"Hehehehehe..."
"Hahahahaha!!!"
"The grand show is only just reaching its climax. Wouldn't ending it now be way too boring?"
Ozz slowly raised one hand, and a Den Den Mushi instantly appeared in his palm.
It was the very same one he had lent Buggy for the live broadcast.
"Captain Buggy!!!"
"The Den Den Mushi suddenly disappeared!!!"
Hearing that, Buggy froze in the middle of rehearsing his lines, then immediately turned red with rage.
"What?!"
"What the hell is going on?! I haven't even made my glorious entrance yet!!!"
Buggy's body split apart, his head and limbs floating in the air as he yelled at his subordinates.
But the approach of a certain figure cut his outburst short.
Tap...
Tap...
Clear footsteps rang out as Ozz, holding the Den Den Mushi in one hand, walked up beside Buggy.
"Relax, Buggy. I'm the one who took it."
"You bas... huh? Oh, is that so?"
"If it's you, Ozz, then no problem at all."
Buggy calmed down instantly.
But in the eyes of his followers, that scene took on an entirely different meaning, one filtered through overwhelming admiration.
"As expected!!!"
"The only one who can calm Captain Buggy's wrath is Mr. Ozz himself!!!"
"What an enviable friendship!!! I can't believe I'm lucky enough to witness the bond between the true giants at the top of the world!!!"
With his arm slung over Buggy's shoulders, Ozz smiled from the bottom of his heart.
"Buggy, I've been having a lot of fun this time around."
"This war is far, far from over yet!!!"
Buggy had no idea what Ozz was planning, but seeing that delighted grin on his face and hearing those strangely infectious words, he paused for a moment.
Then his mouth curled up too, and he flashed a big white-toothed grin.
"You don't have to tell me!"
"You're my best brother, Ozz!!!"
"Making a dazzling name for yourself and shocking the whole world, that's exactly what someone like you is supposed to do!!!"
Hearing that, Ozz nodded, laughing happily.
"Right? Right?"
Then, with a soft click,
the live screens that had already gone dark all over the world lit up once more.
"Look!!!"
"There's a picture again!!!"
Countless eyes from across the world focused on the broadcast.
Even in a dreamlike chamber somewhere far away,
a tall, slender figure turned his gaze toward the image on the Den Den Mushi screen before him.
Kneeling nearby was a woman with long legs, her face wrapped in bandages.
"The Five Elders request an audience."
"Let them enter."
Upon hearing that Imu had granted them permission, the five old men, sweat spread across their faces, hurried into the Room of Flowers, the place symbolizing the true summit of power.
Yet the supreme figure did not turn to look at them.
Instead, he remained focused on the Den Den Mushi screen.
The Five Elders only glanced at it for a second,
but in that instant they saw the very man they had come to report on.
"Greetings to everyone all around the world."
As the image stabilized, a handsome face wearing a warm smile appeared on the screen, replacing Buggy in an instant.
"So handsome!!!"
"No... wait, that face... don't tell me he's...!!!"
Those who paid attention to the world's balance of power and the latest news instantly recognized the man on the screen.
"It's actually... him..."
"You've got to be kidding me!!!"
At the same time,
the Seagull King shook off Marco, whom it had been entangled with for so long, with the power of its storm.
Then it swooped over, picked up the Den Den Mushi, and adjusted the perfect broadcasting angle.
Fighting a first division commander had only been a side hobby.
This, right now, was its real profession.
"This is Marine Headquarters, Marineford. And today, this place is hosting the largest war in decades!!!"
"Who will be the final victor?"
Ozz lightly lifted his foot and supported one hand forward, and the image shifted with him.
In the blink of an eye, they appeared on Island Number One, one of the islands Shiki had brought.
There, an old soldier with glowing fists was madly smashing apart one gigantic island fragment after another.
Opposite him, the wild and overbearing Golden Lion reveled in battle, every slash from the twin swords on his feet cutting the land itself apart.
"Hero Garp... and Golden Lion!!!"
In another blink, the image shifted to the harbor.
A terrifyingly massive dragon-man swung a kanabo wrapped in black-red lightning, drawing down thunder as he unleashed a fatal blow.
Facing him was a monstrous fused giant, his body merged with an island, his vast Armament Haki surging across him like armor as he threw a cataclysmic punch like a descending god.
"The strongest creature in the world, Kaido..."
"And the Demon Heir, Barrett!!!"
The image shifted again.
An aged and grievously battered Whitebeard still fought as though invincible, his fist swollen with quake waves that shattered the very atmosphere.
Opposing him stood the golden Buddha, embodying justice and authority like an unbreakable wall before all pirates.
"Whitebeard, the strongest man of the old era... and Fleet Admiral Sengoku of Marine Headquarters!!!"
Ozz gave every powerhouse their due respect.
Each figure shown before the lens was a monster capable of inspiring absolute despair.
And there were many more besides.
Kuzan crossing blades with Mihawk.
Crocodile and Doflamingo locked in conflict with each other.
And so on.
Ozz strolled through the battlefield like a chronicler.
And people all across the world had their eyes opened wide. Those names that had existed only in legend were displaying power so terrifying and extravagant that it defied belief.
"These monsters... just how strong are they?!"
"So the sea is really this vast?!"
"No way..."
Meanwhile, another figure ran frantically through the smoke and gunfire, looking around everywhere as if searching for someone.
"Kuma dear, where are you?!"
"In a battlefield this dangerous, why haven't I seen you even once?!"
Ginny ran wildly through the chaos.
A bloodthirsty Marine officer spotted that she wasn't wearing a Marine uniform and immediately moved to strike.
"Die, pirate!!!"
But in the next instant, he vanished from where he stood.
Because a towering figure had appeared there.
"Ginny?!"
"Why are you here?!"
Kuma's eyes widened in disbelief as Ginny threw herself into his arms.
"I came looking for you! I've been so worried about you, Kuma dear!!! Where have you been?!"
"Uh... well..."
Kuma scratched his head awkwardly.
But at that moment Ozz appeared beside him.
"I had Little Kuma doing some work for me."
Ginny stared blankly, still confused, as Kuma handed Ozz a pen.
"You've been a huge help."
Ozz patted him on the shoulder and vanished again.
In the broadcast, after briefly disappearing and then reappearing, Ozz stood with one hand behind his back and smiled at the camera, his tone rich with implication.
"The monsters you've just seen are all figures who dominate this world."
"But..."
Ozz placed one finger to his lips.
His smiling eyes slowly opened, full of anticipation and mystery.
"If it's only this much, wouldn't that be too boring?"
"Next..."
"Please welcome the true king!!!"
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The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.
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