Egghead Island.
Bartholomew Kuma walked out of the main laboratory.
His steps were heavy, his thoughts in turmoil.
He had just received the latest order from the Marines — an order… a rather strange one.
"Shichibukai — Bartholomew Kuma, proceed immediately to the Devil's Triangle."
"Rendezvous with Marine Rear Admiral Rayne Hawke."
"From then on, all subsequent actions are to follow Hawke's commands."
Go to the Devil's Triangle?
Take orders from a Marine Rear Admiral?
Inside Kuma's mind, the module responsible for logical analysis was working at full speed, but no reasonable explanation could be found.
This order did not fit the World Government's usual operating style.
However...
"Kuma, from now on, just listen to the Marines."
That was what Vegapunk had whispered to him after delivering the order.
At that moment, his gaze had been complicated.
There was reluctance, worry… but more than anything else, there was a kind of unprecedented hope.
Listen to the Marines...
Kuma paused mid-step and tilted his head slightly.
He had, of course, always followed Marine orders.
Or rather, he had followed the orders the Marines conveyed — orders from the World Government.
But that wasn't what Vegapunk meant.
That old friend of his was hinting at something else…
The Marines were no longer the same Marines they used to be.
"..."
Kuma continued walking, passing through a series of automatically opening alloy gates, until he reached an open-air launch platform.
He slowly removed the glove from his left hand.
Beneath the black glove was a soft, pink paw pad.
The Paw-Paw Fruit.
He raised his hand and gently pressed the paw against his own chest.
"Let's just think of it as a little trip… to the Devil's Triangle."
"Whoosh—"
Kuma's figure vanished on the spot.
A blur, faster than the naked eye could follow, tore through the clouds and shot into the sky.
Destination.
The Devil's Triangle.
...
"Splaaash—"
Three massive battleships sailed steadily across the waters of Paradise.
On the deck of the flagship in the middle, an intense "sparring match" was underway — one where the strength gap was painfully obvious.
"Come!"
Hawke stood bare-chested, his bronze skin stretched tight over smooth, powerful muscles that radiated explosive strength.
Sweat slid down his sharply defined abs, catching the sunlight and glimmering with a healthy sheen.
He didn't even need to move. Just standing there, he was like an unshakable mountain.
"Take this!"
Sanji's entire figure turned into a fiery orange-red whirlwind, his lightning-fast kicks carrying waves of scorching heat as he attacked Hawke from every angle.
Hawke, however, casually raised his forearm, blocking each and every one of Sanji's kicks with effortless precision.
"Good form. Power's lacking!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Dull impact after impact rang out endlessly.
Sanji felt waves of sharp pain shooting up from his ankles; every kick felt like he was striking a block of solid Seastone, rattling his bones and stirring up his blood.
"Oi, moss-head! Get in there already!"
Between kicks, Sanji roared toward Zoro, who stood nearby, gripping his sword hilt tightly.
"Shut it, curly-brow!"
Zoro growled, his gaze sharpening instantly as one of his blades sliced through the air, drawing a deadly arc.
A lethal slash swung straight toward Hawke's back, aimed directly at his vitals.
Without even looking, Hawke reached back casually, catching Zoro's wrist with perfect precision.
The blade stopped mere centimeters from his skin.
"Nice killing intent. Too slow."
At the same time, Hibari and Kujaku seized their moment to strike.
"Whiplash!"
Kujaku's long whip cracked through the air like a serpent, aiming to coil around Hawke's ankle and restrict his movements.
From above, Hibari had already taken position on higher ground, her rifle aimed straight at Hawke's temple as she pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
A Seastone bullet ripped through the air, heading straight for Hawke's head.
The four of them moved in perfect sync, their assault seamless and relentless.
But they were facing a monster — someone whose physique had already reached an Admiral-level foundation.
"Tap—"
Hawke's ankle muscles tensed explosively, knocking Kujaku's whip aside with raw force.
He tilted his head slightly, and Hibari's bullet whizzed past, grazing his hair.
"Too weak."
Hawke gave Zoro's wrist a sharp flick, sending the swordsman crashing straight into Sanji.
"Oi!"
Sanji yelped, trying to disengage and retreat, but Zoro slammed into him headfirst, sending the two of them tumbling across the deck in a messy heap.
"Whoosh—"
Hawke's figure blurred, leaving only an afterimage behind.
In the next instant, he reappeared behind Hibari and Kujaku.
He extended both hands and lightly tapped the tops of their heads.
"Thud!"
"Thud!"
"Oww!"
Hibari and Kujaku clutched their heads, tearing up as they crouched down, wincing in pain.
Taking advantage of the opening, Sanji and Zoro scrambled back to their feet, exchanging a quick glance.
In each other's eyes, they saw the same thing — determination.
After having their attacks neutralized so easily, they both understood now: ordinary techniques were useless.
"Oi!"
"Shut up!"
A brief exchange, but it carried their unspoken agreement.
Sanji raised his right leg high, black Armament Haki coating it in a dark sheen.
At the same time, Zoro lowered his stance slightly, his muscles tensing like a drawn bow, his Wado Ichimonji letting out a sharp, resonant hum.
The next second, they moved — together!
"Combination Techniqu!"
A move born out of countless clashes and arguments, finally perfected.
Sanji's fiery kick turned into a spiraling crimson meteor, while Zoro's slash became a roaring black lion tearing silently through the air.
Two completely different forces intertwined midair, fusing perfectly as they charged toward Hawke!
And then—"BOOM!"
A deafening impact.
Sanji felt an overwhelming counterforce surge up his leg, rattling his bones and instantly flooding his body with pain, a bitter taste rising in his throat.
Zoro didn't fare any better. The moment his blade, infused with every ounce of his strength and sword intent, made contact with Hawke's skin, he felt it.
Unshakable. Absolute. Indestructible.
Their strongest joint attack… dissolved into nothing, like raindrops vanishing into the sea.
As the shockwave faded, the results were obvious.
Sanji's kick had left nothing but a faint scorch mark on Hawke's chest.
Zoro's blade had pierced the skin just enough to draw a single bead of blood — which vanished in an instant as Hawke's monstrous regeneration closed the wound.
"..."
Silence fell over the deck.
"What?!"
"Hawke's physique… what the hell?!"
Both men shouted at the same time, disbelief and frustration thick in their voices.
Impossible.
That had been their strongest combined attack — a move they believed capable of threatening even a Marine Vice Admiral!
And yet…
They hadn't even made him take a single step back.
Just then, a messenger sprinted over and reported loudly,
"Rear Admiral Hawke! Dense fog ahead! We're approaching the Devil's Triangle!"
"That's enough."
Hawke spoke calmly.
With a light push, he sent both Zoro and Sanji sliding away.
"Go rest. Recover your strength. We'll be getting busy soon."
"Yes, sir!"
Hibari and Kujaku immediately stood straight and saluted before dragging the dazed Zoro and Sanji back toward the cabins.
"Fuuuh—"
Hawke remained where he was, feeling the roaring, unstoppable power surging within his body.
This… was an Admiral-level physique.
That entire fight — Zoro and Sanji's full-powered attacks — had felt to him like nothing more than a gentle breeze.
Strikes capable of splitting mountains and shattering boulders had landed on his body… and all they left behind was the faintest sting.
Even more terrifying, his recovery speed was so immense that the moment he was injured, most of the damage was healed instantly.
And this was after his own personal training of Zoro and Sanji.
Their current strength was far beyond their original timeline.
Yet even so, with him using no Haki, no techniques, relying solely on raw physical power…
They were crushed. Effortlessly.
Physique. That was the foundation of everything.
He had made the right choice.
"..."
Zoro and Sanji walked side by side, silent.
They exchanged a glance, each seeing the same shock — and faint bitterness — reflected in the other's eyes.
"Oi, curly-brow."
"What?"
"Hawke… he got stronger again."
"Yeah… feels like we'll never catch up…"
Sanji lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply before exhaling a smoky ring tinged with frustration.
"Vrrmmm—"
The battleship slowly entered the legendary sea region.
Around them, the light dimmed rapidly as visibility dropped sharply.
A dense, eerie fog curled around the ship like a living thing, clinging and twisting unnaturally.
The air was thick with the damp, rotten stench of decay. The silence was suffocating — even the sound of the waves seemed swallowed by the mist.
And then, looming faintly in the distance, an impossibly massive silhouette began to take shape within the fog.
A ship.
A gargantuan sailing ship, larger than entire islands.
Thriller Bark.
Thriller Bark.
At that moment—
"Hmm…?"
Hawke suddenly lifted his head, his sharp gaze locking onto the skies above.
His Observation Haki had detected a figure rapidly approaching at high speed.
"Whoosh—"
A shadow tore through the thick fog, tracing a perfect arc through the sky.
A moment later, that figure descended silently, landing with flawless precision at the massive front gate of Thriller Bark.
The man was towering and broad-shouldered, wearing a distinctive spotted hat, a heavy book held in his hand.
"Oh… Shichibukai — Bartholomew Kuma?"
...
Back when Kuma was still a pastor.