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The fire crackled quietly in the center of Syrup Village's square. A long wooden table sat under the stars, lined with mismatched dishes and food. The Straw Hats were laughing, eating, and arguing in the way only close companions could.
Rael leaned against a tree a few feet away, his arms crossed. The smell of roasted meat, bread, and freshly caught fish filled the air, but he didn't move from his spot. He watched with half-lidded eyes, golden and sharp.
Luffy was predictably chaotic, biting into meat skewers with full enthusiasm, barely chewing before going for more. Zoro sat calmly nearby, sipping sake, and Sanji kept coming back with fresh plates and snarky comments. Nami had a bag of coins in front of her, casually counting them while occasionally tossing a bite into her mouth.
They were loud. Carefree. Almost irritatingly so.
But there was something warm about it.
A break from the cycle of blood and betrayal Rael knew far too well.
"Hey," Nami called, breaking the rhythm of his thoughts. "You just gonna stare all night?"
Rael turned his head slightly, eyes meeting hers. She was smirking, her tone light, teasing.
"You planning something?" she added, walking over with a plate in one hand.
"I'm just watching," Rael said simply.
She sat beside him without asking. "That's what people say when they don't want to be involved… but can't help being drawn in."
Rael didn't answer. He took the skewer she handed him and ate a piece, chewing thoughtfully.
"You don't talk much," Nami said after a while.
"I've had enough talking in my life."
"That so?" She glanced at him sideways. "You're definitely not from around here. And you're not a marine. So who are you?"
He smirked slightly. "A traveler."
"From where?"
"A place far from here."
Nami narrowed her eyes but let it go. "Well, you've got the 'mysterious stranger' act down. Almost too perfect. What brings you here, anyway?"
Rael chewed the next bite slowly before answering. "A promise."
That quieted her for a moment.
Then, Nami looked back toward the others, who were now throwing bits of bread at each other like children.
"Promise or not, be careful around people like them," she said under her breath.
Rael tilted his head. "Why?"
"They're reckless. Too honest for their own good. The world doesn't like people like that."
He stared at Luffy for a while, that wide, innocent smile on his face.
"Maybe that's why the world needs people like them," Rael said.
Nami looked at him, surprised, then stood up. "You're strange."
"You too."
She laughed. "Enjoy the food."
Rael nodded, watching her walk back to the firelight.
Far away, in a large, elegant manor that overlooked the village, Klahadore was pacing silently in the dark.
The candles barely flickered. Everything about the room was tidy, exact—cold.
He glanced out the window toward the village, then back toward the papers on his desk. A map of the estate. Several signed documents. And, folded neatly, a will.
He adjusted his glasses, his eyes cold and sharp now—so unlike the polite, fawning butler he pretended to be.
"Everything is going according to plan," he murmured. "The girl signs tomorrow. And tomorrow… she dies."
He turned as a shadow moved in the corner of the room.
One of his men stepped out of the dark, dressed in black, carrying a curved blade.
"They're here," the man said in a low voice. "Just arrived. Straw Hat and the others."
Klahadore's eyes narrowed.
"I thought they wouldn't reach this island yet."
"They're causing a scene already. And that man—the stranger—he's with them."
"…Interesting," Klahadore muttered. "Another variable."
"Should we delay?"
"No. Let them watch. Let them laugh. It won't matter once she's dead."
The man nodded and disappeared into the shadows again.
Klahadore stared down at the papers on his desk, then at a small portrait of Kaya as a child.
He didn't smile.
Back in the village, the moon had risen high.
Most of the townspeople had returned to their homes. The laughter of the Straw Hats had faded into quieter murmurs, and a few had already dozed off by the fire.
Rael sat alone now, away from the rest, looking out over the edge of the village toward the trees. His eyes didn't blink. He was listening.
Steps that didn't belong.
Breaths held too long.
Movement in places that should be still.
He stood, his cloak falling gently behind him as he stepped forward into the dark.
Something was coming.
Not pirates from the sea.
Not beasts from the forest.
But something colder. Hidden behind masks. Planned.
He didn't need powers to feel it. That kind of evil clung to the air like smoke.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
Another girl. Another house. Another betrayal.
He wouldn't let it happen again.
Rael turned and disappeared into the night, toward the mansion on the hill—silent as a ghost.
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