The earth burned, black smoke billowed into the sky.

The floating fleet, arranged in a grid across the heavens, roared like a stampede of iron war beasts—unleashing the fury of the North Blue upon this ancient and sacred city.

Blazing beams of golden laser crisscrossed downward. With scorching heat and terrifying penetration, each one could vaporize an entire building in an instant, leaving behind only fiery shockwaves.

Cruise missiles, trailing long red plumes, struck with pinpoint accuracy—obliterating military depots, outposts, and supply lines of the Holy Land Guard, severing major routes of movement.

An unrelenting storm of artillery followed, blanketing the area with indiscriminate bombardment. Explosions lit the city in a blaze, engulfing wave after wave of Holy Land soldiers in flame.

In an instant, Mary Geoise was dragged from night into blinding daylight by the bombardment.

Infernos soared skyward as the city was consumed in a sea of fire, building after building collapsing into ash.

And under the precise coordination of the North Blue command, that wave of carpet bombing now began to spread... toward the Land of the Gods.

Flashes of red fire bloomed across the earth. The explosions rang out like cannonfire in the ears—deafening.

"Aaaaaahhh!! Damn it!!"

"Where the hell did this flying fleet come from!?"

"Somebody help me!!"

"Use your bodies to block the blasts! If you don't, I'll have every last one of you executed!"

...

In the Land of the Gods—the Celestial Dragons' residence—

The nobles, dressed in lavish robes and wearing their iconic bubble helmets, were pale with terror. Shrieking curses, they shoved their guards forward, forcing them to act as human shields against the hail of fire from above.

Most had just woken up, barely dressed and storming from their ornate chambers ready to throw tantrums—only to find the skies above filled with death.

"Quick! Attack!!"

"Shoot them down right now!"

"M-My Lord... they're too far up!"

"They seem to know our equipment specs too well. Our rifles, our cannons—none of them have the range to reach that altitude!"

"How... how is this even possible..."

The Holy Land Guard and CP agents scrambled to retaliate, only to realize with growing despair that none of their weapons could even scratch the enemy fleet.

"Trash! Useless trash! You're all a bunch of worthless garbage!"

One Celestial Dragon, snot dripping from his nose, flew into a rage, snatching a flintlock rifle from a guard. He raised it shakily, trying to fire into the sky—

BOOM!

A beam of golden laser thundered down, engulfing him completely.

A blazing explosion followed, and the searing heatwave wiped out over a dozen CP agents and guards in the surrounding area.

Other Celestial Dragons, watching their comrade evaporate on the spot, screamed in terror. Their bodies shook uncontrollably—some collapsing, others trembling as warm urine soaked their legs.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Explosions swept outward. As the North Blue fleet adjusted its targeting, the carpet bombing reached the heart of the Land of the Gods.

Under the merciless downpour of fire, the Celestial Dragons howled, shrieked, and many dropped to their knees, begging for their lives.

...

High above it all—

Momonga watched silently, gazing down at the burning Land of the Gods. His cold eyes scanned the nobles scrambling, the ones sprawled on the ground, the ones turned to charred corpses. His grip on his saber trembled slightly.

A heavy, surging energy began to ripple from his body—expanding, contracting, condensing, and pulsing out again in waves.

If Daren were here, he would have sensed it immediately with his innate perception—

Momonga's aura was undergoing a profound change.

Something that defied description in words.

But if it had to be defined...

It would be this:

Conqueror's Haki +0.515!

Conqueror's Haki +0.461!

Conqueror's Haki +0.612!

...

His newly awakened Conqueror's Haki was surging at an unimaginable pace.

The rate and magnitude of its growth—enough to make anyone in this sea burn with envy.

"I can't believe it... it's real!"

Even Momonga, usually the picture of composure, couldn't stop the frenzied roar rising in his heart. His eyes were bloodshot now, completely betraying his outward calm.

Everything before him felt too surreal, too detached from reality.

If not for the deafening blasts and shrieks echoing through the air—if not for the cold steel of his saber in his grasp—he might've thought this was a dream.

I... am slaughtering Celestial Dragons?

I'm slaughtering the so-called gods of this world—the noblest, most exalted beings on the sea?

And that joke Daren once made—that killing a Celestial Dragon would awaken Conqueror's Haki... turned out to be true?

Because it wasn't just him. Momonga could clearly feel it: the moment he gave the order to fire, dozens of equally powerful auras had erupted across the North Blue fleet!

That meant—besides himself—at least dozens of soldiers and officers had awakened Conqueror's Haki in that moment!

Dozens may seem small against a fleet of ten thousand—but when viewed in context, it was staggering.

Awakening Conqueror's Haki was a one-in-a-million gift.

Typically, you'd need at least ten thousand—maybe even a hundred thousand—to find just one such "chosen one." Yet in their fleet, dozens had awakened in a single burst.

That frequency. That concentration. It was unreal.

Momonga had no doubt—these young warriors who had awakened Conqueror's Haki would become the backbone of the North Blue Fleet as it grew and evolved.

"This is insane..."

He slowly exhaled.

He had always known Daren was crazy. But not this crazy.

His eyes scanned the battlefield.

He saw members of God's Knights darting through the Land of the Gods, using their immense strength to intercept the laser blasts and cannon fire midair.

They were clearly stretched thin, desperate even—but they had managed to blunt the offensive, at least for now.

"The Holy Land Guard, the CP agents, God's Knights... everyone's engaged."

Momonga's gaze flickered with a cool light. Daren's orders echoed in his mind.

He took a long, deep breath. His sharp eyes slowly turned.

And locked onto a distant point.

The core of Mary Geoise.

Atop the Celestial Stairway stood a weathered, majestic, and ancient fortress.

Pangaea Castle.

"Then let's see... what kind of final trump card you're hiding in there."

A flicker of anticipation lit in Momonga's eyes.

Blue lightning began to crackle in his palm.

Unconsciously, he licked his dry lips. A thought flashed through his mind—mad, reckless, and so intense it sent a chill through his body.

If I razed Pangaea Castle to the ground... just how far would my Conqueror's Haki surge?

The moment that thought took shape, even Momonga found himself trembling in shock.

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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