"So this is Wano, huh?"
Having landed, the crew began disembarking, eagerly taking in the sights of the ancient island.
Only Ozz stood apart, his face lit with excitement as red sparks flared in his eyes.
"They're here."
"Hey, Ozz, where do you think you're going?"
Shanks, crouched nearby with his captain's hat tilted over his eyes, glanced up mid-bite of a chocolate bar as he noticed Ozz suddenly leap toward a nearby hilltop, scanning the distance intently.
Buggy followed closely behind, though unlike Ozz, his Observation Haki wasn't nearly sharp enough to sense anything directly—he had to make do with a telescope. Suddenly, his voice rang out in alarm:
"Captain Roger! It's the Whitebeard Pirates—they're on the other side of the island!!"
Roger didn't seem the least bit surprised. Instead, he just burst out laughing.
"Well then, let's have ourselves a fight!!!"
Just then, a shadow came charging toward them.
"Captain~ Looks like we've got a samurai inbound," Ozz remarked calmly. Unlike the others, he didn't seem rattled at all. A moment's observation was enough to confirm the man's identity.
Kozuki Oden.
A man who squandered a god-tier hand—recklessly passionate, but ultimately a fool of a samurai.
With a single strike—Gun Modoki—Oden sent two of Roger's crew flying.
Seeing this, both Rayleigh and Jabba drew their weapons, preparing for combat.
"He's just as strong as the rumors say. Let's stop him, Rayleigh!""Yeah, let's."
"Hold on, Jabba, Rayleigh!"
Roger, eyes shining with excitement, dashed past the two.
"Can't let you guys get hurt!"
"…You just want to fight him yourself."
Ozz chuckled, but his eyes never left the two figures about to collide—Roger and Oden.
He expanded his Observation Haki to the limit, trying not to miss a single detail.
Roger's smile never faded as he charged forward, his blade crackling with black and red lightning.
"Divine Departure!"
What a masterful control of Conqueror's Haki!
As Oden was blasted away by the strike, Ozz stood still, savoring the lingering echo of that power. He'd seen it several times now, and he was beginning to grasp the core of its principle. Rayleigh had taught him something similar, after all.
Compared to the raw, indiscriminate force of a Conqueror's outburst—used to knock out weaker foes—the infusion technique focused that power into a precise point, unleashing devastating results.
Shanks in his prime would use it the same way—extreme compression of Conqueror's Haki into searing black-red lightning. Even Vice-Admirals would be paralyzed, and Admirals suppressed.
But unlike Armament Haki, this wasn't something you could just coat onto a limb or weapon at will. It had no physical form.
A year had passed since he started learning. Now, Ozz could barely conjure faint black-red arcs between his fingers—just the beginning of mastery.
All eyes were on Oden, who had been blasted back hundreds of meters, knocking down trees as he tumbled through the forest.
Only a handful—including Roger and Ozz—looked skyward.
A monstrous presence was rapidly approaching.
Here he comes!
Ozz's eyes widened as he fixed his gaze on the approaching giant-like figure.
A towering frame, absurdly broad shoulders, flowing golden hair, a snow-white cape, and that signature crescent-shaped white mustache—
Edward Newgate.
The Strongest Man in the World.
He flew in straight toward Roger. Roger responded in kind—his blade also wreathed in vast amounts of Conqueror's Haki—swinging skyward to meet the challenge.
Their blades never even touched.
It was pure Conqueror's Haki, clashing mid-air.
The black-red lightning lashed out wildly as the two titans clashed, and the shockwaves alone were enough to send everyone else flying.
The very sky trembled—clouds cleared for miles around.
Ozz, though desperate to observe more closely, couldn't resist the force. Gripping onto a distant ancient tree with his monstrous strength, he barely held himself steady.
As for Buggy, Shanks, and the others—they'd already been dragged to safety by Rayleigh, far away from ground zero.
Yet even facing this overwhelming power, Ozz refused to back down. He unleashed his own Conqueror's Haki in full, struggling to make it wrap around his body.
"Gurararara… Now that's an interesting little brat."
Whitebeard finally noticed the young man clinging to the hillside. A smirk tugged at his lips.
"That one yours, Roger?"
Roger roared with laughter.
"HAHAHAHA! That kid's a monster, isn't he? Jealous, Newgate?"
"Hmph… My sons won't lose to anyone."
The two exchanged barbs in typical fashion, laughing as they finally sheathed their weapons and greeted each other.
"Hahahahahaha~"
"Leave everything you've got behind." ×2
At the command of both captains, the two pirate crews surged into battle.
But no one noticed the sniper perched quietly in a tree in the distance.
A figure with a rifle already raised.
A glint of red light shone in his eyes.
"You've slipped up, Marco."
BANG—
Ozz had fired a black-market shot.
Fresh off experiencing the awe of Conqueror's infusion, he found no thrill in diving into skirmishes with regular crew members. They offered nothing new to his ambition.
It was like savoring a fine delicacy, only to be handed stale bread afterward. Uninspiring.
Besides, Ozz could feel it—ordinary battles and bloodshed no longer helped his Conqueror's Haki grow.
Now, there were only two ways left:
Let time pass—allow his body and spirit to mature naturally.
Face off against other Conqueror's Haki users stronger than himself.
So, he returned to his old ways.
Sniping.
Of course, he'd considered shooting Whitebeard.
But no matter how many glimpses of the future he took, the outcome remained the same:
Failure.Failure.Still failure.
Fine. For now, that level of monster was out of his league.
Instead, he chose a more manageable target—
The First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates:
Marco the Phoenix.
Just as Marco spread his wings and launched forward, the shot landed.
His transformation shattered midair, wings retracting as he crashed to the ground, motionless.
He nearly got trampled by his own crewmates.
"This… This is Sea-Prism Stone?!"
The shot had landed, and Ozz made no effort to stay hidden.
Leaping from the treetop, he slung the rifle across his back and stepped into the open—jet-black military coat fluttering, long black hair flowing.
From his belt, he slowly drew a blade he'd taken in a prior battle.
Shing—
Black Armament Haki enveloped both arms, then spread along the blade.
If you looked closely, you could even see faint black-red lightning flickering across the surface.
The Whitebeard Pirates erupted with fury upon recognizing him.
"You bastard! Sneak attack?!"
The Roger Pirates, by contrast, barely flinched.
"Oh, it's just Ozz… Figures. That's exactly his style."
Though he'd shown himself, Ozz showed no interest in fighting the weaker members of Whitebeard's crew.
Instead, his gaze locked onto a single figure.
One of only two Conqueror's Haki users in the Whitebeard Pirates.
Kozuki Oden.