Chapter 48 – Return of a King and the New Era
Ron and Imu were deep in sleep. But time waited for none. The world was moving forward.
After the apocalyptic battle of monsters, God Valley sank into the sea. Garp was given the title of Marine Hero. Though the Gorosei wanted to capture the bastard alive, they couldn't.
Without Rocks, the monsters from his crew were now running wild and forming their own crews. The Marines needed top-tier combat power. And Garp was connected to most of them.
So they chose the only option.
Garp was granted the title of Marine Hero and was sent into the New World. Garp happily accepted it and started chasing Roger throughout the New World.
1505 ASC
Vegapunk, along with MADS, discovered the Lineage Factors and published it in WENA.
Morgan used the money he earned from Ron to build a news agency better than in the original work. With seagulls acting as delivery personnel, his news agency spread faster.
1507 ASC
Kaido, who had been captured, broke out of the lab again.
"Wororororo! You think you can keep me here?!"
He smashed his Hassaikai and destroyed the entire lab.
On his way out, he discovered a test subject.
He looked at him.
His eyes were burning with hate and hope.
"Wororororo, you wanna get out?" Kaido laughed while looking at him.
The boy's eyes lit up.
Sensing his answer, Kaido grinned.
"Wororororo, then you gotta pay up, kid. Nothing is free in this world. Follow me from now on, and I'll free you from this hell."
The boy's eyes shone with hope as he declared,
"I will follow you. Take me out of this hell!"
Kaido grinned and smashed his Hassaikai, destroying the third research lab.
He then flew out in his dragon form.
His claws descended as he grabbed Arber and flew away.
Then Kaido and Arber fought many battles. Arber followed every order of Kaido like a divine command.
One day, while eating on a deserted island, Kaido looked at Arber and tossed a fruit at him.
Arber caught it and looked at it.
His eyes constricted.
"Thi-this?"
"A Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit," Kaido said.
Arber looked at him as Kaido continued.
Kaido grinned while eating as a crazy battle lust formed in his eyes.
"A friend gave it to me. It was an investment, he said. One day he will come for me. If I lose, I will follow him, and the same goes the other way around."
"This Devil Fruit was given by him."
Kaido drank alcohol as he looked at King's wings and flames.
"He is also a Lunarian."
Arber stiffened.
After thinking for a while, he asked,
"How strong is he?"
Kaido stopped drinking as his grin widened.
"Wororororo! All I can say is that he is a monster."
Arber was even more stunned.
"Even you call him a monster? Who is he?"
Kaido just laughed.
"Wororororo! You will meet him when he comes for me."
"You aren't afraid?"
Kaido's grin faded as he took a long sip of his drink and burst out laughing.
"Worororororoo! Why would I be? Doesn't this make it more fun?"
Kaido's Haki burst out as blood-red lightning cracked around him.
Animals on the island didn't even have time to react as they froze and fell unconscious, foaming from the mouth.
Even Arber fell to his knees.
He really couldn't imagine the person whom even Lord Kaido called a monster.
He glanced at the Devil Fruit in his hand.
With determination, he took a bite and swallowed it.
His face turned green from the disgusting taste, yet he forced it down.
Kaido looked at him.
The flames on Arber's back turned crimson gold as he transformed into a massive red and golden flame bird with elegant five-colored plumage.
"Wororororo! Let's go meet Whitebeard. Let him see that now I got a flaming bird too!"
Kaido shot into the sky in his Azure Dragon form.
Arber's mouth twitched.
He sighed and said to Kaido,
"Lord Kaido, from now on call me King."
He had decided to be reborn.
The weak and cowardly Arber would die, and a new King would rise.
"Wororororo!"
Kaido laughed as both flew away searching for the Whitebeard Pirates.
A few weeks later, another news spread through WENA.
Kaido vs Whitebeard. Dragon and World Destroyer clash. Entire island devastated.
Kaido the Demonic Dragon — Bounty: 3,450,000,000 Berries
King the Blazing Bird — Bounty: 1,100,000,000 Berries
1508 ASC
Harald went to Marineford and broke his horns, begging the World Government and offering to become their slave.
Harald was sent to subdue pirates in the Grand Line by the Gorosei, where he destroyed and captured pirate ships.
In the same year, Donquixote Homing decided to give up his title as a Celestial Dragon and live in the lower world with commoners.
Because of it, Donquixote Doflamingo's mother died.
In the same year, Kaido recruited Scien as he also decided to change his name to Queen.
The remnants of the Rocks Pirates were gathering their own crews as the New World had become absolute chaos.
And also in this same year—
After a six-year-long sleep and recovery, Ron's fingers twitched as a massive burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted outward.
Many Fishmen and Mermaids fainted along with many sea creatures.
The Conqueror's Haki covered the entire Fishman Island for 10 km.
And Ragnar D. Ron, or Nerona D. Ron, opened his eyes.
As he stretched, his size shrank until he stood only 3 meters tall.
"That was one hell of a sleep."
He looked up with a grin.
"Gotta need to exercise a little. Behahhahahhaha!"
His laughter echoed as crimson-red flames danced around him.
A Den Den Mushi rang as Morgans laughed like a maniac.
Printers roared to life as bounty posters were thrown across every island where people lived.
Soon every monster on the sea knew it.
RAGNAR D. RON The Chaos Emperor Bounty — 6,999,000,000 Berries Dead Only
The poster sent the entire world into an uproar.
In Marineford, Kong slammed his desk in anger.
"WHY THE FUCK IS THAT BASTARD ALIVE?!"
Sengoku and Zephyr stood silently, yet their faces were dark.
Tsuru also had a grave expression.
Though she hadn't met him personally, his feats were monstrous.
The first time he appeared, he killed Celestial Dragons and gave a few billion worth of treasure to the auctioneer.
She was still baffled.
Why did he even give that treasure when he was going to kill the Celestial Dragon and cause such chaos?
Then he clashed with Sengoku.
That meeting had shaken Sengoku so much he needed time to recover from it.
Then he fought Garp multiple times.
Then he joined Rocks, killed an Admiral, and then came God Valley.
Though they hadn't been told what happened on that island, just the fact that God Valley sank was proof enough.
Even Garp was heavily injured.
Now the man was finally returning to the sea.
Her curiosity burned.
"What kind of person is he?"
She still remembered hearing from Garp.
This man was called the Titan of Destruction, the Destroyer, yet in reality he had destroyed multiple slave ships, rescuing many people and sending them to the Marines.
He had donated multiple times through Garp to those kids he saved.
She and Garp were the only ones who knew about it.
On an island, Whitebeard grinned while looking at the bounty poster.
"Gurararara! So he finally is back? Now the sea will be more interesting."
On a massive island made of chocolate, Linlin stuffed her mouth with sweets while looking at the poster with a maniacal twisted smile.
"Mama mama! So he is still alive after being targeted by that man?"
A hint of fear appeared on her face.
On a massive ship, Kaido stared at the bounty.
"Worororo! King, that bastard is back on the sea."
Queen looked at the bounty and his eyes nearly popped out.
"6.999 billion?! What kind of monster is he?!"
King stared at the poster in silence.
On an unknown island, a man with one arm looked at the poster and started laughing.
"Volahahhaha! So the true new era starts now."
"Let's see what kind of changes you bring, Ron."
His wife looked at him.
"This era is really something."