The Leoro, the world's highest-rated eight-star hotel, rose like a towering golden spire at the heart of the colossal golden ship, the Gran Tesoro. More than simply the finest accommodation aboard the vessel, it also served as the personal residence of Tesoro, the ship's owner.
Tucked deep within the VIP area, The Leoro offered unrivaled luxury in every respect—from dining and lodging to any service one might dream of—more than living up to its title as the most prestigious hotel in the world.
Even Celestial Dragons were said to be awestruck by its opulence. It had become a dream destination for the wealthiest and most privileged elites on the sea.
Naturally, the prices were astronomical. A single night could cost millions of Berries, with certain suites reaching into the tens of millions. Exclusivity reigned: some chambers were members-only, and those commanded an even steeper price.
This place was so absurdly expensive it felt like the price tags themselves were broken, but among the rich, staying here had become a status symbol. It was rarely packed to capacity, yet there was always a steady flow of guests.
And within this hotel lay the Hyper Suite, an area reserved for the Celestial Dragons.
It was a sanctuary—or, if one were feeling uncharitable, a gilded cage—for those World Nobles who couldn't stand sharing living space with commoners, who couldn't even tolerate breathing the same air. Designed entirely around their extravagant preferences, the suites were dripping with excess and, of course, came with even more outrageously inflated prices.
Not that the World Nobles hesitated to pay them. On the contrary, they seemed to revel in the chance to splurge and flaunt their wealth.
The Hyper Suite was considered the hotel's highest-tier accommodation.
…Because otherwise, it would be painfully obvious what would happen. The Celestial Dragons would throw a tantrum, shrieking, "How dare anyone stay in a better room than us!?" So naturally, they were given special treatment.
But that was only the official story. The truth was a little different.
There was a hidden area known as the True Suite, reserved solely for VIPs personally approved by Tesoro.
And the room I was in now was one of those very rooms.
In fact, this room was practically mine alone. I wasn't just staying here—I was allowed to treat it as my home.
Tesoro himself had insisted on it, so I used it as one of my bases of operations on the Grand Line.
As I've said before, the service here was first-rate. The bed was luxuriously soft, the food exquisite.
Living a normal life in a place like this was fantastic, of course, but it was also the perfect environment for locking myself away to write.
Since it was treated as a hotel room, the staff handled all the mundane chores—cleaning, laundry, everything. It was unbelievably convenient. They even brought meals to my room through room service.
Apparently, you could even request a live-in maid or butler if you wanted, but that was a bit too much for me.
Having someone constantly in my room… unless it was a friend, that would just make me uneasy.
If I needed anything, I only had to ring the bell, and a staff member would appear in seconds. That was more than enough.
So aside from the staff who came when necessary or when I called, the only person who ever entered my room was… her.
One morning, as I was relaxing in the living room, reading the newspaper, a gentle knocking sound reached my ears.
But when I realized the sound wasn't coming from the door, but from the direction of the bathroom sink, I knew immediately who it was.
"Come on in, Honey. It's fine, you can enter."
"Yes, Lady. Excuse me."
A slightly oversized metal pipe was installed beside the sink.
The moment after I heard her voice, a pale purple liquid began to flow out of the pipe, spilling onto the bathroom floor.
It didn't spread into a puddle. Within seconds, the overflowing liquid drew together, rising and reshaping itself into a human form—the familiar figure of Honey.
She was a liquid-human Logia user who had eaten the Liquid-Liquid Fruit. By turning her body into a honey-like fluid, she could move swiftly through narrow spaces.
When she was working, she used the pipes that served as her personal transit network to zip around the Gran Tesoro, just as she had done now.
"Good morning, Lady Sue. I came to review today's schedule with you. Is now a good time?"
"Sure, I was just taking a breather. But… do I even have anything scheduled today?"
I'd only arrived on the ship yesterday, and as far as I remembered, I hadn't actually made any concrete plans yet.
"Well, nothing's completely fixed, but… we've received several requests for meetings, either in person or via Den Den Mushi, for today or sometime soon."
"Who's asking? If they're not coming to me directly, then it's not Tesoro or Hancock, right?"
Honey's reply came in an easygoing tone, mirroring my own casualness.
When she was in work mode or around others, she spoke formally, using polite language—which was basically all the time when she was acting as my concierge. But when it was just the two of us, or only close friends were present, she tended to slip back into casual speech.
Personally, I found that far more relaxing.
"Yeah, these are for your work as the 'Pirate Literary Master.' One of the clients is Morgans, by the way."
Over the past few years, my work as the "Pirate Literary Master"—in other words, my writing career—had expanded even further.
In the beginning, it had just been occasional projects for a publishing house affiliated with World Economic News, where Morgans was now President (he'd really climbed the ladder). But lately, I'd been getting offers from all kinds of other publishers as well.
They asked me to write specific stories, submit serialized pieces for magazines, or provide columns—various forms of work.
Back then, giving a pirate like me a job directly—or handling payments—would have drawn unwelcome attention from the Marines. So intermediaries had often been used.
More specifically, they went through the Gran Tesoro office, which I nominally used as my external point of contact.
Morgans, ever fearless, often met and negotiated with me directly. Even so, burdened with the responsibility of running a major company, he was surprisingly cautious in handling sensitive matters.
As a result, he used this channel quite often. It seemed this was one of those times.
Of course, just because a job offer came through this channel didn't mean I would automatically accept it.
As I'd said before, I could only write what I was inspired to write—and only take on work I felt genuinely passionate about.
For that reason, I always politely and respectfully turned down requests from people I didn't feel any real connection to.
It was gratifying when work got busy. Whether I accepted the commissions or not, the fact that so many people expected so much of me, that they read and watched my stories—that meant everything.
…Though lately, the requests had been piling up even more, and I'd had to become quite selective.
"We can set Morgans' request aside—that's the one we've already agreed to. As for the new offers, I've filtered out anything Lady Sue would likely dislike. That leaves six… four of which are for scripts."
"Ah… those have been increasing too, huh."
That was another change.
As a "writer," I used to mostly get requests for stories or essays. But recently, more and more people had been asking me to write scripts for plays and musicals.
I'd taken on a commission once, just to see what it was like, and it ended up being a lot of fun. The production based on it was a big hit, and they asked me for another.
Word spread from there to other theaters and troupes, and the offers multiplied—that was basically how it had all started.
It began with the mega-hit Your Name., followed by Ren and Ririko's Spiriting Away and Castle in the Sky.
For children and families, I'd heard that My Neighbor Totoro and Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki were also quite popular.
Over the past few years, I'd also published several novels—the Masked Rider series, which was more or less a semi-ongoing franchise—and I was now working on stage adaptations of those as well.
At this point, I wasn't even sure "scripts" was the right term. Maybe "original works" would be more accurate for what I did.
Oh, and there were a few titles I couldn't mention by name for… complicated reasons. Let's just say they were a bit too risky.
For example, there was that story set on the savanna with lions… Just… please don't ask me about that anymore.
Incidentally, I'd also written some of the plays performed at the Gran Tesoro's theater.
Of course, given the clientele here, there were hardly any children's plays.
"Well, we can talk about those later… If we're going to settle things, we should start by wrapping up the Morgans job we agreed on. I've already finished what he wanted."
"You pulled three all-nighters to write that, didn't you?" Honey said, looking at me with a mix of exasperation and concern.
I couldn't help it. For me, the best stories came from writing with unwavering focus while the creative fire was blazing.
Speaking of Morgans, this time he'd actually given me a theme to work with—a rarity. He wanted a spin-off of a certain story.
Not that he'd been very specific. All he said was: "Base it on Warrior of the Sea Sora."
Warrior of the Sea Sora was a serialized illustrated story in the World Economic News. Its protagonist, Sora, was a hero who could walk on water, fighting alongside his partner, a seagull, and a giant fusion robot to battle the evil organization Germa 66—a classic good-versus-evil tale.
Some critics argued it functioned as propaganda, promoting a convenient image of righteous heroes for the Marines and the Government to sway public opinion.
The story was supposedly based on the true exploits of World Government and Marine heroes. And now that you mentioned it, the seagull was a prominent symbol on the Marine flag.
So we received a commission to create a spin-off of Warrior of the Sea Sora, with instructions to consider theatrical releases and illustrated storybook versions from the outset. After a lot of coordination with all the parties involved, this was the story we came up with.
Its title was Warrior of the Sea Sora: Tears of the Venom Purple Princess.
Germa 66 suffers defeat after defeat at the hands of Sora.
Unknown to the world, however, they possess a secret weapon—a member they have yet to deploy.
Her name is Venom Purple.
Venom Purple is a young girl, barely ten years old, who, like Poison Pink, wields lethal toxins.
Yet her power far surpasses Poison Pink's. Her poison is so potent that a single miscalculation could wipe out an entire island.
Because she is still an immature, small girl who cannot fully control her ability—and might easily harm her allies—she has never been sent into battle. Germa plans to wait until she matures and masters her power before unleashing her, hoping she will secure their dominion over the world.
In truth, Venom Purple is a gentle, kind-hearted girl who despises the cruel Germa for the suffering they inflict. She has no wish to wield her power for them. She longs only for peace, to live in harmony with others.
But her power—her poison—is simply too overwhelming.
When she touches a flower, it withers, crumbles, and is blown away as dust.
When she hugs a kitten, it grows weak and lies still within moments.
Whenever she touches another person, they suffer.
Those who show her kindness, those who try to help her—all are hurt and cursed with misery.
The only ones she can be near are Poison Pink, who is immune to her poison, and Germa, who seeks to exploit her.
Even her tears—born from sorrow and loneliness—are deadly. A single drop can easily claim a life.
"Am I… not allowed to be happy? Should I never have been born?"
"That's not true! If you have a heart that loves peace, I swear I'll save you!"
Feared by the world, hated by Justice, loved by evil… a girl whose very power has stolen her peace and her future.
Born in the camp of "evil" yet yearning for Justice and peace, this violet-haired princess weeps in the darkness, begging for rescue—a princess whose tears themselves are deadly poison.
"No… if you get close to me, you'll end up miserable too."
"It's alright! A hero… never gives up!"
When the Warrior of the Sea Sora meets her, something that will shake the world to its core will begin.
Could this poison corrupt even a heroic savior?
Could Sora save the kindhearted Poison Princess? Could he stop her sorrowful, poisonous tears?
Witness the miracle born of justice and love!
…Whoops. I got a little carried away there, but that was the gist of it. Honestly, I was really proud of this one.
I hoped all my readers would enjoy it.
"After we wrap up this assignment… I guess we'll be staying here for a while. But after that, I want to head out on another reporting trip. Hey, any interesting spots on the Grand Line lately?"
"Recommendations for coverage? Hmm… give me a moment."
Honey flipped through her binder, checking the various documents clipped inside.
Now that I thought about it, she was basically my personal assistant. More of a secretary than a concierge, really. She even tagged along on my adventures.
Unlike in her "Honey Queen" days, her current look was far more refined—no excessive makeup or showy clothes. She was almost understated. Given her natural beauty, I'd known she'd shine with proper styling—and I hadn't been wrong.
Watching her turn the pages with the poise of a capable career woman, I found myself thinking about that.
"Recently… oh, how about this? It's about the Alabasta Kingdom, in the First Half of the Grand Line."
"Alabasta?"
"Apparently, outside the royal capital of Alubarna, it hasn't rained at all lately. It's a desert kingdom, so rainfall is scarce to begin with, but this is unprecedented, and it's become quite the talking point."
Not that there's anything particularly special about it, Honey added.
But hearing that immediately brought to mind an incident from the Original Work.
Baroque Works, the covert criminal syndicate led by Sir Crocodile of the Seven Warlords, was finally beginning to move in earnest. Their plot to seize control of the Alabasta Kingdom, including the chaos they wrought with Dance Powder… all of it was finally being set into motion.
Honey rattled off a few other possible "interview" destinations, then added almost as an afterthought, "No matter where you go, Lady Sue, please be careful. The New World is always dangerous, but lately the First Half of the Grand Line has seen an unusual surge in bounty hunter activity. Not that I doubt you can handle yourself… but if you do go, make sure to take me or some other guards with you."
Bounty hunters, huh… Could that be connected to Baroque Works' activities finally surfacing and becoming public knowledge?
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered vaguely, my eyes drifting back toward the newspaper in my hands.
When I turned the page, a wanted poster slipped out and fluttered onto the table.
I picked it up carelessly and glanced at it…
"…Something wrong, Lady Sue? Did that pirate catch your eye?"
"Huh? Oh, no… it's nothing."
I tossed the wanted poster casually aside.
But in that instant, my gaze instinctively snagged on it again—on the photograph that dominated the center.
WANTED
Portgas D. Ace
Bounty: 50,000,000 Berry
His title was still "Captain of the Spade Pirates"… and his bounty was only mid-tier for the First Half of the Grand Line.
Even so… seeing the early exploits of such a wildly famous figure from the One Piece original story laid out before me, a single thought flashed through my mind:
The era is about to shift dramatically.
To be continued...