Upper Yard, Southern Dense Forest.
Sabo adjusted his top hat, his alloy staff resting on his shoulder as he walked steadily over the leaf-strewn Vearth. Unlike the spongy clouds of Angel Island, this solid ground confirmed Carina's theory: this entire landmass was a piece of Jaya Island, launched 10,000 meters into the sky four centuries ago.
Without warning, a sharp whistling tore through the air from his blind spot.
Sabo didn't even turn. His Observation Haki painted the trajectory in his mind instantly. He shifted his staff, coating the metal in jet-black Armament Haki, and parried backward with surgical precision.
CLANG!
A piercing metallic ring exploded through the silent woods. A surge of raw, primal force traveled down the staff, shattering the soil beneath Sabo's boots and forcing him half a step back.
Sabo turned to face his assailant.
It was a young man with the lean, lethal build of a cheetah. He was shirtless, wild tattoos spiraling over his left shoulder and eye. He wore skate-shoes equipped with Jet Dials, and in his grip was a massive, ruggedly designed bazooka.
The strongest warrior of the Shandia: Wyper the "War Demon."
"Blue Sea dweller."
Nineteen-year-old Wyper had the eyes of a wolf backed into a corner—desperate, feral, and filled with a hatred etched into his very marrow. He didn't retreat just because his ambush failed.
"Whether you're here for the gold or you're one of Enel's lapdogs, if you dare set foot on the land of our ancestors, prepare to leave your life behind!"
The Jet Dials on Wyper's skates erupted with high-pressure air. He blurred into a zigzag pattern between the giant trees, moving so fast he left afterimages in the humid air. He closed the distance in a heartbeat, leveling the heavy bazooka at Sabo's chest.
"Burn Bazooka!"
A plume of deep blue flame—white-hot and devastating—roared from the barrel. The clearing where Sabo stood was instantly transformed into a localized inferno. The surrounding trees didn't just burn; they carbonized instantly.
"Is he dead?" Wyper landed on a distant branch, his gaze cold and calculating.
"Blue flames generated by mixing a specific gas with Wind Dials? The destructive yield is impressive," a calm voice drifted from the heart of the blue sea of fire.
Wyper's pupils contracted.
The flames, capable of melting steel, were swirling inward as if being sucked into a vacuum. Sabo stood in the center, completely unscathed. The blue fire spiraled up his arms, merging seamlessly into his skin.
"But compared to true, primordial fire, this artificial toy is nothing but a flicker."
Sabo looked up, his blue eyes igniting with a battle-lust. His right arm erupted into dazzling orange-red flames, the ambient temperature instantly skyrocketing past the limits of Wyper's bazooka.
"His body... it is fire?!"
Wyper's jaw tightened, shock and fury warring on his face. This intangible, elemental body reminded him of the monster currently occupying the throne of Upper Yard.
"An Ability User... just like that bastard Enel!" Wyper roared, but the stubborn pride of a Shandia warrior wouldn't allow him to flee. He unslung a black shield and dove back into the fray. "I don't care if you're a god or a ghost! If you stand in the way of our homeland, I'll kill you all the same!"
Wyper abandoned long-range fire, engaging in a suicidal close-quarters dance. He had no Haki, but his combat instincts—forged through years of fighting the monsters of the sky—were razor-sharp. Using the mobility of his Jet-skates, he narrowly evaded Sabo's staff, his short blade seeking Sabo's vitals with every pass.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The forest echoed with the sound of rapid-fire collisions. Sabo parried the frantic, manic strikes, feeling a flicker of genuine surprise. The resilience and unyielding will emanating from this youth were staggering. This wasn't a fight for greed; this was the struggle of a man bearing the weight of a stolen destiny.
"You're a stubborn one," Sabo said, swinging his staff to knock the short blade aside. He brought his fingers together in a distinct claw-like formation, coating them in obsidian Armament Haki.
"But this is the end."
Sabo vanished. His speed bypassed Wyper's visual limits entirely. Like a hunting dragon, he cut into Wyper's defensive blind spot, his Haki-clad hand hooking toward the warrior's shoulder.
"Dragon's Claw!"
Just as the strike was about to crush Wyper's collarbone, a flash of resolute madness lit the Shandia's eyes. He didn't dodge. He stepped into the blow, ripping the bandages off his left palm to reveal a blackened, sinister shell embedded with Sea Prism Stone fragments.
The forbidden weapon of the sky: the Reject Dial.
"FOR THE LIGHT OF SHANDORA!"
Wyper slammed the Dial against Sabo's chest.
"REJECT!!"
BOOM—!!!
A shockwave of pure, unfiltered destruction erupted. Giant trees within a thirty-meter radius were uprooted and pulverized. The earth itself groaned as the forest floor was hollowed out.
As the dust settled, Wyper lay in the dirt, drenched in blood. His left arm hung in a mangled, twisted mess, the bone shattered by the Dial's recoil. His internal organs were shredded; he coughed up thick mouthfuls of blood, his consciousness flickering.
Opposite him, Sabo still stood.
His tailcoat was shredded, a dark, heavy bruise marring his chest. A thin trail of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. At the final millisecond, Sabo had predicted the impact and concentrated his highest-density Armament Haki over his heart, surviving a force that would have turned a giant into paste.
"A fighting style where your life is the currency, huh?"
Sabo wiped his mouth, looking down at Wyper with a trace of genuine respect. As a revolutionary who fought against oppression, Sabo understood the weight behind that attack better than anyone. It was the desperate, burning scream of a people trying to drag a "God" off his throne.
Sabo planted his staff in the dirt and walked over to the fallen warrior.
"You've got a strong spine and eyes that haven't given up," Sabo said, his voice carrying a calm, authoritative power. "Since you want this land back so badly, keep your eyes open. Watch."
Sabo turned toward the heart of Upper Yard, where the Giant Jack vine pierced the clouds.
"Watch how our Captain drags that 'God' out of his heaven and back down to the dirt where he belongs."
Wyper lay in the soil, his vision blurring. He gripped the Vearth, gasping in frustration, but in Sabo's words, he felt a level of confidence—a sheer, world-shaking arrogance—that felt like it could finally overturn the sky.
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