Even the Four Emperors who ruled the New World did not recklessly lay a hand on ships that flew the World Government's flag and carried the "Heavenly Tribute" offered to the Celestial Dragons, the World Nobles.
To interfere with the Celestial Dragons' Heavenly Tribute meant openly making an enemy of the World Government, the greatest power in the world and its true ruler.
Unless they were insane, even an Emperor would turn a blind eye and let such a ship pass. In the history of the Grand Line, pirates bold enough to attack a vessel carrying Heavenly Tribute were exceedingly rare.
Even Rocks, the great pirate who once made the whole world tremble in fear, was ultimately unable to withstand the full might of the World Government and was put down after the fierce battle at God Valley. In truth, there was effectively no single force capable of raising its banner against the World Government through military strength alone.
But every era is bound to produce a few lunatics and freaks.
And so, one peculiar pirate had stationed his ship in a certain stretch of sea, checking each vessel carrying Heavenly Tribute on its way to Mary Geoise one by one.
Though calling him peculiar was not quite right. Far from a madman, this pirate was closer to a good man.
His name was Bartholomew Kuma.
To cure his daughter Jewelry Bonney's illness, Kuma had been desperately searching for every possible method. Then, in the entertainment district of some island, he heard a rather dangerous rumor.
The rumor claimed that on one of the ships carrying Heavenly Tribute this time, the "Mage King" himself was aboard.
The Mage King Solomon.
Among the Celestial Dragons, the World Nobles, he was one of the very few whose presence was so striking that even the public knew him by an epithet.
The Celestial Dragons were an extremely closed-off group. Even the Holy Knights, who could be called their military force, were barely known to the outside world. Considering that, a Celestial Dragon named Solomon, whose name had spread because of his power, was a deeply bizarre figure from the perspective of ordinary people.
There were legendary rumors tied to the title of Mage King.
They said that Mage King Solomon was a mysterious being who could wield true "Magecraft," not the power of a Devil Fruit.
According to those tales, an unforeseen accident had once exposed part of the World Government's hidden military power to the outside world, and through that incident, the existence of the Mage King became known. For a time, people were in an uproar, saying that part of the reason the seemingly incompetent World Nobles could rule the world had finally been revealed.
Though the details were never made public, one fact remained certain.
One of the reasons Emperor Big Mom had been forced to withdraw from Elbaf was the Mage King's intervention.
That truth had been firmly established when Morgans, then no more than a cub reporter, rose to fame through the story.
Now, people's memories of it had faded. At most, they vaguely remembered that such an incident had happened once, and that a figure called the Mage King had appeared then.
But even now, decades later, the title of Mage King was still whispered here and there.
And Bartholomew Kuma had heard those whispers.
Kuma was a wanderer of the seas, living a life of travel that was practically a journey around the world, all to cure Bonney's Sapphire Scales.
From bitter experiences in childhood, Kuma knew all too well how evil the Celestial Dragons were. So even if he met the Mage King in person, he was certain the man would never show him kindness.
Prepared once more to offend the World Government, Kuma finally confirmed the last transport ship bringing up the rear.
It was smaller than the ships that had passed before it, but through his telescope, it did not look like a cargo vessel.
The crew were dressed far too neatly compared to the others.
By Celestial Dragon standards, they were rather modest, but even so, to an ordinary man of the lower world like Kuma, they did not look like normal sailors at all.
Kuma was sure of it.
The rumor had been true. Even if the Mage King himself was not aboard, a Celestial Dragon was definitely on that ship.
If there was even the slightest chance Bonney's illness could be cured, he was willing to bow his head once more even to the Celestial Dragons, the sworn enemies of his people. And if not... then he would simply act in a manner fitting for the pirate he claimed to be, a man with a bounty on his head.
Kuma removed his glove and pressed the paw pad, the trigger of the Paw-Paw Fruit, against his own body.
In an instant, his massive frame vanished from the bow where he had been standing.
The place he arrived at with the Paw-Paw Fruit's movement ability, which was all but teleportation, was the deck of the final transport ship flying the World Government's flag.
"S-someone just appeared out of nowhere!"
"This is bad! That's Bartholomew Kuma the Tyrant! They said he'd been spotted around here recently, but to think he'd target a ship carrying a god!"
"How did the information leak? Damn it! Surround him first!"
Someone recognized Kuma as a pirate, and since no pirate would board a government ship with good intentions, chaos instantly broke out on deck.
"Um... is there really a Celestial Dragon here... no, a 'god'?"
Even with the sailors pointing weapons at him in open killing intent, the kind-hearted Kuma did not strike back. Hiding his discomfort, he tried to talk first.
"Not an ordinary god... Tyrant. So the slave who once belonged to the World Government has grown bold. Good. We'll add you to the Heavenly Tribute manifest and take you back to the Holy Land."
A man who looked like a government agent, wearing a white mask, quietly pointed a finger at him.
"So there really is a special 'god' aboard. If CP0 is guarding the ship personally."
From his experience as a child slave, Kuma knew to some extent how the forces under the Celestial Dragons were organized. He even knew of the Holy Knights.
CP0 might be called the Celestial Dragons' hounds, but surprisingly, it was rare for them to be assigned one by one as escorts whenever an individual Celestial Dragon went sightseeing in the lower world.
The appearance of CP0, a group rarely seen, convinced Kuma that the target he had been seeking was definitely on this ship.
"You may be a powerful pirate among the slaves who escaped to the lower world, but you chose the wrong opponent. [Finger Pistol]."
Thinking this was his chance to earn merit, the rookie CP0 agent Guernica stopped talking and kicked off the deck ten times.
Guernica's [Finger Pistol], coated in Armament Haki, pierced Kuma's chest.
But Kuma's natural Buccaneer body was so sturdy that even a [Finger Pistol] coated in Armament Haki could not easily inflict a fatal wound in one strike.
"Impossible. What kind of durability is this?"
Guernica had aimed to pierce the heart and kill Kuma instantly. Only after leaping back to prepare for a counterattack did he realize his [Finger Pistol] had dealt almost no real damage.
"I came because I wanted to talk, CP0. Let me meet the god on this ship. Otherwise, you'll have to be prepared for me to sink it. Someone precious to me is at stake, so I'm not feeling very patient."
"Silence. How dare a mere pirate threaten us? No matter if you're a pirate worth over a hundred million, I will not overlook the insolence of trying to place yourself on equal footing with that person!"
"Then I suppose I have no choice. If they still won't come out after this much commotion, I'll have to start using the Paw-Paw Fruit properly."
Armament Haki hardened over Kuma's fist. Seeing that blackened fist, Guernica broke out in a cold sweat.
If things went badly, the first mission he had received after being promoted to CP0 could very well end in failure. In that situation, Guernica should have committed everything without hesitation.
But the problem was this: Guernica was in the position of guarding an important figure, while Kuma was the attacker trying to draw that figure out.
And as the earlier exchange had already proven, Guernica's Armament Haki did not do much damage to a Buccaneer body.
Looking at the situation as a whole, Guernica was clearly at a disadvantage.
With nowhere to retreat on the open sea, Guernica gritted his teeth and prepared himself for death.
Haki and Haki were just about to collide.
Neither side could afford to give even an inch, each driven by his own purpose.
Then—
The cabin door creaked open.
In that instant, the entire area filled with a mysterious energy that defied description.
"M-my body won't move all of a sudden!"
"Now's our chance! If it's now, even someone that tough can be taken down in one blow... wait. Why can't I move either?"
For a brief moment, the ether of the Age of Gods settled over the surrounding space, then quickly evaporated.
A great Magecraft had been invoked, interfering with the space around them to recreate the atmosphere of the Age of Gods for an instant.
But neither Guernica nor Kuma could understand the true force of this power called Magecraft.
After all, in this world, Magecraft was a unique mystery wielded only by the "Mage King."
"How noisy."
"Lord Solomon!"
"...Guernica. I did warn you that I personally dislike being addressed by that special title the Celestial Dragons use, didn't I?"
"My apologies. Please forgive my disrespect."
Past the hastily bowing Guernica, who had been gently rebuked by the oddly relaxed Solomon, Kuma looked on.
At the king with long gray hair cascading down his back.
Though the man did not call himself a king, Kuma understood at once that this awe-inspiring being before him was the very one he had come to meet: the Mage King.
Maybe that was why.
Drawn by memories that felt like childhood trauma, Kuma found himself dropping to one knee before he even realized it. Pure instinct.
Solomon gazed quietly down at the kneeling intruder.
He feels like one of the important figures from the world of One Piece. His face is familiar, but I can't remember the details.
For now—
Please stand up. This is uncomfortable for me.
I'm human, not a god.
Treat me at ease.
"It's dangerous! You must not approach him! This man is Bartholomew Kuma, the notorious pirate known as the Tyrant!"
Guernica's warning did little to draw Solomon's attention.
Influenced by the personality of his previous life, Solomon had developed a somewhat self-paced disposition. He simply extended a hand toward Kuma, who was still prostrated on the deck with his head slightly raised.
"What's your name?"
Judging by everything he had experienced in his life, the scene before him felt like a miracle that should not have been possible. Without realizing it, Kuma began to choke up.
"Sniff... m-my name is B-Bartholomew Kuma, my lord!"
Kuma's hand was far too large compared to Solomon's, so a proper handshake was impossible. Instead, it became the strange image of one hand resting over the other.
Kuma knew for certain then.
That even among gods, there could be one whose touch carried not blood and wounds, but warmth.
Solomon felt a little uncomfortable at Kuma continuing to call him a god, but he did not mind it much.
A matter of address was trivial. If Kuma insisted on calling him a god to the end, then he could simply act like one.
But if the Kuma before him was seeking not a god, but a human—
Then Solomon would gladly answer him as one.
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