The Going Merry dropped anchor off the coast of Oakhaven, an island once famous for its lush palm groves, now smothered under the iron grip of Governor Vane.
Nami sent Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji ashore for provisions, warning them to stay out of trouble.
But as soon as Luffy's sandals hit the wooden docks of the port town, the oppressive atmosphere was impossible to ignore.
Heavily armed enforcer guards strutted through the market, tearing down stalls, beating merchants, and seizing goods to fuel the Governor's endless greed.
High above the chaotic streets on a terracotta rooftop, Cael crouched low behind a bell tower. He slid his rose-tinted sunglasses up to his forehead, his turquoise tropical shirt dusted with soot and dirt.
Ever since Governor Vane discovered Cael possessed the Kinka Kinka no Mi, the tyrant had turned the entire island into a hunting ground, desperate to capture Cael and use him as a living weapon and infinite treasury.
Cael had been on the run for weeks, sleeping under palm trees by night and dodging bounty hunters by day.
"There he is! The Goldsmith!" a captain barked from the alley below.
Iron crossbow bolts whistled through the air. Cael ducked behind the brick chimney, tapping the thin gold necklace around his neck.
The metal liquefied instantly beneath his fingertips, stretching into thick cables of Flexible Gold that lashed out to catch the roof edge.
He swung downward into the crowded central square, landing lightly right in front of a meat stall where Luffy was currently arguing over the price of a massive roasted beast leg.
Before the guards could surround the square, Cael touched the cobblestones. Gold surged from his palm, forming a dense wall of Hardened Gold that shattered a volley of incoming spears.
"Whoa! That is SO COOL!" Luffy shouted, his eyes instantly turning into giant stars as he stared at the shimmering metallic barrier. "Did you just make gold out of nowhere?!"
"If you want to keep eating, you should run," Cael said, breathing heavily as he adjusted his golden bracelets. "The guy ruling this island doesn't take kindly to strangers or anyone who gets in his way."
Three heavy enforcers burst through the smoke, weapons raised to strike them both down. Luffy just grinned, stretching his arms back with a massive laugh. "He's making everyone here miserable, and now he's ruining my lunch!"
Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Pistol blasted the lead guard straight into a stone wall, while Cael converted his golden barrier into a dozen Aurum Chains that swept the remaining guards off their feet. Standing in the middle of the ruined square, Cael stared at the rubber captain in disbelief, realizing his dangerous life on the run was about to get a whole lot louder.
Zoro strolled around the corner, one hand resting lazily on the pommel of his katana, while Sanji appeared from a nearby alley carrying a crate of fresh limes, casually kicking an approaching guard straight through a wooden storefront sign.
"Hey, Luffy," Zoro grunted, eyeing the shattered cobblestones and the shimmering metallic dust settling in the warm breeze. "You making friends already?"
"Look at this guy, Zoro!" Luffy yelled, pointing frantically at Cael with his half-eaten meat leg. "He turned a bracelet into chains! He's a gold guy!"
Sanji set the crate down, lighting a cigarette with a flick of his flame. His eyes drifted over Cael's loose turquoise tropical shirt and rose-tinted sunglasses. "Well, he certainly dresses like he's on vacation, unlike these ugly goons."
Cael retracted the golden chains back toward his arms, letting the metal flow like liquid before hardening into three neat bangles around his wrist.
He adjusted his sunglasses back onto his forehead and wiped a smudge of soot from his neck. "You three aren't locals. If you've got a ship anchored in the bay, you should leave Oakhaven now. Vane's enforcers don't fight fair, and once his heavy artillery arrives, this entire market will be reduced to ash."
An elderly merchant emerged from behind an overturned cart, trembling as he clutched a shattered wooden bowl. "It's too late for us," the old man choked out, tears cutting through the dust on his cheeks.
"Governor Vane worked the island's mines dry, and now he's forcing our young people into the deep ironwood caves as disposable labor. Anyone who resists is locked in the fortress vaults." He looked at Cael with a mixture of pity and dread. "He's been hunting this boy for weeks... Vane wants to force him to turn the entire island into pure gold."
Cael's relaxed posture tightened slightly. He looked down at the small gold pendant resting against his chest, his voice dropping into a quiet, steady tone. "Vane thinks gold is a measure of a person's worth. He thinks possessing a mountain of it makes him a god, and that human lives are just fuel to hoard it. But my father always taught me that gold is just a material. Someone could own all the gold in the world and still be a worthless human being."
Luffy stared at Cael for a long moment, the goofy grin vanishing from his face. He swallowed the last bite of meat from the bone and tossed it aside, his eyes shadowing under the brim of his straw hat.
"Hey, Gold Guy," Luffy said, his voice flat and dangerous. "Where's this governor's house?"
Cael blinked, thrown off by the sudden shift in the rubber captain's demeanor. "The stone citadel on top of the cliff. Why?"
Luffy cracked his knuckles, a wide, fierce grin breaking across his face. "Because he made these townspeople cry, he ruined my lunch, and I want to see what else you can build when we smash his front door down!"