The Marine island of Veyros was quiet that morning, its streets lined with white stone and orderly banners that fluttered proudly in the breeze.
But inside one modest home near the barracks, silence weighed heavy.
On the table lay the freshly delivered newspaper, unfolded to the bounty page.
Magnus Delmar – 2,000,000,000 Berries.
Title: The Butcher of Impel Down.
The sketch showed him cloaked in black lightning, Shusui glinting in hand, eyes sharp enough to cut stone.
It was a face the world now feared.
His father's hands were clenched so tightly on the page that the ink smeared under his palms.
His jaw worked furiously, teeth grinding as though each word in the headline was an insult carved into his skin.
"Madness," he growled. "He's dragging our family name through filth. Pirate… butcher… this is what he's chosen to be?"
His mother's face was pale, her lips trembling.
She pressed a hand to her chest as if to steady her racing heart. "The Marines will not spare us. Already they whisper, already they look at this house with suspicion. My son… why, Magnus? Why would you do this?"
But a laugh broke the heavy silence.
Darius leaned against the doorframe, arms folded, his broad frame filling the room with his presence.
His grin was fierce, almost defiant, as he stared down at his younger brother's bounty.
"Two billion ," he said, voice thick with pride.
"That's not filth. That's strength. That's the world admitting he can't be ignored anymore." His eyes gleamed, a rare fire burning in them. "Magnus… you've finally done it."
Their sister sat beside their mother, silent, her hands folded tightly in her lap. Her eyes lingered on the paper, not with pride, nor anger, but with an unreadable depth. She alone seemed to understand the weight Magnus carried—the storm he had chosen to walk into.
The argument between father and son was cut short by a sudden, violent pounding at the door.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
The house rattled with each blow.
Darius straightened, his expression sharpening, but their father was already moving, his steps heavy with dread.
He pulled the door open to find a Marine officer standing in full uniform, his face tight, his fist still raised from the last knock.
"Delmar!" the officer barked, not waiting to be invited in. His voice was clipped, urgent, and brimming with unease. "I bring grave news."
The air in the house seemed to still.
"What is it?" the father demanded, his hand tightening on the doorframe.
The officer's jaw flexed, as though speaking the words left a bitter taste in his mouth.
His eyes flicked briefly to the family gathered inside before landing back on the father.
"It's your youngest..," he said flatly. "She has been taken. A Celestial Dragon claimed her as property. She's… she's been made a slave."
The words struck like cannon fire.
The mother's hand flew to her mouth, a muffled cry breaking past her trembling lips.
Her eyes widened in raw horror, tears welling instantly.
Darius froze, his earlier pride wiped from his face as though it had never been. His hands curled into fists, veins bulging, his teeth grinding audibly as his body shook with barely contained rage.
The sister who remained behind gasped, her chair scraping across the floor as she staggered to her feet.
Her eyes darted wildly, disbelief clouding her voice. "No… no, you're lying. That can't be true!"
But the officer only bowed his head slightly, shame flickering across his features. "I'm sorry. There is no lie in this."
The paper on the table fluttered as if stirred by an unseen wind.
Magnus's face stared up at them from the ink, his storm-filled eyes frozen in that moment of power.
And for the first time, the family truly felt the chains of both fate and blood tighten around them.