Engagement

Hachinosu Island, inside a lavishly decorated room.

A towering man clad in gleaming silver armor casually picked up a bottle of wine, flicked off its neck, poured the amber liquid into his mouth, and then tossed it aside.

Smash!

The exquisitely crafted, lavish wine bottle shattered into worthless fragments the instant it struck the smooth jade floor.

The man wiped his mouth dismissively and said impatiently,

"Hey! John, didn't you say Shiki would be making a move on you any moment now? How long has it been? Why hasn't he shown up yet?!"

"Hehehe~ No rush. He'll come."

Another man with pale purple hair sat in the room, holding a bottle of fine red wine from the West Blue as he spoke casually.

This grinning man, dressed in a captain's coat with two ornate swords at his waist, was none other than "Captain" John, Shiki's target this time.

"My men already sent word. This morning, they saw Kaido and Linlin's ships appear in the same waters."

"Hmph! Whether they've arrived or not, not a single coin of the treasure promised to us can be missing! Otherwise, don't blame me for forgetting our old friendship!"

A tall pirate in golden armor with a long beard spoke calmly from the corner.

At the mention of "treasure," a strange glint flashed through John's eyes, but he readily agreed.

"Don't worry. Not a single gold coin owed to you will be missing, I guarantee it~"

"That's more like it! Hey, you there, bring me some meat! And find a few women—"

BOOM!!!

Before he could finish, the entire island suddenly began to shake.

"An earthquake?"

"No, it's an enemy attack! Shiki and the others are here!"

The three immediately rose to their feet, gripped their weapons, and headed for the plaza.

Outside, chaos had already erupted. The smell of smoke, dirt, and rust stabbed into everyone's nostrils.

"You've finally arrived, Captain!"

"Captain John, save us!"

"The sky! Look at the sky!"

The three looked up to discover countless enormous boulders falling from the sky, mixed with quite a few familiar pirate ships.

Those were the vessels stationed on the islands surrounding Hachinosu Island, responsible for reconnaissance. Yet Golden Lion had silently lifted them into the air, leaving them unable to send out so much as a warning.

The next moment, an arrogant laugh rang out from above.

"Shihahahaha! Long time no see, John! Have you been taking good care of my treasure?"

"Shiki, you bastard, you finally showed up!"

The smile on John's face had vanished. Shiki's words, "my treasure," had thoroughly enraged him.

"All the treasure belongs to me! Don't even think about laying a finger on it! Otherwise, I'll chop off your claws!"

"Mama~ mama~ You're still the same, John. The moment treasure comes up, it's like you become a different person. But don't forget, if greed eats too much, it'll choke to death."

BIG MOM appeared at that moment as well, riding the thundercloud Zeus down from the sky.

"You're not exactly qualified to say that, Linlin."

The response came from the tall pirate in embroidered robes and golden armor, with a long beard. He had already drawn the greatsword at his waist and taken his place beside John.

"What a lot of familiar faces. It's been several years since we last met, hasn't it?"

"Shihahahaha~ That's right. This is the first time we've met since Rocks died, isn't it? How about it, Ochoku? Join me, and let's take this world together!"

Shiki did not care in the slightest that they were currently enemies as he laughed and extended an invitation.

"You bastard, I thought you were a lot like Rocks even back then. Arrogant fools like you always treat the world as if it were already in your pocket."

"Looks like staying in the sky too long has made your ambitions grow as well," the silver-armored pirate, Silver Axe, mocked from the side.

"Enough with the nonsense! Hurry up and fight! I've been dying to have a good battle!"

At last, Kaido, who had long since run out of patience, appeared from the sky in Dragon Form and blasted Heat Breath straight at the three below.

"Who would have thought that the apprentice from back then would grow to this extent?"

John drew his swords and cut through the scorching Dragon Breath, his expression turning somewhat serious.

"John is mine. The rest of you can choose your own opponents." Shiki swung his sword, sending a massive golden slash hurtling toward John.

"Flying Slash!"

"Mama~ mama~ Fine by me. Kaido, let's go over there." BIG MOM did not mind and dragged Kaido off toward another area.

"Let's go too." Silver Axe and Ochoku exchanged a glance before following them.

Shiki waved his hand and set all the ships in the sky down onto the island. The pirates aboard leaped down one after another and clashed at close quarters with John's men on Hachinosu Island.

The factions began a bloody, primitive slaughter across the vast plaza.

"Charge!" *n

"Kill!" *n

"Ha ha, kill them all! Rocks' Treasure will be ours!"

"You idiots actually dared come here? Let us show you what we can do!"

"Die! All of you, die! Hahahaha~"

Blade Dance Double Emperors!

King had transformed into his Pteranodon Form and was circling the sky. Countless blades slashed forth from between his wings, harvesting lives across the battlefield.

Mochi Mochi Rush!

Nearby, Katakuri of the BIG MOM Pirates also wielded his trident, Mogura, as he charged through the crowd, unstoppable.

At the center of several battlefields, the young officers of the Beasts Pirates and the BIG MOM Pirates shone brilliantly, drawing repeated stares from the surrounding pirates.

"Who the hell are these two brats? How are they so strong?!"

"They look like they're only in their teens, but that strength is clearly officer-level."

"Officers in their teens?!"

"That one wearing a scarf seems to be BIG MOM's son. What was his name again? Katakuri."

"What about that Zoan Type user?"

"He seems to be with the Beasts Pirates. I saw him following Kaido around earlier."

The Flying Pirates were all stunned by King and Katakuri's combat strength and began gathering information on the pair.

Golden Lion's territory was far from here, so they had rarely clashed with the Beasts or BIG MOM and knew little about those two Pirate Crews.

But the pirates of Hachinosu Island were different. As friendly neighbors who had a small fight every three days and a big fight every five, they knew everything about the two.

"It's King! Quick, call the officers over! We're no match for him!"

"Run! Don't let his flames touch you!"

"Katakuri, you bastard! Take my blade!"

"Big Brother Nid, come save me!"

Clang, clang, clang...

All of a sudden, countless steel needles struck King high in the air, producing crisp metallic sounds.

"Yo~ Long time no see, King."

"Nid."

King returned to human form and landed on the ground. Then he drew his long sword and stared at the man before him.

An officer of the John Pirates and a Paramecia Needle-Needle Fruit user—Nid.

Meanwhile, on the other battlefield, Katakuri also encountered his opponent: a man built like a chariot.

An officer of the John Pirates—Heavy Fist Hanmo!

At that moment, the officers' battles began.

PS: I directly used the zombies from Thriller Bark as the designs for Silver Axe and Ochoku. Their appearances felt fairly close.