As soon as Tesoro and Enel stepped onto the cloud-covered surface of Skypiea, they were greeted by the sight of several lazy-bones—chief among them, Moriah.
Rhett was sprawled out on a sun lounger, a newspaper covering his face, snoring lightly. Laboon and Moriah lay beside him in similar fashion—umbrellas and fruit juice in hand, their utterly relaxed auras practically oozing laziness.
Perona floated mid-air, sipping iced juice while directing a few zombie animals to weave flower crowns for Lina. Meanwhile, Stella sat nearby, smiling as she brewed tea, its fragrance mingling with the breeze and dispersing through the air.
It was a picture of perfect tranquility.
Tesoro and Enel, who had just returned, stood to the side, feeling slightly out of place.
A vein throbbed on Tesoro's forehead as he massaged his temples. "We've been fighting tooth and nail in the underworld, and here you all are, living the good life?"
Enel rolled his eyes outright. "This god is exhausted, only to come back and see a bunch of slackers."
Hearing the commotion, Stella looked up and spotted Tesoro. Her eyes brightened as she set down the teapot and hurried over. "Welcome back," she said softly, brushing dust off his shoulder with a gentle smile. "You've worked hard."
Tesoro's expression instantly softened as he took her hand. "Della, give me a moment."
He walked over to Rhett, who was still snoring away. His golden staff, now coated in Armament Haki, came down with a—
*"THWACK!"*
*"OW!"*
Rhett clutched his head and shot upright, blinking at Tesoro. "Oh, you're back? Mission accomplished?"
Tesoro straightened his suit, feeling inexplicably refreshed. Turns out, workplace frustration really could be vented by smacking your boss.
"Done. Umit and Giberson are gone, their assets fully absorbed. Stussy's already been dealt with—everything's under my control now."
Rhett nodded, rubbing the fresh lump on his head. "Sss—you hit hard, man."
Laboon, now awake from the noise, spotted Tesoro and immediately perked up. With a flick of his tail, he zipped over, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Tesoro pulled out dozens of bags of specially made dried fish from the crate he'd brought and stuffed them into the little pouch on Laboon's back. The whale responded by wrapping him in a massive hug before happily waddling back to his lounger.
Lina couldn't help giggling as she handed a flower crown to Enel. "Lord Enel, this is for you!"
Enel eyed the garishly decorated wreath with disdain. "These weird flowers are hideous."
Lina just stared at him, silent.
With a grumble, Enel reluctantly placed it on his head. "...Tch. Fine, I'll take it."
Standing there, the flower crown swaying slightly in the wind, Enel's lips curled almost imperceptibly—despite his complaints.
Lina peeked at him, covering her mouth to stifle a laugh.
Rhett watched this unfold, utterly baffled. Bro, what the hell—
"Are you two... together or something—"
You're just kids! What do you even know about love?! Even I don't have a wife yet!
Of course, Rhett kept these thoughts to himself. The art of RheQ's mental victory strikes again.
Tesoro looked at his overly relaxed crew and finally cracked a smile. "Whatever. Do as you please."
Stella gently looped her arm through his, murmuring, "A little relaxation now and then isn't so bad, is it?"
Suddenly, a song popped into Rhett's head: "If I were to compare you to a dog! You'd be the lofty mountains and flowing streams!"
Rhett's soul shattered. He shuffled off to the corner to sulk.
Tesoro nodded, gazing at the sunset-dyed sea of clouds in the distance, and thought—
This kind of life isn't so bad.
Tesoro had also brought back Morgans' latest newspaper. (Reorganized slightly for clarity.)
*Front-page headline of the World Economic News:*
*"Crimson Dawn Unstoppable! The Underworld Shaken as a New Era's King Rises!"*
—Exclusive Report by World News Co.
Yesterday, shocking news swept the globe!
Following the successive defeats of "Shipping Magnate" Umit and "Warehouse King" Giberson, "Pleasure District Queen" Stussy has announced her surrender. Three of the underworld's six kings have fallen—all at the hands of the *Crimson Dawn Pirates*!
According to exclusive footage obtained by this publication, the core members of Crimson Dawn are:
- *Captain "Blood Mist" "Crimson Dawn" Rhett — Beli 3.8 billion bounty (Temporary. More to come. Will update once Rhett becomes an Emperor. Please, for real! I don't wanna get called outdated again.)*
- *Vice-Captain "Golden Emperor" Tesoro — Beli 1.5 billion bounty*
- *"God of Thunder" Enel — Beli 990 million bounty*
- *"Shadow Master" Moriah — Beli 1.02 billion bounty*
- *"Storm's Eye" Lina — Beli 500 million bounty*
- *"Healer" Stella — Beli 100 million bounty*
- *"Ghost Princess" Perona — Beli 30 million bounty*
- *Laboon — Beli 1,000 bounty (1 Laboon = 20 Choppers. Heh.)*
*President Morgans' scathing commentary:*
"Our data shows Crimson Dawn now controls nearly half of the underworld's operations. More crucially, their captain was once the sharpest blade of the Roger Pirates—even among them, his strength stood unrivaled.
(Rhett: Bro, were you even there?? I mean, you're not wrong, but still—)
The Crimson Dawn Pirates may very well birth a new king. We may be witnessing the dawn of a new era!
While other pirates squabble over territory, Crimson Dawn has boldly declared—they seek not just the underworld's power, but to rewrite the New World's very rules!
This is the King of the World!!!!! Rhe!!tt!!"
*P.S.* We hope Captain Rhett appreciates his new epithet. "Scarlet Mist" with its punny undertones no longer befits your current stature.
Back on Skypiea—
Rhett snatched the newspaper, eyes bulging. *"3.8 billion?! Is Sengoku out of his damn mind?! That's almost as much as killing twelve Celestial Dragons! Are those bastards depreciating or what?!" (Context: Rhett's bounty previously jumped by 1 billion per Celestial Dragon killed.)*
Perona stomped mid-air, fuming. *"Why am I only worth 30 million?! Are the Marines braindead?!"*
Lina leaned in, pouting at her wanted poster. *"Why'd they use this photo... My hair's all messy..."*
Enel scoffed, electricity crackling around him. *"A mere 990 million? The Marines know nothing of this god's power."*
He was particularly salty—crossing the 1 billion mark would've put him on par with the Warlords. So close, yet so far. Never mind that he could obliterate most Warlords in seconds—his fights ended too quickly for word to spread, making him seem weaker than he was.
Tesoro sipped his wine elegantly, glancing at his bounty. *"1.5 billion... Acceptable."*
Laboon: *"Ooo—!" (Translation: Why am I still only 1,000 Beli?!)*
Stella patted his head gently. *"At least it's 200 Beli more than last time..."*
Rhett suddenly slammed the table, roaring with laughter. *"HAHAHA! 'Scarlet Mist' isn't good enough for me?! Morgans finally gets it!"*
Then, through gritted teeth: *"Where is that bird-brained bastard? I'll wring his neck when I find him."*
He'd been searching forever for the last News Poneglyph fragment, while the others practically fell into his lap.
(The rest were likely impossible to gather—the World Government wasn't blind. Crimson Dawn's current dominance was only possible because Rhett's youth and strength kept them in check.)
As the saying went: The more power you show, the more territory you can claim. The World Government could tolerate wealth spread across many hands—but never concentrated in one.
The bigger your slice, the stronger you had to be.
Besides, their operations had grown too vast. Tesoro's trusted subordinates were all deployed elsewhere.
Dammit, Morgans is screwing up my collection! The thought alone made Rhett's blood boil.