Lilikaya Island — Before Dawn
Before daybreak, Lilikaya Island lay shrouded in gray-blue mist.
The neon lights of the casinos had long since gone dark. Only the iron cages of the slave market remained, reflecting a cold, lifeless sheen in the growing dawn.
Gern Reginald Sigmar stood in the shadows at the mouth of an alley, his fingers slowly brushing against the hilt of the black blade Bahuang, his gaze never once leaving the cage.
Tesoro's voice was hoarse yet gentle, the worn strings of his battered guitar ringing clearly through the quiet streets.
Stella leaned against the iron bars, her fingers slipping through the gaps to intertwine with his. The light in her eyes shone brighter than the moon itself.
They were singing a folk song from the West Blue—about seagulls and lighthouses,about waiting that never burns out…
Gern did not move.He did not speak.
He simply watched.
Watched as Tesoro gently brushed the loose strands of hair from Stella's face.Watched as Stella suddenly laughed when she heard a certain melody.
That smile made even the shadows of the cage seem transparent.
"So that's how it is…"Gern narrowed his eyes."So this is the kind of magic that can turn gamblers into saints…"
Slowly, the blonde girl and the green-haired young man leaned against the bars, falling asleep across the cage from one another.
As the light of dawn strengthened, Tesoro finally stood. Resting his forehead against the iron bars, he whispered,
"Just three more days… This time, I'll have enough money."
Seeing that his years of struggle were finally about to bear fruit, Stella nodded vigorously, her fingers lingering reluctantly as they traced across his palm.
Only after Tesoro's figure vanished around the street corner did Gern step out from the shadows.
Sensing someone approaching, Stella's body tensed instantly.
The light vanished from her eyes.
She reverted to the numb slave she was by day—curling into a corner, fingers unconsciously rubbing the collar around her neck, her gaze hollow and unfocused.
Last night's singing with Tesoro felt like a dream.Daylight reality was still cold and merciless.
"What a beautiful voice you have," Gern said softly as he stopped before the cage.
At the sound of his voice, Stella jerked her head up.
Before her stood a man in a black uniform, a top hat casting a shadow over his eyes, a long sword wrapped in white cloth hanging at his waist.
"The way he fights so desperately for you… it's truly moving."
Hearing him mention Tesoro, Stella—though she didn't recognize the man—instinctively clenched the hem of her dress. She forced her voice to remain calm, roughening it deliberately.
"What do you want to do to him?"
Gern let out a soft chuckle, tapping the iron bars with his finger.
"Not me. This world."
He leaned closer, his shadow falling across Stella's pale face.
"You really think that once he saves up enough money, he'll be able to buy your freedom?""How naïve."
Stella's breathing grew rapid.
Of course she knew how dark this city was.
Slave owners would raise prices at the last moment.Guards would deliberately make things difficult.And sometimes…
"Accidents" always seemed to happen to slaves on the verge of freedom.
"Who… are you?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Looking at her like this, Gern sighed and leaned against the cage.
"Do you think Tesoro would do anything for you?" he asked quietly."After all, he changed because of you."
At the mention of Tesoro again, Stella's expression shifted. A faint light returned to her eyes.
On the surface, it was Tesoro who changed for Stella—but wasn't it also Tesoro, barging into her life, who gave her a ray of light amid despair?
So when Gern mentioned him again, Stella couldn't help herself. Her voice trembled, emotion breaking through her restraint.
"What do you want to do to him?!"
Gern didn't answer.
He simply curved his lips into a faint smile—and turned away.
His back stretched long in the morning light, the black uniform and top hat gradually melting into the shadows of the street.
Stella gripped the iron bars with all her strength, her knuckles whitening as she forced out a hoarse question.
"What… are you trying to do…?"
Gern's footsteps never slowed.
He only raised a hand and waved—half farewell, half mockery of her helplessness.
Stella stared at the direction he vanished in, her chest heaving.
Slowly, she slid down to the ground, fingers unconsciously rubbing the collar around her neck. The icy touch of metal brought her back to herself.
She closed her eyes.
In her ears, Tesoro's singing seemed to echo again—the West Blue ballad about seagulls and lighthouses.
"Three days…" she whispered, as if convincing herself."Just three more days…"
But Gern's words coiled around her heart like a venomous snake.
You think saving enough money will be enough to free you?
In the distance, the bell of the slave market rang out.A new day had begun.
Outside the iron cages, the world was as noisy as ever.
But inside, the blonde girl seemed trapped in a different time altogether.
She hugged her knees to her chest, burying her face in her arms, trembling silently.
The morning light grew brighter and brighter—yet it could not reach the shadows in her eyes.
...
Afternoon — Lilikaya Island
The island baked under the scorching sun.
Tesoro clenched a thick stack of crumpled Beli he had just earned, a rare smile hanging on his face.
He had deliberately come back early today—he wanted to tell Stella the good news.
The casino owner had agreed to pay him three days' wages in advance tomorrow.
But the instant he turned the street corner—
His smile froze.
A luxurious carriage bearing the emblem of the World Government stood parked in front of the slave shop.
A Celestial Dragon, wearing a glass dome over his head, lazily pointed a gem-laden finger toward Stella's cage.
The slave shop owner bowed repeatedly, opening the cage. The chain of the collar—like a leash—was handed directly into the Celestial Dragon's grasp.
"No… no! Wait!!"
A hoarse scream tore from Tesoro's throat as he rushed forward, grabbing the Celestial Dragon's cape like a madman.
"I've already paid the deposit! Three days… just three more days—!"
The Celestial Dragon didn't even turn his head.
BAM!
A CP agent's polished boot slammed into Tesoro's abdomen.
He flew backward like a rag doll. The sickening sound of ribs snapping rang clearly through the air.
Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, yet he still struggled forward, clawing at the stone pavement. His nails scraped against the ground with a piercing screech.
"Gild!"Stella suddenly called out.
Tesoro looked up—and saw her smiling.
Sunlight streamed through her disheveled blonde hair, illuminating the grotesque slave collar around her neck.
Yet her smile was brighter than ever.
"Don't worry," she said softly, her voice gentle as the night wind."My heart will always belong to you."
She subtly pointed at her chest—where the hairpin Tesoro had given her the night before was hidden.
"Thank you… For this time. From the bottom of my heart, I was happy."
The Celestial Dragon tugged the chain, the collar biting into her skin.
She was still smiling as she was dragged away.
A CP agent deliberately ground his boot down on Tesoro's fingers.
He felt no pain.
The world lost all color.
Tesoro lay sprawled on the ground, his pupils unfocused.
The slave shop owner's curses rang in his ears as he kicked him repeatedly.
"You idiot! That was a Celestial Dragon!If you'd brought the money earlier, I wouldn't be losing money now! Damn it—"
Suddenly—
The voice stopped.The kicks stopped.
A pair of jet-black military boots stepped through the pool of blood and came to a halt before Tesoro.
Gern looked down at him and placed a golden, gourd-shaped Devil Fruit, patterned with twisted spirals, beside Tesoro's bloodstained hand.
"Without power," Gern said calmly—terrifyingly so—"you'll only lose everything."
"Power is everything."
Tesoro's trembling fingers touched the fruit. Tears mixed with blood and dripped onto its distorted patterns.
"Without it, even your cries will never reach her ears."
With that, Gern walked forward unhurriedly. The hem of his black coat brushed against the ground, each step falling like a death drumbeat.
"You filthy commoner! Do you know who I am?!"The Celestial Dragon, Saint Charlmaco, stared in disbelief at the man who dared ignore his authority.
"You see me and you don't kneel?! You dare stand in front of me?!"
When Gern still didn't respond, Charlmaco flew into a rage, drawing a golden pistol and firing directly at Gern's forehead.
BANG!
The bullet tore through the air—and passed straight through Gern's body, as if he were nothing more than an illusion.
"W–What?!"Charlmaco's voice twisted in shock.
He fired several more shots in a panic before stumbling backward, shrieking,
"Where are the CP agents?! Kill him!! No—make him my slave!!"
At the order, CP agents surged in from all directions, blades and Finger Pistols aimed straight at Gern's vital points.
But the instant they entered a three-meter radius around him—
HUM—
An invisible shockwave swept outward.
All of them froze.
Blood poured from their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses.
Their internal organs were crushed in an instant. They collapsed like discarded rags.
Gern never stopped walking.
He stepped directly in front of Saint Charlmaco.
At last, fear twisted the Celestial Dragon's face beneath the glass dome.
"Y–You know who I am?! I'm a Celestial—"
CRACK!
Gern's fingers closed like steel pincers, crushing the breathing dome as he seized Charlmaco by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
The Celestial Dragon kicked wildly with his short legs, gemstone rings flashing absurdly in the sunlight.
"To be honest,"Gern tilted his head slightly, black eyes filled with icy revulsion,
"I genuinely despise abominations like you—products of inbreeding who mistake weakness for divinity."
A faint vibration passed through his grip.
Every bone in Charlmaco's body shattered.
His pupils dilated instantly.
Gern casually tossed the corpse away like a bag of trash—throwing it directly in front of Tesoro.
"Eat the Devil Fruit," Gern said coldly."Then… kill him with your own hands."
"Me… kill a Celestial Dragon?!"Tesoro's expression shook violently.
He looked around in panic—and only then realized—
At some point, everyone within ten kilometers had vanished.
Only three people remained conscious.
Himself.Gern.And Stella.
"That's right…"Gern removed his hat, revealing his face. He smiled faintly at Tesoro's stunned, disbelieving gaze.
"Kill a Celestial Dragon—and then join the Marines."