New World, Edd War Sea.
A shrill scream echoed across the deck of the Oro Jackson.
"Captain Roger!!"
"Our lives are what matter most!"
"Let's just surrender to Golden Lion!"
Young Buggy clutched his head, his face twisted in despair as he shouted.
Beside him, an equally youthful Shanks let out a helpless sigh. "You're basically impossible to kill now, no matter how many times you get chopped up."
"What's the problem, Buggy?"
Buggy shot him a look of pure anguish. "I still have plenty of weak spots, you idiot!"
He spun toward Crocus. "Crocus-san! How's the captain's condition? He's not fit for battle, right?! You're the doctor—go stop him!"
He dashed over to the ship's doctor. Crocus, a barrel of harpoons strapped to his back, twirled one in his hand with a practiced flick. Whoosh, whoosh—the harpoon sliced through the air.
With a grin, Crocus replied, "Sorry, but he's in top shape right now."
Buggy practically collapsed, then scrambled to Rayleigh's side. "Rayleigh-san!!"
Rayleigh shook his head with a soft smile. "Give it up, Buggy. After all this time, don't you know Roger by now? No one's ever managed to talk him out of anything. Trust in Tom's masterpiece, the Oro Jackson. And besides… Roger doesn't have much time left…"
As his words faded, silence fell over the crew—save for the ever-dramatic Buggy.
Out on the storm-lashed sea, Roger stood tall at the bow, grinning wide as he watched the encircling fleet of Golden Lion Shiki and the floating islands looming above.
Across the waves, Golden Lion stood atop a massive golden battleship, his golden hair and cape whipping wildly in the wind.
"I've said it a hundred times already, Roger!!" Shiki bellowed. "Forget the grudges between us! With the location of that world-destroying weapon you know about, my army, and the perfect plan I've spent years putting together—together, we could rule the world!"
"Be my right hand, Roger!"
Roger looked across at Shiki, who radiated ambition fierce enough to swallow the sky.
He let out a short, resolute laugh. "I'm not interested in ruling, Shiki! If I can't do what I want, what's the point of being a pirate? No matter how much pressure you put on me, Shiki… I refuse!"
Golden Lion's grin faded, his eyes narrowing. "So your answer is for me to kill you right here, huh, Roger?"
Roger drew the long blade at his waist, grinning. "It means I'm going to crush you—and everyone else here!"
With a sweep of his arm—
BOOM!
A cannonball roared from the Oro Jackson's bow, blasting one of the enemy pirate ships to pieces.
Under the brooding sky, firelight danced across Golden Lion's face. His smile vanished. So be it...
With his only remaining arm, he drew his own blade and soared high above, aiming straight for the Oro Jackson.
"Lion's Threat: Thousand-Slice Valley!"
Golden sword energy blazed across the heavens, hundreds of meters long, weaving a deadly net over the Oro Jackson. At the same time, the giant beasts from the floating islands and the surrounding ships charged in.
Roger's eyes flashed crimson as he unleashed his Conqueror's Haki. Black lightning crackled along his blade. He swung—a black sword slash, hundreds of meters long, tore toward Golden Lion.
He kicked off the deck, launching himself skyward behind the slash.
CLANG!
Steel met steel.
BOOM—
A shockwave erupted from their clash, rippling outward in a perfect circle. The sky itself split in two, storm clouds torn asunder.
Golden Lion flicked his blade, Conqueror's Haki crackling with golden lightning along its edge.
ROAR—
A primordial roar shook the air. His aura coalesced into a massive phantom lion's head, filling the sky. Golden Lion became a streak of golden lightning, the spectral lion roaring as he dove toward the sea.
"Roger!!!"
Midair, Roger gripped his blade in both hands, drawing it back behind his right side, power surging. Black-violet lightning snapped along the blade as his Conqueror's Haki peaked.
He stared down the colossal lion king, its presence swallowing the world.
A soft, fearless chuckle escaped him. A black, demonic specter formed behind him, his own will incarnate. Roger moved—rocketing upward, demon in tow.
"Shiki!!!"
BOOOOOOM!!!!
Thunderous detonations rocked the heavens.
———
Far across the ocean, countless miles away, several Marine warships floated at anchor.
Only old monsters like Sengoku and Garp could sense the ferocity of the distant battlefield with their Observation Haki.
Garp grinned wide, feeling the clash as if he were right there in the fray. His aura surged—Roger...
Sengoku looked grave, eyes narrowed on the horizon. "Golden Lion's beasts…"
Younger Marines stared into the distance, unable to sense much—but not nothing. They could just make out the enormous lion's head and the black demon, both formed from the titanic clash of wills. Even from afar, the pressure was palpable.
Nearby, Kuzan, Doberman, and others wore somber faces, struck by the vast gulf between themselves and the world's true monsters.
Except, perhaps, for one.
Borsalino scratched his cheek, drawling, "Ooh, scary~ The New World's powerhouses really are monsters, huh~ Even from here, you can feel that crazy aura~ So terrifying~"
———
New World, Edd War Sea.
On a desolate island far from the battle's center, Sakazuki leapt from a speedboat.
He ordered Barrett to lead the team toward Golden Lion's territory, then turned and strode toward the island's heart.
His body melted into magma, sinking into the earth.
Deep underground, he found his heading, channeling himself through the veins of magma, manipulating the molten rock as he surged toward the heart of the battle.
———
New World, Edd War Sea—at the center of the storm.
The titanic clash split the storm clouds above like shattered glass, scattering them into shards. Haki and sword energy collided, shaking heaven and earth. The air grew heavy—oppressive, like the silence before a hurricane.
Suddenly, the weather turned wild—gales, towering waves, lightning, and thunder raged across the sea.
Whoosh!
Rayleigh unleashed a hundred-meter sword slash, beheading a rampaging rhino as tall as a skyscraper. But a sense of crisis kept pounding in his chest, his instincts screaming.
"Everyone! Back to the ship—now!!"
His shout cut through the chaos. The crew, not sure why, obeyed without hesitation.
Buggy, clutching three small knives, stabbed away at an enemy and burst into tears. "Exactly! Let's get out of here! Rayleigh-san!!"
But Rayleigh had no time for him. The warning bells in his mind were deafening. He looked up at the duel raging in the sky, took a deep breath—
"Roger!!! Hurry—!"
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
It was as if a meteor had struck the ancient earth—a deafening explosion, the ground trembling violently.
In the distance, layer upon layer of monstrous waves rose, each hundreds—nearly a thousand—meters high, connecting sky and sea as they crashed toward the fleet.
Everyone's pupils shrank to pinpricks. A chill shot straight to their skulls.
"Grab onto something—anything!!"
BOOM—! ~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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