On a stretch of sea not far from the Sabaody Archipelago, a small Marine warship cut through the waves at full speed.
Escapees still dressed in prison uniforms lay sprawled across both the cabins and deck.
Without exception, every one of them wore a strangely satisfied smile.
Only the handful of prisoners needed to operate the ship remained awake.
Yet instead of being disturbed by the bizarre scene around them, they looked openly jealous.
“Damn it.
Why are we the only ones stuck sailing while everyone else gets to enjoy themselves over there?” “Exactly!
I want to go back to Dream City too.
I want a drink so badly!” “Stop complaining.
Our lord saved us and even gave us access to Dream City.
If we delayed his plans, even dying a thousand deaths wouldn’t repay what we owe him!” “That’s right!
I’d go through fire and water for our lord!” The escapees chatted idly as they worked, but they weren’t the only people aboard who remained in the real world.
Inside one of the cabins, Buckingham Stussy had just finished treating her idiot son’s injured arm.
It hadn’t healed properly to begin with, and his battle against Shiryu the previous night had only made it worse.
“Oh!
It’s alive again!
Thanks, Mom!” Weevil happily raised his arm and flexed hard enough to make his muscles bulge.
Seeing his foolish expression, Buckingham couldn’t help smiling.
Yet beneath that smile was a trace of uncertainty.
‘What exactly is that mysterious lord trying to accomplish?’ He had gathered an extremely powerful force.
Was he planning to enter the New World and compete directly with the monsters ruling it?
Buckingham didn’t know, and that uncertainty worried her deeply.
There was one thing she was almost certain of, however.
‘That brat aboard Zephyr’s ship…
the one who captured me.’ ‘He’s almost certainly one of our lord’s people too.’ The evidence was simple.
When the boy defeated her, he had used the same kind of invisible physical attacks their lord had displayed while controlling World’s body last night.
And immediately after she lost to the boy, Buckingham had been dragged into that mental world.
‘If it wasn’t him, then who else could it be?’ Judging by the boy’s age and Zephyr’s attitude toward him, he would undoubtedly become one of the Marines’ brightest future stars.
Yet even someone like that was apparently working for their mysterious lord.
Buckingham no longer dared imagine what the future might look like.
“Haa…” She slowly exhaled.
‘But things have already gone this far.’ ‘There’s no turning back now.’ “UWAAAH!
WHO ARE YOU?!” A startled scream suddenly came from outside.
Buckingham’s years of experience immediately kicked in.
‘Something happened.’ They were sailing across the Grand Line.
It wasn’t as though random ships appeared beside them every few minutes.
“Weevil!
Get to the deck!” Everyone aboard was quite literally in the same boat now.
Even if danger had arrived, there was nowhere for anyone to run.
“Okay, Mom!” Buckingham climbed onto Weevil’s shoulders, and the pair rushed onto the deck.
Several escapees were already hurrying toward the cabin entrance, while a single figure stood at the bow with their back facing everyone.
The stranger was roughly three meters tall and completely covered by a black cloak.
What caught Buckingham’s attention was the strange bulk beneath the cloak around the upper back, as if the person were carrying something enormous.
“Lady Buckingham.” One of the escapees hurried over.
“That person suddenly dropped straight out of the sky!” “From the sky?” Buckingham frowned.
“Wake everyone else up.” When someone entered the other world, a powerful enough impact to their real body could still trigger a reaction.
The core members could choose whether to wake up, while ordinary users would be forced awake immediately.
It really was almost exactly like dreaming.
That was why the prisoners had named the city Dream City.
“There’s no need.
They’re already awake.” A calm female voice came from beneath the cloak.
It was composed and even, with a slightly husky edge that gave it a heroic quality.
Buckingham’s eyes widened.
Across the deck, prisoners who had been immersed in Dream City began sitting up and rubbing their eyes.
Anthony and several others also hurried out from the cabins.
“What happened?
We got kicked out of that world!” Solt looked around in alarm.
“Did our lord come personally?” “…” Buckingham suddenly felt her mouth go dry.
‘Has his true body finally appeared?’ “My lord.” She drew a deep breath and bowed respectfully toward the figure’s back.
“Have you personally descended before us?” “No.” The figure turned to face them.
“Master sent me to receive you.
The ship that will take you into the New World has already been prepared.” She raised both hands and pulled off the black cloak.
“What…?” Buckingham’s eyes widened so far they almost hurt.
“You are—” The person revealed beneath the cloak was a strikingly beautiful young woman.
She looked around twenty years old and stood slightly over three meters tall, with a tall, slender figure that carried both elegance and strength.
Her clothes were surprisingly simple: a plain white T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and a long black coat.
Yet her figure was so extraordinary that both the shirt and jeans were stretched tightly against her body.
Her white hair barely reached past her ears, with a clean side part and angled bangs.
Her sharp, sculpted features were undeniably beautiful, and an enormous sword wider than her waist rested across her back.
But none of that was what shocked Buckingham.
It was the woman’s healthy bronze skin.
The pair of black wings extending from her back.
And above all—The roaring flame burning behind her head.
Buckingham stared in disbelief.
“You’re a Lunarian!!” “What?
A Lunarian?” Anthony and several others visibly recoiled, while surprised voices erupted across the deck.
Then— “What’s that?” One prisoner scratched his head.
“No idea.
Judging from Buckingham’s face, it sounds pretty impressive.” “You bunch of uneducated idiots!” Buckingham gritted her teeth.
“The Lunarians are a mysterious race said to have once lived atop the Red Line.
They’re said to possess terrifying bodies capable of surviving almost any environment!” Her expression grew even more serious.
“They were once called gods!” The race was already believed to be nearly extinct.
And yet their mysterious lord had a Lunarian serving under him?
“The World Government has been hunting them for years.” Anthony’s expression became solemn.
“I’ve heard that simply reporting information about a Lunarian to the Government can earn you one hundred million Berries.” “One hundred million?” Several prisoners unconsciously turned to stare at the woman.
She completely ignored their looks.
“Allow me to introduce myself.” Her voice remained calm.
“My name is Luna.
I am Master’s servant.” She looked over the prisoners.
“From today onward, I will be your commander.” “Commander?” Solt raised an eyebrow.
“If that’s our lord’s decision, I’ve got no objections.” “Same here.” Anthony nodded without hesitation.
“I object!” Byrnndi World suddenly stepped forward aggressively.
“I don’t need some damn commander!
When am I finally going to get my revenge on the Marines—” His expression abruptly changed.
“Luna.” World—or rather Nate, who had just logged into his body—turned toward his companion.
“You’re a little late.” “My apologies, Master.” Luna bowed slightly.
“It was farther away than I expected.” Because Nate had no intention of revealing his identity, Luna addressed him only as Master.
“My lord!” Every escapee immediately bowed respectfully toward Nate.
“Luna speaks for me.” Nate looked around at them.
“Whenever I’m not here, she will be the one leading you.” Luna was Nate’s starting companion.
Not only was she a Lunarian, she also possessed the potential to master all three types of Haki.
When Nate joined the Marines for training, Luna couldn’t accompany him because exposing a Lunarian would attract far too much attention.
So she’d remained on a deserted island and trained alone.
That wasn’t much of a problem.
Through the Dream World, Nate could teach Luna everything he learned in the Marines as soon as he learned it himself.
As his starting companion, Luna’s loyalty to Nate was absolute.
Naturally, that also made her the person he trusted most.
If Nate was the God of Dreams, then Luna was the Dream Sovereign he had personally chosen.
Inside the Dream World, Luna possessed extremely high-level authority.
She could modify Nate’s creations to a certain extent, effectively making her the administrator of the entire world.
Forcing Anthony and the others offline was one of those privileges.
She could even pull other people into the Dream World herself.
Nate couldn’t grant permissions at this level to many people yet.
“Understood!” The escapees bowed again.
If Luna was the person their lord had chosen, then there was nothing for them to question.
They simply had to obey.
“Then it’s time to leave.” Invisible matter rapidly condensed into a long, oval-shaped shuttle.
Everyone climbed inside, and the craft immediately accelerated forward.
The More-More Fruit activated at the same time.
In the next instant, the shuttle vanished into the distant sky.
…
Sabaody Archipelago.
A secluded bay.
Because the area was relatively hidden, many ships that preferred not to attract attention were anchored here.
Over time, the place had gradually turned into a small private harbor, complete with people who charged fees to watch over the vessels.
Among those ships was one that had already been fully coated.
The transparent membrane wrapped tightly around its hull reflected rainbow-colored light beneath the sun.
Onshore, Binz and another Marine recruit were hidden inside the crown of a large tree, staring down at the coated vessel with bored expressions.
“Still nothing.” The other Marine sighed.
“How long are we supposed to sit here?” “What else can we do?” Binz rolled his neck.
They’d been crouching in the tree for so long that his neck felt ready to snap.
“What if they actually show up?” “Damn it, I’m seriously jealous of Nate!” The Marine gritted his teeth.
“He gets to spend all this time alone with Ain.
Isn’t that basically a date?” “Yeah…” Binz sighed as well.
Then the Marine beside him suddenly froze.
“Hm?” He stared upward through the branches.
“Binz…
the sky!” His voice sharpened.
“Look!
Look up there!” Binz raised his head and peered through a gap in the leaves.
At some point, what looked like a dark cloud had appeared high in the sky.
No—Looking more carefully, it wasn’t a cloud at all.
They were people.
Binz’s pupils contracted.
He hurriedly pulled out a pair of binoculars and raised them toward the sky.
A second later, his expression changed completely.
“They’re here!” “They really came!” He scrambled for his Transponder Snail.
“Quick!
Notify Instructor Zephyr and everyone else!!” … …