Just as all four corners—and the very heart—of the Kingdom of Thutmose were plunged into chaotic warfare, neither side noticed a headquarters-class warship slowly approaching from the distant sea. Its prow was adorned with a dog-head ornament.
"Vice Admiral, it looks like Rear Admiral Ivan and the others are in a tough fight. Should I take some men to assist them?"
The man speaking wore a charcoal-gray suit and matching hat, complemented by a pristine white 'Justice' coat and a black-sheathed longsword hanging at his waist. He was none other than Vice Admiral Garp's personal adjutant.
—Rear Admiral Bogart!
"Bwahaha! Let it be. This mission belongs to the kid—let's leave it to them for now," Garp said with a booming laugh, gazing into the island's interior.
"But in my view, with Rear Admiral Dragon's current strength, his chances of defeating the 'Slave King' Taklama are quite low," Bogart replied, a trace of concern on his face.
Though they were still a great distance away from Shabak City, the power of Kenbunshoku Haki allowed them to sense the intensity of the battle with perfect clarity.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Garp's tone turned a bit more serious. "Only by defeating an opponent who seems unbeatable can your strength truly grow."
"You and I both know that Haki can only evolve further under extreme conditions in real combat. Sure, prolonged, intense training helps too—but the efficiency doesn't even compare!"
Bogart remained silent in response to Garp's explanation, knowing there was no point trying to change the old man's mind.
"Besides, from what I see, this 'Slave King' is mediocre at best. His Busoshoku Haki is average, his Kenbunshoku Haki even more so—not even worth mentioning. His only decent strength lies in the development of his Devil Fruit ability. Overall, he may be stronger than Dragon for now, but not to the point that the kid can't fight back."
Strangely enough, Garp seemed unusually talkative today. As always, Bogart played the perfect listener at his side.
"In my opinion, this guy is the most suitable opponent Dragon could face at this stage. I'd bet he's thrilled about it too. Listen closely—can't you 'hear' it? The kid is excited right now!"
With that, Garp burst into hearty laughter once more. To be honest, he was starting to feel a small sense of goodwill—and even gratitude—toward the World Government.
After all, if the Government's top brass hadn't made that decision, Dragon wouldn't have had a chance to serve as commanding officer. He was just a Rear Admiral—and had even shown rebellious tendencies in the past.
If it had been up to Naval Headquarters, the operation to arrest King Taklama and investigate the Thutmose Kingdom likely would've been led personally by Sengoku, or maybe even Garp himself. Dragon at most would've served as a subordinate officer.
Yet for some reason, the Five Elders had insisted—against all opposition—that Dragon be made the commanding officer. What's more, they forbade sending any forces of Vice Admiral rank or above.
To this day, Fleet Admiral Kong and Sengoku still suspected that the World Government was deliberately setting Dragon up to fail.
Garp had thought the same at first. But after seeing the actual battlefield with his own eyes, he realized that wasn't the case. Taklama wasn't an invincible opponent for Dragon.
On the contrary, a mission to liberate hundreds of thousands of slaves would only fuel the unyielding will and strength within Dragon's heart—and that was the perfect catalyst for the growth of his Haki!
At the end of it all, Bogart nodded in agreement. Even though Dragon was currently being thoroughly suppressed by the Slave King—and looked quite battered—he could still sense the rising intensity of that powerful Haki.
Besides, even if they truly ended up losing, so what? Vice Admiral Garp and he had already arrived.
"Let's wait and see how long it takes for the Slave King to push Dragon to his limit."
Garp stood with arms crossed, eyes fixed unwaveringly in the direction of Shabak.
Above that region, the sky was filled with vast clouds of yellow sand. Every now and then, a stubborn green whirlwind would rise through it.
At this moment, Dragon was locked in a deadly battle amidst such a terrifying catastrophe—fighting against the very man who controlled it: the Slave King.
A green tornado had long since coalesced into a lifelike dragon of wind, coiling protectively around him. It kept the sandstorm at bay within a radius of ten meters—that was the limit of its power.
[Clang!]
No one knew how many times claw had clashed against staff, but the shockwaves that exploded from each collision were growing ever more violent. Wind and sand alike were blasted outward in rippling waves, merging into the air as they swept across the battlefield.
Yet the endless sandstorm surged back again in the next instant, reducing visibility to almost nothing. Everywhere one looked was engulfed in swirling yellow haze and howling wind.
"What an infuriating bastard!"
Hidden within the storm, King Taklama no longer wore his initial air of ease. Behind the golden mask, his expression twisted with irritation and fury.
He had thought it would be child's play to defeat Dragon—certain that he would soon claim a powerful new Logia slave for his collection.
Who could've known the fight would drag on this long?
The most frustrating part was that he had already gone all out—and still couldn't defeat Dragon.
The Slave King's mentality was unraveling. Every strike now came down with lethal intent, no longer caring whether Dragon lived or died.
The clanging of iron grew frantic and chaotic. His obsidian-black golden staff blurred into a whirlwind of strikes, each one followed by a thunderclap of sound. His fury poured out in a storm of attacks against Dragon's claws. And with each impact, Dragon was clearly hurt—but he gritted his bloody teeth and endured, again and again.
Somehow, he was starting to feel as though the power behind the Slave King's strikes was slowly weakening.
"AAAHHHH!"
Frustrated to the brink, King Taklama was finally forced to admit to himself that neither his Haki nor his physical prowess alone would be enough to take Dragon down. It enraged him—but he had to accept it.
Fortunately, his greatest strength did not lie in his own body.
It lay in slaves.
"Arise, Sand King—!"
[Whoooooooosh—]
Suddenly, at his command, Dragon clearly sensed the flow of wind and sand shifting dramatically. They surged toward the Slave King's feet, converging at a terrifying speed, taking the shape of a massive figure right before his eyes.
When the fully-formed entity finally appeared before him, Dragon's pupils contracted sharply.
What he saw was a colossal scorpion—its entire body a dusty yellow hue, with thick pincers, a long, segmented abdomen, and a sharp stinger at the tip. Its size dwarfed even the largest battleships by several times over!
Strangely enough, the scorpion was floating in midair, bearing King Taklama on its back. But what stood out even more was the glowing green ring embedded in its abdomen.
"So that's it… That's the secret behind your control over the wind and sand?" Dragon finally understood the principle behind the Slave King's power.
"Bwahaha! At this point, there's no harm in telling you!"
Seeing the look of shock on Dragon's face, King Taklama was visibly pleased. He extended his left palm, which began to glow green as he laughed heartily. "This is the ultimate awakened ability of the Pet-Pet Fruit! Not just living creatures—even natural weather phenomena can be bound as my slaves!"
"The reason I chose this island as my base is precisely because I tamed its sandstorm. Not only does it grant me the powers of a Logia user, it also conceals everything about me. That's how I've remained hidden in the shadows all these years!"
With that, the Slave King glanced curiously at Dragon and asked, "Tell me—honestly—I'm still shocked. How did the Navy find me? Can you shed some light on that?"
As if I'd know!
Dragon silently scoffed. After all, he was just following orders and wasn't part of the Navy's upper command. Outwardly, however, he simply gave a cold reply: "No comment."
All the while, his gaze remained fixed on the scorpion beneath the Slave King's feet—this so-called 'Sand King'.
"Hmph. In that case, I'll just knock you unconscious first. Once I've relocated to a new base, we can have a proper talk—as master and slave!"
With a cold snort, King Taklama stomped down hard on the scorpion's back and gave his command: "Kill him, Sand King!"
[Yes, Master—]
The 'Sand King' could speak.
Though its voice was hoarse and rumbling, there was no mistaking its intelligence. It truly did resemble a clever pet.
At that moment, the massive stinger on its back gave a slight twitch—and then vanished from sight in an instant.
[Whoosh!]
A flash of red light flickered in Dragon's eyes as his body suddenly scattered into gusts of green wind. A split second later, a long, jet-black stinger stabbed into the very spot he had just been standing.
"That attack was insanely fast!"
If not for the enhanced perception granted by the Devil Fruit, he wouldn't have been able to dodge that strike without any powers.
At the same time, Dragon noticed that King Taklama had vanished, leaving only the massive 'Sand King' looming above him—like a living embodiment of a scorpion-shaped sandstorm.
"You know, Slave King… the way I see it, if beating you means setting all your slaves free… then there's no way I'm going to lose!"
The dragon of wind that had been circling around him now gathered on his right arm, spinning rapidly into a visible green tornado.
In the next moment, Dragon bent his index and middle fingers of his right hand tightly together, separated the gap between his ring and middle fingers, curled the ring and pinky together, and bent his thumb slightly—assuming a pose resembling three dragon claws.
[BOOOOM——————]
An overwhelming burst of claw force, amplified by the full might of the hurricane, tore forward with a roaring dragon cry. It collided head-on with the oncoming 'Sand King'.