"Crow, can't you go any faster? The battle over there has probably already started."
High above the sea, a hundred miles away from Queen of Spring City, a blond young man with a burn scar over his left eye sat cross-legged on the back of a giant black crow, his face full of urgency.
Beneath him, the massive black crow flapped its wings at astonishing speed, slicing across the blue sea as it rapidly approached the island ahead.
"All these years, we of the Revolutionary Army have been greatly helped by old man Jonathan when it comes to funding. If we can't lend a hand in time, we'd be failing to repay this huge debt of gratitude. Besides, from any angle, the Bounty Hunters' Guild must continue existing on these seas. It's a check against the overly rampant pirates."
In Sabo's mind, the image of that kind, benevolent old man surfaced involuntarily.
Many years ago, he had once followed the leader to meet that legendary Hunter King.
This upheaval in the Bounty Hunters' Guild had happened too quickly, too suddenly.
And out of respect for the Hunter King, the Revolutionary Army had not stationed any spies in the Holy Poplar Kingdom.
It was precisely because of this that, when this urgent crisis erupted, they were too late to arrive on time.
By the time he learned of the pirate invasion at Queen of Spring City and rushed over, it was already somewhat late.
Now Sabo could only hope that the Bounty Hunters' Guild could hold out tenaciously and not be overrun by the pirates.
Lost in thought, both Sabo and the flying crow simultaneously lifted their heads, looking toward the distant horizon.
There, at the lofty, boundless top of the sky, a dazzling ball of light suddenly bloomed.
Its brilliance was so intense, it was as if a second sun had appeared in the sky.
As that "sun" emerged, the clouds above rippled outward like waves, forming concentric rings across the distant sky, creating an extraordinarily spectacular sight.
Sabo's pupils flickered, reflecting that brilliant light, and he couldn't help but murmur, "That is… what? A sun?"
—
On the sea route toward Marineford, three massive green warships sliced through the waves at high speed.
At the bow of the lead dog-head warship, Garp, holding a bag of rice crackers and blowing a large snot bubble from his nose, stood with his head tilted, snoring on deck.
Suddenly, a commotion of startled voices jolted him awake, the snot bubble popping with a snap. He drowsily opened his bleary eyes, glancing around in confusion.
"Hmm? What's wrong? Are we there yet?"
"We're still far off, Vice Admiral Garp! Look up at the sky—what is that thing? It's so bright!"
A soldier on the ship called back loudly, pointing up at the heavens.
Garp froze, following the soldier's pointing arm to look up. The bag of rice crackers quietly slipped from his hand, falling to the deck.
"Huh? A second sun appeared! What a miracle!"
"There's no way something like that could happen!"
—
Devil's Triangle Sea.
This mysterious sea, shrouded year-round in thick fog, had always been a place of terror in the eyes of countless people.
Ghost ships, gateways to the demon world, ship-devouring sea monsters—various legends all circulated from here.
Few knew that deep within this vast fog was a pirate ship as large as an island.
And the world-famous Shichibukai, Gecko Moria, was currently aboard this terrifying Thriller Bark, always waiting to snatch the shadows of any unlucky pirates or merchant ships that crossed paths with his giant vessel, cackling gleefully as he did so.
At this moment, atop the eerie castle, the bloated Moria was deeply frowning, furiously berating his subordinate, Thriller Bark's ship doctor, Hogback.
"What did you say? Absalom took two thousand zombie soldiers and left? When did this happen? Why didn't you notify me of such a big matter? Hogback! What on earth happened while I was away these past few days?"
In front of him, the short, fat Hogback kept wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, his face full of confusion as he stammered, looking at the raging Moria:
"M-Moria-sama, what are you talking about? Didn't you personally order Absalom to go help that Bounty Hunters' Guild Vice President, Goliath?"
"Help who?"Moria's eyes bulged wide, bloodshot, as his towering figure leaned down, reaching out a massive hand to grab Hogback and lift him clean off the ground.
"G-Goliath…"
Hogback stammered, at a complete loss, his face pale as a sheet.
"Are you kidding me? You think I would send Absalom to help that bastard Goliath? I wish he'd drop dead! That arrogant, self-important bastard!"
Moria roared hoarsely, his giant voice echoing far across the gloomy Thriller Bark.
At his feet, a delicate young girl holding a pink umbrella floated ghost-like in midair, a worried look on her face.
Indeed, a few days ago, Moria-sama had left Thriller Bark, saying he was heading to a meeting with the World Government.
But not long after leaving, he had unexpectedly returned and given Absalom a strange order, then turned around and left again.
At the time, no one — not Perona, not Hogback — had sensed anything wrong.
But now, hearing Moria-sama's words, Perona suddenly realized: the Moria who had turned back a few days ago might not have been Moria himself!
In other words, Absalom had been deceived.
They had all been deceived.
Moria wasn't a fool, and he quickly caught on as well.
Especially since he had fought Goliath before and knew some of his tricks.
"That bastard Goliath dared to take my form, trick Absalom, and steal away my zombie army to work for him! I'm so pissed I could explode! I won't let him get away with this!"
Moria trembled all over with fury, setting the terrified, pale-faced Hogback back on the ground.
Suddenly, an endless radiance pierced down from the sky, breaking through the dark mist that had shrouded the Devil's Triangle for countless years, pouring down brilliant light and illuminating the entire Thriller Bark.
The dark, mysterious Devil's Triangle instantly transformed into a world of light.
At that moment, on islands and in nations all across the Paradise seas, people looked up to see the sudden appearance of a second sun blooming in the sky.
Marineford, Impel Down, Enies Lobby, Water 7 — countless people lifted their heads, wondering what that giant sphere of light suddenly appearing in the heavens was.
The light from the explosion of forty-two explosive rocks lit up the entire Paradise sky in an instant.
And only afterward, delayed by the speed of sound, did the earth-shaking roar finally spread across the world.
Only on the island of Queen of Spring City did hundreds of thousands of people witness a colossal human shadow cast across dozens of miles of sea and island under the blinding light and heat of that second sun.
Then, under the stunned gaze of the crowd at the harbor, a figure — bare-bottomed and shrieking oddly — plummeted from the sky.
Jonathan twitched at the corner of his mouth, slapping a hand over his eyes.
"It's over. I'll never forget this scene for the rest of my life. My eyes… they burn."
On the coast behind Queen of Spring City, Fujitora sheathed his blade, raised his head to the sky, and showed a satisfied smile.
"Well done, that young Marine named Rorschach."
He reached up to touch the rough scar over his eyes, then suddenly let out a sigh, murmuring softly, "I destroyed these eyes with my own hands back then, so I wouldn't have to see too much filth in this world. But now, I rather wish I could see… what you look like."
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and his figure floated gently upward, carried by the wind as he drifted out over the sea.
"The Marines, hmm? Heh heh heh… Perhaps one day, you and I will meet again, Rorschach. I'm looking forward to that day."
(End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Soul Land 2: Golden Dragon King]."
"If you want early access to nearly 35+ chapters, join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"