The island was simply too massive for Scarlet to handle. He had tried retreating, tried to create distance between himself and it, but despite its enormous, lumbering size, the thing moved with uncanny precision in Rosinante's hands, bearing down on him with terrifying speed.
He had barely begun to move when it was already upon him.
In that first instant of impact, Scarlet still didn't quite feel it. It hadn't yet registered how much force was behind an entire island crashing into him. He had even begun to wonder if it truly was an island, because something that massive falling at that velocity should have generated wind pressure alone enough to tear everything apart.
But there was none. No gust. No roar of displaced air.
And then it hit him, and a force beyond all imagination caved into his body.
What Scarlet didn't know was that as Rosinante swung the island down, its gravity had been silenced. Under that stillness, the island had no real weight. It could have crashed into him with the force of a balloon. But in the precise instant before impact, Rosinante released the silence.
Gravity returned all at once.
The force that slammed into Scarlet was absolute. There was no describing it, no categorizing it, only the sudden obliteration of everything between one moment and the next. He was launched outward like a baseball struck clean out of the park, vanishing from sight before anyone could even follow the trajectory.
And it was only because he was a Fuwa Fuwa no Mi user that he survived at all. The moment the island connected, he had used his ability to let his body drift outward, dispersing a significant portion of the impact. Combined with his already extraordinary physical constitution, it was the only reason he hadn't simply been reduced to a red mist on impact. Anyone else would have been.
"That was... that was insane! He hit someone with an island! With an actual island! That's too cool, Dragon King!" Several of the younger onlookers were practically vibrating, eyes lit up, reverence written openly across their faces.
"This is exactly what we'd expect from His Majesty the Dragon King," the Oathblood Imperial Guard called out, their voices ringing with pride. "There's no one else in the world who could pull something like that off!"
"How did he even do that? Papa is so strong! Mama, mama, did you see that? He used an island like a hammer!" Elsa's mouth had fallen open so far she couldn't quite manage to close it.
"Your father's raw strength is certainly something, but that's not actually what you just witnessed," Shaxia said, a quiet pride settling into her expression. "Your father is a Silence Fruit user. A power that was once thought to do nothing more than mute sound and block its transmission... he's pushed it into territory that defies all logic. Silencing gravity, for instance. The island in his hands just now looked enormous, but its gravitational pull had been completely muted. Without gravity, even something that size becomes little more than a toy he can toss around without effort. So yes, it looks impossible to anyone watching. But in his hands, it's simply the natural order of things."
"And on top of all that," Dark Thorn added from nearby, "your father is a complete freak of nature. So whenever he does something that makes no sense whatsoever, don't strain yourself trying to understand it. Most of the things that should be impossible are just... easy for him."
Elsa blinked slowly at that, trying to decide whether Dark Thorn had just complimented her father or insulted him, and ultimately failing to reach a conclusion.
Meanwhile, having launched Scarlet into the far distance with a single swing, Rosinante gave his arm a casual toss. The island left his hand, arcing outward, and landed with surprising gentleness just beyond the edge of the Sabaody Archipelago, settling onto the ocean surface with barely a ripple, floating there as though it had always meant to be there.
"Well," Rosinante said, brushing his hands together, "Nightless City has been needing a proper training ground. This island will do nicely for the Oathblood Guard. Somewhere to stretch their legs."
To him, it had been effortless. With its gravity silenced, the island had no weight to speak of. But to everyone watching, it was yet another thing that defied all comprehension, and more than a few people stood with their eyes threatening to fall out of their skulls entirely, every last one of them thoroughly in awe.
"I've decided I'm a Dragon King fan starting today," one of the senior officers from the Blazing Lion Pirates announced, voice slightly unsteady. "That was genuinely incredible. Is this what Four Emperor-level power actually looks like? These people are monsters."
"Dragon King Rosinante sits at the very top even among the Four Emperors, I'd wager," Kenny said. "Might even have the edge on Big Mom when it comes down to it."
"That's not quite the right way to frame it," Oubaron replied, measured as always. "Their abilities simply have different strengths. What allowed the Dragon King to throw around an island like that is a function of his particular power. Another Emperor might not be able to replicate that exact feat, but they'd each have their own methods for achieving something equally devastating. All four of them carry power that defies common sense."
The Blazing Lion Pirates fell quiet after that.
They had spent years in the New World. They already knew, in their bones, what the Four Emperors were. Rosinante's display was extraordinary, yes, but it wasn't exactly a surprise. Their earlier words had been more about comfort than anything else, a quiet reassurance to themselves that the Dragon King and Nightless City were strong enough to keep the Big Mom Pirates from hunting them down.
"Now then," Rosinante said, turning his gaze toward Indigo. "It's your turn. How exactly would you like to be dealt with?"
Indigo had been standing there with his mouth hanging open for some time. Only now did he slowly begin to close it.
"Well... well, as expected of the Dragon King! Kah-keh-keh-keh. But don't think for a second that this is over. We've barely even started!"
He tilted his head back, eyes lifting toward the sky. The crowd followed his gaze.
What they saw brought every conversation to an immediate stop.
Far across the sky, streaks of deep crimson light were slashing through the air, dozens of them, each one vast and blazing. And beneath those streaks, enormous islands could be seen in the distance, hurtling downward at speed directly toward Nightless City.
The crimson light was not fire. It was the trailing glow of friction, each island burning as it fell, dragged through the atmosphere fast enough to blaze.
...