Silence fell.
From Gol D. Roger and his crew on the distant Oro Jackson to Whitebeard and the others bleeding through fresh holes in their chests, every gaze fixed on the lone figure standing tall.
Gone was the playful ease, the lazy drag of a cigarette. What radiated off Ozz now was something else entirely.
A sovereign air.
Not Haki in the technical sense, but a pressure of presence. Black lines rimmed his irises like a crown of thorns, and the cold light in his eyes swept the fleet. Even men like the Golden Lion, who had always scoffed at fear and dreamed openly of ruling the world, found their breath hitch and their instincts fall silent before one man with one blade and one gun.
It was not that they had suddenly grown timid.
They could tell this man truly believed he could kill them all.
That kind of certainty cannot be faked. And the reason monsters like Whitebeard and Shiki once chose to sail under Rocks, aside from bowing to that man's world-devouring ambition and overwhelming Conqueror's, was simpler. Absolute strength. Power that could erase any one of them.
The confidence Ozz wore was the same they had seen on Rocks. Perhaps this newcomer was not Rocks' equal. Even so…
"Monsters on this sea really do come one after another."
Whitebeard's fighting spirit sparked, but he did not move. Ozz's single full-power counter had blown away his Heavenly Crack of Conqueror's. Whitebeard had gauged the truth. If Ozz and the Roger Pirates chose to link arms, a few Rocks captains would likely die here today.
"Roger will not be lucky every time."
Shiki had a rough bandage strapped across his ribs. A cigar hung from his lips. Even he looked at Ozz with something like caution. The Float-Float Fruit was at its worst against someone who controlled the field like this.
"Next time I will lay the net, and Roger, you will not run."
He had been quarreling with Roger's absurd escapes since long ago. Ozz knew how that story ended. The Battle of Edd War. He had been there.
The standoff settled into a precarious balance.
The Oro Jackson hemmed in by the Rocks armada. Ozz alone on a Rocks deck facing Whitebeard, Shiki, and the rest, while Roger's crew watched from the perimeter. In the press of bodies, Gick stood dazed as the small fry swarmed around him, eyes burning. If the mood were not so strange, they would have hoisted him up and called him big brother on the spot.
Who would have thought.
He had wounded the monster who had cowed the entire field.
Only Gick knew the truth. When he and Ozz crossed, the latter had never even drawn his blade.
He stared at that tall, imperious figure, the long knife at his hip, the gun at his side, and something complicated moved in his eyes.
Everyone on the Rocks decks and the Oro Jackson seemed ready to let this die here. Whitebeard and Shiki were about to sheath their fangs. Then a voice cut the calm and muddied the waters once more.
Sharp. Angry. A woman's challenge. Not to Ozz, but to Newgate and Shiki.
"Hey. You are not telling me you are going to slink home with your tails between your legs, are you?"
Charlotte Linlin.
Pinned a moment ago by Ozz, the world's strongest woman now gripped Napoleon again, rubbing at her reddened wrist. She gritted her teeth and swept a glare across the Rocks captains.
"If you do that, there is no explaining it to Rocks. He gave us a task. Bring Roger back."
At the name, the air changed.
Newgate and Shiki, who had just cooled, traded looks and frowned. She was not wrong.
Ozz was troublesome.
So was Rocks.
And for now, in name, they sailed under the man. Orders were orders.
The rank and file of the Rocks Pirates had shrunk from Ozz's oppressive Conqueror's and his uncanny fruit. At the mention of Rocks, fear turned feral again.
Crackle.
From the sea's far side came bands of Conqueror's so dense they looked solid, warping into snarling red-black lightning that leapt ship to ship. The Oro Jackson was surging closer. Roger meant to join hands with Ozz.
The delicate truce Ozz expected to hold out of respect was ruined by a single name.
Rocks.
"A familiar name."
As both sides braced to collide again, Ozz lifted a hand toward the Oro Jackson.
"No need, everyone."
He scanned the decks. His eyes lingered two beats on Gick's face. Then he spoke, voice steady and absolute.
"If Rocks insists on war because Roger will not kneel, then…"
"I, Dotor Ozz, will take Roger's place and join the Rocks Pirates."
"What."
"…"
"…"
A cheer burst somewhere. A shout of refusal roared over it a heartbeat later. One voice came from far off, one from near at hand.
From the ship's prow, Roger threw his head back.
"My son is not joining Rocks. Absolutely not."
Of all men, he could least stomach Rocks. For Ozz to join in his stead sounded like a personal betrayal.
Closer by, the man with the twin swords spoke up. When Ozz spoke the name Dotor, Gick had understood everything. Why the monster had lost to him on purpose. The name Dotor was not common on this sea.
Which meant…
Lightning struck behind his eyes. He whirled and bellowed back at Roger.
"Roger, shove it. You are just over thirty. How are you supposed to have a son this big, and he is not a Gol D anyway."
"Ozz is…"
"My brother."
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