Become My Right-Hand Man!

"Sengoku, spacing out will get you killed horribly!"

Wang Zhi brought one hand down like a massive object falling from the sky.

His huge eyes were made from two houses, blinking away.

Enraged, Sengoku thrust out a palm and hurled Shane toward the sea.

"How boring~"

Captain John staggered over.

He poured the last mouthful of liquor from his flask.

"Liquor Fire Extinction!"

Whoosh!

Liquor mist and flames poured out together.

Marines and pirates who stepped into the mist immediately grew dizzy and collapsed.

The destructive power unleashed by the flames was also astonishing.

"What a swarm of flies that won't die!"

Sengoku turned and threw Kaido toward the sea as well.

With one hand, he moved to subdue John!

The battle between the three shook heaven and earth, occupying one corner of the battlefield.

Golden Buddhist light suppressed all evil.

Sengoku alone gave nearly ten thousand Marines hope.

Burning flames were still a rare form of attack at this time.

Wherever the liquor mist spread, John swayed, yet always managed to evade attacks.

Boulders, ships, and houses formed a giant that fought the Buddha Form.

Roar!

Two roars rang out at once.

Flame clouds enveloped their bodies.

A black dragon and an azure dragon leaped up together.

Not long after flying over the harbor, they felt it.

An aching soreness spread through their bodies.

But it didn't matter.

With a Zoan's recovery speed, there was no need to worry.

Kaido did not return to human form, appearing in his Hybrid Form instead.

The fighting was far too frenzied now.

Being in his normal form would be too dangerous!

Shane rolled his neck.

He confirmed that this was a war that would not end anytime soon.

God Valley had clearly fallen into a desperate situation.

The Marines, pirates, and Celestial Dragons were three parties, but in reality, only two camps.

"Stay out of my way, Silver Axe!"

Garp charged recklessly, fighting his way out of one corner of the battlefield.

When he appeared again, he stood between Gaban and Silver Axe.

"That fellow Newgate has his hands full!"

"Garp, let's continue!"

Roger held down his straw hat.

Smiling, he coated his blade in Haki.

The two appeared.

Gaban and Silver Axe, who had been locked in a bitter struggle, looked helpless.

"Hey! This is our fight!"

"Can't you two move farther away? You'll hit us!"

Everyone was giving their all, but that didn't mean they could steal someone else's fight!

"Then we'll be taking this spot, Gaban!"

Roger rolled up his sleeves, unleashing all Three Types of Haki at full power!

"Just what I had in mind!"

Veins bulged on Garp's forehead.

"Fist Bone Collision!"

"Divine Departure!"

Boom!

Haki collided.

Pitch-black lightning tore the sky apart.

The clouds instantly shattered.

A storm swept across the ground.

In the blink of an eye.

The combined impact of their Haki knocked out all the nearby pirates and Marines at once.

Their eyes rolled back after they fell.

"Haki! This is true Haki."

"What we can master and comprehend is only the beginning!"

"Those advanced forms of Haki are the pinnacle of the seas!"

"Shane! One day, we'll have this power too."

"Give it everything you've got. If we survive to the end of this battle, join forces with me!"

Kaido witnessed the battle firsthand.

He turned to Shane, his eyes filled with anticipation and the glow of sunset.

The fighting had gone on for too long.

Evening approached.

The setting sun tore the land into one patch after another.

Orange light shrouded the area beyond God Valley.

But the canyon and mountains stood in silhouette.

They cleaved the world in two.

Boom!

The ground shook again.

No one knew their own future.

For one fleeting instant.

Everyone thought they were close to what Rocks had promised.

Close enough to become new gods in this valley named after gods.

For the Marines.

God Valley was hell, a place with no escape.

One comrade after another fell.

Den Den Mushi rang incessantly.

Those above were still issuing new orders.

Shane saw pirates and Marines perish together with his own eyes.

By coincidence.

Both had photographs of their families tucked against their chests.

Cannon fire was the war's background music, and the cries of battle its drumbeat.

Blood soaked the bodies of friend and foe alike.

Only the Celestial Dragons remained as self-important as ever.

"You all deserve to die!"

Saint Saturn, one of the Five Elders, thrust at him.

Shane swiftly dodged.

Using Soru with Geppo allowed him to move instantaneously in any situation, without blind spots.

"His horns."

Instead of receiving Shane's answer, Kaido found himself facing Saint Saturn of the Five Elders.

"A devil. He looks a little like your oni features, doesn't he?"

"They call themselves gods, but they're the real devils."

Shane clenched his fists.

There wasn't a single empty spot on the battlefield.

At the harbor, Sengoku, Wang Zhi, and Captain John were locked in a chaotic battle.

Closer to the plaza were Gaban and Silver Axe.

Now Garp and Roger had taken their spot.

Kaido and Shane rushed toward the plaza.

Several treasure chests there were still under the protection of the Holy Knights and the Marines.

But Saint Saturn left the battle between Golden Lion and Rayleigh.

He thrust at Shane.

Fortunately, Shane had anticipated it and dodged in advance.

"He'll still look like this decades from now."

"After all, devils don't age."

A light appeared in Shane's eyes.

He also had an answer to Kaido's earlier question.

"Kaido!"

"You asked me whether I wanted to start a pirate crew."

"You said you wanted to reach the pinnacle of the seas and become a king."

"You said we had to master the strongest Haki and power."

"I think I've found my own answer too."

The violet lightning on Shane's fists stirred disgust in Saint Saturn.

That violet light was closer to pure white than blue-white lightning!

Saint Saturn recalled a fear etched into his bones.

"Do you know who causes wars?"

"What Rocks wants, what the Marines must protect."

"It's all because of the Celestial Dragons!"

"If you don't turn this world upside down!"

"You can never call yourself the King of the World!"

Shane searched for that faint trace of presence.

He only felt that he was continually tapping into his life force.

If Haki truly was a thread hidden within the human body.

Then.

He should keep hammering away at his potential to truly obtain it.

"Before I exhaust all my potential!"

"Let's try Life Return!"

"First, I'll completely surpass human limits!"

Shane pushed his lightning to its utmost.

He shocked himself to stimulate his cells' activity.

His speed and strength were both driven to their limits.

The sun gradually sank.

The crescent moon of that moment.

Was the full moon on this shore.

Shane gazed at the moonlight.

Saint Saturn merely sensed a feeling of dread.

It was not the oppressive feeling that power brought.

It was that terrifying ideology that had lain dormant for centuries!

"Die with those damned ideas of yours!"

"The Celestial Dragons will forever rule the world!"

"We are this world's creators and gods!"

Saint Saturn's cane grew along with his body.

It was a form with multiple spider appendages, two horns atop his head, and the black flames of Awakening around his body!

"How stubborn!"

A thrust came.

His massive physique exuded an overwhelming sense of pressure, like a giant.

Rob Lucci, thirty-eight years later, still had the build of an ordinary person despite likewise having a Zoan Awakening.

Devil Fruits differed in strength.

Even among the Celestial Dragons, there were distinctions of rank and status.

"You want to overturn the world? Not a bad choice! Shane!"

Kaido struck back, his spiked club in hand.

Boom!

Blue and purple lightning appeared at the same time.

Kaido and Shane had joined forces.

Scenes from his youth flashed through his mind.

From a war machine to being offered up as an object.

From slaughtering foes on all sides to being recruited into the Rocks Pirates.

Where would I go in the future?

Kaido had never considered staying with Linlin.

He did not want to become the next Streusen.

Then I'll set sail!

Found my own pirate crew!

"Become my right-hand man! Shane!"

"I'm going to be a captain myself, Kaido!"