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The Floating Archipelago.
As the name suggests, it is a cluster of islands that were lifted into the sky by someone with the ability to do so, along with the surrounding seawater.
In the past, it was known as Vermilion.
But now, it has a new name: "STRONG WORLD"... a land where the strong prey on the weak.
Without a doubt, the villagers living on Vermilion are the 'weak.'
All the able-bodied adults and youths were forcibly conscripted into the Flying Pirate Crew, leaving only the elderly, the sick, and the frail... people who could barely manage even the simplest labor.
Strange, wing-like growths have sprouted from their arms and bodies—
"Cough… cough…"
Weakness and a dark green poison could be seen everywhere.
"I've told you already! You are absolutely not allowed to leave the village; whether it's Shiki or the beasts that find you, you'll lose your life!"
The little girl was scolded once again by her mother. Dejected, she lowered her head and walked out of the house. Before she left, she could still hear a weak voice from inside.
"Don't be angry with her… Aio is a good child… It's all because Shiki raised the island into the sky that things became like this... Cough, cough... You must keep an eye on her... When she becomes an adult, Shiki will conscript her into the Royal Palace as a servant. By then..."
That was her grandmother's voice.
Aio naturally understood.
It was because the pirate Shiki had lifted the island into the sky and monopolised the special herb on it, IQ.
He had researched this herb, which could make animals extraordinarily powerful and turn the creatures on the island into ferocious and dangerous beasts. This forced the villagers to plant something called 'Raging Green Trees' around the village for protection, their smell repelled animals.
However, these trees also carried toxins that slowly poisoned the human body, and only IQ could cure the resulting illness.
Aio had already heard from the village doctor that if nothing was done, her grandmother, who was still inhaling the poison, probably wouldn't survive for more than three years.
"Damn Shiki..." Walking to a corner of the village, she angrily kicked a stone by the side of the road. "If only someone could drive him away."
That was her deepest wish. But sadly, her mother had told her that Shiki was an extremely powerful pirate. Across the entire sea, only a handful could surpass him.
Anyone targeted by Shiki would almost certainly face total destruction.
For example, it was said that Shiki had brought back a ship just this morning.
According to her mother, it was a battleship belonging to the Marines, who specialized in capturing pirates.
"Is there really no one who can defeat Shiki…?" Aio thought to herself.
Then...
"Buru?"
She realized that the stone she had kicked had just hit a large Den Den Mushi passing by.
The Den Den Mushi turned its head, its large eyes staring directly at her.
'...'
Aio naturally knew that it was a large-scale surveillance Den Den Mushi used by the Flying Pirate Crew, led by the Golden Lion. It acted as their eyes and ears over the village.
Recently, since the Golden Lion had invited pirates in league with him to the island for the annual banquet, the Den Den Mushi had been patrolling the area much more frequently.
And now, she had clearly been targeted.
Aio recalled her mother's warning:
If spotted by a Den Den Mushi, she must immediately submit to the Flying Pirate Crew.
Otherwise, it would mean death.
But... Aio bit her lip, unable to open her mouth no matter how hard she tried.
It was the enemy who destroyed the village, plunging it into more than a decade of darkness and bringing her grandmother to the brink of death. Her father and grandfather both died in the Golden Lion's Royal Palace.
For a child to submit to such a person...
"I…"
After a long while, she finally took a deep breath, preparing to speak.
But at that very moment...
Buzz!
An invisible pressure suddenly descended.
Then, Aio saw... The Den Den Mushi in front of her exploded into pieces instantly. Blood burst outward. Although none of it splashed onto her, she was completely frozen in shock.
The next moment...
"Whoosh!"
Aio felt a fierce gust of wind sweep past her.
Instinctively, she raised her head.
Then she saw it... A figure shooting upwards, riding the violent wind. He was wearing white clothes and had a pair of pitch-black gauntlets on his hands.
The direction he was heading in... was the very top of the floating sky islands.
"Please inform the villagers to prepare." Aio seemed to hear his voice carried through the wind.
"This floating archipelago is about to fall."
At the same time, at the highest point of the Vermilion Islands... the headquarters of the Flying Pirate Crew, the 'Lion Royal Palace.'
Due to the extreme altitude, snow was drifting outside the palace.
Inside, the banquet was in full swing.
The pirates were celebrating and enjoying themselves. As there weren't many residents on these floating islands, there weren't many beauties at the banquet.
Nevertheless, the atmosphere remained extremely lively.
Because...
"As expected of Old Boss Shiki! He actually captured Marines to entertain us!"
"So this is the power that Old Boss has been cultivating for over a decade to conquer the world? Incredible! Those Marines don't stand a chance!"
"I heard those aren't ordinary Marines. Aren't they the subordinates of the famous 'Black Kirin', who has been causing quite a stir recently?"
"Capturing the direct subordinates of an Admiral Candidate? Could this be the legendary pirate who once stood alongside the Pirate King and Whitebeard?"
Amidst the noisy cheers, all the pirates were talking about the man seated on the throne at the center of the banquet.
He had long, golden hair like a lion's mane. He was clearly not young; his face bore the marks of time. A ship's rudder was embedded in his head. He wore an orange-yellow kimono and, though he had lost both legs, he had replaced them with two swords to help him walk.
Yet all of this only served to make the pirates admire him even more.
Every scar on this man's body was part of his legend.
The rudder in his head was proof of the Battle of Edd War that he had once fought against Gol D. Roger. His amputated limbs were evidence of the time he had single-handedly stormed the Marine Headquarters and later escaped Impel Down alone.
No matter how you looked at it, Shiki, the "Golden Lion," was a legend among legends, and it was that very reputation that had brought all these pirates together.
And at this moment...
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Looking at the cheering pirates below, Shiki burst into hearty laughter. In his view, this was what pirates should be. They should gather in large numbers and do as they please!
"Clang!" "Clang!"
He stood up, the sound of his movement echoing like clashing blades.
"My little ones."
He spread his arms and looked forward.
"Take a good look; there's not much longer to wait."
At the window of the banquet hall was a massive Den Den Mushi projection.
Displayed on it was a live image from outside the Royal Palace.
In that image... a group of enormous, violent beasts were hunting.
"Rumble!"
A gigantic centipede burrowed through the ground and tore open a massive fissure over ten meters long with every movement. Elsewhere, a praying mantis, at least five meters long, swung its scythe-like claws. Wherever it struck, towering trees were instantly sliced apart.
The way it moved and struck resembled the initial form of swordsmanship.
Clearly... These animals possessed strength, speed, durability, and intelligence far beyond that of ordinary creatures.
In the "hunting ground" shown in the projection, there were hundreds of such beasts.
This was what the 'Golden Lion' Shiki had been researching all these years, the symbol of his ambition. He used a special herb produced on this island that was capable of triggering evolution in animals.
He refined it into a special serum known as SIQ and used it to cultivate beasts.
Thus, these ferocious, powerful creatures were born.
They were called... Beast Weapons.
At this moment, the prey that these powerful Beast Weapons were hunting...
... was a group of Marines.
This was the 'entertainment' that Shiki had prepared for the banquet.
Even he hadn't expected it. He had originally only gone to the East Blue with his subordinate, the scientist Dr. Indigo, to test the latest batch of Beast Weapons. According to the original plan, they were simply going to release the beasts onto an uninhabited island and observe whether they could destroy it.
However, by sheer coincidence, their Den Den Mushi intercepted the signal of a Marine battleship.
This led to this hunting spectacle.
Shiki knew very well... The pirates behind him had only chosen to follow him because of his legendary reputation and strength. After more than a decade of lying low, quite a few of them had already begun to waver.
Now, Shiki needed to demonstrate the power he had accumulated during those years of patience.
"My subordinates have already developed the finest product. With a little more refinement over the next one or two years, the Beast Weapons will be complete."
"And then…"
He laughed loudly.
"First, we'll destroy the East Blue as a warning, then we'll dominate the Four Seas. At that point, the entire world will be ours for the taking!"
As he spoke, the pirates grew visibly excited.
But at that very moment—
"Hey, you chicken head! Weren't you supposed to be some legendary pirate, Golden Lion?"
"What's the point of letting a bunch of beasts fight us?!"
"Have you got the guts to come down here and fight your grandpa Hans for three hundred rounds?!"
A loud voice came from the other side of the Den Den Mushi.
"..."
The lively atmosphere froze for a moment. Even Shiki's bold laughter paused slightly. He lifted his gaze towards the projected image and saw a burly Marine holding a can of cola in each hand on the screen.
His entire body was drenched in blood; whether it was his or the beast's, it was impossible to tell.
At that moment, he gulped down the cola in his left hand.
Then...
"Buzz!"
His right arm swelled up almost instantly.
"Filled Up - Right Arm!"
He clenched his fist and punched forward, sending a massive black bear flying backwards. Then he casually tossed the empty cola can in his left hand.
It landed perfectly on the bear's fur. He then turned towards the Royal Palace and made an extremely provocative gesture.
"Here he goes again… Is he treating those cola cans like gloves or something? Every beast he knocks back gets one thrown at it."
"Not just the beasts; the ground's covered with them, too. Why the hell does he even have that many cola cans?"
"He's outright provoking Old Boss Shiki."
"It looks like he's a Devil Fruit user. Despite being injured like that, he's still fighting."
"The other guy seems to be a Devil Fruit user, too. It looks like he's hiding the wounded Marines somewhere."
"…"
This was exactly what annoyed Shiki the most about today's banquet.
At this event, which he had intended to use to establish his authority and display his power, the Marines he had captured refused to cooperate. They wouldn't just die obediently.
Especially those two Devil Fruit users. Their combat strength wasn't high; in Shiki's eyes, they were as insignificant as ants.
But, just like now, they were extremely irritating.
Under normal circumstances, he would simply ignore such low-level provocation, as if he hadn't heard it.
But today...
"You pests who don't know when to die are truly annoying."
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
(End Of This Chapter)
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