Year 1523 of the Sea Circle Calendar, the second year after the Great Cataclysm.
Ever since Tesoro obtained the power of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit that had belonged to Smoker, who died in the New World, he had relied on the advantages of a Logia-type Devil Fruit to rise rapidly.
In just one short year, he went from being an ordinary slave trader to seizing control of six surrounding islands, establishing Slave Island and proclaiming himself the Slave King.
The Great Cataclysm had brought opportunities to countless ambitious people. At the same time, it was also their final carnival.
* * *
The first half of the Grand Line, Slave Island.
The once prosperous island now looked somewhat worn down, yet it was more crowded than ever because everywhere one looked, there were people…
Slave overseers with vicious expressions, no different from pirates, patrolled the area with whips in hand, while the island's countless slaves wore collars, chains, and shackles.
Regardless of age, everyone was carrying stone and construction materials from the docks toward the center of the island. These people were all residents taken from the six surrounding islands.
Looking into the distance, a gigantic female statue in the center of the island was slowly taking shape.
This was where Tesoro had started his rise and where he had first met Stella. After gaining his Devil Fruit power, he immediately spent a fortune recruiting followers and taking control of the island. The slave trader who had once watched the two of them with amusement was long dead at Tesoro's hands.
The location of the old slave shop had become the heart of the enormous statue, and all construction revolved around that spot.
He had obtained wealth, power, and authority, yet he could never get her back.
This was the only way he could express the sorrow buried deep within his heart…
Opposite the gigantic statue stood a castle.
On the top-floor balcony, Tesoro stood in a fine suit with a glass of wine in hand, staring absentmindedly at the massive female statue under construction.
"Stella..."
He raised the half-empty bottle and drained it in one gulp.
Smash!
The bottle shattered against the ground.
Tesoro's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the statue and muttered, "Can you see it? I have so much money now. I'll become the greatest slave owner in the world. I—"
Crack!!!!
A bolt from the blue.
A thick bolt of lightning descended from the gray, mist-covered sky. The castle, nearly a hundred meters tall and level with the giant statue, was split in half instantly.
In only a moment, the luxurious balcony was reduced to scorched ruins.
Tesoro, dressed in his expensive suit, was thrown to the ground. Blood poured from his mouth as he coughed violently, looking like a man with one foot in the grave.
The shocking turn of events stunned everyone on the island. Several of Tesoro's trusted subordinates ignored everything else and quickly gathered men before rushing toward the castle.
But streaks of lightning continued to rain down from the sky, striking people one after another and burning them into blackened corpses. For a time, no one dared move.
At the top of the castle.
Bang!
Tesoro, who had been struggling on the ground, was kicked through the air and slammed into his former throne.
It was a throne forged entirely from gold, the place where Tesoro had once sat every day while gazing at Stella's statue.
But now, Enel slowly walked forward and took his seat on the golden throne. Looking down at Tesoro, he raised a leather boot and stepped directly onto his head.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking echoed. He twisted his foot slightly, and the continuous crunching of shattered bones sounded almost like a melody.
Then Enel's cold voice rang out. "A thing no better than a dog, and you dare call yourself a king?"
Enel was no longer the skin-and-bones figure he had once been. He had gradually accepted Sakazuki's death, but the changes in him were immense. His body had become leaner than before, and his face was expressionless, carrying a constant gloomy shadow. Those changes created a terrifying sense of pressure.
Back at Headquarters, many Marine soldiers who once feared Bullet now found themselves thinking that even Bullet seemed approachable compared to Enel.
With a cold and gloomy expression, Enel looked down at Tesoro and continued grinding his boot into his head.
Tesoro felt as if his skull were splitting apart. It wasn't only because the boot was crushing his bones. The lightning that had struck him had also ravaged his body, and his brain felt like it was about to explode.
Even so, he forced himself to speak, "Why...?"
Tesoro struggled on the ground, unable to understand why the Marines had appeared here.
He recognized the man before him. It was Enel, the newly promoted Marine Admiral known as "Hakuryu."
With the world's communications network crippled, he was certain no one had escaped to report anything. So how had the Marines found him? He had even prepared treasures to bribe officials within the World Government, yet the Marines had come directly to his doorstep…
Enel said nothing. He simply looked down at him with cold indifference as the black leather boot slowly applied more pressure, nearly twisting Tesoro's neck one hundred and eighty degrees and forcing him to look toward the giant female statue under construction.
Boom!!!!
The enormous statue was struck by lightning as well. It split apart from the middle and collapsed.
But Tesoro could no longer resist. His expression shifted constantly between fear, rage, and despair as the pressure on his head grew heavier and heavier.
He wanted to use his Devil Fruit power. Unfortunately, his battered body could not muster even a trace of strength.
Crack!
Filled with confusion, terror, unwillingness, and endless fury, Tesoro's hard skull was completely crushed.
Red blood spread across the floor, and inside the Devil Fruit recovery device embedded in his back, a new Devil Fruit slowly began to take shape.
Enel rose to his feet as the golden throne beneath him crackled with electricity before melting into liquid gold. It flowed into his hand and transformed into a golden scepter. He lightly raised it as lightning danced across its surface, then slammed it into the ground.
At that moment, countless bolts of lightning descended from the sky.
Under Enel's powerful Observation Haki, none of Tesoro's subordinates escaped. Every last one of them was struck down and burned into charcoal.
Enel stood motionless and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he slowly exhaled after opening them again, yet the violent killing intent inside him had not diminished in the slightest.
Crackle!
His body transformed into lightning and vanished from the castle, flying toward the West Blue.
On the island, countless slaves stood frozen in fear. None of them understood what had just happened. In only a few brief moments, every slave overseer on the island had died.
This...
Wooo! Wooo! Wooo! Wooo!
A piercing alarm suddenly sounded from the distance, growing closer and closer.
The slaves on the island panicked at first. Soon, however, they calmed down because that sound was extremely familiar to them.
Countless slaves rushed toward the shore. Tears streamed down their faces as they dropped to their knees, crying and shouting.
Out on the gray, mist-covered sea, red and blue lights flashed brightly as one enormous warship after another sailed toward Slave Island. White seagull flags fluttered above them while the harsh alarms continued to blare.
The Marines had arrived!!!
* * *
At the former site of Mariejois stood the headquarters of the World Federal Government.
Inside the temporary office of the Chairman, "Sakazuki" sat in his chair reviewing the information Carlo had brought him.
Of the entire stack of reports, nearly half concerned Enel. Among them were reports confirming that Slave Island had been completely liberated and brought under control, while the Devil Fruit recovery device had been retrieved by the fleet that arrived afterward.
There was also news that Enel had gone to the West Blue, where the royal family of the Kano Country and the entire Happo Navy had been wiped out.
Those unstable elements and ambitious individuals identified through surveillance were being eliminated one by one by Enel.
"Sakazuki" set Enel's reports aside. "Let him vent for a while."
Below him, Carlo frowned slightly. "But if he keeps killing like this, I'm afraid he'll be exposed."
The main issue was that Enel's abilities were far too distinctive. He controlled lightning, and Enel wasn't trying to hide it at all.
While the communications blackout remained in effect, it wasn't much of a problem. But once communications were restored, if someone investigated the incidents happening across multiple islands, they would definitely discover the truth.
That would go against their goal of quietly cleaning up the world.
"Sakazuki" shook his head. "Eliminating these people in secret is only to keep things stable. Even if it becomes public knowledge, it doesn't matter at all. No need to explain. No need to hide it."
That was true. The powerful pirates had been wiped out. The rebellious Marines had been wiped out. The masterminds behind the World Government and the entire Celestial Dragon bloodline had also been wiped out.
Even if the current World Federal Government were more overbearing than the former World Government, the world simply had no means to resist.
Not to mention, they weren't nearly that tyrannical. Their methods were far cleaner and far more open than those of the old World Government. The people they were eliminating were the hidden rats and ambitious opportunists exposed by the Great Cataclysm.
"Sakazuki" looked through the report in his hand. "The people of Elbaf still refuse to leave?"
Carlo sighed helplessly. "That's right..."
After all, it was their ancestral homeland. Convincing them to leave was no easy task.
Now that the Marines had completely taken over the New World, mysterious Elbaf no longer held any secrets. However, some unstable elements remained among the giants, including members of the giant royal family.
Out of respect for the giant vice admirals still serving in the Marines, as well as those who had fallen on the battlefields of the New World, they had refrained from issuing an extermination order. Instead, they had only ordered the giant race to relocate from Elbaf and abandon any lingering ambitions.
Clearly, it wasn't working very well.
"Sakazuki" casually tossed that page of the report aside. "Have Bullet and Soter help them move. If they don't want to do it the easy way, then they can do it the hard way."
Carlo nodded. "Yes."
"Sakazuki" continued reading. Most of the remaining reports detailed developments around the world.
The world had already descended into chaos. Before the Great Cataclysm, the Revolutionary Army had occupied and reformed all four Blues. Now, with no top leadership and communications completely severed, the remnants of the nobility had begun their counterattack.
Aside from the long-established Revolutionary Army strongholds in the rear, nearly half the islands across the Four Blues had fallen into the flames of war.
The West Blue was especially unstable. Many of its islands had long been dominated by criminal organizations. After being suppressed by the Revolutionary Army, the ambitions of those forces had resurfaced. Their resistance was far more violent than anywhere else.
"Sakazuki" turned another page. What appeared next were reports regarding islands where the Revolutionary Army had declared independent nations.
The senior leadership on those islands had already been secretly eliminated. Special personnel trained by the Marines had quietly taken their places and were temporarily managing those Revolutionary Army territories.
After giving a slight nod, "Sakazuki" reached the final page.
"The New World has stabilized. Start organizing personnel to advance into the Grand Line and take over. You may go."
The Grand Line and the New World stretched like a thin line around the entire planet. They had once been divided by the Red Line. Now that barrier had been completely opened.
Once the Grand Line was secured, forces could cross the Calm Belt from both sides and begin reclaiming the islands of the Four Blues simultaneously.
Suddenly remembering something, "Sakazuki" chuckled. "While you're at it, test the improved Pluton main cannon. Let's see how effective it is."
Carlo nodded once more. "Yes."
Then he turned and left to relay the orders.
* * *
Several days later.
New World, Elbaf.
Beside the massive island, another island of almost identical size had appeared. It had been moved there by the current World Federal Government Admiral, "Murashi" Soter.
The giants traveled in groups with their families and belongings as they slowly migrated toward the new island.
Several giant children, each several meters tall and clutching their toys, chatted while walking.
"Why do we have to move?"
"I don't know. My father said it was an order from the Marines. They said this place isn't safe."
"The Marines? Isn't that where Uncle John works?"
"Yeah. But I heard Uncle John died fighting in the New World."
"Huh?! How could that happen?!"
At the summit of the new island, members of the giant royal family watched the migrating giants with grim expressions.
Once the Marines delivered their final ultimatum, they no longer had a choice. Any thoughts of resistance had completely faded.
There was a simple reason for that.
Over a hundred years ago, the Giant Warrior Pirates had left Elbaf. Their strongest leaders, Dorry and Brogy, were only twenty-one or twenty-two meters tall. Yet that blue monster from the Marines could transform into a giant over a hundred meters tall in the blink of an eye.
As true giants, they had felt like infants standing before him.
That savage aura, that terrifying malice. Forget Loki, the giant prince who was said to possess power rivaling an Emperor of the Sea; even a real Emperor would not be able to defeat that monster.
And they had been forced to watch a demonstration.
Loyal lapdogs of the former World Government and several allied nations had gathered tens of thousands of troops on the Grand Line. Their goal was to advance toward Mariejois and investigate what had happened.
The giant royals had watched from several thousand meters in the sky.
Nearly a hundred warships had only just left port when a beam of light shot out from the direction of the Red Line. It was a laser that seemed to pierce across the entire world.
In an instant, the enormous fleet was annihilated.
A gigantic crater, dozens of times larger than an island, was carved into the sea. Ocean water surged violently into the abyss. That massive depression in the ocean was several times larger than Elbaf itself.
According to the Marines who had forced them to witness the display, the weapon that fired that energy cannon was mounted atop the Red Line, and it could fire endlessly…
No matter how unwilling they felt, after witnessing what true power looked like, even the giant royals no longer dared to resist.
They could only obey the order and command the giants to leave Elbaf.
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!