Blast Breath, Calm Seas

Grand Line, Paradise—

Above the clouds, a dragon's roar rumbled like thunder.

On the sea, dozens of warships spread out in a circular formation, every broadside cannon port open and aimed at the single focal point ahead.

There, a three-masted sailing ship charged straight toward the encirclement with brutal 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 sound of the waves!

Flames formed a blazing crimson line along the broadsides, while thick smoke billowed.

It was a barrage powerful enough to erase a small town from the map.

Yet something bizarre happened.

When the cannonballs were still a hundred meters from the ship, they all exploded in midair.

The explosions continued without end, yet not even a trace of the shockwaves reached the ship.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

At the bow, the pirates waved swords, spears, and flintlock guns, cheering and jeering at the explosions in the sky.

"Mom! Mom! That was amazing!"

"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 split her thickly painted lips into a grin.

"MaMa, mama!"

"What an enthusiastic welcome, Rocks! But it looks like we're surrounded."

Beside her, the man standing at the forefront loomed like a demon god.

His blue-and-white spiked hair whipped wildly in the sea breeze, while his cape, stained with gunpowder and blood, snapped behind him.

"Surrounded?" Rocks bared his white teeth in a grin. "Then we just charge out."

"You want to stop me? Then use Marine corpses to pave us a road wide enough to pass!"

"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!!"

"Yeah!!!"

The roar nearly lifted the deck.

The ship's speed surged once more as it slammed straight toward the flagship at the center of the Marine formation!

They looked fully prepared to perish together.

Then—

Directly ahead, the massive flagship they had targeted also cleaved through the waves, charging straight at them without retreating.

On its deck stood a broad-chested figure wearing only a shirt.

Rocks's gaze collided explosively across hundreds of meters with that sharp pair of eyes!

"Pirates—!"

Garp's voice rolled like thunder, filled with fury.

"This ends here!!"

Rocks threw back his head and laughed.

"Garp, considering you helped me at God Valley, I'll give you a chance."

"If you don't want to die, take your men and leave!"

"You mean," Garp said, his brows twisting together, "that you can kill me whenever you want?!"

"You bring up God Valley."

"Then I'll bring up the G-14 fleet. You killed three hundred and twenty-seven of my soldiers!"

"I will never let you take another step forward and continue your rampage!!"

The smile vanished from Rocks's face in an instant.

"Can't be helped... they were just too much of a nuisance."

The moment the last words left his mouth, he yanked the curved blade from his waist and stepped forward.

Rocks vanished, 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 drew a deep breath and pulled back his right fist.

"Fist Bone: Seabed Drop!!"

He rooted his stance and blasted a punch upward.

The purest, most extreme violence of two eras collided high above the sea!

Then came a thunderous boom and a burst of light that split apart the clouds overhead.

Several nearby medium-sized warships were the first to suffer, easily overturned.

Black Conqueror's Haki lightning writhed and lashed wildly at the center of the explosion.

"Garp, I'll help you!!"

As the two clashed—

An incomparably majestic golden radiance erupted from another support ship some distance away.

The golden light rapidly expanded and transformed, becoming a solemn Buddha statue covered in gleaming gold.

"Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Buddha Form."

The golden Buddha's eyes opened wide as he looked down upon the battlefield. He raised his right palm beside himself, light gathering and compressing within it.

"Rocks! Today will be your—"

Sengoku's voice rang like a great bell, but he could not finish his sentence.

Because above the clouds, the dragon's roar that had never ceased rose to its peak at that moment.

"Roar—!!!"

A colossal dragon head covered in azure scales emerged from the clouds, locking onto the most conspicuous figure below: the golden Buddha.

Then the dragon opened its jaws.

A speck of crimson-gold light rapidly gathered deep within its throat!

"Blast Breath!!!"

A pillar of crimson-gold fire erupted from the dragon's mouth.

The remaining rain clouds in its path instantly evaporated, while the sea below boiled and vaporized, sending white mist soaring into the sky.

Sengoku's pupils contracted. Left with no choice, he thrust forward his right palm, which had been gathering energy, to defend against the incoming attack.

Bzzzt—

The crimson-gold pillar of fire crashed viciously into the shockwave released by Sengoku!

An even more violent explosion blossomed in midair.

And before the afterglow had faded—

Kaido tore through the smoke and fell from the sky.

Boom!!!

He crashed heavily onto the deck of Sengoku's warship, causing the entire massive vessel to tilt.

Amid the dust, a bare-chested, horned oni giant slowly straightened up and flicked his dragon tail.

"Wororororo!!"

Amid his wild, unrestrained laughter—

Kaido swung Hassaikai with one hand, whipping up a vicious gale as he swept it at the waist of the golden Buddha, who had only just regained his footing!

Clang—!!!

Hassaikai struck Sengoku in the side. Even though the Buddha Form's defenses were not breached—

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 radiance dimmed for only an instant before blazing fiercely once more.

Rubble exploded outward as Sengoku stepped out of the hole one step at a time.

The golden light around his body surged higher and higher along with his boiling fighting spirit.

Kaido casually rested his spiked club on his shoulder, baring a mouth full of sharp teeth as he stared intensely at Sengoku.

"The Buddha Fruit... a pretty good Mythical Zoan."

"But it looks like you haven't truly chewed up and swallowed its potential yet, Sengoku."

Kaido tilted his head, his tone openly provocative.

He suddenly raised his spiked club and pointed its tip toward the solemn golden Buddha from afar.

Then he made a suggestion that left every Marine who heard it dumbfounded and enraged.

"Hey, Sengoku, why not quit that boring Marine system and join my side?"

Kaido grinned savagely.

"We can trade notes and study it together. I guarantee we'll develop the potential of Mythical Zoans even better!"

"Wororororo!!"

No expression could be seen on Sengoku's golden Buddha face, but the surging golden light around him revealed his inner fury.

"Utterly arrogant."

"How dare a heretic like you profane the belief of justice."

"Justice? Can that stuff fill your stomach? Can it make you stronger?" Kaido sneered.

"It is nothing more than a pretty shackle the weak put on themselves!"

Before his words had even faded, Kaido lunged again.

The spiked club and golden Buddha palm collided once more, sending shockwaves in every direction.

This entire stretch of 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 satisfied, sleepiness was slowly washing over him.

Suddenly, a tremor ran through the ship.

It felt as though it had come from the distant seabed. It lasted only an instant before vanishing.

Moria jolted awake.

He hurried onto the deck and looked around.

The sea around them was calm. There was no wind, and the waves were small.

Everything was normal.

"Was it an illusion...?"

Moria scanned the surroundings, then his gaze suddenly stopped at the starboard railing.

Ginny was leaning over it, her upper body extending past the rail as she stared down at the sea without moving.

"Hey." Moria walked over. "What are you doing?"

Ginny turned around and raised a finger to her lips.

"Shh—"

Her expression was a little... tense.

"Did you notice," Ginny said in a low voice, "how quiet it is 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 further.

"The current seems to have changed too."

Moria held his breath and observed carefully.

The sound of waves slapping against the hull remained, yet the sails did not tremble in the slightest.

This entire sea had fallen into absolute 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 light could not reach its depths.

A vague shadow could faintly be seen beneath the surface. Gradually, it moved.

The shadow slowly rose. Its outline was blurred, 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.

Then it stopped.

It met Ginny's gaze as she leaned over the railing.