Boom——
The gate exploded apart.
Shattered fragments of the door shot in like deadly blades, piercing into the courtyard.
Puchi~ puchi~
The sound of fragments embedding into flesh echoed continuously.
"Who's there?!"
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!"
"Grab your weapons!"
"Courting death, daring to come to Golden Lion's..."
"Urgh ah..."
Crack——
Bullet charged in, his devil-like hands crushing countless throats and skulls.
The rest of the squad members were all elite soldiers proficient in Rokushiki.
Wielding short blades, they reaped lives like grim reapers.
Thin blade marks appeared on the necks of person after person, who clutched their throats and struggled until death.
Nearby, Bullet punched into a pirate's chest right in front of him.
The sound of cracking bones rang out as his fist sank straight in.
Suddenly.
Bullet grinned viciously and exerted force with his hand.
Bang!
The pirate's chest exploded from the tremendous force.
His blood-soaked hand pierced through the pirate's torso—
And caught a longsword that suddenly stabbed toward him.
Clang!
Sparks flew.
Bullet's arm was flowing with externalized Armament Haki.
With a sharp pull—
The pirate leader wielding the sword was dragged toward Bullet uncontrollably.
At the same time, the corpse of the impaled pirate was shattered by the surging Armament Haki—
Torn apart like a rag doll.
Mangled limbs flew in all directions.
The pirate leader being pulled toward Bullet suddenly let go of the longsword.
Both fists coated in Armament Haki—
He leveraged the pull to slam his fists toward Bullet's head.
The two Haki-coated fists
Struck both sides of Bullet's head like twin peaks pounding drums.
Thud——
It sounded like a muffled drumbeat.
In Demon form, Bullet's body was incredibly resilient.
The shock to his head was dispersed and nullified.
The cruel smile on Bullet's lips didn't fade.
As if looking at a dead man:
"Not enough!!!!"
The pirate leader stared at the deranged Bullet, stunned.
He couldn't react in time to pull back his fists or dodge.
A streak of blue afterimage flashed past and grabbed his shoulder.
The other hand thrust a longsword directly into his body.
"Urgh ah..."
Bullet's sword-wielding arm jerked upward.
The blade's slash tore through the pirate leader's body.
Rip——
As the halved corpse fell to the ground, Bullet swept his Observation Haki around.
The Golden Lion's forces that had gathered here were now almost completely wiped out.
Only a few weak and insignificant presences remained.
Whistle——
At the sound of a whistle, all the Roaring Assault Squad members returned to Bullet's side.
Bullet exited his Demon state and looked at them, giving the order:
"Withdraw. Head to the next island."
Then came the sonic boom—as everyone vanished from the spot in an instant.
It all happened so fast, it was unbelievable.
In just a few minutes, the entire pirate gathering had been annihilated...
...
Grand Line, Jaya Island.
At this moment, Dragon had only flipped through a few pages, yet it felt like sudden enlightenment.
"Revolution... revolution..."
He kept muttering these two words under his breath.
This simple word seemed to contain a supreme ideology—
Constantly crashing through Dragon's mind.
Tap tap tap...
Chaotic footsteps sounded from afar.
Dragon snapped back to his senses and slammed the booklet shut.
As if he had just gone through something horrifying.
He gasped for air:
"Hah—hah—"
Quickly stuffing the booklet into his chest, he adjusted his disordered breathing.
Took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, calming himself.
He pushed open the door and summoned the soldiers from a distance.
The soldiers ran over and saluted:
"Rear Admiral Dragon."
Dragon nodded and asked:
"Any discoveries?"
The soldier replied:
"Reporting, the search is not yet complete."
"Nothing found so far."
Dragon nodded slightly:
"Continue the search."
"Yes, sir!"
Dragon walked into the distance, as a breeze unknowingly swept across the island...
...
Aboard the warship docked at the port.
Vice Admiral Rowen lay lazily in a chair:
"Ah~ so comfortable~"
"This breeze came at the perfect time, so refreshing~"
His adjutant looked at him, expression twitching:
"Vice Admiral, aren't you going to help with the search?"
Rowen replied languidly:
"It's just another bunch of idiots trying to uncover history."
"Nothing worth catching."
"Better to enjoy a nice nap."
The adjutant shook his head with a wry smile.
Rowen squinted slightly,
His thoughts drifting back to that arrest three years ago...
To that group of historians shouting they only sought the truth of the world.
He sighed internally.
"Fools..."
...
New World, Whole Cake Island.
At this moment, the figure of Charlotte Linlin had already grown somewhat out of shape.
Furiously, she smashed the Den Den Mushi in her hand:
"Bastards!!!"
"This is already the fourth island!"
"We didn't even get a look at the enemy before being wiped out!"
All the children in the hall trembled in fear, not daring to breathe.
No one dared challenge her fury.
Charlotte Linlin grabbed Napoleon at her side and suddenly stood up:
"Perospero!"
"Katakuri!"
"Gather the people. We're moving out."
"I want to see who has the guts!!!"
A domineering and terrifying wave of Conqueror's Haki swept out.
Perospero and Katakuri exchanged a glance and silently followed.
At the same time, they waved to signal the others to organize the crew.
Before long...
BIG MOM's ships departed from Cake Island.
Heading toward the island at the border between the Golden Lion and Steam Pirates' territories...
...
New World, Galna Island.
Within the territory of one of the New World's three great powers—the Steam Pirates.
Located right on the border with the BIG MOM Pirates and the Flying Pirates.
Sakazuki had just stirred up trouble within BIG MOM's territory.
And now, he had arrived here.
At this point, his backpack was already half empty.
Upon landing, a sweep of Observation Haki immediately detected something unusual.
Sakazuki snorted lightly:
"Sharp enough, huh."
He looked at the backpack in his hand, then incinerated it to ashes with magma...
Hiding his presence, he made his way toward the central hall of the island.
Inside the grand hall...
Knock sat at the head seat, listening to his subordinates' report.
"Boss, according to the latest intel..."
"Not only was Golden Lion's territory attacked,"
"Even islands under the BIG MOM Pirates have been struck."
"The leaders overseeing those islands were all killed."
"This... I'm afraid we're next..."
Knock waved his hand dismissively:
"No need to panic."
"Judging by the locations attacked—they're all border zones between the three powers."
"This is likely someone trying to stir chaos in the New World."
"I'm quite curious who it is."
"And furthermore..."
"If the Golden Lion truly died in battle... then..."
He casually tossed a few photographs onto the ground, narrowing his eyes in contemplation.
The gathered subordinates looked at the photos.
They were taken by spies stationed on the islands.
Photos of the fake newspaper Sakazuki had circulated...
"Hiss!"
"This..."
"If the Golden Lion is dead,"
"Then that's a huge opportunity."
"That can't be true."
"He couldn't have died so easily."
"He's one of the top powerhouses."
"Exactly..."
BOOM—
A thunderous crash— the main gate shattered.
In the moment it broke apart—
Knock appeared in front of the crowd.
Clap!
He caught something.
Looking at the magma bomb overflowing with energy in his hand, his pupils shrank sharply.
His palm turned into steam. The compressed steam underneath exploded outward.
A loud hiss like a pressure cooker echoed.
With the magma bomb in hand, he shot skyward.
BOOM—
The magma bomb exploded, releasing magma that cascaded downward like a curtain of hellfire.
Below, Knock threw out a steam bomb as well.
The exploding steam dispersed the magma curtain.
Flaming magma turned into a rain of fire falling over the island.
"Who's there!"
"Enemy attack!"
"Move, move, move!!!"
"Protect the boss!"
Knock looked into the distance, where Sakazuki stood exposed and unhidden. His eyes gleamed with danger.
"The Navy, huh? Sakazuki."
He had heard plenty of rumors about Sakazuki.
Killed Whitebeard. Severed the Golden Lion's arm.
All tales circulating throughout the New World, taken differently by different people.
Knock didn't believe it.
What a joke— Sakazuki led five warships and wiped out the Golden Lion's fleet with zero casualties, and the Golden Lion escaped with a severed arm?
If the Golden Lion were that weak, would he still be alive today?
He had fought both of those men countless times.
Before Whitebeard's death, he was constantly suppressed by him.
And after Whitebeard died, during the turf wars, he had clashed with the Golden Lion many times.
He could say with certainty—
Unless Rocks was resurrected, no one could sever the arm of one of the sea's top powers without taking any damage.
There must have been some hidden truth behind it. No way Sakazuki did it alone.
In a way, Knock's thinking was very close to the truth.
But he still underestimated Sakazuki's strength...
Knock curled a cruel smile:
"If you're here to die, I won't hold back."
He wanted to see just how strong Sakazuki really was. As he spoke, he closed his mouth.
His entire body began to swell rapidly.
Expanding to five hundred meters tall.
Becoming a steam giant.
Tearing through the grand hall.
Hiss——
Rapid bursts of steam erupted from his body.
His arms were coated in Armament Haki.
White steam blasted out from his back. The steam giant, unnaturally agile and fast, charged toward Sakazuki.
Seeing Knock's techniques, Sakazuki raised an eyebrow.
Looks familiar...
He chuckled:
"Nice ability, but your power's a bit lacking."
"The key point is..."
"I counter you."
He brought his hands together and clapped:
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE——
Sakazuki's body swelled and erupted!
Magma surged and condensed, forming a giant shrouded in black smoke and steam.
An 800-meter-tall eight-armed magma giant emerged.
All eight arms were coated in Armament Haki.
As the steam giant charged forward—
The magma giant curled a cruel smile...
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