An eerie silence blanketed the Storm Tower. Not because the storm had ended—on the contrary, the wind howled around them, forming a circular vortex that seemed to freeze time itself. Waves roared from every direction, yet the tower stood firm.
Amid the swirling winds, atop a jagged stone peak, stood a man. Nearly two meters tall, his frame was lean but cloaked in an aura of raw power. His long coat whipped wildly in the air, as if it were part of the storm itself. His hair shimmered with a greenish-silver hue, and his eyes were as sharp as blades that had cut down thousands.
The crew of the Grand Fortuna watched him with a mix of fear and awe.
The man didn't move, yet the wind carried his presence like a thunderclap.
"I am Cairos Tempest," he declared, his voice deep yet one with the wind, like the voice of the sky itself.
Mia, slumped against the tower wall with her hand pressed to a wound on her side, slowly looked up. Her eyes widened as the name cut through her thoughts. "Cairos… Tempest…?"
She murmured it, but loud enough for Bastien to hear.
"You know him?" Bastien asked quickly.
"I've seen his name in a World Government file," Mia replied, her face paling. "He—he used to be a pirate from the New World. They called him the 'Demon of the Sea Wind.' A Logia user… of wind."
Bastien tensed instantly. Logia. The most troublesome type of Devil Fruit.
Cairos stared at them all. The wind twisted gently around him, separating his body from the physical world like a living illusion. "This is not a place you were meant to enter," he said, his tone no longer wise—but cold and warning. "You were warned. Many times."
"Warned?!" Juno staggered to her feet. "What do you mean? No one warned us!"
"My subordinates have warned you since the moment you arrived," Cairos said, lowering his coat slightly to reveal an old scar hardened into his skin. "Yet still you forced your way in. Trampling land abandoned by men for one reason: because I live here."
"Then why didn't you drive us away from the start?" Arthur shouted, bloodied and using his sword to remain standing.
Cairos didn't respond. Instead, he raised a hand. The air around them suddenly compressed like a giant vacuum. Oxygen vanished. Everyone dropped to their knees, choking under the invisible weight of the atmosphere.
Juno gritted her teeth. "He's controlling air pressure… This isn't just wind, it's… atmospheric force!"
Cairos looked at them like trapped mice. "You came into my domain, brought chaos, disrupted balance. And now you think you'll walk away unharmed?"
Bastien stepped forward. Despite the heavy air, his eyes locked onto Cairos. "We didn't mean to cause damage. We're just trying to survive."
"Ignorance is no excuse," Cairos said coolly. "And I don't care."
Suddenly, his body vanished. No—he became wind.
In a split second, a vortex struck the tower floor and exploded, flinging Ravi and Lise into the walls.
"ATTACK!" Bastien yelled. He wrapped his fists in Haki and struck at the wind rushing toward Mia.
But his punch passed through empty air.
Cairos reappeared behind him, his foot slamming into Bastien's back and sending him crashing down.
"So fast…!" Bastien muttered, gritting his teeth.
Nara, still standing with a wounded arm, drew her sword and slashed at the incoming air. The sharp wave of her blade split the wind, forcing Cairos to halt.
"Wind can be cut!" Nara shouted. "But only at the pressure points!"
Juno used the opening to form a thin water barrier around Mia and Ravi. The flowing water resisted the wind, slowing the air pressure.
"We have to find a way to make him solid!" Juno yelled.
"But he's a Logia user! Normal attacks won't hit him!"
"Then we make him touchable first!"
Bastien leapt again, this time watching the vortex's movements. As the wind shifted right, he struck with both hands coated in Haki. This time, his fists hit something solid—compressed air turned into a shield.
BOOM!
The impact pushed Cairos back a few steps. He narrowed his eyes.
"Hmph. Interesting. You can touch me… barely."
Mia rose shakily. Her stomach wound still bled, but she pulled two pistols from her belt and loaded special sea-stone-tipped bullets.
"Bastien! Create an opening!"
Bastien nodded. He zig-zagged forward, creating small whirlwinds around Cairos to break his focus.
Swish! Swish! DOOM! DOOM!
Mia fired. One bullet missed—but the other pierced Cairos's shoulder.
Blood dripped. The wind-man grinned.
"Old-world weapons… quite dangerous in the right hands."
Juno expanded her wave and struck at Cairos's legs with high-pressure water. He stumbled slightly, but his wind quickly deflected the attack and turned the water into steam.
"He learns from every move…" Nara murmured.
Bastien braced himself. "We have to hit him together. If not, he'll pick us off one by one."
Juno nodded. "I'll slow the wind. Bastien, you're the spear. Mia, shoot again. Nara, find a hole in his guard."
They charged in unison.
Water, lead, steel, and Haki clashed with the storm.
Cairos remained standing—but for the first time, he looked pressured.
But the sky didn't wait for them. On the horizon, the third massive vortex began to form.
And Cairos smiled.
"Behold… even the storm itself grows angry at your presence."