The day after Ozz fled from Marineford,
the "Marineford Invasion Battle" erupted like a thunderclap out of clear skies, completely turning the calm seas into chaos!
World opinion ignited instantly.
As one of the Three Great Powers of the New World, a figure like the Golden Lion Shiki daring to storm the Navy Headquarters alone —
though shocking, was not entirely beyond belief.
After all, a pirate of such caliber pulling off crazy feats was expected.
But the name "Black Gun" Dotor Ozz?
The moment it appeared, it immediately grabbed the attention of countless nations and factions worldwide.
The Wanted Notice read:
Black Gun Dotor Ozz
Former crew member of the Roger Pirates, master of the three-color Haki, suspected user of a Logia-type "Teleportation Fruit", one of the masterminds behind the Marineford Invasion Battle,
Bounty: 2,649,000,000 Berries
Dead or alive — a heinous criminal beyond redemption!
Once a name whispered only in small circles, the young intern of the Roger Pirates suddenly exploded onto the world stage, becoming the hottest new star among pirates.
No — "new star" wasn't even enough to describe him anymore.
According to an exclusive report by the World Economic Times, this "kid" from Roger's ship might already possess power rivaling the highest Navy strength — the Admirals themselves.
A king of the new generation,
a monster nurtured by the Pirate King Roger, destined to rule the next era.
The next-generation "King"!!!
...
In the Sabaody Archipelago,
the red-light district, which was already beginning to rebuild and reopen,
slowly recovered its former bustle.
"Lady Sammy! There's news about Lord Ozz!!!"
Two of the district's mascots — Ozz's personal maids, Kuro-Roku and Kuro-Nana — burst excitedly into Sammy's office.
So thrilled, they even forgot to knock, startling Sammy, who was quietly sipping her tea.
Jumping and bouncing, they pressed a newspaper onto the table, beaming:
"Look, look! The paper says Lord Ozz fought against the Navy Headquarters and their top forces, then walked away like it was nothing!"
"Yeah, everyone in the world is saying Lord Ozz is the king of the next era!"
"So cool… truly worthy of Lord Ozz…"
Stars sparkled in Kuro-Roku and Kuro-Nana's eyes as they gazed at the praise in the paper, their hearts swelling with pride even more than Ozz himself could feel.
But these two naive young maids didn't understand the full weight this news carried for Sammy —
someone seasoned in the shadowy underworld who'd seen true power.
Taking the paper, Sammy read every word carefully, her refined pupils trembling with disbelief and shock.
She had always suspected Lord Ozz was strong,
but never imagined he could be this overwhelmingly powerful!
"If this is true, then maybe this paper isn't exaggerating…
Lord Ozz truly has what it takes to challenge the world's strongest!"
As the report concluded:
"Black Gun Dotor Ozz —
a despair-inducing genius,
a monster's physique,
an absolute master of the three-color Haki,
wielding a devil fruit power that grants full control over the battlefield.
Suspected to be a creation of Roger's training, the undisputed leader of the new era.
Judging by his presence and potential, he will likely hold absolute dominance over the world's top powers for the next thirty years."
...
Somewhere in the first half of the Grand Line,
on an unnamed island,
a magnificent ship was docked.
Near the pier, in the nearby forest, three people sat around a fire, roasting freshly hunted game.
"Rayleigh! Shanks! Big news!!!"
Just before heading back to Sabaody, the three had paused to rest, when suddenly Buggy came sprinting from the beach, clutching a newspaper, shouting:
"There's news about Ozz — a huge deal!!!"
"Really?! Let me see!"
Shanks jumped up from the ground and snatched the paper from Buggy's hands, his eyes sparkling brighter the more he read.
"Just as expected of Ozz! Storming the Navy Headquarters like a boss!"
Buggy grinned uncontrollably, "Right? The whole world's been saying Roger was defeated and captured by the Navy, but now Ozz really showed them!"
The two excitedly chatted, then turned to Rayleigh, who was still tending to the meat.
They ran over, newspaper in hand.
Rayleigh, watching the two lively brats, smiled silently as he took the paper.
But his expression quickly turned to shock.
The front page was dominated by a huge photo snapped by a delivery bird on the day of the event.
Ozz, shirtless, long hair flowing, brandishing a long blade, covered in wounds — yet smiling calmly, his gaze locked fiercely on five Navy officers.
Admiral Sengoku,
Navy Hero Garp,
and three natural-type Vice Admirals.
Besides the lavish praise for Ozz, there were images of him single-handedly battling the three future Admirals.
The photos showed his body crackling with black and red lightning as he fought evenly against the three "natural disasters."
One could only imagine how much more valuable those pictures would become as the three officers' ranks and strength increased over time.
After causing such a ruckus and walking away unscathed,
"Divine dodge… how nostalgic…"
Just by his posture and moves in the photos, Rayleigh could recognize one of Roger's famous techniques — now carried on brilliantly by Ozz.
And the report's closing evaluation…
Looking at that peerless aura, Rayleigh thought he saw a glimpse of the young Roger —
though Roger was 25 then, not 15.
Such a terrifying young man.
Rayleigh sighed.
But what really puzzled him was —
what exactly was Ozz's intention?
Was it really just to avenge Roger's defeat?
...
Meanwhile, high above the roof of Marineford, a thousand meters in the sky,
Ozz sat cross-legged above the clouds.
He casually caught a passing delivery bird, bought a newspaper with some berries from the bird's pouch, then released it.
Reading carefully,
"Pffft…"
Ozz couldn't hold back a laugh, a mixture of disbelief and amusement.
Morgans was really something — in his desperate bid to boost sales, he almost dubbed Ozz the future king of the world.
And those photos, while not fake, were arranged to mislead the world,
making it seem as if the entire Marineford invasion was all Ozz's doing, with Golden Lion Shiki just there for show.
The "one man vs. three Admirals" and the use of Haki — all painted a picture of Ozz as the protagonist and final boss.
But...
Ozz honestly hadn't intended to seek the spotlight.
Even the fights were spontaneous, born from the atmosphere; the desire to test his limits came later.
Looking at the red-bold words on his wanted poster — "Dead or Alive," "Heinous Criminal" — Ozz sighed.
This "special layout" of his bounty wasn't really a big deal to him; no one could truly touch him anyway.
But still, having this kind of hype forced on him was something else.
When he ran into Morgans again, he'd definitely settle the score with that fool.
----------------------------------------------------
(Next Chapter: "Infiltrating Impel Down")
The next storm's already brewing—Patron's where it hits first.!
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