The warship sliced steadily through calm seas.
Seagulls circled above the masts, their cries sharp against the wind.
KING leaned against the railing, face calm, watching the distant outline of Marineford grow clearer.
The sea was gentle. He stood perfectly straight.
[Ding! Host detected in motion; AFK efficiency reduced by 90%]
[Passive Skill: Absolute Balance activated — immunity to motion sickness and imbalance effects.]
The notification echoed in his mind.
KING barely noticed.
Seasickness was nothing.
Facing the Navy's highest combat power?
That was terror.
His heartbeat refused to stabilize.
Behind him, Momousagi Gion watched his back in silence.
From the moment he boarded, he had not swayed once.
Wind. Waves. Ship movement.
Nothing moved him.
This was not stiffness.
This was control.
He was stabilizing his body, aligning breath and posture.
Preparing to step into the vortex at the center of the world:
Marineford.
Arrival at Marineford
The crescent harbor came fully into view.
The massive fortress bearing the word MARINE towered like a war god over the bay.
The warship docked.
The pier was already filled.
Not civilians.
Marines.
Rows upon rows of elite officers in justice cloaks stood in disciplined formation.
From lieutenants to captains, thousands of sharp gazes converged.
Curiosity.
Scrutiny.
And unmistakable tension.
Gion's Loguetown report had spread through headquarters at terrifying speed.
A crushing pressure settled over KING.
His face turned pale.
A trial?
His legs trembled.
His heart pounded.
Thump… thump… thump…
Deep.
Heavy.
Ancient.
The Emperor Engine began to stir.
"Mr. King, this way," Gion said, gesturing forward with quiet respect.
KING forced a stiff smile.
He descended the gangway.
Behind him, Smoker followed, feeling the vibration of that heartbeat through the air itself.
The Avenue of Judgment
A broad avenue led toward the Fleet Admiral's building.
At its midpoint stood a figure like an iron tower.
White suit.
Crimson shirt.
A rose pinned at the chest.
Eyes like burning magma.
Akainu — Sakazuki.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku had not ordered him here.
He came on his own.
He trusted facts, not rumors.
He would personally measure this "miracle."
Magma Authority
The instant KING stepped onto the avenue—
The air ignited.
Heat surged.
Vision blurred.
The scent of sulfur and scorched stone filled the atmosphere.
Akainu's killing intent condensed into suffocating pressure.
Not a threat.
A verdict.
"Ugh—"
KING felt like he had collided with a volcanic eruption.
Heat swallowed him.
His clothes clung to his skin.
Hot… I'm going to die…
This man is a walking reactor…
Survival instinct took over.
He searched desperately for relief—
And saw it.
On a nearby bench:
Aokiji lay asleep, eye mask tilted, cold vapor drifting around him.
Frost clung to nearby grass.
A human air conditioner.
Beside him sat Kizaru, legs crossed, leisurely filing his nails.
"My my~ how frightening," Kizaru drawled.
"Sakazuki's welcome party is quite enthusiastic today."
KING's brain stopped functioning.
Heat.
Ice.
Move.
Without hesitation, he walked forward.
Past Akainu.
Shockwave of Silence
The plaza froze.
Thousands of Marines stared.
Gion stopped breathing.
Smoker's pupils shrank.
KING walked past Akainu as if magma pressure were nothing more than warm wind.
He did not glance at him.
Akainu's jaw tightened.
Veins bulged at his temples.
Ignore him?
Not defiance.
Worse.
Dismissal.
The Target: Aokiji
KING stopped beside the sleeping Aokiji and looked down.
Cold air washed over him.
Relief.
The muscles in his face softened slightly.
Perfect.
Behind tinted lenses, Kizaru's eyes gleamed.
"Well now~ ignoring Sakazuki and looming over Kuzan… is the newcomer declaring war on two Admirals at once?"
Akainu's fists clenched.
Magma seeped between his fingers.
The ground scorched black.
Aokiji Awakens
Aokiji's eyelids lifted slowly.
The first thing he saw:
A face devoid of emotion.
Eyes empty.
Still.
Watching.
In that instant, Kuzan felt something he rarely felt:
Pressure.
His philosophy of lazy justice valued conserving strength.
But this silent gaze felt like a wordless question:
Why are you still sleeping?
A chill ran along his spine.
"Ara ara…" he muttered, sitting up.
"This feels like being scolded."
Three Admirals Focus
Magma.
Ice.
Light.
The presences of three Admirals converged.
KING's fear detonated.
His heart thundered uncontrollably.
The Emperor Engine roared.
THUMP!!
THUMP!!
THUMP!!
Not a heartbeat.
A war drum.
A thunder god's hammer.
Invisible shockwaves rolled across Marineford Plaza.
Even the Admirals' combined pressure met resistance.
The entire square reverberated with that sound.
Akainu's arm transformed into a lava hound.
"Enough—"
He was about to strike.
Sengoku Intervenes
CRASH!
A window atop the Fleet Admiral's building exploded open.
Sengoku's roar thundered across Marineford:
"STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY!!!"
"This is headquarters, not a battlefield!"
"All personnel return to your posts!"
"KING! NOW! TO MY OFFICE!"
Retreat
Saved!
Survival instinct seized KING.
He spun and rushed toward the building at full speed.
To him:
escape.
To the watching Marines:
composure.
He had faced three Admirals without flinching…
forced Fleet Admiral intervention…
and left without a word.
Not retreat.
Disdain.
Gion stood frozen, gripping her sword.
Shock burned in her eyes.
"He… didn't even regard the Admirals…"
"If the Fleet Admiral hadn't intervened…"
"…he might have begun the battle himself."