Bartholomew Kuma stepped out of the main laboratory.
His steps were heavy, his mind clouded with uncertainty.
He had just received a new order from the Navy one that struck him as… peculiar.
"Warlord of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma immediately proceed to the Devil's Triangle."
"There, you will rendezvous with Navy Rear Admiral Renn Hawk."
"All subsequent actions are to be carried out under his command."
Kuma blinked once.
Head to the Devil's Triangle?
Take orders from a Rear Admiral?
His internal processors whirred, logic modules running countless calculations. Yet, no explanation fit within the parameters of the World Government's usual behavior.
This command defied every established protocol.
Just before leaving, Vegapunk had quietly told him,
"Kuma, from now on… listen to the Navy."
Those words lingered in his circuits weighted with something more than mere instruction.
There had been sorrow in Vegapunk's eyes, even a touch of fear.
But buried beneath that was a flicker of something else.
Hope.
Listen to the Navy…
Kuma paused mid-step, his gaze drifting to the sterile metal walls around him.
He'd always obeyed the Navy.
Or rather, he'd obeyed the orders given through the Navy orders that truly came from the World Government.
But Vegapunk's tone had been different.
He hadn't been urging obedience to the same masters.
He had been warning him. Guiding him.
Kuma understood then.
The Navy was no longer what it used to be.
"..."
He continued forward, passing through a series of automated alloy doors until he reached an open-air launch platform.
Slowly, he removed the black glove from his left hand.
Beneath it was not metal or steel but a soft, pink paw pad that glistened faintly in the light.
He raised his hand and pressed that paw gently against his chest.
"Let's call it… a trip to the Devil's Triangle."
In the blink of an eye, his body vanished.
A blur of motion sliced through the clouds above, soaring toward the distant sea.
The Devil's Triangle.
Three colossal battleships cruised steadily across the calm waters of Paradise.
On the deck of the flagship, a "sparring match" was underway one that was anything but equal.
Renn Hawk stood shirtless in the sun, his bronze skin gleaming with sweat. His muscles rippled with restrained power, each movement radiating the calm authority of someone who no longer needed to prove anything.
Even standing still, he felt immovable like a mountain rooted in the sea.
"Big brother! Here I come!"
"Devil Leg Marine Cyclone Kick!"
Sanji's body erupted into motion, a blur of orange fire and speed. His flaming kicks carved arcs of heat through the air, each one striking from a new angle, testing Hawk's defenses.
Hawk didn't even shift his stance. He simply raised an arm and deflected each kick with effortless precision.
"Good angle," he said mildly. "Too weak."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every impact reverberated through the deck.
Sanji's ankles screamed in pain. Each strike felt like he was kicking solid seastone unyielding and merciless. His legs burned, his breath faltered.
"Hey! Moss-head! Get in here already!" he shouted between kicks.
"Shut up, curly-brow!" Zoro barked back, his grip tightening around his sword's hilt.
His eyes narrowed sharp, focused, deadly.
"One-Sword Style Black Demon Thrust!"
The blade cut through the air like a whisper of death, driving straight for Hawk's blind spot.
Without even looking back, Hawk reached out and caught Zoro's wrist.
The blade halted an inch from his back.
"Good killing intent," Hawk murmured. "Too slow."
At that moment, Hibari and Peacock moved in perfect sync.
Peacock's whip whistled through the air, curling toward Hawk's ankle, while Hibari, perched above, aimed her rifle and pulled the trigger.
A seastone-tipped bullet tore through the air, aiming for Hawk's temple.
Their coordination was flawless. Their timing, impeccable.
But they were facing something far beyond human.
Hawk's ankle flexed once, and the whip snapped away like a broken thread. He tilted his head slightly, and the bullet whizzed past, slicing only a few strands of hair.
"Too weak," he repeated.
With a flick of his wrist, he flung Zoro aside like a rag doll.
Zoro crashed straight into Sanji both tumbling across the deck in a tangled mess of limbs and curses.
Before either could recover, Hawk's form blurred.
In a heartbeat, he stood behind Hibari and Peacock.
He reached out casually one hand on each of their heads and gave them a light tap.
"Bonk."
"Ah owww!"
The two girls clutched their heads, crouching down with teary eyes.
Meanwhile, Sanji and Zoro staggered to their feet, trading a glance.
Without words, they understood.
Ordinary attacks wouldn't even scratch him.
Their bickering fell silent, replaced by the same unspoken resolve.
Sanji's right leg ignited once more, Armament Haki coating it in a black sheen.
Zoro lowered his stance, muscles coiled like drawn steel. His sword Wado Ichimonji hummed with tension.
They struck at once.
"Combination Attack Black Leg Lion's Song!"
Sanji's fiery kick spiraled forward, a burning comet of red light. Zoro's slash followed, a roaring black lion of sword aura.
The two forces met midair, intertwining into a single devastating strike that roared toward Hawk.
Then
BOOM!
The sound shook the ship.
But instead of driving Hawk back, both men were hurled away by the recoil.
Sanji's throat filled with iron-tasting blood. Zoro's arms trembled violently, his fingers barely holding onto his sword.
Their strongest combined strike had… done nothing.
As the smoke cleared, Hawk stood untouched.
Sanji's kick had left only a faint, dark scorch mark on his chest.
Zoro's blade had pierced the skin, drawing a single drop of blood only for it to vanish as the wound sealed instantly.
The deck fell silent.
"What… the hell?"
"Big brother's body what is that?"
Their voices cracked in disbelief.
This was their strongest attack one that could easily take down a Marine Vice Admiral.
Yet, it hadn't even made him flinch.
Just then, a messenger sprinted across the deck, saluting sharply.
"Report! Rear Admiral Hawk, sir dense fog detected ahead! We're entering the Devil's Triangle!"
"Enough."
Hawk exhaled calmly and flexed once, pushing both Zoro and Sanji back without effort.
"Rest up," he said. "We've got work to do soon."
Hibari and Peacock saluted, dragging the two dazed fighters toward the cabins.
Hawk remained still, feeling the power coursing through his veins his new, overwhelming strength.
So this… is an Admiral's physique.
Even the strikes that could split mountains had barely tickled him. His recovery was instantaneous, his endurance limitless.
This was proof that his path body over technique was the right one.
"Yeah," he murmured. "I chose correctly."
Zoro and Sanji walked side by side, battered but quiet.
They didn't speak for a long while.
"Hey, curly-brow," Zoro muttered at last.
"Big brother… he's even stronger now."
Sanji took a slow drag from his cigarette, exhaling smoke tinged with helpless laughter.
"Yeah," he sighed. "Feels impossible to catch up, doesn't it?"
The battleship sailed forward, its bow cutting into the creeping fog.
The light dimmed. Visibility fell to almost nothing.
The air grew cold and damp, carrying a rotten scent that clawed at the lungs. The silence was eerie so deep it felt like even the sea itself was holding its breath.
And then… a shape appeared.
A vast, monstrous silhouette loomed through the mist so massive it seemed to swallow the horizon.
A ship.
No an island masquerading as one.
Thriller Bark.
Hawk's eyes snapped open.
His Observation Haki pulsed outward, locking onto something descending rapidly from above.
A shadow tore through the fog, landing cleanly at the great iron gates of the massive ship.
A giant of a man stood there broad-shouldered, wearing a spotted hat, a heavy book clutched in one hand.
"Oh… the Warlord of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma?" Hawk murmured.
And the fog thickened around them
The storm about to begin.
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