"What is this...?"
"Impossible!"
"A sea storm of this magnitude!"
"I've never seen anything like it!"
...
The members of the Roger Pirates stared at the terrifying scene in front of them, stunned and horrified, unable to believe their eyes.
They were different from other pirate crews sailing these seas.
Legendary Yonkō like Whitebeard and Big Mom, who stood on equal footing with Roger, either ruled their own territories or controlled entire regions of the sea. They didn't drift aimlessly from one end of the ocean to the other.
But the Roger Pirates were different.
Because of their idiot captain's dream, they traveled across every sea, visited every nation, every town... even plunged into terrifying and dangerous places that others wouldn't dare approach—just to take in the scenery and beauty of the world.
And yet, even with all their experiences, even after braving countless perilous lands, they had never seen anything as overwhelming as this.
Wind. A gale like no other!
A rare storm, carrying monstrous waves and torrential rain, roared across the sea, swirling, surging, and spiraling into the sky!
The sea—mysterious and deadly.
To a pirate, a storm at sea was the most hopeless natural disaster of all!
Torrential rain, explosive winds, pillars of water surging upward... water tornadoes began appearing one after another, stretching from sea to sky.
The deadliest forces of nature twisted and merged in that moment, forming a calamity of pure destruction.
As far as the eye could see, the storm covered the entire sky. Dozens of massive tornadic columns swept toward them, as if heaven and earth were collapsing together.
Amid the terrified stares of all those present, several Flying Pirates' warships stationed at the edge of the battlefield were devoured in an instant.
The moment they made contact with the tornadoes, the ships were violently shredded into splinters by the crushing force.
Ship wreckage and debris, broken masts and hulls, and mangled pirate corpses were all hurled skyward by the howling winds.
Thousands of pirates couldn't even react. Not a single scream escaped them before they were torn apart, becoming fountains of blood that dyed the tornadoes a dark, hellish red.
"Damn it!! What the hell is going on!?"
The Oro Jackson shuddered violently beneath their feet as the storm hammered it relentlessly, groaning like it might split apart at any second.
Every propulsion system onboard had failed. The sails had been ripped to shreds. The hurricanes swirling back and forth had trapped the ships on the sea and in the sky alike, as if they'd fallen into a quagmire of wind with no way out.
"This can't be real!!"
Shiki floated high above, feeling the crushing weight of the sudden storm bearing down on him. A sinking feeling twisted in his chest, and his eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
He could feel it—his control over the Flying Pirates' airborne fleet was slipping away.
The power of this sea storm... it was simply too massive. Not even someone as strong as him could match the force of nature itself!
"Why is this happening... My navigator... That bastard... Didn't he say the weather around the Edd War Sea was complicated but still within controllable limits!?"
Watching the dozens of tornadoes crash forward like collapsing city walls—faster and faster—tearing through and engulfing his fleet, Shiki's crimson eyes looked ready to burst.
Rip!
A series of thunderous explosions echoed from above.
In the midst of the downpour and violent winds, pale flashes of lightning crackled across the sky, born from the chaos of the storm.
"Ahhhh!!"
"Shiki-sama!! Help us!!"
"Boss Shiki!!"
...
Short, terrified screams rang out as two of the floating pirate ships were shredded to pieces by the storm.
Fragments of shattered hulls and broken debris rained down, mixed with torn limbs and lifeless bodies.
The chaotic climate of Edd War and the raging weather had only fueled the storm's fury, pushing it to new extremes—wild and utterly out of control!
"We must retreat..."
Shiki's face was deathly pale as the thought instinctively surfaced in his mind.
Caught in the grip of the storm, he could no longer control the fleet's flight.
Dozens of hurricane-force twisters were now within striking distance. If they lingered any longer, not only would the entire fleet be wiped out—he himself might not make it out alive!
The Fuwa Fuwa no Mi's greatest weakness... was storms!
Shiki could already feel it—the ability to stay afloat was beginning to slip from him.
"Damn it!!"
He cursed through gritted teeth, just as he was about to pull back—
"Wahahahaha!! Shiki!!!"
"I'm back!!"
A blood-red figure burst through the downpour like a madman, dragging a long blade crackling with black and red lightning... charging in again!
"You idiot!!"
Shiki's pupils contracted violently as he roared,
"I'm not in the mood to mess around with you, Roger!!"
Clang!!
His twin swords clashed hard against Roger's descending blade, unleashing a thunderous shockwave that rippled outward.
Sparks flew in every direction, illuminating Roger's carefree grin and Shiki's dark, furious expression.
"I'm not dying here with you!!"
Shiki bellowed in fury. The storm was closing in fast, his anxiety mounting, cold sweat soaking his back.
But Roger's fighting spirit surged. He let out a bold, hearty laugh.
"We're not getting out anyway, so why not fight to the end right here!?"
You might not escape—But I will!!
Shiki was about to explode from rage.
Unleashing everything he had, his swords—wrapped in lightning—came crashing down!
"Zanpa!!"
Clang!!
A deafening boom rang out. With no footing in midair, Roger's body was sent flying backward.
Shiki didn't even glance back.
Because behind him—
A massive shadow was rising.
The storm... was nearly upon him!
He had to get out now!!
Shiki screamed inwardly and pushed his Devil Fruit power to the limit, trying to lift himself away from the roaring tempest.
But the storm's force bound him down, resisting his rise. It was like a massive vortex trying to pull him into its core.
"Get the hell away from me!!"
He roared, veins bulging, grinding his teeth. Blood began streaming from his nostrils.
Forcing the power of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi to its limit, his body began to break free from the storm's grip.
He was rising!
He could make it!
He could escape!!
Shiki's eyes suddenly lit up with hope. He burst into wild laughter.
"Jihahahaha! Roger!! I'm getting out of here first!"
"Too bad I couldn't sink you with my own hands."
"But the result won't change!"
"Your journey... ends here!"
"Be buried in this place! Isn't this once-in-a-lifetime storm the perfect grand funeral for you!?"
"Jihahahahaha!!"
His arrogant, manic laughter echoed across the skies.
...
But at that moment—
"Shoot him down... Enma."
A voice, cold and cutting like a demon's whisper, suddenly rang out from several miles away.