"Haha, so that's how it is. I understand. No problem, Jack—I can spare an hour or two every day to help you out," King agreed with a hearty laugh.
Since Jack finally had the desire to push himself, King wasn't about to refuse. In truth, within the Beasts Pirates, the gap in power was becoming glaring. Kaido and Yamato were in a league of their own, while the Three Disasters were starting to fall behind.
It was time for them to evolve. If the Young Master was spending her days training Maria and Haruko, it wasn't just for a change of pace; it was a sign of things to come. The All-Stars couldn't afford to remain stagnant while the guards were sharpening their fangs.
"Thanks, Big Brother," Jack sighed, the tension leaving his shoulders.
"We start tomorrow. From now on, cut back on your missions. Delegate the grunt work and focus," King commanded. He had felt the same inadequacy Jack had. The Beasts Pirates were expanding, but the organization felt bloated and sluggish. Every minor decision had to come through him, and the execution was often sloppy.
Perhaps Yamato was right—the current model of the crew was unsustainable. But King couldn't change Kaido's vision; he could only adapt within it.
If the Young Master says taking it easy is the way to go, then I'll do just that, King thought. Improving my own strength is more practical than managing every little rebellion. Over the years, Yamato's unconventional wisdom had slowly eroded the rigid mindset of the crew's top brass. King, Jack, Maria, and even Queen had changed more than they cared to admit.
A few days later, a piece of news shattered the global status quo.
On a deserted island in the New World, Admiral Akainu and Admiral Aokiji had engaged in a brutal duel for the title of Fleet Admiral. The battle lasted ten days and ten nights, permanently fracturing the island's climate into a hellscape of ice and fire: Punk Hazard.
The result: Akainu emerged victorious. Aokiji, refusing to serve under his rival's brand of justice, resigned from the Marines entirely. Akainu's first act as the new Fleet Admiral was a bold declaration of war—he moved the Marine Headquarters into the heart of the New World, swapping the locations of Marineford and the G-1 Branch.
Back on Onigashima's coast, Yamato sat on a jagged rock, a cigarette dangling from her mouth.
"So, it really happened. Aokiji is out," she muttered, scanning the newspaper. "The World Military Draft should be starting soon. Losing a top-tier fighter like that leaves a massive hole in their power structure. They'll need new Admirals."
She chuckled to herself. "The old guard can't step back in, so they'll look to the outside world. If I weren't a pirate, I'd almost be tempted to go and try out for the job myself. Hahaha!"
She turned her gaze toward the distance, where Maria and Haruko were locked in a fierce sparring match. The air was thick with Haki. She could feel it—they were both teetering on the edge of a major breakthrough. It was best to let them find the path themselves; their levels were so close that they served as perfect mirrors for one another.
"I'll go check on Jack and Second Uncle first. That ought to be a show," Yamato said, standing up with a mischievous grin.
In another clearing, the sounds of metal on metal rang out. King was putting Jack through the ringer.
Clang!
Jack's twin scimitars slammed against King's blade, sending a shower of sparks into the air.
"Jack, are you serious?" King asked, sounding genuinely bewildered. "Don't you even know how to coat your weapons in Armament Haki?"
"Is there a point?" Jack grunted, straining against King's strength. "If the blades break, I'll just get new ones."
King's eye twitched. Who raised this kid? Is he really this much of a simpleton? "If that's your attitude, let's see how long they last. Imperial Flaming Wings!"
King didn't bother arguing. He shifted into his Dragon-Human Hybrid Form, his Pteranodon wings sprouting as he took to the sky. He dove with terrifying speed, his broad wings coated in jet-black Haki, slicing down like massive executioner's blades.
Jack raised his scimitars to block, but the moment the wings made contact, the twin blades snapped like dry twigs. Jack stood frozen, staring at the useless hilts in his hands. Before he could process the loss, King's momentum sent him tumbling backward.
"Cough... Big Brother, you didn't have to go that hard," Jack wheezed, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"If I didn't, would you have realized how big the problem is?" King snorted, landing gracefully. "Are you going to keep throwing away steel, or are you going to fight with your brain for once? Yamato calls you a blockhead for a reason, Jack."
Jack wiped the blood from his lip and tossed the broken handles aside. Growling, he shifted into his full Mammoth form, charging King with the weight of a mountain.
King's forehead pulsed with annoyance. "You're going full beast mode? Against a flyer? You're so clumsy it's painful."
King took to the air again, easily dodging the massive charge. He toyed with Jack, hovering just out of reach and striking whenever the Mammoth overextended. "I'm going to beat every useless thought out of your head today, Jack!"
Boom!
King stopped being polite. He rained down blows, knowing the Ancient Zoan's durability could handle the punishment. If Jack didn't learn that combat was more than just muscles and charging forward, he'd never survive the new era. Even Queen, for all his eccentricities, was a calculating fighter. Jack was the only one playing checkers in a world of chess.
"Where's your Haki, Jack? You think that hide makes you invincible?"
"You're still in beast form! Shift to Hybrid and use your speed!"
By the time Yamato arrived, Jack was a mess. He had finally shifted to his Hybrid form but was still being systematically dismantled by King.
"Whoa, look at that. Is this a total overhaul of the Jack-model?" Yamato laughed, sitting down to watch. King was controlling his power enough to avoid permanent damage, but Jack was definitely feeling every hit. "Still too green! When I sparred with the Idiot Old Man, the ground was soaked in blood!"
She remembered the feeling of Kaido's club coated in Conqueror's Haki. Compared to that, this was practically a playground scrap.
Jack spotted Yamato and his face turned a shade of red that had nothing to do with his injuries. He didn't mind King seeing him like this, but Yamato's mockery stung like salt in a wound.
"Keep it up, Jack! Show some spirit!" Yamato cheered loudly. "You're an All-Star! The Great Drought!"
"Shut up! Go away if you're just here to watch!" Jack barked back.
"Still distracted!" King shouted, delivering a boot to Jack's jaw that sent him sliding across the dirt.
Yamato roared with laughter. Jack was fuming, but he didn't dare look away again. King's next strike was already coming.
"Go for it, Jack! I'm rooting for you! It takes real guts to admit you need to change! Charge!"
The genuine encouragement actually caught Jack off guard. His anger cooled slightly. Finally, she's talking like a human being, he thought, refocusing on the fight.
While Yamato watched the boys, the battle between Maria and Haruko reached a fever pitch. The very air around them was vibrating.
"Fangs Slash!"
"Two-Sword Style: Venomous Sting!"
Naginata met Kodachi. A white wolf clashing with a venomous spider. The resulting shockwaves shattered the boulders along the coastline, sending debris flying into the surf. Their Haki was clashing so violently it created a physical pressure that made the seawater recede.
Neither woman would budge. Their eyes were locked, burning with a shared realization.
"Haruko," Maria whispered through gritted teeth.
"Lady Maria," Haruko replied, her grip tightening.
The coast trembled.
"For Yamato—and for ourselves—we break through here!" Maria declared.
"I wouldn't have it any other way!"
"Then let it be known," Maria's voice rang out, firm as iron. "I want Yamato to be the King. I will be one half of her wings. Wherever her will points, I will become the celestial wolf and crush everything in her path!"
"And I will be the other half!" Haruko shouted. "Wherever the King leads, I will become the demon spider and tear her enemies to pieces with my fangs!"
Their convictions fused. In that moment, the mental barriers they had carried for years shattered.
Crack!
A titanic aura erupted from the two of them. The ground beneath them fissured, and the sea was pushed back by a wall of invisible force before crashing back in waves thirty meters high.
Yamato, sensing the massive shift in power, transformed into her dragon form and soared toward them. She landed just as the dust began to settle.
"Great Swordsman! Two of them! Hahaha!" Yamato cheered, her joy overflowing. By her side now stood two genuine masters of the blade.
Even in Wano, Great Swordsmen were rare. Most samurai spent their lives chasing that level of mastery and never reaching it. On the open sea, they were even rarer, with Mihawk standing alone at the summit. Now, Maria and Haruko had joined that elite circle.
"Maria, Haruko! You're incredible! Female Great Swordsmen are like unicorns—you might be the only ones in the world! I'm so proud!"
Yamato rushed toward them, arms open. "Come here! Give me a hug! This is the best day ever!"
But she stopped. The auras weren't fading. If anything, they were growing, becoming more intense and suffocating.
"Wait... what's happening?" Yamato asked, her golden pupils narrowing.
We will become the King's Wings!
The voice didn't come from their mouths. it echoed directly in Yamato's mind. It was their "heart-voice"—the pure manifestation of their will.
Maria and Haruko's eyes were glowing like dying stars. Their belief was no longer just a thought; it was a physical force.
Crack-crackle!
Tendrils of red and black lightning began to arc around them, lashing out at the ground and sky.
"Conqueror's Haki..." Yamato whispered, stunned.
She had never imagined they would awaken the King's Haki. To do it simultaneously, at the exact moment of their breakthrough to Great Swordsman, was nothing short of a miracle.
Is this my 'Great Teacher' buff? Yamato wondered, a bit dazed. Does everyone who stays by my side just naturally become a monster?
Two people awakening the Haki of the Chosen at the exact same moment—the odds were 1 in 1,000,000. Yamato could only watch in awe as her wings finally took flight.
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