And at this moment—
When the very first king-tier title, "Background King," appeared on the transparent screen…
The audience on the Bleach side started discussing it too.
"Oh?"
"Background King?"
"The instant I saw that title, I immediately thought of Ichigo!!!"
Inside the First Division.
Shunsui wore a bright, easy smile and joked as he spoke.
That's right.
Across the entire Bleach world—
If you were talking about having an overwhelmingly powerful background…
Ichigo, with blood from every race, a true "four-in-one"—
No question about it…
He was the one with the deepest background.
Yes. No need to argue. No need to doubt.
Whether it was Aizen keeping his eye on him and raising him like a carefully directed project—
Or later joining the Visored and becoming the captains' new companion—
Or crossing paths with the Fullbringers in the human world, and in the end only managing to restore his broken Tensa Zangetsu thanks to Shukuro's ability—
And then…
Even Squad Zero had already, in secret, chosen Ichigo—seeing him as one of the most suitable candidates to become the next Soul King.
Of course,
That intention might not have been entirely benevolent.
But at the very least, it showed from the side just how terrifying Ichigo's background really was.
It touched almost everything—
Every organization, every faction—
Pulling on the destiny of the entire Bleach world.
So it was no wonder Shunsui had that thought just now.
And it wasn't only him.
The captains nearby—
The moment they saw the subtitle—
Their instincts went the exact same way.
All of them, almost reflexively, immediately thought of Ichigo!!!
"Heh-heh…"
"Is it possible that, over in that so-called pirate world, there are three other 'Ichigos' as well?"
Behind a blue-and-white mask,
Mayuri's eyes spun as his mind raced, and after a rapid burst of calculation, he voiced his conclusion.
In other words—
This first person being ranked, the Background King…
His identity was very likely the same kind of existence as Ichigo!
Also a main-character-type figure in that pirate world!
Someone with an outrageous background, and whose own talent and willpower were nothing to sneer at—
So he earned the "honor" of making the list!
"So that means…"
"A king-tier title doesn't necessarily represent combat power alone. It could include other factors—maybe it could even be insulting?"
Retsu's eyes flickered.
In an instant, she realized that from the very beginning, everyone's thinking had slipped into a trap.
A classic case of scaring themselves.
The ranking video hadn't even properly started playing yet—
And they'd already decided, on their own, that the pirate world had fifteen powerhouses on Yhwach's level.
Now it seemed—
That idea was absurdly wrong.
Instead, the reality was probably this:
Among those fifteen king-tier titles,
The ones who were truly strong—
The ones the Bleach audience would genuinely acknowledge—
Maybe…
Not even half.
"Hm…"
"No matter what, since we've finally gained some clues, everyone relax. Watch patiently."
"And as for this pirate world… even I am quite interested in it…"
From the highest seat,
The Head Captain lightly tapped his wooden staff once, speaking in a deep, authoritative voice to signal for silence.
Yes.
As long as they could confirm that the pirate world's strength wasn't as exaggerated as they'd imagined—
That was enough.
Meanwhile—
Over in Hueco Mundo.
When the subtitle "Background King" appeared,
It caused another wave of commotion inside Las Noches as well.
"Eh, eh, eh…"
"Background King? That Ichigo over there, huh? Interesting."
Beneath the throne, Gin wore a foxlike smile, his narrowed eyes gleaming with amusement.
Yes.
His first reaction was the same—
That title fit Ichigo ridiculously well.
And if you extended that thought further…
Wouldn't it mean that, in the pirate world,
There was also a protagonist similar to Ichigo?
Now that was interesting!!!
"Gin."
"If we follow what you're saying, there's still one difference."
From atop the throne, Sosuke's voice reminded him calmly.
"Earlier, during the ranking of the ten Zanpakuto… Ichigo and Zangetsu didn't appear until the last three."
"Oh, right…"
At Sosuke's words,
The Hollows and Arrancar around them nodded in sudden understanding.
By the usual pattern—
Whether it was the protagonist, or some other terrifyingly important figure—
It shouldn't be possible for them to be revealed first, right at the beginning.
Otherwise, suspense would evaporate, and the final impact would be gone.
"If it's not the protagonist…"
"Then it's probably some guy with absurd luck, right? I mean—'strongest background' is still 'strongest background.'"
Starrk stroked his chin,
Staring at the subtitle as he made a lazy guess.
"Probably."
"Either way, if he made the list, he must have something extraordinary about him. The content and footage…"
"It shouldn't disappoint the audience, at least."
Even Barragan—
The former King of Hueco Mundo—
Rarely set aside his arrogance, and his hostility and rejection toward unknown figures from another dimension.
Instead, he quieted down and chose to wait for the video to play.
And so—
Under the curious, expectant gazes of Sosuke's trio,
And the entire Arrancar host…
The subtitle vanished.
Then, light flashed.
The transparent screen was no longer pitch-black—
It brightened instantly—
And brand-new footage began to play.
What entered their eyes first
was not Luffy himself—
but Luffy's father—
A man known as
the world's most vicious criminal…
The leader of the Revolutionary Army—
Dragon!!!
"Monkey D. Dragon!!!"
"Hm?"
"He's the Background King?"
"Why does this guy's presence feel anything but weak? He looks like a brutally strong human powerhouse!!!"
Inside the small shop,
Kisuke narrowed his eyes, finding it strange.
No matter how he looked at it,
Dragon's temperament and aura didn't resemble someone who needed to rely on others—
Or someone who required an enormous patron to succeed.
If anything—
With a single glance,
Kisuke could tell Dragon was no ordinary figure.
Over there, he had to be someone with real weight.
"Is it possible…"
"That the Background King isn't him?"
"That it's someone related to him—someone close to him, family?"
"And this ferocious man… is actually someone else's 'background' instead!!!"
Beside him,
Isshin thought for a moment, then offered his guess.
At a glance he could tell Dragon, like himself, belonged to the "father generation."
So there was a strong possibility—
His descendant—
A son, or a daughter—
Was the real Background King!!!
And then, amid everyone's speculation—
The footage sped up, roughly reenacting Dragon's experiences before he founded the Revolutionary Army.
Among those scenes…
were included moments where he, in secret,
returned many times to the East Blue's Goa Kingdom—
to the area of Luffy's hometown—
to Foosha Village—
and from some hidden corner, silently watched Luffy grow.
With those images exposed,
it all but confirmed the truth:
the one ranked as "Background King"
was, with overwhelming likelihood, Dragon's son—
Luffy.
In other words…
the pirate world's original protagonist.
Which also meant the Bleach audience had guessed correctly.
Background King—Luffy.
He was that world's "Ichigo."
Also the protagonist.
Also blessed with a terrifying background!!!
And at this moment—
On the pirate world's side.
Luffy stood on the bow of the Thousand Sunny.
After seeing those images, he was initially completely blank-faced with confusion.
But when he noticed
Nami and Robin behind him—
their jaws dropping in shock the moment they saw Dragon—
he finally reacted.
So the Background King was him…
and there were three reasons for it.
Because his father—
the Dragon now appearing on the screen—
the one being exposed to the world—
was Dragon!!!
"I never would've guessed…"
"The Revolutionary Army leader everyone talks about as insanely dangerous… powerful… and evil…"
"When nobody knows and nobody is watching, he actually has a side like this—so gentle, so worried about family…"
Robin was stunned—genuinely shocked.
In her imagination,
someone capable of forming the Revolutionary Army—
an organization with the potential to oppose the World Government—
as its leader,
Dragon should have been the type who kept everyone at a distance.
Cold-faced. Impartial.
Not someone who could be bound by emotion at all.
And yet—
the truth was this kind of whiplash.
Completely unexpected!!!
"Yeah!"
"Luffy's dad—the revolutionary Dragon—those experiences and hardships he went through don't look anything like the vicious monster the rumors make him out to be!"
"So it's the World Government again… smearing him behind the scenes on purpose!!!"
Usopp protested indignantly.
"Right!"
Chopper nodded in agreement.
"But honestly—just saying!"
"His father is a revolutionary!"
"His grandpa is a Marine hero!"
"And on top of that…"
"That brother of Luffy's we met in Alabasta—his older brother—who serves under Whitebeard as the commander of the Second Division!"
"He's also a major pirate in the New World!"
"With a background like that, it really is flawless!!!"
Thinking that far, Chopper couldn't help sighing.
Usually, Luffy lived with such carefree, energetic simplicity
that without realizing it,
people forgot just how powerful his identity and background really were.
Could it be…
That in the future,
whenever Luffy—or the Straw Hat Pirates—ran into danger,
they'd survive and break through
because of Luffy's overwhelming background?
Right now…
That seemed extremely possible!!!
At the same time—
It wasn't only Luffy's group, or most viewers, who felt shock and whiplash.
At this very moment—
On the Grand Line,
the White Soil Island—Baltigo.
This place—
as the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army—
their earliest, long-established stronghold—
Normally, unless there was a need to go out,
Dragon himself and his subordinates
would all stay inside the meeting room they'd built on the island,
together planning the next steps of their revolution against the World Government.
But now—
because the island had also manifested
many transparent screens, large and small—
the footage that had just exposed
everything Dragon had experienced in the past
was also playing right in front of Dragon himself.
And naturally—
his expression instantly turned into a mix of astonishment…
and overwhelming awkwardness.
"That can't be right…"
"Some of these scenes… even my own memories of them are blurry."
"And yet this ranking video reconstructed them all and exposed them in high definition… unbelievable."
Dragon frowned as he spoke, marveling despite himself.
He'd originally thought the appearance of the transparent screen might be a prank—
Or some intimidating trick manufactured by the World Government.
But now…
it was clear that the screen's capabilities
were far, far beyond imagination.
It really did seem like its appearance had nothing to do with the World Government at all!!!
"Hoh."
"Boss, congratulations."
Belo Betty smiled as she spoke.
"You're the first one to make the list. That's an honor, isn't it?"
"Yeah."
Lindbergh praised him.
"That's right—what we just saw was only the past. Next comes the future footage. That's what I'm really looking forward to!!!"
Within the Revolutionary Army,
as the commander of the South Army—
and a mink of the cat tribe—
Lindbergh respected and admired Dragon deeply.
And from the bottom of his heart, he wanted to see
their Revolutionary Army forces continue to expand and grow stronger in the future.
So—
the more future footage about Dragon that got exposed,
the more it would mean that the Revolutionary Army would keep growing in the years to come.
Naturally, that was something everyone would be happy to see.
"Maybe."
Beneath his thick black hair,
Dragon slowly drew his expression back under control.
His tone returned to seriousness as he spoke in a low voice.
"No matter what, with that 'opening' just now…"
"Now that the images are being exposed, the pirate world's former calm…"
"And the secrets that many powerhouses have each been hiding…"
"I'm afraid…"
"They'll all be exposed one by one in the rankings that follow."
(End of Chapter)
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