Chapter 30: A Reverie of Storms
Mary Geoise stood atop the Red Line, a city of pristine white marble and gold, gleaming under the sun like a monument to absolute order. It was a place of immense, oppressive power, where the very air felt heavy with the weight of history and tyranny. The Reverie was in full swing, with kings and queens from across the world debating the future in the opulent meeting halls, while their guards and attendants mingled in the lavish courtyards.
Unseen and unfelt, Arata stood on a high, windswept balcony of an abandoned celestial district, his grey tunic making him a ghost against the pale stone. The Raiju was hidden deep within the clouds that wreathed the peak of the Red Line. His presence was a secret, a wolf that had slipped into the heart of the flock.
His Observation Haki flowed through the city like a silent tide. He felt the bloated, arrogant auras of the Celestial Dragons in their protected groves, the nervous energy of the visiting royalty, and the disciplined, powerful presences of the Marines—including the formidable auras of Admirals Fujitora and Ryokugyu. And he found his targets: King Neptune, his sons, and Shirahoshi, housed in one of the guest palaces.
He also felt the lurking danger. CP0 agents were everywhere, their auras sharp and predatory. And there was a specific, focused interest on the Fish-Man Island contingent. The World Government had not forgotten the "incident" with the Straw Hats and the ancient weapon.
The crisis erupted not in the halls of power, but in a garden. A Celestial Dragon, Saint Charlos, the same one Luffy had once punched, had set his sights on Shirahoshi. Enraptured by her beauty, which even the bigoted noble could not deny, he declared his intention to make her his newest slave.
The scene was one of horrific inevitability. Neptune and his sons were restrained by CP0 agents, their faces masks of fury and despair. Marines stood by, bound by law to protect the Celestial Dragon, not the visiting king. Charlos leered, pointing his pistol at a terrified Shirahoshi, demanding she kneel.
It was at this moment that the sky above Mary Geoise, for the first time in living memory, darkened. It was not a cloud that passed before the sun. It was a sudden, localized eclipse, the air growing cold and thick with static. The cheerful birdsong in the garden ceased.
"Unhand her."
The voice was not loud, but it cut through the silence like a razor. It came from the balcony where Arata stood. All eyes turned to him. He was just a man in simple clothes, but his presence was a physical weight. His golden eyes glowed in the sudden gloom, fixed on Saint Charlos.
The Celestial Dragon sputtered, his face turning red with outrage. "Who are you?! How dare you interrupt a Holy—"
He never finished his sentence. Arata didn't move from the balcony. He simply looked at Charlos.
A pressure, immense and invisible, slammed into the Celestial Dragon. It was not a physical force, but a spiritual one—a concentrated blast of Conqueror's Haki aimed with the precision of a sniper's rifle. Charlos's eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed into a twitching heap, a thin line of drool leaking from his mouth. He was not dead, but his mind was temporarily shattered, lost in a nightmare of his own making.
The CP0 agents released Neptune and his sons, their hands flying to their weapons as they stared at the unconscious noble and then at the stranger on the balcony. This was an act of war.
"Identify yourself!" the lead CP0 agent demanded, his voice a masked snarl.
Arata ignored him. His gaze swept over the stunned Marines and the terrified royalty. "The age where you can hide behind a title and prey upon the innocent is ending," he announced, his voice echoing with the rumble of distant thunder. "This world has new powers now. And we do not recognize your so-called divinity."
He looked directly at the CP0 agents. "You will escort the royal family of Fish-Man Island to their ship. You will ensure their safe passage from the Red Line. If a single scale on Princess Shirahoshi's tail is harmed, I will return. And I will not be so... diplomatic."
The threat hung in the air, absolute and undeniable. They had all felt the power, seen a Celestial Dragon felled by a mere glance. The CP0 agents, trained to assess threat levels, knew they were utterly outmatched. This was not a pirate to be captured; this was a force of nature to be survived.
As the Fish-Man Island royals were hastily and respectfully escorted away, Arata remained on the balcony. He watched until he felt their ship safely depart into the calm waters below. His mission was accomplished.
He took one last look at the gleaming, corrupt city, a place he knew he would have to face in full one day. But not today. Today, he had saved a friend. And now, another friend needed him.
His form dissolved into a cascade of lightning that shot upward, vanishing into the clouds. The sky over Mary Geoise cleared instantly. The incident would be covered up, of course. But the whispers would begin. A man who commanded the sky, who humbled a Celestial Dragon with a look. The legend of the Stormbringer had just been etched into the very stones of the World Government's capital. And in a candy-coated hell far to the west, a wedding was about to begin, and a storm was now turning its fury back towards Whole Cake Island.