One week later, New World—Hachinos Island waters…
The deep blue sea had been streaked crimson by relentless explosions. Thick smoke rose from the island, blotting out the sky.
"Damn it! We're still late!" Tizoro stood rigid on the deck of the warship, his telescope locked on Hachinos Island. His knuckles whitened as he gripped it.
"No wonder they call him the World Breaker!" he gritted his teeth, sweat running down his temple.
Through the lens, he could see the town collapsing under cannon fire, buildings reduced to rubble, streets engulfed in towering flames.
What was most terrifying wasn't the cannons themselves—but the bullets.
They weren't ordinary; each had been magnified dozens of times by some force, transformed into monstrous projectiles capable of pulverizing the entire island.
"Devil Fruit ability… the Momo Fruit," Tizoro muttered, lowering the telescope, his face darkening.
"Full speed! Flank them and prepare to engage!" he barked to the corporal.
Before the order could even be acknowledged, a calm but unmistakable voice cut through the chaos.
"No need."
Gern Reginald Sigmar stood at the bow, Hachikō slung casually at his waist, his Justice cloak whipping in the sea wind. His gaze was icy as it locked on Hachinos Island.
"Bring the ship closer," he said, voice level but unyielding.
Tizoro blinked. "But… the island's cannons—"
"I said, bring it closer." Gern's eyes narrowed like blades. "And raise the flag. Let the civilians know—Justice is here."
"Yes, sir!" Tizoro snapped to attention and barked an order to the crew.
The engines roared as the warship surged forward toward the burning island.
Hachinos Island—town in ruins
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Incredible! Absolutely incredible!" Bondy Walde roared in the center of the wreckage, fists raised in manic delight.
He wore a short-sleeved captain's coat and a battered Viking-style war helmet. His massive frame resembled a giant bear, muscles coiled like steel. In his hands, a handgun fired rounds amplified by his Momo Fruit ability, effortlessly turning entire streets to powder.
"Walde, control yourself, cough… cough…"
Binjek, perched weakly on his brother's shoulder, coughed but a satisfied smile tugged at his lips.
"Don't forget our objective. This island is only the beginning."
"I know, brother!" Walde grinned, flashing white teeth. "But the feeling of destroying everything… it's addictive!"
His laughter abruptly froze as his gaze swung sharply to the sea.
"What is it, Walde?" Binjek asked, brow furrowed. He sensed his brother's tension.
Walde's expression grew serious. Using Observation Haki, he detected a threatening aura rapidly approaching.
"The Marines…" he muttered, clenching his fists. "And… it's someone serious."
Binjek's pupils constricted. His brother had faced countless battles since setting sail, yet never with such a reaction, not even against full Marine fleets.
"Stronger than Vice Admiral Stohlberry last time?" Binjek asked.
"Completely on another level." Walde sneered, eyes blazing with excitement as he charged toward the shoreline where Gern was landing. "This aura… it exhilarates me! Nothing shall stand in my way!"
On the warship's deck
As they approached, the devastation of Hachinos Island became fully visible.
Lipo's rabbit ears flattened against her head, pink eyes wide at the burning town. "Gern… those people…"
Corpses littered the streets—some crushed beneath collapsed buildings, others obliterated by cannon fire. Survivors screamed and fled, only to be hunted down by Walde's crew.
"Run! Faster!" the fishman Sebastian bellowed, punching a civilian into the air as blood splattered across the ruins.
High above, sniper Guiram took aim, smirking as he pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Another bullet sounded simultaneously—a heavy one this time.
"Momo—100x Gun."
The projectile, amplified by the Momo Fruit, expanded in size and speed a hundredfold, transforming into a devastating cannonball hurtling straight toward Gern's ship.
"These bastards…"
Tizoro's fists cracked as golden powder, prepared from the start, liquefied across the ship to form a massive shield.
Boom! The bullet struck, but the golden shield absorbed the impact, then returned to Tizoro as liquid.
Gern remained composed, though the cold edge in his eyes betrayed his focus.
"Tizoro, Lipo," he said quietly.
"At your service!" they responded in unison.
"Take care of Walde's officers. The rest focus on evacuating civilians—save as many as you can."
"No problem!" Lipo spun her twin daggers, reversing her grip for precision. "No mercy for them!"
"Understood!" Tizoro turned sharply to the corporal. "Prepare to land! Priority: civilian rescue!"
Whoosh! Before the echoes of the hundredfold bullets faded, Lipo streaked off the deck like white lightning. Her rabbit ears rigid, pink eyes locked on a sniping figure atop the ruins.
"Guiram, right?" Her daggers glinted in the sun. "Time to return your bullets!"
"Huh?" Guiram had just reloaded. A chill ran across his head. He looked up—and froze.
A mink girl, electricity crackling around her, descended using Moon Steps. Twin carrot daggers crossed like a deadly "X," aimed straight at his throat.
"Shave—Rabbit Fang Cross!"
Clang! At the last moment, a long blade intercepted the daggers.
Neigen, cigarette clenched between his teeth, black hair whipping in the blast winds, scowled. "Hey, hey… ambushes aren't good manners, little Marine bunny."
Lipo flipped off the blade, spinning the daggers neatly in her palms. "Where were your manners when you were massacring civilians?"
"Apologies," Neigen spat out the cigarette. The sword gleamed in the sun. "Survival of the fittest—rules of the New World."
"Then my rules are…" Lipo's legs bulged, cracks spiderwebbing across the ground as she launched herself like a cannon. "Kill you all."
Bang! The earth beneath her shattered; she rocketed toward Neigen. Twin daggers met sword with dazzling sparks. Every strike sent shockwaves across the ruins.
Meanwhile, Tizoro's golden tidal wave swept down half the street.
The liquid metal surged like a living force, forcing burning wreckage aside and carving a path to the sea for fleeing civilians.
"Everyone to the shoreline! The ship will pick you up!" he bellowed, golden gauntlet gleaming in the sunlight.
A cold voice cut from behind.
"Want to play savior?"
"Fish-Man Karate—Sky Wave!"
Tizoro dodged barely as a powerful shockwave scraped his cheek, tearing a ten-meter hole in his golden barrier.
Sebastian emerged from the smoke, scars marring his blue skin. "Golden boy… you're mine."
"You're weaker than Taige," Tizoro squinted, golden liquid flowing across his body.
"Perfect. I need a punching bag to test my new moves anyway."
"Arrogant!" Sebastian slammed his legs into the ground. A wave of high-pressure water surged with his fists toward Tizoro.
"Shark-Fist—Straight Punch!"
Tizoro didn't flinch. His body coated in gold, his right arm instantly solidified into a massive hammer.
"Golden—Siege Hammer!"
As Lipo and Tizoro leapt from the warship to engage Walde's officers, Gern's gaze returned to the town center.
There, Walde grinned, gun in hand, locking eyes with him from a distance.
"Do your best, everyone," Gern murmured, drawing Hachikō. The gray-white bandages fell away, revealing the jet-black blade.
"As for the 'World Breaker'…"
"I'll handle him."
Before he finished speaking, Gern vanished.
BOOM!!!
The island shook violently. A massive fissure tore from the shoreline to the town center, as if the earth itself had been ripped open.
"Too fast! Can body techniques even achieve that speed?" Walde's eyes widened, leaping as the ground beneath him collapsed from the shockwave.
"Good… just in time!" he roared, fist crackling with strange energy.
"Momo—Amplify! 100x Giant Fist!"
His Armament-coated fist swelled instantly a hundredfold under the Momo Fruit's power, forming a mountain-sized black fist aimed directly at Gern.
Gern's eyes remained cold. Hachikō slashed horizontally.
BOOM—RUMBLE—CRASH!!!
Two destructive forces collided, shockwaves ripping across the island. Even the clouds above were violently torn apart.