Above the Lawless Zone, the sky remained shrouded in thick, heavy clouds. Although a large portion of them had been consumed by the Lightning Summon and the Lightning Cannon, new clouds quickly gathered again, as if they could unleash another thunderous strike at any moment.
Bolts of lightning still flickered restlessly within the black mass overhead — but fortunately, none had come crashing down yet.
After surviving the Thunderfall and the Lightning Summon, the remaining slave army had completely lost the will to resist.
The opponent before them was beyond anything their minds could comprehend. A monster. A force of nature. Resistance no longer even crossed their minds.
One by one, they stood blankly amidst the devastation of the Lawless Zone. Run? They didn't dare. Who knew if bolting would trigger another wave of lightning from above?
So they stood trembling, eyes fixed on the sky, terrified that the next bolt would tear through them.
Every time a streak of lightning danced through the clouds, their bodies shuddered on instinct.
Just as they were cowering beneath the shadow of thunder, a domineering pressure swept across the battlefield.
A crushing force thundered outward.
All across the Lawless Zone, tens of thousands of slave soldiers stiffened like startled animals, their eyes losing focus — and then, with almost blissful expressions, they collapsed into unconsciousness.
"Hahaha... You've really become domineering, Rosinante. This is how a man should be — free, tyrannical, standing above the masses, deciding life and death with a single thought. This is the glory the Donquixote Family should have." Doflamingo let out his signature twisted laugh as he watched the masses collapse under the overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki.
Over a hundred thousand mercenaries, slaves, and pirates had charged into the Lawless Zone. Even after being mowed down by the Bloodsworn Guard's hail of bullets and struck by the Thunderfall, four to five tens of thousands still remained.
But now, under this violent surge of spirit, tens of thousands fell simultaneously. The sight was simply terrifying.
"What happened?"
"Why did they all drop at once?"
"Did the Grey Nation use some ability again?"
"It—it's Conqueror's Haki!"
"Conqueror's Haki... the talent found in only one out of a million!"
The journalists were once again stunned beyond words.
"What a terrifying aura... Conqueror's Haki..." Cold sweat beaded on the foreheads of Dark Thorn, Oni Warrior, and the others despite their strength.
While fighters of their level couldn't be knocked out by Conqueror's Haki, facing such raw dominance head-on still made their hearts quiver.
One in a million. A natural king. A monster among monsters.
No wonder he was this strong.
And so, they subconsciously attributed all of Rosinante's power to the fact that he possessed Conqueror's Haki. It was a mindset common in this world — whenever a terrifying individual appeared, people liked to attribute everything to Conqueror's Haki, as though that alone made the existence of such monsters easier to accept.
Even elite fighters of the dark world like Oni Warrior's group now saw Rosinante's overwhelming strength as "only natural" — because he was one of those rare chosen ones.
Even the murder-driven Dark Thorn, who had vowed to kill Rosinante, felt his resolve shake.
Can I really kill him? No... there's still a chance. If that person appears... killing Rosinante won't be impossible.
A silhouette surfaced in Dark Thorn's mind, giving him a faint spark of hope.
"Then choose." Rosinante said quietly.
The crowd remained hesitant. Rosinante frowned. Not even the courage to accept the trial? Had he overestimated them?
What Rosinante didn't realize was that the power he had just displayed — combined with the might of the Grey Nation and the oppressive weight of his Conqueror's Haki — would have shaken anyone.
Without noticing, he had already become one of the top forces in the world. A monster he himself would once have shuddered to even speak of.
Like the future Yonko — ordinary pirates could hardly muster the courage to face them. Cowardice set in long before battle ever began.
But these men were still elites of the dark world — fear alone wouldn't crush them.
The first to step forward wasn't Dark Thorn, who had sworn to kill him, but Ghost Warrior.
Despite the name, "Ghost Warrior" was not a person — but an entire combat style.
This martial school preached that to grow strong, becoming a demon was acceptable. Thus the name "Ghost Warrior." Only the strongest of the school earned the right to inherit the title.
The man before them was the heir of the name — the strongest Ghost Warrior of this generation, founder of both his former pirate crew and the current mercenary group.
Yet his organizations had always felt more like a martial sect than an actual force. For someone like him, refusing a trial was impossible.
Seeing Ghost Warrior step forward, Oni Warrior also stepped out. As a swordsman, shrinking back here would forever bar him from taking another step forward on his path.
"Hehe, how could I be left out of something like this? I've always wanted to know what a monster's blood tastes like." The Murder Ghost licked his lips.
Finally, Dark Thorn stepped forward, cold and resolute, eyes full of killing intent.
Only these four dared accept the trial.
The others knew they didn't qualify — they'd only reached this place thanks to the strength of Ghost Warrior and Oni Warrior.
"Good. Very good. Only those with enough guts can support the foundation of the Grey Nation. A coward can't become a squad captain — let alone a member of the Bloodsworn Guard. I'm beginning to appreciate you all." Rosinante said with a faint smile.
"Save your breath. I'm not interested in joining your Grey Nation." Ghost Warrior said coldly. "I just want to use your head to break through my own limits."
"Heh... courage is one thing. Strength is another." Rosinante said. "If you want my head — come and take it. Just try not to die. Otherwise, all my effort will have been wasted."
As he spoke, an even more terrifying aura surged from his body, pressing down on the four challengers with crushing force.