White Night's gaze swept over Kizaru, Dragon, and Garp one by one, finally landing on Golden Lion Shiki, who lay like a pile of mud at his feet.
An Admiral, the Revolutionary Army Leader, a marine hero... plus a legendary Great Pirate.
This lineup of spectators certainly saved him a lot of trouble.
Perfect. Today was the day to establish the rules.
"Let's wake this fellow up first."
White Night pointed at the Golden Lion on the ground.
"There are some things I plan to say all at once."
Is this for real!
As soon as he finished speaking, Garp was the first to step forward, grinning widely like a three-hundred-pound child, revealing a row of stark white teeth.
"Hehehe, this old man is good at that!"
As he spoke, he squeezed his pot-sized fists, causing his knuckles to crack loudly, a sound that made Kizaru's eyelids twitch nearby.
White Night's eye twitched slightly as he watched Garp's eager, ready-to-fight demeanor.
This old man definitely had some personal grudges mixed in.
Garp didn't care about any of that. He strode quickly to the Golden Lion, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
He bent down, grabbed Shiki's iconic Golden Lion's mane, and lifted the legendary Great Pirate's upper body as if he were carrying a small chick.
"Old fellow, wake up for this old man!"
As his voice fell, Garp raised his large, palm-fan-like hand.
*Slap! Slap!*
Two crisp, loud slaps landed heavily and ruthlessly across Golden Lion Shiki's aged face!
The sound was so loud it even drowned out the noise of the waves crashing against the reef.
Shiki's consciousness slowly drifted up from the endless darkness and chaos of his unconscious state.
What happened?
Wasn't... wasn't he on his own Sky Island?
Right, the East Blue... He seemed to have heard interesting news and rushed to the East Blue... And then... his memory began to blur, leaving only fragmented pieces.
It seemed... he had a nightmare that defied description.
In the dream, he was grabbed, along with his entire island, by some unknown brat using an incomprehensible power, squeezed like an insect.
How absurd... How could he have such a ridiculous dream?
He must have been too tired recently, causing hallucinations.
Scaring himself!
But... why did his face hurt so much?
It was stinging, as if two scorching hot irons had been pressed against it.
Shiki laboriously opened his extremely heavy eyelids, his vision slowly clearing from the blur.
A wrinkled old face, grinning in a particularly punchable manner, abruptly entered his sight.
Garp?!
That immortal old bastard!
The moment Shiki saw Garp, his consciousness finally snapped fully awake.
Before he could react, that hateful old face leaned closer, blocking his view.
*Slap! Slap!*
Two more slaps!
Harsher and stronger than before!
"Bastard... Garp!"
Shiki's fury instantly erupted, surging to the top of his head like a volcanic explosion!
He was the Flying Pirate, Golden Lion Shiki!
The one who contended with Roger and Whitebeard for dominance over an era!
This old bastard dared... dared to humiliate him like this!
The ferocity and Haki belonging to a legendary Great Pirate were about to erupt, and he roared, "How dare you..."
However, before he could finish his sentence, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of someone not far behind Garp.
The black-haired youth standing there, arms crossed, watching him with an extremely placid gaze.
*Boom—!!!*
It was like a thunderbolt from the divine realm, striking deep into Golden Lion Shiki's soul!
That look... that look so calm it was as if he were viewing an ant!
It wasn't a dream!
That terrifying "moon" composed of islands and seawater, hanging in the sky!
That supreme power that had crushed him, his entire fleet, and his islands into a sphere!
That absolute despair, which penetrated his bones and prevented him from even mustering the will to resist!
Everything flooded into his mind like a tide!
It was all real!
"Ugh..."
The fury on Shiki's face instantly receded, like a flame suddenly deprived of all fuel, in less than a second.
In its place was an ashen pallor.
He stiffly turned his neck, staring desperately over Garp's shoulder at White Night in the distance, terrified as if he had seen a ghost.
Hallucinations, all hallucinations!
Scaring himself!
The Golden Lion closed his eyes and opened them again!
White Night's face, handsome as the author's, was still right before him!
That's it!
The dream is over!
The Golden Lion's demeanor visibly withered.
If such a great power existed in the world, what did all his years of effort even count for?
Garp noticed his change, grinned, revealing his stark white teeth, and tightened his grip on Shiki's collar.
"What's wrong, old friend?"
"Not arrogant anymore?"
"Where did that momentum go—the one you had a moment ago, threatening to smash up this old man's hometown?"
Garp's voice was full of gloating mockery.
In his opinion, Shiki was generally weak, but his ability was extremely irritating!
The Float-Float Fruit was just too cheap!
As the first prisoner ever to escape Impel Down, his record was clear!
If the guy hadn't been mentally unstable after getting a ship rudder stuck in his head back then, even he and Sengoku wouldn't have been able to keep him.
"That's enough, Vice Admiral Garp."
Just as Garp was getting into his stride, White Night gave him a look and cut him off.
White Night walked over leisurely, hands in his pockets.
Garp chuckled and let go of Shiki as if nothing had happened.
*Thud.*
Golden Lion Shiki immediately slumped onto the reef like a puddle of mud, gasping for air.
White Night helped the Golden Lion up and straightened his clothes.
He was an old man, after all; one shouldn't treat elders like that.
"Everyone here probably has a general idea of my abilities."
Seeing the Golden Lion's bewildered expression, he smiled.
"Never mind. It looks like some people still don't understand, so I'll explain it again."
"Simply put, I am a instance merchant."
Merchant?
Golden Lion Shiki's brain completely crashed.
Kizaru's mouth was also twitching slightly.
Merchant? What merchant could casually crush a moon and hang it in the sky? This joke wasn't funny at all.
Dragon remained expressionless, but a thoughtful gleam flickered in his deep eyes.
Only Garp wore an "I knew it" expression, grinning and seemingly anticipating what would happen next.
"instances, you can understand them as fragments of other worlds."
White Night ignored their reactions and continued his explanation.
"Inside those fragments, events unfold according to a fixed 'plot.' You can purchase the qualification to enter a instance from me, and upon clearing the instance, you will have the chance to acquire abilities related to the instance's content."
His voice paused, and his gaze turned to Garp beside him.
"For example, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability that Vice Admiral Garp used earlier..."