Koa attacked without hesitation, launching himself straight at Captain John. The seasoned pirate barely had time to unsheathe both of his swords before Koa's twin axes came crashing down with overwhelming force.
Their weapons collided—BOOM—and the sheer impact of Koa's strength sent Captain John skidding backward, boots digging furrows into the earth.
Without wasting a second, Koa used the opening. While John was recovering from the blow, Koa activated his Devil Fruit powers. Everything of value in the area—crates of gold, chests, ornaments, weapons—turned invisible and began to float, drawn silently toward the hidden, floating island he controlled above.
Captain John, shaking off the initial daze, rushed back toward the vault. But by the time he returned, it was already too late.
Everything his men had looted—gone. His remaining crew? Dead.
Standing at the center, waiting calmly, was Koa—his arms folded, expression calm, yet mocking.
"WHERE IS IT, BRAT?!" Captain John roared, his voice deeper, harsher, radiating pure fury. The air seemed to warp with the intensity of his rage.
Koa didn't answer. He simply tilted his head and smirked.
That alone pushed John further over the edge.
"Won't talk? Fine. I'll make you beg for death before I'm done."
Captain John raised his sword and unleashed a flying slash coated in deep black Armament Haki. The cut tore through the air like a black crescent.
Koa was ready.
He countered with his own haki-infused flying slash, the two attacks colliding mid-air with a thunderous shockwave that cracked the nearby stone walls.
As the dust flew, Koa activated his Devil Fruit once more—his axes vibrating rapidly like twin chainsaws, an eerie hum filling the air.
He launched himself forward, repeating the same aggressive combination from earlier, axes raised.
Captain John, aware of the power behind those blows, dodged instead of parrying. But as Koa's vibrating axes slammed into the ground, the force of the impact split the terrain apart, creating a burst of debris and momentum.
Using the recoil, Koa somersaulted mid-air and hurled one of his axes with deadly precision. Captain John blocked it on instinct, but he didn't expect what followed.
Koa was already in motion.
The instant the axe was deflected, Koa blitzed forward behind it. In one fluid motion, he slashed downward with the remaining axe, cutting clean through Captain John's right arm.
THWACK!
John staggered back, staring in disbelief at the stump where his arm had been.
Koa stood before him, breathing hard but still composed, blood staining his side, but eyes locked coldly on his opponent.
"Where's your confidence now?" Koa said, voice quiet but biting.
Captain John's expression twisted in shock and confusion. He clutched his wound, disbelief in his eyes.
"HOW?" he growled, panting heavily. "I didn't even sense you…!"
He wasn't lying—his Observation Haki hadn't picked up Koa's movement at all.
He was a veteran of countless battles, a pirate from the era of monsters, once part of the fearsome Rocks Pirates. Mistakes like this? They didn't happen to him.
And yet—here he was. Bleeding. One arm is short. Defeated.
Koa glanced at Captain John, his Observation Haki fully active, sweeping the battlefield for any threats. But in that instant, a violent surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted in the distance—so overwhelming that it sent a pulse through the air, causing even the ground beneath him to tremble.
It was Roger. Rocks. Garp.
They were no longer holding back. The clash of legends had reached its climax.
An explosion echoed like thunder across the island, drawing Koa's attention. He turned his head slightly, eyes widening as debris burst into the air and trees snapped like twigs from the sheer force of the three titans colliding.
But that moment of distraction cost him.
Captain John, having collapsed earlier, now clenched his remaining sword in his left hand—his only weapon left. He sprang forward, blood trailing from his body, and slashed toward Koa with a desperate roar. The blade shimmered faintly with a purple hue—poison. It was laced with a venom meant to paralyze, giving John just enough time to flee with his life.
Koa's Observation Haki flared just in time.
In a flash of foresight, he saw himself wounded by the blade—saw the poison coursing through his veins, the few critical seconds where he would be helpless.
And he refused to let that vision become reality.
Without hesitation, Koa reacted on instinct.
He swung his axe, using the built-up tension in his arms and shoulders to deliver a clean, brutal counter. The blade cleaved through Captain John's last remaining arm mid-strike, severing it with surgical precision. Before John even had time to cry out, Koa spun with the momentum of the swing and brought the second axe upward in a diagonal arc, cleanly severing Captain John's head from his shoulders.
The motion was fluid. Cold. Final.
Captain John's body fell limp, head tumbling to the ground seconds later, his shocked expression forever frozen in disbelief.
Koa stood still, breathing steadily, both axes humming faintly with residual vibration. He glanced back toward the direction of the ongoing clash between the monsters of history, the air around them now visibly cracking under the pressure of their power.
"I can't miss this," Koa muttered to himself before taking off, leaving behind the ruined vault, the slain pirate captain, and a moment in time that no history book would ever record.
After severing Captain John's head, Koa stood still for a moment, his axes humming faintly in the silence that followed the kill. He looked down at the body, his eyes falling on the twin swords that had once been wielded with pride. With a simple motion, he picked them up, examining their craftsmanship. The blades were of excellent quality—clearly the prized weapons of a seasoned pirate. Koa stashed them away, deciding they were worth keeping.
Without wasting any more time, he turned back to the remnants of the treasure vault. He extended his ability once more, making the scattered gold, gems, and artifacts invisible and lifting them into the air with his vibration-based control. Like before, he sent them floating quietly toward his hidden island—his personal vault in the sky.
Now done with the area, Koa shifted his focus toward Captain John's ship, which was anchored nearby. His eyes narrowed as he approached. If there were more treasures on board—and knowing Captain John's greed, there certainly were—they would be his as well.
Upon boarding the vessel, he was met with resistance. A few surviving crew members, unaware of their captain's fate, charged at him in desperation.
It made no difference.
Koa cut them down swiftly, his movements efficient and brutal. In less than a minute, the deck was quiet again. He swept through the cabins and lower holds, confirming his suspicion—more loot, more stolen wealth hoarded away by the fallen pirate captain.
With a satisfied nod, he repeated his process. The entire ship shimmered, disappearing into invisibility, then slowly began to rise as Koa floated it toward his sky island alongside the rest of the stolen riches.
Satisfied with the success of his heist, Koa finally turned his attention to the next phase of his plan.
The ships docked along the far shores.
He soared above the treetops, moving like a silent wind as he scanned the coastline. His eyes were searching for one ship in particular—a legendary vessel marked by its unmistakable Jolly Roger.
A skull with a long, curly mustache.
The ship of the Pirate King himself.
Roger's ship.
And Koa intended to find it.