North Blue — Minion Island
A massive pirate ship was docked in the harbor.
The flag flying above it made the entire island tremble with fear.
The Flying Pirates.
Golden Lion Shiki.
Minion Island was essentially the dirtiest place in the entire North Blue.
It was a lawless zone.
The Marines didn't interfere.
The World Government didn't interfere.
And none of the kingdoms of the North Blue interfered either.
Why?
Perhaps because every faction benefited from it.
After all, Minion Island was the largest black market trading hub in the entire North Blue.
Everything could be found here.
Legal goods.
Illegal goods.
As long as you had the money, you could buy anything.
Because of that, there were practically no good people on Minion Island.
Not even ordinary civilians.
The island was filled with pirates, gangsters, smugglers, black-market dealers, shady merchants, and criminals from the dark underworld.
Ironically, because everyone there was so wicked, very few people caused trouble on the island.
Starting chaos here meant offending countless villains.
And that never ended well.
But as always—
There were exceptions.
The wicked island had now welcomed someone even more wicked.
Golden Lion Shiki.
Compared to a world-level monster like Shiki, everyone on Minion Island was nothing more than small fry.
Not a single one of them was worth mentioning.
At present, among all pirate forces in the world, Shiki could easily rank within the top three.
Many even believed he was number one.
Most people referred to him as the Pirate Overlord.
Many believed that one day he would accomplish his pirate ambitions and surpass even the legendary Rocks.
At the moment, only two figures were considered capable of standing on equal footing with Shiki.
Whitebeard — Edward Newgate.
And the infamous Gold Roger.
As for the other pirates who would later rise to the top of the seas—
They were still nowhere near Shiki's level.
Kaido was probably still planning how to seize Wano Country.
Charlotte Linlin was busy building her dream nation—Totto Land.
And Shanks?
He was still just a rookie aboard Roger's ship, joking around with Buggy, scrubbing decks and doing chores.
In short—
Shiki was currently at the absolute peak of his power.
However, according to the timeline, it was now near the end of the year 1495 in the Sea Circle Calendar.
Very soon, the calendar would turn to 1496.
And in that year, Shiki would suffer the greatest setback of his life.
The Battle of Edd War.
His fleet would clash with the Roger Pirates, only for a catastrophic storm to appear.
That storm would shatter his ambitions and destroy the momentum of his rising empire.
But for now—
None of that had happened yet.
Shiki still looked unstoppable.
During his stay on Minion Island, the entire island had submitted under the overwhelming authority of the Golden Lion.
At the harbor docks, Shiki walked back toward his ship from the island's criminal town.
His reason for coming to Minion Island was simple.
He needed to purchase certain special materials.
Recently, he had been supporting his subordinate Dr. Indigo, who was researching a strange creature they had discovered in the New World's Merveille region.
At this time, the Donquixote Family had not yet grown into the massive underworld network they would later become.
So the dark market trade routes were still fragmented.
Every sea had its own independent black markets.
Minion Island was the North Blue's black market.
Shiki had come all the way from the New World after hearing the materials he needed were available here.
Now that he had obtained them, he was preparing to leave.
In his eyes, the North Blue had nothing worth lingering over.
His ambitions belonged in the New World.
And one day—
He would leave the New World and spread his ambitions across the entire world.
Just as Shiki was about to board his ship—
He suddenly stopped.
He walked a few steps toward the edge of the harbor and looked out over the distant sea.
Then he frowned slightly.
A warship.
A massive one.
Without a doubt, the branch Marines of the North Blue had no authority to use a vessel of that scale.
It had to be from Marine Headquarters — Marineford.
And judging by the direct course it was sailing, it was clearly coming for him.
Within the Marines, there weren't many people who both dared and were qualified to confront him like this.
"Is it Sengoku?"
"Or Garp… or maybe Zephyr?"
Shiki muttered softly.
But he felt no fear.
Unlike most pirates, Shiki possessed a far more aggressive nature.
Roger and Newgate might not fear the Marines either.
But generally, when they encountered Marines, they preferred to avoid unnecessary conflict.
After all—
One side was pirates.
The other was the military.
But Shiki was different.
When Marines appeared before him—
He usually crushed them.
Later on, he would even dare to attack Marine Headquarters, Marineford alone.
Of course, that didn't end well.
He ended up getting beaten down by Sengoku and Garp together, thrown into Impel Down, and even lost his legs in the process.
"Well then… let's see who it is."
A savage grin spread across Shiki's face.
At the same moment, he stomped lightly on the ground.
An invisible force surged outward from beneath his feet.
It spread across the harbor and out over the ocean.
The calm sea suddenly erupted into violent waves.
A massive tsunami rose unnaturally from the ocean outside the harbor.
Then—
As if controlled by an unseen hand—
The towering wave surged toward the approaching Marine warship.
This was the power of Golden Lion Shiki.
One of the most powerful Paramecia-type Devil Fruits in existence.
The Float-Float Fruit.
Shiki could control almost any substance in the world.
Even the sea itself.
Meanwhile—
On the Marine warship.
Admirals Sengoku and Zephyr stood side by side, watching the enormous tsunami rushing toward them.
Zephyr clicked his tongue.
"Not bad. Only Shiki would greet someone with this kind of spectacle."
"After all, Shiki has always been a flamboyant bastard…" Sengoku said as he pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose.
Inside the cabin, Diarmuid was also watching the raging tsunami rushing toward them, his heart filled with shock.
In his previous life, he had read plenty about this world. He knew it well—especially the legends of its top-tier powerhouses. He had admired them greatly.
But seeing this level of power with his own eyes now, he realized something.
The impact was completely different from what could be felt through a screen or on the pages of a book.
A powerhouse like Golden Lion Shiki could unleash something with world-destroying force through the most casual of gestures.
Even so, while Diarmuid was deeply shaken, he wasn't overly worried.
Shiki was powerful, but Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Zephyr were also at the peak of their strength.
There was no way they would lose.
Still, he had to be careful not to get caught in the aftershocks of a battle between monsters like them.
I just hope the warship survives… Diarmuid muttered inwardly.
Just then, he suddenly felt the bow of the ship jolt violently.
It was almost as if the massive warship had nodded.
Obviously, the ship hadn't suddenly become sentient and agreed with his thoughts.
In the next moment, Diarmuid saw several streams of golden light scatter from the bow through the cabin window.
Although he couldn't see clearly from this angle, he already understood what had happened.
If he wasn't mistaken, it had to be Admiral Sengoku's power.
The Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan — Buddha Form.
That was also the origin of Sengoku's title: "Sengoku the Buddha."
Before Diarmuid could think further, a powerful shockwave burst outward from the bow.
The enormous tsunami that could have smashed the entire warship to pieces collapsed instantly under the overwhelming force.
After the wave was shattered, the surging water rocked the warship violently.
"So strong… Is this what the power of top-tier fighters looks like?" Diarmuid grabbed the edge of the window to steady himself, awe filling his voice.
Compared to them, it felt like these monsters could kill someone like him with a sneeze.
"Zehahaha! Sengoku, is that you?"
Seeing this, Shiki stood on the harbor and burst into wild laughter.
Then his body lifted into the air without any wind.
Instead of attacking again immediately, he snapped his fingers.
With that simple gesture, the massive pirate ship docked at Minion Island's harbor began to rise into the sky.
"You guys leave first," Shiki said with a casual wave of his hand. "I'm going to greet an old friend."
Without even glancing at his subordinates again, he pointed toward the Marine warship.
"Go."
As soon as the word left his mouth, the chaotic mass of ships docked at Minion Island—merchant vessels, pirate ships, and black-market boats alike—were suddenly lifted into the air by an invisible force.
Then, like gigantic cannonballs, they were hurled straight toward the Marine warship.
"Zephyr, the warship is yours," Sengoku said calmly.
Zephyr casually lit a cigar and exhaled.
"Yeah, leave it to me."
With that reply, Sengoku wasted no time.
He stomped down hard on the deck, splintering the thick wooden planks beneath his feet.
Then he shot forward like a cannon.
Only now could Diarmuid finally see him clearly.
In the sky—
A massive golden Buddha radiating brilliant light.
"Don't get cocky, Shiki!" Sengoku roared.
A series of devastating shockwaves tore through everything in his path.