The Grand Line, within the Florian Triangle.
The Victims' Association.
It was an organization made up entirely of people whose shadows had once been stolen by Gecko Moria.
Three days ago, everyone who had lost their shadows to him discovered something unbelievable. Their shadows had all returned on their own.
That could only mean one thing. Moria had met with disaster.
Countless people collapsed to the ground, staring at their shadows as tears streamed down their faces.
At the same time, those sent out to gather information rushed back and shouted at the top of their lungs.
"Moria must be dead!"
"All the zombie soldiers have fallen!"
"It's time for revenge!!!"
"There's only that bastard Hogback left on the island!"
The members of the Victims' Association erupted with excitement.
"Really?! That's great!!!"
"Hurry, hurry! Grab your weapons! Let's kill our way over there!"
"Go, go, go!!"
* * *
The Florian Triangle, Thriller Bark.
Inside the massive terror ship, as huge as an island.
Hogback was urgently repairing a speedboat. His own strength was terrible. The only reason he had become one of Moria's top subordinates was because they shared the same goals and because of his exceptional technical skills.
But he never imagined that Moria would die outside for no clear reason.
"Damn it! That guy was supposed to be strong! He died without any warning! What a pain!!!"
Many ships disappeared here every year, but they were all large vessels. One person could not operate them alone.
Hogback had not slept for two days. He had been desperately fixing this broken speedboat the whole time.
Those people must have noticed by now. If he did not run, he was just waiting to die.
* * *
The Florian Triangle, aboard the Rumbar Pirates' ship.
"Yohohoho~ Yohohoho~"
Bang!
"Ah! Forty four degrees… Huh?"
A skeleton froze mid-song.
"My shadow?! When did it come back?!"
* * *
The outer edge of the Florian Triangle.
A fleet made up of dozens of warships stood in formation, arranged in a vast line across the sea. Each vessel was spaced far apart, awaiting the final command.
Many young soldiers aboard the ships could barely hide their excitement.
"This is so thrilling!"
"The mission this time is actually to wipe out the Florian Triangle!"
"When we get back, I have to tell everyone about this!"
A slightly older lieutenant frowned at the commotion, confusion flickering across his face. "Hm? Is this place really that famous?"
Was Gecko Moria of the Seven Warlords really that well known?
The young soldiers glanced at each other. They were just as surprised that the lieutenant did not know about the Florian Triangle.
They immediately began talking over one another.
"Hey! Lieutenant! Didn't you hear the legends of the Florian Triangle when you were young?"
"No matter what goes in, ships or powerful fighters, nothing ever comes out!"
"They say the Florian Triangle is connected to hell!"
"Everyone who enters disappears completely. Only ghost ships are left drifting inside!"
"From time to time, you can even hear creepy singing, and hellish skeletons patrol the area!"
The older lieutenant's mouth twitched.
He understood what was going on. Moria had occupied this place for over ten years. And these kids were barely in their early twenties.
Ignorant civilians had spread Moria's crimes as supernatural events. After endless exaggeration, it had turned into these absurd legends.
The lieutenant shook his head and said, "There's no such thing as hell. It's just the work of pirates. You all—"
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something and suddenly turned his head.
"All hands! Turn about!"
His gaze locked onto the distance. From the sea, lines of fire surged upward, connecting to the sky like stairways reaching the heavens.
"You new recruits, you're really lucky. Watch carefully! Take a good look at the power of Fleet Admiral Sakazuki!!!"
As everyone stared at the sky filled with fire, countless magma shells shot into the air at extreme speed, like rocket artillery.
Because the warships were spaced so far apart, they could clearly see the magma shells disappear into the sky. When they reappeared, they dove straight toward the Florian Triangle.
And they were visibly growing larger.
The entire sky was dyed red, filling heaven and earth.
Scorching heat rushed forward. They could vaguely see the air around each massive molten fist twisting from the heat.
Molten fists the size of small mountains plunged downward. The roaring sound of their descent left minds completely blank.
If the marine soldiers on the outskirts felt overwhelming pressure, then everyone inside the Florian Triangle felt only one word.
Death.
This was pure instinct, a reaction of the body itself.
In the sea region shrouded in fog all year round, the sky suddenly turned crimson, as if the sun itself had fallen.
Boom!!!!
The first molten fist struck the massive Thriller Bark.
It pierced straight through it in a single blow, then exploded violently.
Under the terrifying force of the blast, the enormous terror ship shattered like glass. It was torn into powder and sank into the sea along with the magma.
The erupting heat waves surged outward and collided with the energy released by other molten fists crashing down elsewhere.
Scorching shockwave storms swept through the area in chaos, turning the entire Florian Triangle into a gigantic furnace.
All people and objects began to burn and turn to ash.
Under the raging heat, nothing could resist.
This was true hell…
And it did not end there.
The magma that fell into the sea continued to glow red. It was not cooled by the water and kept releasing steaming heat.
It was as if it meant to burn the entire ocean away.
* * *
On the warship where Sakazuki stood.
The magma covering his arms slowly receded, turning back into flesh.
"Meteor Volcano..."
His body felt completely relaxed.
Carlo stared at the sea area of the Florian Triangle, where molten fists still rained down, devouring everything. He exhaled softly.
"This is world ending power… so this was your true goal."
Sakazuki let out a faint laugh as he replied, "Yeah. It's been a long time since I moved like this."
He rolled his shoulders and turned away.
"Set sail. To the New World."
The warship slowly turned and departed.
The remaining warships stayed perfectly still, carrying out their orders.
Their role was to perform the final cleansing. They would not let a single survivor slip through.
Even though there might be nothing left at all.
**
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