"Damn you, Sharn!"
Kaido's roar shook the harbor.
He couldn't believe that brat—six years younger than him—kept stealing the spotlight!
He, Kaido of all people, being overshadowed?
There was always some upstart wanting to play captain.
By seniority, Sharn should've been calling him "Big Brother," yet somehow he was the one acting like a subordinate!
"Bad Wind!" Kaido bellowed, twisting midair.
No way he'd let himself become Sharn's backdrop again.
He dove headfirst into the ring of Marines, spinning his massive dragon body like a hurricane, slicing through the air with wind blades.
"This pisses me off!"
It wasn't just anger—he hated how much he admired Sharn.
Part of him wanted to recruit Sharn as his vice-captain; another part wanted to crush him for always standing in the center of attention.
"My vice-captain's angry, Dragon."
Sharn's Conqueror's Haki collided with Dragon's, sending another wave through the port.
Marines dropped like flies.
The colonel at the base was losing his mind.
"At this rate, we'll have no troops left standing!"
Even he, a veteran officer, had to use Iron Body to endure the repeated Haki bursts.
But just as he steadied himself—
Thud!
A giant finger tapped him on the head.
"Scary! It's a steel man!" giggled Sanjuan Wolf before flicking him aside like a toy.
Boom!
The colonel hit the wall, eyes rolling back as he crumpled to the ground.
The power gap between a regional Marine branch and Headquarters was enormous.
Even those with equal ranks were worlds apart in strength.
Still, the colonel had lasted longer than most—worthy of being called an old soldier.
Meanwhile, Moly was already at work.
She was in her element—literally.
Using her shovel, she tore up the dock, scooping ships, planks, and debris together.
In minutes, she'd created a crude, towering vessel—part ship, part fortress, part art project.
It looked like a supercharged version of Blackbeard's early monstrosity.
"Moly-bro! What a huge ship! Even I can fit!"
Wolf jumped aboard, his massive weight nearly capsizing it.
"Sit in the middle, you silly child! Spread the sails!"
Moly twirled her shovel, lifting a dozen Marine warship sails and mounting them atop Wolf's head like a mast.
Whoosh!
The fabric caught the wind, billowing outward.
The makeshift sailboat began to move, driven by the chaotic gales swirling around the port.
By now, most Marines were unconscious from Haki shockwaves.
The combined winds of Kaido's "Bad Wind" and Dragon's storm gave the ship powerful lift.
Sharn flexed his arms, coating them with Armament Haki.
After releasing his Conqueror's Haki earlier, his mind felt light, almost euphoric.
Damn, that felt good.
"Kaido! You go first—your captain will cover the retreat!"
In a blur of speed, Sharn vanished—
Soru.
He reappeared right before Dragon, driving a kick toward his arms.
"No one can stop the era that yearns for freedom!"
He launched into the air with Geppo, spinning and slashing with kicks enhanced by Tempest Kick technique.
Whizz-whizz-whizz!
Dozens of strikes flew in the blink of an eye—like finger pistols, but with his legs.
Now infused with Haki, they carried true power.
"Freedom? You're nothing but another pirate chasing Rocks' delusion of domination!" Dragon retorted.
His five fingers curled into dragon claws, coated in Armament Haki.
Slash!
Wind blades flared from his arms.
Unlike lightning, magma, or ice, wind didn't announce itself—it arrived.
There were two ways to fight with wind:
One, channel it into sharp blades to slice and tear;
Two, expand it into storms and cyclones, reshaping the entire battlefield.
The true strength lay in how it was developed.
Dragon had already mastered combining his Haki and martial arts with his Fruit perfectly.
Sharn's attacks were sliced apart, his strikes dispersing harmlessly.
His cloak fluttered, giving the illusion that he'd simply dodged them all.
"Your Observation Haki still lacks precision," Dragon said calmly.
His whole body turned to air, only his fists remaining solid—each fused with cutting gales.
Dragon Claw Fist: Wind Edge.
It was a devastating hybrid.
Years later, even Smoker's smoke-based attacks would mimic this style—but poorly.
Wind had the advantage of speed, invisibility, and destructive reach.
"The God Valley War should've shown you the truth," Sharn called out.
"In a world ruled by Celestial Dragons and the World Council, there is no true justice!"
He struck again, but Dragon dissolved into wind, reappearing behind him.
Twin fists came down, caught mid-swing by Sharn's crossed arms.
"I'll follow my heart, not your twisted ideals," Dragon said.
"I believe in fairness—real, equal justice."
"If one day I rise with the wind of this era—
then let the storm itself be my answer!"
His elemental body surged, strength magnified.
Wind snuffed flames, scattered smoke, defied frost, clashed with thunder, and danced with light.
It was the perfect balance of adaptability and power.
Sharn smirked amid the chaos.
"So how'd you find Moly and Wolf so easily, huh?"
"Maybe from the moment you captured Kaido and me…"
"…this whole encounter was part of someone's plan to test justice itself."
"Seems even the Navy makes mistakes in the name of order."
Dragon's eyes narrowed as he seized Sharn's shoulders with both clawed hands.
Wind spun violently around them, tightening like a vortex.
Before striking, he compressed the gale to its sharpest edge.
Sharn laughed.
"Elementalization can't cover Haki, can it? Makes your body solid at just the wrong time."
"Dragon, no matter how hard you fight, you can't silence your heart."
"Time will prove everything. Every moment you've lived will echo my words."
He grinned wide.
"To live in this age of chaos—what luck!"
Dragon lifted him higher, but Sharn's body shifted—
scales spreading, horns curling, black armor forming from his own dragon bloodline.
Seven meters tall, he loomed like a dark war god.
"Dragon Claw Fist — Song of the Wind!"
Dragon couldn't respond.
Because Sharn's words struck too close to truth.
He'd seen God Valley.
He knew.
Maybe there wasn't a third path.
Maybe justice could only serve the Celestial Dragons, and freedom could only mean piracy.
He didn't want either.
"Leave the Marines, Dragon!" Sharn shouted.
"Come with me! Let's find the answer together!"
"The truths they hide—one day, they'll all surface!"
He reached out his hand—an invitation.
"You're insane!" Dragon roared.
Whoosh!
Thousands of wind blades erupted, engulfing Sharn in a screaming storm.
The vortex swelled wider than Kaido's dragon form, slicing through the Marine fortress itself.
BOOM!
Walls split apart.
Sharn's body was coated in hardened Haki, laughing through the pain.
Ever since Buckin's experiments, he'd changed.
Pain didn't weaken him—it excited him.
He craved it.
In agony, he felt alive.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Dragon's storm howled, but beneath it, that laughter echoed.
When the winds died, Dragon found himself trembling—not from fatigue, but realization.
This… wasn't the justice he wanted.
"Idiot Sharn! If you don't leave now, Wolf's going to sink the ship!"
Kaido's booming voice broke through.
He swooped down, snatched Sharn by the collar, and leapt toward the ship.
Dragon turned, the winds quieting around him.
For a moment, doubt flickered in his eyes.
As Kaido lifted off with Sharn under one arm and the half-dead Moria dangling from the other, Sharn still extended a hand toward Dragon—
"Dragon! The world awaits your answer!"
"Set sail—and chase what you truly seek!"
"When in doubt, ask the sea wind! That's the beauty of the ocean!"
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