Rosinante used his Silent Gravity to achieve a floating ability. However, he did not possess true flight—he could only run and dash through the air by stepping on it.
With no gravity weighing him down, stepping on the air was effortless.
His powerful Observation Haki allowed him to hear countless sounds of burning, slaughter, and plundering as he moved.
Rosinante frowned repeatedly along the way. While Roger had triggered the Great Pirate Era, shifting pressure onto the Navy and the World Government, thereby reducing Rosinante's own burden, it had also led to countless civilians suffering under the cruelty of pirates.
He didn't know Roger's reasons for igniting this era—perhaps the Pirate King had some unavoidable circumstances. However, the fact remained that this decision had brought immense calamity upon ordinary people.
Even so, Rosinante did not intervene. This was the nature of this world—a world where bloodshed and slaughter were everyday occurrences. Even if he wanted to change things, he couldn't. At the end of the day, the true source of this world's darkness was the Celestial Dragons and the World Government.
If a ruler in his previous life had treated commoners the way the Celestial Dragons did—as mere livestock—there would have been countless uprisings.
But because this world was dominated by vast seas, it had fostered an era where pirates roamed freely. As long as the Celestial Dragons remained in power and the World Government continued its unchecked tyranny, pirates would never disappear.
The World Government had ruled for eight hundred years. Their hidden power was beyond Rosinante's imagination. Even if he despised them, he had no way of shaking their foundation at this moment.
For now, the only thing he could do was take advantage of the Great Pirate Era—an era where the World Government was too occupied to hunt him down—to rapidly build his own strength.
One day, when he was powerful enough, he would unleash his storm.
The World Government had tried to eliminate him countless times, forcing him to the brink of death more than once.
He would never forget.
One day, he would make them pay.
The Kingdom of Jolomia was rich in iron ore. In this war-torn New World, where metal was in constant demand, the kingdom had grown prosperous.
But just days ago, one sentence from the Pirate King had plunged the seas into chaos.
And in the latter half of the Grand Line—the New World—that chaos had erupted into full-scale anarchy.
Pirates had been flocking to Jolomia for days, pillaging at will.
Fortunately, the kingdom was well-off and possessed a formidable army, managing to repel the marauding pirates—until today.
On this day, three pirate ships appeared just off the coast.
And when the people of Jolomia saw the Jolly Roger flying atop those ships, many collapsed in despair.
It was the flag of the Jack Pirates.
The Jack Pirates had only recently entered the New World, yet their reputation already eclipsed that of most crews.
Because their captain—Mammoth Jack—was a pirate who took pleasure in slaughter and followed no rules.
Wherever the Jack Pirates passed, nothing remained—not even grass. They left behind only ruins and corpses.
The strength of the Jack Pirates was unimaginable to Jolomia's people.
The Royal Guard—the kingdom's strongest military force—collapsed upon contact. Against a New World tyrant like Jack, there was no meaningful resistance.
The royal family and nobles saw what was happening and fled with their treasures, abandoning the commoners to suffer at the hands of the pirates.
"Lord Frost, the western front has completely fallen. The Royal Guard has suffered heavy casualties."
A battered soldier rushed onto the city wall and reported to Frost, the former Vice Captain of the Royal Guard.
When the nobles had fled, Frost had stayed behind.
As a man of common birth, he couldn't abandon the people. He had chosen to fight to the end, leading the remnants of the Royal Guard in a desperate attempt to resist the Jack Pirates.
But when the nobles had fled, they had taken most of the army with them.
The remaining guards and civilians were no match for the Mammoth Pirates.
The defenders were being crushed.
"How is the evacuation going?" Frost asked.
He knew that the Royal Guard couldn't defeat Jack's crew.
All he could do was buy time—time for the commoners to escape before they were massacred.
But Jack's pirates were too powerful—too relentless.
They fought like madmen, hurling themselves at the city's defenses, leaving the Royal Guard unable to even delay them.
"Not well… The nobles took nearly all the ships when they fled.
The only ones left are a few small boats, which aren't nearly enough to evacuate everyone."
A soldier grimly reported the dire situation.
"Lord Frost, the eastern front has fallen as well.
All remaining forces have retreated to the capital, but… we won't last long."
Another soldier rushed in, his expression grave.
"Damn it… Is there really no way out?" Frost slammed his fist against the wall.
"The Jack Pirates are too strong.
Especially Mammoth Jack himself—he's a user of the Ancient Zoan Mammoth Fruit.
We can't stop a monster like that."
As they spoke, the Jack Pirates came into view.
A colossal mammoth led the charge, surrounded by a horde of bloodthirsty pirates, eyes gleaming with sadistic excitement.
To them, Jolomia was nothing more than a feast—a city ripe for slaughter and plunder.
"FIRE THE CANNONS!"
"Don't let Jack get close to the walls!" Frost commanded.
BOOM! BOOM!
Cannon fire roared across the battlefield.
Explosions engulfed the massive mammoth.
But when the smoke cleared…
Despair gripped the defenders.
The monstrous beast stood unscathed.
"What are you waiting for?"
"Charge. Destroy everything."
Jack's cold, emotionless voice sent a chill through his own men.
But the pirates, drunk on bloodlust, let out a wild roar and charged at full speed toward the capital, Mia City.
"Keep firing!
Don't let them reach the city!" Frost shouted.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
But the Jack Pirates fought like demons, throwing their lives away just to breach the walls.
Before long, they scaled the fortifications and clashed with the Royal Guard in brutal hand-to-hand combat.
Frost was a capable warrior—at the level of a Marine Captain.
Under his leadership, the defenders barely held the line.
But then—
A thunderous impact shook the battlefield.
CRACK!
A massive section of the city walls collapsed.
And standing before Mia City was Mammoth Jack himself.
With a single swing of his massive trunk, he had obliterated the defenses.
Frost rushed forward—but before he could strike, Jack sent him flying with a casual swing.
"Damn you… Is this really the end?"
Frost coughed blood, slamming against the shattered wall.
As he watched Jack continue his merciless destruction, despair filled his eyes.
And then—
A voice echoed through the battlefield.
"Is that all it takes for you to lose hope?
If you've given up, then swear fealty to me.
Acknowledge me as your king—
And I will ensure that Jolomia never suffers under pirates again."