One Piece: SSS-Rank Haki at Age Seventeen

"You really are courting death!!"

Golden Lion Shiki's hoarse roar carried the fury of a ruler from the old era of piracy.

The eyes that had once overlooked the entire Grand Line were now bloodshot like shattered spiderwebs.

Before his words even finished—

An overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki burst forth from his aged yet still imposing body like a collapsing dam.

Dark-red lightning crackled violently, compressing the surrounding air until it screamed under the pressure.

Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his leg.

The two legendary swords—Oto and Kogarashi—

Drew deadly arcs through the sky.

SHING! SHING! SHING!

Dozens of brilliant golden slashes tore across the heavens.

Each crescent-shaped blade wave was wrapped in dark-red lightning serpents, perfect and lethal.

"Lion: Thousand Slice Valley!!"

At the critical moment—

HUMMMM—

A flash of blue light flickered without warning as space rippled like disturbed water.

Sanji's figure blurred and vanished from where he stood.

In his place appeared a green-haired figure standing firm like an immovable mountain.

Three swords had already been drawn.

"Let me test your blade!!"

Zoro roared.

His right eye stared directly into the overwhelming golden storm overflowing with Conqueror's Haki and the unrivaled will of a supreme swordsman.

There wasn't even a trace of fear in his gaze.

Only battle lust burning to its absolute limit—

And greedy desire.

The pure joy and instinctive challenge a swordsman felt upon facing a greater peak.

FWOOOSH—

Pitch-black Armament Haki instantly coated all three blades like living creatures.

The advanced internal destruction power flowed and hummed along the sword edges.

At the same time—

Crimson demonic aura burst violently from every pore of his body, condensing into a monstrous Asura phantom behind him.

The phantom roared in sync with his swords.

Black Armament lightning and scarlet demonic energy intertwined violently, merging into one terrifying force.

And then—

Facing the storm of destruction head-on—

Zoro unleashed a slash containing every ounce of his spirit.

"Three Sword Style Secret Technique…"

"Hellfire Asura!!!"

BOOOOOOM—!!!!!

The Asura phantom collided savagely against the countless golden slashes.

Biting.

Shattering.

Exploding.

The compressed energy detonated outward in a monstrous tidal wave visible to the naked eye, surging in every direction with black, red, and gold Haki swirling together.

CRACK!

A sharp sound of breaking was swallowed by the thunderous explosion.

In the end—

Zoro's Hellfire Asura was torn apart layer by layer beneath the overwhelming disparity in both quantity and power.

"GH—!"

An irresistible force smashed into his chest.

Zoro's body shot backward like a cannonball, his feet carving deep trenches across the ground.

Violent dark-red lightning carrying the will of kings rampaged through his muscles and veins, trying to destroy him from within.

"COUGH—!"

Forcing himself to stop, Zoro spat out a mouthful of scorching blood onto the charred earth, where it hissed loudly.

The skin of his palms had split open from gripping his swords.

Blood streamed down his wrists.

His arms trembled slightly.

Yet the light in his right eye only burned brighter.

It even carried excitement—

The thrill of discovering worthy prey.

Slowly lifting his head, he wiped the blood from his mouth and stared at Shiki floating proudly in the sky.

Through gritted teeth, filled equally with pain and exhilaration, he muttered:

"So this is… Conqueror's Haki Infusion?!"

"Damn… this is incredible!!"

At the instant lightning exploded—

A blue meteor wrapped in thunder and flames tore through the sky.

Its destination—

Shiki's completely exposed back.

"Golden Lion… this isn't a place where you can do as you please."

Before the sentence finished—

Sanji's raised right leg erupted with violent blue lightning as he unleashed a devastating kick.

"And you think someone like you can stop me?"

Shiki didn't even bother turning around.

A cruel grin spread across his face.

"Some brat with shallow Devil Fruit mastery and not even Conqueror's Haki??"

Dark-red lightning exploded violently from the blade of Kogarashi.

The sword carried the thunder of a king's domain as it slashed backward casually yet lethally.

CLANG—!!!!

Sanji's kick, filled with rage and determination, collided directly against the Conqueror-infused slash.

Time froze for an instant.

Then—

An overwhelming force carrying tyrannical kingly will surged through Sanji's leg and exploded throughout his body.

Sanji's pupils shrank.

The black-red lightning seemed alive as it instantly shattered the lightning surrounding him and smashed violently into his nervous system.

"GAAAAH—!!"

His body was blasted backward like a broken kite.

His leg bones creaked violently under the pressure.

Shiki's hoarse mockery followed on the wind.

"Brat, even turtles move faster than you!!"

But before the old pirate's grin could fully spread—

Another monstrous aura descended from his left side like an avalanche.

Even more savage.

Even more violent.

"Thunder Bagua!!!"

Yamato burst through the smoke.

Her kanabo, Takeru, swung in a devastating arc with both hands.

Dark-red Conqueror's Haki lightning wrapped around the weapon just like Shiki's own.

"Will you pests never stop?!"

For the first time, Shiki's expression changed.

Rage—and a trace of hidden agitation—exploded in his eyes.

Twisting violently, he raised Oto horizontally.

Black-red lightning surged once more from the blade as he met Yamato's strike head-on without retreating.

BOOOOOOOM—!!!!!!!

The kanabo and Oto stopped inches apart in midair.

Between them—

A sphere of compressed black-red energy formed instantly.

It expanded and contracted violently, radiating overwhelming destruction and kingly pressure.

CRACKLE—SKREEE!!

Chaotic streams of black-red lightning exploded outward like countless venomous serpents, tearing through the atmosphere.

The heavens darkened.

Storm clouds twisted violently.

"GAAAH!"

"My eyes—I can't see!!"

Around them, weaker pirates and mutated beasts alike collapsed one after another.

Foaming at the mouth.

Rolling their eyes unconscious.

The collision of Conqueror's Haki was a realm the weak could never enter.

BOOOOOOM—!!!!!

The compressed sphere of black-red energy finally reached its limit.

A gigantic beam erupted skyward before detonating into an earth-shattering explosion.

And from the center of that explosion—

A golden figure was blasted away like a shattered meteor.

"PUAAAH—!"

Shiki spat blood wildly.

His once-glorious golden kimono was shredded apart instantly by his own blood and the chaotic energy currents, revealing flesh burned black and torn apart beneath.

Even with his unparalleled swordsmanship and monstrous Haki mastery—

Facing simultaneous assaults from Sanji, Zoro, Yamato, and Law's battlefield control—

The body of the old era and the spirit that had not experienced such an intense death battle in years had finally begun to crack.

Shiki crashed spinning into distant ruins, kicking up towering clouds of dust.

Zoro leaned heavily on his swords, chest heaving violently.

But his right eye remained fixed on the increasingly savage aura rising from within the rubble.

It was like a cornered beast slowly descending into madness.

"Hey, Yamato…"

Without turning around, Zoro spoke with suppressed frustration.

"With you here…"

"There's no way we can break through our limits!!"

He could feel it clearly.

The invisible wall separating him from the summit of the world—

The barrier called "limit"—

Had already begun cracking beneath the pressure of Shiki's Conqueror-infused swordsmanship and killing intent.

Beyond those cracks—

Was the landscape he had always dreamed of.

Greater power.

Deeper swordsmanship.

A realm capable of carrying his ambition.

But it still wasn't enough.

The cracks weren't wide enough yet.

He needed greater pressure.

He needed to walk the true edge of death.

Yamato's participation had tilted the balance too heavily.

She was powerful.

Reliable.

Without question, a fighter at Admiral level.

But precisely because of that strength—

She was sharing too much of the deadly pressure.

"Eh~? Really?!"

Yamato froze completely.

Her bloodstained hand instinctively scratched her messy silver hair.

The ferocious berserker aura from moments ago vanished, replaced by genuine confusion.

"Then… what am I supposed to do?! Should I back off?"

She glanced between Zoro's tense expression and the increasingly violent golden aura rising from the dust cloud.

Clearly at a loss.

"Obviously—"

Zoro gritted his teeth, about to say something like "stay out of this."

"—Shut up, mosshead!!"

A colder voice cut him off instantly.

Sanji landed beside them almost simultaneously.

The cigarette between his lips flickered wildly in the turbulent wind.

His expression was grimmer than ever before.

His eyes locked sharply onto the distant horizon.

"Someone…"

"A terrifying monster is coming!!"

Dozens of kilometers away—

Several massive Marine warships entered the waters of Alabasta.

"We found it! Golden Lion's floating islands!"

On the front deck of the battleship Heavy Mountain, Vice Admiral Momonga lowered his high-powered telescope.

The cigar smoke around him was scattered by the sea breeze.

His usually composed face was now deeply tense.

"But… what the hell is THAT?!"

Vice Admiral Doberman suddenly growled beside him.

His voice sounded dry.

He stared fixedly toward the sky above the islands.

What should have been endless blue heavens was now twisted into a rotating abyss of blackness.

Even more terrifying—

Despite the enormous distance—

An indescribable pressure still washed over them in waves.

A lingering aura of destruction and tyranny chilled everyone present to the bone.

The veins bulged violently on Doberman's hand gripping his sword.

This iron-blooded Marine veteran actually felt his arm trembling faintly.

"What in the world is happening up there?!"

His pupils contracted sharply.

"Energy fluctuations on this level…"

"Is Golden Lion fighting an entire Yonko crew?!"

Silence spread across the deck.

Only crashing waves and screaming ropes disturbed the stillness.

Even elite Marine officers struggled to breathe beneath the pressure.

Then—

A calm, heavy voice broke through the silence.

"No matter what's happening…"

Admiral Fujitora stepped forward slowly.

Though his eyes remained shut, it felt as though he could see the truth of the world more clearly than anyone else.

His cane sword lightly tapped the steel deck.

"…we must go up there."

The instant he finished speaking—

A deep violet ripple expanded outward from the point where his blade touched the deck.

HUMMMM—

A strange gravitational wave spread through the air.

The purple light wrapped around every battleship gently—

Yet irresistibly.

And then—

To the shock and awe of every Marine present—

The enormous warships rose directly from the sea.

Accelerating upward toward the floating islands above.

Toward the battlefield filled with lightning and twisted black skies.

Violent winds screamed against the steel hulls.

Marine flags snapped furiously in the air.

Soldiers clung tightly to anything they could grab while staring down at the shrinking ocean below.

Ahead of them—

The floating islands and blackened heavens rapidly expanded like a battlefield from myth itself.

The Marines—

The iron fist representing the World Government's greatest military power—

Were about to descend upon the battlefield of monsters.

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