Vivre Cards are a vital tool when navigating the perilous and disorienting waters of the Grand Line.
Having retired years ago, Sol never carried one.
Even if he had, he had no reason to give his Vivre Card to Maude or Sunny—he planned to spend the rest of his life peacefully on Monmon Island.
In fact, if circumstances had allowed back then, it would've made more sense for Sol to create Vivre Cards for Maude and Sunny instead—just so he could keep tabs on them and not lie awake at night worrying about their safety.
Without Sol's Vivre Card, there was no way to determine his current situation.
Still, a growing sense of unease gnawed at Maude.
All he knew was that Rayleigh had gone out of his way to visit Sol and Gaban in the East Blue, to reminisce and share drinks.
But in a place like the East Blue, there shouldn't be anything capable of threatening those three old-timers.
Which meant—
Sol and the others had most likely returned to the Grand Line… or perhaps even ventured into the New World.
His thoughts racing, Maude forced down his growing anxiety and reached out to shake Bailey awake.
"Mm…"
Bailey blinked groggily at him.
"Go get Gaya," Maude said.
"This late…?"
Bailey instinctively glanced at the deep night outside, confused and half-tempted to question the request—until he saw the grim look on Maude's face.
Without another word, Bailey clamped his mouth shut and left the room at once to carry out Maude's instructions.
"Aunt Shakky, let me see the Vivre Card."
As Bailey disappeared from view, Maude held out his hand toward Shakky.
Carefully, Shakky placed the fragmented Vivre Card in Maude's palm.
He lowered his gaze to the card belonging to Rayleigh.
The Vivre Card could only offer limited insight into someone's condition through the way it deteriorated.
The fact that Rayleigh's card had suddenly splintered into pieces—just as Shakky suspected—meant that he had likely lost his limbs. Or worse… the situation might be even more dire than they imagined.
"If he's only lost his limbs, I can use my shadow powers to regenerate them. The price is life span, and at Uncle Rayleigh's age… but still, it's doable. Not to mention, Law's Op-Op Fruit ability can help too."
Maude's gaze was heavy as he turned to Shakky, voice low. "But first… we have to find him. Fast."
"Right."
Shakky nodded firmly.
If she weren't living under someone else's roof, she would've set out to sea the moment she noticed the Vivre Card's abnormality.
Maude handed Rayleigh's card back to Shakky, then flipped open the cover of his watch Den Den Mushi and dialed Lafitte's number.
The line connected in a couple of seconds.
"Captain?"
Lafitte's voice held a trace of surprise.
"Spread the word. We set sail in ten minutes."
"Understood."
Lafitte asked no questions and hung up immediately to carry out the order.
Maude closed the cover of his Den Den Mushi, his head slightly bowed, eyes shadowed by a storm of thoughts.
Moments later—
Gaya and Bailey arrived at the room.
"What's going on?"
The weight in the air was palpable the moment Gaya stepped through the door.
Maude didn't answer her question directly. Instead, he asked, "Gaya, do you have Uncle Gaban's Vivre Card?"
"Huh?"
Caught off guard by the question, Gaya blinked, then shook her head. "No, I don't."
She hesitated briefly, frowning. "What happened?"
"Something's happened to Rayleigh…"
Shakky picked up the thread and briefly explained the situation.
When she finished, Gaya's expression turned grim as she looked to Maude.
Meeting her serious gaze, Maude said in a steady voice, "I've already given the order. We'll be sailing in a few minutes."
"Okay."
Worry shimmered in Gaya's amber eyes.
Shakky took her hand, offering comfort. "Don't worry too much. There's a chance Rayleigh wasn't with Gaban and Sol."
Without their Vivre Cards, they had no way to confirm Gaban and Sol's current status.
There was still the possibility that they were safe and sound on Monmon Island—and Rayleigh had left alone and run into trouble along the way.
After all, Rayleigh had always been a wanderer. He'd go off on his own and disappear for a month or two—sometimes even half a year. That's exactly why Shakky had given him a Vivre Card in the first place, to keep from worrying so much.
Ironically, that very card was making her worry even more now.
"I'm worried too, about Uncle Rayleigh," Gaya admitted, glancing sideways at Shakky.
Shakky fell silent.
"Before we set sail, I'll go see Sabo. I'll ask him to mobilize the Revolutionary Army's intel network…"
Maude stroked his chin thoughtfully.
It would be better to ask Sabo for help than to contact Sunny directly.
Sabo had broader authority—and besides, Maude didn't want Sunny to know about this yet, not until they confirmed the situation.
"I'll also reach out to some 'old friends' in the Underworld and see what they can dig up."
Shakky gave Maude a look. "Still, with the Vivre Card, tracking down Rayleigh shouldn't be too difficult."
"Yeah, thank goodness we have it… hm?"
Maude cut himself off mid-sentence, glancing at the shattered card Shakky still held.
A thought struck him.
Just then, Lafitte entered the room.
"Captain, preparations are complete. We can depart at any time."
"Wait a minute."
Maude frowned, turning and walking toward the balcony.
"Lafitte, come with me."
"Understood."
Though a bit puzzled, Lafitte followed without question.
The two of them leapt from the balcony, heading toward the unfinished prison facility.
"…What's he doing?" Gaya stepped out onto the balcony, watching Maude vanish into the distance.
Shakky joined her, also gazing in the direction of the prison. Something clicked in her mind. She suddenly looked down at the Vivre Card in her palm.
"We might've… overlooked something important."
The weather in the New World was as unpredictable as ever.
Just minutes earlier—
Storm clouds had gathered, swallowing the moon from the sky.
But now—
The black clouds had parted, revealing a crystal-clear night sky. A full moon hung high, its silvery glow draping the land like a veil.
Bathed in moonlight, Maude reached the cell holding Ulti.
"Lafitte."
"Hoho…"
Lafitte stepped inside and lifted Ulti's severed head.
Even after removing her heart and shadow, Law had still chopped her body into several pieces as a precaution before locking her up.
"Bastard! Put me down!!"
"I'll bite your filthy hand off, I swear!!"
Even as a head alone, Ulti was still ferocious—gnashing her teeth at Lafitte and trying to butt him with her forehead.
But Lafitte wasn't about to be outdone by a talking head. He held her up and brought her to Maude.
"I've got a question for you."
Maude looked down at her.
Ulti gave a sharp, mocking laugh. "Idiot. You really think I'll just give you what you want? Hah! Don't waste your time—you'd be better off crawling back to bed and dreaming your empty dreams!"
"Listen up, dumbass—no matter what you ask, I'm not saying a word!!"
"Don't be so sure."
A wisp of darkness flickered to life in Maude's palm.
It was Ulti's shadow.
More precisely—the shadow sliced from her extracted heart.
Squeezing it was the same as squeezing the heart itself.
The pain it caused… was very real.
Maude's eyes turned ice-cold as he clenched the shadow tight in his hand.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
An excruciating pain ripped through Ulti's body, forcing a tortured scream from her lips.
The harrowing cry pierced the tranquility of the night, echoing through the darkness.
The sound carried to the nearby island, startling the resting members of the Straw Hat Pirates awake.
"A woman's scream!?"
Sanji shot up like a spring-loaded trap, instantly turning his head in the direction of the scream with lightning speed.
Zoro jumped down from his hammock, voice low and serious. "It came from the ship docked off the island."
"Did something happen with Maude?"
Still groggy, Nami instinctively looked toward the direction of the Thriller Bark. Just the chilling edge of that scream made her heart turn cold.
"We won't know until we check it out."
Zoro reached for his swords, ready to investigate the situation aboard the Thriller Bark.
After all, the ghost ship was anchored right next to the island. That bloodcurdling scream had already shattered their sleep—there was no way to rest easy without figuring out what was going on.
"Oi, moss-head! You think I'll let you steal the damsel-in-distress moment before me?!"
Sanji sprinted past Zoro in a flash.
The instant that haunting scream hit Sanji's ears, his mind had already turned it into a classic scene of gallant rescue.
"What the hell???"
Zoro, on a completely different mental track, stared at Sanji in bafflement as he bolted ahead.
Sanji had no time to explain. His whole heart was hanging on the source of that desperate cry. Within seconds, he had vanished into the distance.
"That idiot Sanji…"
Nami rubbed her forehead with a sigh—and kicked Luffy awake while she was at it.
Robin let out a quiet chuckle. Sanji's antics as a hopeless simp were nothing new to her.
"Looks like we're all up now."
Sabo's voice came from nearby.
Everyone turned toward him.
"Ah, Sabo." Luffy, barely awake and his eyelids drooping, gave a lazy wave. Then, with a puzzled look, he muttered, "Why's an owl hooting so loud? It's noisy…"
"YOU IDIOT!!! That wasn't an owl!!!"
Usopp, Nami, and Chopper all yelled at Luffy in unison.
"It wasn't an owl?"
Luffy sat cross-legged on the ground, arms folded, head tilted slightly. Then, with a flash of realization, he nodded. "Oh, then it was a cat."
"There are no cats around here!"
Nami slammed a palm down on Luffy's head, making it wobble side to side.
Meanwhile, Zoro had already wandered off on his own.
"Zoro-senpai, you're headed the wrong way! That's the ocean!"
Bartolomeo noticed Zoro walking straight toward the open sea and shouted a warning.
Startled by the shout, Zoro paused, looked at the waves lapping against the shore ahead of him, then calmly turned as if nothing had happened.
"Zoro-senpai, you're still going the wrong way! It's this way—this way!"
Just as Zoro finished turning, Bartolomeo's voice rang out again, perfectly timed.
"Quit your yapping. I know where I'm going!"
A faint blush tinged Zoro's face as he barked back and silently followed the direction Bartolomeo pointed—toward the Thriller Bark.
Bartolomeo watched Zoro's retreating figure and murmured in awe, "He could tell where the scream came from… and still walked straight into the sea. That's Zoro-senpai's unique masculine charm…"
"Masculine charm? Hmm… I think I heard someone talking about me."
Franky struck his signature pose.
"..."
Robin gave Franky a look of quiet disdain.
"What's that look for, Robin?!"
Franky recoiled in shock.
Robin said nothing, simply turning her back to him.
"Why are you all still dragging your feet?"
Zoro's voice called out from a distance.
Everyone turned to look—only to see Zoro standing on top of a hill.
If he went any further, he'd be deep in the forest, which was miles away from the Thriller Bark anchored at the coast.
"Zoro-senpai, you're off course again!!!"
Bartolomeo clutched his head in disbelief, staring up at Zoro.
Hearing Bartolomeo's shout, Zoro looked around and confidently said, "I followed your directions exactly. Bartolomeo, you better not be giving me bad intel."
"…?"
Bartolomeo was dumbfounded.
"You idiot! Get your butt over here right now!!"
Nami's eyes flared with rage, fangs practically bared as she screamed at him.
Zoro clicked his tongue and started walking toward her. But just a few steps in, he veered right—straight into the trees.
"Robin-nee… I can't take this anymore…"
Nami clutched her forehead, nearly fainting.
Robin smiled softly, crossed her arms, and sprouted a guiding hand on Zoro's shoulder using her Devil Fruit powers.
Zoro glanced at the hand and muttered under his breath, "I don't need this kind of thing…"
But he begrudgingly followed the hand's direction toward the others.
Thanks to Robin's help, Zoro soon arrived.
Then—
Zoro's expression shifted. He froze mid-step, hands darting to the hilts of his swords at his waist. His eyes snapped up to the night sky.
Almost simultaneously—
Sabo, Luffy, Usopp, and Bartolomeo also sensed something and turned their eyes skyward.
What they saw—
Was a massive blue dragon gliding through the night.
"A dragon…!?"
The Straw Hats stared, stunned, at the majestic beast hovering above them.
Sabo's eyes narrowed sharply, heart pounding.
In the sky—
The dragon's cold gaze swept across the ground, as if taking notice of the insignificant ants below.
And in the next instant, the once-clear night sky behind the dragon suddenly filled with thick black clouds.
Whoooosh—
The wind howled as the atmosphere shifted.
Gales began to stir. Streaks of violet lightning danced across the dragon's body, vanishing into the clouds above. Flashes of brilliance flickered through the storm.
BOOM!
Without warning, a massive bolt of violet lightning shot down from the clouds—straight toward where the Straw Hats stood.
The bolt slammed into the ground, bursting into arcs of thunder that surged outward in all directions.
In that blinding moment, the entire Straw Hat crew was swallowed by a sea of crackling violet light.
Not far away—
Zoro's eyes went wide with horror as he watched his crewmates engulfed in lightning. His pupils shrank to pinpoints.
SHING—!
With a fierce clang, Zoro drew his blade.
Veins bulged across his forehead.
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