Over a hundred thousand men surged forward in attack. Even though the BloodSworn Guard unleashed a torrent of powerful counterfire, the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming.
Even the most steadfast army would begin to crumble after losing a third of its men—yet this was no ordinary army.
Most of the invaders were a mix of slave troops and mercenaries.
The mercenaries, of course, were a breed apart. The stronger ones didn't fear bullets—this world's people possessed monstrous physiques. Through years of brutal training, they'd gained the endurance and reflexes to resist or dodge modern firearms entirely.
Even with Gray Nation's enhanced "Impact Shell" weapons—whose firepower rivaled that of modern machine guns—they struggled to inflict real damage.
The weak had already fallen amid the chaos; only the hardened killers pressed on.
As for the slaves, their lives weren't their own. Their masters held their fates in chains—there was no retreat for them, only forward, through blood and death.
And so, unbelievably, this ragtag army of mercenaries and slaves—little more than a sea of sand—did not break even after losing nearly half their number. They continued their suicidal charge toward Area 1 with fanatical resolve.
Then, suddenly—
The sky above darkened.
Black clouds rolled in, swirling together until they blotted out the sun.
And then… the gunfire stopped.
A second ago, it had been a storm of bullets and explosions. The next, silence.
It was so abrupt that even seasoned soldiers froze, confused by the stillness.
"Did… the attack stop?"
"Could it be—they're afraid?" one mercenary muttered uncertainly, though even he didn't believe his own words.
The leader of Oni and the others looked around warily—then their gaze lifted towards skyward.
In the thick, churning clouds, flashes of lightning danced like living serpents.
"This can't be… no way…" their eyes widened in shock.
"Don't tell me Gray Nation still holds this kind of power?" the Oni Warrior murmured, his voice laced with disbelief.
"Heh… the power of lightning?" the Butcher Demon sneered.
"Fufufufu… what a surprise!" Moria chuckled, raising his head.
Even the Grim Reaper looked up, expressionless.
"So, it begins—the Gray Nation's Thunder Fruit user," Garp said gravely.
"How terrifying. The Thunder Fruit—known as the most destructive of all Logia abilities. Since its attacks fall straight from the heavens… I wonder, Sengoku, how does its range and power compare to your Meteor Volcano?" Borsalino asked lightly.
"Don't compare that brat to me," Sakazuki snapped, voice cold with disdain.
"This isn't just the Thunder Fruit's doing," Tsuru said, her brow furrowed. "Those thunderclouds formed far too quickly. Normally, the Thunder Fruit can manipulate existing lightning or stimulate natural charge within storm clouds—but creating clouds like this… isn't something it can do."
Enel, the wielder of the Thunder Fruit, could generate electricity and even stimulate natural lightning—but he couldn't create storm clouds from nothing. To call down the full fury of nature, the environment itself had to cooperate—usually during a thunderstorm.
The Thunder Fruit was infamous for its offensive might among the Logia class precisely because of this synergy: when nature aligned with its user, its destructive potential became nearly limitless.
The user merely needed to awaken the electric charge within the clouds—and nature would do the rest.
In the original accounts, Enel had used the Ark Maxim to forge artificial storm clouds for his devastating attacks.
"Another Logia…?" Garp murmured.
"And one that perfectly complements the Thunder Fruit—the Cloud Fruit," Tsuru said seriously.
Individually, neither the Thunder Fruit nor the Cloud Fruit would have drawn the World Government's particular concern—after all, powerful Devil Fruits existed in abundance, both in the open and hidden in the underworld.
But together… the synergy of these two powers was no simple addition—it was an exponential fusion.
With the Cloud Fruit to command the skies and the Thunder Fruit to wield nature's wrath, the result was an ability of near-limitless destructive power.
"This proves it—Gray Nation's threat isn't limited to Rosinante and Binse. Those Cloud and Thunder Fruit users alone are strong enough to endanger the World Government itself," Garp said solemnly.
Then, without warning—
A colossal bolt of lightning tore down from the heavens, striking Tree No. 18 of Sabaody Archipelago.
The impact was like a divine sword cleaving the world in two—the massive mangrove split cleanly down the middle, its trunk still sizzling with blue-white fire.
"Wha—what the hell?!" Doflamingo exclaimed, eyes wide.
Perched not far from the clouds themselves, Doflamingo had sensed something wrong the moment the storm formed beside him. The black thunderclouds had gathered with unnatural speed. He'd leapt away instinctively—just before the first strike descended.
As the bolt split the mangrove, Doflamingo truly grasped the situation.
As an underworld broker with access to the world's deepest intelligence networks, he instantly recognized this kind of power. Only one ability could produce such overwhelming lightning—the fabled Thunder Fruit, the mightiest of all Logia-class offensive powers.
And before he could even process the thought—another bolt came.
Then another.
And another.
Lightning rained from the heavens like a judgment day.
Each strike gouged massive craters into the ground.
Anyone caught within was reduced to charred ash in an instant.
Those grazed by the lightning collapsed, convulsing, their bodies smoking. Even a glancing touch meant severe injury.
The speed of the strikes was so blinding that there was no time to dodge.
Under this despair-inducing storm of destruction, many of the slave soldiers and mercenary pirates dropped their weapons entirely, staring skyward in hopeless terror.
Even those who'd once believed themselves strong felt their courage wither. Some fled desperately, while others sprinted toward Area 1—the only zone not covered by the thunderclouds.
Because now, the entire lawless region lay under a shroud of lightning, except for that one untouched area.
"Fufufufu! Logia powers—the Thunder Fruit and the Cloud Fruit—within Gray Nation? How delightful!" Doflamingo laughed wildly, lightning flashing across his glasses. "The strongest offensive Logia, enhanced by another that infinitely amplifies it! This is no longer a power—it's a catastrophe. The might to destroy nations and erase islands! Even the World Government must tremble. Just how much power are you hiding, Rosinante?!"
"A calamity on the scale of a natural disaster…" Tsuru said, her face grim. "It seems that even in their last battle, Gray Nation didn't show their true strength. Just as he said—he never intended to go all-out against the Marines or the Government."
"Ohh~ truly worthy of being called the strongest Logia. These lightning strikes rival Sakazuki's Meteor Volcano in sheer destructive force—and they fall just as swiftly as my own light-speed attacks! This storm… it's as if my speed were combined with Sakazuki's firepower. Terrifying… truly terrifying…"
This time, when Borsalino said "terrifying," there was no mockery in his voice—only solemn awe. The others could feel it too—the world itself seemed to tremble.
"There are fewer bolts than before," Sakazuki said quietly, looking up—but even in his cold voice, a rare note of caution could be heard.