Elsewhere,
The Straw Hat Pirates.
After defeating all the bounty hunters, they followed Hatchan toward the Lawless Area, Grove 13.
"That coating old man… is he a fishman too?" Luffy asked, sprawled lazily across a bubble car as he pedaled.
"N no. Me and Pappag don't know him either," Hatchan admitted. "But I heard that coating craftsman hasn't coated ships in a long time. He only takes a few jobs when he feels bored."
"Oh yeah?"
When they reached Shakky's bar, they were stunned by the decor.
And when they saw the name, they were even more stunned.
"S so fancy…"
"Shakky's Rip Off Bar? Is it this luxurious because the scams are just that good?!"
Hatchan answered quickly.
"No way. You can't build a place like this on extortion alone. The owner of this island sponsors it."
Without lingering, they headed inside.
The moment they entered, they saw Shakky in the middle of collecting money.
Luckily, with Hatchan there, things smoothed out fast.
"I know you," Shakky said, amused, setting tea in front of them. "The famous Monkey bunch. My intel network is pretty sharp."
"Karp's grandson, huh? He chased me for a long time back in the day."
"Though I quit being a pirate forty years ago."
They chatted casually. Luffy told her he wanted Rayleigh to help coat their ship.
"Sorry," Shakky said, smoking calmly. "At this time, Rayleigh's probably somewhere drinking."
"Free booze is a loss if you skip even one day, you know."
"Of course, he might also be at a massage parlor, or wandering around the Bubble Park…"
"Pirates are like that. Always drifting."
Shakky exhaled smoke and listed the places Rayleigh might be.
"Alright!"
"Then let's go check the Bubble Park!"
The crew's eyes sparkled at the mention of fun.
Shakky merely watched them with an unhurried smile, cigarette between her fingers.
"Wherever you go, be careful…"
They froze.
Shakky's voice stayed relaxed, but the words were heavy.
"You might be in danger."
"Based on what I've heard, while you were landing, Sabaody already had eleven pirates with bounties over a hundred million."
"Eleven?!"
"Yes. Different routes, different hardships, yet all gathered here. It's rare to have over ten monsters in one place like this."
Luffy went quiet for a moment, then clenched his fist.
"I'm not scared of them!"
Shakky acted like she hadn't even heard him. She took another calm drag.
"No. The danger I'm talking about isn't those eleven rookies."
The Straw Hats stared at her, confused.
Shakky did not explain further.
"When you run into it, you'll understand."
She lived on Sabaody. Of course her heart leaned more toward Ozz. Giving Luffy a warning was already generous.
What she really meant was this.
The man who treated Supernovas like toys on Sabaody.
That was the real danger.
…
Sabaody Archipelago, out on the street.
The civilians and small-time pirates who had been fleeing suddenly stopped and looked back.
"Why…?"
"Those two crews with bounties over a hundred million… why did they suddenly freeze?"
"And what are those guards doing?"
Only a handful of long-time residents recognized what that ceremonial formation meant.
And because they recognized it, some of them went pale, mouths hanging open, then collapsed to the ground like their legs had been cut out from under them.
"T that is…"
"It can't be wrong…"
"That's…"
From the far end of the road, footsteps approached.
Tap.
Tap.
The entire street fell into a dead silence, leaving only that unhurried rhythm.
"Hm. Since I met you first…"
"I'll start with you."
"Eustass Kid, Killer… and the one from Kaido's side."
A figure stepped out of an alley's shadow.
A tall man with long black hair.
A black formal suit, a black cloak draped behind him.
At his waist, a signature pair: one blade, one gun.
His presence alone pressed down on the world.
"T that…"
"It can't be wrong!"
Someone trembling on the ground raised a shaking finger.
"That legendary man!"
"A crewmate of the Pirate King Roger!"
"The King of the Next Era!"
"The Black Emperor!"
"The World's Strongest Sniper!"
"The ruler over the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
"The man who once suppressed the entire ocean with his own strength!"
"Black Spear, Ozz Dotor!"
At some point, the invisible restraints on the two pirate crews were released.
Every member stared at that towering figure as if their souls had been nailed in place.
"You're Black Spear?!"
"What the hell was that just now?!"
Kid was still barking threats.
Apoo, on the other hand, turned around and ran without hesitation.
That brain-dead bastard. He actually dared provoke that man?!
Watching the two crews react so differently, Ozz simply pulled out a delicate pocket watch and checked the time like none of this mattered.
"I should make it. I still need my afternoon nap."
"Hm. Plenty of time."
"I can play a little longer."
He snapped the pocket watch shut, then finally seemed to notice Apoo trying to flee.
A cruel smile spread across his face.
"You don't actually think you can run, do you?"
"Come back and start over."
Snap.
With a single snap of his fingers, Apoo and his men, who had already sprinted hundreds of meters away, appeared right back where they started.
Apoo's face drained of color.
Despair swallowed him whole.
Kid, meanwhile, was ignited by Ozz's casual contempt.
"Don't look down on me, you bastard!"
Magnetism roared to life. Metal objects within hundreds of meters ripped free and flew into Kid's grasp, forming a gigantic mechanical arm.
"I'll blast you away with one punch!"
He wanted to see shock on Ozz's face.
He didn't get it.
Ozz snapped his fingers again, then lit a cigarette slowly, smiling faintly through the smoke.
"Relax, kid."
"I was just thinking about how to play with you."
"Now I've decided."
"I'll play with you in the field you're best at."
With that snap, every piece of metal within ten thousand meters vanished.
As Ozz lowered his head to light the cigarette, his cloak whipped violently in the rising wind.
Behind him, a hundred-meter titan surged into the air, gleaming with cold metallic light.
Three heads.
Six arms.
Black radiance coiling around it like a curse.
Space Iron: Susanoo.
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