"The sky!!!"
Usopp's shriek was nearly swallowed by the howl of the wind, but the sheer terror in his voice cut through to the others.
"It's... it's split open!"
His mouth hung agape, his voice trembling with a mixture of pure, primal fear and utter incredulity as he stared dumbfounded at the impossible scene unfolding behind them.
Far in the distance, the thick, churning blanket of storm clouds had been torn asunder, cleaved in two by some unimaginable force, revealing a sliver of calm, clear sky above.
His hands instinctively gripped the ship's railing, his knuckles turning bone-white, as if the solid wood was the only thing keeping him anchored to a world that had suddenly stopped making sense.
Sanji's fingers shook, the howling gales of the storm repeatedly extinguishing the tiny flame of his lighter.
"Dammit, this blasted storm!" he cursed, finally giving up on lighting his cigarette.
The simple act, usually a source of calm for him, had become a futile struggle against the sheer chaos around them.
He stared back at the torn skies, a cold knot of dread forming in his stomach.
This was no natural weather pattern.
This was something else entirely.
Zoro's expression was unusually grave, his eyes fixed intently on the seemingly cleaved sky.
He analyzed it not with fear, but with the cold, sharp focus of a warrior assessing a new, incomprehensible threat.
"If this is a natural phenomenon," he muttered, his voice a low, serious growl that was nearly lost in the wind.
"Then the stories of the Grand Line don't do it justice. We'll have to be even more cautious on our journey ahead." He paused, his grip on his sword hilt tightening until the leather creaked.
"But if this is man-made... then it's even more terrifying. Just what kind of powerhouse exists in this world that can split the sky apart like this?"
"Hey!"
A voice of pure, undiluted excitement cut through the tension.
Luffy, completely unfazed by the apocalyptic scene, was practically vibrating with exhilaration, his eyes sparkling with the thrill of a grand adventure.
He pointed a finger at the impossible sight.
"That's amazing! Let's turn back and check it out!"
A fist slammed squarely into the top of Luffy's rubber head, immediately raising a large, cartoonish bump.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Nami shrieked, her own fear manifesting as pure, unrestrained anger toward her idiotic captain.
"Turn back?! Do you think a storm that can tear the sky in half is some kind of tourist attraction?!"
She glared furiously at him before grabbing her telescope, her practical navigator's mind desperate for some logical explanation.
She tried to peer through the storm, but the raging winds and torrential rain obscured almost everything.
It was like trying to look through a moving wall of darkness and thunderbolts.
Then, her breath hitched.
Through a momentary gap in the downpour, she saw it.
"What...?" Nami's expression suddenly turned grave.
Deep within the storm, she faintly saw two blurred figures, standing impossibly in mid-air, facing each other.
The gales howled around them, and lightning exploded at their sides, yet they stood unwavering, like ancient gods of a forgotten age.
"What is it, Nami?" Usopp asked, his voice nervous as he saw the color drain from her face.
Nami slowly lowered the telescope, her brow furrowed in deep concentration and disbelief.
"I... I think I saw two people," she said, her own voice trembling slightly.
"Standing in the sky."
"Standing in the air?" Sanji and Zoro's expressions turned serious, the implication of her words sinking in.
"How is that possible?" Usopp squeaked. "Who could possibly be standing in the middle of a storm like this?"
An unbelievable thought surfaced in Zoro's mind, a conclusion so fantastic it bordered on madness.
'Could the sky splitting... have been caused by them?'
A chill that had nothing to do with the rain crept up his spine.
"Really?! There's really someone up there?!" Luffy's excitement was completely undeterred by the impossibility of it all.
"Nami, let me see!" He snatched the telescope from her hands, squinting as he peered intently into the heart of the storm.
Suddenly, he froze.
"Whoa! Look!" he shouted, leaping up onto the railing of the Going Merry, pointing with a manic energy.
"There really is someone there! They're right in the middle of the storm!"
"Seriously? Let me see!" Usopp, his curiosity momentarily overpowering his terror, grabbed the telescope with shaky hands, straining to see what his captain saw.
"Oh my god…" His voice quivered as he glimpsed the distant figures.
His legs gave out from under him and he collapsed onto the deck, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated terror.
"There really are people... and... and they're fighting..."
As the crew's sniper, his eyesight was the sharpest.
Through the lens, he had clearly seen the two figures confronting each other.
And he'd noticed one impossible, reality-breaking detail—even as the wind and rain raged around them in a hurricane, not a single drop of water seemed to touch their clothes.
They were encased in some kind of invisible shield, a bubble of calm in the heart of the apocalypse.
The sight filled him with a deep, crushing sense of powerlessness.
He had thought he was setting out on a fun adventure.
He had not signed up for a world inhabited by actual monster!
"Maybe..." Usopp whimpered, tears of genuine fear forming in his eyes.
"Maybe we should just... turn back... Waaah—"
Before he could finish his suggestion to abandon all their dreams, Sanji dashed forward and clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Shut up, you idiot! Don't be a coward!"
At that moment, Zoro took the telescope.
Standing firmly on the heaving deck with his grim expression, he gazed through the storm's layers.
In that instant, through the rain and the wind, he recognized a familiar silhouette.
A tall, upright figure.
A flowing white "Justice" cape.
A sword held loosely at his waist.
Zoro's eyes widened, and he muttered to himself, his voice a choked whisper.
"Wait… That man!" His heart nearly leaped out of his chest, his hands trembling as he gripped the telescope, his mind flashing back to the marketplace, to the duel, to the golden dragon of lightning.
"There's no mistaking it!"
He had replayed the scene of that "Flaming Thunder God" technique over and over again.
That overwhelmingly powerful figure was now permanently etched into his mind.
"That sword-carrying figure!" his voice shook with a mixture of disbelief, awe and excitement.
"That's... Captain Mike of Marine Headquarters!"
"WHAT?!"
As Zoro's words rang out, every other member of the Straw Hat Pirates gaped in shock, their faces full of disbelief.
The lazy, handsome Captain they'd met in the Loguetown market... the man who had defeated Zoro in a single, terrifying move... was one of the two monsters clashing in the sky.
The guy who kept insisting he was just an ordinary man who wanted to enjoy life...
'And now you're standing in the middle of a hurricane, facing off against another powerhouse and literally splitting the sky?!'
'AND YOU CALL THAT ORDINARY?!!!'
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