Unknown Origins

Amid the billowing clouds of dust, a series of deep, muffled sounds rang out. Like thunder on a clear day, they pounded at the soldiers' hearts, leaving their faces deathly pale and stricken with fear.

Then, under their watchful eyes, a figure about two meters tall emerged from the dust. He was clad head to toe in heavy armor, with dark, razor-sharp horns atop his head and a gas mask covering his face.

The armor made it impossible to tell his identity or gender. In one hand, he carried a heavy Long-Handled Warhammer; in the other, a massive shield measuring 80 by 200 centimeters and over ten centimeters thick.

He raised his shield to fend off the gunfire and cannon blasts from atop the high walls. Advancing steadily through the thunder of artillery, he was followed by ragged refugees with sharp, keen eyes, gathering behind him as they marched forward with small shields of their own.

At the same time, women and children appeared quietly in the still-lingering dust, each carrying a bucket as they made their way toward the river, where garbage floated on the water.

The soldiers atop the walls changed expression at the sight. They had no more time for mockery and frantically pulled their triggers, trying to stop the refugees from approaching.

But this time, their superior firepower could not turn the tide. They could only watch helplessly as the refugees advanced.

Then the heavily armored figure, whose gender was impossible to discern, lowered his warhammer. He raised a hand and dispersed the flames surrounding his body, then took a pale bone spear as thick as a man's thigh from someone beside him.

Under the soldiers' horrified gazes, he hurled the spear with all his strength.

"Whoosh..." The bone spear tore through the smoke and pierced the flames, tracing a pale streak of light across the battlefield before landing at the city gate.

"Rumble..."

The supposedly impregnable gate shattered in an instant. The massive shock wave sent the gate flying along with it, hurling the guards dozens of meters away.

"Thud..." Heavy footsteps sounded again as the imposing figure stepped through the city wall. Behind him, a crowd of disheveled figures surged forward, roaring as they charged at the terrified soldiers.

Just as the soldiers instinctively began to retreat, a middle-aged man in ornate armor leaped down from the high wall.

The king of this country shoved aside the soldiers blocking his way and strode to the front of the army. He looked over the ragged refugees with contempt and taunted them. "Wouldn't it have been better to keep scraping by up in the Highland? Why come down here to die?"

An unmistakably unnatural voice sounded from beneath the heavy armor, answering Natan. "This land has always belonged to us."

Natan slowly drew the weapon at his waist, his expression filled with utter arrogance.

"Who can prove that?"

"Everyone in the East Sea—and indeed, the entire world—knows this land belongs to the world's second most noble and intelligent people. The World Government recognizes us. But you? You're nothing but rabble buried in history."

"..."

After a long silence, the heavily armored figure picked up the Long-Handled Warhammer. A bone-chilling killing intent radiated from him.

"We should never have taken you in back then, after you were persecuted by other kingdoms and then shipwrecked..."

"Who could blame us? Your ancestors dared to look at us, the noble and intelligent ones, with those utterly disgusting eyes of pity." Natan scoffed, his eyes full of derision.

Despite his arrogant demeanor, he was completely focused. Get angry. Lose control. Then I can find an opening to kill him in one strike...

Even with an overwhelming advantage in strength, he remained levelheaded and intent on ending the fight with a single blow. That way, CP0 wouldn't have a chance to interfere, and he could eliminate a potential threat to his kingdom.

"..."

Meanwhile, at the other end of the high wall, a man in a white suit watched everything unfold in the distance, a bad feeling rising within him.

"Don't tell me Natan's thinking of killing the person the Five Elders specifically ordered us to bring back?"

At the thought, the CP0 agent's expression changed. He leaped up and hurried toward the battlefield, running through the air with Geppo.

But the instant he stepped beyond the city wall, he sensed an intense threat from above. He instinctively looked up at the sky.

"!!" His face twisted at the sight.

Golden flames had appeared over his head without warning. A figure whose face was impossible to make out dove down at incredible speed, poised to crash into him and take them both down.

"Iron Body: Steel!" CP0 tensed his body and covered himself in Armament Haki, then leaped away without looking back.

"Boom..." The tremendous impact shook the city wall. Countless soldiers stumbled and fell as cracks spread for hundreds of meters.

The section of wall where CP0 had been standing crumbled into massive chunks beneath the high-speed impact. Dust filled the air, and cries of pain echoed everywhere.

Nearby, CP0 stared at the collapsed wall, still shaken. His face, hidden behind a mask, was full of uncertainty.

"Who was that?" He had never expected to face such a terrifying attack in the East Sea.

"So you managed to dodge..." A voice tinged with regret came from within the dust. Then a faint silhouette slowly rose to its feet.

In the distance, CP0 stared at the wall, collapsed in the middle, and the dust kicked up by the violent impact. For a moment, he fell silent.

Within the cloud of dust, a figure about two meters tall slowly rose. The inhuman limbs on his back folded in.

"Who are you, sir? Why did you attack us without provocation?" CP0 Joseph frowned, his expression grave.

But the attacker within the dust made no move to answer, and CP0's face darkened further.

His unwillingness to talk meant there was no chance of resolving this peacefully. One side would have to kill the other.

"Thud, thud..." Unhurried footsteps rang out. From within the dust, the winged figure dragged his spear and slowly approached CP0.

Louis shook the dust from his head. His broad, snow-white wings spread behind him, sweeping away the clouds of dust.

Then he emerged into full view, dragging his spear.

His short golden hair gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight. Snow-white wings unfurled behind him, and a soft golden radiance surrounded his body, lending him a sacred air.

CP0 Joseph's eyes swept over Louis's wings and the faint golden glow surrounding him. A glint flashed in his gaze.

His brow furrowed, and his tone was difficult to read. "The Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Angel form?"

Beside him, more than a dozen agents in black suits exchanged glances. The moment they saw Louis, the same thought had occurred to them.

Louis did not answer. Instead, he gave the agents surrounding him a cold look.

The next moment, golden light burst from his body, spreading in pale-gold waves in every direction. Everything the light touched turned gold.

Joseph didn't dare hesitate. He instantly used Rokushiki's Shave to dash away, retreating dozens of meters before the light could reach him.