The sky over Wano Country was heavy with the scent of impending war. High above the jagged peaks, Junzi, a high-ranking member of the God's Knights, descended toward the island of Onigashima. She traveled upon the back of a giant bird brought to life through her Devil Fruit abilities, her eyes scanning the horizon for her target.
However, as she drew closer, she pulled back on the reigns of her construct, her brow furrowing in confusion. If the intelligence reports were correct, there was supposed to be only one Onigashima—a single, massive skull-shaped fortress. Instead, she looked down to find three identical skull islands floating amidst the clouds. The sight was a chilling testament to the chaotic power currently ruling the land of the samurai.
Relying on her instincts, Junzi steered her bird toward the central island. She knew that a frontal assault on the main gates would be a fool's errand, even for someone of her stature. She opted for a stealthier approach, guiding her mount to land atop the giant skull's dome, planning to infiltrate the fortress from above.
The moment her boots touched the stone, she felt a presence. Her body tensed, and her gaze turned sharp as a blade. From the deep, flickering shadows on the ground, a massive, burly figure began to rise as if floating on air.
Junzi recognized the man instantly. She spoke his name with a voice laced with caution. "The former member of the MADS research team and the Plague Queen of the Beasts Pirates."
"Hoo-hoo-hoo!"
A bizarre, rhythmic laugh rumbled from Queen's barrel-chested frame. He stood there comfortably, a thick cigar clamped between his teeth. He exhaled a plume of grey smoke, squinting at her through his small, tinted sunglasses.
"Well, now," Queen said, his voice dripping with mock gallantry. "I certainly didn't expect my opponent to be such a beautiful lady. Tell me, do you have a name?"
"Junzi," she replied coldly. She saw no reason to hide her identity from a man who was likely marked for death. "Since I have given you my name, Queen, perhaps you can answer a question for me."
Queen leaned back, looking amused. "Hoo-hoo! Of course, beautiful Ms. Junzi. As long as the question isn't too ridiculous, I'd be happy to chat."
Junzi didn't waste time with pleasantries. "I want to know if the Beasts Pirates have secured the design blueprints for the Ancient Weapon, Pluton."
Queen's eyes widened behind his glasses, and he broke into a dramatic fit of laughter. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Even for a beauty like you, that's asking a bit much, don't you think? Do you really believe I'd just hand over a secret like that?"
Junzi's expression didn't soften. "I thought as much. Let's try another. The way you appeared just now... that was the power of the Kage Kage no Mi. That is the Devil Fruit ability of the former Warlord, Gekko Moriah. How do you have it?"
"Hahaha! Now that is a question I can answer," Queen boasted, spreading his arms wide. "That's right! This is Moriah's power. Since you work for the World Government, you should know that Kaido captured that loser. I wasn't about to let such a useful and interesting ability go to waste. Would you like a little demonstration, my lady?"
"If you are capable of it, I would be delighted to watch," Junzi said, her hand moving toward the bandages wrapped around her arms.
"Hoo-hoo-hoo! Excellent! Then witness one of Moriah's most famous techniques. I've practiced this one quite a bit: Shadow's Asgard!"
As Queen spoke, the shadows beneath him surged. A dark, towering figure—an exact silhouette of Queen himself—rose from the ground to stand before him like a loyal sentry.
Junzi's eyes narrowed as she observed the construct. "If you can mimic Moriah's powers so easily, I assume you have more than one trick up your sleeve."
Queen wasn't about to fall for such obvious bait. "Hahaha! You're a sharp one, aren't you? Do you really want me to answer that?"
"I do," Junzi insisted.
"Hahahaha! Well, there's a very simple way to find out." Queen's face shifted. The gentlemanly facade vanished, replaced by a cunning, predatory grin. "If you're so curious, why don't you join us? Why spend your life serving those pampered, pig-like idiots, the Celestial Dragons? A woman of your talent deserves better."
The insult was the final straw. "Silence!" Junzi hissed.
She lashed out before he could finish his sentence. The bandages around her arms transformed, hardening and sharpening into lethal projectiles that shot toward Queen with the speed of a bullet.
However, the shadow clone moved with surprising agility. The Shadow's Asgard crossed its massive arms, blocking the incoming strike. When the bandages tried to unravel and entangle the shadow, the construct simply liquified, turning back into a flat shadow on the ground to slip through the gaps before reforming.
"You will not insult the Gods," Junzi said, her voice dropping to a chilling, murderous whisper as she retracted her bandages.
Queen responded with a burst of disdainful laughter. "Gods? Don't make me laugh! Even if there were real Gods in this world, it would be the Lunarians like King. The Celestial Dragons are nothing but a pack of thieves who stole a throne they don't deserve."
He ignored the killing intent radiating from Junzi and continued to taunt her. "Maybe I'll capture a few of them myself. I'd love to cut them open and see if their blood actually looks any different from a pig's."
The ground beneath Junzi's feet began to ripple like water. In an instant, the solid stone transformed into thousands of sharp, white arrows pointing upward.
Queen didn't look afraid; he looked fascinated. "A Devil Fruit Awakening? Now that is interesting. Tell me, do the Celestial Dragons have some secret method to force an Awakening? Or is it something else... perhaps the power of Uranus?"
Junzi didn't answer. Her eyes were icy, looking at Queen as if he were already a corpse. With a flick of her wrist, the sea of arrows erupted, swarming Queen from every conceivable angle.
"Not talking? That's fine," Queen shouted over the roar of the attacking arrows. "Once I've beaten you and locked you in a cell, you'll tell me everything. Don't worry, I'll be as gentle as a man like me can be."
Queen's body began to transform, his cyborg enhancements whirring to life. He ignored the arrows shredding the air around him and leveled his right arm at Junzi. The skin peeled back to reveal a massive, blackened cannon muzzle.
The sight of the weapon made Junzi's heart skip a beat. She immediately abandoned her offensive, calling her arrows back to form a thick, swirling white shield in front of her.
A cruel smile spread across Queen's face. "Try this on for size! Fifty-Fold Queen Death Bullet!"
A single blue cannonball fired from the muzzle. As it traveled through the air, it didn't just fly—it grew. It expanded exponentially, swelling from the size of a ball to the size of a small house in the blink of an eye. The sheer mass of the projectile slammed into Junzi's white shield with the force of a falling meteor.
BOOM!!!
A flash of light as bright as a second sun erupted over Wano. The shockwave rattled the very foundations of the floating islands, the sound echoing for miles.
Down on the mainland, the citizens and combatants alike stopped in their tracks. "What was that?!"
Shamrock, who was currently locked in a brutal struggle with King the Conflagration, looked toward the explosion at the top of Onigashima. His face went pale. He knew Junzi's power, and he knew she wasn't capable of producing a blast of that magnitude.
That meant the attack came from the Plague Queen. Between the strength of King, the destructive power of Queen, and the presence of the lightning-user Enel, the Beasts Pirates were proving to be far more dangerous than the World Government had anticipated. A heavy sense of dread settled in his stomach.
Back at the peak of the skull, the smoke cleared to reveal a grim scene. Junzi was still standing, but she was badly disheveled. Even with her Awakened defense, the sheer force of a cannonball enhanced by the Mo Mo no Mi had been too much. Her shield was shattered into white dust, and her formal attire was torn to shreds.
Queen stared at her, but his smirk quickly faded into a look of genuine surprise. As the dust settled, he saw her legs—legs that were far longer than those of a normal human.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Queen muttered, his eyes narrowing. "Since when did the Longleg Tribe—people usually sold as slaves—start becoming Celestial Dragons?"
A flash of genuine fear crossed Junzi's face as her secret was laid bare. Her past, something she had buried under layers of loyalty to the World Government, was now exposed to her enemy. The fear quickly turned into a white-hot rage.
"Unforgivable..." she stammered, her voice shaking. "Unforgivable!"
Before she could launch another attack, the very air around them seemed to thicken. A massive, overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki washed over the battlefield, emanating from the distant horizon. The sky itself seemed to split, the clouds churning in violent shades of purple and black.
The members of the God's Knights felt their breath hitch. Their pupils constricted, and cold sweat began to pour down their faces as the sheer weight of the willpower crashed into them. This wasn't just power; it was the presence of a king.
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