The dust of ruin still hung in the air, thick and suffocating.
Broken stone smoldered, shadows twitched like dying embers and the throne hall that once echoed with Moria's laughter was nothing but a grave.
Magnus lowered Shusui, the hum of its power fading into silence. His breath steadied but his eyes remained sharp, scanning the rubble.
That was when he saw it.
A glow.
Faint at first, then pulsing gently amidst the shattered stone, It wasn't fire.. It wasn't shadow. It was something else.. something alive.
Magnus's steps crunched across the rubble. His figure loomed above the broken form of Gecko Moria, who twitched weakly against the floor with a voice that cut through the silence, Magnus spoke.
"What is that glow?"
Moria's eyes widened, his throat working dryly. The haze of pain and fear crushed down on him, but the command in Magnus's voice pulled the answer straight from his lips.
"It… It's a Devil Fruit…"
The words struck Magnus like a nail hammered into steel.
A Devil Fruit.
This was his first encounter, face-to-face with the legendary cursed fruits that had shaped history. Fruits that granted power beyond reason at the cost of the sea itself.
Magnus's heart steadied making his mind race.
So… fate places one before me now.
He knelt, his shadow stretching across the glowing object. His eyes narrowed.
"Which one?"
Moria's lips trembled before he spat the words, his fear stripping away hesitation.
"It's… the Saru Saru no Mi."
Magnus's brow arched.
"…Saru Saru no Mi.."
"Yes!" Moria rasped, desperation in his tone.
"A Mythical Zoan, Model: Sun Wukong. I don't know much more… but its power it's said to be divine."
Magnus's gaze lingered on the fruit. His mind sharpened like the edge of his blade.
Sun Wukong, The Monkey King a figure of rebellion, immortality, and boundless strength. If the legends were true, this fruit was among the most dangerous and versatile ever born of the sea.
His jaw tightened with this, I could ascend even faster… No one would stop me.
Yet… he stilled.
Magnus's eyes softened not with weakness, but with clarity. This isn't for me. Not now.
The world will fall differently if I take it. No… this belongs to another. Someone whose hand will shape the future alongside mine.
Decision firm, Magnus strode toward the glow.
The stone split apart with a push of his boot, and there it was.
The fruit rested atop the rubble, its form undeniable...a peach, plump and round, its skin a deep crimson that seemed to shimmer with golden light under the moon. Intricate swirling patterns coiled across its surface, as though the fruit itself was alive and waiting.
Magnus reached down his fingers wrapped around the Devil Fruit, the weight of it grounding him with a strange gravity. He lifted it slowly, letting its glow wash over his sharp features.
Behind him, Moria shivered at the sight, his body trembling like prey awaiting the predator's next move.
Magnus said nothing more. He tucked the Saru Saru no Mi beneath his cloak, its glow fading into shadow and turned.
The ruins groaned as he walked. Stone crumbled away, moonlight spilling in through the cracks, painting his silhouette in silver and crimson.
And then
The great doors burst open, light flooding into the battlefield outside.
Giants, crew alike turned their eyes upward. All fell silent as Magnus stepped out of the shattered castle, Shusui at his side, his cloak snapping in the storm wind.
Behind him, stumbling and half-broken, Gecko Moria limped in the shadow of the man who had ended his reign. His once-proud laughter was gone, his eyes lowered in silent humiliation.
The sight struck like thunder.
Kael's grip on his spear tightened, his voice hushed with awe.
"…He… He even brings a Warlord to heel."
Bullet's laughter cracked the silence, wild and unrestrained.
"KAHAHAHAHAHA! That's my Captain!"
Brogy and Dorry's booming voices followed, their chests rumbling like drums.
"Magnus Delmar! A warrior king!"
The Elbaf warriors roared, their voices shaking the sea.
Magnus did not raise his hand. He did not boast. He simply walked forward with the red peach of destiny hidden beneath his cloak.