Sakazuki's Guardian

The air in the jungle was thick, shadows swayed among the trees, and even the wind seemed too afraid to draw near.

The charging pirates had no idea that what they were pursuing was not some "lone boy," but a young beast tempered by lightning.

Sakazuki gripped his short blade tightly, the tips of his toes sinking slightly.

The next instant, cracks spread across the ground beneath his feet!

"Hah—!!!"

His entire body shot toward the first pirate like an arrow loosed from a fully drawn bow.

The pirate raised his sword and laughed wildly. "Die, brat—!"

Before he could finish shouting, Sakazuki had already slipped beneath his armpit. He moved so fast that his afterimage had yet to fade, his short blade striking from an impossible angle—

"Psh—!!!"

The blade pierced through his chest.

Hot blood sprayed out, splattering the leaves and staining a patch of green red.

The pirate's pupils constricted. An unwilling gurgle escaped his throat, but he collapsed before he could spit out one final curse.

Sakazuki pulled out his blade without even sparing him a glance. His eyes held only cold killing intent and unwavering resolve.

The charging pirates realized something was wrong and shouted, "Surround him! Don't let him get away!!"

"Chop him to pieces together!!!"

More than a dozen pirates roared as they charged in, but to Sakazuki, their movements were as slow as crawling insects.

Every detailed movement Rock had taught him was now reproduced with precision through his body:

Duck low and evade!

Sidestep and circle around!

Use the tree trunk to rebound!

Seize an opening and strike a vital point!

"Hah!!!"

The short blade swept through the air, leaving only a cold flash of silver.

"Psh! Psh! Psh!"

Three pirates fell almost simultaneously.

One had his throat slit open.

One had his heart pierced through.

One was cut across the abdomen and collapsed screaming.

His movements were flawless, more precise than those of even the most experienced hunter.

The pirates' expressions changed completely. They finally realized that the person before them was not a "boy."

He was the god of death.

"What kind of monster is this brat?!!"

"Impossible! He's obviously just a child!!"

"His speed! We can't see him at all!!!"

Fear spread like wildfire.

Sakazuki continued charging forward and instantly closed in on a pirate. He sliced off the man's wrist with a backhanded slash, then smoothly cut open his carotid artery.

"Psh—!!!"

The pirate's eyes widened as he fell in despair. The entire sequence had taken no more than a second.

One pirate staggered back in terror. "You... what are you?!"

Sakazuki, now directly before him, quietly uttered two words: "Justice."

The next instant, the short blade pierced his heart.

In just five minutes, the screams in the forest gradually faded, replaced by dead silence.

Dozens of pirates lay scattered across the ground, some piled atop one another, their eyes wide open.

Their final words before death had all trembled with terror: "D-Demon...!!"

Sakazuki panted lightly. The knuckles gripping his short blade had turned white from exertion, and his wrist trembled faintly from the sheer number of kills.

Yet his back remained perfectly straight.

He lowered his head and looked at the blade in his hand. His eyes were reflected along its edge.

Steadfast, sharp, and unwilling to yield.

Somewhere in the sky, the thunderclouds had yet to arrive, but the lightning came first.

A silver-white bolt of Thunder trailed a long tail as it carved a dazzling path across the heavens.

Rock hovered in midair as if listening to something, one brow lifting slightly.

"Hm? Over by that little island..."

The trace of lightning he had left inside Sakazuki sent back faint ripples.

"Tch, he ran into pirates that quickly? The North Blue really is a mess..."

Lightning danced across his fingertips, but the next second, he broke into a grin. "Still, with that kid's current strength~"

"And the little toy I left him..."

At that, Rock tilted his head up toward the distant horizon, a wild smile curling across his lips. "In the original story, you could slaughter your way through the North Blue alone, Sakazuki."

"I believe in you."

"I'm so relieved that I can't even be bothered to look back~"

With that, lightning suddenly exploded through the air.

"Bzzzt—!!!"

His entire body transformed into a blinding bolt of lightning and sped off in another direction, continuing his journey.

—Back to the unnamed island.

In the jungle, the wind rustled the leaves and dispersed the last trace of blood in the air.

Bodies lay sprawled across the ground amid dirt and grass roots, the pirates' eyes still frozen in the terror they had felt before death.

And in the center of that sea of blood, only one person remained standing.

Sakazuki was drenched in blood, but all of it belonged to his enemies. His breathing gradually steadied, and the short blade remained firmly in his hand.

The wind drifted past, carrying away the stench of blood. He slowly raised his arm and flicked the blood-covered blade to the side—

"Whoosh—!!"

An arc of blood fell into the dirt.

He had not wavered because he had killed so many people, nor had he been consumed by the desire to kill and revealed a cruel expression...

There was only a resolve that would never bend, even after wading through hell. He raised his head toward the sky, toward the direction where the lightning had vanished.

"Rock..."

He clenched his short blade tighter. Blood dripped from his fingertips. Even after such a bloody battle, the boy was still like a freshly drawn blade, sharp enough to cut the eye.

"I'll catch up to you soon."

Marine Headquarters, Marineford, Fleet Admiral's Office

The sea breeze blew in through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, carrying with it a salty dampness and a grim chill.

The man seated behind the desk was the "pillar" capable of putting the entire Marine force at ease—

—Fleet Admiral Kong.

His body was like a mountain, his tawny skin seeming as though it had been cast from bronze, and his chest was broad enough to bear an entire sea.

His mountain-shaped sideburns and beard were exceptionally eye-catching, while beneath his sleeveless black shirt were explosive lines of muscle.

A heavy Fleet Admiral's cape rested upon his shoulders, yet he wore it as naturally as combat gear.

At that moment, his brows were tightly furrowed as he worked through a mountain of documents.

"Click—"

The office door was pushed open.

The young Sengoku entered. His signature black afro sat atop his head, and though his expression was solemn, it could not conceal the shock in his heart.

Behind him stood the young Tsuru, calm-faced and sharp-eyed.

Though she had not yet become the "Wise Tsuru," her imposing presence had already begun to show.

Kong looked up at the sound and asked in a deep voice, "Have you found him? That boy who uses lightning."

Sengoku gently shook his head. "No. We tracked every suspicious phenomenon across the Grand Line, but we have received no reports of any lightning ability appearing recently."

Tsuru took over, her tone grave. "But we can confirm that the intelligence is true. A boy really did go to Hachinosu alone."

A cold gleam flashed through Kong's eyes. "Challenging Rocks alone? In this era... even if we joined forces, we would have to think twice before facing him."

Sengoku took a deep breath and continued, "According to information sent back by the agents planted on Hachinosu—"

"Not only was that boy astonishingly powerful, he even declared in front of all those monsters that he wanted to join the Marines."

"If that spy had not risked his life to secretly send the information..."

"We would never have known what happened on Hachinosu that day!"

Even Tsuru revealed rare surprise. "To emerge unscathed from a den of monsters like the Rocks Pirates... 'genius' is no longer enough to describe him."

Sengoku frowned and added in a low voice, "And according to the spy's description... Rocks bore him no hostility."

Kong gently set down the pen in his hand and rose to his feet. His cape billowed through the air, his presence rolling forth like mountains and seas.

"That boy... managed to leave alive under Rocks's very nose."

"We cannot afford to miss a monster like that."

His gaze blazed as he looked toward the Marine flag outside the window.

"Find him."

"No matter the price—"

"The Marines must recruit him!"

Sengoku and Tsuru straightened at the same time, their voices ringing out in unison:

"Yes!"