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The Akame ga Kill world came to a perfect close.The supreme Teigu—the National Defense Machine God—was snatched away by Ainz Ooal Gown in one move.The final boss, Esdeath, was taken by Kurumi.
With that, no one remained who could threaten the now fully powered-up Night Raid.All that was left was to clean up the empire's mess, step by step.
From shadows to spotlight, the Night Raid team was destined to walk away as the ultimate winners of their world.
"Next! Next!" "Who's the next hidden hero?" "What kind of crazy world is coming up now?" "C'mon, it's gotta be my turn this time!"
Across the countless worlds, everyone waited with bated breath.
Finally—on the dark screen, light flickered.
Zzzzt!
A vast, deep-blue sea appeared. Ships raced across the waves, sails billowing in competition.
[Inherited wills of generations]
[The changing of eras]
[People's dreams]
[As long as humanity keeps chasing freedom, this journey will never end.]
"Oooh, a story about freedom, huh?"Spectators from every world quickly caught the theme.
[This is a world ruled by pirates.]
Across the multiverse, people started buzzing:"So it's pirates this time? Guess the heroes are gonna fight them!"
Caribbean World.
"Wait, wait, am I the villain here?" Captain Jack Sparrow frowned at the screen from aboard the Black Pearl.
[In this world, mysterious fruits grant incredible powers—each containing the spirit of a demon…]
As soon as the narrator revealed the power of the Devil Fruits, every world lit up with excitement.
"You eat one and boom—instant superpowers?!" "If those fruits really existed, I'd order a truckload!"
Every single person watching was envious.
Meanwhile, in the One Piece world, chaos erupted.
"Devil Fruits! I've heard of those!""Look! That's the Grand Line!""The last few videos only showed islands and kingdoms, but this—this is the real deal!""The Grand Line at last!"
"Wait… heroes who fight pirates? Do those even exist here?""Is there really someone who can save us?"
Ordinary civilians, crushed under the weight of suffering, whispered uncertainly.
"There has to be! The Marines—they'll be the heroes this time!"Someone shouted in hope.
"Yeah, that's right!" "Finally! It's our turn!" "This time the chosen hero has to be our Marine legend—Vice Admiral Garp!"
The Marine ranks burst into cheers.
"Me? You've gotta be kidding."Garp scratched his head awkwardly.
"It's too early to say," said Tsuru, the chief strategist, shaking her head.
Sure, Garp was a hero—everyone knew that.But the mysterious 'recorder' only revealed hidden heroes, the ones who worked behind the scenes.
"Don't tell me… it's the Revolutionaries?"Fleet Admiral Sengoku frowned, a bad feeling rising in his chest.
White Earth Island, Baltigo.
"Dragon, sir! You think it's us this time?"Sabo, the young Chief of Staff, looked hopeful.
Dragon just shook his head in silence.
New World.
"Ahahaha, so it's finally our turn, huh?"The red-haired Emperor, Shanks, grinned as he watched the screen.
"Boss, who do you think the hero's gonna be?" asked the plump crewman, Lucky Roux.
"If we're talking heroes, the first name that comes to mind is Garp," said the newcomer Rockstar.
"That's why it won't be him," Ben Beckman replied calmly.
"This time, the hero might be someone completely unexpected," Shanks said with a knowing smile.
[This world is also rotting from within…]
The screen continued to unveil the truth of the pirate world.When the viewers learned that there were over a hundred corrupt nations—each as rotten as the Akame ga Kill Empire—everyone was speechless.
"Whoa, whoa, are you serious? Over a hundred corrupt kingdoms? What kind of hellhole is this?""If you tried saving them one by one, even a god would burn out!"Lubbock from the Akame world couldn't help but rant, echoing the feelings of countless watchers.
But then—
Things got even darker.
Above those corrupt rulers stood the World Nobles—the Celestial Dragons. Protected by the World Government and the Marines, they committed every crime imaginable with impunity.
"Are you kidding me?!" "Those so-called 'Celestial Dragons' are just scum wearing crowns, backed by the Marines?!" "So tell me—if justice protects the wicked, is it still justice?"
"And it's not just them! Any corrupt nation that pays the Celestial Tribute gets Marine protection too!" "But the ones that don't pay? The non-member countries? They lose all human rights—people get captured and sold as slaves!" "What the hell kind of twisted, broken world is this?!"
"Pirates everywhere, corrupt nobles, and even government-backed monsters called Celestial Dragons? The civilians in that world must be living in hell!"
"Man, I swear—next life, I'm donating to charity every day. I am not being reborn in that nightmare!"
The more the viewers learned about the One Piece world, the more horrified they became.They had never seen a world so chaotic—so utterly maddening.
How do you save a world that's already beyond saving?
Even the heroes who crossed into fantasy worlds—the Shield Hero, the Spear Hero—couldn't help but despair.
Even if they wanted to save it… where would they even start?
"Damn that commentator! Slander! This is pure slander against the World Government and the Celestial Dragons!"
In the Holy Land of Mariejois, the Five Elders—the world's highest authorities—were furious.
Finally, after what felt like an endless introduction to the world's setting, the scene shifted to a familiar opening.
"You want my treasure?""You can have it all if you want!""Go find it! I left everything this world has to offer in one place!"
With the legendary Pirate King Roger's final words, the world entered the Great Pirate Era.
Images of ships sailing across vast seas flashed by—until the screen faded to black.
And then, the hero of this countdown was revealed at last.
No. 8: The Straw Hat Pirates — The Awakening of the Warrior of Liberation!
"My name's Monkey D. Luffy! I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
A boy in a straw hat stood on a tiny boat, arms spread wide, shouting his dream to all the worlds across the heavens.
Across those worlds, countless voices rose in confusion.
"Huh?"
A boy who wants to be Pirate King?A pirate being called a hero?
For a moment, everyone—both in the pirate world and in every other—was stunned.
"Here we go, here we go! I knew it'd be Luffy! Man, if there were a prize for guessing the hero, I'd be rich!"In the world of Gintama, Gintoki was yelling with excitement.
"Big bro! Look! It's Luffy!"In Himouto! Umaru-chan, Umaru squealed happily.
"Toriko! Toriko! That's Luffy and his crew! They got chosen!"In the Toriko world, Komatsu jumped in excitement.
"Hahaha! I see them! Luffy and his gang really are a bunch of fun guys!"Toriko laughed approvingly.
"A pirate as a hero? Well… in that crappy world of theirs, anything can happen."In the world of One Man, Wang Daochang shook his head and accepted it with a sigh.
"Hero, huh? Hard to say. But that straw hat kid—he doesn't look too bright, does he?"In the Reborn! world, the world's strongest infant hitman, Reborn, raised an eyebrow.
But in the pirate world itself, people weren't taking it so well.
"What kind of sick joke is this?""A pirate? A hero?""Even jokes have limits!""Pirates are the reason the seas are in chaos!""That Straw Hat brat's just another dangerous criminal!""He attacked Enies Lobby not long ago!""I'll never recognize this so-called 'countdown'!"
The voices of angry citizens echoed across the seas.
"The real hero should be Vice Admiral Garp! This is ridiculous!""Why the Straw Hats of all people?""Wait… isn't that kid Garp's grandson? Does that make him a hero by—""By nothing! You can't just round that up!"
At Navy Headquarters, the outrage was loud enough to shake the walls.
"Smoker, sir," Tashigi adjusted her glasses, looking at the smoke-covered Marine. "When you think about what happened in Alabasta… maybe they are heroes, in a way."
Smoker exhaled a puff of smoke, silent for a moment.
In the upper floors of Marine HQ, a meeting was in chaos.
"Why Luffy?!"Garp's eyes were wide.
"Garp! Your grandson again!"Fleet Admiral Sengoku was gritting his teeth.
"Ah la la… this sure took a strange turn."Aokiji leaned back, looking half-amused.
"Hmph. A pirate is a pirate. Even if you slap a hero's label on him, he's still scum. If I catch him, he'll be erased—no mercy."Akainu's voice was cold as steel.
In the New World—
"Hey, look! Isn't that Ace's little brother?""Yeah, that's him!""Wow… I didn't think Ace's brother would—"
Everyone on Whitebeard's ship was buzzing in shock.
"Pops!!!" A panicked shout rang out suddenly. "Bad news, Pops! It's Ace—something's happened!"
Elsewhere, aboard the Red-Haired Pirates' ship—
"Boss! Boss!" "It's Luffy! Luffy's been chosen!" "His crew too! They're part of the countdown!"
"Ha ha ha! That's Luffy for you… my son couldn't have done better!"Lucky Roo and Yasopp cheered wildly.
"Luffy, huh…"Shanks' gaze settled on the words: The Warrior of Liberation.
Meanwhile, on Sabaody Archipelago—
"A pirate, chosen as a hero? Disgusting." Eustass Kid spat the words like venom, his face twisted in contempt.Beside him, Trafalgar Law, Hawkins, and Apoo all wore grim looks.
At Grove 13, inside Shakky's Rip-Off Bar—
"Ehh?! That's us!"The Straw Hats had just arrived and were staring in disbelief at the screen.
"Fufu, for you and your crew, Little Monkey, being called heroes isn't too far off."Shakky smiled knowingly, though the phrase "Warrior of Liberation" left her puzzled.
Warrior of Liberation.
Ninety-nine point nine nine nine percent of people had no idea what it meant.But a tiny handful did know.And they were terrified.
In the Holy Land, the Five Elders stood frozen before the words that followed the Straw Hats' name.
"The Warrior of Liberation… it can't be!"The Elder wearing a white training gi, Nasujuron, clutched the First Generation Kitetsu sword, his voice cracking.
"Impossible! That fruit hasn't awakened in hundreds of years! Don't tell me that brat actually—"The blond-bearded Saturn Elder shouted.
"No, no, no! Only Joy Boy could awaken that power!"The bald, scarred Elder of Mercury shook his head in denial.
"The Devil Fruit named after the Sun God, Nika—we let that Straw Hat boy roam free precisely because we believed it would never awaken."The white-haired Mars Elder's tone was dark and heavy.
"Then this is a warning. If there's even a chance he can awaken that power, we can't let him live freely any longer. We have to crush the danger before it's born."The Saturn Elder's words dripped with killing intent.
And deep beneath Mariejois, in the heart of the Void Throne—Amid a sea of flowers—
The shadowy ruler of the world, Imu, stood alone, looking up at the sky.
"Eight hundred years… this world belongs to me. And yet you still dream of returning, Joy Boy?"
"..."
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