The World Today! The Dark-Dark Fruit

Dressrosa.

This former World Government Member States has become somewhat dilapidated today.

The once vibrant sunflower Flower Field that surrounded the entire city have now been reduced to scorched earth, devoid of any sign of life.

The city, once brimming with love and passion, is now in ruins, marked by shelling and bullets. Everywhere you look, there are only rubble and broken walls, with hardly any intact buildings to be found.

The people living in this city were all emaciated and listless.

Even so, the country still faced turmoil at this time.

"Hahaha! Charge, guys!"

A group of pirates stormed into this country.

The burly pirate captain laughed loudly, brandishing his greatsword and unleashing a weak but powerful Flying Slash that cleaved a house in two. "Take over this country! I'll be a king for a day!"

"Charge with the captain!!"

The pirates, a chaotic and excited bunch, roared and shouted as they followed their captain into the city.

The people living in this city seemed to have taken this for granted. Although their faces showed fear, their bodies moved with remarkable skill as they began to flee in all directions.

Soon, the advancing pirates encountered the King's army.

The king's soldiers were all covered in dust and dirt, looking disheveled and somewhat numb.

Fortunately, they had a very strong man leading them.

"Come at me!!"

The guardian deity of Dressrosa, a man named Kyros, wielded a longsword and launched himself forward.

"Get out of this country, you pirates!"

Kyros leaped up, his longsword covered in a layer of dark, Haki, and slashed down at the powerful pirate captain like a thunderbolt.

"Hahahaha! Kyros! I've heard of you! In this past year, I don't know how many pirates who invaded this country have been killed by you!"

The pirate captain roared with laughter, his greatsword also imbued with Haki, as he fiercely slashed forward, "But I'm not one of those small fry!"

Boom!!

A slender black Inazuma leaped for a moment, the surging shockwave blowing away all the dust on the street, and the surrounding buildings began to collapse due to the shockwave.

"Forehead!!"

Kyros stumbled back two steps, his hands gripping the longsword trembling slightly.

The pirate in front of us is indeed extraordinary; he's not even in the same league as the pirates who invaded Dressrosa before!

But.

Don't even think about running rampant in this country!

Kyros pressed forward again.

The pirate captain gritted his teeth slightly.

The guardian deity of Dressrosa is truly a force to be reckoned with!

But.

Hahaha! No matter how hard you try, what's the point!

As the pirate captain parried Kyros's attacks, he laughed heartily, "The fate of this nation was already sealed!"

"Hahahaha! In the half of the world ruled by Lord Roa, chaos and freedom are the main themes! Pirates are the true rulers of this sea!"

--

Kyros ignored him, gritting his teeth and continuing his attack.

He actually has many old injuries on his body.

Throughout that year, he was constantly fighting, always suffering new wounds before his old ones had healed.

Now, facing this powerful pirate, his old wounds began to reopen, and his already tattered clothes were soaked with blood.

Hahaha! Looks like you're not feeling too good!

A look of wild joy flashed in the pirate captain's eyes.

Sure enough, after years of fighting, this guy couldn't possibly still maintain his peak condition!

We won!!

The pirate captain laughed as he leaned forward, gripping his sword tightly, and swung it even more wildly.

But it was at this very moment...

From a nearby alley, two figures suddenly sprang out.

With his hair completely white, King Riku of Dressrosa charged forward, brandishing his longsword.

Standing beside him was his son, Princess Violet.

This was a stunningly beautiful woman with wild and alluring features. She wore a form-fitting dance dress that perfectly accentuated her fiery figure.

"Tears of Hot Iron - White Whale!"

Violet made a circle with her index fingers and thumbs and placed them in front of her eyes. The next moment, her eyes filled with tears.

Hot tears welled up in his eyes, passed through the circle formed by his thumb and forefinger, and in the next instant swelled into two enormous whales!

Its entire body radiated scorching heat and gleamed with a metallic sheen.

The two enormous whales thundered towards the pirate captain's back like locomotives.

"What?"

The pirate captain turned around in surprise.

Are there more experts?

However, he was indeed a powerful man, and he instantly slashed backward with his broadsword.

Violet's tearful whale was instantly cleaved in two, and even King Riku, who charged forward, was sent flying by a single blow.

However, at the same time, Kyros had already rushed to the side of the pirate captain.

Only.

You think I wasn't on guard?!

The pirate captain, his fist imbued with powerful Armament Haki, slammed directly towards Kyros.

But at that moment, Kyros displayed extraordinary agility, taking a perfectly timed step back to avoid the pirate captain's punch.

Such Observation Haki?

Then, to the pirate's horrified gaze, Kyros plunged his sword into his chest.

Wow!

The pirate captain, who had been so arrogant just moments before, let out a scream that signaled the end of the battle.

Soon, the pirates were all wiped out, and this sudden battle ended in victory for the royal army.

After cleaning up the mess, King Riku returned to his palace on the King's Plateau with his daughter and son-in-law.

"Thank you for your hard work. The food is ready."

Princess Scarlett, King Riku's eldest daughter, had prepared a sumptuous feast for everyone—though it wasn't actually that lavish.

It was just a few pieces of bread with some fish and a tiny bit of vegetables.

When will this ever end?

While stuffing bread into her mouth, Violet sighed, "The pirates are endless, and they attack every few days. Each attack causes considerable damage to this country—what will the future hold?"

The family, sitting around a round table, were somewhat silent at this moment.

Ultimately,

Rebecca Kyros and Princess Scarlett's daughter, who had just turned fourteen, looked up. "It's all because of that madman Roa!"

"Rebecca! Shut up!"

Princess Scarlett, her heart pounding, quickly covered her daughter's mouth. "You mustn't speak ill of Lord Roa behind his back!"

Not only her, Kyros and King Riku were also terrified.

In the year or so since Roa returned to the sea, his name has become a source of fear on the ocean, and everyone who mentions it feels genuine dread.

Violet lay on the table, somewhat uninterested, and said, "What's there to be afraid of? There aren't even any servants left in the palace, just our family. Who's going to listen to us?"

She said abruptly, "Is there anything wrong with what Rebecca said? It's all Roa's fault!"

"Imposing heavy taxes on every country would leave the inhabitants of half the world struggling for survival, forcing all nations to either slowly perish or be forced to plunder."

"Ignoring the pirates and allowing them to attack the countries under their control forces more people to become pirates out of desperation, resulting in a pirate infestation in half of the world."

"Finally, he sent his pirates to govern the countries that had lost their kings, but then allowed the pirates to fight amongst themselves for control of the nations, turning those once promising Affiliated Nation into living hells!"

King Riku and Kyros both fell silent.

The world's freest sea, once so, has now been restored.

Moreover, its reach covers half the world.

Roa is a complete madman; he seems to have absolutely no interest in ruling or power.

He even delegated power to his pirates, and the countries ruled by the pirates did not seem to be entirely under his control.

They even stole Dressrosa from a group of pirates.

Roa seems to exist solely to make the world more chaotic!

Where is this world headed?

King Riku raised his hands and rubbed his face.

He didn't know how long he could protect the country.

But, I guess I have no choice but to grit my teeth and keep fighting.

Will the World Government return? Can they win this battle for global dominance against Roa?

Dressrosa is just one example.

Now everyone in the world knows that this side of the Red Line has become a living hell.

A madman named Roa ruthlessly ravages the people living in the North Blue, West Blue, and New World with the utmost malice.

All the laughter and happiness have vanished, leaving only pain and despair.

However, not everyone was overjoyed.

The pirates, representing chaos, thrived in these three seas.

Of course, hope also exists even in such a hell.

The entity known as the Revolutionary Army has been relentlessly resisting.

Although each defeat ended in a crushing defeat, they never gave up.

Therefore, because of their perseverance, even though they suffered repeated defeats, there were still people who placed their hopes on them.

After all, it's already remarkable that someone would dare to stand up in such a situation!

Of course, the people living on this side of the Red Line place their greatest hopes on the World Government.

They are the only force in the world capable of challenging the pirate alliance led by Roa.

Although the West Blue and the North Blue have been taken away, we have no choice but to trust them, right?

Meanwhile, the World Government, on which high hopes were placed, remained inactive throughout the year, quietly expanding its power.

In the New World, high in the sky, a vast Calamity City floats silently.

Roa stood quietly at the edge of this enormous sky city.

After more than a year, Roa, who is almost eighteen, has matured a bit more.

The childishness of youth has almost completely disappeared from his face, replaced by a sense of composure, and he is also taller than he was a year ago.

At this moment, Roa's eyes were filled with determination.

He slightly separated his legs, bent his knees and lowered his waist, and placed his hands apart in a claw shape at his waist, with his hands overlapping like flower buds.

"Card!"

Roa suddenly roared.

"Plum!"

A black dot suddenly appeared between his hands.

The black dot was constantly jumping around, appearing very unstable.

Dark Inazuma surged forth from this black dot.

"Ha!"

The black dot was rapidly expanding, growing to the size of Roa's fist in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, the Haki Inazuma leaping from the black sphere densely dyed the entire sky black.

"Plum!"

The leaping black Inazuma vanished in that instant, seemingly all of it receding into the black sphere.

In that instant, everything calmed down.

The wind fell silent, and the clouds froze.

"Ha!"

With a final roar, Roa pushed his hands forward.

Black beams of light roared from between his hands, piercing the sky in an instant like a sword under the command of a god.

The vast white sea of clouds ahead was instantly cleaved open, and a jet-black beam of light pierced through everything in its path before disappearing into the deepest part of the sky.

Finally, the black pillar of light slowly dissipated, leaving only remnants of black Inazuma leaping across the sky.

The remaining Haki Inazuma crackled on Roa's outstretched hands as well.

He withdrew his hand, straightened up, and slowly exhaled.

Is this really still Haki?

Katakuri was standing behind him with his arms crossed, smirked.

"This is the result of your cultivation!"

Roa raised his right hand, and a black substance, like flowing water, surged from his hand, gathering into a small stream that swirled around his palm.

"That is,"

Roa suddenly clenched his fist, and black raindrops exploded, creating sharp whistling sounds in the air. His tone was tinged with anger, "Can't find Imu's guy!"

"What the hell! That guy is such a spoilsport! We finally finished the repairs, and then the enemy just vanished!"

Not long ago, when I went to the Red Line to find Imu to verify the results of my training, I discovered that Mary Geoise had not been repaired at all. Imu, the World Government, the remaining Celestial Dragons, everything had vanished without a trace.

"Looks like they want to play hide-and-seek with us."

Katakuri smiled. "They're all lurking in the shadows. Now let's see who shows their weakness first."

Roa sighed dejectedly.

The Dark Forest Theory of Trenching.

It's incredibly frustrating to have mastered such amazing skills but still not be able to find the enemy.

"We need to figure out a way to find that guy's whereabouts."

Roa stroked his chin.

Even after completing his training in Haki, he still couldn't defeat Imu. However, the dark energy in this world was gradually becoming denser, indicating that the next evolution was approaching.

In other words, the final battle is definitely not far off.

But if they can't even find it, what's the point of talking about a decisive battle?

As the King of the World, you've actually gone into hiding. Imu, you're despicable now!

At that moment, Dylan arrived in a hurry.

"Boss! Something came up."

"Oh?"

Roa turned around, "Has the World Government attacked?"

No, not at all.

Dylan shook his head, then said, "The men below found a Devil Fruit and intended to present it to you, but it was stolen by government agents!"

"Oh?"

Roa raised an eyebrow.

The World Government has never stopped testing the pirate alliance.

The North Blue, the West Blue, and the New World —these three seas harbor countless agents of the World Government, a number even Stussy doesn't fully understand.

If Roa weren't completely indifferent to all the countries under his command, the World Government would probably have sent people to sabotage them long ago.

"Devil Fruit would make World Government agents risk exposure to steal?"

Katakuri asked curiously, "What is it? Mythical Zoan?"

"It's not Mythical Zoan."

Dylan said in a deep voice, "It's Logia Dark-Dark Fruit!"

"Whoa!"