Time pressed forward.
Kaido sat cross-legged on the deck of Onigashima, his massive figure looming within the shadows. His gaze swept across the Beasts Pirates' officers, all kneeling with foreheads nearly pressed to the ground. His voice rumbled like distant thunder:
"What do we do now?"
King dropped to one knee, his tone steady but ice-cold beneath the mask.
"Ritter and Whitebeard joining forces was unexpected, but their numbers are still limited. As long as "
"Shut up!" Kaido roared, shattering a sake jar in his grip. Shards scattered across the deck. "That damned Ritter's mist already covers all of Wano! Whitebeard's fleet is anchored just off the coast! Do you think this is some petty skirmish?!"
Queen wiped at his sweaty brow, forcing a trembling laugh.
"Wororororo… Boss, maybe we pull back for now, wait until they let their guard down, and then "
"Retreat?!" Kaido's dragon eyes narrowed, pupils thinning to slits. His Haoshoku Haki exploded outward, rattling Onigashima to its foundations. "I am the Strongest Creature! Not some beaten cur! All our blood, all our sweat is buried here in Wano!"
He rose to his feet, seizing his spiked kanabo Hassaikai. Every word struck like a war drum:
"If they want war… then let this war tear Wano itself to pieces!"
Meanwhile, on Whole Cake Island, Charlotte Linlin lounged in her palace, delighting in her newest confections. Cream still clung to her lips when a Den Den Mushi rang.
"Mamamamama… Kaido?"
She licked her fingers clean, speaking in a teasing lilt.
"It's been ages since you last called. What made you think of your big sis now?"
The snail's face twisted into Kaido's grim scowl.
"Old hag, save the chatter. Whitebeard and that Blood Dawn brat are in Wano. They're trying to seize the New World."
The sweetness in the air soured in an instant. Linlin's smile froze. The room fell silent. Perospero and Oven exchanged nervous glances. Even the Homies trembled, recalling the suffocating terror of Ritter's blood mist.
"…What did you just say?" Linlin's voice sharpened like broken glass.
Kaido sneered.
"What's wrong? Getting scared?"
"Mamamamama !!" Linlin erupted in laughter, but her Haoshoku burst apart her gilded palace, splintering walls and crushing furniture.
"You think I'm afraid? Bring me sweets, or I won't even bother!"
"Linlin," Kaido cut straight to her core, "if you don't join me now, you'll never sit atop this world."
It was the threat only a man who had once shared her bed dared to speak. Linlin slammed her fist down, snatching Napoleon in its greatsword form.
"Katakuri! Smoothie! Gather every soldier! Our target is Wano!"
Even as she hung up, Linlin issued a second command. Not all her forces would march. She would take only a portion of her children and a horde of discarded husbands.
In the Flower Capital, the people had barely begun to recover from Orochi's execution when the sky blackened again.
"W-what's that…?" a villager whispered, pointing toward the sea.
From the edge of the mist emerged three colossal figures the Calamities of the Beasts Pirates. Their shadows loomed larger with every heartbeat.
But beyond them, sunlight split through roiling clouds. Zeus's thunder and Prometheus's burning radiance heralded the arrival of the Big Mom Pirates.
Ritter stood by the shore, blood mist coiling at his fingertips, his lips curving in a feral grin.
"Well now…"
Dozens of pirate ships crowded the horizon. The sheer mass of sails rivaled the clash at Marineford perhaps even surpassed it.
Whitebeard strode forward, the colossal naginata Murakumogiri resting across his shoulder. His booming laugh carried over the waves.
"Gurararara! Now this is what I call lively!"
Marco spread his flaming wings of blue fire, gaze sharpened with worry.
"Kaido and Linlin, both at once… They mean to annihilate Wano entirely."
From the mist, Tesoro's golden colossus rose, gleaming like a false sun. Enel's drums of thunder crackled with raw voltage. Moria's shadow legion hissed and gibbered, writhing at the edges of perception.
Beside them, Oden clenched Enma, flames igniting along the blade as his aura erupted skyward.
"Everyone! This battle "
" will decide the life or death of Wano!"
Kaido's body surged into the sky, twisting into the form of a massive azure dragon. His roar split the heavens.
"Whitebeard! Ritter! Today marks your graves!"
Far at sea, Linlin's fleet drew closer. Her shrieking laugh tore across the waves.
"Mamamamama! The souls of Wano are mine to devour!"
Blood mist collided with storm clouds, golden radiance tangled with roaring flames. Four Emperors four forces of nature faced each other across the battlefield.
This was no longer mere strength against strength. It was war on the scale of nations, of histories, of destinies. Neither Kaido nor Linlin would allow Ritter and Whitebeard to carve freely through their ranks. For if Ritter entered the fray unchecked, both monsters would go mad, turning their fury upon every man, woman, and child within reach. The battlefield itself would be consumed by their wrath.
Marco soared a thousand meters above, his sharp eyes scanning the chaos below. His pupils narrowed as he caught sight of a lone figure vaulting from Big Mom's flagship.
Katakuri.
"At last," Marco murmured, a smile tugging at his lips. "A real opponent."
Katakuri stepped into the air, each footfall forming on invisible mochi platforms. His trident, Mogura, gleamed cold and deadly under the sun. The crimson scarf around his neck snapped in the wind. His gaze beneath the mask was sharp enough to cut steel.
"Marco the Phoenix," he intoned, his voice low and unyielding. "First Division Commander of Whitebeard's crew. Show me if you're worthy of that title."
Marco answered with a light chuckle. His flaming wings beat once, and his body shot forward like a meteor.
"Bluefire Dive!"
Katakuri's Kenbunshoku flared, already seeing the strike before it landed. His body tilted aside, trident snapping up in a flawless block.
Clang!
Steel met flame. Sparks burst. The clash ripped open the clouds and churned the sea below into towering waves.
"Is that all?" Katakuri growled, his wrists twisting. The trident spun, forcing Marco back.
Marco steadied himself midair, the fire along his wings burning hotter. His eyes narrowed.
"Future sight, huh? Annoying… But tell me, how many attacks can you predict?"
In the blink of an eye, Marco split into three blazing afterimages, each one diving from a different angle.
"Bluefire Triple Mirage!"
Katakuri's pupils contracted, his future sight racing. In a heartbeat, he discerned the real body left flank! His trident lunged, piercing straight through Marco's chest.
"It's over."
But Marco only grinned, blood flames licking at his wound.
"Is it?"
He seized the trident with both hands, refusing to yield. His right leg ignited with Haoshoku, smashing into Katakuri's spine.
BOOM!
Katakuri's body hurled backward, tearing through cloud banks before crashing into the earth with a deafening impact. Dust and stone exploded skyward.
High above, Marco hovered, his wings beating steady, his wounds knitting shut in blue fire. The Phoenix's gift left him nearly untouchable in wars of attrition. Unless he was obliterated in a single blow, he would rise again and again.
"Don't play dead," Marco called down, smirking. "I know you're not finished."
From the crater, countless mochi tendrils writhed upward, weaving themselves into a colossal net. The shadow of Katakuri loomed within the dust.
And the sky above Wano darkened further still. The war of Emperors had truly begun.
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