One Piece: Lord of the Weather Chapter 70: Fire in the Heart of the North

Pablo entered through the small door.

He was inside the warehouse.

The sll was the first thing he noticed. The sll of old wood, gunpowder, and cold iron. The sll of stored war, waiting only for soone to unleash it.

He paused for a mont. He looked around. The hallway he stood in was long and narrow, its walls of rough stone, with faint oil lamps hanging on them. At the end of the hallway, there was a half-open iron door. Behind it, he heard faint sounds. Soldiers talking. Boots moving on stone floors.

He moved forward slowly. He was still wearing the clothes of the guard he had killed. The cap covered half his face. His cold coffee in his left hand, his folded newspaper under his right arm. He looked like any ordinary soldier.

And since there were over 400 soldiers, no one paid attention to new faces.

He pushed the iron door. He entered the warehouse's main hall.

He stopped for a mont. He was not prepared for what he saw.

The hall was enormous. Its ceiling was very high, and endless rows of wooden boxes were lined up everywhere. So were labeled "guns", so "swords", so "gunpowder". Tons of weapons. More than he expected. More than Jinny had told him.

Over two hundred soldiers were scattered in the hall. So were sitting on boxes talking. So were walking on guard. So were sleeping in the corners.

Pablo began walking slowly. His eyes were sharp, morizing every detail.

He noticed that most of the boxes were tightly sealed. But the gunpowder barrels were different. They were in a separate area, surrounded by a low stone wall, with red writing on them: "Danger - Flammable Materials". There were guards in front of them, but few. Only two.

He also noticed a small room on the upper floor, overlooking the hall from above. It was for the commander. There was an officer sitting inside, drinking coffee.

He recorded everything in his mind.

Then he looked for a place to hide.

He found a small storage room at the end of the hall. It was stacked with empty boxes. A perfect place. He entered it. He closed the door behind him.

He sat in the darkness. He waited.

---

It was around four in the morning. The place had beco quiet. Most of the soldiers were asleep. Even the guards in front of the gunpowder barrels were sitting on the ground, their heads drooping. Eyes were half-closed. Alertness was at its lowest.

Pablo quietly opened the storage room door. He ca out.

He headed toward the gunpowder barrels.

He stopped a few ters away. He was in front of the low stone barrier. The two guards were sitting there. They were nearly asleep. Their eyes were closed. Their chests moved with heavy breathing.

Pablo created a small wave of heat, about the size of a human. He began compressing it. From the size of a human to the size of a child. From the size of a child, he compressed it more and more until it beca the size of a fist.

He looked at the glowing aura in front of him. Its heat began to distort the air around it.

He directed this heat toward the gunpowder barrels.

Seconds passed slowly. Sweat poured down Pablo's forehead. The task was not easy. He needed imnse concentration. The heat had to be high enough to ignite the gunpowder, but small enough not to wake anyone.

Then... it happened.

Smoke began to rise from the barrel.

Pablo stepped back.

The guards did not notice anything. They were still asleep.

Then more sparks. Then a small fla.

And the fire spread. Not like ordinary fire. It was gunpowder fire. Fast, violent, and voracious.

"BOOM!"

The first explosion was deafening. It shook the ground. Wood and tal flew in every direction. The two sleeping guards disappeared into the flas before they could wake up.

The soldiers who were asleep jumped up in panic. So still thought they were dreaming. So ran toward the exits. So ran toward the fire trying to put it out. It was too late.

Barrel after barrel exploded. A chain of non-stop explosions.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

The fire consud everything. The wooden boxes. The weapons. The walls. Even the air was burning.

The soldiers were screaming. Officers' orders mixed with the screams of the wounded. There was no order. There was no commander. Everyone was thinking only of themselves.

"What is this fire?!"

"Get out! Get out!"

"Don't push ! Get out of the way!"

Pablo moved in the direction everyone was running. He did not run. He walked quickly, steadily, his eyes searching for an exit.

He saw a small side door. It was not heavily used. Not many used it.

He headed toward it. He opened the door. He went out.

---

The sky was still dark, but dawn was about to break. The air was cold. The fire was consuming the warehouse behind him, shooting tall flas into the sky.

Pablo removed the soldier's clothes and moved a few hundred ters away. Then he stopped. He turned around.

He stood on a small hill overlooking the warehouse. Flas were rising, and thick black smoke covered the sky. The sounds of explosions could still be heard, one after another.

The scene was terrifying. It was beautiful.

Pablo smiled.

"Now... the king has lost half his arsenal."

He stood there for minutes. Watching the fire consu everything. Every bullet, every shell, every gun, every cannon. All turning to ash.

He knew this night would change everything. This was the blow that would shake Bekori's throne.

He turned his back to the warehouse. He began walking back to the south.