King's Aptitude!

Conqueror's Haki roared.

Lightning coursed through God Valley like water.

It drifted between heaven and earth, tearing at the heart of every survivor.

Whoosh!

A bullet flew over from the other side of the valley.

But the moment the shooter fired, the Haki knocked him unconscious.

Shane tilted his head, easily dodging the bullet.

His eyes ached, white vapor escaped his mouth, and his internal organs burned.

But his Lineage Factor, every cell in his body, was validating Shane's rhythm.

Not only had he not died, he was growing stronger.

God Valley trembled.

Great masses of rock were shaken loose from the sheer cliffs.

Shane sidestepped out of the way, only for more rubble to come crashing down.

"Their Haki is too strong! There's nowhere left to stand in this valley!"

"Then run faster! Stay any longer and we'll die!"

"Damn it, who still has any strength left? We might as well all die together!"

The ground shook throughout the valley.

The clash of the three men's Haki inflicted physical damage.

Shane heard a crack from the cliff behind him.

Cracks spread without stopping, and a boulder the size of a warship broke off.

Whoosh!

At the critical moment, he dodged with Soru.

In this age without Pacifistas, Marines were the seas' main fighting force.

Now, vast numbers of reinforcements had been overwhelmed by Haki.

Those who remained were powerful fighters capable of withstanding Haki of this caliber!

At his peak, Shanks's Conqueror's Haki could knock out even elite Vice Admirals from headquarters!

(PS: in Uta's film, Red-Haired's demonstrated combat prowess included knocking out elite Vice Admirals from Marine Headquarters with Conqueror's Haki.)

Right now, Rocks, Roger, and Garp were fighting at their peaks.

It looked like a three-way standoff, but Rocks was actually the strongest!

Even as the other two exchanged blows, they still formed a pincer to oppose him.

Boom!

Sand and earth kept swirling up, and the Marines who had still been trying to land at the harbor were turned into stone statues on the spot.

Rocks had far too many wide-ranging destructive moves!

The Dark-Dark Fruit, the Love-Love Fruit, and Conqueror's Haki!

Every one of them could crush all the arriving reinforcements.

An advantage in numbers meant absolutely nothing against him!

"Hey! Haki at this level will make people lose consciousness!"

The Vice Admirals by the beach had been about to draw their swords and give chase.

But to their surprise, they were knocked unconscious by the powerful, dark Conqueror's Haki the moment they rose.

Shane gulped down air. His Observation Haki had only just begun to develop.

If not for the pill that activated his cells and his Black Dragon Form body,

he might have passed out too.

Even Kaido had nearly failed to hold on, but fortunately, Linlin's Conqueror's Haki blocked it for him.

"Idiot Kaido, are you still standing there in a feverish daze? Use your Conqueror's Haki!"

Only after Linlin spoke did Kaido snap out of his stunned daze.

Boom!

That instant,

it was as though Pandora's box had opened.

To withstand the three men's unrestrained Conqueror's Haki,

barriers of Conqueror's Haki rose one after another.

Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Linlin, Kaido, and Sengoku.

They all used their Conqueror's Haki to block it like madmen.

They were like barriers, resisting the waves of Haki while also causing tremendous destruction.

Boom!

God Valley, which had briefly settled down, was fired up once again.

Each wave rose higher than the last.

Even the color of the sky changed.

Seen from afar,

the many kinds of Conqueror's Haki above God Valley actually resembled a rainbow.

"These lunatics!"

Even Wang Zhi had to use Haki to withstand it.

"I was already exhausted, and now I have to make a move too."

Silver Axe was truly at a loss. Did they insist on exhausting everyone so they would be at anyone's mercy?

Nothing good ever came from running into Garp!

John snored, paying it no mind at all.

He simply lay on the ground and waited to die.

He had no strength left to run anyway, so he might as well stay here and wait for the battle's outcome.

Dragon's expression was grim. When he saw Kaido use Conqueror's Haki,

the untamed Conqueror's Haki within him awakened as he wished.

But at only seventeen, Dragon clearly wasn't as formidable as the other powerhouses.

Even so, it formed a layer of protection that barely allowed him to hold on.

At that moment,

Kaido and Dragon turned their eyes to Shane instead.

They were only a few years apart in age, and both had Conqueror's Haki. Surely he had it too?

Those looks meant nothing to Shane.

Within fifteen-year-old Shane, a beast seemed to be struggling to break out of its cage.

But no matter how it struggled, the cage kept the beast imprisoned.

It hurts so much. Why are you suppressing me?!

As long as someone has an obsession with becoming a king, they'll surely break out of the cage.

This place is like a primeval forest, full of prehistoric beasts on the hunt.

It's suffocating me. Break open!

Being locked in a cage feels unbearable!

Shane was out of control, and although this body devoid of reason was drawing on every last bit of its vitality,

his unyielding heart of a king refused to submit so easily.

With a furious roar,

the cage shattered under the chaotic, frenzied impact of nearly ten kinds of Conqueror's Haki!

Shane's eyes were blood-red, and a wild beast fully awakened at that moment.

The black dragon was no longer a mythical beast, but a mighty dragon possessing a dragon's majesty!

Roar!

A dragon's cry rang out.

A surge of purple-black Conqueror's Haki erupted from Shane's body!

An uncontrollable first awakening.

The defiance of his King's Aptitude unleashed!

Although its strength fell short of even Dragon's current level, its presence was no less imposing than anyone else's!

Armament Haki: basic mastery.

Observation Haki: still learning.

Conqueror's Haki: erupting this instant.

"Shane really does have King's Aptitude too!"

Kaido's face lit up with delight. He should have known long ago that someone like this, who refused to submit to fate,

someone who dared to stand out amid warring forces and rise step by step to become an apprentice member of the Rocks Pirates,

couldn't possibly lack the ambition to become a king!

"What?"

But when Linlin saw Shane awaken Conqueror's Haki, the pupils of her beautiful eyes contracted.

What was this?

Another Conqueror's Haki user.

Kaido was relatively simple-minded, but what about Shane?

Why couldn't the Rocks Pirates work together? Why were they always in chaos?

Wasn't it because there were too many of these ambitious people?

"Gurararara! Linlin's sweet dream has gone up in smoke!"

Whitebeard laughed loudly, seizing the chance to escape the harbor. Stussy, sheltering behind him, wore an ecstatic expression.

"No wonder he could withstand my experimental Drug. Hopefully he doesn't die in God Valley!"

Behind the rubble,

Zephyr shattered it with a punch. "Another menace. I should have gotten rid of him sooner. Did Linlin step in to stop me because she'd already recognized that boy's King's Aptitude?"

"He really is a born king too!"

Dragon wasn't surprised.

If Shane weren't a destined king,

that would have been truly boring.

"No wonder he could say something like that."

Bogard drove his sword into the ground and coated his entire body in Armament Haki to resist the impact of Conqueror's Haki.

In front of him, Sengoku used golden shock waves and Conqueror's Haki to withstand it for the others!

"Why can Rocks always find all sorts of abnormal people in a crowd?"

Sengoku truly couldn't put his suffering into words.

When would the Marines finally gather a group of powerful fighters and sweep across the seas?

He had even dreamed a beautiful dream.

One day, Marine Headquarters would have three mighty Admirals!

Preferably Logia users, with their strong vitality and wide attack ranges.

Simply perfect!

The thought made Sengoku's heart ache. Reality was still far too miserable.

Right now, the Marines' next generation consisted of only the young man Bogard and the teenage Dragon.

"Hahahahaha!"

Rocks's laughter was deafening.

"I won my bet again!"

"The seas' next generation is another king who refuses to submit!"

"Other people don't like ambitious bastards, but I do!"

"The more people like that there are, the more afraid the Celestial Dragons become, and the more you panic!"

"Shane, catch this! My Haki!"

The restraints on Rocks's fists vanished, and his long hair flew wildly.

Dawn was approaching!

But the moon still held a place in the sky.

Shane's Sulong was about to fade, and pain struck.

Just as his consciousness was about to dissipate,

Rocks's Conqueror's Haki plunged straight into Shane's heart like a shot of adrenaline.

"Wake up! This is your captain's battle to conquer the world! As a member of my crew, you'd better watch closely!"