The next day, Kalifa accompanied Chiga on a tour of Marineford.
Along the way, many Navy personnel were stunned at first sight of him, their expressions quickly shifting to overwhelming excitement. Fortunately, most here were disciplined soldiers, so there was no outbreak of uncontrollable "star-chasing."
Chiga asked Kalifa about the current state of the seas.
Currently, the Navy stood as the undisputed number one force, their dominance unmatched. Pirates remained, of course, but their influence was far weaker than before.
Chiga was genuinely surprised by this. With the Navy this strong, how many pirates would dare to cause trouble? After all, during the great battle at Marineford, even the Four Emperors' crews had been defeated by naval might. Did these fools have no sense?
Kalifa gave him the explanation.
"Chiga-sama, less than a year after you left, Blackbeard reappeared. He now calls himself Rocks and is extremely powerful. We sent forces to capture him several times, but he always escaped. Instead, he used the opportunities to spread his reputation, drawing a large number of pirates to follow him."
Chiga frowned. Blackbeard was supposed to be dead. He was absolutely certain of it—he himself had absorbed the Dark-Dark Fruit after killing him.
"Blackbeard?" Chiga pressed. "You mean the one who betrayed Whitebeard's crew?"
"Yes," Kalifa confirmed. "But he no longer uses that title. He calls himself the Black Emperor."
"Black Emperor, huh? Interesting."
Golden light flickered in Chiga's eyes, his gaze narrowing, the brilliance only growing sharper. He hadn't expected that while he was away, a single fish had slipped through the net and stirred up trouble in his seas.
It didn't matter whether he called himself Teach, Rocks, or Emperor—if Chiga had killed him once, he could do it again. His fate was already sealed: death.
Kalifa, who understood Chiga better than most, caught his meaning at once. From his tone alone, she knew—Rocks was already a dead man.
She continued, sharing the intelligence she had gathered.
"Chiga-sama, this Rocks has the ability to wield multiple Devil Fruits, just like you. According to analysis, this is related to the Paramecia—Swallow-Swallow Fruit."
Chiga nodded. He knew of that fruit. It had the ability to let the user consume others and gain their powers. Wapol had once demonstrated this by devouring a Mushroom-Mushroom Fruit user and genuinely gaining their ability.
As expected of someone who had studied the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. To find such a substitute after losing the Dark-Dark Fruit—this Black Emperor truly had some cunning. And clearly, he had consumed several powerful fruits since then. Otherwise, escaping repeated Navy encirclements would have been impossible.
Kalifa went on.
"He also possesses an ability suspected to be instant movement, covering vast ranges. Once, even Kizaru scoured the surrounding sea, but Rocks simply vanished. In addition, he wields the Logia—Swamp-Swamp Fruit. Under his control, its destructive power rivals a natural disaster."
Even without considering other possible abilities, those three alone made Rocks a terror across the seas. In Chiga's absence, and with the decline of the Four Emperors, it was no surprise he had risen to the throne of a sole pirate emperor.
But now that Uchiha Chiga had returned, those days were over.
Alabasta
Outside the desert kingdom's gates, Crocodile stood with a group of Baroque Works agents, his expression grim as he faced a force that radiated menace.
At their head was a tall man in a black coat, his crew bearing a flag with a grotesque skull whose gaping mouth was stretched unnaturally wide.
Crocodile drew deeply from his cigar, exhaling smoke as he muttered,
"Rocks Pirates, Vice-Captain… Aramaki of the Forest."
Aramaki smirked, raising a hand in mock greeting.
"So, you must be Crocodile. Loyal, I'll give you that. But don't tell me you actually think you and that pathetic bunch behind you can stop me?"
His words dripped with disdain. Veins bulged across Crocodile's forehead, but he forced himself to remain calm. He knew the truth—Aramaki's strength was enough to rival a Navy Admiral. Fighting him outright would be suicide. His only option was to stall for time, waiting for reinforcements.
Inside the palace, King Cobra stood on his balcony, watching the gates with growing unease.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Hurried footsteps echoed behind him. His daughter, Vivi, now a graceful young woman, rushed to his side. She was breathless, but her words tumbled out in excitement.
"Father! I've already contacted Navy Headquarters. Robin answered, and she told me—Chiga-sama has returned!"
In recent years, Vivi had often accompanied her father to naval meetings, becoming familiar with Robin through Alabasta's connections.
The moment Cobra heard those words, joy flooded his face. To him, the name Uchiha Chiga was synonymous with absolute power. Nothing could reassure him more.
But the relief lasted only seconds. A thunderous boom shook the city from outside the gates.
Father and daughter rushed to the window, peering down in shock.
From the sand beyond, countless massive trees erupted, twisting and morphing into colossal fists that smashed against the city walls.
Aramaki had made his move without warning.
Crocodile's eyes hardened. His arm dissolved into sand as he growled,
"Desert Vajra Treasure Blade!"
Swish!
A massive sand blade cut down swathes of the advancing forest, but the trees pressed forward, endless and unyielding.
With no other choice, Crocodile conjured a devastating sandstorm. Normally, sand countered trees, draining their life of moisture. But these trees, forged by Aramaki's will, pulsed with unnatural vitality, forcing their way through the storm.
Crocodile grit his teeth, focused entirely on resisting, when a vine slithered silently behind him. It morphed into a sharpened spike, gleaming ominously with Armament Haki.
Daz Bonez, one of his men, noticed first. His eyes widened in terror.
"Boss, behind you!"
Thud!
The sickening sound of flesh being pierced rang out. Crocodile froze, turning slowly.
There, before his eyes, stood Daz Bonez—impaled by the tree spike.
"Daz Bonez!"
____
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