The sea groaned under a bruised sky as a small ship drifted silently into the Grand Line. Clouds swirled like angry gods, and lightning forked across the heavens. There was no flag, no name, no signal—just a worn, black hull carved with deep claw marks and scorch stains. Like it had been to hell... and sailed back out.
On the deck, a lone figure stood unmoving at the bow.
He was tall—taller than most men—and his frame carried a tension, a barely-contained force, as if his muscles had been forged in battle. His coat fluttered in the wind, the faded sigil of a long-dead era stitched on its back: a cracked skull crowned with blades—the emblem of the Rocks Pirates.
His name was Darius D. Xebec.
And for twenty-one years, the world believed Rocks D. Xebec had died childless at God Valley.
They were wrong.
Darius opened his crimson left eye, the sea wind tugging at his black hair. In his other eye, the golden one, a storm churned—not just in reflection, but in spirit. His ship creaked forward, guided by nothing but his intent.
He didn't need a crew yet.
Not until the world knew his name.
---
Far across the sea, in the command tower of Marineford, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki clenched his jaw as he read the report handed to him.
"...Impossible," he growled, magma bubbling from his clenched fist.
Beside him, Admiral Kizaru tilted his sunglasses, frowning. "Ooh… so someone's finally claiming the bloodline of that lunatic, Rocks?"
The report was simple but explosive: A lone pirate wearing the Rocks insignia had sunk three Marine ships and torn through a Cipher Pol black site near Baltigo—alone. Survivors said his power tore through space itself.
"His name is Darius D. Xebec," Vice Admiral Tsuru said quietly. "And we've confirmed the DNA from the Cipher Pol incident… The match to Rocks is ninety-eight percent."
Sakazuki's voice turned to a low growl. "He should've never existed."
Tsuru met his gaze. "And yet here he is."
---
Back on the ship, Darius approached a heavy crate bolted to the deck. Inside was a mask—bone-white with jagged edges, the same his father wore when leading the Rocks Pirates into battle. He ran a hand across it, feeling the weight of a history written in blood.
"I'm not you," he muttered.
But the world would never see the difference.
Not yet.
He strapped the mask to his hip, then turned toward the eastern horizon, where the currents twisted toward Reverse Mountain.
It was time.
Time to enter the Grand Line as a monster reborn.
---
Elsewhere, in the New World, chaos rippled outward like wildfire.
At Whole Cake Island, Big Mom let out a bellowing laugh, shaking the walls of her candy palace.
"MAAAA~MAMA MAMA! Rocks' brat lives?! After all these years?!"
Perospero shivered at her glee. "Mama, this could destabilize—"
"Let him come!" she roared, slamming her fists together. "Let's see if he has his papa's guts—or if he'll scream like a baby when I crush his bones!"
In the undersea kingdom of Wano, Kaido stared silently into his sake cup, face unreadable.
"He's not my concern," Kaido muttered. "Unless he stands in my way."
But deep down, he remembered God Valley. He remembered the power of Rocks. If his blood lived on...
The world might burn.
---
In a quiet tavern at Sabaody Archipelago, a scarred man with white hair and a saber at his back set down his drink. Silvers Rayleigh had felt the shift in the air.
"Xebec's blood..." he murmured. "I'd hoped it died with him."
He looked out the window, the sun casting rays across the shore.
"Luffy… you'll need to be ready. This new storm is nothing like the others."
---
Night fell as Darius's ship passed into the Grand Line.
The sea changed, alive and strange. Storms came and went like whispers. Sea Kings slithered below the surface. But Darius did not flinch. This was where his father made his name. It was only fitting he do the same.
He stood at the helm, black coat billowing, as he opened a sealed envelope taken from a Cipher Pol vault.
Inside was a map—one drawn in ancient ink, leading to an island that no longer existed on official charts.
God Valley.
"I'll go where they buried you," he said quietly, staring at the mark on the parchment. "And I'll unearth the truth they fear."
He took a breath. A long, steady one.
"For too long, they've ruled the world on lies."
He looked at his own hand—scarred, burned, hardened.
"I'll show them what they buried."
Suddenly, his left hand split space like glass. A quiet shing echoed as a black rift opened in the air, swirling with shadows.
From inside the rift, a screeching wind poured out.
He closed it with a flick of his fingers.
The Rift Rift Fruit—a gift or a curse. He still wasn't sure.
But it made him a threat.
And that was enough.
---
Next Morning — Marine G-5 Base
Vice Admiral Smoker frowned at the Den Den Mushi call coming through.
"Say that again?" he asked, eyes narrowed.
The Marine soldier on the other end was panicked. "He bypassed all surveillance! He didn't attack—just walked into the old Pirate Remnant Prison on Sea Rock Island. Released every captive. Left a message."
Smoker lit a cigar. "What message?"
The voice trembled. "He said: 'This world is built on corpses. I'm just here to return the favor.'"
Silence.
Then Smoker exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"Looks like the new era's gonna be bloodier than the last."
---
Final Scene — Aboard the Ship
Darius knelt on the deck, carving something into the wood with his finger.
A symbol.
A new Jolly Roger: the cracked skull of Rocks D. Xebec, fused with a rift spiraling through its center.
He stood, satisfied.
The world would soon know that the age of false peace was over.
He looked into the stars.
"Father," he whispered, "you wanted to rule the world."
"I want to end it."