The Intel Drop
Two days after leaving Gildveil, Heaven's Embrace glided through calm waters beneath a full moon. Robin emerged from the ship's library holding a sealed scroll.
"Intercepted message," she said, setting it on the map table. "Black Tides and a Government weapons broker are meeting in three days on Ironhook Atoll."
Vegito leaned over the chart, tail flicking lazily. "Ironhook… that's basically a rusted sandbar with pretensions. Perfect place for bad guys to think they're safe."
Nojiko raised an eyebrow. "And we're just going to… what? Walk in?"
Vegito grinned. "No. We're going to land the whole ship on their meeting table."
The Atoll of Bad Decisions
Ironhook Atoll was little more than a crescent of jagged reef surrounding a single corroded dock and a cluster of warehouses. Rusted cranes groaned in the sea breeze.
Inside the largest warehouse, the meeting was underway. The Black Tides' leader — the same scarred fishman Vegito had humiliated in Gildveil — stood across from a man in a fine black coat bearing the insignia of a Government supply officer.
Crates of rifles, cannons, and even prototype Seastone launchers lined the walls.
"This haul will secure our dominance," the officer said. "And your… benefactors in the underworld will see you as indispensable."
The Entrance
A deep hum filled the air. The rafters trembled.
Outside, every head turned upward as the mist parted to reveal Heaven's Embrace descending slowly — wings folded, runes glowing like molten gold.
The ship did not dock. It simply lowered itself until its keel crushed the roof of the warehouse flat.
The meeting table — and all its attendees — were now in the shadow of the largest, most absurdly overbuilt pirate ship anyone had ever seen.
The Opening Line
From the top deck, Vegito looked down through the new "skylight" he'd made and shouted:"Hope I'm not interrupting, but I forgot to RSVP!"
Panic and Resistance
Black Tides gunmen scrambled for cover, opening fire. Bullets sparked harmlessly against the ship's enchanted hull.
Inside, the Government officer barked orders to his men — until the deck hatch opened and Bell-mère, Reiju, and Kuina dropped in like a trio of avenging angels.
Kuina's blade work was a blur, disarming gunmen before they could even aim.Reiju's poison-laced strikes dropped three more without killing them.Bell-mère calmly blew the lock off a crate of rifles and tipped it over with her boot.
Vegito vs. Scarface
The fishman roared, charging at Vegito as the Saiyan dropped into the ruined warehouse.
"Round two!" Scarface bellowed.
Vegito smirked. "Round last, you mean."
They clashed — Scarface swinging a trident with enough force to snap steel, Vegito dodging with lazy ease. Then, with one flick of his tail, Vegito swept the fishman's legs and sent him sprawling.
"You're really bad at this," Vegito said, before planting a boot on his chest and casually shoving him straight through the far wall into the sea.
The Government's Turn
The weapons officer tried to flee, only to find Robin waiting by the exit. "Going somewhere?" she asked sweetly.
Before he could answer, Vegito appeared behind him. "Tell your bosses this stockpile's mine now. And tell them…" He leaned close enough for his voice to drop into a growl. "…I will start taxing them if they keep running guns in my territory."
Loot and Laughter
Back on Heaven's Embrace, the crew inventoried their spoils:
300 rifles.
50 Seastone-tipped spears.
12 prototype launchers.
And, tucked in one crate, a small chest of gold coins clearly meant as a bribe fund.
Carrot dumped the gold on the deck. "Party fund?"
"Party fund," Vegito agreed.
Comedic Fallout
That night, the crew's "victory feast" turned into a comedy of excess:
Bell-mère and Reiju competing to see who could down the most rum without falling over.
Carrot stealing Vegito's seat every time he stood up.
Hancock getting jealous when Lysandra claimed the spot next to him.
Kuina and Tashigi (still in their "are we twins?" phase) playing keep-away with Vegito's tail just to annoy him.
At one point, Nami leaned against the railing, watching the chaos with a small smile. "You realize," she said to Nojiko, "he's basically a storm we all decided to live in."
Nojiko grinned. "Yeah. And I think we like it."
The World Government Reacts
The next morning, across the sea in Mariejois, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki slammed the arms-deal report onto his desk.
"He dropped his ship on them?!" he barked.
Sengoku, standing nearby, pushed his glasses up. "It's effective. And… theatrical."
Saint Marcus Mars of the Five Elders entered without knocking. "You do understand the optics, don't you? Vegito humiliates our agents and seizes our weapons — again — and the underworld cheers him for it. He's not just a pirate. He's branding himself."
Setting the Next Stage
Back aboard Heaven's Embrace, Vegito gathered the crew.
"Black Tides won't take this lying down," he said. "And the Government's probably already sending someone more annoying than the last guy. So… we hit them first."
Robin tilted her head. "Where?"
Vegito's grin widened. "Their main shipyard. If we burn it down, they'll spend the next six months rebuilding instead of scheming."
[World State Updated]
Black Tides: Main leadership scattered; retaliation imminent.
World Government: Direct losses of prototype weapons; Vegito labeled "strategic pirate threat."
Crew Morale: Maximum.
Foreshadowing: The queens from the Embrace Alliance (Chapter 38) — pregnancies progressing, rumors beginning to swirl among their courts.
Next Destination: Black Tides shipyard raid — a high-speed naval battle with Vegito turning their own fleet into a demolition derby.