[Cover Story Serial — White City Arc: 'Greed'"]
"In the royal capital of the Arca Kingdom, a high-level military conference had just concluded. The kingdom's old prime minister rubbed his temples, feeling both mentally and physically exhausted."
"Still couldn't persuade them... The old prime minister looked towards the direction of the king's bedchambers and let out a bitter sigh. Since His Majesty had already made the decision on the spot, determined to send troops to White City, what more could he say? It's just... the situation isn't that simple. After all, wealth stirs men's hearts. The White Lead mine that brought White City a century of prosperity – surrounding countries probably won't easily give up such a fat prize.."
——
Huh?
Nao frowned and looked more closely. Only then did he notice that, in the gap between the two battling giant Sea Kings, there indeed was a ship struggling desperately amid the monstrous waves.
Its design and style resembled a Marine warship, except that the emblem on its white sail was not the blue seagull and scales of the Marines but five circles connected in a cross.
It really was a World Government ship.
"Should we save them?" Momonga asked hesitantly — he knew their Vice admiral didn't particularly like people from the World Government.
"We'll save them, of course," Nao replied without much hesitation. "They won't hold out long. Go full speed."
Who knows who's on that World Government ship? Can't just condemn everyone before meeting them.
"Yes, Vice Admiral."
…
Thud!
Accompanied by a dull impact sound, the entire ship rocked violently back and forth. The grating sound of the hull straining constantly reached their ears, as if it would completely shatter at any moment.
Roalan VI, over sixty years old, felt his stomach churning, about to vomit everything he ate today and yesterday.
"Captain Wilson!" the fat old king yelled, clutching the rail so the gale wouldn't send him overboard. He turned angrily to shout, "Think of something quick! Damn it! If this keeps up, all my treasures will go to the bottom of the sea!"
His life is on the line, and all he cares about are his treasures?
Captain Wilson, a resolute-faced middle-aged man, was likewise gripping the rail. He only sneered at the king's shout and didn't answer, instead asking his men, "How are repairs coming along back there? Is Shumi ready?"
"Almost ready, Captain!"
Before the subordinate could respond, a muffled, hoarse shout came from the stern through the howling wind. Wilson looked in that direction and saw a flock of paper cranes flying over from there, rapidly growing in the wind until they reached a wingspan of two meters.
"Huh? What is—"
King Roalan's eyes widened. Wilson, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief and smiled smugly, "That's my deputy, Shumi. He's a Paper-Paper Fruit Devil user… Get on, Your Majesty."
There were about twenty paper cranes in total, each capable of seating two people, more than enough to accommodate everyone on board. The remaining ones could be used to load the treasures Roalan VI had brought from his country.
"Hurry, help me up!"
With the help of several attendants, Roalan heaved himself onto the cranes with great effort. They then began hauling chests and crates of treasure out of the cabin and piling them atop the empty paper cranes.
The wealth accumulated by the royal family over a century was truly staggering. Two or three full minutes passed, and even his own subordinates had all transferred, yet the treasure chests weren't all moved yet.
Damn fatty, so indecisive.
Captain Wilson cursed inwardly. Watching Shumi struggle to keep the cranes aloft, Wilson saw the man's face grow paler; the load was reaching his limit.
Finally he couldn't hold back. "Your Majesty, now's not the time — you have to leave the rest. If you don't hurry we'll all—"
"Shut up! I know!" Roalan snarled back, glaring. Seeing the widening cracks, he grit his teeth and, in a pinch-wallet gesture, waved a painful hand. "Forget it, just these last few chests. Leave the rest in the cabin! Hurry up and get on here!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The several attendants, who had been running back and forth on the cracking deck in fear and trepidation, felt as if granted amnesty upon hearing this. They hurriedly carried the chests in their arms, climbed over the railing, and jumped onto the paper cranes.
"Let's go!"
Captain Wilson gave Shumi a look. Just as he raised his hand, he suddenly felt his vision darken, as if some huge black shadow was looming overhead.
CRASH!
A deafening boom exploded nearby. One of the two giant Sea Kings battling in the storm had whipped its tail down onto the nearby waves.
It wasn't aiming for the ship at all—those colossal monsters hadn't even noticed the tiny humans beneath them. But for creatures so small, even the aftershock of their clash was a cataclysm.
BOOM!
The ship's hull was only slightly grazed, yet under the enormous impact, it instantly shattered into pieces. The towering wave that was stirred up instantly swept all the paper cranes floating near the ship into the sea.
Once the paper cranes touched seawater, they lost their original vitality and instantly melted into puddles of soft, folded paper, drifting on the surface. The mounds of treasure chests were tossed over, and gold and silver coins poured into the sea like rain.
"My treasure!"
King Roalan VI's scream tore through the storm, but Wilson couldn't care less. Grabbing a plank, he kicked free and surfaced, gasping for air—only for that familiar black shadow to fall over him again.
He looked up in horror, just in time to see a massive tail, its surface covered in bluish-green scales, descending toward him.
It's over… it's all over.
Wilson's face was ashen, filled with despair. Is this really where I'm going to die today?
KRAK-BOOM!
Just then—
The night sky suddenly filled with rolling thunder. Dark clouds gathered in an instant, and two blinding bolts of lightning ripped across the heavens, slamming down on the heads of the two monstrous Sea Kings.
BOOM!
The thunderclap shattered the air. Where the lightning struck, their scales were scorched black and peeled open, exposing raw flesh beneath.
"ROAAARRR!"
The two Sea Kings, enraged by the pain, temporarily halted their fight. They simultaneously twisted their heads, looking toward the southeast with blood-red eyes.
The next moment.
Something that left everyone utterly astonished happened.
These two enormous creatures, large enough to cover the sky, stiffened suddenly, as if they had seen something. Their originally ferocious expressions turned into one of human-like panic and confusion.
Then, their bodies trembled, and they simultaneously dove beneath the sea surface, twisting their massive forms in a frantic retreat. In the blink of an eye, they vanished without a trace into the moonlit sea.
Swoosh…
The whirlpool on the surface slowly subsided. The thunderclouds above dispersed just as quickly, leaving the sea eerily calm once more.
Wilson snapped out of his daze and looked toward the southeast, where he saw a white Marine warship cutting through the waves.
"Phew…"
Realization dawned on him, and he let out a long breath of relief, the heavy weight in his heart finally lifted.
The Marine's big shot had arrived.
They were saved.
———
"Thank you, Vice Admiral Nao."
Aboard the Thunder Hawk, Wilson wiped the water from his neck with a towel and saluted the tall figure before him gratefully.
"If you hadn't come to our aid, my men and I would all be finished here."
"It was nothing,"
Nao replied casually with a faint smile, glancing at the man before him — a rugged-faced middle-aged man in a white uniform.
"CP-0, right?"
"Yes."
Wilson gave a bitter smile and nodded. "I'm Squad Captain Wilson. We were tasked with escorting the royal family from the North Blue to the Holy Land. I thought it would be an easy task, but I didn't expect our luck to be so terrible..."
Their luck certainly was terrible.
Nao couldn't help but agree. A four-thousand-meter-long giant Sea King was rare enough — but to run into two of them fighting each other? The odds of that happening were lower than winning the lottery.
"You all should rest,"
he said calmly. "Once we're out of the Calm Belt tomorrow, I'll assign you a speedboat. You can make your own way to the Holy Land from there."
The stern-faced CP-0 captain quickly thanked him repeatedly, promising that once he returned to the Holy Land, he'd report everything to his superiors and make sure Nao received proper credit. The rest of his team echoed the sentiment.
Nao didn't care much for minor commendations. He simply smiled and said nothing.
His gaze shifted to the thin man standing beside Wilson. The man's "Paper-Paper Fruit" powers, displayed earlier, had caught his attention — quite an interesting ability. But…
That face looked a bit familiar.
"You don't remember me, sir?"
The thin man seemed excited to be recognized. "Over two years ago, on Hall Island — you saved me once before!"
Hall Island?
Nao blinked in realization.
Oh, so this guy was the unlucky one who, during the incident involving the struggle for the Poneglyph, was caught red-handed by Katakuri and had to call Nao for rescue.
"You were a squad captain back then too, weren't you?"
Nao smirked teasingly. "How come you're a deputy now? Demoted?"
"I failed in my duties; being punished is only right." Shumi scratched his head awkwardly, "It's only thanks to you that it was just a demotion. Otherwise, I'd probably be sitting in a cell for a few years…"
Even after several years, he still felt quite grateful towards Nao. Back during the Poneglyph incident, if Nao hadn't arrived promptly and defeated all the pirates on the island with swift and decisive action, he and all his subordinates would have died at the hands of the Big Mom Pirates.
Nao just smiled, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
He'd always found CP-0 agents arrogant and self-important. He'd even prepared himself — if these guys boarded the Thunder Hawk acting all high and mighty, he wouldn't hesitate to throw them overboard and let them fend for themselves.
But it seemed…
Aside from Shumi, who had already admired him since two years ago, the others — especially Captain Wilson — were all decent, grateful men.
Good. Saving them wasn't a waste.
However…
While the CP-0 agents had shown surprising humility, there were always people who couldn't read the room.
For example—
"What?! You didn't recover a single treasure chest? What the hell were you doing out there?!"
Just as Nao stepped out, ready to return to his room for some rest, a shrill, elderly voice erupted from the neighboring cabin.
"Do you have any idea how much my treasures were worth?!"
"Even if you all put your lives together, you couldn't make up a tenth of their value! Useless! Worthless! Incompetent fools!"
"You damn Marines — what good are you? Just wait! Once I reach the Holy Land, I'll report every last one of you worthless dogs to the World Government!"
Where did this idiot come from?
Nao frowned and turned to look at the CP-0 agents.
Wilson and Shuuso simultaneously shrugged, showing bitter smiles.
It was clear they had already been tormented by this person for quite some time during the journey.
…
Creaaak.
The door swung open. Nao stepped into the next room and saw a richly dressed, fat old man, his face flushed red with rage, furiously scolding the Marines standing at the door.
Among them was Momonga, who was directing the ship's medics to bandage the royal family members. Hearing the shouting, he rubbed his temples in frustration, pretending not to hear.
When he noticed footsteps behind him and turned to see Nao, he immediately stopped what he was doing and walked over to him.
"What's going on?" Nao asked.
"It's just about those lost treasure chests," Squirrel replied bitterly. "He's been venting his anger on us for almost ten minutes now. I tried to calm him down, but it didn't work at all — I had to tell him the matter's beyond my authority, and let him…"
"You're the highest-ranking officer on this ship?"
"Perfect timing!"
King Roaland VI also spotted Nao, abruptly stood up, and cut Momonga off mid-sentence. His face twisted in fury, he jabbed a finger toward Nao's nose and roared:
"You're at least a Vice Admiral, aren't you? You can make decisions! So tell me—how are you Marines going to compensate me, the king?"
————————
Author's Note:
Some of you might be misunderstanding things a bit, so I'll clarify early to avoid confusion.
The White City Arc isn't a small side story like the Rob Lucci arc — it's actually an important turning point leading into the final major volume outlined in my plan. There's a lot of groundwork to lay, and even minor supporting characters appearing here will have roles later on.