One Piece: Ascending the Divine Path

New World Front, Rectorton Island.

This is an uninhabited desert island, or so it should be.

But today, this island, which should have been quiet, has become lively.

Pirate ships arrived one after another from all directions and gradually docked at the shore.

Then, one by one, the pirates who were somewhat famous in this sea area disembarked.

The atmosphere was anything but harmonious; the pirates were on the verge of drawing their swords as soon as they met, creating an extremely tense atmosphere.

"Makarov, you were really arrogant last time, you bastard! You dared to steal the prey I had my eye on!"

"Ha, Baron, you're such a useless idiot! Pirates, of course, whoever gets it first gets it!"

"You're asking for it!"

"Come on if you dare!"

They are all pirates active in the frontier of the New World. Many of them have met each other, and there are quite a few pirates with grudges against each other.

For example, right now, two groups of pirates have already drawn their weapons and are ready to fight.

"Alright! Is this the time for infighting?"

An old pirate with a white beard stepped forward.

"Internal strife?"

The pirate captain named Makarov was a tall, burly man with a full beard. He grinned and said coldly, "What's this talk of infighting among pirates?"

The old pirate glared at him. "Fool! Don't forget why we're gathered here! Do you want to continue living a precarious, fearful life like a bird startled by a bowstring?"

"..."

Makarov hesitated for a moment, his lips twitched, but he ultimately didn't utter another word.

Baron, who had just been at odds with her, smirked and said, "How interesting. We hyenas are actually being forced to unite by the government's domestic dogs."

"There's nothing we can do about it."

The old pirate shook his head helplessly. "That monster Knight won't let us live. If we don't do something, he'll kill all the pirates in this area."

Upon hearing the name Knight, a flicker of fear flashed in Barron's eyes.

"Where's Airon? Wasn't it him who called us here?"

"Have most of the people arrived by now?" Makarov asked.

Taking advantage of his height, he looked around and saw that quite a few pirate crews had already gathered on the shore of this deserted island.

"We arrived a long time ago."

The old pirate said, "But he was being all mysterious, saying he had a surprise for us."

"surprise?"

Baron raised an eyebrow. "Could he have found that monster Knight's weakness? I heard that Zephyr's family was killed back then. Could he have found Knight's family?"

Who knows?

The old pirate shrugged.

It was at this moment that the pirates on the coast began to stir.

"They're here!"

"Has it finally arrived?"

"So, Airon, what's your plan?"

"Yes, we're really looking forward to it. If you disappoint us, we won't let you off the hook!"

The three people, who were talking, looked up at the sound and saw a figure standing on a gentle slope by the coast.

It was none other than the mastermind behind this pirate alliance, the great pirate with a bounty of 240 million Berries, the cunning fox Airon!

This guy's character is saintly among pirates. Although he robs, he rarely kills and is quite kind to his fellow pirates. In fact, many pirates have received his favors.

That's why he was able to gather so many pirates here.

"Um?"

Barron's brows furrowed slightly.

With his back to the sun, Airon's face was shrouded in shadow and difficult to see clearly.

But why did he feel that Aaron's body was trembling?

At that moment, the leader, Aaron, suddenly collapsed to the ground, screaming almost at the top of his lungs, "I'm sorry! Everyone, run!!"

Run!

Barron's mind went blank for a moment.

Where to run?

Why did you run away?

What exactly is it?

Barron's pupils contracted in an instant.

One foot.

A foot appeared from behind Airon and kicked him to the ground. Then the foot stepped on Airon's face, crushing the head of this notorious pirate with a bounty of over 200 million into the ground.

The man standing on Airon's head looked down at everyone below the gentle slope. "The trash has finally been gathered together; it's time for it to be disposed of properly."

"..."

The entire room fell silent.

Because everyone saw it—the fluttering coat of justice.

Everyone could see clearly that handsome face.

"Sen, Sen, Senkage Knight! It's that demon!!!"

A near-desperate roar erupted from the center of a pirate crew not far away.

Then came a series of desperate screams.

"Why is this monster here?!"

"That Aaron guy, he betrayed us!"

"Run! Run! This monster will kill you!!"

Without any hesitation, the pirates scattered and fled frantically toward the shore.

Even a pirate like Baron, with a bounty exceeding 100 million, did not hesitate at all.

There's no way we can win! Thousand Shadow Knight, that guy's a monster!

For the past six months, the naval guerrillas have been sweeping away pirates in the New World's estuary area.

Throughout this process, Admiral Zephyr did not even lift a finger.

It's Knight!

This monster easily destroyed one pirate crew after another.

Whether they were naive newcomers to this sea or seasoned veterans who had been entrenched here for a long time, none of them could withstand a single, casual blow from this monster.

In just over six months, he destroyed more than twenty large pirate crews, and his total bounty has far exceeded that of the Pirate King.

As for those nameless, lowly pirate crews, they are countless.

Today, in the hearts of these pirates in the early New World, the name Knight is no different from that of a demon.

"You think you can run away from me?"

Knight smirked. "These pirates these days are really arrogant."

As he spoke, he launched himself into the air and in the blink of an eye, he had already flown over a group of pirates.

"A serious punch!"

Fine arcs of black electricity leaped from the black fist, but Knight just kept throwing punches down.

hum!

The air is wailing!

The surging torrent of domineering energy transformed into a pillar of light that pressed down from above!

Barron, who was fleeing at breakneck speed, looked up in disbelief; the light was about to engulf him.

boom!

A scene resembling a nuclear explosion suddenly unfolded.

The powerful shockwave crashed down on the earth like a giant wave. The ground trembled slightly before cracking open. The violent shockwave immediately exploded, and rock layers were torn apart and scattered like brittle shells. The entire coastline was crushed into dust.

The debris, accompanied by a shockwave, swept across the area, blasting away and engulfing several nearby groups before they could react. Even pirates from more distant areas were almost blown away by the shockwave.

On the gentle slope, Binz felt the oncoming gale and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement, "This guy's domineering aura is getting more and more exaggerated."

Ain, holding a Den Den Mushi beside her, calmly said, "After all, Zephyr-sensei said that he is already capable of training in a higher level of Armament Haki."

"Internal sabotage..."

Binz remarked, "After that, it'll be the intertwining of Observation Haki's ability to foresee the future and Conqueror's Haki, right?"

Before anyone knew it, Knight had become very close to becoming a truly top-tier powerhouse.

Knight stomped through the air, leaping through the air, and unleashed several nuclear-powered punches, instantly silencing the pirates.

However, as a price, this coastline has been completely blasted into a bay.

"Ain, did you capture my heroic figure properly?"

Knight floated down from the sky and landed next to Binz and Ian. "This is going to be in the newspapers."

Ain nodded calmly.

Binz, on the other hand, rolled his eyes. "You're so vain, aren't you? When did you ever look bad in a photo?"

"That's because there's no one in the world who can make me look bad."

Knight said matter-of-factly, "And watch the way you talk to me, Captain Binz."

More than half a year has passed, and Binz and Ian have been promoted to captains, having benefited greatly from Knight's contributions.

"Yes, yes, yes."

Binz gave a perfunctory salute. "Excuse me, Brigadier General Knight!"

Yes, Brigadier General Knight.

Two months ago, Knight finally crossed the line between field officer and general, becoming a brigadier general alongside Dor and others.

After his promotion, he was no longer Zephyr's first mate. Zephyr then applied to headquarters for another ship, and Knight became the captain of the sixth ship.

Unlike Dor and others, Zephyr had great faith in Knight's abilities, so he often allowed him to act alone.

As for Ain and Binz, these two burdens, Zephyr sent them to Knight's ship. Binz was his orderly, and Ain was his secretary.

These two guys are pretty strong now. They've mastered the Six Powers and awakened their Armament Haki. Although they're still at the most basic Entanglement stage, they're at least at the level of officers in the Marine Headquarters. Ordinary pirates are no match for them.

"Call the boat over."

Knight said, "Arrest all the pirates who are still alive."

"it is good."

When it came to serious matters, Ain didn't hesitate at all, taking out a special communication Den Den Mushi to contact Ship Six.

The pirate Eron, who had become a guide, shakily raised his head and looked down at the scene of corpses strewn across the ground. He couldn't help but burst into tears, "It's all my fault..."

Knight stomped on the guy's head again, making it sink deep into the ground.

"It wasn't you who ruined them, it was this chaotic world that ruined them."

The government's intelligence agents learned that this guy was contacting the pirates in this area to prepare for a raid, and then they passed this information on to the Navy guerrillas.

Knight, who was dealing with a group of pirates in the nearby waters, heard about this good news and immediately came over.

After ending the call, Ain put away the Den Den Mushi and walked to Knight's side. "That way, this area of ​​the sea can be a little quieter for a while."

Almost all the well-known pirates in this sea area have been wiped out.

"It's no use."

Knight casually remarked, "New pirates flood into the New World from Paradise every day. Even if we blow this sea up to the sky, it's only a temporary fix."

"But it's okay."

Knight stretched and said, "When I become the Fleet Admiral, it will be the end of the Great Pirate Era."

Ain smiled faintly, "Then I'll be watching closely."

Binz, standing to the side, curled his lip. Being assigned to be Knight's secretary, Ain must be happy!

Brub brub brub.

Just then, the Den Den Mushi in Ain's arms suddenly rang.

She quickly took out her phone and answered, "This is Ian."

"Ian! Give the phone to Knight!"

Zephyr's voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

Ian quickly handed the microphone to Knight.

Knight took it. "What's wrong, Professor Zephyr? I just finished here."

"Emergency situation! Kaido may be about to go to war with Wang Zhi!"

Zefa's voice was grave. "The area where they clashed has member states located in it! We must head to that area immediately to prevent any unforeseen circumstances!"

"We've already set sail! Come join us!"

Oh?

Has the opportunity finally arrived?

Knight raised an eyebrow slightly. "Understood."