Outside the Ferrum Fortress.
The tremors in the earth shifted from a rhythmic throb to a violent, tectonic shudder. In a single hour, the desolate highlands had been swallowed by a crushing sea of steel and humanity.
To protect the Heavenly Gold, the warring Iron Dukes had done the impossible: they had united. Over ten thousand elite soldiers, flanked by dozens of steam-chariots belching obsidian smoke, formed an airtight blockade around the fortress.
Inside the ruins, Carina hoisted a massive reinforced rucksack. Her brow was furrowed as the deafening roar of the assembling army rattled the stones.
"Captain, I can handle the gold and the fruit," she called out, "but the Stellar Obsidian Jeno reclaimed is too heavy. The Eclipse's cargo hold will bottom out before we even clear the harbor."
"If it doesn't fit, we'll just take a bigger boat," Ace replied. He sat perched on a shattered pillar, his gaze drifting past the high walls toward the distant port.
"After we've had our fun here, we're heading to the docks to hijack one of the Dukes' heavy transports. We'll split the crew between two ships and find a quiet island where Jeno can finish the upgrades in peace."
"Now that's a plan!" Jeno roared, cracking his thick neck. The mechanical rig on his right arm let out a predatory hiss of high-pressure steam. He kicked off the stone, his massive frame launching forward like a charging rhinoceros. "Time to settle the bill with the bastards who trashed my shop!"
He had fought the Dukes alone for years; with the Eclipse behind him, he felt invincible.
Outside, a One-Eyed Duke stood atop a steam-chariot, swinging a ceremonial command saber. "FIRE! Turn that freak into a sieve!"
A thunderous volley of gunfire shattered the highland silence. Jeno didn't flinch. Lead bullets sparked harmlessly off his reinforced plating. Using the steam-thrusters in his boots, he cleared fifty meters in a single bound, crashing into the front line like a falling star.
"TASTE THE HAMMER!"
BOOM!!
The hydraulic warhammer slammed into an oncoming chariot, caving in its armored prow and detonating the internal boiler. The resulting explosion tossed soldiers into the air like ragdolls.
"That guy is a complete maniac!" Buggy yelled, already splitting his body. He kept his feet safely behind the fortress ruins while his upper torso—armed with Sea Stone knuckles—zipped through the enemy flank like a ghost, punching out gunners before they could reload.
Leona was a whirlwind of silver in the center of the fray. She relied on the monstrous strength honed from years of hunting prehistoric beasts, her twin cleavers finding every gap in the soldiers' plate armor.
But the sheer numbers were suffocating. Thousands of disciplined troops coordinated their spears and fire-nets, slowly entangling the three in a web of attrition.
At the rear, the Iron Dukes watched coldly. "Let the infantry grind them down," one muttered. "No matter how strong they are, stamina is finite. We strike when they can no longer lift their arms."
The Fortress Breach.
Sabo leaned against a crumbling wall, watching the chaos below. He tilted his hat toward Ace. "Need a hand, Captain? That's a lot of meat for three people to grind."
"If they can't handle this, they'll never unlock the door to Haki," Ace said, his Observation Haki blanketing the entire battlefield. "I won't step in unless their lives are truly on the line. This army is a gift—a free, high-stakes sparring partner."
Suddenly, Ace's brow twitched. He closed his eyes.
His innate perception—a sense that had been "oversized" since birth—extended past the highlands, past the city, and out toward the jagged coastline. Far out at sea, a heavy, immovable presence was intruding upon the island's magnetic field. It felt like a mountain of iron sliding through the water, radiating a cold, overwhelming pressure.
"What an incredible spirit..." Ace whispered, a wild, predatory hunger igniting in his pupils. "How did a powerhouse of this caliber get here so fast?"
He knew. The distress call from the fortress commander hadn't just reached the local Dukes. It had reached the Marines.
The Coast of Ferrum.
Five massive warships, their sails emblazoned with the seagull of Justice, tore through the waves.
On the deck of the lead flagship, Vice Admiral Momonga—distinguished by his mohawk and sharp mustache—hung up a Den Den Mushi. He looked somber.
"Instructor Zephyr," Momonga reported, stepping toward a broad-shouldered back at the bow. "The port is in sight. The local Dukes are engaging the pirates on the highlands, but the casualties are high. The Heavenly Gold is in immediate peril."
Standing at the prow was a man who looked like an iron tower dressed in a purple suit. A wide Marine coat draped over his massive frame, and his short purple hair was shot through with gray. Most striking was his right side—where his arm should have been, there was only an empty sleeve flapping in the wind.
The former Marine Admiral. The "Non-Killing" Legend. Now, the Recruit Instructor.
"Black Arm" Zephyr.
Four years ago, a certain "demon" with a Devil Fruit had massacred his training ship, leaving only two students alive and taking Zephyr's arm. The "Non-Killing" Admiral died that day. In his place was a man filled with a cold, absolute hatred for piracy.
"The Heavenly Gold?" Zephyr spat, his weathered eyes narrowing with disgust. "I have no interest in the blood money those Celestial Dragons squeeze from the world."
Momonga remained silent. He knew the old general's disdain for the World Government was a deep, festering wound.
"BUT!" Zephyr's voice dropped, and a murderous intent so thick it felt physical washed over the deck. "I will not allow a gang of arrogant rookies to incite war and slaughter under the banner of 'piracy'!"
Zephyr raised his remaining left hand and clenched it into a fist. The knuckles popped like pistol shots as a deep, jet-black Busoshoku Haki coated the limb.
"A rookie with a fifty-million-Berry bounty? I want to see what 'qualifications' he thinks he has to be this arrogant."
Zephyr's eyes were cold iron.
"All ships, prepare for landing! Today, I hunt. We bury them all here!"
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