utakata's investigation.

"Is there a way to…chip him loose without defrosting him?" Utakata asked, though it sounded rhetorical. Peering at the frozen pirate, he added with a note of concern, "If that black lump is what and where I think it is, he'll probably bleed out before we can get to a doctor."

"Somehow, Isobu's ahead of you," I said in a distracted voice.

"What?"

While Utakata listened to my half-assed explanation about my submarine suppositions—reliable mainly if all other options were exhausted—he at least looked like he was paying attention. I suspected he was really just mastering the ability to fall asleep with his eyes open while I talked about the Heart Pirates. He'd never been the type to listen to me too much before, and asking him to start now was a step too far. I couldn't really blame him, especially after the day he'd had.

Hell, the last hour.

Somehow, he made it to the end while convincingly conscious.

"It might be better to just leave. With them." Utakata rubbed at his eyes, like they weren't already red enough. His cheeks were still a little damp. "I'm done killing today. And that ice bastard's not as…" He waved a hand still covered by a long blue sleeve, unable to find a sufficiently vicious adjective to describe the late Admiral Akainu. Aside from "unmourned," maybe. "Let's get out of here."

I eyed Ace pointedly until Utakata noticed. I clearly wasn't the only one loopy from fatigue. It didn't bode well for our combat capabilities once Isobu dropped the mist genjutsu. Even if we could get a powerful pick-me-up from our respective partners, sooner or later we'd end up truly overextended, like Yugito.

There were only so many people who could be spared from fighting, given how we'd split our forces.

"Cut the entire ice block out and take him with us?" Utakata suggested, following my eyeline. After a few seconds, he added uncertainly, "…Maybe have Matatabi thaw him?"

"Not unless you want him to die."

I'd run out of the emotional capacity to be surprised. While Utakata narrowed his visible eye at the newcomer just barely in my peripheral, I just sighed and turned to face our newest nominal ally.

Rail-thin and bearing the same skull sigil as the side of his submarine, Trafalgar Law was probably a head taller than I was if I bothered to stand up. Actually, with his sleeves rolled up like that, he had more copies of his Jolly Roger than anybody I'd ever met. He carried a nodachi over his shoulder, but just in his hand instead of strapped onto his back. Like Utakata and me, he had black hair that tended toward "messy" and a weary expression that one wore when they didn't get enough sleep.

I saw a very similar expression in the mirror every morning (that I had a mirror).

His yellow eyes scanned both of us, then flicked back to the thoroughly frozen Whitebeard commander.

"Your…" Here, he paused, because Isobu was a lot of things at once. Most of them were at least under the general heading of "aquatic." Except the hands. "Your turtle asked if there was a doctor," Law said, not quite looking behind him.

I could definitely see why.

Past him, and his weirdly fluffy hat, I could see the top of the submarine, bobbing in the waves just visible where Matatabi had busted through the ice wall not too long ago. Isobu floated in the water behind it like a looming, predatory reef with tails all visible. He gave me a thumbs up over the top of the sub, which I hoped Law couldn't see.

And anyway, Matatabi was in front of him, Yugito still sprawled across her paws. That was quite enough for anyone to be wary.

"Asked, huh?" I said, getting to my feet. I settled for sheathing my sword and bowing, unwilling to make a more serious move while I didn't know what this pirate was capable of.

"He did, actually. Wasn't sure why at first, but I see your problem now." Then Law glanced at Yugito, eyes widening for a moment before sinking back to a calculating neutral. Without the benefit of knowing a bit about jinchūriki anatomy, she looked like she'd been dragged behind a car. "What about her?"

"Exhaustion and burns. She heals fast, but this is new." I said in a flat tone. How to explain that…? Best not to get in over my head. I'd stopped properly studying medicine longer than some of my fellow jinchūriki had been alive. "As for Ace…" I stepped aside so Law could get a better look. "I don't know where to start."

Something in Law's eyes shifted, just slightly, but he obligingly focused on the patient. He held out his hand toward Ace, but only far enough that Utakata and I peered closer out of curiosity. "Room."

At his call, a translucent blue dome expanded around us, centering on Law and flickering at a range of about three meters, just enough that Ace's frozen form lay within its border. He stretched out his palm in a gesture, like he was moving aside a sliding door. "Scan."

Nothing happened from what I could see, Law's eyes went distant the same way a medic-nin's would.

He's like Rin, I thought with a frown. Someone who earned an epithet like "Surgeon of Death" was practically guaranteed a certain level of supernatural medical skill. But Rin wasn't here, and I could no more afford the homesickness now than during the actual fight. Not until all of my friends were safe.

Utakata eyed him dubiously. Weaponless and exhausted or not, he was still dangerous to anything like a standard-pattern human, so I signalled something like "Hold." It didn't necessarily match Kirigakure's hand signals, but Utakata stilled anyway.

Even if I'd never seen Utakata and Ace hold a full conversation without interlopers, the frustrated twinge in his chakra was made almost entirely of concern. Most jinchūriki didn't have a lot of friends. We tended to stick like glue to the ones we did.

"Akainu, I assume," Law said, mostly under his breath.

When it looked like Utakata wouldn't respond, I said, "Correct."

Utakata retreated, either too emotionally exhausted to add anything or otherwise just not willing to stand anymore. This also put him outside the dome, which he eyed with weary confusion. After a pause to gather himself, he walked over to the unconscious Yugito and sat next to her on Matatabi's paws. He looked lost. Young and uncertain, in a way he hadn't allowed anyone to see through most of this seafaring journey.

I tried not to think about it. Yugito and Ace came first, for now.

The sphere of Room's influence expanded then, without prompting. Its edges swallowed all of us barring Matatabi's back half.

"Shambles," Law said, after about a minute's contemplation had passed. Between one blink and the next, the ice block with Ace in it was replaced by a random chunk of hardened obsidian from the Akainu fight. Where the block had been, Ace's prison sat, right by the yellow submarine ten meters away.

Exchange-based teleportation. Huh. Only within the bounds of the "Room," though. Maybe I'd get another look at the power later.

"Thank you for this," I said instead, though it barely felt like my sincerity came through my fatigue.

Law fixed me with a piercing stare, his gaze considering but still stoic.

I didn't blink during the staring contest. After being eyeballed by Yang Kurama, anything else was cake in comparison. And besides, my communication skills had taken a hit regarding anybody without a chakra system. Reading Law's emotions was a little beyond me.

"Don't mention it," he said after a moment's pause and a blink, his shoulders relaxing and turning to slouch his way back to the submarine, "Your friend was cool enough to crack us out of the ice. It's the least I could do."

I reluctantly raised my opinion of Law by several points, due to the pun.

In any case, our job here was done. Now, we had to get out of here intact.

I turned to Utakata and raised my voice to say, "Grab Saiken and—"

Kokuō was the most subtle of the Tailed Beasts I'd felt, since we technically hadn't ever met. Isobu could produce mist that fogged even Sensei's ability to detect people by their chakra signatures. In hindsight, it was perhaps less than surprising that Isobu's higher-ranked siblings had an aptitude for genjutsu, too. Kokuō, perhaps due to her reserved personality, made Isobu's and my efforts look like cobbled-together hackjobs.

Two blinks and she was just there. Like she'd been there the whole time, right at the edge of my range, still foggy but present when she hadn't been before. I hadn't even known a Tailed Beast had the capability to cloak themselves so thoroughly.

"—please go meet up with Han and our friends," I said, having changed tack quickly enough that it almost seemed like I'd planned to end the sentence that way the whole time. "Kokuō's here."

Utakata didn't seem any more enthusiastic about the changing circumstances, but he hauled himself to his feet anyway. I owed him another hug or something later.

As he left, my eyes met Matatabi's much larger ones across the crater that was Akainu's final resting place. "Do you want to leave Yugito here for a checkup? Just in case."

Matatabi considered this, then carefully levered Yugito off her paws. Her huge face turned toward Law, then she said, "Do try to keep Ace and Yugito together. They will recover better that way."

Translation: Their most recent memories were of fighting two admirals, and they'd wake up swinging. Seeing each other alive would probably keep them both from setting everything on fire. Even if they both ended up drugged to the kills on painkillers, which would honestly just put flammable items more at risk. Power came back before control did.

"I'll take it under advisement," Law told her.

"Thank you."

Due primarily to the lack of solid ground, Yugito ended up wrapped in my Whitebeard jacket like a safety blanket. Because she'd been wearing long sleeves before this, it at least didn't make her injuries any worse than lying directly on the ice would. Under my jacket, my tank top provided precisely the protection from the cold I expected—jack and shit—but I could live with that more than Yugito would tolerate burned flesh touching ice.

Yugito looked terrible, but chakra burns were (marginally) more painful than dangerous. And being unconscious took care of one of those problems.

Once her partner was safely bundled up, Matatabi's blue bulk lifted off the ice—leaving a watery trench in the shape of the world's largest cat loaf—and she headed off in the same direction as Utakata.

"I expected the one with the higher bounty to be the captain, Blade-ya," Law said, once the last traces of the fiery doom cat was out of sight. He still seemed cautious around me, and for good reason. "And that ink wasn't on your bounty poster."

I tilted my head to one side, a little puzzled by the mention of my tattoo and his sudden interest in speaking more than grunts. And as far as that goes, "Blade-ya?" What the hell is that nickname?

The silence stretched long enough for me to remember that I was probably supposed to say something. Probably not the greatest first impression. Really, I'd been doing nothing but bewildering people since I arrived.

"…Probably because I was wearing sleeves when they made the composite sketches?" It was strictly accurate, but missed almost all of the context. Much like with my early meetings with the Straw Hat Pirates and their nicknaming captain, I decided against saying precisely what was on my mind. Most strangers didn't care. And then I answered Law's other implied question with, "As for bounties, Utakata wanted Admiral Akainu's attention. He got it, and now Akainu's dead."

"You don't say?" Law's smile was not a nice thing, doubtlessly he held just as little affection for the infamous Red Dog of the World Government as anyone else that was exposed to his existence.

There was little doubt that while the capacity for scheming had somehow missed Luffy entirely, the grand pirate spirit was alive and well in Law. It was written all over his face. I could practically hear the gears turning in his brain.

"Yep." And with any luck, serious conversation could wait until everyone was bundled in bandages. Preferably while attached to IVs and on the mend, but I'd take what I could get. Isobu?

The situation here seems under control now. I could go find the others.

I just managed to stop myself from nodding, remembering that we had an audience. We're done here, unless Kokuō showing up failed to end that fight somehow.

It could be less boring than waiting for anyone to wake up, Isobu said speculatively. He ducked under the waves, his waving tails the last sign of his presence. His wake set the submarine astir again, but only for long enough for Law's crew to fuss.

Law watched him go, giving the waves a suspicious look for a few seconds after he disappeared. A less-experienced fighter might not have noticed the way Law visibly gathered himself, expression slamming back to neutral like a gear change.

I rolled one stiff shoulder. It'd been a long time since I'd use the Mountain Cutter in a fight with an opponent I couldn't kill with it. Eying Law warily, I said aloud, "Permission to come aboard?"

"Permission granted. Tact." With this single-word command and a flick of his finger, Ace's ice prison jerked into the air in with the a telekinesis I honestly hadn't seen before, even if I knew it existed via Magnet and Dust Release. A second later, so did Yugito, coat and all.

I whistled, impressed.

Balancing his confirmed patients with two fingers, he still took the time to glance back at me and use his other hand for a second, quicker, "Scan."

"I'm fine," I said, before Law could complete what was undoubtedly a medical exam, if his power was leaning the way I thought it did. Besides, I healed quickly and had avoided fighting the admirals for the bulk of this fight. Being punched across the immediate killzone didn't mean much when I was one of the jinchūriki most resistant to blunt force.

"What you are is a nominally responsible adult in this mess, while she on the other hand has cracked every rib on her left side," Law said, referring to Yugito's floating form with a tilt of his head. He curled the fingers in the same hand he'd used for the telekinesis, muttering, "Room."

The blue field expanded to encompass his entire submarine as we kept walking. I followed him less because I trusted Law farther than Fū could throw him and more because someone had to keep an eye on the pair of pyros who'd gotten themselves put out of action. If I could be sure of anything at this rate, I'd take my teammates' safety over other certainties.

If we couldn't manage an overwhelming victory with four Tailed Beasts and an ambush, we might as well all hand in our headbands.

Speaking of overwhelming things, what are the Nine-Tailed pair up to?

For the briefest second, Isobu hesitated. Well…

Naruto

Naruto's ears popped as he landed, distracting him for a split second. While the summoning smoke dispersed and he shook out his eardrums, he just missed the chance to be the one to tackle-hug his mother instead of the other way around. Instead, two bangle-laden arms wrapped around him with desperate love that could only belong to one person.

"Mom!"

"Naruto!"

Mom's arms tightened like a constrictor snake, but in a good way. There was a certain kind of hug that could pop bits of anybody's spine and force the rest of the world to go away and handle itself for a bit. It felt like protection and love. Mom was a master at them.

Naruto buried his face against her neck, while she pressed her cheek to the top of his head.

"Missed you," Naruto said, muffled by his mother's hair.

"Missed you more," was the teary response.

"Heh, maybe." Okay, that was enough sappiness. Naruto pulled as far back as his mother's grip would allow, noting that his feet weren't touching the ground. He made a thoughtful face, or as much as he could with his vision swimming a bit. He'd missed her. "I had Kei-sensei, but I guess all you had was Octopops, huh? Guess you win."

"Like I'd want to win a competition like that!" his mom blustered, but she was grinning too much to take that seriously. She blinked a few times, then finally let him stand on his own two feet again. Holding him out at arm's length, she said, "Hey, you feel stronger than I do."

"I'm just more popular! I've only trained a bit, compared to what Kakashi-sensei used to make me do," Naruto said, dismissing the backhanded praise with a shake of his head. "I didn't change much, really."

Though Naruto wouldn't ever say it, Mom looked a little different. With her hair up and held out of her face with a bandana, he could see the telltale pink of healing sunburn across her nose and cheekbones. Instead of her dressed-down look at home, Mom kind of looked like she was on a mission and vacation at once—her hair was tied up and back, but she wore a floral-patterned green shirt with mission-loose pants, and a big, long coat over her shoulders like a cloak. Mostly, the outfit was kind of confusing, but it at least looked a lot like what the Red Hair Pirates wore. It helped direct attention away from the faint shadows under her eyes, which were all but gone thanks to her smile.

As he counted up differences tallied over the last few months, he didn't doubt she did the same. Especially when Mom said, "Is this a cravat?"

"I guess! Oh, oh, here." Naruto held out his right hand, baring his wrist with all its visible numbers. One, two, three, six, seven, and half of the number nine all stood out starkly, with only a few more dark spaces left to go. "See? Proof I'm making friends! I'm fine."

Mom stared down at his hand for a second or two, then started laughing. Under her bangles, only eight and the opposite half and the number nine mark were visible. "You've gotten better at talking back! And it's—I'm just so happy you're safe and making friends. Don't your dad and I always say you could land on your feet anywhere?"

Naruto nodded, grinning to match her. "And now it's your turn!"

Mom's right hand met his halfway between them.

YOU HAVE FOUND—

Naruto's ears rang for a second.

ASSEMBLE THE NINE.

Naruto blinked at the strange wording, even after the purple light faded from dancing eyespots. Was that what the others had heard when he met up with them in the first place? He got numbers for the other jinchūriki, not just the headache-inducing shouting inside his head. Only Kei-sensei had ever said for sure.

When he got his brain back, his mom gave him a second, quicker hug that was a lot less worried. They'd gotten the "worried" out of the way a couple times now, so they had practice and it went faster. And the flash of red light in her eyes was honestly one of the cooler things he'd seen in about a week.

The last couple months of Naruto's life had been a bit wild, context or no context.

"So, where am I?" Naruto asked, once he got his mom to settle for slinging one arm over his shoulders.

"Talk about tunnel vision, kid," said a voice Naruto only sort of recognized. Leaning forward to get a better look, he caught the flash of red hair he'd initially thought was his mother's.

Just from what time he'd spent on and around ships recently Naruto made a series of snap assessments: he was totally at sea on a pirate ship, he could see the curve of one of Gyūki's horns and Yin Kurama's ears off to each side of the ship, and the sail had a skull with crossed swords and a large swatch of red right through one eye socket. And since his mom was here…

This was the Red Force. Hell yeah!

Naruto grinned, pointing directly at the pirate across the deck. "You!"

"Me!" the guy said, pointing at his own scarred face with his right hand and a goofy grin, eyes wide. His left sleeve flapped, empty, which left only one possible person this could be. "You're Naruto, right? I've heard you over snail calls every couple days, I think, so I sure hope you are."

"Yeah! And you're Shanks," replied Naruto. He bowed a little, because Dad taught him his manners even if he mostly didn't need to use them. "So, what're we doing now?"

"Dahahaha, a brat after my own heart! Just like I expected from Kushina's kid." Shanks leaned back, arm now resting on the hilt of the sword on his right hip like it was the comfiest part of an office chair. "Take a look around."

Naruto did, rushing to the edge of the deck with his mother in his wake. He slammed his hands on the railing and hopped up onto it with a whoop, one hand snatching a rope to secure his grip.

From the conversations over the last couple of weeks, and from a few Revolutionary intelligence reports he wasn't supposed to see, Naruto knew the Red Hair Pirates only had one ship, and a crew that numbered less than thirty. The various scallywags and misfits that made up most pirate crews were well-represented with the Red Hair Pirates, though no known member of their group used Devil Fruit powers. The World Government thought Shanks's most recent recruits did, but they didn't know Mom and Killer B really at all. They didn't know Kei-sensei or the others either.

The biggest ship near the Red Force had a prow shaped like a grinning catfish, and it sat so much taller that Naruto had to lean back to see its sails properly. Or the other pirates leaning over the railing to peer down and see what all the shouting was about.

Naruto waved with one hand, grinning. After a handful of seconds where about half of the motley crew waved back in bewilderment, Naruto scanned the rest of the area. There were tons more ships, with sails decorated with individual jolly rogers. If not for their positions sailing in the wake of the whale ship and the Red Force, they wouldn't look like a coherent fleet at all. Hell, he was pretty sure he could see an actual giant swimming near one of them.

So cool. And he could even see the huge triple-masts of the Moby Dick if he angled himself right, just like they'd planned.

"Gotcha!" Mom snatched him off the railing with both arms, like she used to when he was a lot smaller and walked along the top of the couch.

"Hey! Mom—"

"You completely skipped introductions," Mom said, not to be argued with. Despite setting him down an instant later, and the wild thrum of exploration in his veins, he let her steer him back toward where the rest of the Red Hair Pirates were waiting for a chat.

He'd never seen Kei-sensei get out of her grip, either. Naruto picked his battles better than some.

"Okay, okay. But you've gotta tell me if you're gonna hit the other guys." Naruto nudged her with his elbow. "You know I can't miss that! And Old Man Yang will be pissed if he doesn't get to fight something."

"I bet he will," Mom said, and that was when they made it back to the foredeck.

For the next few minutes, Naruto learned a bunch of names and promptly forgot most of them. Lucky Roo, Benn Beckman, and Yasopp (Usopp's dad?), and their new recruit Rockstar stood out a bit, but he'd have to ask everyone a second time later. Even the monkey, if it ever came up. Even if he wasn't distracted by the sheer amount of stuff moving all over the place, Naruto would probably only remember like four names, tops, until he got to know everyone better.

"She never stops talking about you, Naruto," said Lucky Roo, crouching down a little so Naruto didn't have to look up quite so far to see his face. "You know, when we first met, she was nearly spitting fire like that Ace kid? Marched up to the first pirate she ran into and demanded directions, never mind that he was a Kaido lackey and was trying to pick a fight with Rockstar here."

"And then she throttled him," put in Yasopp, smirking.

"And then she throttled him," Lucky Roo agreed, "but only after he tried to claw her for interrupting."

"In my defense," said Mom, a little shamefaced, "I didn't know anything except that I wasn't in the house, my family was missing, and I couldn't contact anyone but Yin Kurama. I just headed for the nearest town."

"We were going to party that night anyway," said Shanks with a laugh. "Adding a little more property damage on top didn't end up meaning too much in the end! The hangover cure she made was worth tossing that guy into the bay."

Naruto's attention flicked back and forth between all the participants in the conversation, like he was watching Dad and Mom spar. Words just flew faster than chains or kunai. "Wow, Dad and Tatsumaki are gonna wanna hear about this."

"Not unless I tell them myself—"

"If I have to tell them about the stuff I did while out here—"

A couple of the Red Hair Pirates started laughing.

"It's not a party," announced a voice from the far side of the ship, "without me!"

Killer B leapt up from the sea, weaving through the masts before landing neatly on the foredeck where everyone was gathered. He zeroed in on Naruto immediately. Aside from some extra stitching on his scarf, he looked pretty much exactly like the bounty poster Kei-sensei collected ages ago. He even still wore his Kumogakure headband and his flak jacket.

"Well, I think it's plain to see," Killer B began, in the face of Naruto's widening grin, "that you've been waiting on the one—the only—Lord Eight-Tails's partner, Killer B!"

"Hi, Octopops! I think this is literally the first time we've met for real, but you're pretty cool!"

Killer B deflated a little, probably because Naruto didn't continue his rhyme scheme. He "Speaking of things going unseen, do you have any idea where Yugito's been?"

"I mean, last I saw her she was going off to go beat up an admiral with Ace, at least before Kei-sensei had Isobu eat me," Naruto told him, as Killer B whipped out a notebook. "Then Mom summoned me here in the middle of that because she missed me, I guess!"

"Speaking of summoning, did you want to bring Yang Kurama along to this party?" Mom asked. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder, indicating the far starboard wing of the fleet. "Yin Kurama and Gyūki are over that way, and—" Mom suddenly stopped mid-sentence, frowning. "Naruto, what were you doing before you arrived? Why would Kei have Isobu eat you?"

"I was mostly staying out of it." It wasn't a lie! Kei-sensei might've got into a fight with the old Marine earlier than she wanted to because the battle lines got kinda mixed up, but he never got hurt. Honestly, Kei-sensei's constant insistence that he had to be the last one into a fight and the first one out was still a bit suffocating.

"Naruto."

"Things got a little out of hand, but the plan is still working," Naruto insisted, crossing his arms stubbornly. "Nobody's noticed the Whitebeards aren't back there."

Kokuō has arrived. Old Man Yang's voice cut through Naruto's brain like the sound of a distant landslide. Whatever chance the enemy might have had is long gone. He heaved a sigh that would blow over a house. Summon me before I contemplate death by boredom, brat.

You sure you don't wanna join Chōmei or something? Naruto had to be sure.

That buzzing annoyance hardly chose a challenge, Old Man Yang told him haughtily. I have standards.

"That look on your face is a little like Kei's," said Mom, snapping him out of that conversation. It wasn't like Naruto really had a comeback for Old Man Yang, so it wasn't a big deal. "Was that Yang Kurama?"

"Yep. He wants in on this," Naruto said. Then he held out his right hand to Killer B, marks all plainly visible. "Come on, Octopops, don't you wanna partner with Gyuki for real again?"

Killer B's gloves blocked his band of seals entirely, but the way he rushed to comply gave away his excitement. "I ain't gonna say no," he said with an answering smirk, "from my newest little bro."

"I'm not little— " Naruto protested, before being cut off.

YOU HAVE FOUND THE EIGHTH.

GATHER THE NINE.

"—and that voice is the fucking worst," Naruto concluded, blinking purple spots from his vision. "I think I hate it. Like, worse than vegetables."

It took him a bit to realize Mom was still well within earshot and shaking her head.

"Uh, I mean…"

"You probably don't even remember where you learned that word, do you?" Mom asked, covering her face with both hands in overacted despair.

"Probably from existing near pirates," said Naruto, who had definitely learned most of his "bad words" glossary before the age of ten.

People didn't swear around the Hokage's kids if they didn't want to be subjected to Dad's Most Disappointed Face™, but Naruto had always been really good at getting into places he wasn't supposed to. And dodging would-be babysitters who weren't his dad's clones. Not all of the shinobi who spent time around the office were sensors, either!

Also, Kaito…existed. Naruto still wasn't sure where he'd learned how to string that many curses together, but didn't think it was Kei-sensei.

Mom gave Naruto a long, skeptical look, but gave up before she could wrangle the truth out of him because something exploded in the distance, making everyone's heads whip around to follow the noise.

"Sounds like somebody official finally noticed us!" Shanks said in a bright voice. "Battle stations, people."

Mom steered Naruto away from the crew as all of them gave bloodthirsty whoops (the loudest belonging to Killer B, of course). After they rounded the corner, Mom took a careful breath and wrapped Naruto in another hug. This time, he heard her signature chakra chains start unspooling from her back and dragging along the deck.

"Naruto," Mom said, "Yin Kurama tells me that all three Admirals are down. That the only thing in our way now is Marineford itself."

"They are," said Naruto, because Old Man Yang wouldn't be so pissed off if they weren't.

"Knowing that, I…" When Mom pulled back this time, her eyes were the same red as both Kuramas'. "I know you're a strong fighter. So are so many other people here, and those you just left behind. I just want you to be safe."

"I know, Mom," Naruto said. "But Mom, I've been basically everywhere this last few months. I was with the Revolutionaries starting the same time you met the Red Hair Pirates, and I've busted into Marine bases, and I helped us get through Impel Down. I don't think we've got an easy way to get me to Old Man Rayleigh's group, not after I decided to stick to Kei-sensei. So now you're stuck with me."

"I'm not 'stuck' with you," Kushina corrected firmly. "You're sticking with me, because we're in this together now. Just make sure you don't go off on your own. If you have to, because of something neither of us saw coming, Yang Kurama is home base."

"This isn't Hide and Seek, Mom."

"You know what I meant."

"I guess."

I am waiting.

"And anyway, I've got more of a grip on Old Man Yang's chakra than you or Octopops do on your partners'," Naruto added. Seven unlocked seals definitely beat two apiece on the adults. "So I'm honestly in less danger than you two are!"

"…Pretty sure we've been adding to our repertoire of shinobi tricks for longer than you've been alive, punk." But Mom ruffled his hair fondly and added, "You have a point, but no risks. You're still a kid who doesn't even need to throw a punch with this many adults around, and you know it."

Something about the way Mom said that made Naruto's face scrunch into a scowl. Well, yeah, there were hundreds of grown pirates around, and two whole Emperors, and Mom and Killer B, but—

"Summon Yang Kurama," Mom said, cupping Naruto's face in her hands. "We'll take care of this."

Naruto heaved a deep, deep sigh and finally said, "Okay."

AN: Ta-dah! The main force of the Whitebeard Pirates were never within striking distance of the three Admirals, even if the belief that they were got the Marines to over-commit. Funny how mass genjutsu and impenetrable fog works so well in tandem.