"Hey… did you hear what Admiral Sengoku just said?"
For a heartbeat the entire plaza buzzed and then went hollow, as if someone had struck a bell inside every skull. A rookie reporter rubbed his ears, half convinced he had misheard, and elbowed the colleague beside him.
"I… I heard it," the other stammered, eyes wide. "He said… Saint Dotor Ozz."
"You have got to be kidding."
The hush shattered. Murmurs rolled across the harbor square in waves. Cameras clicked like rain. The correspondents from the World Economy News Paper were already a step ahead, lenses trained on the Oro Jackson sliding into the berth. One of them snorted at the frantic small fry filling their film with the wrong moment.
"Amateurs. Our paper has known for ages that Lord Ozz is a Celestial Dragon. Morgans would never run it without the man's consent."
By the time those frames reached the presses, one truth would be streaking across the world. The man who owned half the sea, who ruled the underworld, who stood as emperor and legend with a bounty that defined an era, was a Celestial Dragon.
Dotor Ozz.
When that headline sank in, it would move borders in men's minds. It might even cool the fever of the Great Pirate Era.
Clever, Sengoku. Or rather, clever Five Elders.
Under a barrage of lenses and pictophone eyes, the figure at the ship's prow stepped forward. Black violet formalwear, slate cloak flaring, long hair unbound, a handsome face wearing an amused, put upon smile.
(Anime cutaway, gold title card: Dotor Ozz)
(Celestial Dragon. Legendary Pirate.)
(Bounty: 4,490,000,000 Berries)
"Seems the World Government thinks the Warlords alone are too light to hold the stage," Crocodile drawled around a cigar, gaze sliding across the sea of cameras. "The real headliner is the one they call King."
Mihawk folded his arms. "Harness public opinion and make the world believe the so called Black Emperor stands shoulder to shoulder with the Government and the Navy. A politician's trick."
Both spoke dryly, unimpressed.
"It is harmless," Ozz said, faintly amused. "They have given me face often enough. I can return the favor once."
He took a single, unhurried step. In the next instant four silhouettes vanished from the Oro Jackson and appeared on the stone of Marineford's harbor square.
Click. Click.
Light strobed. At their center, Ozz faced Sengoku, the Marine who had once forced him to retreat bleeding. He did not gloat. The years had broadened his reach and his temper. He simply patted Sengoku's shoulder.
"Thanks for the trouble, Admiral."
He passed Sengoku and walked into the square. Lines of Marines flanked a clear avenue, a living corridor built to usher emperors.
"I came to observe," Ozz said, glancing at the pageantry. "Is all of this really necessary."
The Navy, or rather the World Government, had decided to lash their ship to his name. They had even bent Marine pride to pave him a road.
A tall man in a pink feathered coat stepped from the ranks with a smile that strained at the edges.
"Welcome, Lord Ozz."
Donquixote Doflamingo's blood ran hot. This was the moment to be seen, to burn his name into the man's attention. He moved first.
Ozz's response chilled him. The easy light in those eyes cooled the instant they settled on Doflamingo. The voice that followed was casual and far away.
"Oh. If it isn't Doffy, the king of Dressrosa, the underworld's Joker."
Sweat pricked under the red lenses. The more Ozz spoke, the colder Doflamingo felt, until a tremor found his knees.
"I hear your name carries tremendous weight down below. Competitors vanish without a trace, no one remembers they ever existed."
Impossible.
What kind of joke is this.
Doflamingo's pupils needled down. His mind raced. He had never told anyone outside the family about Sugar's Hobby Hobby Fruit. Even if Mihawk or Crocodile had been affected, Ozz had no reason to know.
So there is a traitor in my house.
He stood frozen, sweat sliding like rain down his jaw.
"Behave yourself, Doffy."
Ozz patted his shoulder too, a touch that felt like a sentence, and walked on with Mihawk, Crocodile, and Kuma toward the reception hall.
Mihawk did not look at him. Crocodile did, a sliver of disdain cutting sideways as she passed.
"I do not know what you have been up to, but it looks like you are about to be in trouble, Donquixote."
There was no heat left in Doflamingo to trade barbs. His thoughts had already sprinted to the cliff's edge. He could feel the yawning drop.
Lord Ozz… is displeased with me.
That is very, very bad.
He measured his strength against his reach and found the math obscene. A stolen kingdom was one thing. But his stake in the underworld was vast and fragile. Without Ozz's shelter, rivals and pirates would strip him to the bone. Kaido. Charlotte Linlin. Even the monsters within Ozz's own banner would happily peel him from the board if given permission.
Worse. Only Ozz could return him to the status he craved among the Celestial Dragons.
Before the doors, Doflamingo lengthened his stride until he drew almost level with Crocodile, nearly shoulder to shoulder behind Ozz. The arrogance was gone. The Heavenly Yaksha sweated through silk and kept his voice low and steady.
"Lord Ozz… I beg you."
"Please grant me a chance to make this right."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"