The execution platform collapsed.
That legendary stage, once climbed by Roger, Ozz, Buggy, and Luffy, now burned with blue flames as it finally crashed to the ground.
"Hahahaha! So I didn't die after all, that's great!"
Luffy laughed like an idiot with no cares in the world, scooped up his straw hat from the ground, and grinned like he'd just won a game.
Watching the platform fall, Mihawk finally sensed something was off. He looked up into the sky, a swordsman's razor-sharp Observation searching for a trace.
"Don't bother. That guy isn't in the square anymore."
When it came to Observation, Ozz was in a league of his own.
The instant Dragon appeared, Ozz had already felt him.
That man in a green cloak, with a sandal print stamped across his face, had come down to this low-tier brawl just to give his son a little support.
But if he had his son…
Then Ozz had his brothers too.
As the platform crumbled, Buggy also tumbled down from above.
In the lightning and flames, he lay sprawled on the ground, then suddenly snapped his eyes open.
He sucked in a sharp breath, the look of a man who'd just escaped death.
Then he patted himself down.
He wasn't rubber. There was no way he should be fine after lightning.
And yet…
"Huh?! Your great Captain Buggy isn't hurt at all!!!"
"Hahahahahaha!!!"
Buggy threw his head back and laughed, convinced the heavens had personally chosen him as the protagonist. Struck by lightning, burned by fire, still perfectly fine.
"Captain Buggy, you're really okay even after that?!"
"That's insane! You're like a monster!!!"
"Yehahahaha!!!"
While Buggy's crew cheered and showered him with worship, Luffy had already regrouped with his two companions and sprinted toward the distant harbor.
Buggy didn't get to enjoy it for long.
The Marine forces closed in, surrounding them completely.
"Buggy the Clown, you're under arrest!!!"
"Wha?!!!"
Ozz merely stroked his chin and smiled at the sight of Buggy and his men getting boxed in because they got cocky for half a second. Then he turned and started walking away.
"You're not going to do anything?" Mihawk asked.
He couldn't read Ozz today. Everything Ozz did felt unpredictable.
Wasn't Buggy supposed to be one of Ozz's closest friends?
And yet now that Buggy was surrounded by Marines, Ozz looked like he was just watching a show and leaving.
"It's fine. Buggy will find a way to escape. And even if he doesn't…"
Ozz's smile deepened.
"A little time in Impel Down would be good for him too."
There were plenty of big-name pirates in there. With Buggy's "talent," he'd recruit a fresh batch of loyal underlings in no time.
…
Elsewhere.
Along Loguetown's coast.
The sea raged under the coming storm, waves crashing and churning violently.
One of Buggy's underlings, Mohji, stood there with his pet lion, Richie, preparing to set the Straw Hats' ship on fire.
"As long as we burn their ship, the Straw Hat crew won't be able to run, hahahahaha…"
Mohji snickered as he raised a match.
But at that moment, a plain, ordinary seagull glided across the sky.
Then it folded its wings and simply hovered in midair, blocking Mohji and Richie from touching the Going Merry.
"Huh? Where'd this bird come from? Richie, chase it off!!!"
Mohji frowned and pointed, ordering the lion to do what beasts were good for.
It was a lion, after all. A little intimidation should scare off some seagull.
Richie agreed. He stared down the tiny bird, bared his teeth, and rumbled a low growl.
But who did he think he was threatening?
The Seagull King didn't even blink.
He hovered there silently, rain unable to touch him, as if a wind wall guarded his body.
Richie wasn't that smart. A lion with a bit of training was still just a lion.
He assumed the weird seagull was scared, and began to prowl closer.
When he got close enough…
Only then did the Seagull King move.
That imposing head turned slowly, and a pair of razor-sharp eyes locked onto Richie.
Even so, Richie felt no fear.
To him, a bird's stare was nothing. He almost looked like he wanted to laugh.
The meaning in his eyes was obvious.
I'm a huge lion. You're a tiny seagull. Know your place.
That expression made the Seagull King's patience snap.
He had been ready to clear the field cleanly with Conqueror's Haki, but now a few invisible veins practically popped above his bird head.
"ROAR!!!"
Richie let out a lion's roar.
"SCREEEEE!!!"
The Seagull King's cry exploded out, far louder than Richie's.
Then came the scene that made both Richie and Mohji doubt reality.
The once calm, unremarkable seagull began to change.
Its body expanded at terrifying speed.
Under their trembling gaze, a colossal bird blotted out the sky, hanging overhead like a moving mountain.
It lowered a massive avian head, staring down at them with cold contempt.
Mohji's legs gave out. He dropped straight onto his butt.
Richie was worse. He scrambled behind his owner, tail clamped tight, trembling like a stray dog.
Hummmmmm.
The storm bird opened its enormous beak.
The howling winds of Loguetown gathered inside, compressing into something like storm-shaped dragon breath.
BOOM!!!
A single storm breath erupted.
Land and trees were ripped up along with it, and both man and lion were sent flying into Loguetown's interior like they'd been fired from a cannon.
If their captain hadn't been on friendly terms with the Seagull King's master, the Seagull King could have compressed that storm and turned them into dust.
Only then did the hostility in its eyes slowly fade.
The Seagull King might not be able to stand beside his master like Marco or King, reaching that right-hand level.
But after so many years of growth, he still carried the strength of a top commander.
Matching Marco, matching King, trading blows back and forth.
Being called one of the "Three Birds of the Sea" was no exaggeration.
What were you, to dare roar at me?
At that moment, Usopp and Nami, rushing to the harbor, saw the scene and went pale.
What kind of monster was that?!
That storm gathering in its beak, one blast and you'd be launched into the sky!
They trembled, too afraid to approach while the Seagull King remained in full beast form.
But the Marines chased in behind them, cannons firing.
Shells screamed through the air.
"SCREEEEE!!!"
Following Ozz's command, the Seagull King protected the Going Merry.
With a single wingbeat, wind blades scattered in every direction, and every cannonball detonated midair.
"Hey, Nami! That big bird… it's here to help us, isn't it?!"
"It really looks like it!!!"
Nami's eyes lit up, convinced her luck was unbelievable.
But what she didn't know was this.
Everything had already been priced in the dark.
This was merely a small compensation from Ozz.
A token repayment for the decade-plus of oranges her family had bled and suffered to grow
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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.
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