The warship Dawn cut through the waters of the New World like an arrow loosed from a bow. Thanks to its exceptional hull design and state-of-the-art propulsion system, it sliced through turbulent seas with ease, as though skating across still water.
Though Yoriichi's ship lacked a genius navigator like Nami, the centuries of sailing experience accumulated by the Marines had been passed down to train highly capable navigators. The sailors assigned to Yoriichi, personally chosen by Garp, were veterans who had sailed with him for ten to twenty years. These "old sea dogs" needed no hand-holding.
A journey that would normally take several months was completed in under two.
By March of the year 1500 in the Marine Calendar, Yoriichi's fleet was about to end its long voyage. Their destination was finally in sight, Dressrosa.
That March night, the coastal weather had already begun to warm. Around midnight, the sky was pitch-black, and a thick fog blanketed the harbor. The stars and moon were obscured, and the only light shone from a solitary lighthouse at the edge of the shore. The port itself was dark and quiet. Exhausted citizens slept peacefully, unaware of the horror approaching.
A massive black ship silently emerged from the mist.
The ship was a towering medieval-style galleon, its hull painted entirely black. At its bow stood the statue of a golden girl holding a massive lantern, its flickering flame casting a pale glow over the water.
Sails furled, the ship crept closer to the harbor, drifting in silence.
At the bow stood a broad-shouldered man, easily over three meters tall, shirtless despite the chilly night air, draped only in a heavy black cloak. Muscles bulged on his arms like coils of steel cables, and veins snaked across them like dragons. He smirked with unrestrained desire as the ship neared the dock.
"Alright, boys!" he roared. "Let's get to work!"
"Bring back the women! Bring back the treasure! Hahaha!"
His booming laugh shattered the midnight stillness. In an instant, wild cheers erupted from the deck. Figures leapt from the ship into the fog, scattering like shadows across the port, heading for the houses nearby.
Moments later, the screams began.
Terrified shrieks, cries for help, and sobs of despair filled the air.
Fifteen minutes passed before the warning bell rang.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sound spread across the city, rousing thousands from their slumber. Citizens looked out their windows toward the port and saw the orange glow of burning homes, barely visible through the fog.
In the royal palace, the commander of the night guard banged urgently on King Riku Dold III's chamber door.
Moments later, the king, dressed in only a thin nightgown and barefoot, opened the door with a furrowed brow. He could already guess something terrible had happened.
"Your Majesty!" the commander cried, kneeling. "The port is under attack by a large pirate force!"
"Pirates?!" Riku's face darkened.
"And where are the port guards?! Why are you here instead of deploying them?! Why did you come to wake me instead of acting?!"
"Tank Lepante! What are you doing?!"
The king stepped onto the palace terrace. Though fog clouded the city, he could still see flames licking the sky in the distance. His heart sank.
"The port guard is no longer responding," Tank reported grimly. "That's why I came to you. I believe it's time to deploy the Self-Defense Forces."
Dressrosa, being a member of the World Government, had the right to maintain its own military. The nation had three branches:
Palace Guard – elite warriors stationed within the royal palace.
Self-Defense Forces – the largest in number, meant for riots and national defense.
Port Guard – assigned to repel pirate attacks, positioned at the docks.
The Palace Guard was elite but small. The Self-Defense Forces had numbers but lacked overall strength. The Port Guard was a mix, some battle-hardened veterans, some green recruits, and often rotated due to heavy combat losses.
King Riku's initial orders had already been issued, but they had lost all contact with the port. That was why Tank had rushed to his chambers.
Realizing the dire situation, King Riku barked, "Deploy the Palace Guard immediately!"
Then he turned and disappeared into his room.
"What happened?!" his wife asked, rising from the bed, her face pale with worry.
"Nothing," the king replied softly. "Go back to sleep. I'll return soon."
He pulled his armor from the cabinet, threw it on, grabbed his sword, and left.
Back at the city's edge, the pirates had already encountered the Self-Defense Forces.
The pirate captain laughed wildly as he punched through several soldiers with a single blow, sending them flying. Blood soaked the cobblestones.
"Hahaha!" he bellowed. "I've eaten the Strength-Strength Fruit! You garbage think you can stop me?!"
One soldier trembled and shouted, "Who… who are you?!"
The man's grin widened.
"You don't know me?"
He vanished from sight, reappearing instantly in front of the soldier, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off the ground like a doll.
"Remember this well. My name is Winter, bounty: 550 million Berries."
"They call me… the Nation-Slaying Beast."
With a single squeeze, he snapped the soldier's neck like a twig.
He tossed the corpse into a group of defenders. The impact broke their ribs and killed them instantly.
"Wouldn't it be easier to just give in?" he sneered. "We'll leave once we've taken enough. Don't resist, and you might live."
His words struck fear into the hearts of the remaining soldiers. Some began to back away.
Not everyone has the courage to be a hero.
Seeing them falter, Winter grinned and charged.
He smashed through the troops like a wrecking ball. Each punch broke bones, ended lives, left men sprawled across the ground. The Strength-Strength Fruit gave his every blow the weight of death.
Within minutes, the entire defensive line had been annihilated.
"Move out!" he roared to his crew. "Back to the port!"
The pirates turned back with loot and prisoners in tow.
They'd only hit the edge of the city, and already left with overflowing spoils.
Back at the palace, King Riku finally arrived with the Palace Guard, but it was too late.
The pirates were gone.
All that remained were flames and corpses.
The fires spread with the wind. Survivors emerged from the ruins to search for loved ones.
As the king spoke to the wounded, he learned the pirates were already retreating. He immediately ordered a pursuit.
But by the time they reached the port, the pirate ship, with its golden lantern and female figurehead, had already vanished into the mist.
All that remained was a faint glow far out at sea.
He didn't even know who had attacked his kingdom.
These invaders had appeared like demons in the fog… and disappeared just as quickly.
Only pain remained.
"Damn those bastards!! I swear I'll bring them to justice!!"
King Riku dismounted, fists clenched as he screamed into the fog. Then he turned to help the wounded and organize disaster relief.
That night was one Dressrosa would never forget.
By morning, the losses had been counted. Hundreds of soldiers had died, most of them from the port guard. Over 5,000 civilians were injured or missing.
Worse yet, it was discovered that many port commanders had abandoned their posts.
Cowards.
The king summoned them to the throne room.
"You cowards DARED retreat?!"
"You let your people die while you hid like rats?!"
King Riku bellowed in fury as they knelt before him, silent and ashamed. Only a few junior officers had fought back, the rest had stayed behind, protecting not the people, but the lives of their families.
While the king dealt with the aftermath, a Marine warship docked quietly at the port.
"What happened here?"
"Was this a pirate raid?!"
Kyros frowned as he looked out from the Dawn's deck. What had once been a thriving harbor was now a field of ruin.
He turned and rushed below deck.
Moments later, Yoriichi appeared at the bow, flanked by Issho and Mihawk.
They surveyed the scene in silence.
Blood stained the streets. Civilians wept as they dug through rubble in search of loved ones. The smell of smoke and death lingered in the air.
White sheets covered bodies, many too small, or too short.
Yoriichi furrowed his brow. His voice was low but cold.
"…Pirates did this."
"And not just any pirates, this was the work of monsters."
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100 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter
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