"Can the Celestial Dragons never fall? Are Admirals invincible?"
"Don't make me laugh! If the Navy rules the seas by force…"
"…then we'll use force to overthrow the world!"
"Kill—until no enemy stands!"
Rocks D. Xebec stepped over Saturn's broken body, his boots splashing blood as the pirates surged behind him like a tide.
Sharn heard those words—words that struck something deep within his chest.
It was at that moment he understood:
From the moment pirates first clawed their way out from beneath piles of corpses…
they had finally earned a place in the world.
And to protect that place—they would fight until the very last breath.
"Don't just stand there, kid!"
Big Mom—then still Charlotte Linlin, radiant and terrifying in her youth—swept past Sharn, her hat-blade Napoleon gleaming with a soul's fire.
Across the battlefield, Zephyr leapt high, his fists blazing with Armament Haki, colliding head-on with her sword-light.
Shockwaves ripped the flames from the earth.
"Sharn! You and Kaido—join my crew instead!" Linlin roared mid-swing.
"That brat owes me already. He promised!
With you two by my side, I'll become the Queen of the Seas!"
The sheer audacity made Sharn laugh even as he ducked a flying cannonball.
He'd only just been accepted as an apprentice in Rocks' crew—
and here she was trying to poach him before the blood on the battlefield had dried.
Typical Rocks Pirates—every one of them thought they should be captain.
If they succeeded, they'd share the world.
If they failed—they'd scatter to the wind.
"Linlin," Sharn shot back, smashing through a marine line with a single punch,
"no one's born to be someone else's subordinate!"
His body, strengthened by the Life Return technique, pushed beyond human limits.
Every breath crackled with violet lightning.
Inside the ruins of a tavern, he found food—mountains of it—and ate without hesitation,
converting meat straight into life energy through Life Return, mending the strain left by the Moon-Lion form.
Steam rose from his body like a forge.
"You stubborn little brat!" Linlin barked, slicing through Zephyr's assault.
"And it's Big Sis Linlin, remember that!"
"Elbaf's Spear — Weigun!"
Her pink-dotted dress swirled as she struck, the ground caving beneath her godlike might.
Even in her youth, the "Pirate Queen of Hachinosu" commanded a presence no one could match.
Her Soul-Soul Fruit and monstrous raw power made her a nightmare in close combat.
Kaido—one of the few non-humans on the ship—was one of the rare prey she truly acknowledged.
But monsters never trusted each other; they only waited for a moment of weakness.
Kaido wanted his own crew.
So did Sharn.
With strength like theirs, Devil Fruits like theirs—and the mysterious Demon Compass—
why should they ever bow to anyone else?
When the God Valley War ended—win or lose—he would found his own pirate crew, and carve his legend into the seas.
"Linlin! Enough! The Navy's surrounding us!"
Zephyr's fist tore through the air, wrapped in both Armament and Observation Haki.
At this age, he was in his prime—no injuries, no bitterness yet.
If Garp refused the promotion, Zephyr was the next true Admiral candidate, a man with no Devil Fruit—
a rarity that would echo through the next fifty years.
"You talk too much, you purple-haired idiot!" Linlin shouted back,
swinging Napoleon in a blazing arc.
Boom!
The collision of Haki and steel exploded into a gale.
Kaido thundered past Sharn, swinging his stolen iron club.
Every marine that got close was sent flying—until a calm, sharp voice cut through the chaos.
"Kaido," said the man in a brimmed hat and dark glasses, sword gleaming in hand.
"Sooner or later, you'll be the ruin of the seas. Why not die here and now?"
Bogard—Garp's silent shadow, his right hand through decades.
Even now, in this chaos, his movements were precise, efficient, terrifyingly calm.
Many would later wonder why Bogard didn't intervene at Beehive Island thirty-eight years later.
The truth was simple: men like him didn't show off—they struck when it mattered most.
Kaido's grin widened. He could feel it—the aura of a swordsman worth killing.
"Thunder Bagua!"
"Three-Masted Slash!"
Their Haki-clad blows collided, spraying rubble and lightning.
Stone shards peppered Sharn's back—but they couldn't pierce his scales.
He swallowed the last of the roast meat, exhaled hot steam, and smiled.
Life Return—complete mastery.
He could now recover his stamina freely, his heart syncing with his will.
"Rest after the war," he muttered.
"Now—it's time to fight!"
He stepped forward—and immediately found himself in another battlefield altogether.
To his left: the Buddha of the Navy, Sengoku, towering golden and furious,
staring upward at an enemy in the sky.
To his right: Golden Lion Shiki, standing midair,
several warships suspended around him like toys.
"Sengoku!" Shiki laughed, smoke curling from his lips.
"Use all your strength, eh? Because as long as I'm here—none of your ships are going anywhere!
Jihahahaha! This is the sea of pirates! The world we own!"
His twin swords sliced arcs of wind, and with each swing, ships fell like meteors toward the golden Buddha.
"Don't think a few parlor tricks make you King of the Seas!"
"Justice won't vanish because of you, Shiki!" Sengoku roared, punching upward.
The shockwave shattered one ship into splinters,
but he couldn't chase Shiki into the air fast enough.
"Jihahaha! How frustrating you must be, Sengoku!"
Shiki's laughter echoed across the burning valley—he lived for that helpless look on his enemy's face.
The Rocks Pirates were filled with island-benders and sky-breakers—
Wang Zhi, Shiki, Whitebeard, even Linlin could turn terrain into a weapon.
This battlefield was chaos itself.
Sengoku was a man of order trapped in a storm of monsters.
Even with Geppo, he couldn't match Shiki's freedom in the sky.
A stray shockwave rolled through the ruins, knocking Sharn to one knee.
He looked up—and found himself face-to-face with a woman washing her hands.
Vice Admiral Tsuru, in her prime.
Her hair tied in a long ponytail, her expression serene yet commanding.
With her Wash-Wash Fruit, she could cleanse anything—dirt, evil… even sin.
"You're young, pirate," she said gently, stepping forward.
"Your bounty's not even out yet. There's still time to turn back."
She knew what he'd done—killing a Celestial Dragon left no return path.
Still, she spoke with faith, for her power grew with belief.
"Once you loose the arrow, it never comes back," Sharn said softly.
"To reach the shore, a pirate's ship must rule the seas—just like Rocks!"
Ambition, not malice, burned in his eyes.
He transformed into the Black Dragon, his heat-breath roaring toward her.
But a familiar voice broke through the blaze.
"Hey, Tsuru! Use that fruit of yours to wash the filth right off you, would ya?"
Captain John, drunk and deadly, appeared out of nowhere.
Flames burst from the liquor vapor around him as he stumbled forward.
In an instant, the two were dueling—blades flashing too fast for the eye.
Sharn sighed. Another fight stolen.
There were too many monsters on this field—every strong one already had a rival.
"Why don't you wash the Celestial Dragons instead?" a deep voice rumbled.
Sharn turned.
Wang Zhi, half-fused with the island itself, towered over him.
In his hand… was an egg.
An enormous one.
"What are you—doesn't that thing risk exploding?!" Sharn blurted.
"It won't hatch for a long time," said another voice.
Rayleigh, young and bright, his golden hair glinting under a purple coat, smirked.
Both he and Wang Zhi shouted at once, annoyed at the newcomer:
"Don't get in our way, kid!"
Sharn could only stare helplessly.
This battlefield was insanity—no clear sides, no clear foes.
He'd have to find his own battles among the chaos.
Everywhere he looked, titans clashed:
men and women in their thirties, all at their peaks;
Kaido, already a supernova of power;
and somewhere in the shadows of a treasure chest—
two young boys named Shanks watched history unfold.
"You looking for an opponent?"
The voice was like a landslide.
A giant shadow blocked the moon.
Steel Bone Kong, the Navy's commander-in-chief, loomed over him.
Before Sharn could even react, a colossal fist crashed toward the back of his head.
Above, the giant-ape's strike shattered the clouds—
The power of a titan—directed straight at the Black Dragon.
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