The New World, Central Island.
True to its name, rumors claimed this island sat at the very heart of the New World. It was the host of the Central Martial Arts Tournament, a prestigious gathering where masters of every style crossed the turbulent seas to prove their school was the strongest. Among "civilized" competitions, it was arguably the largest in the world.
Of course, "civilized" was a relative term in the New World. It was common for more than a few pirates to be mixed in among the contestants.
"Boring," a man spat, looking down at the arena.
He wore his vibrant red hair tied back, a legendary warrior who had spent the last few days pulverizing every "champion" in the open-weight division with nothing but his bare fists. This was "The Six-Point Spear" Junxi.
He had come here lured by rumors that the island was a hive of the world's elite martial artists, but the reality had been a bitter disappointment. He hadn't even needed to draw his trademark spear. Having swept every category he was eligible for, Junxi collected his prize money and headed back to the hotel with a look of utter dejection.
The crew had rented out several floors of a high-end hotel—a luxury funded entirely by Junxi's winnings. The fact that the hotel had rooms specifically designed for Giants suggested that such accommodations were standard for the New World's elite.
"I'm back," Junxi grunted as he entered the suite.
"Welcome back! You really cleaned them out this time," George said, happily counting stacks of berries.
Because Junxi was an unknown challenger, few had bet on him initially. George, however, had wagered a small fortune on Junxi's strength and reaped a massive profit. Since Junxi had entered under a pseudonym and changed his hairstyle, his identity as a 300-million-berry pirate remained a secret. He was the tournament's ultimate dark horse.
"The matches were a waste of time. I expected more of a challenge," Junxi complained.
"Well, look at who you spar with on a daily basis," George countered, gesturing toward the sofa.
Kanata was sitting there, idly flipping through the morning paper. The front page featured a story about "Maelstrom Spider" Squard, another rookie from their generation. While a bounty over a hundred million was impressive to the average person, to Kanata and her inner circle, he was still small-time—hardly worth their notice.
"You knew it would be a lackluster tournament from the start, didn't you?" Junxi asked her. "I probably shouldn't have even bothered."
"Maybe not," George chirped, "but we needed the prize money. And the gambling winnings."
Speaking of gambling, Kanata had visited the local casino the previous night and had already been permanently banned. Whether it was cards or roulette, the dealers usually controlled the outcome, but Kanata's Observation Haki allowed her to see several seconds into the future. Against a woman who knew the result before the bets were even placed, the house stood no chance.
"If your business is done, should we move to the next island?" Junxi asked.
"I'm finished here," Kanata replied, her eyes never leaving the paper. "The Log Pose is already set, but we can't leave until the intel report is finished."
"Right. Dragon is still out there buying rumors."
Kanata was keeping a close eye on Shiki and Big Mom. It was a given that they were hunting her, so knowing their exact positions was her highest priority.
"By the way," Kanata said, her voice turning sharp. "You might want to step back, George."
"Huh? Why—"
BOOM!
The hotel's entrance exploded. Shards of glass and twisted steel sprayed into the lobby. Kanata flicked her finger, manifesting a wall of reinforced ice that caught the debris before it could hit George.
Through the settling dust, a man with a distinctively long, pointed head stepped into the room, his face twisted in a mask of pure rage.
"I found you, Kanata! Junxi...! I'll have your heads for what you've done!!"
"It's been a while, Chinjao," Kanata said calmly from her seat. "I heard you've had a rough time lately."
Don Chinjao. Leader of the Eight Treasures Navy and a pirate with a 500-million-berry bounty. He was a man who operated with the official backing of the Flower Country in the West Blue.
"You have the nerve to say that to me?!" Chinjao roared. "The Flower Country was forced to pay astronomical reparations because you murdered those Celestial Dragons! The nation is on the verge of collapse! All because you were too arrogant to sacrifice a few subordinates and surrender!"
"Too arrogant to sacrifice my people, you say?" Kanata stood up, her aura cold enough to frost the floor. "I won't deny my choices, Chinjao. But if you think a captain's 'greatness' is measured by their willingness to abandon their crew, then your very existence is an insult to me."
The air groaned as their Conqueror's Haki collided. The pressure shattered the remaining windows and sent cracks spider-webbing through Kanata's ice wall.
Kanata blurred. Chinjao lunged with a massive fist, but she ducked the blow by a hair's breadth. She countered with a palm strike infused with Emission Haki, a blast of invisible force that sent the legendary pirate flying through the hotel's outer wall and into the street.
Junxi stood up, cracking his neck. "I'll take this one."
"Fine," Kanata said, sitting back down. "He's all yours."
A predatory grin spread across Junxi's face as he leapt out the hole in the wall. Kanata turned to a shaken George. "Add a generous tip to the hotel bill for the damages. It's Chinjao's fault, but I doubt he's in a state to pay for it."
"Got it. We've got the berries to spare."
"What about Chinjao's men?" George asked.
"The Eight Treasures Navy? Unless they attack the ship, leave them be. They aren't suicidal enough to interfere with Chinjao's fight, and even if they were, Feiyun could handle the lot of them single-handedly. A West Blue legend is just another pirate in these waters."
Kanata and George remained relaxed despite the thunderous sounds of battle echoing from outside. They had survived Admirals, Vice Admirals, and the Emperor-tier fleets of the New World. A 500-million-berry pirate was a threat, certainly, but not one that required them to panic.
A short while later, Dragon returned to the room, stepping over the rubble.
"What happened here?"
"Don Chinjao of the Eight Treasures Navy," Kanata replied. "A ghost from the West Blue."
The crew had grown so much that the veterans who had sailed from the West Blue were now a minority. They had picked up new allies and lost others along the way. Kanata thought back to the time Ivankov had been on her ship; it felt like a lifetime ago, even though only a few years had passed.
"I see... well, speaking of ghosts," Dragon said, his expression turning serious. "Shiki is making his move. It isn't in the papers yet, but the brokers are talking."
Dragon had spent his day navigating the underworld's information network. Shiki was trying to keep his movements quiet, but moving a legendary armada across the sea was like trying to hide an elephant in a garden.
On the other hand, Big Mom was uncomfortably silent. No rumors, no reports. That silence was far more ominous; it meant she was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"So, the Lion is finally coming for my head," Kanata mused.
"He is. And our reinforcements aren't ready yet. It's only a matter of time before they pinpoint our location."
"What are our odds?" Dragon asked.
"In a one-on-one duel with Shiki? I'm confident I wouldn't lose. But against his entire fleet? Those odds drop to ten or twenty percent."
Shiki didn't just have numbers; he had monsters in his service. Dragon laid out the data he had gathered on Shiki's top enforcers.
"He has three primary commanders: 'White Beast' Lelampago, 'Red Cannon' Lucian, and 'Black Binding' Aps."
"Their bounties?"
"550 million, 670 million, and 824 million, respectively. They are elite New World combatants."
Kanata leaned back, exhaling a soft breath. "Another group of headaches."
Between Big Mom's rising children and Roger's elite officers like Rayleigh, the top-tier crews all shared the same trait: a monstrously strong captain supported by equally terrifying subordinates. Kanata realized she could no longer carry the weight of every battle alone.
"Dragon, how do you see it? Can we win?"
"It's hard to say without having fought them," Dragon admitted. "But I won't go down easy. If I take one, and Junxi and Zen take the others, we can at least nullify their leadership."
"That leaves Shiki's armada," George noted. "He has over fifty ships under his command. We have three."
"Can Feiyun tip the scales?"
"Unlikely," George sighed. "Against a standard fleet, sure. But Shiki's ships fly. He won't let her just stomp them out of the water."
The situation was evolving rapidly. Kanata needed a tactical equalizer—a battlefield where numbers meant less than environment.
"We need a specific location," Kanata said, her eyes narrowing. "It's a bit of a detour, back toward the entrance of the New World, but there's a sea zone known for its erratic and violent weather."
"The Mobejumul Sea," Dragon realized. "The 'Sea of Ill Will'."
"Exactly. The Float-Float Fruit is vulnerable to storms and high winds. If we lure his armada there, the weather will do half our work for us. It's the only way to facilitate a Giant Killing."
It was a dangerous gamble—a storm that could sink Shiki's fleet could just as easily sink theirs. But it was the only path forward.
"We're going to hit Shiki's outposts along the way," Kanata ordered. "We thin his numbers, provoke him, and lead him straight into the teeth of the Mobejumul Sea."
"And if he doesn't take the bait?"
"Then we lead him into Big Mom's territory in Totto Land. If we have to fight two monsters, we might as well make them fight each other first."
The plan was set. The era of guerrilla warfare was ending; the total war for the New World was about to begin.
***
In the street outside the hotel, two titans of the West Blue were locked in a stalemate.
Total-body Haki hardening was the mark of a novice. A true master focused their Armament Haki only where and when it was needed, achieving absolute efficiency. In that regard, Junxi and Chinjao were both masters of the highest order.
They were engaged in a brutal, high-speed infight, each strike carrying enough force to shatter stone.
"You've improved, Junxi!" Chinjao bellowed, parrying a spear-hand strike.
"Hahaha! Sailing with Kanata means I never lack for enemies!" Junxi laughed. "Marines, pirates—monsters gather around her like moths to a flame!"
One was a 500-million-berry legend; the other, a 300-million-berry rising star. While their bounties differed, their raw power was remarkably close.
"That girl's Haki has become terrifyingly dense since we last met!" Chinjao noted. It was a waste, he thought. If the Eight Treasures Navy could have recruited a girl with that much potential, they could have ruled the West Blue for another century.
"She was never going to settle for being your subordinate, Chinjao," Junxi mocked. "She has the disposition to stand above even you."
"Nonsense! A girl who can't even cut away her own weaknesses can never lead!"
Chinjao's assault grew more frantic. Junxi waited, timed the gap between the legendary pirate's strikes, and lunged inward. He drove an elbow strike directly into Chinjao's sternum.
"Gugh—!"
Chinjao managed to reinforce his chest with Haki at the last microsecond, but the shockwave still sent him skidding backward, his boots carving deep trenches into the pavement.
"I'm not like you," Junxi said, his breath steady. "You think you have to 'cut things away' to survive because you aren't strong enough to protect them. If I can break through the situation without losing anything, why would I ever choose to sacrifice it?"
"Idealism!" Chinjao spat. "You can't survive this sea without making hard choices!"
"Only because you were weak."
Junxi's words were a clinical execution of Chinjao's pride.
"You focused everything on maintaining your organization, on playing it safe and securing a stable income. It's practical, I'll give you that. But it is utterly boring."
Junxi hated the idea of power existing only for its own sake, only to grow old and wither away in a comfortable palace. Power was meant to be wielded. It was meant to be tested against the world.
"Joining Kanata was the best decision of my life," Junxi declared. "Because it brought me to enemies like you."
"You... you mad dog!"
"Call me what you like. But don't think I'm the same man who left the Flower Country—"
Junxi's Haki flared, coating his limbs in a dark, shimmering armor. Unlike Chinjao, Junxi had spent every day sparring with Kanata and facing the terrors of the New World. He had polished his martial logic to a razor's edge.
"Allow me to demonstrate my true strength."
Junxi moved. He closed the distance in an instant, swatting aside Chinjao's intercepting fist and aiming a killing blow at his heart.
But Don Chinjao was a legend for a reason. He used his greatest weapon: his head.
"Eight Impact Style Secret Art: Drill Dragon Drill Nail!"
"Seven Orifices Eruption: Scattered Death!"
The headbutt that could shatter a continent met a single, Haki-concentrated fist. The collision shook the island. For several seconds, the two were locked in a silent struggle of pure will—until finally, the scales tipped.
With a thunderous crack, Chinjao was sent hurtling backward, unconscious before he hit the ground. Junxi stood his ground, his arm numb and his breathing ragged, but a manic grin on his face.
"Hah... hahahaha! Now that was a response!"
Chinjao was strong, but his growth had plateaued years ago. Junxi, driven by the constant proximity to Kanata's monstrous strength, was still ascending.
The members of the Eight Treasures Navy rushed to their fallen leader. Some prepared to carry him away for treatment, while others turned glares of pure hatred toward Junxi. Junxi began to reform his Haki, ready to finish the job—when a gargantuan shadow fell over the street.
"What's with all the noise?"
"Feiyun," Junxi noted. "I was just finishing up with the Eight Treasures Navy."
"Oh..."
Feiyun stood there in a sunhat and a swimsuit, apparently having just returned from the beach with a few of the crew's subordinates. The sight of a female Giant staring down at them was the final straw for the Eight Treasures Navy. Realizing they were hopelessly outmatched, they grabbed Chinjao and fled toward the docks.
"Aren't you going to chase them?" Feiyun asked.
"No," Junxi said, satisfied. "I've had my fun."
He wasn't at the peak of the world yet, but the victory confirmed his path. As long as he stayed by Kanata's side, he would continue to find the walls he needed to break.
***
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