New Shining Star |『 Male Reader 』• One Piece

Page 66: A World-Shattering Revelation

"All pirates searching for the treasure One Piece must brave the second half of the Grand Line. These wild and dangerous seas are known as the New World."

"Gold Roger and his crew were the only men to chart these waters and learn all the secrets they held."

"For the rest of the pirates in the world, this has proven to be the end of the road. A graveyard of dreams."

"Now, Y/n L/n, a young man who ate the Ox Ox Fruit Model: Water Buffalo, set sail into the New World with his faithful crew."

'I'm gonna become the King of the Pirates!'

The distant echo of laughter and music still hung in the palace corridors, softened now by the coral walls and bioluminescent hues that shimmered like underwater stars. The banquet was far from over, but not every soul was drawn to the noise.

Kieran walked with his hands in his pockets, boots clicking softly against the smooth coral floor. After speaking with Robin and Neptune, the air felt heavier around him, thick with implications and buried truths. Still, he wasn't the brooding type...at least, not according to himself.

"Should've figured Robin would drag it out of me," he muttered, shaking his head with a faint, private smile. He went back toward the banquet, winding through corridors that sloped like seashell spirals and glowed with soft marine light. But a different kind of sound reached his ears before he reached the echoing music.

It was quiet conversations and familiar tones. Kieran turned a corner and blinked. Down one of the outer platforms just shy of the banquet hall but far enough for peace, several figures lounged in varying degrees of comfort, exhaustion, or food-induced regret. Raising an eyebrow, Kieran ambled closer.

Nami sat on the far side near a ledge, her arms folded as she gazed outside the bubble at the vast ocean. Nearby, Zoro lay flat on his back, snoring openly, a bubble leaving his nose matching his breathing.

Sanji, to no one's surprise, was also flat on his back, arms sprawled and a glazed look on his face while Chopper flitted beside him, waving a towel in slow, deliberate circles to keep the cook cool. "... should've paced themselves," Kieran muttered.

But what drew his attention was the sight of Souta, seated beside the snoring swordsman on a low coral step. A half-empty cup of something vaguely alcoholic in his hand, Souta smirked when he saw Kieran approaching.

"Look who didn't disappear forever," Souta greeted, raising his cup in a lazy salute. "Thought maybe you ghosted us," he said, making Kieran huff softly. "Thought about it," replied Kieran before he walked past Sanji and Zoro without a glance, until his gaze landed further ahead.

Usopp and Rindo lay on their backs. Their bloated stomachs rose and fell dramatically with every breath, their expressions somewhere between bliss and mild regret. Rindo blinked blearily, meeting Kieran's gaze as he came into view. "I ate too much..." she said, making Kieran quirk a brow. "I guessed," he replied.