The execution platform collapsed.
The legendary platform that had once been stepped on by Roger, Orin, Buggy, and Luffy was now engulfed in blue flames, finally crumbling to the ground.
"Hahahaha! So he didn't die after all! That's great!"
Laughing carelessly, Luffy picked up his straw hat from the ground, grinning from ear to ear.
As the execution platform fell apart, Mihawk finally sensed something amiss. His sharp swordsman's Observation Haki picked up on a strange fluctuation in the air as he looked toward the sky.
"Don't bother looking. That guy's no longer in the execution plaza."
When it came to Observation Haki, Orin was unmatched.
The moment Dragon appeared, he had already sensed him.
That man in the green cloak, with sandal marks on his face, had shown up to lend his son a hand.
...
As the execution platform collapsed, Buggy too came tumbling down from above.
In the midst of thunder and fire, he lay sprawled on the ground, eyes snapping open in shock.
He took a deep breath, his face lighting up with the expression of someone who had just cheated death.
Then he patted himself down.
He wasn't made of rubber—he shouldn't have survived lightning unscathed. And yet...
"Eh!? I-I'm completely fine!!!"
"Hahahahaha!!!"
Buggy threw his head back and burst into maniacal laughter, convinced that he was the chosen protagonist of destiny itself—lightning and fire couldn't even harm him.
"Captain Buggy, you're completely unharmed?!"
"That's incredible! You're like a monster!!!"
"Yahahahaha!!!"
While Buggy's crew shouted in awe and worshipped him, Luffy had already regrouped with his two crewmates and was sprinting toward the distant harbor.
Before Buggy could bask in his glory for long, the Marines had surrounded them.
"Clown Buggy, you're under arrest!!!"
"Eh!!!?"
Watching Buggy and his subordinates being surrounded by Marines just as he was reveling in his triumph, Orin merely chuckled, stroking his chin before turning to leave.
"You're not going to help him?" Mihawk asked, puzzled.
Orin's behavior today had been full of surprises.
After all, Buggy seemed to be quite a close friend of his.
And yet, with the Marines closing in, Orin looked completely unconcerned, as if watching a show.
"It's fine. Buggy always finds a way out. And even if he doesn't..."
He smirked.
"...a stint in Impel Down might be good for him. There are plenty of big-name pirates there. With his abilities, he'll gain a loyal following in no time."
...
Meanwhile, on the coast of Loguetown—
The stormy sea churned violently as the tempest drew near. One of Buggy's men stood at the shore with his pet lion, preparing to set fire to the Straw Hats' ship.
"As long as we burn their ship, Straw Hat Luffy and his crew won't be able to escape! Hahahaha!"
The beast tamer, Mohji, chuckled wickedly as he struck a match.
But just then, a seemingly ordinary seagull soared across the sky.
It folded its wings midair and hovered silently before Mohji and his lion Richie, blocking their attempt to set the Going Merry ablaze.
"Huh? Where did this bird come from? Richie, get rid of it!!!"
Impatient, Mohji ordered his lion to chase it away.
It was just a seagull—surely a little intimidation from a lion would send it flying.
Richie thought the same. It nodded and bared its teeth, growling lowly at the small bird.
But did it know who it was facing?
The Seagull King did not even flinch. Suspended midair, it remained perfectly still, the rain unable to touch its feathers.
Richie, not the brightest beast, thought the strange seagull was scared and started stepping forward confidently.
When it drew close enough—
The Seagull King finally turned its majestic head. Its sharp, piercing eyes locked onto the lion.
A bird's glare shouldn't intimidate a lion—but Richie actually found it almost funny.
The meaning in its eyes was clear: I'm a lion. You're a little bird. You're out of your depth.
That mocking look made several veins pop on the Seagull King's head.
"ROAR!!!"
Richie bellowed.
"Screech——!!!"
But the Seagull King's cry was louder—far louder—and what happened next made both beast and man question reality.
The calm seagull's body began to swell and expand at an impossible speed. Under their trembling gazes, a gigantic bird, vast enough to blot out the sky, loomed over them.
It lowered its massive head, eyes glinting coldly.
Mohji collapsed to the ground, shaking uncontrollably, while Richie bolted behind him, tail tucked between his legs like a terrified mutt.
Whoooom——
The Seagull King opened its enormous beak, drawing in the fierce storm winds over Loguetown, compressing them into its mouth like a tempest dragon's breath.
BOOM——!!!
A blast of storm energy erupted forth, sending a torrent of wind that uprooted trees and tore up the earth, launching both man and lion high into the air—straight toward the town's interior.
Had its master not been friendly with those two idiots' captain, the Seagull King would've compressed that storm into a tighter blast and blown them into dust.
"..."
At last, the hostility in the Seagull King's eyes faded.
Even if it couldn't be a deputy like Marco or King, the Seagull King had long since reached a vice admiral level—strong enough to fight either of them evenly.
It was one of the Three Birds of the Sea, alongside Marco and King—no one questioned its title.
And this lion had dared to roar at it?
Meanwhile, Usopp and Nami, who had just arrived at the harbor after running from Loguetown, froze in horror at the sight.
"W-What is that monster!!!?"
"That bird... its storm breath alone could blow people away!!!"
Both trembled, unable to move closer as the Seagull King's full-beast form towered before them. Behind them, Marine cannons began firing again.
Boom! Boom!
"Screech——!!!"
Following Orin's command to protect the Going Merry, the Seagull King flapped its wings once—sending razor winds slicing through the air, detonating every cannonball midflight.
"Hey! Nami! That giant bird—it looks like it's helping us!!!"
"It really does!!!"
Nami's eyes sparkled. She thought their luck was incredible.
But little did she know, everything had already been accounted for—priced, even.
This was merely Orin's small compensation for her family's ten long years of hard work growing oranges.