Stars scattered like crushed diamonds across a dark blue velvet curtain, while a bright moon hung high overhead, its cold light gilding the Calm Sea with a silver edge.
Along the shore, jagged reefs rose from the water, and Lafitte sat alone atop the largest rock.
His trademark top hat sat slightly askew as he drank champagne from who knew where, sip after sip. His unfocused gaze rested on the line where the distant horizon met the moonlight as he contemplated the faint and unknown road ahead.
He definitely could not stay in this country any longer. But the sea was vast—where could he possibly go?
"Have you decided what you'll do next?"
Just then, a magnetic voice sounded above his head, interrupting his thoughts.
"Not yet..."
Lafitte answered almost instinctively, only realizing what had happened the moment the words left his mouth. He abruptly stopped, raised his head, and looked toward the voice.
A figure hovered quietly in the air not far above and to the side of him.
It was a blond youth. A well-tailored black suit perfectly outlined his defined muscles, and a faint smile rested on his lips as he looked down at Lafitte.
Alarm bells rang in Lafitte's mind. He took a clean step back, widening the distance between himself and the unidentified man in the air, his face filled with wariness and shock. He had not noticed when the other man had approached at all!
A trace of disappointment flickered in Dawn's eyes as he hovered in the air. He had deliberately concealed both his presence and voice when approaching, hoping to test whether Lafitte—who would become a core officer of a Four Emperors crew in the original timeline—had already awakened Observation Haki.
Yet judging by Lafitte's reaction of only realizing the danger when