"Darkness descends!"
Rocks D. Xebec slammed his fist into the void, and the black field of darkness erupted outward, expanding like a living storm before collapsing inward again. Cracks split across the sky—blinding white light bleeding through the shadows.
But that light wasn't anyone's power—it was Rocks's.
"Light is born from darkness," he declared. "And with it, a new era begins."
From the sky, Sharn had already seen too many monsters, too many impossible things.
Captain John, hanging lazily from the dragon's whiskers, simply admired the view.
"Beautiful," he murmured.
Silver Axe wiped sweat from his brow. "Our captain's insane."
Wang Zhi just sighed with relief—if he had kept his island fused a moment longer, Rocks's attack would have obliterated him completely.
In the air above, Whitebeard and Shiki said nothing.
Each silently wondered—if I had taken that hit, would I have survived?
Big Mom, meanwhile, felt sick to her stomach. She hated that Devil Fruit—its darkness always made other users uneasy. Even so, her mutant body still kept her monstrous vitality intact.
"Such incredible mastery of a Devil Fruit," Buckin whispered, fascinated.
"It's like Haki hidden in the human body—mysterious, interconnected. There must be a link between Haki, Devil Fruits, and humanity itself… But what is it? Talent? Bloodline?"
Then she smiled faintly. "Whatever it is, I'll find it."
On the ground below, Rocks stood amid silence.
The shattered statues all around him told the story—those who were petrified before his darkness hit, and those who were struck unconscious before it claimed them.
When the darkness faded, light returned to God Valley, and pirate ships and Marine warships began to land—but the battle cries were gone. No one dared speak.
No one knew if the enemy even still existed.
Rocks stepped on a cracked statue, eyes cold and contemptuous.
There would always be those fools who dreamed of miracles.
"So, some of you survived? Not Devil Fruit users, then. But look at you—barely standing. You've got no strength left."
Before him stood the remnants of the era's greatest warriors—young by Rocks's standards. Even Fleet Admiral Steel-Bone Kong had fallen.
The remaining Marines—Sengoku, Zephyr, Tsuru—were all injured and exhausted, unable to fight another round.
Across the battlefield, a few pirates still clutched their blades, panting heavily. Everyone else—pirate grunts, Marines, civilians—was either petrified or dead.
With a crash, the Rocks Pirates assembled behind their captain.
They were wounded and weary after a day and night of hell, but none dared falter.
The Marines who had just landed froze at the sight of the ruins—broken statues, twisted corpses, and the blackened sky. Despair crushed them.
"We lost…" one soldier whispered.
"Justice lost… to Rocks's evil."
"There's no hope left! We'll all be swallowed by darkness—turned to stone, to corpses!"
Panic spread like plague.
Meanwhile, the surviving pirates burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! First time I've heard Marines cry!"
"Where's your justice now? Come on—Rocks's crew is so scared!"
"Destruction is truth! Welcome to the paradise of pirates!"
None dared approach, though.
Everyone knew: to enter the battle's heart meant certain death.
Only monsters remained standing.
God Valley—once home to slaves and civilians—was now nothing but rubble and the dead.
"Garp! Garp!" cried Tsuru, her voice breaking.
She found Vice Admiral Garp sprawled on the ground, unconscious, arms spread wide. Beside him lay Gol D. Roger, a straw hat over his face.
"Roger!" shouted Rayleigh, running to his captain. Neither man stirred.
"They'll fall just like them," Rocks said coolly, pointing toward Garp and Roger.
"Then I'll devour the West, North, South, and East Blue. The Grand Line. The New World. Even the Red Line itself! My footsteps will cover the world—until every living being is a pirate!"
He raised his fists again—Haki flaring like a storm.
But then, a lone figure staggered forward: Glengus Saint, bloodied yet proud, dragging his sword and cane toward Rocks.
He thrust the blade at him—a last act of divine pride.
"Glengus Saint!" shouted Saturn Saint, eyes wide with fury and fear.
"Five Elders, huh?" Rocks sneered, catching the cane—and turning it instantly to stone. The black tide of his power spread, swallowing Saturn whole.
"Divine Slash!" roared Glengus, his final attack. "We are gods who created the world! You filthy pirate—damned D!"
Rocks grabbed the sword mid-swing, dark water rising up his arm.
His other hand closed around the saint's throat.
"Gods…" he said, voice trembling with fury and conviction,
"…are no nobler than men!"
His Haki exploded—Conqueror's and Armament fused into a cataclysmic tide.
The waves of darkness annihilated everything in their path. Glengus's crimson Haki resisted for a heartbeat before shattering under Rocks's overwhelming will.
"Why must the world of men bow to gods?" Rocks bellowed. "Absurd!"
His black tsunami devoured the valley; the shockwave alone knocked out Marines and pirates alike.
Sengoku gasped, struggling to hold back with Buddha shockwaves. Rayleigh joined him, pushing against the flood—but Rocks loomed like a mountain, unmovable.
Even his own crew stood back, pale and trembling. They had fought for days, yet their captain still roared with boundless strength.
Sharn, feeling the surge of supreme Haki, trembled—not with fear, but excitement. The beast inside him stirred. Around him, the strong fought desperately to hold their ground.
Whitebeard created a quake-shield; Shiki piled boulders into a wall.
Still, Rocks' Haki kept surging—intent on crushing every last hope.
Despair wasn't limited to Marines now; even the strongest pirates felt it.
Rocks stood atop Saturn's fallen body, his hair whipping like living serpents. Even Marine Admirals felt their resolve collapse.
"They're not dead," said Sharn, his purple lightning mixing with Haki as he leaned on Whitebeard's protection. His voice was steady, defiant.
And then—a sound split the silence.
Laughter.
A bright, unyielding laugh.
Everyone turned.
Roger was standing.
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