A month later, off the coast of Dressrosa.
On the azure sea, two pirate ships flying skull flags had their sails fully spread as they desperately fled away from the dreamlike island behind them.
On deck, the pirates erupted into wild laughter at having survived the ordeal.
Meanwhile, the shores of Dressrosa had descended into chaos.
"Bad news! Princess Scarlett has been taken by pirates!"
"Guards! Where have all the guards gone?"
"The soldiers guarding the harbor have all been killed! Something terrible has happened!"
Kyros, the army commander who had rushed over after hearing the news, stared at the pirate ships about to vanish beyond the horizon, his eyes nearly splitting with rage.
He tore off his uniform top in one motion, revealing his muscular body, and prepared to leap into the sea and pursue them by swimming with his formidable strength.
Just then, a sight that left every resident on the shore, including Kyros, dumbfounded unfolded—
The two pirate ships that were about to disappear from sight seemed to be suddenly seized by an invisible giant hand. They were forcibly lifted from the sea like fish caught on a hook, irresistibly rising into the sky before swiftly vanishing into the low-hanging clouds.
Immediately afterward, terrified screams rang out from within the clouds. Black dots fell from the sky like dumplings tossed into a pot, splashing into the sea one after another and sending up countless sprays of desperate water.
Kyros's expression on the shore turned grave to the extreme. He pushed his Observation Haki to its limit and locked firmly onto the clouds overhead. He could clearly sense that Princess Scarlett's presence was still above them. Several unfamiliar presences had appeared there as well, one of them powerful and profound like a torch in the darkness, enough to