Delta Island, Central Lake.
The Thousand Sunny crested the sky-piercing current with a thunderous boom, catapulted by immense inertia. It soared over the bubble-wrapped island, hurtling into the vast expanse of sky.
Weightlessness gripped the crew momentarily before the ship plummeted downward. The massive bubble encasing the island cushioned their descent, dissipating most of the momentum. The Thousand Sunny pierced the bubble's coating and crashed onto the island's surface.
One by one, the pirate ships of Kuma, Kid, and others breached the bubble barrier and landed.
Donner Modirat, seeing the pirates arrive at the treasure island, seized the moment to amplify the excitement with his practiced commentary.
"What?! A massive galleon ship sprawled across that cliff, overflowing with gold and silver treasure...?! This is beyond expectation. Could Pirate King Roger's One Piece be hidden there...!?"
"Charge! We can't let anyone else snatch that treasure!" Luffy shouted, leaping off the ship and landing on the island. He sprinted toward the distant cliff, Sanji, Zoro, and Franky hot on his heels. Usopp and Chopper stayed behind to guard the ship.
"Pirate King Roger's One Piece..." Ace murmured, curiosity flickering in his eyes. He vaulted off the ship, joining the others.
Marco glanced at Ace and the crew disappearing into the distance, then turned to Sephiroth, lounging casually on a beach chair nearby. The man's calm smile made Marco uneasy. Without a word, he followed the others toward the cliff.
Usopp eyed Sephiroth, still reclined and unbothered. "Don't you Marines have any interest in Pirate King Roger's One Piece?" he asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
Sephiroth chuckled softly. "The One Piece? Power, fame, wealth—I've already reached the pinnacle of the world. Honestly, I'm not particularly interested in it."
His gaze shifted slightly. "Though... Robin seems quite intrigued by the Pirate King's treasure. I suppose I should retrieve it for her."
In an instant, Sephiroth expanded his Observation Haki, scanning several kilometers toward the cliff. Amidst a heap of gold and silver, he pinpointed an ancient treasure chest.
Drawing his butcher knife, he slashed the air, opening a palm-sized rift. His hand reached through, retrieving an Eternal Pose engraved with "Laugh Tale."
Before Usopp and Chopper could decipher the inscription, Sephiroth opened another spatial rift directly to the Marshal Office at Marineford. He placed the Laugh Tale Eternal Pose inside and withdrew one marked "Marineford," depositing it in the old chest.
"Hmm... Now the chest holds Marineford's Eternal Pose, while the Laugh Tale pose rests safely at Marineford. That's the accurate clue to Pirate King Roger's One Piece. Perfect."
He shrugged nonchalantly. "If someone finds Marineford's Eternal Pose but lacks the courage to storm Marineford for the Laugh Tale pose... well, that's their problem."
"What did you just do?" Usopp asked, utterly confused.
"Nothing at all," Sephiroth replied with a faint smile, offering no further explanation.
Boom-! Boom-! Boom-!...
As for some lucky person obtaining the Eternal Pose for Marineford but lacking the audacity to break into Marineford to seize the Laugh Tale pose—that was no concern of his.
When the Pirates learned that the One Piece was on that ship, they immediately pulled out their respective weapons and began attacking the enemies blocking their path, trying to impede their progress. In an instant, the entire island was filled with shouts of killing and the smell of gunpowder.
......
At the edge of the Central Lake on Delta Island, the burly Bullet had appeared at some point.
He raised his right hand and grabbed a two-masted sailboat in front of him, quickly wrapping Armament Haki around the hull.
The next moment. The entire two-masted sailboat was thrown out by Bullet like a toy, spinning and whistling through the air, rushing towards the small island located a kilometer high.
Rumble-!
In the audience stands, to the shocked eyes of the Pirates, this two-masted sailboat actually shattered the entire island from the bottom, turning it into fragments that scattered down towards the Central Lake. Many of the Pirates who were still on the island fighting for treasure were caught off guard and fell into the water, and Luffy was one of them.
Seeing this situation, Zoro and Sanji quickly jumped into the Central Lake, trying to fish out their Captain.
"Luffy is really speechless! He can even capsize in a ditch like this..."
In the high sky, Sephiroth muttered as he spread his black wings from his back, flapping them unhurriedly in the air to keep himself suspended, not falling with the Thousand Sunny.
At the same time, while the Pirates were in chaos and confusion, Bullet's massive body erupted with ghost-like speed, quickly traversing through the fragments of the small island. He found the treasure chest hidden in the old galleon ship and took it into his hand.
Standing on the commentator's platform, Donner Modirat looked at the island that had been shattered in the high sky. He wanted to say something to continue boosting the atmosphere.
However... When he caught a glimpse of the silver-haired young man with black wings on his back, two swords at his waist, and a white mask on his face in the sky, he instantly shivered and said with a surprised expression:
"Huh-!? That person... He is!!? Impossible, how could he be here!?"
Amidst Donner Modirat's exclamation, Sephiroth casually removed the white mask from his face, revealing his true appearance.
Hiss~! ×N
In that instant, the pupils of most of the Pirates in the audience stands suddenly contracted, and they all took a sharp breath. A feeling called fear quickly filled their hearts.
Seeing this scene, Donner Modirat subconsciously swallowed, his voice dry as he said:
"He really is Fleet Admiral Sephiroth! Mr. Buena Festa, how did you handle your intelligence secrecy!? You've even provoked the Fleet Admiral..."
"Run!"
"Damn it! Since he's here, the Marine forces must have also arrived..."
"If we don't escape now, it will be too late!"
At this moment, the Pirates in the audience stands had no more interest in watching the show. They quickly stood up and pushed their way out of the island, fearing that Sephiroth, this killing god, would find them displeasing and casually unleash a large-scale attack to massacre them completely.
"Hahaha-! Fleet Admiral, since you're here, then it proves that your Marines also want to obtain Pirate King Roger's One Piece, right? If that's the case, if you have the ability, defeat me like the Fleet Admiral did 23 years ago!"
As he spoke, Bullet laughed wildly, raised the treasure chest in his hand, and opened it.
Immediately, an Eternal Pose with the words "Marineford" engraved on it came into his sight.
Bullet: (⊙▃⊙)?