Rotation.
Those eyes swirling with sinister patterns violently crashed into everyone's consciousness.
Each rotation carried a crushing sound that seemed capable of pulverizing all existence.
——
"Ugh——!!"
Yasopp desperately pressed his hands against his eyes, his body arching and trembling uncontrollably.
As a sniper, he possessed eyes as sharp as an eagle's, but now... these proud eyes made him see too clearly, suffering too deeply.
He felt as if needles were stabbing his eyeballs, his soul being dragged into a vortex filled with negative emotions.
"I can't aim... Just making eye contact makes me feel like I'm going insane!"
...
"What... what is that exactly..."
Ben Beckman, known for his absolute calm and wisdom, had crushed the cigarette between his fingers to pieces, his expression unprecedentedly grave.
He could understand clashes of Haki - even encountering top-tier Conqueror's Haki wouldn't make Beckman this tense.
Fear stems from the unknown.
If the mental pressure of Conqueror's Haki was like mountains collapsing and tsunamis raging, then the pressure he felt now was like countless tiny venomous snakes slithering along his line of sight into his mind, madly tearing at the boundaries of his consciousness.
Unbearable... utterly unbearable!
——
And yet...
Despite this unbearable feeling, his consciousness couldn't help but generate the desire to keep looking.
Knowing the danger, yet unable to resist approaching.
Eerie and insane beauty!
——
——
Gulp—
Shanks swallowed hard, his years of combat instinct warning him that he absolutely must not meet those eyes.
This was the abyss of demons.
He remembered his conversation with Rayleigh when passing through Sabaody a year ago.
Their discussion had extended to this Marine rising star, and Shanks had casually talked about mysterious fate. What Rayleigh said at the time was...
'That kid's body contains a monster capable of destroying the world. If you encounter him again, you must be careful!'
At the time, Shanks hadn't taken Rayleigh's warning seriously, but now...
...
It's exactly... like that person...
Shanks knew that a 'King' existed upon the Empty Throne.
During the two years after returning to the Holy Land, he joined the God's Knights and obtained that being's 'Contract,' learning about the Nika fruit.
Recalling the day the 'Contract' was engraved upon him, he had seen those very eyes at the boundary of darkness.
Not just the form, but even the chilling indifference toward all living beings in their gaze was identical!
...
"Thinking something rude again, aren't you."
The voice came from beside Shanks.
Impossible!!
He clearly hadn't moved, he was standing dozens of meters in front of me!
Is my Observation Haki malfunctioning!!!
Shanks instinctively swung his sword toward where the voice originated.
Whoosh————
The Sword Qi slash roared through the air, cutting through broken walls and debris.
...
No sensation of hitting... Shanks stared fixedly at Griffin before him, as if looking at some ghost or monster.
This time, the voice came from the other side.
"I never understood before why some people liked to publicly reveal their abilities, letting others find ways to counter them."
"Now I understand."
Griffin stepped toward Shanks, his body seemingly surrounded by invisible cold flames.
Yes...
The cold flame wasn't a description—it was the information Shanks' Observation Haki fed back to him.
...
"Honestly, it's hard not to explain..."
"In that case, how can I make you ordinary folks understand the gap between you and me?"
Griffin slowly raised both hands.
...
He's about to make his move!!
Shanks' nerves tightened to their absolute limit!
What kind of bizarre ability would it be? Teleportation? Elemental Transformation? Or perhaps phantom attacks?!
He had to maintain complete mental focus—he absolutely couldn't be disturbed by those eyes!
...
"To be honest, my Mangekyo Eye Technique isn't particularly flashy. You could even say it's extremely simple."
"Do you understand the concept of a furnace?"
"My Mangekyo Eye Technique is called 'Heavenly Jar Star,' which can be interpreted as 'The Furnace Star of the Heavens.'"
...
The invisible flames burning around Griffin grew increasingly intense.
"These Mangekyou Sharingan are essentially a furnace that 'forges everything cast into it.'"
"Swordsmanship, Devil Fruit Abilities, Body Technique, Haki... all the various powers I possess can achieve perfect balance through the organization of my Eye Power. This is the 'Smelting' of my left eye."
Reason told Shanks this was a perfect opportunity to strike while his opponent was arrogantly explaining his abilities.
But his body wanted to keep listening—he had to keep listening.
This might be the only chance to learn about his abilities. If they couldn't resolve this battle here, this intelligence would be crucial!!
...
"And then..."
"What happens after the smelting is complete?"
Like a teacher instructing a student, Griffin didn't give Shanks time to guess, answering his own question.
"It's 'Forging.'"
Before he realized it, Griffin had approached to within less than a meter of Shanks.
Shanks clearly perceived that the invisible flames around Griffin had vanished.
So ordinary... just like a friend casually walking up to him.
He slowly raised his hand, as if offering a friendly handshake.
Shanks couldn't help but let his guard down.
——
"Right now, I could kill you."
The icy voice snapped Shanks back to reality, making him hastily retreat dozens of meters!
What just happened!!!
...
"But killing someone completely unaware of the danger—how is that any different from a sneak attack?"
"As the debut battle for these eyes, that would be too unsightly."
"Three seconds."
"I'll give you three seconds to prepare."
Griffin raised his finger, and Shanks finally sensed extreme, lethal threat!!
A line that defied color description, distorting the sunlight, coiled slowly around his fingertip.
Three...
During the silent count of three seconds, Shanks urgently shouted:
"Help me!!"
Absolutely impossible to withstand! He definitely couldn't withstand this alone!
Shanks didn't hesitate to call for help from his crewmates.
Another thought emerged.
...
What use is this intelligence anyway?!
This so-called eye technique isn't some special, preventable mechanism—it's just stacking various attributes to boost numerical values!
This is too reckless!
Using his own body as a furnace... How could a human possibly achieve such a thing!!!
...
Beckman leaped into action, his arms coated in Armament Haki, firing at Griffin without hesitation.
The Armament Haki-coated bullet tore through the air with a shriek!
Simultaneously, Lucky Roux covered himself in pitch-black Armament Haki, his muscles swelling as he stood before Shanks like a great shield.
Howling Gab opened his fang-filled mouth, accumulating a roar in the air, his dark red long hair billowing.
...
One by one... the Red Hair Pirates instantly assembled, demonstrating to the world what it means to be the "Iron Wall Pirate Crew."
All of this, just to deal with a single person.
——
"The time has come..."
Griffin casually extended his fingers like a blade toward the direction of the Red Hair Pirates and made a swift, forward slash.
——
Haki, Devil Fruit Ability, Ninjutsu... techniques forged through countless battles were layered atop his swordsmanship, representing Griffin's ultimate offensive art at this moment.
Let this "Iron Wall" measure the power of this strike.
...
"Empty Roar!!"
"Certain Kill·Nine Linked Gunpowder Stars!!"
"Deconstruction Finger Gun!"
"Haki Bone Fortress!!"
...
"Raging Spirit!!"
——
Amid the roaring in his ears, Griffin remained expressionless.
"Heavenly Jar Star－God-Forged Armament·Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven"
...
Screeeeeech——————————!!!!
An invisible slash erupted from his fingertips!!
——
——
There was no sound.
Or rather, all sound was stripped away by the absolute power contained within this single sword strike.
A dark fissure churning with chaotic turbulence spread across the land and through the air, extending all the way to the edge of the island.
The island...
split apart.