Chapter 50: The 4th Emperor of sea ?
BOOOOMMMM!!!
Sengoku's bloodshot eyes burned with fury as he threw punch after punch, each covered in shockwave power and Advanced Armament Haki.
Every blow was aimed at Ren's vital spots, meant to kill or cripple him.
But Ren was no pushover.
Even though he lacked combat experience compared to Sengoku, he possessed a far superior physique and Observation Haki.
His Future Sight allowed him to adapt faster and faster to Sengoku's attacks.
The longer they fought, the quicker Ren became at dodging.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOMMMM!!!
Ren grinned as his flame-covered fist collided with Sengoku's shockwave-covered fist.
Armament Haki, fire, and shockwaves clashed, forcing their fists to hover inches apart.
CRAAAAACK!!!
The ground beneath them shattered.
The surrounding mangrove trees exploded into splinters.
The air itself trembled under the pressure.
Grove 1 had already been completely annihilated.
Grove 2 wasn't much better.
Huge craters covered the battlefield while shattered roots protruded from the earth like broken bones.
Far away on Grove 5, the situation wasn't any better.
Shakky and Zefer continued their fierce battle.
KRAAAAK!!!
Shakky appeared beside Zefer in a flash of blue lightning.
Her lightning-infused kick, coated in Armament Haki, shot toward him.
Zefer blocked instantly.
An invisible shield of Armament Haki appeared before him as he used Emission.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
The kick exploded against the invisible barrier.
The shockwave blasted away everything nearby.
Shakky appeared several meters away.
Her hand rose.
Immediately, multiple thunderbirds formed around her.
KRAAAAK!!!
KRAAAAK!!!
The giant birds screamed as they rushed toward Zefer.
Behind them came wolves and tigers made entirely of lightning.
The lightning beasts charged forward with terrifying speed.
Zefer took a deep breath.
His fists darkened until they became ink-black.
The veins on his arms bulged.
STOMP!!!
The ground beneath him exploded.
Without hesitation, he shot forward and met the attacks head-on.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
One thunderbird exploded.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
A lightning wolf shattered.
KRAAAK!!!
A tiger burst apart.
The battlefield became a storm of blue lightning and black Armament Haki.
The battle raged on as time passed.
Meanwhile, the entire world now knew that a massive battle was taking place on Sabaody Archipelago.
The News Coo had already delivered the shocking reports throughout the world.
Countless newspapers fell from the skies.
People rushed outside to grab them.
Taverns fell silent.
Pirate ships stopped sailing.
Kingdoms paused their daily activities.
Everyone stared at the headlines.
On the front page were pictures of Yamato and Hancock beating up Celestial Dragons.
The news had shaken the entire world.
Two young girls had raised their hands against the Celestial Dragons.
Yet what shocked people even more was the report that followed.
---
[KING OF WANO STEPS INTO THE SPOTLIGHT! REN VS THE BUSTER CALL LED BY ADMIRALS SENGOKU AND ZEFER!]
[ENTIRE BUSTER CALL ANNIHILATED BY REN THE STORM EMPEROR!]
[A MAN WIELDING THE POWER OF NATURE!]
[TWISTER CONNECTING SEA TO SKY! LIGHTNING DESTROYING EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH!]
[BIRTH OF THE STORM EMPEROR! IS THIS THE RISE OF THE FOURTH EMPEROR OF THE SEA?!]
---
The headlines spread like wildfire.
People trembled in fear.
"Another monster has appeared!"
"Why is there another crazy pirate with world-destroying power appearing?!"
"Wasn't Newgate Whitebeard alone enough?!"
"How are the Marines supposed to stop monsters like these?!"
Fear spread across the seas.
But alongside that news, another report caused celebrations all over the world.
Especially among people from the era of Roger and Rocks.
---
[RETURN OF THE TREASURE OF HACHINOSU! SHAKKY APPEARS ON THE SEA ONCE AGAIN!]
---
The image showed Shakky standing on a mangrove tree while casually eating skewers.
The picture alone sent countless pirates and civilians into a frenzy.
"SHAKKY-CHAN IS ALIVE!"
"SHAKKY-CHAN IS AS BEAUTIFUL AS ALWAYS!"
"WAAAAAA! THANK GOD SHE'S ALIVE!"
Many started celebrating.
Some even cried tears of joy.
For many people, this news was worth celebrating far more than the battle between Ren and the Marines.
"BOYS! SHAKKY-CHAN IS ALIVE! LET'S PARTY IN CELEBRATION!"
"YAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Cheers rang through bars and pirate ships.
Banquets were immediately held.
Food was brought out.
Alcohol flowed endlessly.
Entire taverns erupted into celebrations.
Meanwhile, aboard the Perfume Yuda...
Hancock, Yamato, and Ulti stared at the newspaper.
"See? That's me and this stupid black-haired girl beating up Celestial Dragons."
Hancock ignored the last part completely.
She was clearly in a good mood.
Raising her head proudly, she snorted.
"Hmph! It's just a Celestial Dragon."
Her fear of Celestial Dragons had been completely shattered.
Yamato rolled her eyes.
"Tsk. Look who's acting all high and mighty."
"The same girl who was too afraid to make the first move."
Hancock froze.
Her cheeks instantly burned red from embarrassment and anger.
She turned toward Yamato.
"What did you say, you wolf girl?!"
"You got a problem, Snake Girl?!"
Yamato snorted.
Both stepped forward.
BONK!!!
Their foreheads collided.
Immediately, both started wrestling.
"Take that!"
"You take that!"
From the side, Sandersonia and Marigold watched them before turning toward Gloriosa.
"Umm... shouldn't we stop them?"
"Nah."
Gloriosa smiled.
"It's good to have a rival."
"That way they'll push each other to grow stronger."
Truthfully, she was already tired of trying to stop them.
Meanwhile...
Ulti continued reading the newspaper.
Once.
Twice.
Five times.
Ten times.
Suddenly—
"WHERE IS MY PICTURE?!"
She finally snapped.
Turning toward Gloriosa, she pointed angrily at the newspaper.
"Hey! Why isn't my picture in the paper?!"
"I beat up those stupid pigs too!"
Her eyes became moist.
She pointed accusingly at Hancock and Yamato.
"Why do their pictures appear in the newspaper but mine doesn't?!"
Yamato and Hancock paused.
Both looked at each other.
Then they looked at Ulti.
For a moment, they completely forgot about their fight.
Yamato coughed.
"Ahem."
"Don't worry, Ulti."
"One day you'll become stronger too."
"Maybe then you'll have your picture in the newspaper."
Hancock nodded seriously.
"Don't worry, little girl."
"One day you'll also become famous like us."
Silence.
Gloriosa.
Page One.
Jack.
Sandersonia.
Marigold.
Everyone stared at Yamato and Hancock as if they had seen ghosts.
Those two girls, who fought like fire and water every day, were suddenly acting like big sisters educating their little sister.
Ulti's face turned bright red.
Not from embarrassment.
From pure rage.
"WHY YOU BASTARDS!!!"
Her tiny fists clenched.
Veins popped on her forehead.
Meanwhile, Yamato and Hancock weren't intimidated at all.
Both raised their cute faces proudly.
As if mocking her.
'What can you do about it?'
Ulti nearly exploded.
She desperately wanted to beat up those shameless girls.
Unfortunately...
She knew she wasn't a match for Hancock.
She wasn't a match for Yamato either.
Much less Hancock and Yamato together.
So all she could do was fume in anger.
"HMPH!"
"HMPH!"
Hancock and Yamato simultaneously turned away from her.
Then, as if nothing had happened, both began chatting.
"See? Ren is fighting an entire Buster Call."
"Ren is really amazing."
"Yeah."
"He looks cool in this picture."
"I know."
The two chatted happily while looking at Ren's picture in the newspaper.
Everyone else could only stare blankly.
A few moments later, Toritoma approached Gloriosa.
"Gloriosa—"
Gloriosa smiled.
"It's been a long time, Toritoma."
"You've done quite well handling Kuja after Shakky and I left."
Toritoma smiled.
"Thank you."
"But now I want to ask for something."
"You see, I'm—"
She paused.
Her cheeks slowly turned red.
Gloriosa's mouth twitched.
A very bad feeling suddenly appeared in her heart.
"Ahem."
"You see..."
"I want to leave Kuja in your care again."
"I... um..."
"You see..."
"I got sick."
Her face turned even redder as she avoided eye contact.
Gloriosa's mouth twitched harder.
She already knew exactly what sickness Toritoma was suffering from.
"Well..."
"I myself ran away before."
"So I don't really have the right to stop you."
Toritoma's smile immediately brightened.
"Then I leave Kuja to you."
Before anyone could reply—
SWOOSH!!!
She shot toward a small boat she had already prepared beforehand.
Everyone froze.
Toritoma jumped aboard.
The boat immediately began sailing away.
Gloriosa and the others stared blankly.
Then—
"WHY DID YOU EVEN ASK FOR PERMISSION WHEN YOU HAD ALREADY PLANNED TO RUN AWAY?!"
Everyone shouted in unison.
Far away on the small boat sailing into the distance, Toritoma simply stuck out her tongue mischievously.
"Hehe."
She smiled innocently.
The boat quickly disappeared over the horizon.
Leaving behind a speechless Gloriosa and a group of utterly baffled Kuja warriors.