Marineford – Naval Training Grounds
A gentle morning sea breeze swept across the empty training grounds. The ground was still slightly damp, faint traces of the previous night's cleanup still visible.
Roy stood in the center of the field with his hands behind his back, his Marine cloak snapping in the wind. A faint smile played on his lips, but his eyes were as sharp as blades. His voice was steady, carrying an authority that could not be questioned.
"Ace, again."
Ace panted heavily, his forehead covered in sweat, his hands trembling slightly from the continuous high-pressure training. But his fiery eyes still burned with stubbornness and fighting spirit.
"Hmph... if you say so! I won't back down!" He grinned, showing his familiar white teeth, with no hint of retreat in his eyes.
"Good. That's the spirit." Roy's tone suddenly sharpened. "But remember, Conqueror's Haki isn't some brute force you can unleash with anger. It comes from the true 'spirit' within you!"
As he finished speaking, an astonishing aura erupted from Roy.
BOOM—!!
An invisible wave of Conqueror's Haki swept across the training grounds like a furious tidal wave. The stone tiles cracked, and the very air seemed to solidify and tremble, as if space itself was shuddering.
The spectators—Luffy, Zoro, Kuina, Law, Ain, and Binz—were all forced back several steps. The Marines standing around the perimeter fainted on the spot.
Ace's pupils contracted. Faced with this monstrous aura at such close range, his body instinctively felt suffocated, but he gritted his teeth and held his ground. His knees trembled, but he refused to fall.
"Whitebeard, Kaido, Red-Haired Shanks, Charlotte Linlin..." Roy's voice seemed to boom from within a thunderstorm. "All the powerhouses who stand at the pinnacle of the New World are users of Conqueror's Haki!"
"They can rally armies, intimidate their enemies, and overwhelm the masses—not just with their immense power, but with a 'will' that forces all to submit!"
Veins bulged on Ace's forehead, and his legs trembled, but he stubbornly remained standing, refusing to retreat an inch.
"Conqueror's Haki cannot be trained. It only grows stronger as your spirit grows," Roy continued, increasing the pressure. "Until you master it, your Haki will indiscriminately affect everyone around you, including the very people you want to protect!"
"Learn to control it! Master it! Make it your strength, not an out-of-control beast!"
"HRAAAGH—!!" Ace roared, his muscles tensing, Haki churning inside him like magma. A visible aura burst from his body.
But in the next second—
BOOM!!!
Roy's Conqueror's Haki crashed down like a giant wave, completely crushing Ace's aura.
"Urk...!!" Ace grunted and fell to one knee, his shoulders trembling, sweat soaking the ground beneath him. His face was pale.
But he still hadn't fallen. He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes burning with an even stronger will to fight.
On the sidelines, Zephyr and Garp stood side by side, quietly watching.
Garp laughed. "Hahaha! That brat has some real grit!"
Zephyr nodded slightly, his arms crossed, his gaze steady. "For a user of Conqueror's Haki, the greatest fear isn't failure, but compromise in their heart. Once their spirit breaks, their Haki will abandon them."
"Ace..." he murmured, "as long as you don't lose yourself, this power of kings will one day become the weapon you use to sweep away your enemies."
Nearby, Law watched the unyielding, kneeling Ace with a strange feeling. "Users of Conqueror's Haki... every single one of them is abnormal."
Zoro, Luffy, Kuina, and the others watched as well, each with a different light in their eyes.
Luffy's face was full of excitement. "Ace is so cool!! I want that lightning Haki too!!"
Zoro's expression was grave as he slowly gripped the swords at his waist. "Looks like... I can't afford to be left behind either."
Kuina whispered, "So this is the threshold to the world of the truly strong..."
Roy retracted his Conqueror's Haki. The air began to flow again, and the training grounds felt as if they had recovered from an invisible storm.
Ace looked up at him, his eyes still showing shock, but also a burning will and a refusal to be beaten.
Roy walked slowly over to the kneeling Ace and pulled him to his feet.
"Conqueror's Haki is not a power for showing off. It is the manifestation of your will," he said, his voice softening slightly as he patted Ace on the shoulder. "It will answer you in your most determined moments, when you refuse to yield. When you truly understand why you fight and why you must become stronger... it will become your most faithful blade."
Ace clenched his fists, feeling his heartbeat and the lingering ripple of Haki within him. He nodded firmly. "I understand, Captain Roy... I won't let you down."
Roy smiled faintly and turned to face all the young Marines watching. Luffy, Zoro, Kuina, Law, Ain, Binz, and all the other cadets from the training camp held their breath, their hearts still reeling.
"This goes for all of you, too!" Roy's voice rang out clearly across the training ground. "Haki, swordsmanship, Devil Fruit abilities... even every punch and kick, every drop of sweat!"
"The source of all strength is not just talent, but also a powerful conviction! You must know what kind of person you want to become, what you want to protect, and who you want to defeat!"
He slowly raised his right fist to the sky, his voice seeming to merge with the morning sea breeze. "Get stronger, kids!"
"The future of the seas, the Grand Line, the vast New World—it's all waiting for you to conquer!"
At that moment, the training grounds were electrified. Countless cadets made a silent vow in their hearts. Even the lowest-ranking chore boys felt a flame of ambition ignited by Roy's words.
Meanwhile, on the Grand Line – Kuraigana Island
Heavy, dark clouds covered the sea. Thunder rumbled, and the seabirds had long since fled. The air was thick with the smell of death and scorched earth.
In the center of the island, the once-prosperous Shikkearu Kingdom was now a wasteland. A brutal war, which began as a palace coup and spread throughout the kingdom, had reduced the centuries-old nation to rubble in just ten days.
The most terrifying consequence of the war remained deep in the forest. A species of humanoid apes called "Humandrills," known for their incredible learning ability, had lived there. They had witnessed humans slaughtering each other and had learned to use swords, guns, and even mimicked human cruelty and violence.
Now, they were the most dangerous beasts on this desolate island.
Months after all the conflict had died down—
Tap... tap... tap...
The clear, lonely sound of footsteps echoed on the blackened stone. A tall, slender man walked slowly through the thick fog, his cloak snapping in the wind. His steps were steady, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's. Slung across his back was his famous greatsword, a massive black blade in the shape of a cross—"Yoru."
He arrived at the center of the abandoned royal city and stopped, looking around at the ruins. Amidst the rubble, a Humandrill holding a rusty short sword bared its fangs at him in a grotesque smile.
He simply drew his sword slightly, the black blade tracing a dark arc.
Swish!
The air itself seemed to be cut. Where the sword-wind passed, the Humandrill was instantly torn to pieces, and the ruins behind it collapsed.
The blood was washed away by the rain. He slowly sheathed his sword and looked towards a broken tower in the deepest part of the ruined city.
"I'll live here from now on," he said softly.
The World's Strongest Swordsman, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—"Hawk-Eye" Dracule Mihawk had arrived.
He used a worn cloak to wipe the dust off a long bench and sat down, pulling out a bottle of red wine and an old newspaper, his expression serene, as if all the surrounding chaos had never existed.
From that day on, this dead city became his "castle." He personally repaired the crumbling buildings, started a vegetable garden, cleaned the well, and rebuilt the kitchen. The area around the island became dotted with the marks of his slashes—both a warning and a form of protection.
Every evening, he would sit on the balcony of his tower, drinking wine and reading the paper, his eyes scanning the distant sea as if waiting for a worthy opponent to arrive.
That night, the thunder returned, and black clouds roiled.
This island, reborn from death, had begun to write a new kind of "legend of solitude" because of his arrival.
-------
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