"Go warn the world. Fish-Man Island is under my protection."
Rakuya shrugged on the black coat stitched with crimson clouds, and a cold, killing stillness seemed to coil around him. Neptune actually took a step back, unsettled by the pressure that bled off the man without a word.
Wind-tossed hair framed a face that rarely smiled. He did not speak, yet a solitary, imperious aura radiated from him. The coat helped. Red clouds for blood, black for the merciless night required to topple a rotten order. The garment was Rakuya's will made visible.
"Wow. That looks amazing," Momousagi breathed, eyes bright, hands balled into small fists.
"Only noticed I'm handsome now?" Rakuya glanced at her, voice flat.
That single look reeled her in.
"Neptune, mount this red cloud sigil in the most prominent places on Fish-Man Island. From today, pirates will think twice before laying a finger on you."
"Yes, sir." The king did not dare gainsay him. Whenever Neptune met Rakuya's eyes, his own resolve seemed to shrink before that unspoken tyrant's will.
"Come on. I'll broaden your horizons." Rakuya crooked a finger. Whether Momousagi liked it or not, he drew her with him out of Ryugu Castle.
"Where are you taking me?" For once she did not snap at him. Her tone even held a hint of shyness that threw Rakuya off balance.
"To the Holy Land. See the trash the World Government shelters. Once you witness what they do, you will understand what justice ought to mean."
"The Holy Land? You mean Mary Geoise, where the Celestial Dragons live?"
"Exactly."
He summoned the sea with his Sovereign of the Deep power. Water obeyed and hurled the two of them upward.
Meanwhile, Marineford.
Inside the fleet admiral's office, Steel Bone Kong was livid.
"What do I even keep you people around for?"
The M-shaped beard on his jaw trembled as he roared at the gathered vice admirals.
"Sakazuki is captured. Borsalino is captured. Zephyr is captured. Even Sengoku is captured. All of you together couldn't put down one punk. What business do you have calling yourselves Marines?"
It was the worst humiliation in years. News of multiple admirals being taken had already raced through every corridor of Marine Headquarters and even out to the branches. Kong had wanted to smother the scandal. Somehow it leaked. By sunset the world was howling with the same story. The Marines surrounded Rakuya and he walked away with their elite in chains.
In an instant, Rakuya's name rang across the seas. His momentum even threatened to eclipse Gol D. Roger's. Admirals kidnapped under the eyes of Marine Headquarters, and he left at his leisure. Unthinkable. Unforgivable.
"You have dragged the honor of Marine Headquarters through the mud," Kong snarled, smashing a palm onto his desk. Wood exploded into splinters.
Garp kept his head down, saying nothing. Tsuru, Bastille, Onigumo and the others stood rigid, faces dark, fists clenched. They had not only failed to save a Celestial Dragon. They had lost men and face on a historic scale.
"Fleet Admiral." Tsuru stepped forward.
"What is it?" Kong ground out.
"Rakuya gave us five days to prepare eighty billion berries. He will be waiting in the New World. If we refuse, he says he will kill the hostages."
"What?" Veins stood out on Kong's forehead. "He dares extort the Marines?"
"Tell him there is no chance. The Marines do not bow to evil."
"Sir," Tsuru pressed, unshaken, "Zephyr and Sengoku are in his hands. If we do not negotiate, he may truly execute them. The loss would be catastrophic."
"And paying eighty billion isn't catastrophic?" Kong bellowed. "Why not rob the treasury while he's at it?"
The vice admirals stared at their boots, sweat beading on their backs.
At last Kong exhaled through his teeth. "Prepare the eighty billion. In five days I will go myself. We will extract Sengoku and Zephyr, then erase that man in the New World."
"Sir, what about the powerful family rumored to stand behind him?"
Kong's fury cooled to iron. "If we cannot kill him, we will capture him. Marine money is not something a pirate pockets and keeps. For every berry he takes, I will make him spit two back out."
"Mobilize every available force to the New World. In five days, bring him in."
"Yes, sir."
"Issue a wanted notice. Set Rakuya's bounty at one billion. Use the whole world to hunt him. I do not believe he can stand against everyone."
"Yes, sir."
By noon, a new poster spread outward from Marineford like a stormfront.
Name: Rakuya.
Status: Newcomer.
Bounty: 1,000,000,000 berries.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to add this story to your Library, drop a review, and leave a Power Stone if you enjoyed it!
"Want to stay ahead of the game? Advanced chapters are up on my Patron. If you're enjoying the ride, swing by and check them out."
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"