Aqua Laguna, the Aqua Laguna of Water 7, had arrived.
The surging tides rose from sea to sky, embodying the ultimate power of a natural disaster—something ordinary human strength could never hope to withstand.
Yet at this very moment, three men stepped forward.
With mortal bodies, they faced the tsunami head-on.
Rocks drew his sword.
Black-and-red Haki lightning stretched through the air, radiating an overwhelming aura of Conqueror’s Haki.
The young Whitebeard clenched his fist.
A layer of white shockwaves appeared across its surface as the Paramecia-type Gura Gura no Mi was activated.
Finally, there was Ren.
A gold coin was clamped between his fingers, aimed directly at the towering wall of water ahead.
High-voltage current surged violently.
“Wahahahaha!”
“Before us, there are no invincible enemies!”
“Even if it’s a natural disaster, it will have to make way!”
Rocks laughed loudly as he swung Eclipse, the Western-style sword in his hand.
BOOM!!!
A terrifying Haki shockwave burst forward like a gigantic hammer.
At the same time, the young Whitebeard, Newgate, unleashed the strongest vibration he could muster.
And finally—
Ren fired the Railgun containing all his accumulated power.
Three domineering forces struck simultaneously.
They collided and merged with one another, forming a Trinity Combination Attack.
BOOM!
RUMBLE!!!
Heaven and earth seemed to collapse.
The towering tsunami wall raised by Aqua Laguna was pierced and shattered by the combined attack of the three men.
Water exploded into the sky.
The pirate ship surged forward triumphantly, charging straight through the passage carved into the shattered tsunami wall.
…
Enies Lobby, Judicial Island
Because night never fell there and daylight lasted all year round, Enies Lobby was also known as the Island of Never-Night.
Enies Lobby, Marine Headquarters, and the underwater prison Impel Down were known as the World Government’s three major institutions.
Each of these three institutions stood beside a towering Gate of Justice that reached into the clouds.
Through the currents flowing behind the Gates of Justice, ships could rapidly travel between them.
At this moment, four large ships passed through the inner waterways of Enies Lobby and arrived at the Bridge of Hesitation.
Three of the four large vessels were Marine escort ships, each flying the seagull flag from its mast.
Surrounded by the three Marine warships was a battleship with a lion’s head.
The cross flag flying from its mast represented the World Government.
Several men dressed in suits had been waiting on the Bridge of Hesitation for quite some time.
The man leading them had an expression of undisguised sycophancy.
“CP9’s Spandam welcomes Saint Ezanbaron V.
Sorodos to Enies Lobby!”
“I heard that Saint Sorodos would be arriving, so I specially prepared a sumptuous banquet!”
Spandam, the highest-ranking officer of this generation of CP9, spoke loudly, every word and gesture dripping with flattery.
“No need!”
On the deck of the lion-headed ship, the Celestial Dragon Sorodos frowned impatiently.
The square bubble helmet on his head made his identity unmistakable.
“The air down here is truly unbearable.”
“Open the Gate of Justice at once.”
“I want to return to Mary Geoise as quickly as possible and report back.”
“Yes!”
Spandam didn’t dare disobey in the slightest.
He hurriedly ordered the gate to be opened.
Clack, clack, clack!
Gears turned.
The enormous Gate of Justice slowly opened.
As the current behind the gate surged outward, the gigantic whirlpool that had previously formed a natural barrier before the Gate of Justice was filled in.
The three Marine escort ships surrounded the World Government battleship and sailed toward the Gate of Justice.
Suddenly—
“Enemy attack!”
“All units, attention!
An unidentified vessel is rapidly approaching from the rear right!”
The Marine stationed in the lookout post on the mast immediately sounded the alarm signaling an enemy attack.
“What?!”
“Which idiot has actually delivered himself right to our doorstep?!”
The three Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals commanding the three warships moved simultaneously.
“Re…
Report, Vice Admiral!”
“It’s…
it’s the man on that ship…”
Inside the lookout post atop the mast, the Marines stared through their telescopes at the figure standing at the bow.
Their eyes widened in shock.
For a moment, they couldn’t even form a complete sentence.
“Who is it?!
Speak!”
One of the Vice Admirals impatiently urged them on.
“It’s…
it’s Rocks!”
“The man with a bounty of 1.5 billion Berries!”
“The man who once killed a Marine Admiral is here!”
The lookouts aboard all three warships sucked in a deep breath before shouting in succession.
“That’s not all!”
“That guy is Edward Newgate!”
“The rumors are true!”
“Edward Newgate, the man who possesses the power of the Gura Gura no Mi capable of destroying the heavens and earth, has joined Rocks!”
“There’s another man aboard whose identity is unknown…”
Hiss—
Hissssss—
The moment those words were spoken, thousands of Marines aboard the three warships collectively sucked in a cold breath.
Rocks alone was already terrifying enough.
Even a Marine Admiral—the Navy’s highest combat power—couldn’t defeat him.
And now there was also a monstrous newcomer like Newgate.
“Everyone!”
“Now is not the time to stand around in shock!”
“Prepare the cannons!”
“Fire!”
The Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral commanding the left-wing warship shouted the order.
“The most important thing is to protect Saint Sorodos!”
“All units, prepare to charge!”
The right-wing warship took the initiative and advanced.
The third escort warship remained firmly behind the World Government battleship, prepared to cover its retreat when necessary.
Under the protection of the Marines, the World Government battleship safely entered the Gate of Justice.
Seeing this, Spandam hurriedly ordered the gate to be closed.
“Ren!”
Rocks shouted.
“Got it!”
Ren grinned.
Zzt!
A flash of lightning erupted.
Ren’s body suddenly transformed into lightning itself.
Moving at lightning speed, he rushed through the Gate of Justice just before it completely closed.
…
Behind the Gate of Justice
“Haa…”
Celestial Dragon Sorodos let out a long breath.
His forehead was covered in cold sweat.
The name Rocks had genuinely frightened him.
The disturbance at last year’s World Conference had made every Celestial Dragon aware of Rocks and the terror he represented.
“Damn it!”
“What are you useless fools even doing?!”
“How could you let someone as dangerous as Rocks get this close?!”
Celestial Dragon Sorodos cursed furiously.
“I’m truly sorry, Saint Sorodos.”
“It was our negligence.”
“But please don’t worry.”
“Now that we’ve passed through the Gate of Justice, we’re safe.”
On the deck of the Marine warship, Vice Admiral Pitt spoke with the utmost respect.
“That’s fortunate.”
“Otherwise, if anything happened to me, even cutting down every one of you worthless insects wouldn’t be enough to make up for it.”
The Celestial Dragon Sorodos lectured them from his lofty position.
Zzt!
Suddenly—
A thunderclap rang out from the clear sky.
A thumb-sized bolt of lightning descended from above and struck Celestial Dragon Sorodos directly.
In an instant, the resin bubble surrounding his head exploded.
His hair stood on end, blackened and scorched.
His entire body was charred black beneath the lightning.
“Who is it?!”
Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Pitt was startled.
He immediately swung his sword toward the sky, unleashing a flying slash.
Whoosh!
Blue-violet lightning flashed.
Ren appeared atop the mast of the World Government battleship.
“You Marines really are a bunch of useless cowards.”
Ren looked mockingly at Pitt and the others.
“What did you say?!”
Vice Admiral Pitt and the other Marines immediately flew into a rage.
“Did I say anything wrong?”
Ren spread his hands.
“Normally, you’re always shouting about justice, acting all righteous and pretending you’re something important.”
“But the moment you stand before your masters, the Celestial Dragons, your true nature as their lapdogs is exposed.”
“You don’t even dare fart.”
“If it were me, I’d have cut him down long ago.”
“You bastard!”
“Who the hell are you?!”
Vice Admiral Pitt shouted angrily.
“Since you’ve asked so sincerely, I don’t mind telling you…”
Ren stood up atop the mast.
“My name is Ren.”
“Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates!”