Grand Line, first half—Luluka Island.
Boom! Boom!...
Out on the sea, six sailing ships flying black Pirate Flags turned their broadsides toward Luluka Island. Their pitch-black cannon barrels aimed at the harbor, firing shell after shell that crashed into the port and rapidly sank ship after ship.
At the town harbor, two highly conspicuous large sailing ships were docked. One was a blue warship, while the other flew the royal flag of Alabasta.
The pirate ships continuously bombarding the harbor from the sea had one primary target: to sink those two vessels!
In the town near the harbor docks, a fierce battle was underway outside a large hotel called "jasmine." One side consisted of pirates—only two of them.
The other side was the Marines, over forty strong. They formed a human wall around a young man in a black robe.
The man under Marine protection was Nefertari Parsel, the current king of Alabasta!
There was a reason why Parsel, as the king of a nation, had appeared on Luluka Island...
He was going to attend the Reverie, held once every four years by the World Government!
For that reason, the Marines had dispatched Headquarters Rear Admiral Steel Bone Kong as his escort.
However...
When the two ships docked at the pier to replenish their fresh water and food supplies, they were suddenly attacked by the Phoenix Pirates!
By now, a large number of Marines and King's Army guards had fallen outside the hotel entrance, yet the two attacking pirates remained completely unscathed.
Seeing this, a beautiful woman holding a rifle and wearing a cloak bearing the rank of lieutenant junior grade, her dark blue hair tied in a high ponytail, shouted toward Steel Bone Kong not far ahead:
"Rear Admiral Kong, the pirates' reinforcements have arrived!
We should escort King