On the outskirts of Devil's Island, chaos reigned.
A ragged band of thirteen sailors had stumbled ashore thinking they'd found a place to relax after barely escaping a tornado. But the island had proved a hell far worse than the storm.
Now only seven remained. Their faces were pale, streaked with blood and sweat, as they sprinted through the dense undergrowth.
"Run! Don't look back, just run!" one sailor bellowed, gripping a bloodied cutlass in trembling hands.
From behind came the thunder of colossal footsteps.
Thump… thump… thump.
The very ground quivered, and trees shook violently as something massive barreled through them.
"It's over, it's really over… that's a damn dinosaur!" someone wailed, voice raw with terror. "We really landed on a Beast Island, didn't we?"
The pursuer burst into view, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, its body fifteen meters long, its maw gaping wide, fresh gore dripping from its teeth. It had already devoured half their comrades, and the taste of flesh only stoked its frenzy.
With a guttural roar, the predator surged forward.
"AHHH! Help me!"
The sailor at the rear had glanced back just as the beast lunged. The T-Rex's massive jaws clamped down, tearing him in half. His scream cut short as his body was tossed skyward and snapped up whole.
Gulp.
The sound of chewing echoed after the fleeing men. None dared slow down.
Then, a shadow dropped from the canopy.
A pistol barked.
bang, bang, bang!
Shots streaking toward the dinosaur's eyes. The T-Rex twisted its head, evading most. The few bullets that grazed its hide barely pierced the skin, doing nothing but enrage it.
The shooter expected as much. Holstering the gun, he drew a long blade in one fluid motion.
"Old Captain!" the fleeing men cried in unison. Relief washed over them at the sight of their leader.
The weathered man landed lightly, sword in hand, planting himself between his crew and the beast.
"You lot...keep moving!" he barked, eyes never leaving the predator. "Our men are just ahead. I'll hold this thing here!"
His sudden arrival wasn't chance.
The massive commotion had reached his ears as he searched for survivors elsewhere in the forest.
Though bloodied and scarred by claw and fang from earlier skirmishes, the Old Captain's eyes still burned with iron resolve. On Devil's Island, every step was paid for in blood, yet he would not let his crew die without a fight.
Meanwhile, deeper in the island's interior, Teach faced down a different nightmare.
From the treeline, dozens of chitin-armored shapes scuttled into view, giant ants, each the size of a warhorse. Their obsidian-black exoskeletons glimmered faintly, their mandibles clacking with predatory hunger.
Teach grinned. "So… the welcoming party finally arrives."
These were Gold-Eating Ants, a rare and feared species even in the New World.
From birth, they consumed metal as easily as flesh and bone. Their steel-hard shells resisted blades; their venom, a metallic toxin, could corrode life itself. And as ants, their strength scaled monstrously, they could lift hundreds of times their own weight, and now, at two meters long, that meant power enough to crush almost anything.
Teach had read of them in old bestiaries. He'd never expected to see them with his own eyes.
The ants surged forward in formation, mandibles snapping, claws gouging furrows into the earth. Their instincts urged caution, the aura radiating from Teach was monstrous but the order of their king overrode all hesitation.
The king's command was absolute.
"Zehahaha… so you hunt me?" Teach's arms shimmered black as Armament Haki wrapped around his clawed hands.
The first two ants lunged, front claws sweeping to seize and tear him apart.
Teach blurred forward. "Claw Strike!"
Blood-red light streaked as his talons raked across their armored chests. The two giants were hurled back like ragdolls, smashing through tree after tree before finally skidding to a halt.
The others froze, antennae quivering. Even the Gold-Eating Ants had never seen such force.
Yet the pair Teach had struck were not dead. Their thoraxes bore deep claw marks, their exoskeletons dented inward but not shattered. They staggered upright, ichor dripping from their mandibles, eyes still locked on Teach.
"Ho… tougher than I thought," Teach muttered, intrigued. "Even steel would've split. You things are built different."
Their hissing cries were a signal. The rest charged at once, the forest floor trembling under the stampede.
Teach strode forward calmly, claws flashing. Each swing carved into armored carapaces, each impact sending another ant tumbling. By the time he reached the edge of a massive crater-like mine pit, the ground behind him was littered with dozens of twitching bodies.
At last, the true master revealed itself.
Across the pit, on a raised golden dais, stood a creature unlike the others. Nearly three meters tall, it loomed upright on two legs, its entire form encased in a golden exoskeleton that gleamed like living armor. Slender limbs rippled with frightening power.
Crimson eyes burned with killing intent, and its twin antennae twitched as if tasting the air for blood.
The Ant King.
The swarm hushed as their monarch rose. Its presence pressed down like a tidal wave. Even from hundreds of meters away, the aura carried the weight of a Conqueror.
Teach bared his teeth, long hair whipping as his own Conqueror's Haki erupted outward, colliding invisibly with the Ant King's killing will. The air quaked. Dust swirled.
The forest fell silent, every lesser beast fleeing in terror.
"Zehahaha… King meets King, eh?" Teach's grin stretched wider. "Perfect."
Neither spoke. Neither needed to. Their intent was clear.
After three heartbeats, they moved as one.
Teach's claws blazed with Armament and Conqueror's Haki, lightning and fire crackling between his fingers. The Ant King's four forelimbs met him head-on, blackened by its own Armament.
BOOOOM!
The collision detonated like a cannon blast, shockwaves ripping trees from the earth, sending sand and stone whipping through the air.
Suspended midair, they grappled Teach straining with every ounce of explosive technique, the Ant King replying with sheer monstrous force.
Veins bulged on Teach's arms as he pressed in, grinning through clenched teeth.
But the Ant King was strength incarnate. With a guttural hiss, it shoved back, breaking the deadlock. They separated, landing on opposite edges of the pit.
Neither had gained an inch. The opening exchange was a draw.
They launched again.
Teach ducked beneath a scything claw and countered upward, talons aimed to tear the Ant King's throat. The creature twisted, deflecting with another limb, then snapped its claws together into a spear-like spike, thrusting straight for Teach's chest.
Teach slammed his Haki-coated palm into the strike, sparks flying as he diverted the blow, even as his other claw slashed toward the Ant King's head.
Blow after blow, strike after strike, the King of Pirates-in-the-making and the King of Ants clashed, their battle shaking all of Devil's Island.
And it had only just begun.