A Storm Is Coming

"Die, you bastard Marines!"

"Damn it! How could we be this unlucky?!"

"Everyone! Loose your arrows!"

"Aaaargh~"

On a dilapidated little island ablaze with fire, two sides were locked in battle.

One side was spread out in formation, dressed in standard white uniforms and armed with flintlock guns and two-handed swords. They moved as a unit, following orders.

The other side, by comparison, was far more disorganized.

"What do we do, Sege?!"

The man called Sege had a broadsword the size of a door strapped to his back and a Reishi Bow in his hand, which he kept firing at the Marines in the distance.

Hearing his subordinate's question, he remained silent.

That was right! This was the group who had set sail together after Kaya turned them into Quincy.

To be honest, they didn't know where to go. They had spent this time drifting around the sea in their ship, going ashore whenever they came across an island.

Along the way, quite a few people had left the ship. Their reasons? None of them knew.

Sege had continued sailing with dozens of others until they reached this small island in the Grand Line.

But just after they disembarked, before they had time to do anything, several Marine ships arrived. It really was bad timing.

Pirates and Marines were natural enemies. If they could exchange a few words, they were on pretty good terms.

As a result, the two sides clashed.

Outnumbered, Sege led his men in a fighting retreat, and their group had already suffered casualties.

He knew they couldn't keep fighting like this. There was a powerful fighter among the Marines, and if the stalemate continued, none of them would survive.

"Everyone! I'll gather the last of my strength to buy you time. Scatter and run!"

"Sege...?"

The others silently lowered their heads when they heard him.

They couldn't bring themselves to refuse. Since Sege was willing to sacrifice himself, they could only accept it.

Whoosh!

After Sege killed a Marine with a precisely aimed Heilig Pfeil, he seized the moment as another moved to fill the gap and immediately gathered a large mass of energy on his Spirit Bow.

"Rain of Light!"

An uncountable number of arrows shot out, arcing through the air and falling like a downpour.

Several screams rang out ahead. Without hesitation, Sege leaped from behind cover and ran straight forward.

The other pirates, who had just been preparing to retreat, were dumbfounded. Hadn't he told them to run first? Why had Sege taken off even more abruptly than they had?

And wasn't he going the wrong way?!

"Everyone, don't move!"

The next moment, a great many Marines suddenly swarmed out around them, their dark gun barrels trained on the pirates.

Now all the pirates were completely stunned.

They'd been surrounded? When?

No... Sege had spotted them long ago! And because of that, the Marine line directly ahead had grown weaker instead!

"That selfish bastard!" one pirate cursed.

But two Marines quickly subdued him, and the other pirates were captured as well.

In the end, the brief encounter concluded with Sege escaping alone at the cost of being wounded, while all the other pirates were captured.

The Marine officers compiled a report on the strange power the pirates had all used in battle and sent it up the chain of command.

Marine Headquarters [Marineford]

"Quincy?"

After Marine Admiral Kong glanced at the report in his hands, his movements unconsciously slowed.

When he finished reading, his eyes flickered several times.

Just then, someone knocked on his office door. He put down the report and told them to come in.

"Admiral Kong."

"Oh, it's you, Sengoku."

Sengoku, then a Vice Admiral, walked in. Before he could speak, he noticed the subtle change in Kong's expression.

"Did something happen?" Sengoku asked.

"Your powers of observation are as sharp as ever." Kong handed the report to Sengoku.

When Sengoku saw the description of the pirates' unusual fighting style, centered on bows and arrows, he couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

"Arrows? They're solid when they attack, but they're actually made of energy? A new kind of weapon?"

"We don't know. Later, the interrogation unit got the word 'Quincy' out of several captured pirates. They're still analyzing it."

"Didn't they ask directly what kind of power it was?"

"Hachinosu, Kaya."

Kong uttered the name, and the atmosphere in the office abruptly tightened. It was unclear whether that was because of the person or the place.

Hachinosu was a place of utter chaos, known as a paradise for pirates, but it was also a major focus of the Marines' attention, simply because so many dangerous people gathered there.

They didn't know Kaya, but from the information they had so far, Kaya was clearly connected to the Quincy.

Making a bold assessment, Hachinosu's forces had grown stronger!

"All right, enough about that. Was there something you wanted to see me about?" Kong asked with a smile.

To his surprise, Sengoku sighed. "It's the World Government. I received word that those Celestial Dragons are preparing some kind of event."

"Your information travels faster than mine." Kong spoke half-jokingly. As soon as he finished, the phone suddenly rang.

Purururururu~

The two immediately fell silent and exchanged a glance. Kong picked up the receiver without betraying any reaction.

"Hello?"

"Kong, send a fleet to God Valley."

"...Where?"

"God Valley, in the West Blue."

"All right."

Click!

The call ended. The conversation had been that brief.

The quiet in the office didn't last long. Kong had only just lowered his hand when the Den Den Mushi rang again.

"There's no end to this." Kong picked up the receiver helplessly. As soon as he heard the voice on the other end, he rose from his seat.

"Kong! We've received word over here. This is going to be a very valuable deal!"

"Fleet Admiral, what do you mean?"

"Pirate Island, Hachinosu."

"There again? Is there any more information?"

"Don't ask so many questions. Just do as you're told. Go pick someone up outside Hachinosu at the time and place I sent you. Go yourself!"

With that, the call ended.

Kong stood there motionless for a long while. He seemed somewhat weary, and he let out a heavy sigh.

"First the World Government, and now the Fleet Admiral. What are they planning? A storm is coming!"

Sengoku, standing in front of the desk, also wore a grave expression.

But they could only follow orders from above. When the time came for them to know, they would find out.

"Admiral Kong, should I go with you?"

"No need. Go tell Garp to stop chasing Roger all over the place all day and come back to Headquarters first, just in case."

"He won't listen to me. Besides, I think he's taken leave recently."

"That bastard! He has it easier than I do!"

Kong casually pulled his Admiral's coat from the coat rack and went out. As Sengoku watched him leave, a sudden sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.

Since the Fleet Admiral had already confirmed the information, there shouldn't be any problems, right?

Kong left just like that, leading a group away from Headquarters.

Sengoku, however, remained in Kong's office, looking through the documents on the desk one by one.

Compared to the orders that had just been given, there was really nothing worth paying attention to here, except for that new thing.

Quincy...