"Three days ago, the G-51 Branch located at Master Port was attacked.
Branch Captain Aster Campbell was killed in action, and among the dead was also Mantel Dars, the Steward of the Kingdom of Nismael."
"Lieutenant Roy Amos of the nearby Detention Unit urgently returned to Master Port and led the branch marines in an overnight search for the attackers, but no results have been found so far."
"Additionally, according to the World Government's assessment, Steward Mantel Dars may have exposed the location of the Celestial Tribute.
Therefore, ships will be dispatched to relocate the Celestial Tribute from Arasite Island."
...
Central Arasite Island, within the Arasite Grand Forest.
A cigar-clenching marine lay sprawled on a lounge chair, basking in the sunlight filtering down through the ancient, towering trees of the forest.
Beside the chair leaned a silver great Ōdachi.
At this moment, the intelligence report was being read aloud by a subordinate standing in front of him.
"Leave."
The cigar-smoking marine spoke in a deep voice.
"Yes, Commodore Lanley."
The Lieutenant Commander nodded.
"They want us to withdraw, but before that you'll need to contact the warships coming to transport the Celestial Tribute and confirm the evacuation timetable—"
Before he could finish, the Commodore shot him an annoyed glare.
"Idiot. I'm telling you to leave."
"You're completely blocking my sunlight. Can't you see that?"
Hearing this, the Lieutenant Commander froze.
Only then did he realize that by holding the report in front of him, he really had blocked the light—especially in the Arasite Grand Forest, where trees easily exceeded fifty meters in height and sunlight was precious to begin with.
He hurriedly stepped aside, laughing awkwardly as he did so.
"Sorry, Commodore. I didn't notice."
"Be more careful next time," Lanley snorted coldly.
"In my hometown, blocking someone from sunbathing is a serious crime."
"…"
The Lieutenant Commander, thinking what kind of hellhole has rules like that, nevertheless nodded obediently.
Then Commodore Lanley let out another cold snort.
"As for relocating the Celestial Tribute—what a bunch of cowards!"
He sneered, clearly displeased with the World Government's decision.
Turning his head, he looked toward the massive structure hidden deep within the forest behind him.
"This Golden House is located at the very center of Arasite Island, concealed by the grand forest—an absolutely ideal stronghold."
"The island's four coastlines each have a guarding base, the surrounding seas are strictly closed to ordinary vessels, and it's extremely close to the Calm Belt.
The waters nearby contain massive whirlpools capable of swallowing even large ships whole."
"With defenses like this, who could possibly break in?
And with less than a month left before the Celestial Tribute is transported… relocating it now?"
He scoffed.
"Are the people up top out of their minds?"
"But those are the orders, Commodore."
"And the message was personally delivered by Vice Admiral Kasayama."
The Lieutenant Commander could only try to reason with him.
He knew very well that the man before him—Commodore Lanley—was a rising star of the Marines.
At only thirty-five years old, he had already attained the rank of Commodore.
He had mastered both forms of Haki and was highly skilled in swordsmanship.
His combat power was formidable, and he was widely believed to be almost certain to be promoted to a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral within a few years.
The only person capable of persuading him—or commanding him outright—was his teacher, the veteran Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, Vice Admiral Kasayama.
Strangely enough, despite Vice Admiral Kasayama's reputation for being gentle yet powerful, his disciple turned out to be someone who didn't take well to authority.
And sure enough—
When he heard that the order had come directly from Vice Admiral Kasayama, Lanley frowned.
Then—
"You said we need to contact the warships, right? Hand me the Den Den Mushi."
He raised his hand unwillingly.
The Lieutenant Commander inwardly muttered as expected and hurriedly brought over the Den Den Mushi.
"Commodore, there are five warships assigned to relocate the Celestial Tribute. You can contact them individually using this Den Den Mushi.
This is a special World Government model—it supports multi-channel communication and even voicemail. There's already a message."
As he spoke, the Den Den Mushi began to play back the message.
"Commodore Lanley, this is the 'Transfer Ship' assigned to relocate the Celestial Tribute.
However, we encountered unusually strong winds along the route, so our arrival may be delayed by about half a day.
We will approach the island via the southern base harbor."
Beep.
"This message will remain available for three hours."
The Den Den Mushi briefly broadcasted the message and the time it was left.
Lanley's brows furrowed.
"Please don't be upset, Commodore," the Lieutenant Commander said quickly, assuming the Commodore was angry again.
"When sailing at sea, delays due to wind and waves are unavoidable. Besides, it's only been three days since the attack at Master Port—
even the fastest ship would take at least a week to get here. There's really no need to rush the relocation of the Celestial Tribute—"
But he was cut off mid-sentence by Commodore Lanley's sharp yell.
"Idiot! Something's wrong!"
Lanley said this, sitting bolt upright from the lounge chair.
He was a keenly perceptive man, and he had already sensed that something was off.
"This is Arasite Island—an island near the Calm Belt.
In the surrounding waters, strong winds might not occur even once in an entire year."
He turned to the Lieutenant Commander.
"Contact the southern base. Confirm the weather conditions in the southern seas!"
"Yes—yes, sir!"
The Lieutenant Commander immediately snapped to attention, then hurriedly pulled out a Den Den Mushi and dialed.
"Buru-buru!" "Buru-buru!" "Buru-buru!"
The ringing echoed through the otherwise silent forest.
But no one answered.
The forest seemed to grow even more oppressive.
"Call the other three bases."
Only when Lanley's voice cut through the silence did the Lieutenant Commander hurriedly comply, picking up the remaining three Den Den Mushis.
The same thing happened.
The Den Den Mushis rang—buru-buru, buru-buru—but there was no response.
"C-Commodore, this is…"
Only now did even the Lieutenant Commander fully realize that something was seriously wrong.
"Contact the watchtower."
Lanley had already picked up his great Ōdachi, gripping it with both hands as he rose to his feet.
The Lieutenant Commander's expression changed dramatically.
The watchtower—
the penultimate line of defense for the "Golden House," located just outside the grand forest.
Though he could hardly believe the situation had deteriorated to this extent, he still obeyed the order and dialed the Den Den Mushi.
"Buru-buru!" "Buru-buru!" "Buru-buru!"
The Den Den Mushi rang as it always did.
With every ring, the Lieutenant Commander felt as though it were his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.
And finally—
"Haah… hah…"
The Den Den Mushi finally connected.
But from the other end came nothing but weak, ragged breathing.
"Who is this? What happened?"
The Lieutenant Commander immediately shouted.
From the Den Den Mushi came a broken, intermittent reply:
"I'm… the watchtower… guard… Haah… hah…"
The speaker was clearly at the brink of collapse; even his voice was slurred and unclear.
"Attack… a storm… a monster from the sky…"
His words ended there, and the Den Den Mushi suddenly fell silent—
just like the stillness enveloping the Golden House itself.
Then—
"Commodore, I'll go confirm the situation immediately! Oh, and the defensive wall—I'll raise the forest's defensive wall right away!"
The Lieutenant Commander spoke at once.
Yes—
as the storage site for the Celestial Tribute, the Golden House had specially constructed defensive fortifications around it.
Once activated, they were massive walls so formidable that even an army of thousands would find them nearly impossible to breach.
"Commodore?"
But soon, the Lieutenant Commander realized that Commodore Lanley did not respond.
Instead, the Commodore simply shouldered his great Ōdachi, letting the blade hang slightly at his side.
He took a few steps forward.
The Lieutenant Commander recognized it immediately—
that was Lanley's combat stance.
And it was a stance he used only when facing a truly powerful enemy.
Then—
"No need."
The Lieutenant Commander heard Lanley's reply, and at the same time saw him raise his head toward a certain direction.
"The enemy is already here."
"And that presence—heh!"
Already here?
After hearing Lanley's words, the Lieutenant Commander instinctively raised his head toward the same direction.
And at the very moment he looked up, he knew something was wrong.
The wind had come.
Not the gentle breeze common to the forest, nor even a violent yet understandable gale.
This was a destructive torrent of air, accompanied by an overwhelming roar.
"BOOM!"
It was the sonic blast caused by some massive object flapping through the air at extreme speed.
The tremendous wind nearly knocked the Lieutenant Commander off his feet, while sand and grit carried by the gale lashed painfully against his face.
And along with the wind came darkness.
Yes—
the precious sunlight that had once filtered through the gaps between the leaves in the forest vanished completely.
Of course, the sunlight hadn't truly disappeared—
it had been blocked.
Blocked by something enormous.
"What… is that?"
Yes, the Lieutenant Commander could see it now.
Above the vast forest, high over the countless treetops, a colossal silhouette had appeared.
It was a creature that should no longer exist in this age.
Its outstretched wings seemed to blot out the sky itself, the wing membranes colored a rock-like blue-gray.
"What is it? Do you even need to ask?"
Unlike the Lieutenant Commander, Commodore Lanley was smiling.
He tightened his grip on the great Ōdachi in his hands, fiery battle intent flashing in his eyes.
"That is a monster!"