When Roa began to unleash his Conqueror's Haki, the entire world started to tremble.
In a distant stretch of sky, far from the battlefield.
A giant, black dragon floated quietly.
But right at this moment—
"Aung!"
Nidhogg, the second-generation Dragon of the End, suddenly flapped its wings furiously and flew backward, every scale on its body practically standing up. Its already narrow eyes constricted into two vertical slits.
The black dragon's hideous mouth grimaced and bared its teeth like a startled kitten, roaring fiercely toward a certain spot in the distant sky.
"Nidhogg!"
On the dragon's back, Shanks was nearly thrown off by Nidhogg's sudden outburst. He quickly stabilized himself and asked, alarmed, "What is it! Are you sensing something?"
"Aung!!"
Nidhogg seemed to have lost its mind, roaring repeatedly while flying backward.
However, within these continuous roars, there was a hint of—
"Nidhogg—"
Dragon, standing side-by-side with Shanks on the black dragon's back, spoke with a dry voice, "Is it afraid?"
"Afraid?"
Shanks abruptly turned to look at him.
Could Nidhogg be afraid?
Could Nidhogg, who had caused massive sea-level rises and nearly destroyed the world in a war with the other Ancient Weapons, feel fear?
If it truly was afraid, then what was it afraid of—
"Ugh!"
Shanks suddenly looked up, instinctively staring at a certain point in the distant sky.
He couldn't see anything. Even releasing his Observation Haki at full power failed to sense anything due to the vast distance.
Yet, right now, in this very instant, Shanks unconsciously broke out in a cold sweat.
"W-What is that!"
Dragon's voice was trembling.
They shouldn't have been able to sense anything, but at this moment, they suddenly felt a deep, chilling dread from the deepest part of their hearts.
It was as if some dark, cruel, malicious, tyrannical, and utterly evil demon was watching them with eyes full of ill intent.
"S-Something terrifying beyond measure has been born!"
Even Shanks, whose spirit was as magnificent as a conqueror, was stammering now.
"That's the direction of the battlefield! What in the world is happening there!"
What was it?
What kind of disaster was this world about to face next?
On the Heaven's Calamity City, which had sailed to the outer reaches of the world for safety.
"Waaahhh!"
Princess Shirahoshi, who had been hiding and isolating herself at the bottom of the pond, suddenly started crying in terror.
"So, so scary! So scary! Father, Mother, brothers, please come save me!!"
Across the globe, the Sea Kings rampaging near every inhabited island suddenly let out a collective, high-pitched shriek.
Humans couldn't understand their language, and therefore, couldn't comprehend their fear.
"The Demon King is born!"
"No one can stop him now!"
"This world will face an unprecedented disaster!"
"Oh King, who can save you!"
Aside from the highly intelligent Sea Kings, animals with sensitive senses across the world also began to riot.
Wild beasts rushed out of the jungle, birds flew around directionless, and insects began dying in huge numbers.
The entire world seemed to have devolved into chaos.
And the rulers of this world, humans and all human subspecies—
"Waaahhh!"
Countless people screamed in terror, startled by an inexplicable, sudden heart palpitation.
Children wept, old people collapsed to the ground, men sweated profusely, and women cried out in panic.
But at this moment, the slow-to-react masses hadn't realized what was happening to the world; they merely thought the fear was residual panic from the Sea Kings' rampage.
As the entire world became restless, near the sky-high battlefield in the New World.
On an area of the sky a significant distance from the battle, a round, bulging flying machine was being tossed about in the fierce winds.
Inside the flying machine.
"Woah! What's going on!"
Lilith, who was controlling the aircraft, cried out repeatedly, "What's with this weird wind! And what is this chilling feeling!"
The young man who had been making a fuss suddenly went quiet.
His eyes were locked on the space behind him.
Although all his eyes could see was the cold inner wall of the flying machine, it was as if he possessed the Glare-Glare Fruit's ability to see through things. He saw through the aircraft, through the sky, and saw something absolutely horrifying.
"Luffy?"
Lilith, her forehead slick with cold sweat, noticed the young man's strange behavior and looked back with a sudden fear in her heart.
"Something very terrifying has appeared!"
Every muscle in the young man's body was tense, and his pupils were constantly vibrating. "So scary, so scary!!"
"..."
Lilith felt bewildered.
Almost simultaneously.
Below the battlefield where Roa and Imu were fighting, on the gigantic deck of Uranus.
The tremors of this massive ship immediately caused everyone to be greatly alarmed.
Even though the earth-shattering aura had deliberately avoided them, everyone couldn't help but be struck speechless.
"W-What is that?"
Gion, the Vice Admiral candidate who was heavily wounded from the assault by the Charlotte family officers, stared blankly up at the sky.
No one took advantage of the moment to attack her, as everyone was looking up, almost in a daze.
"Conqueror's Haki? Conqueror's Haki of this magnitude? Are you kidding me! Am I truly not dreaming?"
Black Leg Zephyr, severely wounded by Redfield, was trembling slightly. Even a man with a will of iron like him couldn't help but wonder if he had woken up from a nightmare!
Zephyr was certain that if Conqueror's Haki of this level hadn't deliberately avoided them, he would definitely be unable to withstand it!
But how could Conqueror's Haki be this powerful!
And what made Zephyr wish even more that he was dreaming was—
"It's Roa's aura!!"
The cigar in Golden Lion Shiki's mouth dropped to the floor. He stared upward almost dumbfounded, a strange expression that could only be called comical appearing on his usually dominant face.
"What did that guy do now!! How could his aura become this powerful!!"
The Observation Haki he used sensed a terrifying aura so exaggerated that Shiki thought he might be experiencing an illusion!
Could it be—
Shiki's pupils contracted.
"It's evolution—"
Hancock and Robin, who had been forced by Roa to join the war but had been entirely slacking off, were now deathly pale.
The two great beauties exchanged glances, both seeing a bottomless fear in the other's eyes.
Was this the evolution that guy, Roa, spoke of?
How could it be this exaggerated!
No wonder he was confident in confronting Nidhogg!
What kind of monster is this guy!
Despair filled Robin's eyes.
It was over. Imu had absolutely no chance of winning.
Imu, who had ruled the world for eight hundred years, was finished here. Next, Roa would seize this world.
He would take control of the three Ancient Weapons. The Heaven's Calamity City and the Pluton would be reawakened using copies of Uranus's energy.
Coupled with Roa, who had evolved to some incomprehensible level!
Could Nidhogg alone defeat him?
Could a fully-evolved Nidhogg defeat Roa? Defeat the Roa who already far surpassed the level of the former Joy Boy and Nerona Imu?
Robin collapsed onto the ground in utter defeat.
Had this world truly been doomed?
It wasn't just them; everyone was stunned.
Even Kaido was silent.
Even Big Mom was utterly shocked.
Bullet was somewhat stupefied, and King's face showed disbelief.
If the pirates were this shaken, the Marines side was even further plunged into the abyss of despair.
"Sigh."
The Hero of the Marines sighed in defeat.
It seemed that this was truly the end.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who was near death—having been gravely wounded by Roa and severely exacerbated his injuries fighting Bullet—was filled with bitterness.
Roa, what kind of monster had this world bred?
Akainu, severely injured by Teach, was silently distraught. Aokiji, covered in scars left by King, was drenched in cold sweat. Kizaru, tangled up with Enel, let out a long sigh.
Fujitora, who was engaging with Bonney, looked up, his clouded, sightless eyes strained open. "What is this world going to face next?"
The Marines were practically in despair.
But there was one person, only one person left.
Zephyr resolutely pulled out a Den Den Mushi. While everyone else was overwhelmed with shock, he dialed a certain number.
Almost instantly, the call connected.
"Mr. Zephyr, what is—"
"Run! Dragon! Roa has become so strong that Imu is far behind! Run! Run as far as you can! Do not be impulsive!"
Before Dragon on the other end of the phone could respond, a sharp slash cut the Den Den Mushi in half. Redfield pierced Zephyr's shoulder with his umbrella-sword.
"Dragon?"
Redfield, having somewhat contained his shock, smiled with interest. "That's quite an intriguing piece of news."
He had transformed into a vampire. His ten fingers had become sharp, and the upper half of his face was covered by a mask. His aura was powerful, not much inferior to that of Shiki or Kaido.
"However,"
Redfield laughed, "Don't you understand? There is no one left in this world who can defy Roa."
Zephyr was expressionless, saying nothing.
All he could do was this.
Above, on the battlefield high in the sky.
"How is this possible!!"
Imu's vast and bloated body was trembling violently. Dense, thick strands of Haki lightning were continuously jumping off her body, piercing her like black spears and leaving her unable to move.
But how could this be possible!
How could there be Conqueror's Haki this powerful!
Not even Joy Boy, not even David Jones, not even both of those guys combined could achieve such a feat!
"Roa!"
Imu shrieked in near-panic, "What kind of monster are you!!"
Roa was enveloped by an unprecedented, pitch-black torrent of Conqueror's Haki. At this moment, his Conqueror's Haki seemed boundless.
He simply chuckled, "Didn't I already tell you? I am the Calamity."
The second evolution, besides the fundamental increase in base stats, naturally enhanced his ability to create natural and man-made disasters.
However, the truly critical mechanism of this evolution was that Roa had genuinely become the personification of Calamity.
Specifically, he could transform into black mist, directly absorb the black mist to increase his power, and even directly manipulate the black mist to manifest various disasters.
In this world, now saturated with black mist, Roa could confidently state that he was invincible.
The ability to transform into black mist alone made him invincible.
The black mist is something that others, besides Roa, cannot even see, let alone touch.
Forget seawater, Seastone, or any Armament or Conqueror's Haki—all techniques were now ineffective against Roa.
In other words, the black mist is the manifestation of Calamity, and Roa has completely become the personification of Calamity. Humanity can never eliminate the concept of Calamity.
"Though it wasn't as satisfying as I hoped, Imu, it seems this is where you stop."
The black torrent of Conqueror's Haki slowly dissipated. Roa looked down with a sigh at Imu, who was still slightly trembling even without the Haki bombardment.
Just as he expected, after completing the second evolution, even a monster like Imu, whom only a handful of people in all of human history could compare to, was now insignificant to him.
"You must be joking! Imu doesn't believe it! Roa, don't try to fool me! Don't try to bluff!!"
Imu acted like she had lost her mind, pushing both hands forward simultaneously. A gigantic, unprecedented five-pointed star magic circle formed, and from its center, a massive black wave of light shot straight toward Roa.
Roa merely smiled. "You've shown your Haki; let me show you my ability now."
He simply raised his right hand and pointed lightly.
In a realm invisible to Imu, an endless supply of black mist suddenly converged in front of Roa.
Then, the black mist condensed into a bolt of lightning.
A bolt of lightning hundreds of meters wide.
Imu felt her vision instantly turn white.
The black wave of light vanished in an instant, and then the lightning engulfed Imu.
This bolt of lightning, over five hundred meters wide, shot forward through the sky like a thunderous spear, leaving an incomparably dazzling trail in the sky.
After illuminating half the world, the lightning slowly dissipated.
Then, in the distant sky, the black substance gathered, reforming the shape of the giant demon.
Even lightning with the power to easily destroy the world cannot kill the immortal Imu if it doesn't have Conqueror's Haki attached.
However.
"Waaah!"
Despite being a demon representing terror, Imu shrieked as if she had seen a ghost and immediately turned to flee without hesitation.
Imu, the King of the World who had ruled for eight hundred years, had chosen to flee in panic.
But.
A hand.
A hand reached out.
This hand gripped Imu, whose height exceeded one hundred meters, in its palm.
Imu looked back in disbelief.
She saw a gigantic face so enormous it almost blocked the sunlight in the sky.
"Your fear is delicious, Imu!"
"Ro... Ro... Roa—"
Imu had never imagined that one day her voice would tremble to such an extent.
She was even more shocked that she said, "Can we call a truce?"
"At this very moment? Are you not jesting?"
Roa laughed heartily, then said with a smile, "Well, blame yourself for being a poor villain. With your ability, you claimed to be the personification of human malice."
"I told you, this is where you stop. Say goodbye to this world."
The succession of the era began now.