South Blue.
This was a sea renowned for its peace, far removed from the clamor and conflicts of the Grand Line.
Across the vast expanse of the sea, Kane transformed into a phantom of the storm, streaking forward at speeds far exceeding that of sound.
In just one day.
Kane arrived at the area where intelligence suggested Roger might be hiding.
He hovered ten thousand meters in the air, gazing down at the scattering of uninhabited islands below.
"Roger... Hah."
A mocking curve lifted the corner of Kane's mouth.
"Hiding in a place like this won't change the fact that you're the 'Pirate King'."
The awakening of the Storm Fruit had greatly enhanced his mental power as well. With his Observation Haki fully unleashed, it instantly covered hundreds of nautical miles in all directions.
A few seconds later.
His gaze locked onto a small, unnamed island, not large in area yet brimming with vitality.
There, two powerful life forces burned quietly beside a campfire.
"So you really are here..."
Kane murmured softly, a glint of excitement flashing in his eyes.
He slowly descended.
The vibrations of his Storm Wings grew more intense.
...
The campfire crackled.
The aroma of roasting meat filled the air.
Two men sat cross-legged by the fire, drinking heavily.
One of them was tall, sporting an exaggerated pair of handlebar mustaches and wearing a captain's hat. He was the man who made the entire world tremble—the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger!
At this moment, there was no trace of a king's majesty on his face; he was laughing like a child.
"Gulp, gulp... Ah! Rayleigh, the booze in the South Blue really hits the spot!"
Sitting opposite him was his right-hand man, the Dark King Silvers Rayleigh.
Rayleigh watched his captain's unrestrained manner and shook his head helplessly.
"With your health, can't you drink a little less?"
"Hahaha! It's precisely because my time is short that I want to drink my fill!"
Roger took another big swig of liquor, but his eyes turned toward the distant horizon, carrying a hint of melancholy.
"Speaking of which, I'd really like to see the world twenty years from now... Will the person Joy Boy awaits appear? And who will find the treasure of Laugh Tale?"
"Those matters are not for us to worry about."
Rayleigh also took a drink.
"We've already completed our own voyage."
"Yeah..."
Roger smiled, about to say something more.
The next moment.
His smile suddenly vanished.
Rayleigh's gaze also sharpened intensely at the same time.
Both men simultaneously looked up toward the sky.
The once clear sky had, at some unknown time, been dyed an ominous dark purple.
The sea began to churn, its calm waves transforming into roaring, raging swells.
An oppressively heavy pressure poured down from high above.
It was as if the entire sky was trembling on the verge of collapse amidst a deafening roar!
"Oh?"
A glint of excitement flashed in Roger's eyes. He slowly rose to his feet, his hand resting on the saber at his waist, Ace.
"It seems we won't be able to finish this drink in peace."
Rayleigh also stood up, his expression grave.
The aura of the approaching presence was too strong.
So strong it made even him feel threatened.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning split the sky.
Within the flash of light.
A slender figure, flapping wings formed of storms, descended slowly like a celestial being descending to the mortal world.
The newcomer wore a pure white Navy Justice cloak that fluttered loudly in the fierce wind.
His impossibly handsome face bore a commercialized smile.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Roger."
Kane hovered in mid-air, looking down at the two men below with a relaxed and composed tone.
"Allow me to introduce myself. Kane, base commander of the Navy's G-5 Branch."
"Oh, a Navy brat."
Roger grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. The fighting spirit in his eyes grew even more intense.
"I know you. Three years ago at the Edd War Sea, you left quite an impression on me."
"Is that so? I'm honored."
Kane smiled as his right hand slowly gripped the hilt of Tensa Zangetsu.
"Then, as a return gift..."
Without any unnecessary words.
Swoosh—!
The jet-black blade was drawn.
The next second.
A condensed, pitch-black crescent-shaped slash shot straight toward Roger's head!
Getsuga Tenshō!!
"Please, use your life to pay for this 'greeting gift'!"
Faced with that terrifying slash capable of splitting the entire island in two, Roger didn't dodge. Instead, he erupted into earth-shaking laughter.
"Gurararara! Good! Very good!"
"Now that's more like it!"
His aura exploded at that moment!
No longer the down-and-out middle-aged man drinking by the campfire, but the sole king reigning over the seas!
Clang!
The Named Sword "Ace" was drawn.
Jet-black Conqueror's Haki instantly coated the blade like ink, bursting with countless blinding black arcs of electricity.
"Divine Departure!"
Instead of retreating, Roger advanced, meeting the black crescent with a horizontal slash!
In that instant, the world lost its color, and all sound fell silent.
The black-red crescent and the red-black slash madly devoured and annihilated each other.
Two breaths later.
Boom——————!!!
The delayed shockwave transformed into a visible white ring of light, sweeping in all directions.
The entire uninhabited island shook violently.
The beach vanished instantly, revealing the dark bedrock beneath.
The sea surface within a radius of several kilometers was forcibly depressed by ten meters, forming a terrifying vacuum depression.
After an unknown amount of time, the dust settled.
Sunlight poured through the gap once more, illuminating the three distinctly different faces below.
Kane's face still wore a smile, though his eyes held a touch more seriousness.
Roger wore an expression of utter exhilaration, as if he had just tasted the world's strongest liquor.
Meanwhile, Rayleigh, standing to the side, had pupils contracted to the size of pinpoints.
He blocked it?
That previous strike—he saw it clearly.
The power contained within that slash from the Navy brat named Kane was already completely on par with Whitebeard and Golden Lion!
And Roger...
Rayleigh glanced at his captain's slightly trembling right hand, his heart sinking.
Roger's illness was far more severe than he let on.
"Navy brat," Roger shook his somewhat numb arm, grinning, "The aura about you is different from two years ago!"
Two years ago at the Edd War Sea, Kane gave him the feeling of a sharp edge exposed, like a drawn sword.
But now, the impression he gave was unfathomable.
Like a sea that appeared calm on the surface, yet hid treacherous undercurrents, capable of stirring monstrous waves at any moment.
"People always have to improve."
Kane replied casually, yet his figure instantly vanished from where he stood.
Godspeed Luminous!
"Too slow!"
Roger's Observation Haki had already locked onto Kane's movements. Without even turning his head, he swung his blade backward.
Clang!!!
The deafening sound of metal clashing echoed.
Tensa Zangetsu and Ace.
Two Black Blades, each imbued with the pinnacle of Conqueror's Haki, collided fiercely in the air, mere inches apart!
The thick, ink-like Conqueror's Haki surged wildly, transforming into countless thick black and red lightning bolts that crackled and roared between them!
A terrifying shockwave erupted from the two as its center.
Debris flew in all directions, and the surrounding coconut trees were uprooted, shredded into splinters mid-air before they could even fall!
Rayleigh stood firm, his clothes flapping violently in the wind, yet he did not retreat a single step.
His gaze remained fixed on the two combatants.
Too fast!
Kane's speed had surpassed the limits of what the naked eye could perceive.
Every swing of his blade was accompanied by sonic booms and thunderclaps, the edge of his sword seeming capable of severing all things in its path. He moved like a shadow, the Storm Wings on his back flapping with each beat, unleashing astonishing speed and power that made his attacks both unpredictable and devastatingly heavy.
Roger, though slightly slower in speed, wielded a sword technique that was refined and unadorned, allowing him to accurately predict the trajectory of Kane's attacks with every swing. With minimal effort, he deflected the most ferocious onslaughts.
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