A moment earlier—
Hachinosu Port.
Waves lapped softly against the shore, the tide striking the stone steps again and again.
Pirate ships were docked side by side, their masts standing thickly, ropes swaying, and sails snapping in the sea breeze.
The stench of alcohol, curses, and laughter blended together—crude, noisy, and utterly lawless.
—This was how Hachinosu was supposed to be.
Yet amid that chaos, one ship was exceptionally "quiet."
A figure stood at its bow, plainly dressed and powerfully built.
He stepped off the ship.
"Tap."
His foot touched the dock's stone pavement. The sound was light, yet at that moment, it was piercingly clear.
The surrounding pirates unconsciously stopped moving. Some froze with flasks raised in midair, while others had been about to make a move but faltered.
Every gaze turned toward that figure. The feeling was hard to describe—an instinctive sense that something was wrong.
As though he simply did not belong in this place.
The man raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sunlight, his gaze passing over the port and settling on the massive Skull Mountain in the distance.
He looked at it for several seconds, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"It's been a long time~"
A scene flashed through his mind.
That day, fierce winds had howled as a man spread his arms and laughed up at the sky.
That laughter had been arrogant and unrestrained, as if he intended to trample the whole world beneath his feet.
Rock's gaze shifted slightly, and his smile deepened.
"Xebec..."
Only then did the surrounding pirates finally react.
"Hey—!"
Several men surrounded him, their footsteps rough and their eyes vicious.
"Never seen you before. What crew are you from?"
The leader was a scar-faced pirate, a hideous wound slashing diagonally across his