Using the Giant Octopus Balloon, the Going Merry floated gently down from the clouds, descending thousands of meters toward the ocean below. The transition from the Sky Island to the Blue Sea was peaceful for the Straw Hats, but miles away at Marine Headquarters, chaos was brewing.
Inside the briefing room at Marineford, Vice Admiral Tsuru sat at a long table covered in recent intelligence reports. Next to her, several CP9 surveillance officers were presenting atmospheric energy readings recorded over the Grand Line during the past week.
"The cloud anomalies over Skypiea were not natural weather phenomena," an intelligence officer reported, sliding a stack of blurry photos across the desk. "Look at these energy signatures. Massive structures materialized out of nowhere and disappeared after the battle."
Tsuru picked up a photo showing a giant, ink-rendered blade cutting through the sky. "A Devil Fruit capability? Or something else entirely?"
"Our agents believe it belongs to the new addition to the Straw Hat crew—the author who writes and draws things into existence," the officer replied gravely. "If these reports are accurate, his ability bypasses standard Devil Fruit limitations. We must dispatch Cipher Pol to assess his threat level before he reaches the main trade routes."