Splash!
Waves crashed against the Marine base's harbor.
The sounds of escape from the cells had already been terrifying — but now, true chaos had begun.
Several monsters had appeared near the docks, freed from their Seastone restraints.
There was no way ordinary Marines could handle such creatures!
"I knew I shouldn't have come back to visit family—got myself captured by the Navy," grumbled Moly, the same giant who once carved out Level 5.5 of Impel Down.
Even she had nearly been caught this time.
But, like Kaido, she was used to it. Getting caught was just part of escaping again.
At the harbor, supply and escort warships had gathered — reinforcements to transport the giants and new pirates.
The moment Sanjuan Wolf saw the mountain of crates stacked on the dock, his eyes gleamed.
Food.
He reached out, grabbed several boxes in one hand, and began devouring them whole.
The Marines panicked — but the veteran soldiers managed to suppress their fear, aiming their rifles.
Bang! Bang!
Bullets flew — but they were useless.
Even to Sharn, the shots were no more than mosquito bites.
Without Seastone rounds, such attacks meant nothing against bodies like theirs.
"So hungry! So hungry!" Wolf roared, ignoring the hail of bullets.
But aboard the nearest warship, two figures stood out — both watching with peculiar expressions.
One was a boy — perhaps eleven or twelve — dressed in punk leather and studs, holding a pair of scissors and a rag doll.
Purple hair, purple lips — cocky to the bone.
Beside him stood a Marine major, freshly promoted after the God Valley battle — a young man with folded arms, cloak fluttering in the sea wind.
His gaze locked on the pirates below.
"So the old man sent me here to escort the giants to Impel Down," he muttered. "And I find… this. No wonder he was smirking."
With a grin, Dragon hurled the punk boy down onto the harbor.
The chaotic dock fell silent.
"The Marine warship! Reinforcements!"
"It's Dragon! The son of Hero Garp — the strongest of the new generation!"
The Marines' morale surged instantly.
"Moly tilted her head curiously. 'Dragon?'"
Sunlight glinted on the giant's pink skirt and iron shovel. Despite her stubble, her pouting lips made her look disarmingly cute.
After Sharn and Kaido had been captured in their sleep, Marine Headquarters had been notified immediately.
They didn't know who Sharn was, but Kaido — the apprentice of the Rocks Pirates — was infamous.
Garp had gone to hunt the remaining pirates in West Blue, leaving Dragon to handle the transfer.
But no one here was "easy cargo." They'd all escaped.
Thud!
The boy Dragon had thrown down spat dirt from his mouth, glaring up at the giants — at Kaido with his horns and monstrous physique, and at Sharn, the only one who looked remotely human.
He sneered, shooting Dragon a dirty look.
"Remember this! I'll be the strongest pirate on the seas! Once I set sail, I'll be King of the Sea! Moria!"
The boy was only twelve — the infamous delinquent from West Blue.
Tall for his age, nearly twice the height of an adult, purple hair and lips, with small horns sprouting from his forehead.
He was already a menace, the type of kid who bullied towns and built gangs before puberty.
"Shut it! That's no excuse for bullying civilians," Dragon said coldly, punching him hard enough to make him stagger.
"You'll be locked up for three months!"
"Damn you, Dragon!" Moria hissed, clutching his jaw.
He was every bit as cocky as Capone Bege or Bartolomeo would one day be — brash, arrogant, already forming his own crew.
Dragon had caught him on the way to the base, detouring through a small town — and arrested him on impulse.
"Let me go, Dragon!"
He snarled, certain he'd be free to cause trouble again in three months.
Kaido snorted, eyeing the boy.
"Oi, brat — those horns of yours… pretty small."
The sarcasm in his tone was unmistakable.
"Hey! You're that guy from the wanted posters!" Moria's eyes widened.
He recognized the face instantly.
Kaido — the monster from the fallen Rocks Pirates.
Age: twenty-one.
Bounty: 270 million Berries — and that was before God Valley!
The thought made Moria shiver — then rage.
"Bastard! Don't mock me!"
As expected, pre-beating Moria was all mouth.
He even carried a longsword at his waist, its edge stained with old blood.
"Moria!" Sharn called out suddenly. "You're ugly, but… I, Captain Sharn, formally invite you to join my pirate crew!"
"Sharn…? Who the hell is that?"
The boy blinked. He'd never heard the name — no bounty, no fame.
But if Kaido, Moly, and Wolf all stood beside him… was this guy really their new captain?
Dragon frowned, his instincts screaming danger.
This man… too dangerous.
The problem was — Sharn didn't even have a bounty yet.
Before God Valley, he'd been a nobody.
After it — he became a legend, then was instantly imprisoned.
No wanted poster. No classification.
A ghost.
And now he was free.
"Hey!" Moria snapped, interrupting Dragon's thoughts.
"Sharn, are you insulting me by calling me ugly?!"
Unbelievable!
He was twelve and already West Blue's most notorious punk — and this no-name pirate dared call him ugly?
"Silence!" Dragon barked before Sharn could reply.
He didn't want the situation to spiral — but Kaido was already smashing Marines left and right, his kanabo whistling through the air.
Moly's shovel carved up the stone dock, forming walls to block gunfire.
At the shore, Wolf was still eating like he was at a buffet.
Then—
Whoosh!
An invisible pressure rolled across the harbor — Conqueror's Haki exploded outward.
Marines dropped to the ground instantly.
Sharn smiled, black lightning flickering in his veins — that dragon within him stirring, rebelling, roaring to be free.
"Dragon," Sharn grinned. "That weak Haki won't be enough to intimidate my crew."
"Nani?!"
Dragon's expression twisted.
What did he just say? "My crew"?
He didn't even have a name for his own fleet yet!
Kaido's Conqueror's Haki erupted in answer — clashing with Dragon's in the air.
Two kings testing each other.
"I'm just a branch base commander," the Marine colonel whimpered. "Why me…"
BOOM!
More Marines fainted as the twin waves of Haki tore through the harbor.
Sharn stood calmly between them, unmoving — the dueling auras sparking against his own.
Inside him, the dragon of ambition clawed wildly, trying to burst free.
Each clash drew out his dormant kingly spirit.
"You're underestimating me," Dragon warned.
His cloak billowed — and from the docks rose a hurricane, crashing down like a wall of wind.
He had eaten the Devil Fruit hidden inside that treasure chest — and now his storm was unleashed.
The tide turned instantly.
Amid the roaring winds, twelve-year-old Moria could only stare in awe.
So this… this is the power of the real sea kings.
He had to set sail. He had to see this new age for himself.
Especially that man — Sharn.
Even standing between Dragon and Kaido's clash, he didn't flinch.
"That kid's insane…" Moria mumbled—before his eyes rolled back.
"Ugh… my head's spinning…"
The shockwave knocked him out cold.
Sharn looked down at him, smirking.
"Too weak. You're fit to be… at best, an apprentice crewman."
He clenched his fist —
the beast inside stirring again,
ready to show the world what a true king's will felt like.
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