Port of Sorbet Kingdom.
Queen Dowager Connie and King Bulldog had mustered every soldier the kingdom could spare and assembled them at the harbor.
Under Bekori's command, the troops formed ranks and waited tensely.
Every face was locked on the six pirate ships approaching across the water.
Bulldog's palms were sweating.
Had his mother not been standing beside him, he would have been trembling.
The Great Pirate vessels drew closer and closer.
Close enough for the onlookers to make out the winged skull emblazoned on the billowing sails.
Connie raised her hand and shouted:
"They're here!"
"Hold your fire! Stay alert, but do not provoke them!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The Sorbet army was hardly elite, yet its discipline held.
Orders from above were obeyed without question.
As the soldiers held their breath, waiting for the pirates to enter the port—
the six ships suddenly veered left and sailed away.
"Huh? They're leaving?" Bulldog exclaimed, first startled, then overjoyed.
But Connie shook her head. "No, they're heading for the Lawless Land. Just as I thought… Still, that's better for us—no panic in the capital. Follow me!"
Gathering her skirts, she sprinted toward the Lawless Land.
"Protect the Queen Dowager—move!"
Bulldog barked, hurrying the army after her.
Ten-odd minutes later.
On the shore of the Lawless Land.
No harbor here—only a shallow beach.
Of the six pirate ships Carlo had brought, four dropped anchor out at sea; only two hundred-metre vessels nosed close to shore, finding deeper water to cast their anchors.
Carlo noticed the army marching toward them.
He paid it no mind.
"John!" he called.
"On it."
John set down his flask, drifted into the air under Ivankov and Ginny's envious stares, and floated across to the adjacent ship crammed with hundreds of children.
He flicked a finger.
Lightning crackled.
Iron plates peeled from the hull, snapping together alongside to form a broad gangway to the island.
"Off you go," John told the quiet children. "Step onto the island and look for anyone you know. We'll sort the rest later."
The children obeyed without fuss.
Silently they crossed the iron bridge and set foot on the Lawless Land.
From farther inland, refugees and drifters who already lived here had spotted the commotion.
But the sight of the Sorbet army kept them at bay.
Only the refugees flung here the night before stumbled excitedly from their makeshift tents and hurried over.
"Let's go down too, Kuma!"
Ivankov looked at the big man whose eyes were still red-rimmed.
"All right." Kuma nodded and made to vault over the rail—
only for Carlo to seize him by the collar.
"Captain?" Kuma asked, puzzled.
Carlo grinned. "Trying to drown yourself?"
"I can swim. And the water's shallow—Dad used to fish here; I swam all the time," Kuma mumbled.
"That's not the point!" Ivankov stepped up, shaking his head. "You've eaten a Devil Fruit, Kuma. Devil Fruit users become hammered in water; even ankle-deep water can sap your strength and drown you."
"Then how do we get ashore?" Ginny asked, eyeing the sea.
Their ship drew too much water to venture closer without grounding.
Before Ivankov could answer,
Carlo swept a hand through the air.
A roaring gale sprang up around them, lifting the trio off the deck and carrying them over the waves toward the beach.
"Whoa! We're flying, Kuma!" Ginny squealed, half terrified, half thrilled, her cheeks flushed.
"That Mythical Zoan," Ivankov murmured in awe. "He can command even the wind itself."
He watched Carlo stride across the empty air as though climbing invisible stairs, and envy stabbed him.
He remembered the blue-scaled fruit he'd found at God Valley.
Ivankov's heart twisted.
That Devil Fruit—Kaido's azure dragon fruit, a Mythical Zoan—had been right in his hand… and he'd let it slip away.
"My azure dragon fruit! I could've been a Mythical Zoan too!"
"Curse you, Charlotte Linlin! I'll settle this score one day!"
On shore,
as the pirate ships finally halted,
the Sorbet troops scrambled into defensive lines once more.
"Stand ready! The pirates are disembarking! Hold fire and wait for my word!"
Bekori barked, though his voice shook.
"Huh? Those… aren't pirates," Bulldog murmured, tensing at first, then staring as hundreds of children filed off the ship.
His alarm returned when he saw a towering white-haired youth step from the deck and walk through the air toward them.
"He—he can fly, Bekori!"
Bekori gripped his sword and shielded king and queen, ready to strike.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness—that is Sorus Karlo, Captain of the Sky Pirates."
"The man with a 2.9-billion-Berry bounty? M-Mother, what do we…?" Bulldog gulped.
"I will speak with him."
Connie drew a steady breath and stepped beyond the protective ring of soldiers to meet Carlo.
"Honored Heavenly King, I am Queen Dowager Connie of Sorbet Kingdom. May I ask what brings you to our shores?"
Only when Carlo's boots touched solid ground did Connie truly see his face—
and she started.
One look, and her only thought was: So young!
The infamous Great Pirate of the New World was far younger than she had ever imagined.