People are sailing and synthesize the devil fruit of phantom beast sp

There was a naval colonel stationed on the island at this time, but he was clearly injured and walking with crutches.

Because of this, the Navy didn't participate in the Whitebeard recruitment this time.

Before him stretched a massive training ground where hundreds of newly enlisted navy soldiers were putting their youthful energy on full display through vigorous drills.

"Listen up, all of you!

These days, pirate hunters are walking around acting more high and mighty than we are," the colonel barked.

"It's our duty as the Navy to protect the seas and ensure the safety of civilians. We can't let those pirate hunters keep stealing the spotlight!"

"So get serious, sharpen your skills, and hit the seas. Capture pirates yourselves and claim those bounties for the Navy!"

The colonel was doing his best to fire up the recruits and keep their morale high during the grueling training. But it was clear many of them were struggling.

And truthfully, the current peace on the seas compared to the chaos of the past made it hard for them to find the motivation.

More and more people were joining the ranks of the pirate hunters—a loosely organized faction with far fewer restrictions than the Navy.

Unlike the military, they didn't answer to government rules. Their only goal: catch pirates and collect bounties.

In the East Blue, the weakest of the four seas, many who had suffered at the hands of pirates—those who had lost families, homes, or carried lifelong vendettas—had once hoped to join the Navy.

But bureaucratic red tape and strict enlistment requirements had turned them away.

That's when Kairos Flint came along.

Thanks to him, a new era of bounty hunting had begun.

His legend inspired countless civilians to pick up weapons and turn their pain into power.

They formed independent bounty hunting crews, and with Kairos Flint as their symbol of justice, they brought terror to pirate factions all across the East Blue.

In just a few short months, multiple pirate crews were wiped out entirely, shaking the pirate world to its core.

For a time, the East Blue became eerily quiet—no major raids, no panicked alarms, no fresh wanted posters going up.

But just as Colonel Zhengming was seriously observing the recruits and their progress, a strange sound echoed across the horizon.

"So boring… What's the point of training like this?"

The voice came out of nowhere. Soldiers who were training froze mid-motion and looked around in confusion.

But there was no one in sight.

Up at the front, the colonel's brow furrowed. He scanned the area with a sharp gaze but found nothing unusual—until a strange sensation prompted him to slowly lift his eyes toward the sky.

The sunlight was blinding, and all he could make out was a single figure floating in mid-air, the edges of its form blurred by the intense glow.

"Who dares trespass into a Navy base!?" the colonel roared, already reaching for the blade at his waist.

A calm, mocking voice answered, "Tch… it's only been twenty years, and everyone's already forgotten about me?"

The figure slowly descended.

It was Golden Lion Shiki.

His face twisted into a displeased frown. He had stayed out of the public eye for more than two decades, but now that he'd returned, hardly anyone remembered his name. The very thought made his blood boil.

As he descended, the colonel's vision adjusted—and the moment he clearly saw the figure, his pupils dilated in terror.

"The... the Flying Pirate… Captain Golden Lion Shiki!"

His lips quivered. He stumbled back a few steps, speaking the name with utter horror.

As a naval colonel, he wasn't supposed to be scared—even in the face of a legendary pirate.

But this wasn't just any battlefield.

They were in a Navy base located in the East Blue.

There were thousands of navy personnel stationed here, the majority of them new recruits.

Even more concerning, over 100,000 civilians lived on this island.

And Shiki's Devil Fruit power?

He could manipulate non-living matter he touched, lifting entire landscapes into the sky like a god of destruction.

If he was here, then every life on this island was at risk.

Shiki smirked. "Looks like someone still remembers me. You're a Navy colonel, huh? I'll let you live."

"Tell Sengoku and Garp… the Golden Lion has returned."

"Oh, and tell Roger too—if he doesn't come face me in the East Blue, I'll tear this entire sea apart."

With that, he let out a chilling, manic laugh that echoed like a curse across the training grounds.

"Evacuate! Everyone evacuate now!" the colonel screamed, realizing just how dangerous the situation was.

But the young recruits didn't share his panic.

Most had grown up in a peaceful era. They had no idea who the Flying Pirates were.

The name Golden Lion Shiki meant nothing to them.

So instead of running, some grabbed their weapons and rushed to the colonel with determined eyes.

"Damn pirate! Surrender now—we're placing you under arrest!" one of them shouted.

"Call reinforcements from the other divisions!"

None of the recruits were afraid. They believed in their numbers. They believed in justice.

But to Shiki, they were nothing more than children playing war.

"Idiots," the colonel muttered, his face twisted with rage and despair.

His eyes turned bloodshot as he screamed:

"Run! All of you! Get away! You're no match for him!"

Shiki's lips curled into a wicked grin. "You think you can run?"

He raised a single finger—and flicked it.

The entire training ground split cleanly in half.

A deafening roar erupted from the earth, and the whole island shook as if struck by a magnitude ten earthquake.

Chaos exploded.

Screams filled the air. Soldiers and civilians scrambled in every direction, but many didn't make it.

"My god… the mountain's floating!"

"Is this… is this the power of a Devil Fruit!?"

"What kind of monster are we dealing with? Is he even human?"

The same recruits who had stood tall just moments ago now screamed in terror, frozen in place or trampled in the rush to escape.

The split training ground slammed back together like a snapped trap, crushing everything between.

Blood, broken bodies, cries of agony—hell had descended.

Colonel Zhengming rushed forward, trying to save the fallen, but all he could retrieve was a severed hand.

He collapsed, tears streaming down his face, screaming in heartbreak.

These were his men—recruits he had personally trained, cared for like sons.

And they had died before his eyes in under a minute.

"Make sure the world hears about this…" Shiki muttered, looking down at the broken colonel with disdain.

He flexed his powers again, binding the surrounding rocks into a tight cage around the man, then launched him like a ragdoll into the distance.