One Piece: SSS-Rank Haki at Age Seventeen

The Thousand Sunny's deck had turned into a lively playground of exploration.

"Everyone's really happy, huh?"

Luffy grinned widely.

Franky wiped away tears as he walked into the lawn area, the gears in his mechanical arm clicking softly.

"Luffy… sorry."

"For these past three months, I got completely absorbed in upgrading the Sunny and researching the Franky Shogun."

"My training in both Armament Haki and Observation Haki fell way behind."

He raised one of his arms.

A faint layer of Armament Haki appeared over the metal surface—but the coating was uneven, flickering in and out unstably.

Luffy sat up.

He stared at the unstable black coating on Franky's arm for a few seconds.

Then—

"PFFHAHAHAHA!!"

"Franky, that's what you were worried about?!"

Franky froze.

Luffy finally stopped laughing and wiped tears from the corner of his eyes.

"Technology is a powerful force too!"

He jumped up and stretched his rubber arm out, smacking Franky's metallic shoulder with a loud CLANG!

Luffy's expression turned serious.

"Everyone has their own path to becoming stronger."

"Zoro uses swords."

"Sanji uses his legs."

"Usopp uses sniping."

"Chopper uses medicine…"

"You use technology. What's wrong with that?"

Then he flashed a huge grin.

"And besides, Franky…"

"You're the one piloting the greatest ship in the world!"

"This ship itself is part of your strength, isn't it?"

Franky stared blankly at his captain, his cybernetic eyes rapidly flickering beneath his sunglasses.

Then suddenly—

"SUUUUPERRRRR!!!"

He threw both arms into the air.

"You're right!! A real man's path doesn't have to look like everyone else's!!"

"THE POWER OF SCIENCE IS A MAN'S ROMANCE TOO!!!"

Tears burst out again.

This time, they were tears of pure emotion.

But just as Franky struck his trademark pose—

the smile on Luffy's face faded.

Slowly, he turned toward the bow of the ship.

The brim of his straw hat cast a shadow over his eyes.

The laughter on deck gradually died down.

Because an indescribable pressure…

was spreading across the sea from beyond the horizon.

A deep crimson gleam flashed silently within Luffy's eyes.

Dozens of nautical miles away, the silhouette of Sabaody Archipelago was still little more than a blur against the horizon.

But one ship was tearing through the ocean at unbelievable speed.

The Navy Science Division's newest masterpiece:

The Flash-Class High-Speed Destroyer.

Three hundred meters long.

Its streamlined silver armor reflected cold sunlight while countless cannons lining its sides remained fully deployed.

Ten-meter waves exploded apart beneath the bow, leaving behind a white wake stretching for kilometers.

The warship carried no sails.

Instead, massive vortex thrusters beneath the hull roared like thunder.

And standing at the foremost point of the bow—

was a tall figure dressed in yellow.

His striped suit was immaculate.

Brown-tinted sunglasses hid his eyes.

Behind him, the white Justice Coat fluttered violently in the sea wind like a battle flag.

Marine Headquarters Admiral—

"Kizaru" Borsalino.

One hand rested lazily inside his pocket while the other casually leaned against the railing.

His posture looked relaxed—

as though he were merely enjoying the ocean breeze.

Yet not a single Marine aboard dared loosen their tension.

Every soldier stood rigid.

Their eyes filled with reverence…

and fear.

"Admiral Borsalino!"

An officer hurried forward and saluted sharply.

"We'll arrive at Sabaody in fifteen minutes!"

"Commander Sentomaru has already reported in—the Straw Hat Pirates departed the harbor five minutes ago and are heading toward Paradise!"

"Paradise~?"

Kizaru slowly turned his head.

No one could see his eyes beneath the glasses.

His voice dragged lazily, carrying an unreadable tone.

Then he looked back toward the sea.

Observation Haki spread outward like an invisible radar, sweeping across nearly a hundred nautical miles of ocean.

The corner of Kizaru's mouth slowly lifted.

"Sakazuki~"

"You really gave me a troublesome assignment this time…"

His quiet mutter was carried away by the wind.

The warship continued charging forward without slowing even slightly.

Cannons rotated into position.

Ammunition loaded.

Battle stations activated.

And through it all—

Kizaru remained standing motionless at the bow.

Sunlight reflected brilliantly off his golden suit, making him resemble an unsheathed blade of light.

One of Marine Headquarters' two greatest active combat powers—

had arrived.

The air froze.

Two figures stepped forward simultaneously, like mirrored reflections.

Their footsteps struck the deck at the exact same instant, leaving shallow dents in the lawn beneath them.

Zoro and Sanji stood side by side—

shielding Luffy completely behind them.

The lines of Zoro's profile tightened like sharpened steel.

"They sent one Admiral…"

His voice emerged low and grinding, like tectonic plates scraping together.

"…and thought that'd be enough for us?"

Every word dripped with fury at being underestimated.

As though sending only one Admiral against the Straw Hat Pirates was itself an insult.

Sanji said nothing.

The flame of his lighter burned for three seconds before finally touching the tip of his cigarette.

Through the rising smoke, his eyes locked onto the rapidly approaching golden light in the distance.

"Luffy."

His voice was unusually calm.

"Don't interfere."

The words were soft—

yet carried undeniable weight.

Zoro's fingers tightened around his sword hilt until his knuckles turned white.

Then—

he slightly drew Sandai Kitetsu from its sheath.

SHIIING—

The metallic cry pierced the air like a shrieking spirit.

In an instant, the light around Zoro distorted.

Dark violet aura burst from the gaps of the cursed blade's sheath, wrapping around his arm, shoulder, and neck.

His right eye turned dark crimson beneath the haze, flames of hell seemingly burning deep within the pupil.

Demonic aura.

Ancient.

Savage.

The resentment of cursed blades themselves.

Mihawk had once warned him that the cursed sword would eventually devour its wielder—

but over three months of training, Zoro had transformed that backlash into power.

A man controlling the blade—

until he himself became a demon.

Half his body vanished into swirling purple aura like an Asura climbing out of the underworld.

And beside him—

Sanji shifted one foot slightly backward.

The tip of his dress shoe tapped lightly against the grass.

BZZZT…

Tiny electrical currents crackled like summer static.

Thin blue arcs leaked from the seams of his shoes before spiraling upward around his legs.

The lightning wrapped around his calves, climbed past his knees, and spread glowing traces across his suit pants.

Neither man looked at the other.

Neither spoke.

Yet their presences had already begun merging together.

Zoro's demonic aura expanded leftward.

Sanji's lightning spread rightward.

At the center where both forces collided, the air vibrated heavily while invisible pressure flattened the grass beneath them.

Luffy stood directly behind the two.

He looked at Zoro's demon-wreathed back.

Then at Sanji's lightning-covered silhouette.

And—

grinned.

He casually fell backward onto the lawn, his rubber body bouncing twice before he pulled his straw hat over his face.

"Got it, got it~"

"I'll leave it to you guys then."

Far across the sea, the golden point of light had become clearly visible.

The massive warship tore through the ocean while the Justice Coat at its bow whipped violently in the wind.

Kizaru narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses.

He saw the battle intent erupting from the ship ahead.

Saw the field formed by dark demonic aura and blue lightning.

Saw the figure standing safely behind them—

yet still radiating like the sun itself.

"Ooohhh~?"

His tone stretched lazily.

"Looks like I'm the one being underestimated this time~"

Light gathered.

Compressed.

Reshaped.

At the peak of its brilliance, a tall figure materialized entirely from light itself.

Kizaru floated a hundred meters in the sky, his Marine coat roaring wildly in chaotic air currents.

Below him, the Thousand Sunny looked tiny upon the sea.

His smile remained playful—

yet mixed now with curiosity.

Slowly, he spread both arms.

Graceful.

Elegant.

Like a symphony conductor raising his baton.

"Yasakani no Magatama."

Tens of thousands—

perhaps hundreds of thousands—

of golden light bullets manifested behind him simultaneously.

Each one only fist-sized.

Yet every single sphere compressed destruction comparable to the core of the sun.

They hung motionless for one frame.

Then—

they rained down.

The blazing trajectories burned themselves into vision, turning the evening sky into a sea of golden-red fire.

"Not happening."

Zoro vanished from the deck.

The explosive force beneath his feet shattered the lawn within a three-meter radius as he launched skyward like a meteor flying in reverse.

Straight toward the storm of destruction.

CLANG—!!!

The black blade of Shusui crossed against the crimson edge of Sandai Kitetsu mid-flight.

Dark purple demonic aura and black Armament Haki lightning exploded from the guards of both swords, spiraling around Zoro's arms.

The demonic aura stretched behind him for over ten meters, filled with the phantom cries of countless blades.

Zoro halted midair.

His twin swords carved a perfect cross-shaped arc.

"Two-Sword Style—"

At that instant, demonic aura and Haki fused completely together.

The energies twisted into a spiraling vortex of black and crimson around the blades.

Muscles bulged across Zoro's body.

The back of his shirt tore apart, exposing powerful dragon-like muscles beneath.

"BLACK ROPE DRAGON TWISTER!!!"

A colossal tornado of sword energy erupted between sea and sky.

Its upper end collided with the rain of light bullets.

Its lower end churned the ocean itself.

The tornado's surface was formed from countless microscopic rotating slashes, each capable of slicing steel apart.

The incoming light bullets were shredded, dispersed, and dragged into the vortex before detonating silently within.

One.

Ten.

A hundred.

The sword tornado advanced upward like an unstoppable beast, carving a path straight through the storm of light.

The evening sky ignited.

Explosions spread across the heavens like burning clouds.

At the center of it all, Zoro's demonic silhouette looked like a madman climbing from hell itself to strike down the gods.

Kizaru still floated motionless in the sky.

Light bullets continuously formed and fired beside him.

But reflected within his sunglasses now—

was only the image of the green-haired swordsman cutting apart his light itself.

"How scaryyy~"

His tone stretched even longer this time, genuine surprise finally entering his voice.

The amusement in his smile transformed into fascination.

"These Supernovas really are monsters one after another~"

Before the words fully faded—

ZZZT—

A streak of azure lightning suddenly pierced through the burning sky.

One moment it was near the tornado.

The next—

it had already broken through the light barrage and appeared directly before Kizaru.

Sanji emerged from the trail of lightning.

His right leg was already fully prepared.

From ankle to calf to knee, every muscle had compressed to its limit.

Violent blue plasma wrapped around his entire leg.

His suit pants carbonized from the heat and scattered apart, revealing metallic skin beneath.

"Knight Kick!"

Yet Kizaru's smile didn't change at all.

He didn't even bother assuming a defensive stance.

He simply raised his right leg casually as golden light condensed around it.

And within one-thousandth of a second—

their kicks collided.

BOOOOOOM!!!!!

Every light bullet within a five-hundred-meter radius was annihilated instantly.

The massive sword tornado was severed in half by the shockwave.

Light and lightning clashed in the sky.

One side burned eternal and golden like the sun itself.

The other blazed violent and blue like thunder.

Below them—

Zoro shattered the final wave of light bullets before smoothly sheathing all three swords.

Then he landed directly atop the ocean itself—

using the residual force of his slashes to create temporary footholds upon the sea.

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