The Eve of the Storm
In the first hour after Sky Screen fell, communication lines around the world were overwhelmed.
The buzzing of Den Den Mushi) echoed from the East Blue to the New World. Newspaper editorial offices were piled high with extra editions just pulled from the printing press; the ink was barely dry before they were snatched up. Tavern owners discovered that they sold more drinks tonight than in the past three months combined, because everyone needed a drink to digest what they had seen that night.
But these are all superficial.
The undercurrents beneath the surface are what truly determine the course of the world.
Revolutionary Army Headquarters, Conference Room.
Dragon sat at the head of the long table, with Sabo's handwritten notes from the Sky Screen broadcast spread out on the table in front of him. The notes were seventeen pages long, with writing on both sides.
Besides Dragon and Sabo, the conference room also contained the four Army Commanders of the Revolutionary Army, as well as the head of the intelligence department.
"You've all seen it."
The dragon's voice didn't sound like it was asking a question, but rather confirming something.
Everyone nodded.
"Some of the truths about the Void Century have been revealed: the fall of the Great Kingdom, the origin of the D. Clan, and the uses of the Ancient Weapons."
The dragon tapped its fingers twice on the table.
"But only half of the Sky Screen was revealed."
"The other half hasn't been told."
Sabo took over.
The list of members of the Twenty Kingdoms Alliance will be released in the next issue.
"That list is the real killer move."
The dragon nodded.
"Once the list is published, everything that the ancestors of each Celestial Dragons family did during the conquest wars will be exposed."
"Enslavement, massacre, book burning, and national destruction."
"Once these things are linked to specific family names, the Celestial Dragons' theory of bloodline superiority will crumble from its very foundation."
"Those Affiliated Nation that were still supporting the Celestial Dragons began to question why they were paying tribute to a group of war criminals."
His finger stopped on the table.
"This is a window."
"A window we've waited twenty years for."
The Eastern Army commander stood up.
"Mr. Long, what should we do now?"
"Wait."
The dragon's answer was only one word.
"Wait for the list to be released."
"Then, amidst the chaos caused by the list, execute our plan."
"But before that."
His gaze changed, shifting from the calm of a strategist to something sharper.
There is one area that requires our attention.
Alabasta.
Sabo stopped writing.
Do you think the World Government will take action against Alabasta?
"The Nefertari Family was the only one among the twenty first kings to betray the throne."
The dragon's voice descended.
"The truth Sky Screen the Void Century has been revealed; the list will be announced soon."
"The Five Elders and Imu will not sit idly by and be purged by the world after the list is released."
"They will definitely do one thing before the list is released."
"Eliminate the biggest hidden danger."
"As the only descendants of the first king to refuse to participate in the Celestial Dragons system, the Nefertari Family may possess some inside information about the twenty first kings."
"King Cobra said something during a previous Sky Screen broadcast on SkyNet."
Dragon's gaze fell on a page of Sabo's handwritten notes.
He said, "Now I understand why my ancestors didn't go to Mary Geoise."
"To the Five Elders, those words were like a time bomb."
Sabo's pen drew a heavy horizontal line on the paper.
"I'll go."
His voice was unwavering.
What are you going to do?
"Protect them."
Sabo gripped the pen tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.
"Vivi is my friend."
"I know."
The dragon looked at him.
"But is it too late for you to go there now?"
Sabo's lips tightened slightly.
"Should we just let her die there because there's no time?"
The dragon remained silent for three seconds.
Then he did something that no one expected.
His right hand emerged from his pocket, fingers spread, palm facing up.
A tiny vortex of air was spinning in my palm. The vortex was only the size of a coin, but it was spinning so fast that the compressed air emitted a very fine whistling sound.
Storm-Storm Fruit.
I'll take you there.
His voice regained its calmness.
"High-altitude airlift, from headquarters to Alabasta, six hours."
Sabo's eyes widened considerably.
"Are you serious?"
I'm in a good mood today.
The dragon's expression remained unchanged.
"My son just called me 'Dad'."
Sabo's lips twitched.
He wanted to laugh, but he held it in because the dragon's tone was so flat when he said it that it was hard to tell if he was joking or telling the truth.
But he noticed that the vortex in the dragon's palm spun 20 percent faster after he said those words.
Let's go.
The dragon withdrew its palm, and the vortex dissipated, but a faint low-pressure fluctuation remained in the air.
"I'll create an airflow tunnel for you above headquarters."
"Six hours to Alabasta airspace. I can't guarantee the landing accuracy; you'll have to figure it out yourself."
Sabo had already stood up, his hat on, and the tube tucked into his waistband.
"Mr. Long."
"Um."
"What was your expression when that brat Luffy called you 'Dad'?"
The dragon pulled up the hood of its cloak, covering most of its face.
You don't need to know.
Let's go.
Sabo walked out of the conference room, the light from the corridor falling on the brim of his hat, cutting a clear line of light and shadow across his face.
He walked quickly, his fists clenched tightly.
Six hours.
He didn't know when those white-masked assassins would arrive in Alabasta.
I don't know if I can catch up with them.
But he knew one thing.
Vivi cannot die this night.
It's not because she's a princess, nor because she represents the Nefertari Family.
It was because during the battle in Alabasta, in the desert storm, when she stood in front of everyone and shouted that they must stop fighting, Sabo saw her picture in a distant newspaper.
The girl in the photo was covered in wounds, her clothes were torn, and her hair was disheveled, but there was something in her eyes that Sabo had seen in his own eyes as well.
Anger at injustice.
He walked to the rooftop of the Revolutionary Army Headquarters and looked up at the sky above.
In the sky, an invisible wind tunnel is taking shape. The airflow at high altitude is twisted into a channel by some force, and the channel is pointing south.
Pointing to Alabasta.
Sabo took a deep breath, shattering a section of the ground beneath his feet, and shot into the sky like a cannonball.
The wind caught him.
Accelerate.
Accelerate again.
His body became a black dot in the high-altitude air currents, moving south at an abnormally high speed.
The six-hour countdown has begun.
At the same moment, three figures wearing white masks disembarked from a fast vessel disguised as a merchant ship.
Their feet landed on the Port dock at the edge of the desert.
Nanohana, Port city in Alabasta.
CP0 has arrived.
The last line of text still lingered in the Sky Screen.
[The next roundup will begin in 23 hours]
Twenty-three hours.
The storm will arrive within these twenty-three hours.