Holy Land Mary Geoise

Red Line, Red Port.

Fifty lavishly decorated royal ships, like floating palaces, crowded the waters around the docks. Symbols of various nations were carved into their prows, gleaming with gilded light beneath the noon sun.

Flags snapped in the breeze, each representing the authority and glory of some corner of the Four Seas. The once-every-four-years Reverie, like a carefully staged play, was beginning at this port surrounded by the Red Line.

"Alabasta's ship has arrived!"

The cry came from the watchtower. Marine soldiers adjusted their stances, their gazes turning in unison toward the ship with a sun painted on its white sails.

The gangplank lowered, and Nefertari Cobra was the first to step onto the stone pavement of Red Port.

His expression was composed, but his eyes concealed a trace of imperceptible exhaustion.

Behind him, the young captain of the guard, Igaram, nervously scanned the surroundings, while six-year-old Princess Vivi clutched her father's coat hem, her large eyes full of curiosity and unease.

"Look over there, it's the Ryugu Kingdom's ship!"

Ripples spread across the sea as a strangely shaped vessel surfaced. King Neptune's enormous figure appeared on deck. The arrival of the Fish-Men sparked murmurs, and the attendants of several human kings instinctively took half a step back.

"Dressrosa's king came this year too!?"

A Marine lieutenant colonel lowered his voice as he spoke to a colleague.

"I heard his country was attacked by pirates, and both his daughters died... He can still attend the Reverie at a time like this?"

"King Riku III," another Marine said with a shake of his head.

"That's politics. Even if your home is on fire, you can't be a moment late for an occasion you're expected to attend."

By the dock, Sakazuki stood with his arms folded, like a statue of lava.