Before him loomed the warship Saber, a formidable Dreadnought-class vessel.
Kouta drew his blade with a casual grace and sliced forward in a single effortless motion. A massive, crescent-shaped arc of silver-gray energy tore through the air cleanly severing Saber right down the middle.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The warship cracked open like a ripe melon, seawater surging through the breach. Within seconds, the colossal ship began to list and slowly sink into the sea's embrace.
A wave rolled through. The two halves of Saber, now rudderless wreckage, drifted apart, clearing a path ahead.
Kouta sheathed his sword and reclined back into the lounge chair behind him. With his left hand, he reached for the fruit juice resting on the side table. He swirled it gently, then brought it to his lips for a sip.
Raising his right hand toward the bow, he called out, "All right, crew, set sail!"
The three crewmates beneath the mast snapped into motion.
Up on the rigging, A'Luo unfurled the sails. The wind caught them at once, billowing them open with a thunderous whoosh. The False Merry surged forward, slicing cleanly through the wreckage of the broken Dreadnought.
Kouta glanced dispassionately at the pirates still sprawled across the fractured decks on either side. He paid them little mind.
If they were lucky, maybe they'd regain consciousness in time.
If they were lucky, maybe they'd survive with no ship, no food, and an ocean for a coffin.
If so, then they truly were Children of Fate.
But not everyone's born to be a Monkey D. Luffy.
Imagine, eating a Devil Fruit, hiding in a barrel, and heading out to sea… and somehow not dying.
That's a real protagonist's plot armor.
Aboard the False Merry
On the forward deck, Kouta lay under a small blanket on his lounge chair, flipping through the day's newspaper.
Most of it was the usual filler—petty gossip and trivial scandals. The rest was pirates looting ships or razing villages. Since the start of the Great Age of Sail, such headlines had become as common as the tide. He'd grown numb to them.
Even though it had been more than a decade since that era began, more and more pirates were still heading out to sea. Probably kids who grew up listening to tales of the Pirate King.
All dreaming of finding some "Great Treasure." As if that was within their reach.
In a couple more years, the real protagonists of this world would be setting sail—and the Great Treasure would be waiting for them.
As he flipped through another page, something made him pause.
A headline in bold font screamed:
"Another Island Falls from the Sky, Annihilates The Town Below!"
Beneath the headline was a news article and a large photo.
The article read:
"Two nights ago, a floating island suddenly plummeted from the sky, crashing violently into Corgi Island and obliterating the town built there.
Nearby islands reported tremors powerful enough to rattle buildings."
Fortunately, it hadn't caused a tsunami.
Below the report was a photo that spanned half the page.
It showed a ruined island shaped, fittingly, like a Corgi. Embedded at its center was a slightly smaller island, now lodged deep within it.
From the fractured remains of surrounding structures, it was clear that this had once been a bustling town.
Now, most of that town lay crushed beneath the fallen isle.
"Damn," Kouta muttered. "Buried by a falling island… what rotten luck."
This world never ceased to amaze. There was always something stranger waiting just beyond the horizon.
He shook his head in disbelief. "An island…"
Beside him, Kuina sat up suddenly on her own lounge chair. She extended a hand toward him, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"Let me see, Kouta."
"Here. Take it."
Kouta handed her the newspaper page and sighed.
"The sea is a strange place," he said. "One minute you're eating hotpot and singing songs—next minute, you're crushed by a falling island. Who do you even blame for that?"
Kuina took the paper and began to read.
As her eyes scanned the article, her expression grew thoughtful.
"What is it?" Kouta asked, sensing the change in her mood.
"I feel like… I've seen something like this before."
"Seen it before?"
"Yes, definitely." Her eyes lit up with sudden clarity.
"Oh! I remember now!"
Kouta sat up, intrigued. "What did you remember?"
"About ten years ago… I saw a similar story in the newspaper my father brought back from a voyage."
She paused, recalling.
"It was nearly identical. An island fell from the sky and destroyed everything beneath it."
Her brows knitted together in concern. "I think that was around the time you first arrived."
"Ah. So it was ten years ago." Kouta nodded slowly. Back then, he hadn't yet developed the habit of reading the paper.
"No wonder I never heard about it."
He set the newspaper aside and reached over to smooth the furrow from her brow.
"Natural disasters like this… there's not much we can do. Let's just hope there were survivors."
He knew full well that was unlikely. Still, he sent a quiet prayer into the ether.
The ocean was wild and irrational especially here in the East Blue. Natural disasters weren't rare.
Who's to say that falling island wasn't swept into the sky by some strange sea current, only to drop directly onto Corgi Island?
And that was just the East Blue.
In the Grand Line? The weather, the monsters, the very ocean itself? None of it played fair.
Most pirates and merchant ships that entered the Grand Line didn't die at the hands of enemies.
They died to the sea itself.
To twisted storms and towering Sea Kings that pulled ships beneath the waves, never to be seen again.
Kouta shook his head to rid himself of the thought.
He looked at Kuina and said lightly, "All right, enough frowning. You'll get wrinkles."
"Impossible!" Kuina scoffed. "I'm sixteen and radiant, wrinkles are years away!"
She swatted his hand away, a smile creeping back onto her face.
"Besides, you're the one who's older. One year ahead of me, right? You'll get the wrinkles first—then you'll be a grumpy old man."
"If I'm the old man, then you're the old lady," Kouta countered. "And haven't you heard the saying?"
"What saying?"
"Men age like fine wine. Girls and lolis love an older man."
Kouta said it with a straight face, watching her mood brighten.
Kuina burst into laughter, throwing her head back.
Kouta's eyes softened. He smiled as he watched her laugh genuinely, warmly.
Disasters, monsters… they were far from irrelevant. But none of it would ever stop them.
"Kouta! A huge ship up ahead, it must be the Baratie Sea Restaurant!"
A'Luo's voice echoed down from the mast.
Kouta set down his drink, lifted the blanket off himself, slipped on his slippers, and stood up.
He walked to the prow of the ship and looked ahead.
The midday sun made the distant ocean shimmer like steam rising off a bamboo steamer.
Through the haze, he saw it: a massive ship shaped like a fish.
Three tiers of buildings rose from its deck, painted in a distinct sea-green hue. From afar, it looked like a giant bluefish drifting atop the water.
The ship's sails were furled, but a red-trimmed white flag with bold black letters flapped from the top of the mast. The letters read: "BT."
What the letters stood for, no one really knew. Somehow, they always felt vaguely insulting.
Judging from its anchoring, the Baratie had been operating in this area for a while now.
As they drew closer, more details became visible. Docked behind the great ship was a sleek white naval cruiser and over a dozen small sailboats—most likely merchant ships passing through.
The False Merry pulled up beside the navy vessel. They lowered the sails and dropped anchor.
Looking up, they could see sailors lounging casually on the navy ship's deck.
One of them glanced over, gave a nonchalant nod, and looked away. As long as they weren't pirates, no one cared.
Since the Baratie couldn't be boarded directly, they'd have to take the rowboat.
With no other choice, they lowered their dinghy and paddled toward the sea restaurant.
*********
Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 100, 200, 300 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!