The Room of Authority—
Knock knock!
"Come in!"
The grand doors were pushed open by a CP agent. He stepped in nervously, his expression tense. He didn't dare meet the eyes of the five men seated before him—men who stood at the pinnacle of world authority.
"What is it?" one of the elders asked calmly.
"Elders… Saint Jolarude and his siblings… were killed by the Sword Demon in Sabaody."
"…What?"
The Five Elders froze. For a moment, they thought they had misheard—or perhaps believed this man had brought them false intelligence.
With all five pairs of eyes on him, the CP agent felt the weight of death looming. When he first heard the news, he had hesitated to report it, fearing he might be executed on the spot.
"Are you certain this information is accurate?"
…
…
"Yes, sir. The report came directly from Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Saint Jolarude's personal butler. Admiral Kizaru is already en route to the scene."
The elder with long, straight white hair waved his hand dismissively. The CP agent quickly bowed and left. What followed was far beyond his clearance.
---
News always travels faster than people.
As word of the incident spread across the archipelago, even pirates who had been aimlessly wandering Sabaody suddenly wished they had a few extra legs just to run faster. Everyone knew what it meant for Celestial Dragons to be killed: an Admiral would descend soon. If not now, then when was the time to flee?
Some pirates rushed straight to the coating facilities. Those with ships already coated vanished across the waves, heading for Fishman Island. Others, whose coating wasn't yet complete, didn't waste time fighting or looting—they simply sailed away from Sabaody.
At that moment, it didn't matter where they went—just that they left.
On the Chris, Rayleigh had just finished coating the ship after an exhausting day of work.
"Whew, getting old… Just this little job and my back's already aching," he said, stretching. Standing beneath the Chris, Rayleigh looked up at his work with satisfaction.
But the dock was in chaos.
Puzzled, Rayleigh extended his Haki. It didn't take long to figure out the source of the commotion.
"…So my instincts were right. You really killed the Celestial Dragons—three of them at once, no less. The World Government is going to throw a fit."
Shaking his head, Rayleigh muttered, "Might be a good time to lay low for a while. With three Celestial Dragons dead, Sabaody's definitely going to get a purge."
Not that he was afraid. He just hated trouble.
In the original timeline, Luffy merely punched a Celestial Dragon and still triggered Admiral Kizaru's wrath. Back then, Kizaru just smacked around the Supernovas and hauled off a few hundred pirates to report back.
But now? Someone had died. There was no way blood wouldn't be repaid with more blood.
Merchants and bounty hunters with ships rushed to the port in waves, desperate to escape what was about to become a war zone. But with the crowds surging, some seized the chance to loot and plunder.
The Marines had already started evacuating civilians and arresting any pirates they could. They needed to maintain order—chaos couldn't be allowed to spiral.
At the same time, they kept a close eye on Weiss—the Sword Demon.
What confused them was that Weiss didn't seem interested in hiding his whereabouts. His crew had disappeared, but Weiss himself was completely exposed.
If anyone looked closely, they might notice a strange cloud drifting slowly toward the coating facility.
Why wasn't Weiss escaping with everyone else?
Because if he had joined the fleeing pirates, Kizaru—normally slow and unhurried—might have rushed straight to intercept. And from Marineford to Sabaody? He could easily arrive before they sank beneath the sea.
Squads of Marines moved across the archipelago, arresting pirates wherever they found them. Their presence kept some would-be robbers in check.
Still, Weiss had already eliminated several waves of pirates who tried to take advantage of the chaos.
He wasn't waiting at the Celestial Dragons' site for Kizaru to arrive—he was wandering the islands, looking for those trying to fish in troubled waters.
Strictly speaking, Weiss was the cause of this whole mess.
"Hahaha! Who would've thought I'd get lucky before leaving Sabaody! Let's stir things up even more and make a name for ourselves!"
A rookie pirate crew tried to capitalize on the chaos. They raised their voices, calling for infamy.
Moments later, the entire ship—including its captain—was silent.
If one looked closely, they'd see a sword mark on each of their necks.
In the midst of the turmoil, Weiss had found purpose for his half-developed Sword Domain—it made cleaning up cannon fodder a breeze.
---
Far off the Sabaody coast, a Navy warship sped across the water. Kizaru stood aboard, his light-infused form shimmering as he traveled with the ship.
Originally, he had rushed ahead alone. But once he heard that Weiss had no plans to escape, he coincidentally crossed paths with a warship assigned to Sabaody—and hitched a ride.
Since the main culprit wasn't fleeing, there was no need to rush.
"Admiral Kizaru, the Sabaody Archipelago is in chaos. Pirates are wreaking havoc everywhere!" a rear admiral reported, saluting Kizaru on the deck.
"According to local Marines, the Sword Demon Weiss is actually helping clean up the pirates."
His tone was conflicted. Despite Weiss being a murderer of Celestial Dragons… he also seemed to possess a twisted sense of justice.
"What a terrifying young man," Kizaru said blandly, his tone unreadable.
"Headquarters has dispatched five more warships toward Sabaody, and the World Government has sent CP agents as well," the rear admiral added.
"How long until we arrive?" Kizaru asked.
"Approximately fifteen minutes!"
---
Back on Sabaody, Weiss sat on a high ledge near the harbor, resting. From there, he had a clear view of the sea. Pirate ships were racing away from the archipelago in droves.
Suddenly, his eyes opened.
"No need to sneak around like that, old man."
"Well, color me impressed. Didn't expect you to notice," Rayleigh replied as he stepped out from behind a tree. He had originally planned to take Shakky and lay low—but halfway through, he suddenly had the urge to see Weiss one last time.
"Finished the coating already?" Weiss asked.
"Just wrapped it up. But I didn't expect you to stir up this much trouble," Rayleigh said with a wry smile. His instincts had been right after all.
"I didn't expect it either. I just wanted to bluff Sengoku into giving me five Devil Fruits. Who knew that idiot would shoot at my crewmate."
"And once I killed one… might as well kill them all," Weiss said casually, like he was talking about slaughtering livestock.
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow. "So, what now? You're not expecting me to help fight an Admiral, are you?"
"Nah," Weiss said with a shrug. "Just curious. We're not exactly friends, y'know."
"I just came to see you one last time," Rayleigh replied. "After all… soon, there might be no more Sword Demon on the seas."
Without another word, Rayleigh turned and walked away, leaving Weiss with no chance to respond.
"Tch."
Weiss didn't mind. If he dared to stay, it meant he had confidence he could survive. Let the Navy and World Government come—he'd welcome them all.
---
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