"Hey, hey, what do you think you're doing?!"
Henzo's voice quivered with unease. The three people before him looked far too relaxed—almost careless.
If not for their overly dramatic entrance, he would never have dared to speak up like that.
But still—this turn of events was far too abrupt.
"Ruluka Island isn't just any ordinary place," Henzo stammered nervously. "The mayor here is powerful! He possesses a weapon that generates and manipulates electricity. Do you understand? There are a lot of soldiers stationed here too!"
He hurried to emphasize, "Even if you guys look strong, isn't it better not to act rashly?"
"I don't need your opinion—I only need mine."
Ren calmly raised his Thunder Spear, his lightning-blue eyes locked on the old scientist. "Relax. This won't take long. We'll soon have a much better place to talk."
"No, listen to me!" Henzo waved his arms frantically. "The Wetton family is strong—really strong! They've got suits of armor that release lightning, and others that can breathe fire!
See that giant tower over there? That's not just—hey! Are you even listening?!"
Henzo's voice rose in desperation—not because he thought the Wetton family was invincible, but because… how could he possibly switch sides so suddenly?
At the very least, he needed time—some space to maneuver!
Besides, these three didn't necessarily have the upper hand. He'd seen people who could control lightning before, and the Wettons had machines and trained soldiers that worked in perfect coordination!
But—
It was already too late.
As Henzo's eyes filled with regret, armored soldiers began to appear on the streets.
And that… was only the beginning.
"Outsiders causing trouble?"
On Ruluka Island, every key official—starting from the mayor down to the guards—belonged to the same family.
The Wettons.
Among them, the mayor's grandson, Lake, served as the captain of the city's security force.
At this very moment, Lake was tightening the final clasps of his thick, futuristic armor—its multi-jointed limbs buzzing faintly, a yellow-and-black staff protruding from the shoulder mount, and two long black cables trailing behind his legs like serpents.
"Do we know who they are?" he asked coldly.
"N-no, sir. A citizen reported the disturbance."
"Hmph. Perfect. Let me, Lake Wetton, teach them a lesson. This armor was built for one purpose—to make tax-dodging scum pay up!"
He chuckled darkly, snapping the last latch into place before striding off.
Behind him, soldiers hoisted the heavy cables and followed.
Along the way, panicked citizens scattered in the opposite direction.
"Idiots," Lake muttered, frowning behind his dark blue visor. "Why panic over something so trivial?"
He didn't even know the full situation—none of the witnesses could properly describe it—but there were supposedly only three intruders.
They had over a hundred guards. And him—the man who commanded lightning itself.
Even pirate crews of hundreds had fallen to his electric might before, captured and sold for a fortune.
"Yes, exactly! Those fools don't realize how lucky they are that you protect Ruluka Island, Captain Lake," his lieutenant flattered, his tone dripping with admiration. "With you here, those three won't last a second."
"Hmph! You'd think people would have learned by now how powerful I am."
Amid the mechanical clatter of his armor, Lake turned the corner—and froze.
His reflection in the visor showed disbelief.
There were no "three outsiders."
Or rather, there had been—just moments ago, when he turned the corner, he had seen the guards confronting them.
But now…
A swirling sandstorm ripped through the street, flinging twenty screaming soldiers high into the air.
Golden dust devoured the street. When it cleared, an unimaginable sight appeared before him—
A six-winged angel of light hovered in midair, gripping a spear forged from living thunder. Bolts of lightning cracked outward from his body, flooding the city square in blinding arcs.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of Ruluka's soldiers collapsed in agony, lightning-dazed.
At the angel's flank, a being of fire strode across the sand-scorched ground, its flames blending with the storm to unleash waves of molten heat.
The guards—every last one—were obliterated within seconds.
These… these were the three "outsiders"?
"This is…"
Lake swallowed hard, as though he'd just ingested molten iron. His words faltered.
His terrified eyes locked onto the six-winged figure above—the one who looked every bit like a god of thunder.
His lieutenant suddenly shoved him, his own face twisted in horror.
"Run! That man—he's the Demon Ren! A 270 million Beli pirate!!"
It clicked instantly. The lieutenant finally understood why the townsfolk—people who knew Ruluka's defenses better than anyone—had all fled so quickly.
That name alone spelled disaster.
This was not an enemy their island could ever hope to oppose.
And as for why no one had warned them… well, Lake understood now too.
The people probably wanted the Wetton family to be crushed.
The so-called rulers of Ruluka were no beloved protectors—they were tyrants.
Then, as if in response to that thought, the six-winged angel turned slightly.
He raised his hand. Thunder answered his command.
"Azure Dragon Flash!"
Lake instinctively raised his arms. Lightning crackled across his armor, converging on his yellow-and-black staff—
—but then an even greater surge of power smashed through it.
BOOM!
The world went white.
When the thunder faded, a massive crater several meters wide smoked in the ground.
The soldiers who had followed him were blown dozens of meters away, unconscious.
Next to the crater lay a scorched, smoking suit of armor.
Lake crawled out of it, blackened like charcoal, trembling uncontrollably.
A pair of golden boots appeared before his eyes.
He looked up—into the cold gaze of the six-winged angel.
Behind Ren, fire and sand devoured the sky. The island itself seemed to sink into a blazing abyss.
At the edge of that inferno, Henzo stood frozen, staring at the once-gentle Nojiko, now transformed into a terrifying Flame Queen.
Even young Vivi, calm and graceful, effortlessly crushed squads of soldiers with every movement.
Within the chaos, a massive fire-spewing mech was sliced cleanly in two by a blade of sand.
Is this real? Am I dreaming?
Henzo sat dazed in the mayor's office, glancing from the three kneeling generations of the Wetton family to the man by the window curiously observing the Rainbow Tower.
He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, then gave up entirely.
He had no words left.
Mayor Wetton, his son Flip, and grandson Lake—the entire ruling line of Ruluka Island—were here, subdued.
In less than an hour, the island had fallen completely under the control of this young man—Ren, the Demon of the Sea.
"So that's the Rainbow Tower?" Ren asked, pointing toward the tall structure outside. "The device that detects the Rainbow Mist's fluctuations?"
"Y-yes…"
Wetton forced out the words, his bruised and swollen face still straining into a servile smile.
"For years, we've failed to enter it or retrieve the treasure inside. But of course, that must be fate—trash like us were never worthy of such riches.
Surely, it was destiny that you appeared, my lord, to claim the treasure within the Rainbow Mist."
Ren chuckled. "How short-sighted. You found something that extraordinary, and all you can think about is the treasure inside?"
"Ah, we're fools, through and through," the mayor replied humbly. "To show our sincerity and respect, Ruluka Island will dedicate all its resources to serve you."
"Yes, yes!" Flip added quickly, glaring at his grandson before forcing a smile. "If only you'd revealed your identity earlier! We ignorant fools would never have dared oppose a great pirate like you."
"Oh?"
Ren's faint smile deepened. "So, you're saying this is my fault?"
"N-no, not at all! It's our fault entirely! Lake—don't you agree?"
"I-I was blind, sir! Please forgive me!" Lake bowed rapidly, cold sweat dripping down his chin as he forced the same grotesque smile as his elders.
Clever old foxes, Ren thought with mild amusement.
He waved a finger toward Henzo. "Then I'll leave him to you. You'll work under him from now on.
Your task is to find where the Rainbow Mist will next appear—no matter the cost.
And when I say 'cost'…" His voice hardened, his eyes glinting with lightning. "I mean you."
The three Wettons turned pale as paper.
From that moment, everything proceeded according to Ren's design.
The Rainbow Mist didn't remain fixed in one place; it appeared randomly across the seas. That was why specialized detectors existed—Henzo's invention.
Ruluka Island would now devote every resource to tracking the phenomenon.
That was also why the Wettons were still alive.
Nojiko and Vivi oversaw the operation personally.
When the meeting ended, the three Wettons stood outside their mansion, silent and shaken.
"Do we… really have to obey him?" Lake muttered, his voice trembling.
His grandfather scowled, smacking him hard on the head.
"Do you even grasp what 270 million Beli means?!" he barked. "He's a pirate so infamous that even a Yonko acknowledge him!
You think just anyone qualifies to be his enemy?
If I hadn't been smart enough to grovel, we'd already be corpses!"
He turned to his son. "Flip! Tell him what we do next!"
"We cooperate," Flip said grimly, wiping sweat from his brow. "Let that monster take the treasure. Once he leaves, we'll still have a chance to survive."
"That's right," Wetton growled, releasing Lake's collar before storming off.
The family could only follow, faces dark with dread.
(End of Chapter)