The New World.
Miracle Island.
The sky was pitch-black, like a giant curtain of ink shrouding the earth.
Thunder roared and screeched, splitting through the heavens as raging wind and torrential rain engulfed the world, obscuring everything from view.
The Oro Jackson lay stranded at the island's edge. Pirate ships, flying fierce skull-and-bones flags, howled as they surged toward the coast.
Countless pirates were locked in brutal combat across the land. The clashing of weapons rang out endlessly. But the thunder and downpour swallowed every scream and battle cry.
Corpses littered the battlefield. Rivers of blood flowed through the mud.
Splash.
A black boot stomped through a puddle. A tall figure, carrying a trident upside down, stepped onto the land with an aura sharp as a blade.
A wide scarf concealed half his face, and his black coat billowed wildly in the rain.
In his cold, detached eyes, strange red light flickered ceaselessly.
"Katakuri-sama!"
Members of the Big Mom Pirates nearby immediately recognized the figure and called out in awe.
Katakuri didn't even glance at them. His gaze was locked on a lone warrior wielding dual axes, cutting down pirate after pirate even while surrounded by hundreds.
Then, Katakuri vanished.
Ripples burst through the curtain of rain—as if something tore through the storm at blinding speed.
Clang!!
The trident, wrapped in Armament Haki, was stopped cold by a sharp blade, sending a storm of sparks flying.
The shockwave spread out, blowing their hair wildly.
Gaban was stunned for a moment. When he saw the young man before him, his entire arm transformed into a solid white mochi mass, his expression sharpened.
"Charlotte Katakuri... the strongest of Big Mom's sons?"
"The third rank of the Roger Pirates... Gaban."
A red gleam flashed in Katakuri's eyes. With a sharp twist of his hips and a swift draw, the trident retracted like lightning.
His mochi-arm spun violently, then drove forward in a vicious stab.
"Today marks the end of the Roger Pirates!!"
Mochi Tsuki!
"Hahahaha! We'll see about that!"
Gaban laughed heartily as his twin axes swept out like a hurricane.
Their weapons clashed in an instant, exploding into a storm of force.
...
Clang!!
A pitch-black blade and a flaming sword collided midair with a thunderous crash.
The shockwave shattered the ground beneath them.
Their blades locked, Kozuki Oden and King stood face to face—only inches apart.
Their eyes met.
"Tell me... what has happened to Wano!?"
Oden's samurai garb fluttered in the wind. His empty sleeve flapped alone in the storm.
Bloodshot eyes fixed on the armored, winged man before him. Oden growled the words through clenched teeth.
"That's not a question for someone who betrayed his homeland."
King's reply was cold, with an unmistakable sneer.
"A failure who abandoned his duty for personal whim—what right do you have to ask about Wano?"
"You bastard!!"
It was like a dagger through the heart.
Oden's blade, Shusui, suddenly flared with fierce light. With one mighty swing, he forced King back dozens of meters.
Black wings unfurled. King stopped midair with a beat of his wings. Crimson flames ignited along their edges, burning into the storm-darkened sky.
"You're never going back, Kozuki Oden."
"Wano belongs to Kaidou-san now!"
As King's wings beat once more, dozens of massive fireballs launched into the air—raining down like a fiery storm upon Oden below.
"Ittoryu!!"
Oden placed one hand firmly on Shusui's hilt and charged straight into the sky full of falling flames.
"I will go back! I'll take back everything that's mine!!"
Blades danced through the inferno.
...
The depths of the Miracle Island.
Amid the mountains, three figures tore through the storm, dragging lightning, hurricanes, and flashing blades behind them—moving at a speed beyond imagination.
Every collision shattered the torrential rain.
Every clash of force sent thunder roaring, storms howling, and the earth crumbling beneath their feet.
Flashes of blades, the echo of staff strikes like thunder, flames roaring across the battlefield...
Wherever the three clashed, mountain peaks were leveled, and the ground surged like an ocean, rising into waves dozens of meters high.
"Wahahahaha!! It's been ages since I had a fight this satisfying!!"
Facing the rampaging assault of Kaidou and Big Mom, Roger's scarlet captain's coat flared wildly in the rain. His black hair whipped in the storm as he laughed like a madman.
Endless black and red lightning surged around his body. His overwhelming Haki distorted the very air.
Each of his sword strikes under their barrage exploded like thunder, radiating an aura of absolute dominance.
"Let's see how long you can last!"
Kaidou, in his dragon-human hybrid form, roared through gritted teeth. His hands clenched tightly around his kanabō as it crackled with black and red lightning.
Big Mom, too, had gone berserk. Her burning hair turned into streams of fire. One hand seized a bolt of lightning, the other raised Napoleon, her double-horned hat transformed into a massive blade, and she brought it down in a furious slash!
"Raimei Hakke!!"
"Cognac: Hahaba!"
The crushing pressure from both of them rushed at Roger—yet he only laughed harder.
"Perfect!!"
"Let me see how much you've really grown since God Valley!!"
Without holding back, Roger unleashed his full Conqueror's Haki. The Meito Ace trailed a storm of black-red lightning as it cleaved the air into a roaring arc of sword light.
He struck—
"Kamusari!!"
Boom!!
The three attacks collided midair, shaking the entire island.
The ground collapsed, trembling under the impact like a magnitude 10 earthquake.
Lightning swarmed the sky, shredding the clouds into pieces before stitching them back together.
Howling winds swept every corner of the island, so violent they hurled pirates kilometers away.
"AAAAHHHH!"
"What kind of pressure is this?!"
"Somebody help—!"
...
Members of the Big Mom Pirates and the Beasts Pirates stood frozen in shock, eyes fixed on the island's heart.
They couldn't believe it.
That someone—just one man—was actually standing against both Kaidou-sama and Big Mom-sama!
One versus two!
But at that moment—
Boom!!
A cannon shell exploded along the coastline, waves surging high, thick smoke rising into the sky.
Artillery fire?!
The pirates all jolted. Before they could react, more cannon shells rained down across the coast, each burst lighting up the storm with fire.
Through the haze of black smoke, they ran for cover—then turned their horrified gazes to the distant sea.
"That's..."
"No way..."
"Warships!!"
"Marine warships!!"
Amid the stunned, panicked cries of the pirates, warship after warship emerged through the raging storm, their deck cannons spewing fire nonstop!
"Bwahahahahaha!! Roger!! This time, you're not getting away!!"
At the helm of the fleet, aboard a dog-headed warship, a towering figure in a dog-head cap hurled cannonballs with both arms, spinning like a windmill as he roared with laughter.
The hero of the Marines—"Iron Fist" Garp!