Under the stunned gazes of everyone present—
A violent impact resounded in the sky as the clouds split apart.
A white-feathered figure plummeted like a broken kite, crashing heavily onto the deck of the 'Oak Dragon', trailing feathers like a dying phoenix.
Boom!!
The massive avian Zoan-user slammed into the sea behind, sending a towering wave cascading across the harbor.
"…No way…" Onboard the Thousand Sunny, Chopper's eyes quivered in disbelief.
Luffy, Usopp, Franky, and the others stared wide-eyed, jaws agape. That massive beast, the airborne Guardian Beast deployed by Kaido's remnants—had it been obliterated in a single strike?!
For a breathless moment, the entire port fell into dead silence.
Then—
"Negative Hollows!"
Dozens of translucent ghosts suddenly passed through the confused Marines standing stiff in the plaza.
"I'm just a burden…"
"I'm lower than garbage…"
"I want to become moss on a sewer grate…"
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Marine after Marine collapsed with vacant eyes and limp limbs, their morale instantly decimated by Perona's spirit-sapping attack.
In the skies above, Perona, dressed in her iconic Gothic Lolita attire, pink twin-tails fluttering, floated gracefully with her burgundy parasol in hand.
"'Ghost Princess' Perona?!" Vice Admiral Bright's expression twisted.
How many absurd wildcards were going to show up today?!
"Hey, I just came to see you off," Perona said with faux innocence, fluttering her lashes.
"The devil would believe that!!" Bright roared back.
But the chaos on the port no longer mattered.
On the sea, the 'Oak Dragon' was closing in—its dark-red sails fluttering with ominous force, hull casting a massive shadow across the harbor.
Carl stood up slowly from a reclining chair on the prow. His right hand rested on the hilt of Sakura Ten, eyes narrowed as he looked down at the Straw Hats on the pier.
A crimson light flickered deep within his pupils. "Blame your luck," he said calmly. "You could've escaped—why didn't you?"
He had given them time.
Ever since they broke free from Vice Admiral Nobita's trap at the supply dock, they had countless chances to vanish into the sea.
But no—they came straight to the Marine Base's harbor to pick a fight… only to run into him.
"You were given a chance. You wasted it." Carl's tone was flat. The blade of Sakura Ten slipped silently from its sheath.
"Slash Wave: Extreme."
A massive serpent made entirely of black-and-gold sword aura formed midair, its scaled body shimmering with concentrated Busoshoku and Conqueror's Haki. It hissed menacingly before hurtling down like a divine punishment.
In the two years since the Paramount War, Carl had created countless new sword techniques. This was just the opening act.
"What… is that slash?!" Zoro's voice trembled. He had never seen such a monstrous technique.
"Doesn't matter," he growled, planting his feet. "I'll cut it down!"
All three of his swords gleamed with Armament Haki, the blades humming with compressed force.
The two katana in his hands spun as he launched upward—
"Nine Mountains and Eight Seas—Three Sword Style Secret Art: Sanzen Sekai!!!"
Sword intent exploded from Zoro's frame as he unleashed his strongest triple slash, a technique once strong enough to challenge Mihawk himself.
Boom!!
The two attacks collided in the air with deafening shockwaves. Zoro gritted his teeth, pressing forward—but the pressure was overwhelming.
The serpent cracked—
—but not before it exploded into countless fine, black-gold crescent blades that sliced through the air at close range.
Chi! Chi! Chi!
Zoro's torso was riddled with shallow cuts, blood flying in every direction.
"Zoro!! What did you do to him?!" Luffy screamed, furious.
"That's not human!" Usopp sobbed, barely able to hold his slingshot.
"Why does it have to be another monster like this?" Nami's voice broke as she held her staff tight.
Carl didn't acknowledge them.
"You've improved," he said from the bow, his tone unreadable as he looked down at Zoro's bleeding form.
"Blocking the first phase of that strike proves you've grown stronger."
The move was designed in two parts.
The serpent-form was meant to break fortifications.
The follow-up shockwaves—those fine-edged slashes—were to break through defenses and armor.
Zoro dropped to the deck of the Sunny, gasping. He pushed himself up with trembling arms, planting his swords into the planks for leverage.
"My two years of hellish training… wasn't for nothing! I won't fall to you!"
"Really? Then keep fighting," Carl said coolly.
The blade Sakura Ten shimmered once more.
Clang!!
Steel met steel as a flash of white intercepted the descending slash.
A longsword had appeared between them, crackling with Haki.
"I knew you'd show up, old man," Carl murmured.
Silvers Rayleigh stood there, weathered but composed, blade locked with Carl's.
"Heh. These kids… they're too green. I can't just let them die."
Rayleigh grinned, though the tension in his muscles betrayed the immense pressure he was under.
The monster before him—Carl—was no longer someone the old pirate could take lightly.
In the fierce battle at the Sabaody Archipelago two years ago, this man had already shown monstrous strength. Rayleigh had exchanged blows with Admiral Kizaru himself—stalling the admiral long enough for the Straw Hats to flee. But now, facing Carl again, Rayleigh felt it in just a single moment: this version of Carl… might be even stronger than Kizaru was back then.
"I warned you once before," Carl's crimson-red eyes glinted ominously. His killing intent—cold, sharp—seemed to freeze the very air between them.
"So, for this group of rookies… are you really ready to wager your own life?"
"Haha… well, kid, these old bones of mine aren't eager for the grave," Rayleigh replied, flashing a rueful grin that barely masked his caution. "But perhaps, for their sake… you could consider letting them go? They're hardly worth your trouble, Vice Admiral, right?"
Technically speaking, Carl did have the authority. Though Sabaody Archipelago lay under Marine jurisdiction, the World Government allowed select pirates to escape toward the New World. It was a calculated gamble—letting them fight and cull one another beyond the Red Line. The Navy couldn't clamp down on every pirate crew at the archipelago. That would only clog the bottleneck and upset the world's balance.
"I could let them go," Carl said coolly, raising a brow. "But why should I? Just because you've got a famous face?"
CRACKLE—
Electricity danced in the air like a predator unchained. Arcs of black lightning lanced from Carl's palm—pure, condensed fury—firing directly at Rayleigh.
Rayleigh's pupils contracted. His Observation Haki screamed a warning, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished sideways in a burst of speed, narrowly dodging.
That Haki… it was more refined than anything Carl displayed two years ago. It had grown terrifying.
"Where do you think you're going?"
The sharp voice cut across the battlefield. Rayleigh barely turned in time to catch the gleam of a white Marine coat—and then the heavy shadow of a mace crashing down at his head.
BOOM!
The blow sent him reeling, launching him off his feet and slamming him into the ground hard enough to crater the port's shoreline.
Yamato landed lightly, a wild light in her eyes. Her kanabo, wrapped in streaking black lightning and Conqueror's Haki, pulsed with power.
She hadn't felt this alive in two whole years.
After the Marineford War, Yamato had been stationed across several islands in the first half of the Grand Line, tasked with hunting low-level pirates. But they were far too weak. Boring, unworthy.
Only a clash with the strong could elevate her.
That's why, after two years of 'bullying weaklings' in Paradise, she could hardly contain her joy at meeting Rayleigh—a living legend—and snatching the opportunity to fight him from Carl's hands.
"Heh… not bad," Rayleigh muttered, pushing himself out of the crater, his eyes narrowing. That strike—blunt, fast, and heavy—had reminded him of a beast who once ruled the skies.
"You… you're Kaido's daughter?"
"No!" Yamato snapped, furrowing her brow. "I'm Kozuki Oden!"
CLANG!
Her kanabo met Rayleigh's dual sabers in a flash of sparks. The two Haki-cloaked weapons locked together. But Yamato's strength was relentless.
Rayleigh glanced sideways.
On the deck of the Thousand Sunny, Carl had just landed.
His feet barely touched wood before his Conqueror's Haki erupted in waves—an invisible tide that rippled through the port. The pressure blanketed the air.
"Useless!" Yamato bellowed.
Her own Conqueror's exploded outward in return—denser, more vicious—and overwhelmed Rayleigh's spiritual presence.
BZZZ—BOOOM!
The two Haoshoku clashed violently in the air, black lightning bursting around them in chaotic flashes.
Yamato pressed forward, her kanabo coated in flowing black Haki—Advanced Conqueror's Infusion—as she brought it crashing down again.
BOOM!
Even before it landed, the raw pressure from her Haki sent Rayleigh flying backward, as if punched by an invisible fist. Cold sweat beaded across his brow mid-air.
"Conqueror's… entanglement," he gasped. "That's… a real problem…"
This so-called 'Kozuki Oden' was far more troublesome than he had expected.
But before he could recover—
"Pressure Cannon."
A calm, level voice rang out.
WHAM!
A huge palm materialized above him—compressed air swirling around a pad of flesh. The next instant, it slammed Rayleigh straight down like a meteor.
Bartholomew Kuma, or rather the Pacifista unit codenamed 'Nobita', had arrived. His massive figure stood firm, calmly surveying the area, the air warping around his open palm.
"That enough assistance for you?" he asked, glancing Yamato's way.
"Perfect!" Yamato shouted, bounding forward without hesitation. "I admire Oden, sure—but I'm not some blind idealist!"
Indeed, in the original timeline, Yamato allied herself with Luffy's crew during the Onigashima Raid. But here, she wasn't bound by that same arc.
Rayleigh grimaced. Things were spiraling fast.
One of these two—Carl or Yamato—was enough to delay him significantly.
But now… with both present…
Forget protecting the Straw Hats.
He couldn't even guarantee his own escape anymore.
Far in the distance, atop the deck of the Thousand Sunny, Carl landed lightly.
BANG!
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