"Three days ago, the G-51 Branch at Master Port was attacked. Branch Colonel Aster Campbell was killed, along with Mantar Das, the Royal Steward of the Kingdom of Nysmal."
"Loi Amos, the Detention Unit Captain stationed in the nearby waters, rushed back to Master Port. He led the branch's Marine soldiers in searching through the night for traces of the attackers, but so far, they had found nothing."
"Furthermore, according to the World Government's assessment, Royal Steward Mantar Das may have exposed the location of the Celestial Gold. Therefore, ships will be dispatched to transfer the Celestial Gold from Arashit Island."
At the center of Arashit Island, within the Arashi Great Forest.
A cigar-smoking Marine was reclining in a deck chair, basking in the sunlight filtering through the ancient, towering trees.
A silver Great Katana leaned against the deck chair.
The one reading the intelligence at that moment was a subordinate standing before him.
"Leave."
The cigar-smoking Marine spoke in a low voice.
"Yes, Commodore Lan Li."
The subordinate Colonel nodded. "We need to leave, but before that, you have to contact the warships coming to transport the Celestial Gold and confirm the time of our withdrawal—"
Before he could finish, the Commodore in front of him glared at him in annoyance. "Idiot. I'm telling you to leave that spot."
"You're blocking all my sunlight. Can't you see?"
The Colonel froze at those words.
Only then did he notice that he really was blocking the sunlight while holding the intelligence report. In the Arashi Great Forest, where the trees often exceeded fifty meters in height, sunlight was naturally precious.
The Colonel hurried away from that spot and gave an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry, Commodore. I didn't notice."
"Pay more attention next time. In my hometown, blocking someone from sunbathing is a serious crime."
Commodore Lan Li snorted.
"..."
Hearing that, the Colonel wondered, What kind of hellhole has a rule like that? but obediently nodded.
However, Lan Li soon snorted again.
"As for transferring the Celestial Gold... What a bunch of cowards!"
The Commodore scoffed, clearly displeased with the World Government's judgment.
He turned around and saw the huge building hidden within the forest behind him.
"This Golden House is located at the center of Arashit Island, concealed by the great forest. It's an excellent stronghold."
"There are four bases guarding the island's four surrounding coasts. Ordinary ships are forbidden from sailing through the nearby waters, and the island is extremely close to the Calm Belt. As a result, a massive whirlpool capable of swallowing even large ships exists in the waters around the island."
"Who could break into a place like this? Besides, there's less than a month before the Celestial Gold is transported. Why move it now? Have the people up there lost their minds?"
He complained like this.
"But it's an order, Commodore."
"Moreover, the message was sent personally by Vice Admiral Huoshan."
The Colonel could only appeal to reason and emotion.
He knew very well that the Commodore Lan Li before him was a Marine supernova. He was only thirty-five years old, yet he had already reached the rank of Commodore.
He had mastered Two-Color Haki and was proficient in swordsmanship. His strength was formidable, and he was widely regarded as almost certain to be promoted to Division Vice Admiral within a few years.
The only person who could persuade him—or even order him around—was his master, the veteran Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters, Vice Admiral Huoshan.
It was rather strange. Vice Admiral Huoshan was renowned for being gentle and powerful, yet his disciple was unexpectedly a man who did not much like following orders.
And, sure enough.
When he heard that the order had come personally from Vice Admiral Huoshan, Lan Li's brow furrowed.
Then—
"We need to contact the warships, right? Bring me the Den Den Mushi."
He reluctantly raised a hand.
The Colonel thought, As expected, that worked, and hurriedly picked up the Den Den Mushi in his hand.
"Commodore, there are five warships coming to transfer the Celestial Gold. You can contact them separately with this Den Den Mushi. It's a special Den Den Mushi made by the World Government. It can communicate across different channels and even has a message function. There's already a message."
As he spoke, he noticed that the Den Den Mushi had begun talking.
"Commodore Lan Li, this is the Transfer Ship coming to transfer the Celestial Gold. However, we encountered extremely powerful gales along the way, so our voyage may be delayed by roughly half a day. We'll enter the island through the base harbor on the southern side."
"Beep. This message has been stored for three hours."
The Den Den Mushi briefly announced the message and how long it had been stored.
Lan Li's brow furrowed.
"Commodore, please don't be angry. That's sea travel for you. Delays caused by wind and waves are unavoidable."
Seeing this, the Colonel assumed the Commodore was angry again and hurriedly comforted him. "Besides, it's only been three days since the attack on Master Port. Even the fastest ship needs at least a week to travel from Master Port to here. There's no need to rush the transfer of the Celestial Gold."
But halfway through his words, he was interrupted by Lan Li's shout.
"Idiot! Something's wrong!"
Lan Li sat upright in the deck chair.
He was a perceptive man and had already realized that something was amiss.
"This is Arashit Island, an island near the Calm Belt. Powerful winds don't even occur once a year in the surrounding waters."
He looked at the Colonel. "Contact the South Base and confirm the weather conditions in the southern waters!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Colonel immediately saluted, then hurriedly took out a Den Den Mushi and dialed it.
"Buru buru!" "Buru buru!" "Buru buru!"
The Den Den Mushi's ringing echoed through the tranquil forest.
But no one answered until the very end.
The tranquil forest seemed to grow even gloomier.
"Call the other three bases."
Only when Commodore Lan Li's voice cut through the silence did the Colonel hurriedly accept the order and pick up the remaining three Den Den Mushi.
The same thing happened.
The three Den Den Mushi continued ringing with "Buru buru," but no one answered.
"Co-Commodore, this is..."
By this point, even the Colonel realized that something was wrong.
"Contact the watchtower."
Commodore Lan Li had already picked up the Nodachi and stood, both hands resting on it.
The Colonel's expression changed drastically again.
The watchtower—that was the second-to-last line of defense for the Golden House, located outside the great forest.
Although he could not bring himself to believe that the situation had deteriorated this far, he still followed orders and connected the Den Den Mushi.
"Buru buru!" "Buru buru!" "Buru buru!"
The Den Den Mushi rang as usual.
With every ring, the Colonel felt as though he were hearing his own heartbeat roar.
And finally—
"Heh... ha..."
The Den Den Mushi connected at last.
But all that came from the other end was weak, labored breathing.
"Who is this? What happened?"
The Colonel immediately shouted into it.
A broken voice came from the other end. "I'm from the watchtower. The guard... heh... heh..."
The other party was clearly on the verge of collapse. Even his voice was thick and indistinct.
"An attack... A gale monster from the sky..."
His words ended there, and the Den Den Mushi suddenly fell silent.
Just like the tranquil Golden House.
Then—
"Commodore, I'll go check the situation immediately. Oh, and the defensive wall—I'll raise the forest's defensive wall at once!"
The Colonel spoke immediately.
Yes—as the storage site for the Celestial Gold, defensive fortifications had also been specially constructed around the Golden House.
Once activated, the enormous wall would be difficult to breach even for an army of thousands.
"Commodore?"
Soon, however, the Colonel realized that Commodore Lan Li had not answered him.
On the contrary, the Commodore merely slung his Nodachi over his shoulder and lowered the blade slightly at his side.
He took several steps forward.
The Colonel recognized it. That was the Commodore's battle stance.
And he only used it when facing a truly powerful enemy.
Then—
"No need."
The Colonel heard Commodore Lan Li's reply and saw him raise his head toward a certain direction.
"The enemy is already here."
"And judging by this presence... heh!"
Already here?
Hearing Lan Li's words, the Colonel instinctively raised his head toward the direction the Commodore was watching.
But the instant he looked up, he realized something was wrong.
The wind had arrived.
It was neither the gentle breeze that often drifted through the forest nor a violent but comprehensible hurricane.
It was a destructive current of air accompanied by a tremendous roar!
"Boom!"
It was the sonic boom produced by some enormous object beating the air at high speed.
The powerful gale made the Colonel feel as though he could barely remain standing. Sand and gravel carried by the wind scraped painfully across his face.
Darkness came with the wind.
Yes—as the precious sunlight that had originally filtered through the gaps between the leaves vanished completely.
Of course, the sunlight had not truly disappeared. It had merely been blocked.
By some colossal creature.
"What... is that?"
Yes, the Colonel could see it now.
High above the massive forest, above the countless trees, a gigantic silhouette had appeared.
It was a creature that should have vanished from this era.
Its outspread wings seemed to blot out the sky, their membranes a rocky blue-gray.
"What is that? Do you really need to ask?"
Unlike the Colonel, Commodore Lan Li smiled.
He tightened his grip on the Great Katana, and fiery battle intent flashed through his eyes.
"That's a monster!"
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