Kaido's objective was perfectly clear.
There was someone he had never forgotten—
King the Wildfire.
His right-hand man. His most trusted subordinate. A companion who had fought beside him through countless battles and weathered years of bloodshed at his side.
Right now, Kaido wanted only one thing: to find King, break him out, and bring him back.
He remembered all too well how Saint Saturn had personally captured King.
Just thinking about it filled Kaido's eyes with barely restrained anger.
The World Government had always coveted the bloodline of the Lunarians with almost insane greed. To obtain its secrets, those bastards would resort to anything—capture, experimentation, dissection, whatever it took.
That was precisely why Kaido considered it unlikely that King had simply been locked away at Marine Headquarters.
Marineford was important to the World Government, certainly.
But Mary Geoise was the true center of its power.
If Saturn valued King's Lunarian blood as highly as Kaido suspected, there was a far greater chance that King had been taken directly to the Holy Land.
And if that had happened…
King could already have been reduced to a plaything for the Celestial Dragons.
Or worse, turned into research material for Vegapunk's laboratories and subjected to endless experiments.
Kaido's expression grew darker.
Even so, he refused to abandon the slightest possibility.
Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance that Saturn had temporarily imprisoned King here, Kaido would tear the entire place apart to confirm it himself.
A brother who had followed him for so many years was worth that much.
"KING!"
Kaido's roar thundered over the prison complex.
"If you're in there, make some damn noise!"
His enormous dragon head swung from side to side as he stared at the maze of fortified structures below.
"There are too many damn rooms! Where the hell are you?!"
Then his colossal claw came crashing down against the prison's reinforced Gate of Justice.
BOOM!!!
The entire structure shook.
Kaido struck again.
BOOM!!!
The massive gate groaned beneath the impact, cracks spreading through its frame.
He had no intention of searching politely.
If King was somewhere inside, Kaido would simply smash his way through every layer until he found him.
...
"So Kaido really did come here for something!"
Sengoku's expression darkened instantly.
Bullet alone had already thrown Marine Headquarters into complete chaos.
Now Kaido had abandoned the main battlefield and headed straight for the prison complex where countless dangerous criminals were being held.
That was far worse.
If Kaido broke into the prison and released its inmates, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Those cells were filled with vicious criminals who had spent years waiting for even the slightest chance to escape.
If they were unleashed in the middle of Marineford—
Headquarters would collapse into absolute chaos.
"KAIDO!"
Sengoku roared.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!"
He could no longer afford to focus solely on Bullet.
Sengoku raised both hands.
Golden energy gathered rapidly between his palms, growing brighter by the second as a powerful shock wave began to take shape.
He was preparing to blast Kaido out of the sky.
But Bullet had no intention of allowing that.
"Heh!"
The magma giant's deep voice rolled across the battlefield.
"Old man!"
Bullet grinned.
"Your opponent is me!"
A massive pillar of magma erupted from the ground.
It surged upward like a blazing wall, roaring directly toward Sengoku and forcing him to abandon his attack on Kaido.
Sengoku spun around and defended himself.
BOOM!!!
The collision shook the surrounding buildings.
Sengoku gritted his teeth.
He wanted to stop Kaido immediately, but Bullet refused to give him even a moment to disengage.
Every time Sengoku attempted to turn his attention elsewhere, another attack came crashing toward him.
He was completely tied down.
And Kaido took full advantage of it.
BOOM!
Another claw smashed into the prison gate.
The reinforced structure buckled visibly.
BOOM!!
The gate shook again, now looking as though it might collapse at any moment.
Sengoku's expression grew increasingly desperate.
He could see exactly what was happening.
He simply could not get away from Bullet long enough to stop it.
All he could do was hope someone else reached Kaido before the prison was breached.
Because if no one did—
Marineford was about to become even worse.
Kaido's mountain-sized Azure Dragon form loomed over the rear of Headquarters, carrying an overwhelming aura of destruction as he continued hammering away at the prison defenses.
With Bullet already turning the main battlefield into an inferno, Kaido's sudden assault on the prison pushed the situation even further beyond control.
Marine Headquarters now stood at the center of a disaster unlike anything it had experienced since its founding.
And for the Marines trapped inside—
this was rapidly becoming their darkest hour.
...
Smoke and flames blanketed the battlefield as the fighting raged on.
Sengoku was still pinned down by the pillars of magma Bullet had summoned. Torrents of molten rock crashed relentlessly against his defenses, each impact carrying enough force to threaten to swallow him completely and making it almost impossible for him to break free.
Meanwhile, Kaido was hammering Hassaikai against the prison gate.
BOOM!
The massive gate shuddered.
BOOM!!
Cracks spread farther across its reinforced surface.
At this rate, it would not hold much longer.
Once Kaido broke through and entered the prison, there was no telling what kind of disaster would follow.
Then, at the most critical moment—
"Poison Blowfish!"
A cold shout came from the side.
Magellan appeared beside Bullet's colossal magma giant.
He drew in a deep breath and spat out dozens of concentrated purple globes of venom.
Rather than charging straight through the wall of magma protecting Bullet, the poisonous projectiles curved around it and struck the weakened sections of the giant's torso—joints, damaged seams, and wounds that had not yet fully recovered from Magellan's previous attacks.
SSSSSSSS—!
The poison globes burst on contact.
Concentrated venom immediately seeped into the damaged areas, viciously corroding the giant's internal structure.
It spread through the cracks and connecting joints, attacking the fused materials from within and disrupting the stability of Bullet's enormous body.
"MAGELLAN!"
Bullet roared furiously.
"You annoying fly!"
The venom could not inflict devastating damage on him in a single attack, but the constant corrosion and pain were becoming increasingly troublesome.
More importantly, it interfered with his control over the colossal fused giant.
Bullet was forced to divert even more attention and power toward suppressing the poison.
And for just a moment—
his offensive pressure weakened.
That moment was enough.
"Now!"
Sengoku's eyes flashed.
"Bullet, this is as far as you go!"
He immediately spotted the opening Magellan had created.
The golden energy that Sengoku had originally gathered to attack Kaido changed direction without hesitation.
"Buddha Impact!"
Golden light erupted around him.
A massive golden palm formed in the air, carrying a crushing shock wave as it slammed directly into Bullet's chest.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The impact exploded across Marineford.
Bullet's colossal magma giant staggered backward several steps.
For the first time since assuming the enormous form, he was physically driven back.
A deep depression appeared across the giant's chest.
Cracks raced through the fused metal and stone.
Molten magma poured from the fractures like blood from an open wound.
Sengoku did not waste the opportunity.
His body flashed forward in a streak of golden light.
He broke away from Bullet's reach and crossed the burning battlefield at tremendous speed.
A moment later—
he appeared directly in front of Kaido.
"KAIDO!"
Sengoku's white hair and beard whipped violently in the heated wind.
An immense pressure radiated from his body.
Behind him, the enormous golden image of the Buddha shimmered into existence, solemn and imposing as it completely blocked the path leading into the prison.
"You're not getting through!"
Kaido stopped.
For the first time since charging toward the prison, someone stood directly between him and his objective.
Sengoku stared him down without yielding an inch.
Behind the Fleet Admiral lay the prison.
Behind that gate were countless criminals who could plunge Marineford into even greater chaos if released.
Whatever condition his battered body was in, Sengoku would not allow Kaido to take another step forward.
Magellan's timely intervention had finally given him the opening he needed.
The battlefield had effectively split in two.
On one side, Magellan continued suppressing Bullet with his corrosive poison, trying to keep the colossal destroyer occupied.
On the other—
Sengoku stood alone in Kaido's path.
The Marine Fleet Admiral had already endured battle after battle, and exhaustion weighed heavily on his body.
But as he faced Kaido, the determination in his eyes burned as fiercely as ever.
The situation remained balanced on a knife's edge.
One mistake could send Marineford plunging into an even greater catastrophe.
But for the moment—
Kaido's attempt to break into the prison had been stopped.