New World, Forlrosa Kingdom.
A thick ring of Navy warships completely surrounded the island-sized nation. Hordes of special-race slaves were dumped onto the shores, prepping everything for the big event about to kick off.
On a hundred-meter-long warship, the five people who basically ran the world sat in a ridiculously fancy room, staring at the phone-snail's projection of what was happening inside the island.
Blub-blub-blub-blub…
The snail's ringtone kept going. One of them finally picked up, and the second the call connected, they heard roaring flames and desperate screams.
"M-My lord… the Holy Land's been breached!"
The instant those words came through, the room went dead quiet. The snail's mouthpiece got crushed in someone's grip, the boom knocking the poor little guy out cold.
Then, an almost endless wave of insane killing intent exploded inside the room. It slammed against the wooden walls like boiling water, making the planks creak and groan.
"How did this even happen?!"
"We're too far away—no way we get back in time!"
"We can't let the intruder wake that person from their sleep!"
The five highest powers in the world fired rapid-fire talk back and forth. After a quick huddle, an old man with a sword on his back spoke up.
"…Let's use that."
Dead silence. The quiet stretched on forever until one voice finally broke it.
"There's only enough energy to send one person. Who's going?"
After years of ruling together, the five of them didn't need words—they just looked at each other, then all turned to the old man leaning on a cane.
"I'll go."
Jaygarcia Saturn Saint, the Warrior God of Science and Defense who oversaw the military and weapon development, snapped his narrow eyes open.
"We're counting on you."
The other four took their positions around him and raised their palms at the same time.
In that instant, the ocean shook, the sky cracked, purple lightning shot up, and starlight poured down from across the world.
Cyan flames and thunder wove together for a split second—then crashed straight into the burning Holy Land of Mariejois.
Sakura and Tiger, who'd just freed a bunch of slaves and were still causing chaos, saw red flashes in their eyes and whipped around.
Right in the middle of Mariejois's shopping district, the ground burned with a mysterious pentagram. Ominous flames licked the sky, and a terrifying pressure blanketed the top of the world.
The surging energy tore the earth apart; cracks spider-webbed outward. A writhing, black-mud shadow took shape inside the rushing thunder.
Six spider legs etched with fire patterns held up a massive body. Black flame-clouds draped down its back like a cape. A pair of razor-sharp bull horns screamed authority.
The cane tapped the ground once—boom—an air blast rolled out, showing off the sheer power of his mythical zoan, the Ox Demon form.
One of the world's supreme rulers had just arrived.
"M-MONSTER!"
Fisher Tiger muttered without thinking. The next second, some invisible force punched through the flames and sent him flying.
The spider legs clicked across the ground, pushing Saturn through fire and lightning until he stood in front of the two of them.
"Witch—Haruno Sakura. You touched history, defiled the Holy Land, and shattered the world. Guilty of the ultimate crime!"
"Letting you slip away at Ohara was a mistake. Lucky for me, I can still fix it!"
His terrifying pressure collided with Sakura's observation haki. Rainbow light exploded where the two auras tangled and surged.
A strange energy spread with dazzling phantom light, blotting out the sun and rolling in like a tidal wave.
Sakura's whole body shook. Then, a soul-deep regret flooded up from somewhere inside her.
Countless strands of energy floating in the void suddenly rushed toward her, wrapping her soul. Silver patterns flickered across her face.
After crossing endless time and seeing everything this world had become, that bone-deep regret finally erupted.
"Oh? So the guy on the Empty Throne didn't show up? Ran out of juice and fell asleep, huh?"
Sakura hoisted her sword and axe. Her fruit powers flowed smooth as silk—one half of her body cloaked in frost, the other half in flames, giving the girl a demonic vibe.
Saturn's breath hitched. His face darkened, and his pressure turned into pure killing intent.
He gripped his cane tight. The mythical zoan's deadly poison ignited like a dirty bomb and detonated.
But the second the poison splashed toward Sakura, it flash-froze into ice, then burned away in blazing fire.
"Ice… fire… monstrous strength… So it is you two!"
Saturn sucked in a breath, hunched over, and transformed into a gigantic spider. Two gnarled bull horns rose, glowing with cursed black light.
Before Sakura could react, he launched.
On the ground, Fisher Tiger—who should've been knocked out—snapped his eyes open, slid in low with his long knife, and carved straight under Saturn.
Shluck!
The six-meter-tall mythical beast got gutted. Blood and guts sprayed across the ground, shredded by the brutal blade.
"Heh. Celestial Dragon."
Tiger spat at the massive corpse in the distance as he stood.
"Get back!"
The red-skinned fishman turned. A worried face was already lunging at him, shoving him flat on the ground.
"???"
Tiger had no idea what was happening.
But from a blind spot he couldn't see or react to, that mysterious force struck again. Mythical poison—impossible to block—pierced straight through the girl's body.
"SAKURA!!!"
The horrific sight unfolded in front of Tiger. Veins burst in his eyes.
Those red pupils watched the young woman who could've bridged two races collapse helplessly. Hope died right in front of him, bit by bit.
"Hmph. Oppose the government? This is what you get."
The giant spider crawled back up. The sliced-open gut and organs healed in seconds under surges of cyan flame. Even the blood-soaked clothes reset to pristine condition.
The colossal beast stood tall again. The wooden cane in its grip let out a hellish tremor that rattled bones.
"You're dead. You're dead!"
The burly fishman shook all over. Teeth bared, hair standing on end, muscles bulging—inhuman strength coiling like a spring.
"Stop! That was just an illusion—don't waste time on him!"
The body that had slammed into the ground with a hole through its chest suddenly spoke… then shattered into a broken log.
Amid the crushing pressure, Tiger felt someone grab his leg. A figure stepped out from behind him.
Forward.
Haruno Sakura!
"No—!"
Tiger reached for her on instinct, mouth open to shout, but then he saw those emerald eyes and her rock-solid smile.
"Leave it to me!"
"You guide the slaves to the sea. I'll handle this!"
One hand pressed against Tiger. Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder—and he vanished into the other side of space-time.
Sakura looked up. Clear eyes met arrogant ones. The girl stepped forward without hesitation, crushing the dark lightning under her feet.
Forward!
Her unyielding soul roared. Conqueror's haki so fierce it could melt the raging flames rampaged wild!
"A lowly traitor's leftover—still trying to fight at this point?!"
The monstrous spider raised a razor claw dripping with poison and stabbed. The ox demon's vile power bloomed at its fingertips.
In a world where countless ambitious tyrants chased domination, people still resisted. Countless souls found the courage to struggle and survive in cruelty.
If she backed down now, every dream, every small, ordinary wish would be trampled.
She wasn't ordinary anymore. She had power. So what mark would she leave on this world?
A brutal pirate legend? A merciful savior myth?
No.
None of that.
"I just heard hearts crying for freedom. That's all."
That tiny figure vanished in an instant, swallowed by a storm of invisible strikes.
Then—an earth-shattering explosion ripped through the air.
BOOM!!!
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