(T/N:
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The smoke slowly dispersed.
The cloud of dust caused by Im's casual strike began to clear.
Every gaze on the battlefield was locked firmly on the very center of the chaos.
Finally—
Two figures suspended in midair emerged, like demons climbing out of hell.
The figure on the left had long golden hair that spread wildly like a lion's mane.
There were no clouds beneath his feet.
No mount.
He simply floated there.
In his hands were two ominous blades—Shiki's twin swords: Oto and Kogarashi.1
He hovered in the sky as if it were his personal territory.
But the most striking thing was the arrogant smile on his face.
The kind of arrogance that seemed to grind the whole world beneath his heel.
The young Golden Lion—Shiki.
Beside him loomed an even larger shadow.
A woman whose mere presence made the ground tremble.
She stood atop a grinning thundercloud—Zeus.
A blazing sun—Prometheus—rested upon her shoulder.
Her massive body radiated a sweet yet suffocating aura, one that made souls tremble with danger.
The young Big Mom—Charlotte Linlin.
"Shiki! Linlin!"
Seeing the two stragglers arrive, the tension on Rocks' face finally cracked into a wild grin.
He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted up at them.
His voice carried both teasing and warning.
"You bastards are late!"
"This battlefield isn't easy pickings. The ones standing opposite us are the toughest bones in the whole damn world!"
"If things go bad, both of you might leave your lives here—and there won't be any spoils left to share!"
It sounded like a warning.
But it was more like the arrogance of a king.
Rocks' battlefield—
Even for his own allies—
Was a nine-deaths hell.
"Jahahahahahaha!"
Golden Lion Shiki burst into a shrill laugh that rattled the air.
He casually dug a finger into his ear, completely ignoring Rocks' warning.
"Rocks, what kind of man do you think I am?!"
Shiki's voice overflowed with reckless arrogance.
"I've been sailing under you long enough to gather treasure that could last me ten lifetimes! I couldn't care less about a little extra loot!"
Then his tone shifted.
His hawk-like eyes flashed with cunning—and unmistakable greed.
He rubbed his chin and grinned down at Rocks.
"Although… if you really feel bad about it, fine!"
"After this fight, hand over every last treasure you've hidden on Hachinosu!2"
Even Whitebeard, who had been watching solemnly from the side, couldn't help twitching at that.
This bastard…
Even now, he was thinking about Rocks' private treasure vault.
Hachinosu was the headquarters of the Rocks Pirates.
The treasures Rocks had hidden there were said to be enough to purchase entire kingdoms.
This wasn't just a lion's share.
Shiki was trying to swallow the whole mountain.
Yet when Rocks heard the outrageous demand—
He didn't get angry.
Instead, he burst into laughter as if hearing the funniest joke in the world.
"Haha… hahahahahaha!"
The laughter was bold and domineering.
Filled with contempt for wealth—and recognition for a comrade.
"You bastard, Shiki! So you've been eyeing my secret stash this whole time!"
"I thought you'd finally changed!"
He laughed so hard he bent over, as if the world-ending battlefield before him was nothing but scenery.
The next moment—
The laughter stopped.
Rocks suddenly raised his head.
And made a promise that rang like steel.
"No problem!!"
"If we all walk out of here alive—every treasure I've got on Hachinosu is yours!"
The words struck like iron.
Shiki's grin widened.
"Jahahaha! Your word, Rocks! I'm holding you to it!"
Meanwhile—
Charlotte Linlin had no interest in treasure.
Her massive eyes shone with a twisted hunger—the same look she wore when discovering rare ingredients.
She licked her lipstick-covered lips with a long tongue, letting out a spine-chilling laugh.
"Mama mama mama…"
Her gaze locked onto the Five Elders and the Holy Knights.
In her eyes—
Those lofty world nobles and terrifying elites weren't people.
They were…
Exquisite soul desserts.
"Mama mama mama… those guys over there…"
Linlin's voice overflowed with excitement.
"Their souls smell so good… If I collect them all and turn them into the strongest Homies…"
"I'll become even stronger! Stronger!!"
Her eyes held only the pure desire to devour powerful souls.
And with that—
The final pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
Rocks D. Xebec—the King of the Era.
"Whitebeard" Edward Newgate—the future strongest man in the world.
Kaido of the Beasts.
Golden Lion Shiki—future tyrant of the skies.
Charlotte "Big Mom" Linlin—future queen of Totto Land.
Four of them would one day rule vast seas as Emperors feared by the World Government.
And now—
On the battlefield of God Valley—
They gathered for the first and last time.
They stood side by side.
Forming a line so terrifying that even gods would hesitate to face it.
BOOM—!!!
No words were needed.
Five overwhelming presences erupted skyward.
Each one different—
Yet equally tyrannical.
Rocks' Haki was abyssal black that devoured everything.
Whitebeard's Haki was a destructive white that shattered the heavens.
Kaido's Haki was a violent purple that burned the world.
Shiki's Haki was a golden arrogance that conquered the skies.
Linlin's Haki was a greedy pink that devoured souls.
Black.
White.
Purple.
Gold.
Pink.
Five colors of Conqueror's lightning erupted like world-ending dragons, converging in the sky and twisting together into an unprecedented storm.
The storm became real.
It ripped stones and corpses from the ground.
It tore apart the crimson clouds above.
Even God Valley itself groaned beneath the pressure.
The divine authority Im had imposed upon the battlefield—
The overwhelming pressure forcing all things to submit—
Collided head-on with the storm of the five kings.
Crack…
Crack-crack…
BOOM!!!
The divine pressure shattered.
Forced back.
Broken apart.
Across the opposing side—
The expressions of the Four Elders and the resurrected Saint Figarland Garling finally changed.
This concentration of power—
The situation was slipping out of control.
This was no longer a suppression.
It was a war capable of destroying nations.
The Saturn possessed by Im slowly swept his inhuman gaze across the newly arrived Shiki and Charlotte Linlin.
His face remained emotionless.
But the warped space around him twisted faster.
Small fractures appeared like black lightning around his body.
The King of the World's rage was building.
God—
Had been provoked by the gathering of insects.
And now—
The battlefield had reached its final standoff.
On one side—
The future rulers of the seas.
The wildest, freest, most lawless wills of the pirate world.
On the other—
The King of the World who had ruled the Empty Throne for eight hundred years.
And the most ruthless, loyal divine army at his command.
The battle—
Was about to begin.