Late June.
North Blue, Natsu Daily Headquarters.
This was a small newspaper office, with only about twenty people in total, including editors, reporters, and those responsible for printing and various odd jobs.
Compared to giants like the World Economy News, it wasn't worth mentioning. Even within the North Blue, it was nothing more than a third-rate tabloid.
But the atmosphere inside the editorial department was remarkably good.
Most of the editors were passionate young men and women. Moved by the call of their editor-in-chief, Alena, they had gathered from islands all across the North Blue, striving toward a single goal.
That was the founding mission of the Natsu Daily:
— Uphold justice, expose the truth, let every vile crime in the North Blue be dragged into the sunlight with nowhere to hide!
And for over a year since its founding, the Natsu Daily had both proclaimed and acted on this mission.
Even when it came to scandals involving underworld syndicates or even royal families of World Government member nations—things other papers wouldn't dare touch—the Natsu Daily had never backed down.
At worst, they'd just fire a shot and then relocate. Everyone in the office had long since mastered the "art of running away."
But lately…
Alena, a curvaceous beauty, stood at the window with a cup of coffee, worry filling her eyes.
These past few days, the Natsu Daily's situation had grown dire.
The reason was simple. Last month, after much effort, they had collected damning evidence of the Donquixote family's secret dealings and published them, sparking quite a stir across the North Blue's public opinion circles.
Of course, everyone at the paper had mentally prepared themselves before publishing.
But they never imagined the Donquixote family's reaction would be so much faster—and so much crueler—than expected.
In just three days, all of the Natsu Daily's field reporters had their identities uncovered, beheaded and hung high. Two young editors sent to infiltrate the Donquixote family also lost contact and remain missing to this day.
This caused panic within the Natsu Daily. In just half a month, they relocated the newspaper headquarters three times.
Only last night, after moving to this extremely remote mountain town, did they finally find some temporary peace. Alena had also restarted the paper's operations.
"Why… why hasn't there been any movement at all…"
She muttered softly in disappointment as she stared at the sunset in the distance.
That issue had been published for some time now.
The crimes of the Donquixote family exposed within were utterly revolting, too many to record, and yet the World Government and the Marines had made no move whatsoever.
As though the Donquixote family simply didn't exist in their eyes.
Could it be… that rumor recently spreading in the underworld was true?
That the Donquixote family's young master, Donquixote Doflamingo, had an exalted lineage—that he might even have the blood of the Celestial Dragons—so that even the Marines dared not provoke him?
"Sigh."
Alena let out a long breath. Her gaze flicked back to her desk, where an unfolded newspaper lay. The bold black characters "Natsu" in the masthead stood out sharply.
If the rumor was true, then perhaps even if Marine Headquarters sent forces to the North Blue, there would be only one man bold enough to strike hard against the Donquixote family.
Her eyes lingered on those letters—"Natsu"—and she drifted into a daze, as if returning to the days before this newspaper was founded.
Back then, she had only been an ordinary reporter for the World Economic News. While resting at the Hot Nest Peninsula in Alabasta, she had by chance witnessed a major event that shook the world—
The Warlord William slain by a marine named Natsuya Nao.
On a moonlit cliff, beneath a rain of blossoms, the black-haired youth fought to the death, bloodied but unyielding. That image remained etched in her mind, unforgettable.
From that day on, she had become Nao's devoted—no, his most fanatical admirer. She barely even cared about her job anymore.
Whenever she had free time, she would make a point to inquire about Nao's whereabouts, secretly follow him to take photos, and write countless essays and diary entries, recording every step of his growth…
Until just over a year ago.
When Nao officially got married, countless young women across the world wept in heartbreak. Alena was like a lost soul for days. But when she finally recovered, she woke up from years of infatuation.
She resigned from the World Economic News, returned to her hometown, and founded this newspaper.
Her hope was to follow her idol's example, and do her part to sweep away the darkness and evil of this world.
"Editor-in-chief, that critical article on Germa 66—I stayed up all night to finish it. It's ready now."
A voice suddenly came from behind her. Alena turned her head, and a young man with short black hair stood up from his desk, proudly waving the manuscript in his hand.
"Over ten thousand words. It took me a huge effort. Could you take a look and see if I need to make any changes?"
"Alright."
Alena smiled. "Bring it here. Though I imagine I'll only need to polish it slightly. You've improved at an incredible pace this year. I can trust the quality of your drafts."
"Hehe."
The short-haired youth scratched his head sheepishly as he walked over. "It's all thanks to your guidance, editor-in-chief. Without it, I'd never have been able to—"
Boom!
Before he could finish, his body exploded into countless chunks of flesh, blood spraying everywhere.
The hand still clutching the manuscript landed squarely on Alena's face before sliding off her shoulder. But she had no time to care. Her face had gone pale as her eyes fixed on the office door, which had been blasted open.
And at the doorway stood a tall figure.
"You lot hid pretty well, Natsu Daily… but in the end, we still found you."
The man in sunglasses brushed off the rice ball clinging to his nose and spoke like a robot, utterly devoid of emotion:
"Kill them all. Don't let a single one escape."
...
Early July, North Blue, a certain stretch of sea.
Mist shrouded the waters, the freezing wind howled, and goose-feather snow fell thick, turning the world into a blur.
Nao's mood at the moment was about as foul as the weather.
"Nao, sir, tell us again about the time you killed William! I remember reading it in the paper when I was little—it had me fired up for days!"
"And the West Blue! Please, Lord Nao, my favorite story is still the one about how the pirates there were so terrified they didn't dare set sail for an entire year!"
"Hey! You two! All you know is fighting and killing! Lord Nao! Please, please, tell us about your love story with Vice Admiral Gion back then..."
The elegant prince and princesses pestered him relentlessly. The moment he gave them even the slightest response, they cheered in excitement.
Meanwhile, Nao sat slumped on the sofa, rubbing his temples, feeling like he was surrounded by a flock of noisy sparrows chirping nonstop.
No helping it.
Honestly, if it weren't for wanting a proper excuse to naturally replace Tsuru and personally go to the North Blue to deal with the Donquixote family, he wouldn't have bothered with escorting some royal family from Akaya Kingdom back home.
And even after accepting this mission—
If the royals aboard his ship didn't know their place and dared to act haughty in front of him, ordering him around…
He wouldn't have minded hanging those "nobles" upside down from the prow and dunking their heads into the sea to let them taste the chill of seawater.
But things turned out differently. To Nao's disappointment, the princes and princesses traveling aboard turned out to be his diehard fans.
From the moment they boarded, they treated him with the utmost respect. The two princesses, only fifteen or sixteen years old, had even carefully prepared handmade gifts just to meet him. Then they'd grab their little stools, sit eagerly at his side, and beg him to tell stories of his past…
The moment they noticed he was hungry, they immediately ordered the royal chefs to prepare a feast. The moment he looked thirsty, they'd scamper off themselves, returning with chilled fruit wine to fill his cup.
It left Nao both amused and exasperated, and a little embarrassed to turn them down.
"Fine."
He sighed, crossing one leg over the other. "I'll give you another half an hour. But listen—half an hour max. After that, you all go back to your rooms and rest quietly. I have to go to the training room to train."
"Mm-hmm, no problem, Vice Admiral Nao!"
"Don't worry, we absolutely won't delay your training!"
The half-grown princes and princesses immediately lit up, sitting up straight, scooting their stools closer.
Why does this feel like when I'm trying to coax Nami and Nojiko to sleep back home? Nao's eye twitched.
At long last, after entertaining them, he waved goodbye and strode out of the lounge under their reluctant gazes, heading down toward the training room.
"Vice Admiral."
"Lord Vice Admiral."
As he walked, every person along the way saluted him with utmost respect, their eyes brimming with admiration.
The marines of the Thunder Hawk were like this, and the Akaya royal entourage even more so.
After all—this was none other than the youngest Admiral candidate in the history of the Marine!
That's right.
After half a month of fermenting, the news that the World Government had officially appointed four Admiral candidates had already spread across all four seas, almost instantly eclipsing Buggy the Clown's brief fame and becoming the hottest topic of discussion.
Commander of G1 Branch: Sakazuki, codename "Red Dog"!
Commander of G2 Branch: Borsalino, codename "Yellow Monkey"!
Headquarters Vice Admiral: Kuzan, codename "Blue Pheasant"!
These three were only confirmed as admiral candidates in the second batch, whereas Nao was the first to be promoted. With his overwhelming popularity, the coverage and hype around him far surpassed that of the other three.
Along with the wave of heated discussions, his new title spread across the seas:
Headquarters Vice Admiral Nao!
Codename: "White Dragon"!
..
"Sounds awful, White Dragon."
Back in his training room, Nao muttered resentfully to himself:
"They actually rejected the codename I originally submitted—White Pigeon. Said it was too gentle, too approachable, didn't show the majesty of a Marine Admiral, and wouldn't intimidate pirates?"
But the official publicity photos had a plump little pigeon, Little Luo, perched on his shoulder, with a smiling, handsome black-haired young man beside it. That looked plenty warm and approachable, didn't it?
And he, Natsuov Nao, was indeed a kind, gracious, courteous person. Wasn't that codename a perfect fit…?
Later, after some thought, he simply changed the "pigeon" to "dragon," based on the Thunder Dragon form he had displayed in his great battle against Kaido. That version was instantly approved…
Forget it.
He was a magnanimous man. For the sake of old guys like Kong and Sengoku, both well along in years, he'd let it slide. Respect your elders and care for the young—that's what he told himself.
Pulling his thoughts back, before beginning his daily hellish training, Nao dug into his pocket, pulled out a Den Den Mushi, and dialed Rosinante's number.
This wasn't Rosinante's personal number, but a top-secret line he used only to contact Sengoku while serving as an undercover operative for Marine Headquarters.
Two months ago, when Nao was in Dressrosa, he'd tried to call Rosinante's personal line—but it was already disconnected.
From that, he had guessed Rosinante had accepted Sengoku's assignment and gone to the North Blue to carry out his infiltration mission.
And now—
Since he had been tasked with hunting down Doflamingo, Sengoku no longer kept it secret from him and had given him Rosinante's top-secret number.
Now that he had arrived in the North Blue, it was time to reach out to little Rosinante, and pin down the Donquixote family's current area of activity.
...
A luxurious and spacious hotel room.
Outside the window, heavy snow was falling, and the cold wind howled, making the room feel particularly lonely and quiet. Only the occasional "crackle" of the fireplace could be heard.
By the fireplace.
Doflamingo sat with his legs crossed, leaning back on the sofa, silently flipping through a stack of photos in his hand, smoking one cigarette after another. The floor was littered with accumulated cigarette butts.
Not far away, the Donquixote Family's top executives, Diamante and Vergo, sat watching him. Seeing him like this, they exchanged worried looks.
They had followed Doffy for years. They knew their "king" had been a delinquent since childhood—smoking habitually from as young as seven or eight.
But the frightening thing was that, as he grew older, Doflamingo had become disciplined. He drank only lightly, never got drunk, and had already quit smoking for years.
Today was the first time in years they had seen him break that vow.
"Vergo."
Doflamingo's raspy voice suddenly broke the silence. "I'll ask you one last time. Are you sure these photos are credible?"
"Absolutely, Doffy."
Vergo nodded slightly. "I found these myself, hidden in Alena's drawer. There were over a thousand photos of Nao in total. I was just flipping through them casually, but I stumbled across these few… a very unexpected discovery."
"I see…"
Doflamingo muttered softly, his gaze falling once more on the top photo in the stack.