Sakazuki had never been a man of hesitation.
He was not Sengoku.
He did not weigh morality.
He did not care whether there were "civilians" mixed among pirates.
To him, anyone who stood under Big Mom's banner was complicit.
And therefore expendable.
His arms burned brighter.
The sky darkened.
Then, like judgment descending from heaven, countless magma fists tore through the clouds in blazing arcs.
They fell toward Cake Island in violent parabolic streaks.
Meteor Volcano.
The capital of Totto Land erupted into chaos.
Guests who had rushed toward the docks in panic suddenly froze in horror.
Marine warships had already formed an iron wall around the island.
Cannons roared.
Ships attempting to flee were blasted apart before they could even turn their bows.
It did not matter whether they bore the flag of Big Mom—or belonged to terrified underworld guests.
Under Sakazuki's command, not a single pirate vessel would leave these waters alive.
To the Fleet Admiral, anyone who attended Big Mom's birthday celebration had already chosen their side.
And he had no intention of sparing them.
Magma bombs began to land.
The first impact shattered a district of Cake Island in an explosion of fire and molten stone.
The second tore through the harbor.
The third ignited entire streets in a roaring inferno.
Within moments, the capital was swallowed by flames.
Screams filled the air.
Pirates fled in terror. Residents scattered in desperation. Homies wailed as they burned.
Perospero stared upward at the raining fire, his face tight.
"Damn it… Akainu's going for the kill from the very beginning."
Even a sweet commander felt powerless in the face of this natural-disaster-level assault.
How had the Whitebeard Pirates endured such a monster at Marineford?
The question flashed briefly in his mind.
Meanwhile—
Linlin's eyes turned blood-red.
She watched her beloved capital burn.
Her birthday.
Her territory.
Her pride.
Reduced to a sea of magma.
Zeus crackled violently beneath her feet as she roared in fury.
"DAMN YOU, MARINES!!!"
Lightning exploded across the sky.
"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"
With a thunderous boom, she shot forward atop Zeus, barreling toward Sakazuki like a living storm.
On the Marine flagship, Sakazuki narrowed his eyes.
"So. She comes personally."
Momousagi's voice rang out urgently:
"Fleet Admiral! Big Mom is advancing!"
Sakazuki's expression remained ice-cold.
"None of you interfere."
His voice carried absolute authority.
"The power of a Yonko is beyond your level. Leave her to me."
He stepped forward as Linlin entered range.
She gripped Napoleon tightly, rage distorting her features.
"Akainu! You dare invade my territory?!"
Her voice shook the air.
"I'll kill you! Elbaf Spear—IKOKU!"
A massive cylindrical blade of compressed force erupted from Napoleon, tearing across the sky toward Sakazuki.
The sea split beneath its pressure.
But Sakazuki did not retreat.
He launched forward instead.
"Great Eruption!"
A colossal magma fist met the incoming sword wave head-on.
BOOOOOOM—
The collision detonated midair.
Sword energy and magma clashed violently, exploding into a storm of molten fragments that rained across the sea like fiery meteors.
Steam hissed as lava struck the water.
Shockwaves rolled across the battlefield.
Sakazuki hovered in the air using Moonwalk, magma dripping from his arms.
Without even glancing back, he issued his next command.
"All Marine forces—after the magma bombardment concludes, commence full landing operations."
"Eradicate every pirate on this island."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral!"
The answer thundered back with unwavering resolve.
Linlin's face twisted further.
"So this is it? You Marines intend to fight me to the death?!"
Sakazuki's eyes burned like furnaces.
"Hmph."
"The Marine and pirates were never meant to coexist."
He raised his blazing fist again.
"This time next year…"
"…will be your death anniversary, Big Mom."
At this moment, Cake Island had become a furnace.
After Fleet Admiral Sakazuki's Meteor Volcano, the island's temperature surged by more than ten degrees. Entire districts burned. Streets melted. Towers collapsed.
The once-glorious capital of Totto Land had been reduced to a blazing inferno.
Ordinary citizens screamed as they fled. Countless homies shrieked as their souls flickered out in fire.
Had one of the Four Emperors—Charlotte Linlin—not personally intercepted Sakazuki's assault, the devastation would have been far worse.
When the final magma fist struck and the sky finally cleared—
The Marine fleet advanced.
Warships closed in from all sides, cannons aligned, preparing for full-scale landing.
But the Big Mom Pirates were not some fledgling crew.
They were a Yonko force forged through countless wars.
They reacted fast.
On the shoreline, Cracker barked orders, his voice cutting through the chaos:
"Open fire! Don't let them set foot on Cake Island!"
Cannons were dragged into position. Powder ignited. Smoke rose.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Artillery thundered along the coast as the Big Mom Pirates returned fire, turning the shoreline into a battlefield of iron and flame.
Yet the difference in preparation was obvious.
The Marine fleet's cannons were heavier. Their formation tighter. Their range superior.
Within minutes, the pirates' coastal batteries began to fall silent one after another.
Ryokugyu watched the resistance with a crooked grin.
"They're desperate… but do they really think they can hold us at the beach?"
From his back, a strange spinning blossom unfurled—petals whirring like a propeller. With a sudden burst, he launched himself skyward and soared toward Cake Island, vines trailing like serpents behind him.
On another front, Fujitora calmly drew his sword-cane.
"My colleagues," he said softly, "please step back."
"Allow this old man to clear the path."
Purple gravity ripples shimmered along his blade.
"Gravity Blade… Fierce Tiger!"
With a sweeping slash, a horizontal wave of distorted gravity roared forward.
The natural downward pull of the world twisted violently.
Defensive walls shattered.
Cannons crumpled.
Big Mom Pirates along the shoreline were lifted and hurled backward as though swatted aside by an invisible giant.
The beach defenses collapsed in an instant.
Marine soldiers roared in excitement.
"Advance!"
"Admiral Fujitora has opened the way!"
"Land and annihilate the pirates!"
Dozens of landing vessels surged forward as warships unleashed suppressing fire.
The invasion of Totto Land had officially begun.
—
Far away—
In the closed nation of Wano Country, atop the ruins of Onigashima.
Once, this land had been the Flower Capital.
Now, it bore only the scars of war.
Not long ago, Kaido had slain Orochi on this very island.
But Kaido had either underestimated—or forgotten—the nature of Orochi's Devil Fruit.
The Yamata no Orochi granted eight lives.
And Orochi had used one of them to crawl back from death.
Driven by hatred, he infiltrated Onigashima once more and ignited the enormous stockpile of weapons and munitions Kaido had prepared for his future world war.
The explosion that followed was catastrophic.
Onigashima was torn apart.
The island sank.
Tens of thousands of Beasts Pirates perished in the chaos.
The sea swallowed fire and steel alike.
Orochi tried to escape in the aftermath.
He didn't make it far.
King captured him.
When Kaido learned the truth, his fury shook the skies.
This time, he used Sea Prism Stone restraints.
This time, there would be no resurrection.
Kaido personally ended Orochi's life—again.
And to ensure there would never be a third time, he ordered Orochi's body crushed into fragments and fed to the prisoners in Udon.
No burial.
No dignity.
Now—
As flames rose once more in Totto Land and the Marine clashed with Big Mom—
Storm clouds gathered over Wano as well.
The era of the Three Emperors Alliance was being tested by fire.
Although the destruction of Onigashima—and the loss of years' worth of stockpiled weapons and ammunition—infuriated Kaido, it was not a fatal blow.
The true foundation of his power had always been Wano Country itself.
The SMILE factory still stood.
The weapon forges still burned.
The mines still yielded iron and seastone.
Production had never stopped.
And now, Wano had been fully transformed into a pirate nation under his iron rule.
On this day, however, a den den mushi shrieked with urgency.
A distress call—from the Big Mom Pirates.
When Kaido learned that Fleet Admiral Sakazuki himself had led the Marine assault on Totto Land, his expression darkened instantly.
"Queen," he ordered coldly, "guard Wano."
"Jack—take the Tobiroppo and the main fleet. Support Linlin by sea."
"As for me…"
A grin split his face.
"I'll go ahead."
With King at his side, Kaido soared into the sky, dragon form cutting through the clouds like a thunderbolt.
But the Marine had already anticipated this move.
Moments after he left Wano's airspace—
A fleet rose to intercept him.
Three figures stepped forward midair, using Moonwalk to block his path.
Kaido's laughter rumbled like thunder.
"Worororo… Former Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Former Admiral Zephyr. And Hero Garp."
"I didn't expect you three undead relics to crawl out of retirement."
Before him stood:
Sengoku
Zephyr
Monkey D. Garp
Sengoku's gaze was cold and resolute.
"Kaido. You're not going anywhere."
"We old men may be retired—but we can still stop you."
Kaido's eyes narrowed slightly. Then he began to laugh.
"Worororo… so this was your plan."
"Send Kizaru to stall the Phoenix Pirates. Use you three fossils to block me. And let the new Fleet Admiral lead the assault on Linlin."
"What a neat little scheme."
Sengoku snorted.
"Your so-called Three Emperors Alliance is too dangerous."
"If we let it grow any further, the balance of the world will collapse."
"We have no choice. It must be crushed at its roots."
Behind Kaido, King's expression turned grim.
"Kaido-san…"
But Kaido showed not a shred of fear.
Ever since his Devil Fruit had awakened, a conviction had taken root in his heart—
He was invincible.
The world no longer frightened him.
"Worororo… You want to stop me?"
"You're nothing but remnants of the old era."
His body began to transform.
The massive dragon form condensed, tightening, compressing into a more refined, fearsome shape. Deep purple flame-clouds swirled violently around him.
A tsunami of Conqueror's Haki exploded outward, distorting the air itself.
Even Sengoku's expression changed.
"Garp… this won't be easy."
Garp cracked his knuckles.
"Hmph."
Above the clouds, legends of two eras prepared to collide.
—
Meanwhile—
On Popo Island.
After completing the hostage exchange, Kizaru once again invited Marco for tea.
Marco found it absurd.
A Marine Admiral… casually drinking tea with a Yonko?
Yet curiosity won over caution. He wanted to know what Kizaru was plotting.
To his surprise, Kizaru simply… chatted.
He praised Marco's leadership.
Complimented how quickly he consolidated the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Even admired his recent bold actions.
Under the relaxed flattery of an Admiral, Marco couldn't help but feel slightly pleased.
After all, praise from an enemy—especially one of that caliber—carried weight.
Soon, Marco found himself talking more than intended, discussing territory management, crew structure, even battle philosophy.
On the Moby Dick, the other captains were utterly baffled.
Vista leaned against the rail, sighing.
"An Admiral… talking for two hours straight?"
Jozu groaned. "Are they negotiating peace or writing memoirs?"
Ace scratched his head. "I didn't know Marines could talk this much…"
The tension had strangely dissolved into something awkwardly domestic.
Then—
A Den Den Mushi rang sharply.
The line connected.
From the other side came frantic shouting.
"The Marine has attacked Totto Land!"
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki is leading the assault!"
"Admirals deployed—Totto Land is surrounded!"
The atmosphere on the Moby Dick changed instantly.
The casual air vanished.
Marco's expression froze.
On the distant yacht, Kizaru quietly sipped his tea.
And for the first time—
Marco realized.
He had been stalled.
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