One Piece: SSS-Rank Haki at Age Seventeen

The Demon King Tot Musica steadied its body.

The countless "eyes" across its form focused on Luffy, revealing something akin to scrutiny—and interest—for the very first time.

Then suddenly—

Every broken instrument embedded within its body—the necks of violins, trumpet bells, shattered harp frames—began vibrating simultaneously!

There were no musicians.

No breath.

Yet the remnants still produced sound.

Not music—

But violently twisted, amplified noise mixed with metallic screeching, splintering wood, and shrill bursts of air.

BZZZZZ—!!!

SKREEEE—!!!

GRAAAAH—!!!

Countless visible spiraling soundwaves blasted out from the ruined instruments!

Their colors were murky and corrupted.

Some shot straight like spears.

Some curved like serpents.

Others spread outward like nets.

They engulfed Luffy from every direction!

Wherever the soundwaves passed, even the already-collapsing Sing-Sing World rippled and warped, portions of color and form being erased to reveal deeper layers of void beneath.

"Soundwave attacks?"

Luffy's eyes sharpened as he kicked off the ground violently.

"Soru!"

His figure vanished instantly, leaving only a faint afterimage behind.

In the next moment, he appeared above and to the side of Tot Musica.

His speed was so overwhelming that most of the soundwaves struck nothing but empty air.

The few that tracked him were narrowly avoided through the absurd flexibility of his rubber body.

Where the soundwaves grazed the atmosphere, black scorched trails lingered behind.

"Tch… even Armament Haki isn't enough?"

Luffy narrowed his eyes slightly.

This thing's regeneration was even creepier than the Five Elders'.

"Then let's try THIS—!!"

Golden-red light erupted from Luffy's eyes like a volcano finally reaching its limit.

He violently twisted his waist and hips, his rubber body compressing with impossible elasticity as both fists drew back beside him.

The atmosphere around him instantly changed.

This was no longer mere fighting spirit.

It was overwhelming domination—

A kingly pressure that transcended rules themselves.

BUZZZZ—!!!

The air before his fists compressed and distorted violently.

A gigantic cross-shaped starburst of Conqueror's Haki materialized before him, blazing with fierce golden-red flames!

CRACK—CRACK—CRACK!!!

Centered around Luffy, the already collapsing Sing-Sing World let out groans as if it could no longer bear the strain.

Luffy's Conqueror's Haki—

Tempered through endless battle and honed to its absolute peak—

Now erupted in its purest and most violent form.

It forcefully shook the very foundations of this alternate world built upon the laws of music and the Demon King's authority!

"HAAAAAA—!!!"

Luffy roared as his power reached its apex!

The cross-shaped burst of Conqueror's Haki instantly compressed inward, transforming into a torrent of pure willpower.

Like a raging golden-red dragon, it wrapped itself around his fists already coated in top-tier Armament Haki, black as ink itself!

Black and gold intertwined.

The ultimate fusion of absolute "force" and supreme "presence."

The resulting destructive aura distorted space itself with blinding brilliance.

Black lightning exploded endlessly around his fists like boiling thunder.

This was judgment imbued with the will of a king!

"GUM-GUM—"

Luffy disappeared.

Under the amplification of Conqueror's Haki, his speed surpassed the limits of sight and ordinary perception!

His arms transformed into countless afterimages that tore through space itself!

"—CONQUEROR'S INFUSION: TEMPEST BARRAGE!!!"

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM—!!!!

The attacks descended simultaneously from every direction—

Above.

Below.

Front.

Back.

Left.

Right.

Like a catastrophic meteor storm striking from every dimension at once!

His fists, infused with both Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki, smashed directly through the Demon King's core made of corrupted sheet music.

Golden-red brilliance pierced inward, burning the swirling black noise within and drawing out horrific screams.

Every strike caused more than physical destruction.

The Conqueror's Haki coating his attacks invaded the very concept of Tot Musica's existence like a tyrannical virus, violently tearing apart the "Law of Dissonance" sustaining it.

Golden-red Haki lightning exploded wildly throughout the Demon King's shattered body, producing screeches like glass shattering and metal grinding together.

For a brief instant—

The gigantic writhing body of Tot Musica seemed nailed in place by countless bolts of golden-red lightning from different dimensions!

Its attempts to mobilize the noise of the entire world to defend, regenerate, and retaliate—

Were completely disrupted by the omnidirectional saturation assault!

"GRAAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!!!"

For the first time, the Demon King let out a shriek mixed with pain, rage—

And disbelief.

Even that scream itself transformed into destructive soundwaves.

Yet the moment they emerged, they were violently crushed apart by the omnipresent shockwaves of Conqueror's Haki and the residual impacts of Armament Haki!

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM—!!!!

The explosions finally merged into one continuous catastrophic roar that seemed capable of shattering the entire world.

Centered around Tot Musica, a gigantic storm of destruction formed from pure energy and chaotic Haki currents exploded outward in golden-red fury!

Above them—

The cracked sheet-music clouds covering the sky could no longer endure the pressure.

Caught between the devastating storm below and the crushing Conqueror's Haki above—

The heavens finally shattered.

BOOOOOOM—!!!

The entire sky collapsed.

Real World — Elegia Ruins

Uta's body trembled violently.

Her eyes remained tightly shut.

Her face was deathly pale, cold sweat pouring down her forehead.

Even the eerie summoning song she sang had begun trembling with pain.

The dark golden score in her hands now radiated sinister light.

It was growing hotter and hotter—

As though it might burn straight through her palms.

An oppressive wave similar to the dissonance within the Sing-Sing World spread through the air, filling everyone with intense discomfort.

Uta's shadow stretched behind her, twisting unnaturally into the vague shape of a many-eyed, multi-limbed monster.

Then—

A horribly battered Song Demon King appeared before everyone.

Rayleigh: "…"

Yamato: "…"

Law: "…"

Sanji froze for a moment before pressing a hand against his forehead, one curled eyebrow twitching helplessly.

"That idiot captain's gone off-script again!!"

"Knew it was impossible to expect him to follow the plan!"

"ROOOOAAARRR—!!!"

Enraged by Luffy's assault, Tot Musica unleashed an even more massive and chaotic roar.

It no longer relied solely on broken instruments.

Its entire body began swelling and mutating violently!

The corrupted sheets of music spun wildly and assembled into a gigantic shield covered in blasphemous symbols.

At the same time, the soundwave ribbons behind it multiplied rapidly, twisting together into dozens of gigantic tentacle-like noise whips that lashed toward Rayleigh and the others in a devastating area attack!

Before the tentacles even arrived, the distortion of laws and spiritual pressure already struck first.

"Tch—an AoE attack?! This thing's ridiculous!"

In an instant, Yamato and the others clutched their heads in agony.

It felt as though countless steel needles were piercing their brains.

They could only watch helplessly as the tentacles descended upon them.

"You were far too careless…"

A calm voice carrying slight amusement suddenly sounded before them.

"This isn't something you can fully defend against just by 'not hearing it.'"

Silvers Rayleigh had somehow already stepped forward, standing directly between the younger generation and the incoming sea of black tentacles.

He still maintained that casual posture.

His worn coat fluttered lightly in the sea breeze.

Facing an evil force capable of driving even great pirates insane—

He showed not the slightest trace of tension.

Instead, there was only understanding.

And faint disappointment toward the youngsters' lack of experience.

"It seems your Haki training—especially Observation and Armament Haki—still needs work."

His tone sounded as casual as someone commenting on an unimpressive swordsmanship lesson.

Then—

The lazy aura surrounding Rayleigh vanished completely.

In its place emerged a terrifying presence forged through countless storms and decades of refinement.

It was restrained.

Simple.

Yet overwhelmingly supreme.

He did not release explosive pressure into the heavens.

Yet the space within dozens of meters around him seemed to freeze solid.

The incoming noise tentacles and corruption field struck an invisible wall of absolute denial.

Their speed instantly slowed.

Even their forms became unstable.

Rayleigh casually rested his right hand upon the hilt of his seemingly ordinary sword.

The motion was light.

Natural.

Almost lazy.

And then—

SHIIING—!!!

A crystal-clear sword cry rang out—

As though capable of severing time and space itself.

Dark-red Conqueror's Haki exploded from Rayleigh's grip, surging from the gaps between his fingers and the junction between hilt and sheath!

Rather than dispersing wildly, it coiled tightly around the unsheathed blade with violent precision.

In that instant—

The ordinary sword transformed into dark-red lightning that devoured light itself.

Black and crimson intertwined, radiating absolute supremacy over all things.

Rayleigh merely rotated his wrist slightly.

Then casually—

He swung his blade toward the ocean of writhing black tentacles before him.

"Divine Departure."

He softly uttered two words.

His voice was calm.

Yet it sounded like an eternal decree.

The slash entered the black sea of noise.

And then—

For a brief instant—

Time itself seemed severed.

Every tentacle rushing toward them—

Whether already inches away…

Or emerging from shadows…

Or still writhing in the distance—

Stopped completely.

Then—

Like snow melting beneath the blazing midday sun of spring—

The black tentacles formed from corrupted noise, twisted laws, and evil intent—

Began dissolving silently from the point where the slash touched them.

They transformed into tiny black particles of meaningless light.

Then those particles dimmed—

And vanished entirely.

As though they had never existed.

In the blink of an eye, the overwhelming tide of black tentacles disappeared completely.

Only faint lingering ripples remained in the air.

As well as an unnaturally "clean" and empty space carved out by Rayleigh's slash.

The black aura spreading around Uta's inverted staff-like summoning circle suddenly recoiled violently as though frightened.

The trembling of her body lessened slightly.

Though still pale, the pain of corruption on her face seemed eased for a brief moment.

The stabbing agony and maddening whispers in Yamato and the others' minds also vanished instantly with the destruction of the tentacles.

They shook their heads clear and stared at the gray-haired old man before them.

The man who had already sheathed his sword again—

As though he had merely brushed away a few annoying flies.

Their eyes filled with shock and reverence.

Rayleigh slowly exhaled.

The overwhelming aura around him vanished instantly, and he once more resembled nothing more than an ordinary old coating mechanic.

He glanced back at the recovered youngsters and smiled.

"Don't just stand there."

"The Demon King's corruption has only been interrupted temporarily. It's far from over."

"Hurry and do what you're supposed to do."

His calm words inspired them more deeply than any war drum ever could.

After Rayleigh's single slash of Divine Departure—

The true battle had entered an entirely new stage!!

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