Amazon Lily – Calm Belt
The waters of the Calm Belt were unnaturally still, broken only by the massive silhouette of a Marine battleship cutting forward with forced propulsion. Steam hissed from its engines, and the red flag of justice snapped violently in the wind.
At the bow stood Sakazuki, coat of Absolute Justice draped over his shoulders, his gaze fixed on the distant outline of Amazon Lily.
As the ship closed in on the island's protective currents, a Marine stepped forward with a loudspeaker, his hands trembling despite himself. He swallowed once, then shouted into the wind.
"Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, surrender yourself to the Marines now!"
His voice echoed across the cliffs and dense jungle canopy. For a moment, nothing answered but the cry of distant birds.
Then came the sound of footsteps.
Slow. Measured. Rhythmic.
Every Marine turned toward the stone harbor steps leading down from the island. A single figure emerged from the sunlight, her silhouette framed against the towering cliffs.
Boa Hancock walked alone.
Her hips swayed with effortless grace, long black hair cascading down her back like silk. The moment the Marines truly saw her face, silence fell.
One by one, rifles clattered to the deck.
Several men froze mid-breath, expressions softening into foolish adoration before their bodies hardened into stone statues. The petrification spread in seconds, statues lining the ship like grotesque ornaments.
Sakazuki did not blink.
His right arm melted into bubbling magma, heat distorting the air around him as he stepped forward.
"Surrender yourself," he said coldly, "or be ready to see Amazon Lily burned to the ground."
Hancock did not reply.
She did not flinch.
Instead, she moved.
Her heel struck the stone harbor, and in a blur she ran forward, leaping into the air with flawless Moonwalk technique. Each step in midair echoed like a drumbeat as she closed the distance toward the battleship.
Sakazuki's eyes narrowed.
"Meigō!"
A colossal magma fist launched toward her, molten rock screaming through the sky.
Hancock spun gracefully in midair, Conqueror's Haki crackling around her leg in black lightning. With a precise, disdainful kick, she struck the magma fist.
The magma reversed direction, exploding back toward the Marine ship in a blazing arc.
Chaos erupted as Marines scrambled, but the magma crashed onto the deck, igniting timber and iron alike.
Sakazuki stepped through the flames, magma rolling down his arm.
"So you've grown bold, Pirate Empress."
Hancock landed lightly on the edge of the ship's railing. Her gaze was cold, regal, utterly unimpressed.
"You dare threaten my kingdom and expect mercy?"
She vanished again.
Her kicks came like divine judgment, each strike infused with Conqueror's Haki. Every impact forced Sakazuki back several steps, the deck splintering beneath his boots.
He gritted his teeth.
If he unleashed his full power, the ship would melt. The Marines aboard would burn alive. The Calm Belt would swallow the wreckage.
And she knew it.
"You're restricting yourself," Hancock observed calmly as her heel slammed into his guard. "How inconvenient."
Sakazuki's magma surged higher.
"You think I need this ship?"
Hancock leapt upward.
"Slave Arrow!"
A barrage of glowing pink arrows rained down, piercing the deck, the cannons, the masts. Wood, iron, and flesh alike turned to stone instantly.
The ship groaned.
Cracks spread across its petrified hull as it began to sink into the still waters of the Calm Belt.
Marines screamed as they toppled overboard, only to freeze mid-fall into lifeless statues before hitting the sea.
Hancock stepped off the collapsing mast and Moonwalked back toward the island.
Sakazuki lunged forward, intending to pursue, but the sky darkened with arrows.
Kuja warriors lined the cliffs, bows drawn, Armament Haki coating every arrowhead in black sheen.
Sakazuki snarled.
He could ignore the damage, but dodging while Moonwalking over Calm Belt waters was another matter entirely.
Below, shadows shifted.
Sea Kings.
Massive serpentine shapes circled beneath the surface, waiting for a single misstep.
Sakazuki gritted his teeth and kicked off the air to retreat, magma propelling him upward.
But the arrows intensified.
Hancock herself turned midair and fired again.
"Slave Arrow."
He dodged many, magma walls rising to intercept the petrifying shots.
Then a single arrow tore through the molten barrier.
It was not pink.
It was black.
Conqueror's Haki coated the shaft, splitting the magma like lightning tearing through storm clouds.
Sakazuki's eyes widened.
The arrow struck.
In an instant, the Fleet Admiral candidate turned to stone midair.
He fell.
For a split second, he thought he would become food for Sea Kings.
Then—
A massive burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Hancock, washing across the waters like a tidal wave.
The Sea Kings recoiled, retreating into the depths.
Kuja warriors leapt forward with ropes and dragged the petrified Admiral onto the shore.
Silence settled.
The Marine battleship sank fully beneath the Calm Belt.
Result of the attack on Amazon Lily:
The ship destroyed. All Marines dead. Admiral captured.
Total failure.
Hancock stood atop the cliffs, looking down at the stone statue of Sakazuki. A slow smirk curved her lips.
"I wonder what expression Ren will make when he sees this."
---
Wano – The Sky Above Onigashima
High above Wano, thunderclouds churned violently as two colossal figures clashed without pause.
Ren's golden, flame-wreathed ape form roared as it grappled with Kaido's azure dragon body. Their battle had lasted for hours, shockwaves tearing through the island below.
Lightning and golden flames collided endlessly.
Finally, as if by mutual understanding, both separated.
Light erupted.
Two figures emerged from the storm clouds—both now in human form, riding their respective clouds midair.
Kaido rolled his shoulders, kanabo resting against his palm.
"You've got endurance, brat."
Ren exhaled slowly, golden energy swirling around him.
"You're not exactly fragile yourself."
They charged again.
Below, Yamato stood surrounded.
King hovered overhead in pteranodon form. Jack loomed like a living fortress. Who's Who circled cautiously.
Then—
A beam of light tore toward her from behind.
In a split second, Yamato tilted her head without conscious thought. The laser passed where she had been.
Queen landed heavily nearby, mechanical arm smoking.
"Oi! Why'd you dodge that so easily?" he snapped.
Yamato blinked once.
She had seen it.
For just a fraction of a second, she had seen the future.
Queen charged forward with a roar.
"So what if the ambush failed? It's four against one!"
Yamato grinned, excitement flashing in her eyes.
"Good."
King's sharp gaze narrowed.
He had seen it.
She had learned Internal Destruction mid-battle.
And just now—future sight.
A chill ran down his spine.
"She's not fighting to win," King muttered. "She's using us."
Yamato shifted into her Human-Beast form, Conqueror's Haki sparking along her kanabo.
She moved fluidly, her body reacting before attacks landed.
Every exchange sharpened her perception.
King shouted, voice slicing through the chaos.
"Use everything you have! We have to stop her before she masters Future Sight!"
The realization hit the others like ice water.
They were not fighting an enemy.
They were sharpening a weapon.
Sweat soaked King's back as they stopped holding back entirely.
Yamato only grinned wider.
"Come on!"
She met all four head-on.
---
Orochi's Castle
Inside the burning halls of Orochi's castle, steel clashed with fury.
Denjiro parried a blade and snarled.
"This ends tonight."
Ashura Doji slammed an enemy into a pillar.
"For Oden!"
Kawamatsu blocked a strike meant for Hiyori and growled.
"Push forward!"
The elites of Orochi fought desperately, but the Kozuki samurai advanced inch by inch.
If they won here, Orochi would die.
Outside, the sky split again as Ren and Kaido's Conqueror's Haki collided.
The era trembled.
And somewhere across the sea, the world had just lost an Admiral.