Sea Circle Calendar 1508.
Revolutionary Army Headquarters.
"Mr. Dragon. Mr. Dragon."
The bad news crashed down on the entire movement in an instant.
Hearing the report, the green-cloaked man with fresh tattoos beading sweat on his brow stared at the Transponder Snail, unable to believe it.
"Ginny was abducted."
"Yes. I am sorry. We ran into an unexpected enemy."
"They say a Celestial Dragon set his sights on her and wants to take her as a wife. Government ships have already carried her away."
"The unit was wiped out."
Across the room, Bartholomew Kuma's tears were already falling before he realized it.
Ginny.
Taken by the Celestial Dragons.
For the Revolutionary Army, still newly founded and fragile, Ginny being dragged up to Mary Geoise to become a World Noble's wife was almost annihilating despair. There was nothing they could do.
For the sake of the larger cause, neither Kuma nor Dragon could start a war with the Holy Land now. They could not risk the Revolutionary Army's future over a single commander, no matter how dear.
Silence pooled.
Dragon clenched his fists. Kuma wept. The air turned heavy with hopelessness.
Then Emporio Ivankov, gritting his teeth, seemed to remember something. His eyes flew wide.
He dashed to Dragon and Kuma, spreading his arms, voice urgent yet carrying a thread of hope.
"Hey. Kuma. Dragon. It is not like there is no hope at all."
His shout cut through their grief. Both men looked at him, not understanding what hope he meant.
They could not possibly fight the World Government right now. Much less the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise.
"Did you forget? For most people the Celestial Dragons are untouchable, unbeatable. But that man is different."
Dragon and Kuma blinked. After a heartbeat of thought, they seized the last straw as if drowning.
"You mean" Dragon began.
"Exactly."
Ivankov flung his arms into a flamboyant pose, face set with rare seriousness.
"If that man is willing to help, then Ginny can be saved."
"And that is"
"The Black Emperor, Ozz Dotor."
At the name, all of them saw again the king who once ruled half the sea, crimson eyes looking down coldly on the world.
Yes.
If Ozz chose to come forward, the World Government would give him face.
Besides, there were people within the Revolutionary Army who owed their place to Ozz. He might grant Dragon a favor.
"Mr. Ozz." Kuma scrubbed the tears and snot from his face with those paw-marked hands, stepped up, and seized Ivankov's shoulders, voice trembling with hope.
"Iva, is it true? Can Mr. Ozz really bring Ginny back?"
Gentle even in agitation, Kuma's voice stayed soft.
"Of course." Ivankov smiled, as if absolutely certain.
Kuma's tear-streaked face broke into a shaky smile of relief.
Compared to the two men's rising emotion, Dragon remained the colder head. Arms crossed, he spoke low.
"If it is Ozz, perhaps it is possible. However"
His tone shifted. Worry crept in.
"Since two years ago, Ozz has not shown himself anywhere on the sea. Even someone like Ginny, a master at gathering intelligence, never caught a trace of him during that time."
In Dragon's mind, scenes from the past years unspooled.
"His right hand, a man called Hawkeye, seemed to take over Ozz's control of the sea and has shown overwhelming strength. From that time on, ambitious voices began to wonder whether the king who steered an era had died for some reason."
"Even so, relying on the absolute might of Mihawk, Crocodile, Enel and other powerhouses, and with underworld magnates too frightened to move rashly, the seas did not see any great upheaval."
"That held until last year's incident."
Even Dragon, bold enough to found a revolution, felt sweat on his palms when he said it.
"You mean" Ivankov's face tightened as well.
A vision of flames swallowing the Holy Land seemed to spread before their eyes.
"Yes. Fisher Tiger's raid on the Holy Land and the liberation of countless slaves from Mary Geoise."
"The most famous name on the list was the legendary trio beloved by Ozz, once taken as the Celestial Dragons' exclusive slaves, the three sisters of Amazon Lily led by Boa Hancock."
Anyone who knew even a little about the cruelty Ozz reserved for those who offended him understood how far Fisher Tiger had gone.
Yet after escaping Mary Geoise, the fish-man still founded the Sun Pirates and sailed the seas without punishment.
When that story spread, people's minds began to race.
Underworld factions and kingdoms looking to slip free of the Black Emperor's rule and set up for themselves started jumping ship.
Then they were
Split clean in two from the map by a single kilometer-long slash from Mihawk.
Brute force kept things in line for now, but without the Black Emperor's ultimate deterrent, no one knew how long his underworld system would hold. Many chose to wait and see.
"In other words, even if the plan is sound, the premise is that Ozz has not vanished. He must return to the sea."
At that, a good share of their heat guttered. Ivankov still held his smile and comforted Kuma.
"Easy, Kuma. A man like the Black Emperor does not go down. He will show himself sooner or later. When he does, we will beg his aid. There is still hope."
Kuma forced a smile and nodded.
In his heart, he believed Ozz was kind. Ozz would help him.
What none of them knew
Was that the man they yearned for as their savior had already stepped onto the deck of the Sun Pirates.
After surprise came and went, Fisher Tiger lowered his head like a child before him.
He believed freeing Hancock and her sisters was the right thing to do. Even so, he had crossed the benefactor of Fish-Man Island.
"I am sorry, Lord Ozz."
"I disappointed you."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"