The black tentacles lashed forward like whips.
Captain John released his grip without hesitation, planting one foot on the ground and sliding backward to dodge.
He had no intention of taking that hit—
a well-timed slide was better than being crushed.
"Garp said to release our Haki—now!"
Zefa exploded with Armament Haki, kicking Dragon away at the same time.
That single blow also saved Tsuru, who steadied herself with Haki at the cliff's edge.
All around, people were being dragged by the darkness, their bloodline factors pulled out of them.
It looked as if everyone was shielding themselves with Haki, but in truth, they were barely holding on.
Sharn buried both hands into the rock face.
Aside from his clawed hand and dragon tail, only the dragon scales across his body still remained—
a sign of how horrifying Rocks's awakened form truly was.
He was devouring everything—everyone.
Normally, one had to make physical contact to absorb another's Devil Fruit power,
but now his darkness reached across distance, tearing at people from afar.
It was obscene.
"A beginner's battlefield turning into an endgame boss fight—
what kind of nightmare is this?"
Sharn unleashed his Haki completely.
But his newly-awakened Conqueror's Haki refused to flare again,
and his Observation could only help him dodge bullets and debris.
The deeper telepathic sense—the "voice of hearts"—had vanished;
perhaps it required a higher state to use.
Only his Armament Haki remained, recently hardened to steel.
He was a newcomer among monsters—
and it showed.
Shing!
Even his Haki aura looked small next to theirs.
"What about you, Captain John? How'd you train your Observation Haki—by drinking?"
Sharn gritted his teeth and kept the conversation going, trying to focus.
John gave him an exhausted stare.
A moment ago, he'd been clinging to Sharn for dear life—
now it was Haki itself holding them together.
Kindred spirits in chaos.
"Drunk or sober affects your senses, not your awareness," John shouted back.
Sharn didn't believe a word.
What nonsense.
If state of body didn't matter, Whitebeard wouldn't have been ambushed in old age,
and John himself wouldn't have been betrayed by his own men.
"Hey! That look means you're doubting me, aren't you, Sharn?"
"Of course I am. Try using Haki while starving and see if it stays strong!"
Before John could argue, a tentacle slammed nearby.
He dodged smoothly—proving, ironically, that his Haki still worked fine.
"You talk too much, kid," John muttered.
"Haki is human potential itself. The body's condition can restrain it—like Seastone restrains Fruits—
but pushing the body beyond its limits makes Haki stronger.
Even an ordinary human, once mastering advanced Haki, surpasses human limits in strength and speed."
John flexed an arm, showing off lean muscle.
Sharn looked at it, then quietly flexed his own.
"You're too young!" John grinned.
He was half joking, half serious;
without liquor to numb him, he actually missed being drunk.
"Yeah," Sharn nodded. "I really am."
Even among humans, once potential was fully awakened,
they stopped being "ordinary."
Then why did Roger die of illness?
Why was Garp pierced through by a sword that day?
How far could Haki reshape the human body?
Perhaps those wounds were scars from reaching the brink of mortality itself.
Sharn was thankful.
His first fruit had been a Mythical Zoan—the benefits were endless:
elemental attacks, flight among clouds, and a body no blade could easily break.
His second fruit, the Paw-Paw Fruit, was an all-purpose tool—
it could repel pain, memories, air, and even people,
marking any island he'd visited for instant travel.
When he had sailed the world, that fruit alone would make him unstoppable—
able to remove his pain and send it to others instead.
If he ever gained a mutant constitution,
his third fruit would surely be a Logia.
All three types combined—a perfect trinity.
He drifted too deep into thought and nearly lost his Haki shield.
"Stay awake, rookie!"
John's bark snapped him back.
When Sharn opened his eyes again, the darkness had consumed all of God Valley.
Outside, warships anchored or fled—
what they saw was no longer the sky, but a mass of tentacles knitting together,
a Dark Paradise that devoured the island whole.
Rocks's laughter echoed within.
Approach even one step closer and the tentacles would seize and devour you instantly.
The sea churned into a massive vortex centered on the valley,
pulling hundreds of ships back in despite their attempts to flee.
They hadn't realized—
even spectators had no right to survive this battle.
"I told you—Rocks is the King of the World!"
"If we hadn't provoked him, this never would've happened!"
"Why try to stop him? With power like that, he can't be beaten!"
"Working for the Celestial Dragons or for Rocks—what's the difference?!"
The cries of despair carried across the maelstrom.
Compared to this scale, God Valley was merely a single dot at the whirlpool's center.
Just as Rocks said—
he was teaching the world fear.
Far away atop the Red Line,
the Gorosei watched through a surveillance Den Den Mushi.
"We've lost contact with Saturn Saint and Gringus Saint.
They likely didn't make it out."
"That's the Dark-Dark Fruit—one of the rarest and hardest to awaken.
How could Rocks possibly do it?"
"Whatever's happening there, it's worse than we imagined."
"Can we still contact anyone on the island?
Should we sail there—or wait in Mary Geoise for his arrival?"
Their voices fell silent.
Because someone had entered the chamber—
a figure cloaked in black, wearing a crown.
"Lord Im."
The four remaining Elders knelt instantly.
For the first time in centuries, the world itself seemed to shudder.
Even the reactivation of the Great Kingdom's ancient machine had never filled them with such dread.
They awaited their master's command.
"King of the World?"
Im's lips curled. "That fool—Rocks? He's not worthy."
From among the nineteen swords once pledged by ancient kings,
Im drew one blade,
and drove it straight through Rocks's wanted poster.
"If he wins," Im said softly,
"then act. I'll have It send you to him."
The Elders stiffened.
That word—It—made their blood run cold.
"As you command, Lord Im."
"You alone are the true King of the World!"
Im's blade hissed across a world map,
erasing God Valley completely.
Whether Rocks won or lost,
he would not leave that island alive.
Even if he destroyed his own crew, the Navy, and every traitor—
the Celestial Dragon elites were waiting, fully restored, to finish him.
Back on God Valley—
the Dark Paradise burned with streaks of Haki light,
the last glimmers fighting against the endless black.
Only Rocks's laughter remained.
Whitebeard and Garp joined forces,
carving a path of light for Roger to strike.
And in that moment of despair,
Sharn heard voices inside his heart—
Roger speaking to Rocks.
The man who heard all things,
communing with the one devoured by a devil's will.
"Farewell, Rocks," Roger said.
He thrust his blade forward.
Its blood-red Haki wasn't just destruction—
it was hope.
Sharn witnessed history.
As the last tentacle withdrew,
Roger plunged his sword through the darkness—
and into the abyss itself.
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