Iron Country, Central Highlands.
A massive fortress, forged from interlocking slabs of high-density black steel and jagged boulders, sat atop the cliffs like a crouching metal titan. Its ramparts bristled with heavy artillery, and over a thousand elite guards—hand-picked by the warring Dukes—patrolled the perimeter. This was the most secure vault in the Ferrum Sovereignty, holding the Heavenly Gold destined for the World Nobles.
Six figures marched up the only mountain path leading to the gates.
"That's the hive," Jeno grunted, his exoskeleton venting a plume of white steam that hissed against the cold highland air. "Those walls are a reinforced alloy-rock composite. Standard cannon fire won't even scuff the paint."
"Is that so? Then let's see if they can handle a 'Standard' greeting from This Great Man!"
Buggy led the charge, a red Muggy Ball clutched in his hand. Despite his terror of the World Government, the sight of a fortress literally overflowing with gold had awakened the greedy, reckless pirate heart he had suppressed for years.
"Consider this a down payment!" Buggy roared, hurlng the bead toward the massive steel gates.
"SPECIAL MUGGY BALL!"
The tiny bomb detonated on impact.
BOOM—!!!
A pillar of fire clawed at the sky, followed by an ear-shattering crack. The shockwave buckled the tens-of-tons of refined steel as if it were tin foil. Dozens of guards behind the gate were vaporized or launched into the air before they could even draw their swords.
"INTRUDERS! PIRATES AT THE GATE! OPEN FIRE!"
The garrison scrambled, panic-stricken, as the artillery crews swiveled their massive barrels toward the path. But before a single fuse could be lit, a blue blur vaulted into the air.
Sabo adjusted his top hat mid-flight, his right arm swirling into a vortex of orange-red flames.
"HIKEN (FIRE FIST)!"
A violent torrent of fire whistled through the air like an enraged dragon, scouring the ramparts. The heat was so intense it cooked the artillery crews in their armor and triggered the ammunition crates. A chain reaction of explosions rippled along the wall, collapsing the outer defense line in seconds.
Jeno whistled at the raw destruction. "You guys don't believe in warm-ups, do you?"
"The gate is still holding," Ace noted, stepping through the smoke. The steel was twisted and scorched, but the inner alloy wall behind it remained a formidable barrier.
He didn't draw his blade. Instead, he slowly clenched his right fist. He closed his eyes for a heartbeat, recalling the terrifying, unadorned power Garp used to flatten mountains.
"Busoshoku: Emission."
Ace whispered the words as a deep, obsidian Haki swirled around his hand. It didn't settle on his skin; instead, guided by his will, it condensed into a high-density, tangible aura inches in front of his knuckles.
Ace stepped into a low stance and punched the air.
"FIST BONE IMPACT!"
There was no physical contact. The mass of compressed, flowing Haki struck the steel with the force of a naval broadside.
CRACK—BOOM!
The gates and the meter-thick alloy wall behind them shattered like glass. Shrapnel sprayed into the fortress courtyard in a lethal fan, carving a ten-meter-wide tunnel through the "impregnable" defenses.
"M-monster..." The surviving guards dropped their rifles, their hands shaking too violently to reload.
Ace shook his wrist and strode into the courtyard, stepping over the smoking debris. Sabo, Jeno, and the others followed in his wake.
In the central plaza, the garrison was in full retreat. Atop a high command platform, a mustachioed officer in a ceremonial uniform stared in sweating horror at the approaching group.
"Do you have any idea what you're doing?!" the commander shrieked, his sword rattling in its scabbard. "This is the Heavenly Gold! If you touch so much as a single coin, the Iron Dukes and the Marines will tear you to pieces!"
Ace didn't even look at him. He walked straight toward the vault doors. Leona, wielding her twin cleavers, moved with predatory grace, carving through the guards who tried to intercept them.
Desperate, the commander scrambled toward a communication console, frantically dialing every Den Den Mushi on the desk.
"REINFORCEMENTS! THE TRIBUTE IS UNDER ATTACK! NOTIFY THE DUKES! CALL THE MARINE FLEET IN THE SECTOR! HURRY!!!"
Inside the Vault.
"FOUND IT!" Carina's ecstatic scream echoed through the chamber.
Jeno had made short work of the inner doors with his hydraulic hammer. Mountains of gold coins and piles of jewelry shimmered in the gloom. Carina began frantically stuffing a specialized heavy-duty sack with cash. In a velvet-lined safe at the back, she unearthed a fruit covered in swirling spiral patterns and tucked it into her personal satchel.
"STELLAR OBSIDIAN! HAHAHA! COME TO PAPA!"
Jeno found a massive crate of black metal that seemed to absorb the light, emitting a faint, starlit glow. He stroked the ore as if it were a holy relic before hoisting the entire crate onto his exoskeleton-assisted shoulder.
"Captain, we've got the haul," Sabo said, glancing at the ransacked vault. "The commander just alerted the entire island. If we don't move now, we're going to be surrounded by tens of thousands of troops."
"Who said we were moving?"
Ace sat down on a chest of gold Carina hadn't reached yet, casually tossing a gold chalice between his hands.
"Captain?!" Buggy, who was currently hugging two bags of treasure, almost dropped his loot. "We've got the goods! Why stay here and wait for the Marines? There are Iron Dukes and probably an Admiral on the way!"
"For the last two weeks, you've been sweating on the deck," Ace said, his gaze sweeping over his crew. A sharp, confident spark lit his eyes. "But deck training only goes so far. You need a catalyst."
Ace pointed toward the gate. In the distance, alarms were screaming across the island, and the rumble of armored treads echoed through the mountains.
"Why go looking for opponents when the perfect whetstone is coming to us?"
Ace stood up, his voice hardening into a commander's tone.
"We wait here. You will use the bodies and skills you've honed to face the pressure of life and death. As long as you aren't killed outright, this pressure is exactly what you need to force your Haki to awaken."
Jeno let out a rough, boisterous laugh. "Using an entire island's army as sparring partners? You're a total lunatic, Captain! But my hammer is starving!"
Buggy looked at his gold, then at the horizon, wanting to cry but finding no tears. He gritted his teeth and slipped on his Sea Stone knuckle-dusters.
Ace drew his heavy machete and swung it once, carving a deep trench into the stone floor.
"Prepare for work, everyone. The Eclipse is going to show them what a real storm looks like."
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