Grand Line, Paradise—
Above the clouds, a dragon's roar boomed like thunder.
On the sea, dozens of warships formed a circular formation, every broadside cannon port thrown open and aimed at the single focal point ahead.
There, a three-masted sailing ship was charging straight at the encirclement with savage force.
"Target has entered range—!"
On the flagship's command deck, a Marine officer raised his right hand, his voice taut.
"Fire!!"
His arm came down.
More than two hundred heavy cannons roared at once, their deafening thunder drowning out the crashing waves!
Fiery flashes linked together along the broadsides in a blazing red sheet as thick smoke billowed.
It was enough firepower to wipe a small town off the map.
Yet something bizarre happened.
When the shells were still a hundred meters from the ship, they all exploded in midair.
The explosions continued without end, yet not even a trace of their aftermath reached the ship.
"Wooooo!"
At the bow, the pirates waved their blades and flintlock rifles, cheering and jeering at the explosions overhead.
"Mom! Mom! That was incredible!"
"As expected of Lady Linlin!!"
Beside the figurehead, the towering Charlotte Linlin held the thundercloud Zeus in one hand and the blazing sun Prometheus in the other.
She bared her lips, painted with vivid lipstick, in a grin.
"MaMa, mama!"
"What an enthusiastic welcome, Rocks! But it looks like we're surrounded."
Beside her stood a man like a demonic god, positioned at the very front.
His blue-and-white pointed hair whipped wildly in the sea breeze, while his cape, stained with gunpowder smoke and blood, snapped in the wind.
"Surrounded?" Rocks grinned, flashing his stark white teeth. "Then we just charge out."
"They want to stop me? Then we'll pave ourselves a road wide enough with Marine corpses!"
"Men," he said, turning his head slightly as his voice suddenly rose.
"Full speed ahead! Smash them! Rob them clean! Let this sea remember who calls the shots!!"
"OOOH!!!"
The roar seemed to overturn the deck.
The ship accelerated once more, hurtling straight toward the flagship at the center of the Marine formation!
It was a completely suicidal charge.
Just then.
Directly ahead, the targeted massive flagship also cut through the waves, charging forward without yielding an inch.
On its deck stood a broad-chested figure wearing only a shirt.
Rocks's gaze collided explosively across hundreds of meters with that razor-sharp stare!
"Pirates—!"
Garp's voice rolled like thunder, brimming with fury.
"This ends here!!"
Rocks burst into loud laughter.
"Garp, considering you helped me at God Valley, I'll give you one chance."
"If you don't want to die, take your men and leave!"
"You mean," Garp said, his brows knotting together, "you can kill me whenever you want?!"
"You bring up God Valley."
"Then I'll bring up the entire G-14 fleet. You killed three hundred and twenty-seven of my soldiers!"
"I'll never let you take another step forward and keep doing whatever you please!!"
The smile vanished from Rocks's face in an instant.
"Can't be helped... they were just too much of a nuisance."
As the last few words left his mouth, he suddenly drew the curved blade at his waist and stepped forward.
Rocks vanished in a flash, appearing in midair the next second.
He was directly above Garp's flagship.
He raised his curved blade overhead, black-red Haki coiling around it.
Abyssal Curse!!
Below, Garp took a deep breath and drew back his right fist.
Fist Bone: Seabed Drop!!
He lowered his stance and drove a fist upward.
The purest, most overwhelming violence of two eras collided thunderously above the sea!
Then came an eruption of sound and light, splitting the clouds apart in an instant.
Several nearby medium-sized warships bore the brunt of it and were effortlessly overturned.
Black Conqueror's Haki lightning ran wild through the heart of the explosion, lashing in every direction.
"Garp, I'll help you!!"
As the two clashed.
A second warship some distance away suddenly erupted with incomparably majestic golden radiance.
That golden light rapidly swelled and shifted, becoming a solemn, fully gilded Buddha statue.
Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Buddha Form
The golden Buddha opened its eyes wide and looked down over the battlefield. Its right palm rose to its side as light gathered and compressed within it.
"Rocks! Today, you—"
Sengoku's voice rang like a great bell, but he could not finish.
Because the dragon's roar above the clouds, which had never stopped, rose to its peak at that moment.
ROAR—!!!
A massive dragon head covered in azure scales emerged from the clouds, locking onto the most conspicuous target below—the golden Buddha.
Then the dragon opened its jaws.
Deep in its throat, a point of crimson-gold light rapidly gathered!
Blast Breath!!!
A crimson-gold pillar of fire erupted from the dragon's mouth.
The remaining rain clouds in its path evaporated in an instant, while the sea below boiled and vaporized, sending white mist soaring into the sky.
Sengoku's pupils contracted. He had no choice but to thrust forward his right palm, which had been gathering energy, to defend against the incoming attack.
Bzzzz—
The crimson-gold fire pillar slammed brutally into the shockwave Sengoku had unleashed!
A more violent explosion blossomed in midair.
And before the afterglow had faded.
Kaido tore through the smoke screen and plunged from the sky.
BANG!!!
He crashed heavily onto the deck of Sengoku's warship, tilting the entire massive vessel.
From the dust emerged a bare-chested Oni giant with two horns, slowly straightening as he flicked his dragon tail.
"Wororororo!!"
Amid that wild, unrestrained laughter.
Kaido swung Hassaikai one-handed, whipping up a vicious gale as he swept it at the waist of the golden Buddha, which had only just regained its footing!
CLANG—!!!
Hassaikai struck Sengoku in the side. Even though it failed to break through the Buddha Form's defenses.
His enormous body still flew sideways out of control.
He smashed through two layers of cabin walls before barely coming to a stop.
Yet the golden glow only dimmed for an instant before blazing brightly again.
Rubble exploded outward as Sengoku stepped from the breach.
The golden radiance around him surged higher and higher along with his boiling fighting spirit.
Kaido casually rested his spiked club over his shoulder, baring a mouthful of sharp teeth as he stared intensely at Sengoku.
"The Buddha Fruit... a fine Mythical Zoan."
"But it looks like you still haven't truly chewed up and swallowed its potential, Sengoku."
Kaido tilted his head, his tone carrying undisguised provocation.
He suddenly raised his spiked club and pointed its tip from afar at the imposing golden Buddha.
Then he made a suggestion that left every Marine who heard it dumbfounded and furious.
"Hey, Sengoku, how about quitting that boring Marine system and joining my side?"
Kaido grinned viciously.
"We can exchange research. I guarantee we'll develop the potential of Mythical Zoans better!"
"Wororororo!!"
No emotion could be read on Sengoku's golden Buddha face, but the surging golden light around him revealed the fury in his heart.
"Utterly arrogant."
"How dare a heretic like you profane the conviction of justice."
"Justice? Can that stuff fill your stomach? Can it make you stronger?" Kaido sneered.
"It's nothing but a pretty set of shackles weaklings put on themselves!"
Before his words had even faded, Kaido pounced again.
His spiked club and the golden Buddha's palm collided once more, scattering shockwaves everywhere.
The entire sea had become a battlefield for monsters.
Meanwhile.
Far away, in another calm stretch of sea.
The White Shell...
Moria leaned against the cabin doorway, his head bobbing little by little.
The afternoon's training had drained his strength. Now that he was full and well-rested, drowsiness gradually overtook him.
Suddenly, a tremor.
It seemed to come from the distant depths of the sea. It lasted only an instant before vanishing.
Moria startled awake.
He hurried onto the deck and looked around.
The sea all around was calm. There was no wind, and the waves were small.
Everything seemed normal.
"Was it my imagination...?"
Moria scanned the area, and his gaze suddenly stopped at the starboard railing.
Ginny was lying over it, her upper body stretched beyond the rail as she stared down at the sea without moving.
"Hey." Moria walked over. "What are you doing?"
Ginny turned around and placed her index finger against her lips.
"Shh—"
Her expression was a little... tense.
"Do you feel it?" Ginny lowered her voice. "It's too quiet around here."
Moria froze, then looked around again.
"Since earlier, there hasn't been a single seabird in sight."
"And..."
She paused, lowering her voice even further.
"It feels like the currents have changed too."
Moria held his breath and observed carefully.
The sound of waves slapping against the hull was still there, but the sails did not so much as tremble.
The entire sea had fallen into complete stillness.
"Just now," Moria swallowed, "I think I felt the ship shake."
Ginny did not answer.
She leaned over the railing again, her eyes fixed on the dark blue water below.
The sea was deep, and no light reached the bottom.
A blurry shadow could vaguely be seen beneath the surface. Gradually, it moved.
The shadow slowly rose. Its outline was hazy, but it grew larger and closer, until...
Blurp.
An eyeball wider than a medium-sized cargo ship rose from beneath the sea and stopped there.
Its vertical pupil slowly turned.
Finally, it stopped.
It met the gaze of Ginny, who was leaning over the railing.
Before you continue