Farewell, Rocks

Darkness Tentacles lashed toward them.

Captain John promptly let go, planted a foot on the ground, and slid into a tackle.

He had no intention of getting hit, and a sliding tackle could keep him holding out a little longer.

"Garp told us to release our Haki!"

Zephyr unleashed his Haki and kicked Dragon away as well.

With that,

Tsuru was saved too, claiming a corner with her Haki.

Everyone was being torn at by the darkness now, their Lineage Factors drawn toward it.

They seemed to be protecting themselves with Haki, but they were actually in terrible shape.

Shane thrust both hands into the rock layer.

Apart from one hand still being a dragon claw and his dragon tail not having receded, only the dragon scales remained across his body.

It showed just how terrifying Rocks's awakened form was.

It was almost devouring everyone.

Normally, drawing out someone else's Devil Fruit ability required at least some contact.

Now it was affecting them from a distance, which was downright absurd.

"The starting village is already at final-boss level. High-level matches really are different."

Shane had also unleashed all his Haki, but his Conqueror's Haki had only just awakened, and even triggering it again was difficult.

His Observation Haki had only reached the point of dodging bullets and attacks.

The inner voices of others he had heard before had vanished too; that must have been an advanced state.

All he had left was the Armament Haki he had mastered.

It had only just reached the hardening stage, but it was still fairly handy.

In the end, having only one kind he could activate made him stand out all the more.

Shing!

Compared with these people, Shane's Haki was that of a beginner.

What else could he do?

"Captain John, how do you train your Observation Haki? By drinking?"

Shane chatted as he held on with his Haki.

Captain John was speechless too.

He had been holding on to Shane earlier; now Haki was keeping him gripped tight.

He really had met a kindred spirit.

"Whether you're drunk affects your senses, but it doesn't affect your perception!"

Others might have believed John's words.

Shane did not believe a single word!

What nonsense?

If your condition didn't affect your Haki, Whitebeard wouldn't have been besieged by the Three Admirals in his old age, much less ambushed by his son.

By the same token,

how would Captain John have been stabbed in the back and killed by his own subordinates?

"Hey! That look in your eyes says you're doubting me, Shane!"

Captain John's eyes widened.

"What else? Try using Haki on an empty stomach and see whether it gets weaker."

Before Shane had finished speaking, John swiftly dodged an attack from the Darkness Tentacles.

His Haki did indeed seem stronger.

Especially his Observation Haki's perception.

"You brat, you've got too many twisted arguments. Haki is human potential. Your physical condition does restrict your body, just as Seastone restricts Devil Fruits."

"But every time you break through your body's limits, Haki will strengthen your body too."

"Even ordinary humans who master Advanced Haki have strength and speed far beyond normal people."

John flexed his muscles as he spoke.

Shane glanced at his build and silently flexed his biceps.

"You're too young, brat!"

Captain John was bored too. After all, there was no liquor to drink now.

Rocks had gone mad and wanted to take everyone down with him.

Even he had to sober up a little.

"Young, yes. Very young, in fact."

Shane nodded. In terms of age, he really was very young!

Even humans were no longer ordinary once their potential had been unlocked.

Then why had Roger suffered from a terminal illness, and why had Garp's body been pierced by a sword?

Just how much could Haki transform the human body?

Of course, there was also the possibility that they had encountered special circumstances.

A battle that pushed a human to the brink could leave hidden injuries.

Or, after their condition declined, they could have been ambushed by a powerful swordsman who used Haki.

Ultimately, without a formidable body, it would all amount to nothing.

Shane was glad that the very first Devil Fruit he had eaten was a Mythical Zoan.

There were simply too many benefits.

Not only did it offer elemental attacks and the ability to ride clouds and mist,

it also gave him a physique ordinary people could not injure.

For his second, he had chosen the Paramecia Paw-Paw Fruit, which could accomplish all kinds of conceptual feats.

Expelling pain and memories, compressing air, sending others flying.

Any island he had visited could be marked and reached quickly through the fruit's ability.

Once Shane had traveled all over the world,

he would only need the Paw-Paw Fruit to reach any place at the greatest possible speed.

He could also remove all sorts of pain from his body and transfer it to others.

If he obtained a mutant physique,

his third Devil Fruit would definitely be a Logia!

Combining all three types would be perfection.

Thoughts swirled through Shane's mind like gathering winds and clouds, and he nearly stopped maintaining his Haki.

"Stay sharp, rookie!"

Captain John's words snapped Shane awake.

When he opened his eyes,

darkness had spread across all of God Valley.

Warships lay anchored outside the island, while sailing ships fled.

All they saw was darkness.

But it was not the dark element from before.

Instead, countless Darkness Tentacles interwove into a Darkness Paradise that devoured everything on God Valley.

Rocks's laughter rang out from within from time to time.

Anyone who took even one step closer to God Valley would immediately be seized and devoured by the Darkness Tentacles.

The sea formed an enormous whirlpool, spinning continuously around God Valley.

The converging seawater drew back hundreds upon thousands of ships that had intended to flee.

They had never expected that, after losing the will to fight, they would even be stripped of the right to watch.

"I told you Rocks was the King of the World!"

"If we hadn't provoked him, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Why did we have to stop him? Power like that is unbeatable."

"Working for the Celestial Dragons keeps us alive. Isn't working for Rocks the same?"

Cries of misery filled the air.

When even God Valley was no more than a speck at the whirlpool's center,

how terrifyingly vast was the sea being spun around it?

Just as Rocks had said, he was creating fear for this world.

Far away on the Red Line,

through the Visual Den Den Mushi aboard the warships,

the Five Elders watched this scene.

"We can't contact Saint Saturn or Saint Garling. It's very likely they can't escape."

"That's the Dark-Dark Fruit, isn't it? It's a special Logia that should be extremely difficult to awaken. How did Rocks awaken it?"

"What exactly happened on God Valley? The situation is far more urgent than we imagined."

"Are there any Den Den Mushi on the island we can still contact? Should we head there by warship, or wait in Mary Geoise for Rocks to arrive?"

The remaining Five Elders were momentarily at a loss for words.

Their conversation stopped at that moment.

It was because a figure in a black robe and a crown had appeared.

"Lord Imu!"

Only four of the Five Elders, the symbols of the world's highest authority, remained to kneel on one knee.

The world had undergone a drastic upheaval unlike anything in centuries.

Even the awakening of that Great Kingdom machine on Fish-Man Island centuries ago had not been this worrying.

They sought instructions, waiting for Imu's response.

"King of the World?"

The figure on the throne crossed their legs disdainfully.

"Does Rocks deserve that title?"

Imu drew a sword from among those with which the nineteen kings had once sworn allegiance below the dais.

They drove it into Rocks's wanted poster.

"If he wins, you will act. I'll have Him send you there!"

What!

Hearing Imu use the word "Him,"

the Five Elders bowed their heads deeply.

"As you command, Lord Imu!"

"You alone are the King of the World!"

They prostrated themselves on the ground.

Only a scratching sound could be heard as Imu completely erased God Valley from the map.

Whether Rocks won or lost, he would not survive.

Even if he defeated the Rocks Pirates, Marine Headquarters, and the crew members who had turned against him,

he would still have to face the Celestial Dragons' elites at full strength!

God Valley.

Darkness Paradise.

Clusters of Haki illuminated corners as the last remaining light.

Only Rocks's laughter remained, echoing through the valley.

Whitebeard and Garp joined forces to light a path for Roger.

In that moment of despair,

Shane seemed to hear voices deep in his heart.

Roger and Rocks were talking.

Roger, who possessed the Voice of All Things, was talking to Rocks, who had been consumed by a devil's will!

"Farewell, Rocks!"

Roger's blade thrust straight ahead.

The blood-colored Haki was not merely slaughter, but also a beacon of hope.

Shane was witnessing history.

The instant the tentacles pulled away,

Roger passed through the darkness and drove his blade firmly into the abyss.