"Red Arrows... Captain Omatsuri. A ten-million Berry bounty."
Krieg stared at the faded, re-issued wanted poster. The man had been declared dead years ago, his name scrubbed from the active files, but the testimony from Gin and the reports of missing "Authorized Pirates" in this sector painted a different picture.
"If he's breathing, the bounty stands. Re-list him immediately," Krieg commanded. "And notify the Eastern Front: we are officially moving from 'Investigation' to 'Suppression.'"
By the time the Fine Izetta's landing craft hit the beach, the Navy detachment was a well-oiled machine of steel and resolve.
They marched through the dense, oppressive jungle for nearly twenty minutes before the foliage gave way to a startling sight: a shimmering, neon-lit boulevard lined with grand architecture.
It looked like a paradise, yet every "civilian" watching them from the sidelines bore the same unsettling mark—a sprout of vegetation growing directly from their skulls.
At the end of the promenade, a massive elephant lumbered forward. Atop its gilded saddle stood a man with a mustache that defied gravity and a head of hair shaped like a palm tree. On his shoulder sat a small, swaying flower.
"Pirates! Brave souls of the Grand Line!" the man bellowed, his voice filled with a hollow, theatrical joy. "Welcome to my island! I am Baron Omatsuri, and I shall be your host!"
Krieg stepped forward, his heavy mantle catching the wind. "I hate to ruin the speech, Baron, but as you can see from the uniforms, we aren't exactly pirates."
The Baron's jovial mask didn't just slip; it shattered. His eyes turned cold and elitist. "Marines? And what business do the Government's lapdogs have with me? Is entertaining travelers now a crime?"
Krieg reached into his coat and produced the crisp wanted poster. "Red Arrows Captain, Baron Omatsuri... I believe that's you. We're here regarding the disappearance of several Navy-sanctioned explorers. You're coming with us for questioning."
As Krieg raised his right hand, the rhythmic clack-clack of dozens of rifles being cocked echoed through the plaza.
"Tch... the Navy always was tasteless," the Baron spat. "Do it, Muchigoro!"
"Leave it to me, Baron-sama!"
The world shifted. In an instant, the ground beneath the Marines' feet became an isolated island as the surrounding tiles sank, replaced by a sudden, surging tide of water.
From the newly formed lake, a gargantuan red fish—armored in scales as thick as plate mail and nearly the size of a Sea King—leaped into the air.
"Go, Rosario-chan!" Muchigoro cried.
Gin stepped forward, hand on his weapon, but Krieg extended an arm to stop him. "You take the man. The overgrown goldfish is mine."
Using Geppo, Krieg kicked off the air, ascending to meet the giant fish mid-flight. He wound his mechanical arm in a rapid, blurring circle, building centripetal momentum until the hydraulics hissed.
"Bear Strike!"
The punch connected with the force of a falling meteor. Rosario-chan didn't just fall; she imploded.
Red scales erupted like shrapnel as the massive creature crashed back into the water, belly-up and unconscious.
Simultaneously, Gin moved like a blur, pinning Muchigoro to the ground before the man could even register his fish's defeat.
"Resistance confirmed," Krieg announced, his voice booming across the plaza. "All units, engage and suppress hostile forces. I will handle the Baron personally."
The Navy squads fanned out with surgical precision, ignoring the fleeing plant-headed civilians to focus on the Baron's specialized retainers. The Baron, realizing his stage show was collapsing, pulled a longbow from his back and loosed a volley of shimmering arrows.
"Pathhetic!" Krieg swiped his gauntlet through the air, snapping the arrows mid-flight like dry twigs. He charged forward, a juggernaut of Wootz steel.
"Kotetsu!" the Baron screamed.
A massive brute wielding iron frying pans stepped into Krieg's path, but he didn't even slow down. Krieg triggered the Impact Dial embedded in his palm.
BOOM.
The shockwave bypassed Kotetsu's armor, instantly rattling his brain and sending him into a heap on the pavement.
The recoil was silently absorbed by the Reject Dial in Krieg's elbow, leaving the Rear Admiral's arm steady and ready for the next strike. He pressed on, but a series of explosions blossomed at his feet.
"You won't get past me-puyo!" a man with a plate-like hat shouted, tossing explosive frisbees that filled the air with thick, acrid smoke.
"Annoying," Krieg grumbled. He activated the Jet Dials in his boots and the levitation units in his soles. He surged through the smoke, appearing above the "Kappa" man in a heartbeat.
With the heel boosters roaring, he delivered a descending roundhouse kick that drove the attacker deep into the cracked stone of the street.
When the smoke cleared, the Baron was gone. He had vanished into the shadows of the forest during the chaos. Krieg stood amidst the unconscious retainers and adjusted his internal comms.
"All units, listen up! I am moving to the final sweep. Follow your squad leaders and secure the perimeter!"
Krieg looked toward the mountain peak. He remembered now—the source of the madness. The Baron was nothing without that parasitic blossom at the summit.
He turned his back on the town and began the climb, the iron soles of his boots crunching heavily on the path toward the end of the festival.
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