The Riot Begins

Time passed slowly beneath the suffocating daylight.

Half a day had gone by, yet the joint investigation team from G-2 Base had not appeared as expected. By now, the super tsunami known as Aqua Laguna should have completely sealed off the usual sea routes in this region. No matter how sturdy G-2's warships were, they could not possibly force their way across the sea in the face of such a natural disaster.

Rain sat by the window of the stone guest room, watching the pitch-black seawater outside churn violently from the tsunami's lingering aftermath.

"Brrr-brrr-brrr—"

Suddenly, a shrill Den Den Mushi alarm tore through Enies Lobby's seemingly tranquil facade. Broadcast through speakers spread across the island, it echoed through every corner.

"Emergency! The main gate of the front island has been breached!" "Intruders! It's the Straw Hat Pirates, who caused havoc on Water 7 not long ago!" "All personnel, enter combat readiness immediately! Defend the island at all costs!"

A chaotic rush of footsteps sounded outside the door. Upon hearing the alarm, the two squads of Marines assigned to guard Rain immediately fell into disarray. Their commanding officer left only two men to continue watching the door, while everyone else was dispatched to support the front lines.

Rain rose to his feet and smoothed the creases from his dark gray cloak.

"Looks like the main show has begun."

Rather than trying the locked wooden door, he walked over to the room's solid stone wall and pressed his right hand against it. A grayish-white layer of stone rapidly covered his palm. The wall, once seemingly indestructible, became like a soft surface of water the instant it touched his hand.

"Assimilation: Subterranean Rock."

Rain's body, like a weightless ghost, silently sank into the wall. The two remaining guards outside still stood with their rifles in hand, utterly unaware that the "dangerous criminal" they were guarding had long since left his cage.

Rain swam through the building's stone structure, making his way toward the plaza on the front island.

When half his body emerged from the top of a Clock Tower, the sight below drew a flash of approval into his eyes.

The broad plaza had already become a complete battlefield. Thousands of Marines and low-level World Government agents surged toward its center like a tide.

At the heart of that dark mass of people, a youth in a straw hat and red vest ran wild. His arms stretched endlessly behind him like rubber, then snapped back with terrifying force, turning into a skyful of afterimages that blasted in every direction.

"Gum-Gum Gatling!"

The dense barrage of fists was like a violent downpour, instantly tearing a massive gap through the encirclement. Hundreds upon hundreds of Marines were sent flying into the air like kites with snapped strings, their screams blending into one.

That was Monkey D. Luffy, the Supernova with a bounty exceeding one hundred million.

Hidden within the shadow of a stone carving on the Clock Tower, Rain watched coldly. Luffy's fighting style was simple and brutal, yet it carried an unreasonable beastlike instinct. He had charged into the enemy formation alone, with no regard for the fact that this was a World Government stronghold. That unstoppable momentum, driven by his determination to save his companions, truly possessed startling destructive power.

After clearing the obstacles from the plaza, Luffy did not pause for even a moment. Using the powers of the Gum-Gum Fruit, he leaped into the air and raced across rooftops and walls toward the island's central, most magnificent structure: the Courthouse.

Rain lowered himself slightly and merged into the stone wall once more.

He did not take the exposed bridges. Instead, he followed the ancient rock veins deep beneath the ground that supported the island, tracking the commotion Luffy caused as he moved in secret. His ability to travel through stone gave him godlike mobility within this military fortress built entirely from rock and steel.

The rooftop terrace of the Courthouse.

The wind howled. Luffy landed at the edge of the terrace, panting heavily, his gaze fixed ahead.

The drawbridge leading to the Gates of Justice had not yet been lowered. At the center of the rooftop stood a tall, powerfully built man. He wore a black suit and sported two bizarre hornlike tufts of hair atop his head. With his arms folded across his chest, he looked at Luffy with the cold indifference one might show an insect.

The CP9 agent, "Minotaur" Bruno.

"This is as far as you go, Straw Hat," Bruno said in a low voice. "You will not get past here."

"Give Robin back!" Luffy pressed a hand to his straw hat, his eyes turning fiercer than ever.

Two utterly different auras collided violently atop the rooftop. Without another unnecessary word, Bruno stomped the ground and unleashed Soru, one of the Naval Six Powers. His figure vanished in an instant. The next second, he was in front of Luffy, his vicious Finger Pistol stabbing straight for Luffy's throat.

Luffy reacted with remarkable speed, twisting his head aside to evade the fatal strike before swinging a heavy punch at Bruno's cheek.

"Iron Body."

Luffy's fist struck Bruno's face with a dull thud like steel being hammered. Bruno did not budge in the slightest, instead whipping out a Rankyaku. The vacuum blade that sliced through the air instantly carved a deep gash across the rooftop floor.

A fierce close-quarters battle erupted in an instant.

Meanwhile, atop a spire less than fifty meters from the battlefield, the stone lightning rod slowly squirmed as Rain's upper body emerged from the rock.

Leaning against the cold stone, he had a perfect view of the entire battle on the rooftop.

"CP9's Six Powers really are killing techniques that push the human body to its limits." Watching Bruno's machine-like, flawlessly precise transitions between attack and defense, Rain silently assessed him. If it came down to pure hand-to-hand combat, these agents, who had trained in assassination all year round, were undoubtedly among the most troublesome opponents on these seas.

However, the tide of battle was beginning to change.

On the rooftop, after several consecutive attacks were blocked by Iron Body, Luffy suddenly stopped moving. He bent his knees slightly and pressed both fists against the ground. His skin began to flush an unnatural red as waves of scorching steam burst from his body.

"Gear Second."

Luffy's voice became low and dangerous.

Rain's dark eyes lit up slightly. He knew that the battle to come would completely overturn CP9's understanding of these seas, and would firmly pin the attention of everyone inside the Courthouse onto this rooftop.

"Fight. The fiercer, the better."

Rain withdrew his gaze and stopped paying attention to the rooftop's outcome. Since the strongest guards had been tied down by the Straw Hat Pirates, the heavily defended interior of the Courthouse was now, to him, no different from an unguarded treasury.

He leaned backward and completely sank into the spire's rocky layers.

Following the complex load-bearing walls and underground passages, Rain slipped silently into the Courthouse like a drop of black water merging into an undercurrent.

There were occasionally a few civilian officials and soldiers hurrying through the corridors. Their attention was entirely drawn by the constant thunderous crashes coming from overhead. None of them noticed that within the floor beneath their feet and the walls beside them, a pair of hunter's eyes was watching everything with cold detachment.