Meanwhile, on the other side.
Rocky Port.
A few years ago, this had been an obscure, uninhabited island in the New World.
However, owing to its proximity to Hachinosu, the Pirate Island, it had been claimed by the Rocks Pirates, who invested heavily in building it up.
Now, it had transformed into a renowned port in the New World.
Under the protection of the Rocks Pirates, it served as a transit hub for countless pirates, criminals, and figures of the underworld in the New World.
Innumerable dark deals took place here every day.
As the Rocks Pirates grew increasingly powerful, attacks on this port had become exceedingly rare in recent years.
After all, the ferocious reputation of the Rocks Pirates preceded them.
Even the greenest pirate rookie wouldn’t dare gamble with their life.
Today, however, the tranquility that Rocky Port had maintained for years was shattered.
Without warning—BOOM!
The pirates and criminals crowded around Rocky Port, engaged in various transactions, suddenly heard a massive roar echoing in their ears.
Before they could even react, everyone realized the sky overhead had suddenly darkened, as if a storm cloud had unexpectedly materialized above.
As the pirates looked up in confusion, their pupils dilated in an instant, their faces masks of shock and terror.
A hundred meters above Rocky Port, a massive pirate ship was flying through the sky.
Its huge hull blocked the sunlight, casting a sweeping shadow over the ground below.
“Are you kidding me?
Is that…”
“A pirate ship?!”
A few pirates belonging to the Rocks Pirates, tasked with maintaining order in Rocky Port, stood dazed as they stared at the ship soaring through the air, muttering to themselves:
“Why is a pirate ship flying in the sky?
Could it be…
Lord Shiki has arrived?”
In their minds, making a ship forty to fifty meters long and weighing hundreds of tons fly through the air was something only that man’s devil fruit power could accomplish.
However, they quickly noticed something was wrong.
This ship hurtling through the sky was upside down—its deck and masts facing downward, its hull pointing up!
Not only that.
Amidst the rising clamor of gasps, they heard several bewildered shouts:
“How can this be?!
Why is our Sickle Weasel Pirates’ ship flying in the sky?!”
“Damn it!
Rocks Pirates!
Is this your doing?!
Did you find out about the treasure we brought and decide to rob us outright?!”
“Bastards!!”
The Rocks Pirates wanted to explain, but the ship overhead was already crashing down, completely unavoidable.
The flying ship had appeared so suddenly and plunged so fast that the densely packed crowd at the port had no time to scatter.
They were crushed directly beneath the giant ship, its keel still dripping with seawater!
“BOOM!!”
Like an anthill struck by a giant palm, the crowd exploded instantly!
In a fraction of a second, flesh and blood flew everywhere, severed limbs scattering in all directions!
The giant ship disintegrated, sending sharp wooden shrapnel flying in every direction.
Buildings near the harbor collapsed under the weight, thick plumes of smoke billowed upward, and the ground trembled violently.
Screams of panic, terror, and rage tangled together, plunging the port into absolute chaos.
Yet the falling ship was only the beginning.
Worse still, as the hull shattered, the Sickle Weasel Pirates’ stored ammunition inside detonated under the immense pressure—
“BOOM!!”
Blazing fire mixed with suffocating smoke rocketed into the sky.
The explosive shockwave swept out in every direction, sending the crowded pirates flying like scarecrows in a hurricane.
Billowing flames surged from the center of the blast, burning the pirates until they wailed for their mothers and scattered in every direction.
Before they could retreat to safety, the sky overhead darkened once more!
“What is it this time?!”
Fleeing pirates looked up with despair.
In their dilated pupils, another ship appeared!
It was a pirate ship spinning wildly through the air, traveling so fast that its sails had been shredded into rags!
No!
Not just one!
Two!
Three!
“BOOM!”
“BOOM!”
“BOOM!”
Under the stunned gazes of the pirates, ship after ship—pirate vessels, merchant ships—hurled in from the distant sea at all angles, roaring through the air.
Like colossal cannonballs, they slammed violently into Rocky Port, reducing the harbor to absolute ruin!
At this moment, even the dullest among them realized: Rocky Port was under attack!
“Enemy attack!
Enemy attack!!”
Panicked shrieks tore through the air above the port.
The members of the Rocks Pirates looked on with utter disbelief.
They couldn’t believe it.
Someone actually dared to attack Rocky Port?
Did this brazen attacker not know that this was territory protected by the Rocks Pirates?
Clearly…
The attacker knew!
Because amidst the crashing ships and thunderous explosions, the panicked pirates in the port soon heard a deep, booming voice echo above the noise!
“Worororo, wororororo!”
“So this is Rocks’ territory?”
“Tell him to get out here and face me!
I’m going to challenge him!!”
“If I beat him, I’ll be the overlord pirate of the New World, won’t I?”
This sudden voice roared louder than the explosions, vibrating so intensely it nearly ruptured the fleeing pirates’ eardrums.
Looking toward the source of the voice, at the burning and collapsing docks, a towering, hulking silhouette had appeared out of nowhere!
It couldn’t be called a mere human shadow—not when two curved horns protruded prominently from the top of his head.
He was as massive as a mountain, built like a fortress.
One arm hung at his side, while the other was raised, holding a weapon rested over his shoulder.
Step by step, he strode into Rocky Port along the burning street.
As he advanced, the raging flames in front of him seemed to recoil in fear, parting to clear a path for him.
He looked like a demon king stepping straight out of a fiery hell!
When the attacker fully revealed his mountain-like physique—muscles like knotted iron cables—an indescribably ferocious pressure washed over them, far more violent than the surrounding flames.
Every pirate and criminal in the port paled.
Anyone who could navigate the New World and do business in a dangerous place like Rocky Port was no pushover.
Among them were notorious criminals with bounties in the tens of millions, hundreds of millions, or even higher.
Possessing formidable strength themselves, they instantly sensed an immense threat emanating from the newcomer.
For a moment, even though they knew this demonic man was the culprit behind the chaotic destruction, the overwhelming dread gripping their hearts kept the pirates from immediately attacking.
However, that restraint was fleeting.
Soon, someone lost his patience.
A middle-aged man of average height, with gloomy eyes and twin scimitars in hand, leaped out first, rushing up to confront the attacker.
“Damn you, bastard!
Did you do that to my ship?!”
“Who the hell are you?!
Why did you do this?!
Do you have any idea how much fine tobacco and rare liquor were on my ship?!
I slaved to plunder all that!
It’s worth hundreds of millions of Berries—”
A pitch-black, spiked iron club, gripped tightly in a hand bulging with muscles, detonated the air before the man’s eyes, whipping up a howling tempest!
In a fraction of a second, the strike crossed more than ten meters, obliterating the man in its path!
“BOOM!!”
In an instant, flesh exploded, and bones were pulverized into red paste!
The screaming, interrogating middle-aged man saw his entire upper torso vanish instantly.
Only a bloody lower half remained standing alone in place, refusing to fall right away.
Under the horrified gazes of countless pirates in the port, the horned demon king, holding the club in one hand with his follow-through still extended, parted his lips in a cruel sneer.
“What the hell were you babbling about?”
“I couldn’t hear a damn word!”
Deep within the port, atop a roof, Carlo watched the scene unfold from afar, his eyes lighting up.
“Kaido-sensei?
What a coincidence.”
“Now this is getting interesting!”