New World, a remote island.
"Zanpa!"
A massive surge of golden sword energy burst skyward from the mountains, roaring toward the distant horizon with unstoppable force. The thick sea of clouds was torn apart, sliced clean through into a vast, gaping trench that seemed to have no end.
A towering peak, over a hundred meters high, was cleaved clean in two. The cut was smooth—almost unnaturally so.
The mountain groaned with a deafening rumble. Countless boulders tumbled like a raging flood, crashing down the slopes in an avalanche of stone, shaking the earth and triggering a minor quake.
Dust and debris filled the sky.
A bloodied, battered figure shot out from the shattered mountain ridge, tumbling and bouncing across the rocky slopes before finally regaining control and launching back into the air.
It was Daren!
"Jihahahaha!! How much longer can you hold out, you little Marine brat?!"
Swords of golden light screeched as they tore through stone and earth. Shiki's crazed form tore after him, locking onto the Vice Admiral like a predator on the hunt.
"You're close to the end, aren't you?"
"To hold out this long under my pursuit, Daren... you've earned a bit of pride in these seas!"
Shiki unleashed another wave of frenzied attacks, trying to cut off every path of escape, laughing wildly the whole time.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Even as he spoke, he raised his hand and fired off another barrage—more than a dozen howling golden slashes.
Boom!
The mountains detonated again in a storm of dust and stone. The tremors shook the island to its core, terrifying the strange beasts that lurked in its wilds.
Two seconds later, Daren burst out of the chaos, barely flying straight. His face was deathly pale, eyes burning red as he surged upward.
A fresh, deep gash carved across his back—down to the bone.
Blood sprayed wildly into the air.
Seeing this, Shiki's grin twisted into something even more unhinged. His face, muscles tight with fury and bloodlust, twisted into a mask of madness. It was the look of a cat savoring the final moments of its prey.
This brat was almost done.
Even someone like him wouldn't be able to keep going with wounds like that.
The image of Daren—this punk who'd ruined all his ambitions—being hacked into pieces by his own hands made Shiki's entire body flush with manic excitement. His grip on his swords trembled with anticipation.
Go on, run… give it everything you've got… little Marine...
In the end, you'll realize—no one's coming to save you.
Waves of searing pain and numbness pulsed from the steering wheel embedded in his skull. His head felt like it might split in two, his eyes bulging from the pressure—but he didn't care.
As long as that brat didn't make it back to Marine Headquarters or Mary Geoise, there was nowhere in the world he could run where someone might save him.
With that thought, Shiki accelerated again.
Two blurs—one red, one gold—streaked across the sky, across seas, over islands, through ports and mountains, moving faster than the eye could track.
They tore across oceans.
They soared past one nation after another.
A breathtaking chase unfolded—one that left witnesses everywhere stunned beyond belief.
...
Half a day later...
Sengoku returned to Marineford at top speed, leading the elite fleet of Marine Headquarters.
Several massive prisoner transport vessels from Impel Down were already waiting at the oval military port, having received prior notification.
Although the devastating storm during the Edd War Sea Battle had obliterated Shiki's flying pirate fleet, a number of survivors had managed to escape the tempest by sheer luck.
In total, over 2,000 remnants of the Flying Pirates were captured and detained by the Marines.
After quickly handing them over to the relevant personnel from Impel Down, Sengoku—still exhausted from the campaign—immediately brought Sakazuki and Borsalino with him and headed straight to the Fleet Admiral's office.
The moment he pushed open the doors to the Supreme Military Council Chamber, a line of senior officers, already awaiting his arrival, rose from their seats and saluted in unison.
"Admiral Sengoku!"
Sengoku waved them down, his body still exuding the killing aura that clung to him after the fierce battle, and strode into the room.
"Fleet Admiral Kong!"
With a stern expression, he saluted the man seated at the head of the table.
"I regret to report that I failed to eliminate the Roger Pirates. I await your punishment."
Kong, cigar in hand, looked up and shook his head.
"No need for that, Sengoku."
"Shiki's flying fleet has been completely annihilated. From a strategic standpoint, this operation was a success."
"As for Roger's crew..."
He paused, then let out a sigh.
"You and I both know—they're not the kind of opponents that can be dealt with easily."
As the Marine's highest commander, Kong knew better than anyone how elusive and troublesome the Roger Pirates were.
Especially on the open sea, their uniquely crafted ship rendered even the most formidable Marine fleets with their firepower and armor helpless.
The Oro Jackson wasn't just any pirate ship.
It was a legendary vessel built with painstaking care by the shipwrights of Water 7. Its hull was constructed using the ultra-rare Treasure Tree Adam as its primary keel, making it remarkably lightweight yet stronger than even reinforced Navy warships.
That design gave it speed—speed that surpassed even Marine vessels equipped with propulsion systems.
And on top of that, it had short-range flight mechanisms built into it.
Every single crew member aboard was a well-known pirate of the New World, making them far harder to capture than any other crew in the seas.
They may not have the sheer manpower or influence of Whitebeard or Shiki, but when it came to speed and evasion?
They were unmatched.
"I've read the full report. You're not to blame, Sengoku."
Seeing the self-reproach on Sengoku's face, Kong offered a rare word of reassurance.
"Even if I had been in your place, the outcome would've likely been the same."
"Take a seat."
Sengoku clenched his jaw but complied, sitting down.
"What's the situation with Daren?" he asked, unable to hide the urgency in his voice.
"Tsuru, you handle this," Kong said, exhaling smoke, his brow furrowed.
Staff Officer Tsuru nodded solemnly.
"Daren is still fleeing. Shiki's right behind him… they've been locked in a drawn-out chase of absurd proportions."
As she spoke, she gestured to the sand table spread across the center of the conference room.
"This here is the Edd War sea area..."
She moved her finger across a series of red markers on the chart, finally stopping near the seas around Fish-Man Island, near the New World's entrance.
"This is the latest intel on Daren and Shiki's last known positions."
Sengoku's eyes locked onto the map—his pupils suddenly contracting.
The red markers drawn across the sea chart formed a massive arc, a near-complete parabola stretching from the Edd War waters all the way to the vicinity of Fish-Man Island.
They had almost circled half of the New World.
"What the hell is Daren doing? Did he lose his bearings?"