High noon bathed Gran Tesoro's gilded skyline in molten light. From the rooftop of a glittering hotel, Vane spotted three black silhouettes knifing across the distant waves—Marine war-ships, their white sails bold against the blue.

Three vessels, one purpose.

To everyone but the strongest, a Marine fleet spelled doom; to Rhett Vane, they were little more than drifting targets.

Down in the street below, Vice-Admiral Chaton strolled into view, a toothpick between his teeth. He had clearly come to greet his approaching comrades, certain the Marines would pin Vane inside the golden city. Compared with Gild Tesoro's gaudy empire, the officers advancing on it were monsters in uniform.

Chaton's casual glance upward froze when he met Vane's gaze. The young pirate lifted a hand in an airy farewell, then unfurled a pristine cloak of justice—Peach Rabbit Gion's own.

So Gion is his prisoner? Horror tightened Chaton's jaw.

Vane only smiled, rose into the sky, and summoned Vimana from the King's treasury. The golden craft—half throne, half aircraft—glimmered like a sun-forged chariot. Settling onto its seat, Vane surveyed the ant-like crowds below and felt the silent authority of a king.

Missing something… A thought sparked; liquid gold coursed over his body, shaping itself into ornate armor that gleamed as fiercely as his throne.

"Time to depart."

Vimana streaked toward the oncoming fleet. Behind him, Chaton launched skyward with Geppo, desperate to keep up.

"Hope you can swim, old man," Vane muttered. With a snap of his fingers he appeared overhead and hurled a massive sphere of ice. Chaton couldn't register the attack before it slammed him into the sea.

Aboard the lead war-ship, Vice-Admiral Tsuru lowered her binoculars. "Problem—Chaton was forced into the water. He's a Devil Fruit user."

Sengoku, Garp, Kizaru, and Akainu crowded the rail. Garp spotted Vane first.

"That kid's riding some kind of flying throne," he grumbled. "Looks like he knew we were coming."

Kizaru drawled, "And the sea favors him. He can summon tsunamis, remember?"

Only Whitebeard had ever wielded such terrifying mastery over the ocean. The thought tightened Sengoku's expression; he had crossed blades with Edward Newgate too many times to underestimate that power.

Akainu's fists clenched. Humiliation from his last defeat still burned. This time he'll beg for mercy, the admiral swore.

Oblivious to their rage, Vane brought Vimana to a halt above the flagship. He let Gion's cloak of justice flutter down onto the deck—proof that Peach Rabbit was in his grasp—and waited to see how far the so-called champions of justice would go to reclaim her.

---

Read ahead of WN on patreon.com/Zphyr_