Somewhere in the Sky, A Floating Island
High above the clouds, where no normal ship could ever go was a strange and wonderful sight.
An entire island ripped from the earth was floating in the sky. This was the home of a legend, a pirate from the old days who was as strong as Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard. That era was called an era of Three great pirates.
His name was Shiki 'the Golden Lion'.
For twenty years, he had been hiding here and planning his grand return.
He was surrounded by his strange mutated animal experiments and surrounded by his loyal but crew.
"JIHAHAHAHAHA" Shiki's booming laughter echoed across his floating kingdom.
He sat on a giant throne made of rock, a ship's steering wheel stuck in his head from a famous battle long ago against none other than Pirate King "Gol D. Roger".
"The world below is getting so weak. The Marines, the pirates… they are all just children playing in a sandbox."
His top scientist, the clown-faced Dr. Indigo came over with holding a newspaper in his hand. "Lord Shiki. News from the surface world"
Shiki snatched the paper. He glanced at the headline and burst out laughing again, even louder this time.
"A HERO?! 'UMI'? JIHAHAHAHAHA....What a pathetic name. The World Government must be truly desperate if they have to make up heroes to keep the weak people from crying."
He saw the story for what it was: a lie. A game. A cheap trick. It was beneath him.
"This is a sign of weakness" Shiki roared, standing up from his throne. "They are afraid. Afraid of this Dragon, afraid of the new pirates, They are trying to build a new wall of lies to hide behind."
He looked down at the clouds below, at the world he planned to conquer.
For twenty years, he had been patient. He had been creating his army of monstrous animals. He had been waiting for the perfect moment to strike, to show the world that the great Pirate Era of Gol D. Roger was a joke compared to his own.
This newspaper was a sign that the world was becoming unstable. It was becoming chaotic. And that was the perfect time for his return.
"They are making too much noise down there," Shiki growled, a dangerous light in his eyes. "This Umi… this Dragon… they are just distractions. They are ants fighting over a crumb while the lion is about to wake up."
He turned to his crew and give a command.
"Dr. Indigo....Speed up the experiments. My army must be ready do it as fast as you can" he bellowed. "The world has become a noisy circus. It is time to remind them what true power looks like. It is time to show them the strength of the Golden Lion Shiki."
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Onboard the Cipher Pol Ship, Sailing from the North Blue
On its deck, the elite agents of CP0 stood, the mission in the four kingdoms officially over.
They were professionals and the operation had been a complete success. There was a quiet satisfaction in the air.
They all remembered the overwhelming power of their new commander Umi. They remembered how he had stopped Rob Lucci's one of most powerful attack with just his hand.
And they all remembered his final order before he had gone into the captain's cabin to rest: "Do not disturb my sleep, no matter what happens."
The cabin door had remained closed. The agents respecting his command had not knocked. They simply did their duties and waiting for him to come out from his cabin.
Then, the News Coo arrived.
It dropped the morning paper onto the deck with a cheerful squawk and flew away.
Kaku, the man with the long square nose picked it up. He began to read the headline and his eyebrows shot up in surprise.
He said with a slow grin spreading across his face. "It seems our little cleanup mission was more important than we thought."
When other agents heard this they gathered around him.
Jabra, who looked like a wolf snatched the paper. "Gyahahaha....What is it?" He looked at the front page and his jaw dropped.
"A HERO?!" he roared with laughter. "They are calling Umi-sama a hero...'The Hero of the North Blue'. "
Kalifa adjusted her glasses, leaning in to read. "It says here he saved four kingdoms from the 'terror' of the Revolutionary Army," she said, her voice professional. "And it also says he recovered the lost Germa technology. My, my. The World Government certainly knows how to tell a story. This is a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?"
Stussy, the beautiful and clever agent who knew more about the world's secrets than most, just smiled. "It is not an exaggeration," she said calmly. "It is propaganda. And it is brilliant."
They all looked at her.
"Think about it," Stussy explained. "The world now has a new hero to cheer for. They have a new reason to hate the Revolutionaries. And the World Government has a perfect story for where they got their new weapons. It solves three problems with one newspaper."
The agents were all very smart. They understood immediately. They had not just been on a mission to kill revolutionaries.
They had been actors in a grand play and the whole world was their audience.
Blueno, the big quiet man simply crossed his arms. "So the man sleeping in that cabin," he rumbled, "is now the one of the most famous hero in the world."
The thought was strange. The powerful man they had just met, the man who was now a global superstar was just a few feet away taking a nap.
Then, Rob Lucci spoke.
He had been staring at the newspaper for long time. He pointed a finger at the bottom of the article.
"It's more than that," Lucci said with his voice a low, cold whisper. "He is not just a hero. They have made him a Vice Admiral."
A shocked silence fell all over the deck.
A Vice Admiral of the Marines. That was one of the highest ranks in the world. This Umi was not just a temporary commander.
He is now one of the most powerful men in the entire Marine organization.
Lucci looked at the closed cabin door with a new deep respect. He remembered Umi's strange words to him: "It is not that you were weak, but your opponent was Luffy."
At the time, it had been confusing.
But now, it started to make a little more sense.
This man Umi was not just a fighter. He was a player in a much bigger game, a game of power and politics. He was on a completely different level than him.
Lucci felt a new cold fire of loyalty ignite in his chest.
To serve a man this powerful, this important… this was true justice.