The Dragon Flag of the Grey Kingdom rippled in the wind above Sabaody, and the streets below were alive with celebration. Civilians filled the city with cheering, laughing, crying out in pure joy, the kind of release that only comes after years of waiting.
The pirates, however, wanted nothing to do with any of it.
One by one, they scrambled toward the coast of the Sabaody Archipelago, desperate to get their ships moving before it was too late. They couldn't understand what the locals were so happy about. Did these people not see what was coming?
The moment the Grey Kingdom claimed Sabaody, a clash with the Navy became inevitable. The entire archipelago would become a battlefield, and anyone still here when the fighting started would be caught in the middle of it. This wasn't the kind of battle where staying close to the edges kept you safe. If it came down to it, the fighting would reach Admiral-level, because the Grey Kingdom's Vice Captain alone was a force comparable to an Admiral. To have any chance against the Grey Kingdom, the Navy would have to send their very best. No amount of luck would be enough to survive getting swept up in a fight like that.
It was in the middle of this frantic exodus that another large ship appeared off the coast of the Sabaody Archipelago.
It flew no Jolly Roger. But anyone with a trained eye could see immediately what kind of vessel it was. Pirate ships were built for combat, not commerce, and the difference showed in every plank and rigging. Anyone who spent real time on the open sea could tell a warship from a merchant vessel without thinking. If it wasn't a Navy standard-issue warship, and it clearly wasn't, then there was only one other thing it could be.
The pirates were all rushing to leave. So why was this ship pulling in to dock?
More than a few captains paused to look back, half-curious and half-pitying whoever was unlucky enough to be sailing into this particular storm.
Their answer came quickly. A wave of black-suited attendants poured out from the ship the moment it docked, moving with sharp, practiced efficiency. They spread across the dock and began establishing a perimeter, pushing back against the mass of pirates that had clogged the area.
The pirates at the dock frowned. Then, looking more closely, their expressions shifted from annoyance to something more careful.
Two things registered almost simultaneously. First, the killing intent rolling off these attendants in black was not something any ordinary crew put out. Every single one of them felt stronger than the captains standing nearby. Second, the black uniforms, the bearing, the precision of movement... it stirred a recent memory. Not so different from the Oathblood Guards who had appeared in the city not long ago.
"My, my! You're all moving a little slowly, aren't you? His Majesty shouldn't be kept waiting!" A voice rang out from the ship's rail, easy and teasing. A man stood there, electricity crackling freely across his body, looking down at the black-suited attendants below with clear amusement.
The sight of him made several of the more experienced onlookers go very still.
"Now that is someone worth paying attention to," said Kenny, Vice Captain of the Raging Lion Pirates.
"Enel, the God of Thunder." Oubaron's voice was quiet and certain. "Should have seen it coming. If the Oathblood are moving to occupy Sabaody, Enel would naturally be here. Did you really think those guards we saw earlier were all they had? This is the Oathblood's main force." He paused, and something shifted in his tone. "What I'm curious about is who exactly he called 'Your Majesty' just now."
"Who he called..." Kenny repeated slowly. "You mean their Captain? The Dragon King? I remember the Oathblood had a particular way of addressing him. 'Your Majesty,' that's right. But how could that be? He's been gone for ten years. The Navy officially declared him dead, killed in action. If he's actually here..." Kenny shook his head. "Then the seas are about to go completely mad."
...
On the dock, the Oathblood Guards assigned to perimeter duty heard Enel's words, then looked out at the sheer number of pirates packed along the waterfront. Their brows drew together.
There were too many. Clearing a proper corridor through this crowd in any reasonable amount of time was going to be a problem.
This was their first security detail in ten years with His Majesty present. Letting it go poorly in front of him was not an option.
The thought alone was enough. One by one, the Guards let their presence unfurl, letting their full killing intent seep outward without reservation.
The reaction was immediate. Every pirate in range felt it land on them like a physical weight, and the color drained from more than a few faces. Even a single Oathblood Guard was enough to make seasoned pirates feel cornered. With dozens of them releasing that pressure at once, the effect was something else entirely. People started genuinely wondering whether standing here a moment longer was worth finding out what these Guards were willing to do.
The crowd parted. Quickly. A clear corridor formed down the center of the dock, and the Oathblood took their positions along it without a word.
"Who are all these people? Where did so many dangerous fighters suddenly come from?" someone muttered, late to understanding.
"Are you blind? Look at the strength. Look at the uniform. Those are the Grey Kingdom's elite, the Oathblood Guard."
"The Oathblood? But weren't those the ones from before?"
"That was barely a fraction of them. This is the main force. And do you see that man up there? The one with the lightning? That's the heart of the Oathblood, Enel, the God of Thunder. Second in the Grey Kingdom only to Vice Captain Katakuri."
"If Enel is second only to the Vice Captain, then who is the 'Your Majesty' he's talking about?"
"Who else could it be? The only person the Oathblood has ever called 'Your Majesty' is the Captain of the Grey Kingdom, the Dragon... the Dragon King..."
The man who'd been speaking trailed off. His face went blank. Then the full weight of what he'd just said hit him all at once, and the words died in his throat.
"Is it possible..." someone nearby whispered, their voice barely holding together. "Is the Dragon King Rosinante actually here?"