The warship surged through the waves with defiant force, its momentum thundering across the sea.
Sakazuki stood at the bow, unshaken by the storm. His mere presence radiated a suffocating pressure. Under the brim of his military cap, his eyes were dark and cold, fixed on the distant ships tossed by the waves. His entire right arm began to glow with a deep crimson light.
"The real troublemaker has arrived…"
Dragon's face turned slightly pale under the pounding rain, his lips pressed into a tight line.
If someone like Borsalino—so hard to read—might still consider his comrades' bond, Sakazuki, who upheld "absolute justice," would never hold back!
Boom!
A cannonball suddenly dropped from above, but it was deflected by a swirling gust of wind and sank into the sea. The underwater explosion sent up a towering column of water, rocking the ship violently as it struggled through the turbulent waves and shockwaves.
One after another, orange-red flashes burst from the warships in the distance. Shells screamed through the air in rapid succession.
On the swaying deck, Dragon clung tightly to the mast.
"Guest, at this rate, the ship's going to sink!"
The ship's owner called out from the helm, voice trembling slightly.
"I know!"
Dragon gritted his teeth and growled back.
His eyes locked onto Sakazuki on the warship as a decision formed swiftly in his heart.
Don't look back...
A dark green hurricane, visible to the naked eye, rapidly formed in the palm of his hand.
"Then let me see your resolve, Sakazuki…"
Blood filled Dragon's eyes in an instant as he hurled the wind sphere forward with force.
"The sea is my battlefield!!"
The moment it left his hand, the wind sphere expanded uncontrollably, erupting into a massive waterspout that stretched from sea to sky.
Fueled by the storm, the waterspout grew even more violent, surging forward like a solid wall toward Sakazuki's warship, carrying with it a force capable of leveling everything in its path!
It was cataclysmic!
"What is that..."
"That tornado is massive!!"
"Damn it! At this size and speed, there's no way we can dodge it!"
"..."
The Marines on the warship turned pale in an instant, their eyes filled with terror as they stared at the colossal waterspout that seemed to swallow the sky. Their fear was overwhelming, and their bodies trembled involuntarily.
Even Daren, watching from the port, felt his pupils contract and his heart skip a beat at the sight.
In these stormy conditions, the power of Dragon's Kaze Kaze no Mi was at least twice as strong as usual!
There was no doubt about it—this raging sea was his home turf!
"A force of nature... When Fleet Admiral Kong handed that Devil Fruit to Dragon, he must've hoped it could be used to challenge Whitebeard and Shiki…"
A slow, casual voice suddenly rose behind Daren.
He glanced to the side at Borsalino, who had just walked up next to him, and narrowed his eyes.
"Not going to help?"
Borsalino scratched his head with mock helplessness.
"I gave it everything I had, but it still wasn't enough to stop him…"
"From here on out, it's up to Sakazuki. After all, everyone at Marine Headquarters knows—among the new generation, only he can stand on equal ground with a genius like Dragon."
"Besides…"
He pointed at the gruesome state of Daren's injuries and sighed.
"Someone's got to look after the wounded, right?"
"With injuries like that, if you don't get treatment soon, you might not make it…"
Daren's gaze flickered.
He exchanged a glance with Borsalino—and both of them chuckled.
"Yeah, we've already done all we could."
Daren nodded in agreement, then immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face pale.
"Appreciate it, Rear Admiral Borsalino."
One stood, the other sat. They remained in perfect sync.
Meanwhile, the towering sea tornado had already descended in front of the warship, like the gaping maw of a ferocious beast about to swallow the entire vessel whole.
The storm had arrived!
Time seemed to freeze.
Through the swirling vortex and crashing waves, Daren faintly saw a crimson figure suddenly leap from the bow of the warship.
Then—
It was like a fiery explosion beneath the sea.
Like magma erupting from within a glacier.
A crimson light swelled rapidly in the center of the dark green waterspout.
And then—
BOOM!!
A blazing column of molten lava erupted upward, tearing straight through the waterspout and blasting a massive hole in the raging sea.
"Die, Dragon!!"
Sakazuki charged like a hound locked onto its prey, feet stomping through the air as his figure tore through the rain, streaking toward the ship.
"The future of the world is waiting for me!!"
Dragon leapt up as well, eyes blazing, his arms transforming into a raging hurricane.
The two soared into the sky, their eyes locked, overflowing with fighting spirit.
A tattered dark green coat and a pristine white Marine cape whipped in opposite directions behind them.
Dark clouds gathered above, lightning flickering and thunder rumbling, heralding a coming storm.
Dark red magma surged and expanded, forming into a massive hound of molten rock.
The roaring hurricane twisted violently, coiling into the shape of a green dragon.
A punch!
A claw!
"Inugami Guren!!"
"Hurricane: Dragon's Breath!!"
Boom!!
Fist and claw collided!
Their attacks crashed together like meteors striking the earth!
The howling wind dragon and the infernal magma hound sank their teeth into each other's throats at the same time!
A shockwave erupted from the epicenter, rippling out in every direction.
Their Devil Fruits and Haki manifested into two spiraling vortexes—one dark green, one crimson—clashing, devouring each other.
Molten magma dripped from Sakazuki's chin as he roared, eyes bloodshot.
"You betrayed the Marines!!"
Boom!
His magma fist exploded forward again, beginning to overpower the dragon's hurricane claws.
Blood leaked from the corner of Dragon's mouth from the blow.
For a moment, his mind blurred, flooded by a rush of memories—
A little boy flying a kite.
The loathsome sneers of the Celestial Dragons.
Parents trembling as they raised their pistols.
A faint ache on his cheek...
Faces and fragments of his past flashed before him like a reel of film, all converging into a single ancient, resounding word:
People!
In that instant, an indescribable surge burst from Dragon's chest—as if all the fury and resentment he had buried for years finally erupted at once!
BOOM!!!
A vast and powerful aura exploded outward. The entire island seemed to tremble.
Crackling streaks of black and red lightning split the sky.
"Conqueror's Haki?!"
Sakazuki's stunned shout rang out—just as Dragon let out a fierce, laughing roar.
"But I never betrayed justice!!"
The three-fingered dragon claw surged with astonishing force, as if a true dragon exhaled through it!
Sakazuki's pupils shrank, blood flooding his eyes.
Bang!!
The magma hound exploded violently. Sakazuki's body was sent flying, slamming hard into the warship's deck amid the Marines' cries of shock.
Dragon, too, was blasted back, landing on the small ship with blood trickling from his mouth.
His face was ghostly pale—but his eyes burned with brilliant light.
"Hahaha!! Raise the sails! Set sail!!"
He didn't look back.
With a loud snap, the merchant ship's sails unfurled. Caught by the howling wind, it soared forward like a fledgling eagle, piercing through the storm.
Dragon burst into laughter, smashing open a crate on deck with one hand and pulling out a bottle of strong liquor. He threw his head back and drank deeply.
The burning liquor scorched his throat, turning his eyes blood-red. Conqueror's Haki erupted from him in waves, slamming into the Marines on the distant warships—dizzying them, forcing them to one knee.
Lightning flashed across the night sky. In the reflection of the bottle, Dragon saw his own battered, bloodstained face.
He grinned.
Without hesitation, he dragged his three-fingered claw across the left side of his face, tearing open his cheek and marking his scar with a bold, crisscrossed streak of blood.
Reborn!
He stood in the storm, arms spread wide, letting the rain wash away the blood and wounds.
The road ahead was heavy and lonely. There was no one to confide in.
So be it—he would let the world hear him!
Suddenly, lines from an epic he once read in an ancient tome surfaced in his mind. With boldness and fire, he began to sing:
"For the will of the people
For the progress of society
Let the fiery spirit of rebellion fill your heart
Tomorrow, my friends, we'll meet again
We'll forge the light, no matter how long the night
Illuminate this land and change our fate..."
Dragon's voice rose higher, carrying farther. His arms flailed like a conductor orchestrating the sea itself.
The rain, the wind, echoed his cheers and roars.
The sea rose in thunderous waves, pushing the ship forward, celebrating his rebirth and transformation.
The song of freedom resounded across the ocean—across the world.
"I offer all that I am
And if I must die for it,
Let me be the first
To have my name carved
on the monument of hope…"
There he stood, aboard a battered little ship—singing, laughing, weeping, bleeding—sailing through the storm, toward the distant dawn.