News of Thorne Ashveil's actions on Sabaody Archipelago spread faster than smoke on dry grass. The World Economic Journal's reports reached the four Emperors in the New World like a series of detonations, each headline setting a different kind of fury in motion.
On Onigashima the Beasts Pirates moved like a storm gathering at sea. Down at their docks men loaded weapons and ammunition with a brutal efficiency. The air smelled of oil and steel, and the decks thrummed with the intent of vengeance.
Kaido towered above them, gripping his spiked club with hands like iron. He roared until the sound shook timber and flesh alike.
"My lads, this time we will level the Whitebeard Pirates' stronghold, I want Jack avenged!" His words smashed against the crowd, and every voice answered.
"Revenge!"
"Revenge!"
"Revenge!"
The Gifters bellowed their assent. One Gifters with a thick rhinoceros horn elbowed his way forward, kneeling and thrusting a newspaper at Kaido. The page bore the headlines and grainy images from Sabaody.
Kaido's eyes went cold as the name sank in. He snatched the paper and tore it open with a grin that had no warmth.
"This bastard actually killed Sakazuki?" he muttered, venom in the sound.
Queen and King stared, their faces a mixture of disbelief and rage. King's jaw tightened, memory of his vow to transform into a pteranodon and hunt the perpetrator flashing behind his eyes. If he had flown after that rumor, perhaps only one of the three disasters would remain now.
Kaido slammed his club onto the deck.
"No matter what, that kid must die by my hand. Not only him, this time we will crush the Whitebeard Pirates completely. Settle the old scores and the new!" he declared with a ferocity that made the timbers shiver.
Without another word, Kaido shifted. His massive form coalesced into scales and a titanic silhouette, and in moments he was a dragon of azure sheen. He lifted into the sky with a thunderous roar, bearing his wrath toward Sabaody.
Far from that fury, aboard the Red Hair's ship, Shanks held the same paper with a different weight pressing into his chest. Benn Beckman exhaled, the smoke curling as he watched the horizon.
"What do you think, Shanks?" Beckman asked quietly.
Shanks' gaze swept the sea. "Ashveil, huh. If things were not so tense, I would like to meet him." His voice was calm but edged with something like regret. "It is a shame he sided with Whitebeard."
Beckman ground the cigarette into the deck, eyes narrowing. "Even so, I would still give them only twenty percent chance to win this fight."
Shanks turned away from the sea and let the wind toy with his hair. "Such a promising talent. Don't let him be swallowed by war for nothing." A gull circled then dropped a small bird-shaped message at Shanks' feet. Shanks read it, and the spark of battle lit in his eyes.
"All right, lads. We have a job. We'll intercept Kaido first."
On Whole Cake Island, Katakuri stared at reports and images in stunned silence. He had watched the Celestial Dragons being carried away; he knew the stakes. The name Ashveil made him clench his jaw.
"A shame, I was a step too late," he murmured to himself. Killing an Admiral and slaying a Celestial Dragon were things most could not even conceive. He dialed Big Mom on his Den Den Mushi, voice low and controlled.
Big Mom's reaction rolled through a gamut: shock, then delight mixed with greed. "Ashveil, truly a rare genius," she said, tone wavering between awe and appetite. "A pity the Whitebeard Pirates got such luck. A genius like that could have been useful to us."
Katakuri's voice tightened. "I was late, Mama. If I'd been there…."
"Not your fault," Big Mom replied, munching the way she always did, then brusquely ordering him home. "Come back. We will see how this plays out."
Meanwhile, the Whitebeard fleet dove beneath the waves, heading straight for Marineford. When the Den Den Mushi in Whitebeard's hands brought the news, he laughed the way only Edward Newgate could laugh, the sound rolling like thunder.
"Kuhahaha! Ashveil, you brat, I did not misjudge you!" Whitebeard roared, the illness in his chest seeming to dull under the weight of pride. "Candle boy, I did not think it a day like this would come."
Marco, Jozu and Vista exchanged looks of astonishment. A Zero Division Captain had felled Sakazuki and cut down a Celestial Dragon, deeds other captains would not even dare fantasize. They looked at Ashveil's name now as one looks at destiny, and the presence of that talent filled them with something like hope and fear at once.
"Ashveil, gather with us at Marineford. We will make the world remember this day," Whitebeard proclaimed, voice filling every deck. His crew roared back, fearless and ready for the war that approached.
…
On the wind-swept coastline of Kuraigana Island the tide rolled in and out, carving small patterns in the sand. From Ashveil's viewpoint the tiny silhouette of the island grew. He and Urouge dropped down into the tree line, moving with the practiced quiet of people used to dangerous places.
Ashveil cracked the barest hint of a smile at Urouge. "Tyrant Kuma's power makes travel convenient," he said, tone casual. "By now Luffy should be at Amazon Lily. That will help with the Empress there. With Luffy in the mix, the Shichibukai's balance might tip a bit."
Urouge grunted in agreement, eager to prove himself and keen for a scrap. "Captain Ashveil, leave these weird islanders to me, I'll show what I can do." He hefted his weapon like a giant pencil and charged before Ashveil could even object.
Kuraigana's forest carried a strange gloom, the sky a faint purple that lent children's nightmares to the light. Graves dotted the soil, their presence carving a hush into the air, and thick trees knitted a canopy that kept sunlight at bay. Ashveil observed it with a small wrinkle of distaste. "Mihawk likes places like this? It is too gloomy."
That comment drew a snort from Urouge and the rumbling sound of the island's inhabitants. Baboons moved like soldiers through the underbrush, hooting and brandishing crude human-like weapons and armor. These creatures, trained by endless cycles of local conflict, had been called Human Imitators. They surrounded Ashveil and Urouge, keen eyes flashing.
"They are noisy," Ashveil said, frowning, as the baboons closed in.
Before Urouge could strike out, the scene shifted to a nearby castle that crouched like a sleeping beast. Inside, Perona fussed over Roronoa Zoro who was wrapped in bandages, more mummy than man. Zoro lay on a bed, breathing, his wounds tended.
Dracule Mihawk sat across from them, a glass of red wine in hand and a measured calm in his posture. The letter from Marineford lay unread on a small table, a summons that had been put aside. Then Perona's voice changed the room's tempo. Mihawk's gaze snapped to the window.
"Roronoa Zoro, is it?" he said with the corner of his mouth tilting. He was not surprised when his calm fractured for a single breath. "No, another human walked onto this island. And he carries Conqueror's Haki."
Mihawk did not confuse it with the feeling of Shanks' Haki. He rose, the motion smooth and deliberate, and strapped his great blade Yoru to his back. The air around him tightened as his hawk-like eyes fixed on the forest. He stepped toward the door, each movement cold and precise, ready to meet whoever had come bearing such a presence.
Outside, the foliage stirred, as if the island itself held its breath. Ashveil and Urouge met the sound of Mihawk's footsteps like a new challenge. The forest watched, and the sea waited, the ripples from Sabaody spreading ever outward. The New World had been set aflame by a single strike, and every current, every captain, and every giant would now choose where they stood when the flames reached them.
---