Sabaody Archipelago, Grove No. 32 — Broadcast Square.
"The Right Hand of the Pirate King... the First Mate of the Roger Pirates—" "THE DARK KING, SILVERS RAYLEIGH!!!"
A thunderous roar of disbelief swept through the crowd of tens of thousands civilians, reporters, and pirates alike. The atmosphere, already at a breaking point, shattered into pure chaos.
The battle had long since spilled past the Oris Plaza. The frozen bay, which had briefly fallen silent, was now a fresh hell of steel and fire.
Near the Thousand Sunny, the situation was dire. Reinforcements from the World Government's Cipher Pol (CP), sent directly from the Holy Land Mary Geoise, had split into two groups upon entering Marineford. While the main force targeted Straw Hat Luffy, the second team composed of elite agents headed straight for the Sunny.
Their target: The Child of the Devil, Nico Robin.
To the World Government, a Robin who could decipher the Poneglyphs was a threat second only to the awakened Luffy. They would not let her escape again. Leading this capture mission were two figures from Robin's dark past: the cowardly Spandam and his equally vile father, Spandine.
"Spandam... you again," Usopp growled, his face twisting in anger.
"You're all going to be my tickets back to the top!" Spandam laughed hysterically, backed by a legion of CP agents and even CP0 members. "I'll gift you to Saint Roswald! Imagine the rewards!"
"Yo-ho-ho... an enemy of Lady Robin?" Brook's blade, Soul Solid, slid half an inch from its sheath. A freezing chill from the Underworld began to frost the air. "There is nothing more to say."
"Spandam. Spandine." Robin looked at the father-son duo with a chilling, serene expression. No fear. No sorrow. Only the cold resolve of a survivor.
"Seize her!" Spandam shrieked.
Old faces like Fukuro and Kumadori from CP9 charged alongside new, mysterious CP0 elites. It was a formidable force. But they had underestimated the crew that had survived the Timeskip.
"We've been waiting for you!" Usopp shouted from the crow's nest.
Pop Greens exploded around the Sunny, summoning carnivorous plants and Impact Wolves that tore through the CP ranks. Brook danced through the crowd, his violin singing a haunting tune.
"Song of the Prowler: Blizzard Slash!"
Clang! Brook sheathed his blade. Seconds later, a dozen agents collapsed, their wounds instantly frozen by the chill of the Underworld. No blood sprayed only ice.
"My turn!" Nami summoned Zeus, the thundercloud roaring as it fried the common agents.
"Rumble Ball: Muscle Point!" Chopper transformed into a massive, muscular reindeer, his Sakura Hoof strikes shattering Kumadori's Tekkai (Iron Body) with ease.
"Fish-Man Karate: Arabesque Tile True Punch!" The future Jinbe unleashed a shockwave that sent dozens flying.
"Impossible... how are they this strong?!" Spandam's bravado crumbled into pure terror.
"Focus!" Spandine barked, but it was too late.
Robin crossed her arms. "Six Fleurs: Slap!"
A barrage of giant hands materialized, slapping the two Spandams until their faces were swollen like pigs and their bones were twisted in agony. Their screams of pain echoed through the bay.
Suddenly, a voice whispered from the air itself.
"Careful, Robin!" Usopp screamed, but he was a second too late.
Blueno of CP9 appeared behind her, using his Doa Doa no Mi (Door-Door Fruit) to bypass her guard, his hand reaching for her throat. "I have you now," he muttered.
But Robin didn't flinch. Her Hana Hana no Mi was already active.
"Mil Fleurs: Gigante Mano!"
A demonic version of Robin, twice the size of Blueno, manifested and locked him in a crushing submission hold. "Let's continue, shall we?" she smiled a smile so beautiful yet terrifying that the Spandams nearly fainted from fright.
Suddenly, a massive Rankyaku (Storm Leg) slashed through the air, aimed at cutting the Sunny in half.
"Plum Blossom Skin!" Jinbe blocked the attack with his Haki-clad arms, his expression turning grave. "Be careful... this one is different."
Stepping out from the shadows was a CP0 Admiral-class agent the ultimate shield of the Celestial Dragons.
"Fish-Man Karate Secret Technique: Buraikan!" Jinbe fired a concentrated sphere of water, but the CP0 agent simply tilted his body, and the space itself seemed to warp, causing the attack to miss.
"Jinbe, Knight of the Sea... you have violated your pact with the World Government. Your title of Warlord is officially revoked!" The agent pointed a finger. "Finger Pistol (Shigan): Spiral!"
The air twisted into a lethal drill. Even with his high-level Observation Haki, Jinbe was grazed, a clean hole appearing in his shoulder.
"I have eaten the Warp-Warp Fruit (Vặn vẹo Trái cây)," the agent boasted. "I can warp all things in this world. Your Haki is strong, but it cannot fully negate my power. I will warp your body piece by piece until you break!"
The battle turned brutal. Jinbe was forced onto the defensive, his bones groaning under the agent's warping pressure.
At the same time, Admiral Akainu's "Meteor Volcano" began to rain down from the sky. Massive magma rocks plummeted toward the Sunny.
"We're going to die! We're going to die!" Usopp wailed.
Chopper transformed into his Monster Point, swatting away the magma with his massive paws, his hands burning. Robin used her giant hands to shield the ship, her face pale from the reflected pain of her clones being scorched.
"It's too much! Usopp, get the Coup de Burst ready!" Nami screamed.
"I need more time!"
Just as three massive magma meteors were about to vaporize the Sunny, a black whirlwind of slashes tore through the sky.
"Three Sword Style: Black Rope Dragon Twister!"
Clang!
"Zoro-san!" Chopper and Brook cheered. Zoro had arrived, his chest soaked in blood from his earlier duel with Mihawk, but his spirit was unbroken.
But the danger wasn't over. The CP0 agent seized the opening, his warping power reaching for Jinbe's throat. "It ends here, Dark Knight!"
"Is that so?"
A new voice, calm and full of authority, resonated across the ice. A silver-haired old man stood between them, his sword effortlessly parrying the CP0 agent's strike.
"RAYLEIGH-SAN!!!" Nami and the others cried out in relief, tears streaming down their faces.
"The Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh!" The CP0 agent hissed, his mask cracking under the pressure of Rayleigh's aura.
Sabaody Archipelago — The World Reacts.
"The legend has appeared!" "The Right Hand of the Pirate King is there to save Roger's bloodline!"
On the screens, the camera shifted back to the execution platform. The crowd went silent. Akainu's magma fist was descending upon the exhausted Ace and the younger Luffy. It seemed certain that they would be reduced to ash.
"It's over," a reporter whispered. "Even Rayleigh is too far away to save them now."
But then... the laughter of the crowd died out.
A tall figure, obscured by the thick smoke of Akainu's magma, stood firmly in front of Ace. He had blocked the Admiral's strike with a single hand.
"Who... who is that?" "Another legend?"
The smoke cleared. The man's face was revealed to the world. A red captain's coat, a defiant grin, and an aura that made the entire planet seem to tremble.
The first reporter to realize the truth began to shake. He stumbled back, his voice failing him. "It's not Scopper Gaban... it's... it's..."
"THAT MAN IS GOL D. ROGER!!! THE PIRATE KING HAS RETURNED!!!"
The Square exploded. People "went mad."
"A ghost?! The ghost of the Pirate King has returned from the dead!" "Twenty-two years after his execution... how can a man who turned to bone be standing there?!"
Panic and awe swept through Sabaody like a Category 12 earthquake. The most impossible, most terrifying, and most legendary event in human history had just occurred.
At Grove No. 13, Shakky smiled, her cigarette glowing in the dark.
"Roger... Rayleigh... go ahead and turn this world upside down."