The Diplomat

Stars lay scattered like crushed diamonds across an ink-blue velvet curtain. A bright moon hung high above, its cold light gilding the calm sea with silver.

Jagged reefs lined the shore, and Lafitte sat alone atop the largest rock.

His signature top hat sat slightly askew. He took sip after sip of champagne procured from who knew where, his unfocused gaze fixed on the distant line where the sea met the moonlight as he pondered his uncertain future.

I definitely can't stay in this country any longer. But the sea is vast—where am I supposed to go?

"Have you decided what to do next?"

Just then, a rich, resonant voice sounded above his head, interrupting his thoughts.

"Not yet..."

Lafitte answered almost instinctively, only realizing something was wrong once the words left his mouth. He abruptly fell silent and snapped his head up toward the voice.

A figure hovered quietly in the air a short distance above and to one side of him.

It was a blond youth in a tailored black suit that fit his well-defined muscles perfectly. The faintest hint of a smile lingered on his lips as he looked down at Lafitte.

Alarm bells rang in Lafitte's mind. He took a swift, clean step backward, putting distance between himself and the unidentified figure in the air, his face full of wariness and disbelief. He hadn't sensed the stranger approaching at all!

Hovering in the air, Dawn let a nearly imperceptible flicker of disappointment cross his eyes. He had deliberately concealed his presence and muffled his approach to test whether Lafitte, who would become a core officer in an Emperor's crew in the original timeline, had already awakened Observation Haki.

Judging by how Lafitte had only noticed him at the last second, however, the answer was probably no.