"You… you…"
Krieg felt his scalp go numb, cold sweat pouring down his temples. He stammered for a long time, unable to form a complete sentence.
This is a lethal poison that can instantly kill even a Mammoth Elephant!
How… how could this be?! Could a human body really be tougher than a mammoth's?!
After two or three seconds of stunned silence, veins bulged on Krieg's forehead. He gritted his teeth and roared:
"Again!!"
"I don't believe it! You might be immune to poison—but let's see you stop this!"
BANG!
He slammed his fist into his chest — the trigger for every weapon built into his golden armor.
Instantly, dozens of missiles of all shapes and sizes launched at once — small, large, spiked, serrated — a storm of firepower that swallowed Nao whole!
BOOOOOOM!!!
The explosions rocked the entire sky, the shockwave so violent it blew Krieg himself backward over ten meters.
Blood gushed from his mouth, but he didn't even wipe it away. As he tumbled backward, he swung his massive spear with every ounce of strength he had, hurling it straight into the heart of the blast.
That's it! This time he's done for!
Staring into the center of the explosion, Krieg licked his lips, a savage grin spreading across his face.
"Arrogant fool! Didn't even try to dodge! Die—HAHAHAHAHA!"
His laughter thundered across the battlefield—
Then stopped dead.
As the smoke and flames cleared, Nao calmly stepped forward, completely unscathed.
Not even a strand of his hair had been disturbed by the massive explosion.
H-how… how is that even possible?!
Krieg's eyes went wide as he watched his precious golden war spear crumble to dust in Nao's hand, reduced to a shower of broken metal fragments falling from the sky.
A chill surged up from his feet to the crown of his head.
In the next instant, pure instinct took over. Krieg fired up the jet boosters in his armor, turning tail and fleeing as fast as the engines would carry him.
All thoughts of glory, fame, or the adoring eyes of the masses were gone.
There was only one thought left in his head—
Run.
This kind of monster is something no human can contend with! I must use the remaining fuel in my missiles to run as far as possible!
But just then, a faint voice rang out from directly above his head.
"And where exactly do you think you're going?"
Krieg's face instantly turned deathly pale. Trembling, he looked up and saw that Nao, who had clearly been left behind by a hundred meters just moments ago, had somehow appeared right in front of him. Seeing him look over, Nao gave a gentle smile:
"I let you attack for so long."
Krieg's pupils constricted to pinpoints as he saw Nao curl his finger—
And flick.
The fingertip struck his chest.
"Now it's my turn."
BOOOOOOM!!!
The air itself seemed to tear apart. The resulting sonic boom shook the entire island.
No Armament Haki.
No Devil Fruit ability.
Just a single flick of pure, unrestrained physical force.
Krieg — along with his full set of golden armor — exploded in midair like a firework, blood spraying outward as chunks of metal and flesh rained down from above.
It was like a rain of blood.
"Ugh—!"
Down below, many of the younger pirates couldn't take it anymore. They doubled over and vomited on the spot.
Even the older, battle-hardened ones trembled, their teeth chattering and knees going weak.
They had known, of course, that Krieg stood no chance against a man like White Dragon…
But knowing and seeing were two very different things.
To watch him throw everything he had at Nao — only for Nao to emerge without a scratch, and then casually blow him apart with a single finger—
That sight shattered the last bit of defiance in every pirate present.
Clang.
Someone dropped their weapon, fell to their knees, and raised both hands in surrender.
Then another.
And another.
Within moments, the act spread like wildfire through the crowd of pirates.
The pirates surrendered faster than even the French army—within just a few minutes, the vast venue was filled with the sight of kneeling figures as far as the eye could see.
Many were banging their heads on the ground, begging for mercy through tears and snot. But Nao had long grown tired of such scenes. With a mere thought, he released a wave of overwhelming Conqueror's Haki, which rippled outward like a storm, engulfing the entire venue.
In an instant, the eyes of over ten thousand pirates rolled back as they collapsed unconscious, completely losing awareness.
Only then did Nao descend to the ground. He nudged one "corpse" with his boot and said impatiently,
"Alright, that's enough pretending. If you don't get up now, I'll hit you with another bolt of lightning."
"Enough, enough!"
Buggy sprang up like a carp leaping out of the water, forcing an awkward laugh under Nao's gaze. But when his eyes swept past Nao's shoulder and took in the sight of the countless pirates lying unconscious across the field, his jaw dropped.
One burst of Conqueror's Haki… knocked out over ten thousand people?
That was terrifying beyond words.
He swallowed hard before cautiously asking,
"Sir, what are you planning to do with these people?"
He was genuinely confused. Based on what he knew of Nao, these pirates should've already been reduced to ash under his lightning. Why were they still alive?
"I may be ruthless toward pirates," Nao said, reading his thoughts easily, "but I've never slaughtered indiscriminately."
He shook his head slightly.
"This time is different. Among these ten thousand pirates, the odds are low—but there must be some who haven't yet committed true crimes. Some may have just come here out of curiosity or greed for excitement."
"I just don't have the patience to sort them out one by one."
He lifted his gaze toward the distant horizon.
"Before I came here, I ordered the Marines from Loguetown to send a warship. They'll arrive by dawn at the latest."
"I won't lift the Thunder Cage for now. You have your men keep an eye on them. Once they wake up, the Marines should be here, and the task of sorting through the pirates can be handed over to them. Understood?"
"Understood! Of course!"
Buggy nodded rapidly, then hesitated.
"I was actually planning to host a banquet tonight to celebrate you, sir… but from what you're saying, it seems—"
"No need for a banquet," Nao said with a faint smile. "I'll be leaving shortly."
"So soon?" Buggy scratched his head awkwardly. "Heading back to Headquarters, then? I heard that when you resigned from the Marine, it was only temporary. Once you wiped out the pirates across the seas, you were supposed to return and become an Admiral again…"
"Go back to be an Admiral ?"
Nao looked at him and couldn't help but laugh.
"Who told you that nonsense?"
"It's not nonsense! Everyone's been saying it. The papers reported it ages ago!"
Buggy's gossip-loving nature flared up, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"So it's not true? But if it isn't, then why has Mr. Kizaru been refusing his promotion all this time? Isn't he just waiting for you to come back?"
Nao merely smiled without answering.
Two and a half years ago, when he resigned from the Marine, the world had been thrown into uproar. The World Government had done everything in its power to cover up the truth behind that incident.
But their efforts achieved little — the public furor refused to die down. So, the World Government decided to redirect attention. They swiftly issued a promotion decree, officially naming Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru as Admiral Candidates.
It was a calculated move — to forcibly shift the world's focus away from Nao.
But unexpectedly…
When the decree reached the G1, G2, and G5 branches, the three Commanders stationed there all refused the promotion.
Each gave a different excuse.
Akainu claimed the G1 Branch had too many pressing duties and he couldn't leave.
Kizaru submitted a report saying he'd injured his leg in battle and needed bed rest.
Aokiji, however, was completely blunt — he declared that unless Nao returned to the Marine, he would rather resign altogether than accept the promotion.
The situation became embarrassingly awkward.
The World Government had no choice but to temporarily postpone the matter until Veil resigned from the Marines under public pressure. They then secretly entrusted Sengoku, who had become the Fleet Admiral, to play the sentiment card and contact Nao, inviting him to return to Headquarters.
At that time, Nao was still traveling through the first half of the Grand Line, only just beginning his journey of training. Returning was out of the question.
But he had to give face to old man Sengoku. So, he privately called the three men (Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji) one by one, telling them not to worry about him and to accept the promotion. He said he would return when the time was right.
After that, when the World Government reissued the promotion orders—
Akainu and Aokiji no longer refused. They both returned to Marineford and assumed their positions as Admirals.
Only Kizaru continued to drag his feet, claiming illness and the need for "recovery." Over the course of two years, several promotion orders were issued—and he rejected every single one.
As Buggy had said, the world at large came to believe that among the three Admiral candidates, Kizaru was the most loyal to his comrades — that he was refusing the post purely because he didn't want to take Nao's seat.
But Nao himself had other thoughts. He suspected the "honorable Kizaru" simply enjoyed taking it easy. After all, becoming an Admiral meant answering directly to the Celestial Dragons — endless politics, bureaucracy, and headaches.
Why would Kizaru give up his comfortable position as the easygoing boss of G2, where he could nap and slack off all day?
"Mr. White Dragon? Mr. White Dragon?!"
The shout beside him pulled Nao back from his thoughts.
It was Buggy again, who had been waiting eagerly for a response. Seeing Nao dazed, he couldn't help calling out,
"So when are you going back to be an Admiral?"
"My goal hasn't been achieved yet. Why would I go back?"
"Goal?"
By now, most people could guess what Nao's purpose was, but Buggy blinked and gestured toward the unconscious pirates scattered across the venue.
"But haven't you already wiped out all the pirates in the East Blue? And before that, the West, South, and North Blue too — you've nearly cleansed all Four Blues!"
"No."
Nao shook his head slightly, gazing toward the far horizon with a calm smile.
"There's still one last part."
"You mean…"
Buggy froze — then realization struck him like lightning. His eyes went wide, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
"The New World?!"
...
Three months later, in Totto Land.
A gentle spring rain had fallen through the night into dawn, weaving silver threads beneath the eaves. The endless drizzle gave the land a quiet melancholy—but it couldn't dim the jubilant atmosphere blanketing Whole Cake Island.
Because today marked the grand event that came but once a year—
Big Mom's Tea Party.
At this very moment, the port was alive with color and motion.
Everywhere, ornate decorations shone through the rain. Along the shore, the sentient flowers and trees—the Homies—swayed and twirled gracefully in the drizzle, singing melodious tunes to welcome the arriving guests from every corner of the sea.
"Sister, how many groups of guests is that now?"
At the port, three women stood side by side under oil-paper umbrellas. The one on the left—Charlotte Effilée, the fifth daughter of the family—watched a newly inspected ship depart and turned to the tall woman in the center.
"The ninth batch," replied Charlotte Amande, her voice cool and detached.
Slender and elegant, her pale complexion and cold eyes beneath the wide-brimmed hat carried the chill of timeless frost. She lit a thin lady's cigarette and said flatly,
"By noon, the port will close. Until then, make sure everyone stays alert. We can't afford to let any uninvited guests slip in unnoticed."
"Yes, Sister."
The fourth daughter Charlotte Hachee on the right and the fifth daughter Charlotte Effilée on the left exchanged glances and nodded in unison.
The three of them were all half-blooded members of the Snakeneck Tribe, born as siblings alongside their second sister, Charlotte Mondée, making them the four snake-headed sisters of the Charlotte family.
However, among the four, only the third sister, Charlotte Amande, possessed exceptional strength—renowned as the Charlotte Family's greatest swordswoman. Because of that, she had been granted the title of Minister of Nuts long ago.
Thus, the sisters had always followed Amande's lead and held deep respect for her.
Of course—
That title of Minister of Nuts was now a thing of the past.
Three years earlier, after the disastrous ambush in the North Blue, Big Mom had been forced to retreat. During that defeat, two of the Sweet Commanders, Smoothie and Cracker, were captured and imprisoned in Impel Down.
It was Amande who was promoted to fill the vacant position, becoming one of the new Sweet Commanders. Otherwise, she would not have had the authority to stand here today, representing the Charlotte family in welcoming such distinguished guests.
Another who had been promoted at the time was the fourth son, Oven. However, a year ago, when a Marine Vice Admiral was captured by the Charlotte family, Big Mom used him as leverage in negotiations with Marine Headquarters, leading to a prisoner exchange.
As a result, Smoothie was able to return to Totto Land and resume her post as one of the Four Sweet Commanders. Oven, unwilling to fight with his sister Amande for power and strain their relationship, voluntarily stepped down and returned to his role as a minister.
Buru buru~
Suddenly, the ringing of a Den Den Mushi echoed from Hachee's waist. She quickly took it out, answered, and after listening for a moment, her expression turned solemn.
"Yes! Understood — you can leave this matter to me. Please rest assured."
"What is it?"
Amande asked coldly after she ended the call.
"Nothing serious, Third Sister," Hachee replied with a faint smile. "It was Mama. She said the people from Pleasure District will be arriving shortly and that we're to receive them with the highest level of hospitality."
"Pleasure District…"
Amande was momentarily taken aback before nodding expressionlessly.
"So Miss Stussy herself is attending. I understand."
Every time Big Mom held a Tea Party, guests from all over the world were invited—mostly allies and business partners of the Charlotte family.
But even among guests, there were levels of prestige.
Those from the underworld elite, such as Morgans, president of the World Economy News Paper; Du Feld, The Loan Shark King; Drug Peclo, the Major Undertaker; and Giberson, magnate of the warehouse trade—all were regarded as top-tier VIPs.
And naturally, among them stood another figure of equal status—
Stussy, Queen of the Pleasure District.