"Hahahahaha! Excellent!"
"I'm coming!"
Linlin's laughter roared across the sea.
Her nine golden tails whipped violently through the air as she shot upward in a streak of pink and gold light, charging straight toward the skull's peak.
Before a man who claimed he would become King of the World, she offered no pleasantries.
Her greeting was battle.
Reno stood at the bow, watching the sky split apart under the collision of two Conqueror's Haki forces.
Soon, he too would stand at that height.
Go, my Linlin.
Show this era the power of a demon.
Atop the skull, Rocks gazed downward as the approaching figure drew near. Sunlight glinted off nine golden tails, unfamiliar yet magnificent.
A flicker of puzzlement crossed his shadowed face.
Before he could speak further, Linlin was upon him.
"Sovereignty of My Kingdom!"
She ignored his question entirely.
Drawing Napoleon, she coated the blade in Armament Haki and infused it with Conqueror's Haki.
Then she swung.
Purple-black lightning erupted, forming a massive shockwave that threatened to tear the skull apart.
Yet faced with an attack that would make even an Admiral hesitate, Rocks did not even draw his sword.
He did not even bother to draw his sword.
Rocks D. Xebec simply raised his right hand, coated in Armament Haki, and spread his fingers as if brushing aside dust.
The terrifying slash met his palm.
A low hum vibrated through the air.
There was no earth-shattering collision as Reno had expected.
The moment Linlin's strongest strike touched Rocks' hand, it dissolved into nothing.
"What?"
Charlotte Linlin's amber pupils contracted sharply.
She could feel it clearly. Her power had been crushed head-on by something far more violent and absolute.
"Your strength is decent," Rocks said calmly, his voice close to her ear. "But it is far from enough."
In the next instant, he countered with a single punch.
A pitch-black aura flared around his body.
The blow tore through the air with unstoppable force and struck Linlin squarely.
She had no time to react.
Blood burst from her lips as she was blasted backward like a cannonball, crashing onto her own pirate ship.
Boom.
The massive vessel shuddered violently. A crater exploded across the deck, wood splintering in all directions.
The pirates collapsed in terror, unable even to stand.
Too strong.
With one casual strike, Sister Linlin had been sent flying.
Is that even human?
Reno's expression hardened. He flew to her side as she slowly rose from the crater.
Linlin wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
Instead of frustration, her grin widened.
"Hahahahaha!"
"As expected of you, Rocks! You're monstrously strong!"
She shook her head. Thanks to her demon-enhanced physique, her injuries healed rapidly. Battle intent burned in her vertical pupils.
"Now this is what real combat feels like!"
Atop the skull, Rocks watched her stand again, her presence growing instead of fading.
A faint note of approval entered his tone.
"Impressive. Charlotte Linlin, at such a young age you possess strength comparable to a Marine Admiral. You are worthy of boarding my ship."
His words echoed across the harbor.
The pirates who had rushed to watch were stunned.
Admiral level?
That girl, barely eighteen, possessed Admiral-level strength?
"Again!"
Linlin roared and shot back into the sky.
Her figure blurred, leaving afterimages. Her nine massive tails lashed out from all directions like living whips.
Each tail was coated in both Armament and Conqueror's Haki. Every strike carried enough force to shatter a mountain.
"Predictable."
Rocks' gaze sharpened.
He drew his long sword.
The black blade was wrapped in overwhelming Conqueror's Haki.
Steel clashed against tails midair. Sparks erupted in rapid succession, thunderous impacts shaking the sky above Hachinosu.
The heavens themselves became their battlefield.
Linlin grew fiercer with every exchange.
Rocks remained composed. Each swing of his blade dismantled her assaults with surgical precision. When he counterattacked, visible wounds opened across her body.
She was completely suppressed.
No matter how she adjusted her tactics or increased her power, she could not break through his defense.
The gap between them was simply too vast.
After being driven back once more, Linlin halted midair and burst into laughter.
"You really are incredible!"
She stared at him from across the sky.
"Rocks, let me show you the power I just obtained!"
A cloud of purple smoke erupted from her body.
Under countless stunned gazes, her form shifted.
Her height, her face, her clothing, even her aura began to change.
Within seconds, the Nine-Tailed Fox vanished.
In her place stood another Rocks D. Xebec.
The same towering build. The same shadowed face. The same dark high-collared coat. Even the overwhelming dominance that seemed to command the world had been perfectly replicated.
For the first time, surprise flickered across Rocks' usually impassive face.
A Devil Fruit ability?
But had Charlotte Linlin not already eaten the Soul-Soul Fruit?
At that moment, several powerful presences rose from different parts of Hachinosu and converged near the battlefield.
A massive man with a crescent-shaped white mustache gripped a gigantic naginata, eyes sharp.
"Gurararara… isn't that woman's ability the Soul-Soul Fruit?"
It was Edward Newgate.
Nearby stood a tall, elegant woman in a short skirt, watching with composed interest.
"You truly are astonishing, Charlotte Linlin."
Stussy.
The core officers of the Rocks Pirates had gathered.
They stared at the two identical figures in the sky, shock written plainly across their faces.
Linlin, now in Rocks' form, gave them no time to process.
She roared and conjured a black blade in her hand, charging again.
Two "Kings of the World" collided.
Black lightning split the sky. Sword energy raged, shaking the entirety of Hachinosu.
Though both used identical Conqueror's Haki-infused slashes and mirrored techniques, the outcome was clear.
One of the Rocks figures was sent flying.
Newgate narrowed his eyes from afar.
"Interesting. She copied the appearance and even the Haki perfectly. But in pure power, the captain still surpasses her."
Linlin had believed transforming into Rocks would close the gap.
She was wrong.
Once again, she was blasted backward.
Yet while all eyes were fixed on the sky-shattering battle, a figure drifted silently onto Linlin's enormous pink pirate ship.
He wore wooden sandals. Long golden hair flowed like a lion's mane. A cigar hung from his lips, and a wild grin curved across his face.
Shiki, the Golden Lion.
He did not look toward the sky.
Instead, his gaze locked onto the strange man standing calmly on deck.
He floated down and stopped before Reno, examining him from head to toe.
A puff of smoke escaped his mouth.
"Hey, you."
"What race are you?"