The enormous underground dock blazed with light.
The aerial warship known as the Víðófnir rested in silence at the center of the dock. Its jet black hull reflected a cold sheen under the lamps, like a steel behemoth crouched in slumber.
Now, that behemoth's deck was packed with figures.
Dracule Mihawk stood with the black blade Yoru on his back, arms crossed, eyes closed in meditation, as if the entire world around him had nothing to do with him.
Crocodile clenched a cigar between his teeth, smoke rolling from his lips as he stared at the dock walls with a sullen gaze, lost in thoughts no one could read.
Gecko Moria let out his bizarre "kishishishi" laugh, while his shadow writhed restlessly under his feet, clearly thrilled for the revenge to come.
Donquixote Doflamingo wore his signature pink feather coat, hands in his pockets, the fanatical heat in his stare impossible to hide even behind his sunglasses.
Gild Tesoro, dressed in a golden suit, stood with flecks of gold dust floating around him, his expression unusually solemn.
And "God" Enel hovered in midair with his arms folded, arrogant as ever, like he was the one truly in command here.
Robin stood near the back of the crowd, quietly watching these men who could make the sea quake with a single step. Emotion churned in her chest.
To gather a pack of unruly monsters like this, and make them obey willingly, to make them move at a single command, there was probably only one man in the world who could pull it off.
Kael Grylls walked onto the deck at an unhurried pace, heading straight for the bow.
Every gaze snapped to him instantly.
"Everyone's here." Kael swept his eyes across them. His voice wasn't loud, but it landed clearly in every ear.
"I called you for one reason."
He paused, his eyes moving over each face.
"My nephew was taken by Kaido's people."
The atmosphere on deck shifted at once, turning strangely sharp.
Crocodile blew out a ring of smoke and snorted with disdain. "Oh? Kaido of the Beasts? He's getting bolder. Grabbing even your people now."
Doflamingo laughed. "Fuffuffuffu. Kaido's a full blown lunatic. But since he's provoked you, Kael, his good days are over."
A complicated glint flashed in Moria's eyes.
He had once been crushed under Kaido's boot. It was the greatest humiliation of his life.
Now that revenge was within reach, the excitement burning in him was obvious.
"Kishishishi! Kaido! This time I'm turning you into my shadow zombie!"
Mihawk didn't even open his eyes. He simply said, calm as a blade edge.
"The world's strongest creature, huh? I've heard Kozuki Oden left a massive scar on him in Wano. Perfect. Let's see if my sword is fast enough."
Kael didn't comment on their different reactions.
Every one of them was the type who lived for chaos.
"This trip to Wano isn't just to pick someone up." Kael spoke again, drawing their focus.
"These past few years, we've made waves in the underworld. But in the open, we've been too quiet. So quiet that people are starting to forget I exist."
"To forget the fear of being under my heel."
"Some even say that I, Aaron Kael, don't have a pirate crew, don't have crewmates, so I'm not a real pirate."
Kael smiled as he said it, self mockery laced into the curve of his mouth.
"So it's time."
He spread his arms wide and declared to everyone on deck.
"Starting today, we're not lone wolves fighting our own battles."
"Starting today, let the world hear our shared name."
"The Yggdrasil Pirates!"
The World Tree.
The name hit like thunder.
They stared at the man standing at the bow, and it was like they could see a colossal tree surging upward into the sky, growing madly, unstoppable.
Its roots had already pierced into every corner of the sea.
Now its branches were about to blot out the entire world.
"Fuffuffuffu! The Yggdrasil Pirates! Not a bad name. I like it!" Doflamingo was the first to cackle.
"Hmph. It's just a name." Crocodile said it lightly, but the fire of ambition in his eyes burned hotter than it ever had.
"Yahaha! A god upon the World Tree! That's me, Enel!" Enel flipped in midair, electricity crackling wildly around him.
Kael nodded in satisfaction at their reactions. Then he turned and issued an order into the ship's Den Den Mushi.
"Tom. Enel. Start the Víðófnir."
"Roger that, Captain!" Tom roared from the control room, voice shaking with excitement.
The instant Enel received the order, he became a streak of lightning and vanished from the deck. A heartbeat later, he reappeared deep within the ship, inside the power core chamber.
It was a massive spherical space, packed with intricate circuits feeding into a gigantic central device.
Enel floated above it, arms spread, his grin feverish.
"Yahaha! Mortals! Witness the power of a god!"
Billions of volts poured from him without restraint, flooding the core.
A deep hum rolled through the ship.
The Víðófnir trembled with a low, heavy rumble.
Across the hull, the dark gold patterns ignited all at once, blazing alive as blue lightning raced through them like blood in veins.
Dozens of huge circular thruster ports along the sides and underside flared with dazzling blue light.
"Energy fully charged! Power systems normal!"
"Anti gravity device online! Don't ask how, just trust the tech!"
"Hull rising!"
Inside the control room, Tom issued commands with practiced precision.
Beneath everyone's feet, the massive hull began to vibrate, then slowly lifted free of the ground.
No violent swaying. No deafening roar.
Only the steady hum of energy moving through metal.
A steel behemoth weighing tens of thousands of tons rose smoothly upward, breaking the laws of physics like it was nothing.
The giant dock gate above slid open, revealing the blue sky outside and sunlight sharp enough to sting.
The Víðófnir climbed into the heavens, carrying a group of monsters powerful enough to overturn the world.
…
At the same time, on the Sabaody Archipelago.
In the streets, vendors shouted themselves hoarse hawking their goods, while pirates swaggered around arm in arm, bragging about their newly raised bounties.
Then, suddenly, a deep humming vibrated through the ground.
Tankards in taverns slid across tables. Street carts creaked in protest.
"What's that?" a rookie pirate who'd just landed scratched his head, confused.
But his captain, an old sea dog who'd survived the Grand Line for years, went deathly pale.
He jerked his head up toward the sky. "Nobody move. Look up!"
A terrified scream cut through the noise.
Everyone followed instinct and raised their eyes.
Then the world went silent.
A massive shadow was rising slowly from the center of the islands, from that place everyone tacitly understood was forbidden.
It wasn't climbing fast, but it carried a pressure that couldn't be resisted, swallowing sunlight inch by inch, dragging day toward dusk.
It was a ship.
A ship beyond description.
A jet black hull, covered in dark gold patterns that now blazed with violent blue lightning, like a beast's veins.
A vicious prow pointed at the heavens.
Dozens of circular ports along its sides glowed with eerie blue light, like a demon's eyes.
"What… what is that thing?!"
"A ship… flying in the sky?!"
Panic and chaos spread through the crowd.
But soon, some of the people who'd lived in Sabaody long enough recognized where the ship was rising from.
"That direction… that's the 'that man's' estate!"
"To pull off something like this, on Sabaody, no, on the entire sea, there's only one person!"
"It's the Wave King! It's Aaron Kael!"
The instant that name rang out, the panic died.
In its place came awe, fear, and shock so heavy it stole breath.
They stared at the warship as it rose higher and higher, until it became a black speck and vanished into the sky.
No one spoke for a long time.
The sea had been calm for too long.
Now, the weather was changing.