Novels2Search

Chapter I

Today, Shelldows Islands, New World...

The Grand Line, an immense expanse of crystal-clear water that stretched for miles and miles, coloring itself a thousand different shades ranging from blue to emerald, so boundless that it was difficult to tell where it ended and the sky then began. Another indecipherable mystery in this vast and unexplored world.

A large, armored Marine vessel was plying the waves of the second half of the New World in an easterly direction, skirting the islands of Shelldows. It was swaying and gasping as never before, at the mercy of the peculiar and bizarre weather in this part of the world. Clouds hung low in the skies, only a few dozen meters from the sea, and a furious wind mixed with snow swept the deck far and wide, foreshadowing how it was ready to pour out its irrepressible fury on the unsuspecting unfortunate.

Overlooking the ship's rail, a man with short brown hair combed to the side and dark eyes that revealed nothing, watched the frightening typhoon looming on the horizon. He was slender and of rather considerable stature, with a long white coat fitted with gold ornaments slung over his shoulders, a smart shirt of the same color and a pair of reddish pants.

«Looks like someone didn't sleep a wink tonight, am I right?» asked a deep voice behind him, and the young man didn't need to turn around to see who it belonged to.

«I don't know Doc, you tell me» he replied with obvious sarcasm, and in response, the other advanced a few steps in his direction. It was a man of medium height and with an extravagant gray mustache, wrapped in a smart pearl-colored suit.

His identity matched that of Edward White, a renowned physician and scientist in the World Government. An individual of rare intelligence and always ready to lend a helping hand, should the need arise.

The brown-haired boy lowered his face, beginning to fiddle nervously with a golden pendant that hung from the chain around his neck.

«It all seems clearer to me now» continued the old man flanking him, «I guess the source of all your worries is that strange trinket you keeps fiddling with, am I wrong, perhaps?» he asked, pointing to the object swinging left and right.

«With all due respect Doc» replied the boy coldly, turning his gaze outward, where the hurricane continued to rage and lightning and thunderbolts ripped through the sky, «But this is none of your business»

«I apologize for my thoughtlessness, Vice Admiral» he said in his usual courteous voice «It was not my intention to pry into your affairs» concluded the elderly man, making a small bow

«There is nothing for you to worry about» the young man tried to reassure him «Everything is all right»

« I don't doubt that. However, if I may permit myself, I would like to expound on a small consideration of mine »

«I'm listening» replied the man who was curious to find out where the old scientist was going with this.

« Soon we will face serious changes that will threaten the delicate balance we have built with sufficient patience and effort. Soon, an unprecedented crisis will convulse the entire planet. Demons are now at our doorstep, and only a genuine miracle could foil the ominous fate that awaits us. And on that dark day, all of us will be placed before a terrible choice. You, first and foremost, will have to face your past, and nothing could save you from carrying such a burden »

«Come on, don't you think you're being too apocalyptic, Doc?» the young man asked with a smirk, continuing to stare at the lightning-lit cliffs that took on shapes that were frightening to say the least. It was as if that delicate corner of Paradise had been imbued with a strange and evil aura and had come to life, becoming something very much like a hideous creature «What makes you think this is a plausible scenario?»

«We have already had the opportunity to observe clear premonitory signs that would irrefutably confirm what I have just told you» resumed the scholar undaunted, «Besides...you may be as skeptical as you like, but in your heart you know how right I am»

«You're a scientist, for heaven's sake!» blurted out the young man, turning to face him, losing for a single moment the classic calm and flamboyance that distinguished him «You're supposed to be an educated man who doesn't pay attention to such cheap nonsense like a common oaf would. These aren't subjects for you. It is the task of the Admirals and the Fleet Admiral. You should try to stick to what you do best and use your knowledge for the greater good, no more and no less. It is because of this and because of your amazing abilities that you are under the command of the World Government and not with a noose around your neck. Have I made myself sufficiently clear, Mr. White?»

The man nodded despondently, as if at that moment he wanted to mingle with the froth of the waves rather than continue to bear the Vice Admiral's wrath. In the meantime, the violent storm swallowed one of the nearby islands in one go, raising great waves that slammed into the armored vessel with extraordinary power. Even larger thunderbolts than the previous ones ripped through the sky, followed almost immediately by terrible roars of thunder, with no echoes as the world was largely choked with rain.

«Now if you don't mind, I would appreciate being alone» he added, remaining leaning back to observe what that frightening spectacle still had to offer.

«As you wish, Vice Admiral» said the old man before turning on his heel and disappearing into the cabin, babbling things that appeared to the young man's ear as incomprehensible, but he decided not to inquire further, thoughtful as he was about the words addressed to him by the distinguished scientist

«Live by what you believe, little pest» whispered the young man, returning to clutch the locket tightly, «There are circumstances in which it is fate that determines what you will be able to do. Ask the world, the day when we meet again will come soon» he concluded, turning one last glance at the violent storm, the same storm that raged within his soul.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the New World...

« Looks like a storm is coming »

On a seemingly nameless island in the New World, a large handful of men were camped around a large campfire, about five hundred yards south of the mammoth and lavish wrought-iron gate that separated the wilderness from the entrance to the kingdom of Arashi, a place the subject of a thousand stories and reveries about the presence of a legendary relic belonging to none other than the infamous Pounce D. Leon, hidden from the prying eyes of the whole world.

However, it was ruled by a terrible despot, who came to power after a bloody civil war in an attempt to claim that fearsome secret exclusively for himself.

«So how do we move, boss?» asked one of them, casting a glance at another to his left, the one who looked every bit like the commander.

On his head, folded jauntily, was a wide-brimmed leather hat with a tuft of feathers, and a fur cloak fashioned from who knows what creature wrapped and protected him from the bitter cold that was beginning to seep right into his bones, an unmistakable sign that winter was now upon us. At a rough guess he could have been no more than forty years old, although he looked considerably younger.

The man remained silent for a while longer, perhaps carefully assessing the situation and what they would face, throwing another small wood into the fire to keep it alive. A handful of sparks rose in the air for a moment before dispersing, and at the same juncture, small flakes of icy snow settled on the heavy clothes worn by those individuals and on the weapons they were carrying.

They were probably on a mission for a foreign nation or simply mercenaries hired to overthrow the royalist regime. They were quite common in those areas.

The man put a hand on the boy's shoulder and stood up, turning to his other comrades «First of all folks, stop calling me a 'he'. Although I am one of your commanders, the cause for which we have sworn to fight and to give our very lives should it be necessary makes us all brothers as well as comrades. And a brother is never given the he, understood?» Everyone nodded in the presence of that enigmatic character, «Second, how should we act? I've thought and rethought, but the city is hermetically sealed and the only way in seems to be that damn gate ahead of us, so...» he paused a little «...Check your equipment and be ready, for at my signal...We will unleash hell!»

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Inside the kingdom, the situation seemed rather calm, oblivious to what was happening outside its walls. Night had fallen quickly, as had silence on the streets of the capital. The only audible sounds were the howling of the wind and the heavy footsteps of the soldiers who discreetly patrolled the entire area, keeping to the sidelines but carefully checking every suspicious alley or hiding place, just so as not to run into any unpleasant surprises.

Arashi was a well-fortified and impregnable city, protected by the equally firm steel gateway that was the only entrance to the kingdom and that once crossed led to the main square, the same square that was now manned by a group of at least a hundred guards. Probably the reason for all this security was attributable to the treasure that they so jealously guarded and that was tempting to a lot of thieves and pirates. Even a few adventurers who prided themselves on wanting to follow in the footsteps of the "King of Explorers" had come to that place in search of it, however, colliding in the sad fate that awaited those who aspired to the same dream.

Soon their attention was caught by something coming from beyond the seastone-clad enclosure : A bluish bolt of lightning fell very close, illuminating the surrounding area like a beacon, followed soon after by the deafening and sinister burst of thunder. The second crossed the sky like a serpent's tongue, before pouring over the walls and destroying the central tower, eliminating the myriad of lookouts on it.

«What the hell was that?» screamed one of the sentries in fright.

«I don't know...» replied the second one, unable to understand what her eyes had just seen.

«It seems that the gods are angry» whispered another, watching as a third thunderbolt hurled itself vigorously across the ground just outside the gate, producing a violent shockwave that knocked those in its vicinity a few feet off their feet and caused serious damage to adjacent structures.

«Fall in line soldiers!» ordered an individual of tall stature and wielding a large sharp spear «Stop this nonsense and head for the gate. My sixth sense warns me to prepare for the worst. Are you ready to face the storm?»

«YES!» shouted many, drawing their swords and raising them to the lightning-shaken sky.

«Then, move!» the leader once again intimated to them, «Bunch of useless superstitious people!»

The men rushed toward the large grille clutching their swords tightly, confident that they would be able to find whoever or whatever was trying to make an attempt on the kingdom, but they were not even in time to notice that once they reached the entrance, a furious gust of emerald-colored wind destroyed it easily as if it were paper, running over the group of soldiers full force and dragging them into a whirlwind.

In the cloud of dust that had risen and engulfed the atrium, a group armed to the teeth emerged, pouring out into the city streets and attacking the remaining surviving troops

«Come on people, it's time for the wind of revolution to unleash its fury and free the country from tyranny!» those warriors exclaimed in unison, defeating one after another whoever stood in their way.

«Men!» exclaimed the commander in reply, «Do not be intimidated by such a rabble. Are we or are we not men of the king?»

«Yes!» replied the soldiers fiercely.

« Then drive out the invader! Slaughter them all! »

***

«We must raise the alarm at once, general» said one of the soldiers as he ran northward inside the citadel, the last stronghold defending the royal palace. «The Revolutionary Army has penetrated the kingdom and is slaughtering our men. At their head is the man everyone calls "Rogue"»

«Is Byron Drace here?» asked the general paling before such news «What is one of the leaders of the Revolutionary Army doing here? Could it be that the revolutionaries have decided out of the blue to get their hands on Leon's treasure? We must warn the king immediately and see to it that the artifact is brought to safety. There is not a minute to lose»

«It will be done, sir» the young man nodded, heading in great haste toward the royal palace. Something, however, brought his advance to a sudden halt, something that bolted the horse on which he was sitting, which reared up, unhitching its rider, to flee into the dusty cloud that was getting closer and closer.

The soldier lifted his gaze, nailing it in the figure that stood before him. It was a figure with a slender, trained physique, the same one seen earlier around the fire. He was the one everyone was talking about, the man who made people tremble at the mere sound of his name, "Rogue."

«You're not going anywhere» the revolutionary stated with some confidence, taking on a somewhat amused expression.

***

Taking advantage of the chaos that was brewing along the streets of Arashi, a man with thick black hair tied back in a pigtail, somewhat in the manner of Wano's samurai, with a single, thick topknot sprouting from the front and falling over his face, was about to climb the palace walls undisturbed, probably in search of the much-vaunted artifact.

A long black coat with gold buttons wrapped a slender and rather muscular physique, accompanied by cobalt blue silk pants tucked into tall boots of the same hue. Tied at the waist was a red sash from which hung some golden ornaments, in which was stowed a curved-shaped blade, rather peculiar and unusual in those parts, one of those swords that many call "Kopesh." However, the most striking feature of that individual was undoubtedly the long scar that ran across his left eye.

Who followed him was someone equally bizarre, something that many would have described as a freak of nature and that to others represented a hideous abomination: a strange filamentous creature that was tall and slender, equipped with purple suckers and whose body glowed so blue that it was as if made of sapphire. On the top of its head sprouted a huge dome that extended all the way down below its face.

It was undoubtedly a strange hybrid of a jellyfish and a human being, one of the exponents of an ancient and superb race of sea-dwellers, now considered outcast and unnatural, namely the Fish-Men.

«I have to admit that the diversion worked great, didn't it Yoi?» asked the young man as he continued undaunted to climb the steep wall «Just a little more and we'll finally be in the throne room. You just keep following me and try not to do anything incredibly stupid, as usual» Despite the fact that he felt rather weakened by the presence of the particular cover that protected the entire kingdom and emanated the same energy as the sea, that individual possessed a tenacity that many would call uncommon in facing such situations.

In response, the semi-gelatinous being nodded, when an explosion from above caught their attention: One of the windows directly above them deflagrated in a fireball, raining a myriad of shards of glass and debris downward, forcing them to raise their arms to shelter from the hell that had just engulfed them.

However, what mattered most to that boy was not the flaming waterfall they had narrowly avoided, but more to the fact that the fish man in attempting to lift his upper limbs had just let go and was now irreparably plummeting.

«Yoi!» cried the stunned boy, although he knew that such an eventuality was to be reckoned with, given the recidivism of the subject, coupled with the fact that jellyfish do not have sufficiently active and developed brains like humans.

He had only one alternative to prevent his companion from smashing to the ground like melted butter, only one solution, and that was to throw himself down and attempt to reach him before they both ended up in the next world.

« Hang in there, I'm coming for you now. Geppo! »

In no time at all, he accomplished a feat that the less informed would have described as exceptional if not more so: That strange boy, floating and moving at great speed suspended in the void, moving in the direction of the fish man as if he was one of those supersonic projectiles given to the Marine just two years ago. He didn't even produce who knows what noise or great displacement of air, which was perfect for not alerting the guards not engaged in the riot that was ravaging the streets of the capital and manning through the loopholes or those probably still in the royal hall.

He had just used one of the secret techniques that World Government intelligence had mastered since time immemorial and of which only very few pirates were aware, which should have said a lot about his skills or the fame he carried wherever he went.

Once he reached his companion, he grabbed it vigorously, leaping swiftly to the first handhold he could locate. Just in time, someone could have exulted, or on the king's table that night there would also have been coelenterate sushi. For a few seconds, the young man had forgotten the feeling of fatigue due to the seastone, but now it was returning even more disruptively than before, and that would prevent him from once again escaping some other mortal danger that came his way, provided that his partner didn't make any more trouble

Behind them, thunderbolt struck the tower to the south, accompanied by a tremendous roar that rattled the palace's crystalline stained-glass windows, finely decorated with images that accurately told the story of the ruler's seizure of power. Small sparks resembling fireworks rose high in the blackish sky; the revolutionaries had probably struck and destroyed the ammunition stores and now the fire was devouring much of the structure. The cloud of dust that was already swelling and engulfing half the city made it all the more eerie.

Under their feet, the situation was getting more and more out of control.

«"It seems that Shay and the others are giving free rein to their immeasurable ferocity,"» thought the boy as he observed what was consuming below. Those who were lending support to the revolutionary army were part of a crew so dangerous that even the devil himself would not want to sail with them, despite the fact that they paid homage to this figure in many ways «"We'd better hurry. I dread to think what Yorek or Callaghan might do if they got too involved in the battle. When they want to they can be ruthless."»

«Is our chance Yoi» asserted the young man with some contentment as he entered through the opening in the wall, where until a few minutes before there was one of those famous frescoes of the ruler, landing in what all seemed to be the kitchen. Ladles, pans and whatnot had been thrown about in bulk, probably the servants had been given the alarm to leave the building immediately once the revolutionaries had attacked it. A spicy, good smell invaded his nostrils, and both their stomachs roared as if it were a ravenous beast in a cage.

«We are not here to eat, Yoi. Remember the mission» the boy admonished him, and a despondent expression appeared on the fish man's face. It seemed they had not touched food for days, probably spent meticulously studying the plan to infiltrate the kingdom.

Having also passed the dining room, the two found themselves in a wide hallway, the floor of which was lined with soft, thick green cloth. Large paintings hung on the walls, each depicting various figures in solemn poses. Lighting was provided by a series of candles, set on imposing silver candelabra. The hallway seemed deserted, and the many wooden and white gold doors facing it were closed

The boy tried to pry open the one to his right, stepping into it with the fish man «"We will finally be able to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Leon and his crew."»