The silence above the clouds didn't last. Samuel Seo wasn't the type for quiet reflection, not even after a near-disaster. He knelt in the gloom, his breathing heavy, black wing twitching behind him like it couldn't decide whether to lash out or fold away.
Gan Fall caught his breath, glancing over with worry. "Samuel, are you—"
"Don't even start, old man," Samuel cut him off, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. His gaze was sharp, that signature scowl etched deep. "You're lucky I showed up when I did. What, you planning to die out there for some lost cause? Again?"
The words stung, but there was something protective in the way Samuel hovered near, never quite letting Gan Fall out of arm's reach. He shrugged off the compliment like it was nothing, rolling his shoulders to hide the way his wing was still trembling from the strain.
Gan Fall tried to smile, but Samuel was already pacing, boots crunching through cloud-flowers and broken bits of sky stone. "This place is crawling with those priest freaks. And Enel…" Samuel spat the name like a curse. "He thinks he's untouchable. Just wait till I get the hang of this stupid fruit."
He flexed his hand, watching the knuckles crack. "Did you see that guy's face when I dropped him? Priceless. Too bad I can't do it ten times in a row. Yet."
Gan Fall, still catching up, tried to interject. "You did well, Samuel. But we can't take Enel alone."
Samuel scoffed. "You think I don't know that? I'm not an idiot. I've been watching these sky people since I could walk. They're scared. They need someone who doesn't flinch." He squared his jaw, that cocky edge back in his voice. "That's me. Or, you know, it will be. Once I figure out how not to crash into every tree on this island."
He took a breath, dropping the bravado for just a second. "You okay? You're not… y'know, gonna keel over before I get a rematch with that wannabe god?"
Gan Fall shook his head, letting a small, proud smile slip through. "I'll manage. Especially with you around."
"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," Samuel muttered, cheeks coloring just a touch. "I'm not your nursemaid. I'm just… making sure you don't embarrass yourself. Again."
Thunder rumbled across the empty sky. Samuel glanced upward, fists clenched, daring the heavens to strike. "Let Enel laugh. I'll wipe that grin off his face. That's a promise."
For now, they would hide and heal. Samuel would train, pushing himself until the Demon Demon fruit bent to his will. He'd rag on Gan Fall for eating too slow, for snoring, for being sentimental. But at night, when the storm was far off, he stood watch at the edge of the clouds, black wing spread as a shield.
Days blurred into weeks beneath Enel's tyranny. Samuel Seo, once the pride of the White Sea, was now just another shadow skulking under the clouds. But Samuel was nothing if not stubborn. He didn't whine, didn't break down. He just kept moving—face set, eyes sharp, jaw clenched in that way that made even Gan Fall hesitate before lecturing him.
Samuel wasn't the gentle, apologetic son Gan Fall sometimes wished for. He was cocky, quick-witted, and sometimes a little too blunt for his own good. Even in hiding, he kept his hair cropped sharp and his white jacket clean, his wing tucked tight beneath layers of cloth. He worked out every day, not because he needed to—his zoan strength made most things easy—but because discipline was all he had left. Discipline, and the memory of a family he'd made for himself.
He never let Gan Fall forget that he was the one protecting them now.
"Eat your soup before it gets cold, old man," Samuel would snap, shoving a bowl across the wobbly table. "You want to die of hunger before Enel finds us?"
Gan Fall just chuckled, used to the attitude. Sometimes he caught Samuel staring at the sky, a frown etched deep.
"You ever going to stop sulking?" Gan Fall would ask.
Samuel would scoff, but the guilt was there. "I'm not sulking. I'm planning."
And planning he was. He kept tabs on the priests, mapped their patrols, and listened to every rumor that drifted in from frightened villagers. He couldn't stand bullies—never had. Every time he saw a priest rough up a local, something in him snapped. He'd want to jump in, fists swinging, but he held back. Not yet. Not until he could actually win.
When whispers of the Straw Hats grew louder, Samuel's interest sharpened. He heard about a wild swordsman who cut through priests, a girl who swindled Enel's men, a rubber man who punched like a cannon. Samuel grinned, the first real grin in months.
"Now this I gotta see," he muttered.
He slipped into the crowds, cloak pulled low, swaggering like he owned the place, which in his mind, he kind of did. He watched the Straw Hats from the edge of the market, studying the way they argued, the way they trusted each other. That Luffy guy—he was an idiot, but Samuel liked idiots with guts.
He watched as the Straw Hats tangled with another of Enel's priests, saw how they didn't back down even when the odds were bad. That was Samuel's kind of fight.
Later, Samuel ducked into the shadows, finding Gan Fall patching up an old knight.
"They're reckless," Gan Fall said, worried.
"They're brave," Samuel snapped back. "And they don't take crap from anyone. I like them."
He cracked his knuckles, eyes gleaming. "Maybe it's time we stopped hiding. Maybe it's time we started fighting back. If those pirates can stand up to Enel, so can we."
Gan Fall gave him a wary look. "You'll need allies."
Samuel smirked, cocky as ever. "I don't need allies. I just need a good reason to punch Enel in the face."
He paused, a rare soft note in his voice. "But… I won't let you get hurt, old man. Not again. I'll handle it."
And with that, Samuel Seo—the cocky, stubborn, secretly caring son—vanished into the streets, his black wing itching to unfurl, ready for the chaos the Straw Hats would bring. He was done running. This was his home, and he was going to take it back, one punch at a time.