Seeing Kid and Law rushing toward her, Big Mom laughed loudly. "Ignorant brats, you haven't even grown your feathers yet, and you dare challenge the authority of the Yonko? This old lady will show you exactly what the Yonko are capable of!"
"What 'Yonko' bullshit? You're just a bunch of old fossils. Hurry up and get the hell down from that seat!" Kid sneered.
"Kid-ya is right. You're all old now," Law echoed.
"Arrogant little brats, you certainly talk big. I hope your mouths stay that tough in a moment," Big Mom's expression darkened. She hated people with sharp tongues and no strength the most.
Boom!
The great battle erupted on the rooftop: Straw Hat Luffy faced off against the Beast Kaido, while Law and Kid teamed up against Big Mom. Now, most of Onigashima had completely turned into a chaotic battlefield.
At the front gate of the island was the vast majority of the Beasts Pirates' military force and all of the Tobiroppo, including high-ranking executives like Ulti, Page One, X Drake, Sasaki, and Who's-Who. The one overseeing the entire front lines was one of the All-Stars, Jack the Drought.
Their opponents were the Wano Country samurai led by the Nine Red Scabbards, numbering over thirty thousand warriors. However, the samurai led by the Nine Red Scabbards were currently conducting a difficult landing operation and were still locked in a fierce struggle with the Beasts Pirates. Not many of them had successfully broken through to the shore yet. The only ones who had broken through to the beach first were the Nine Red Scabbards themselves and a small portion of their followers; the rest of the forces were putting all of their effort into landing their boats.
"Kill these bastards who should have died long ago!" Jack directly ordered Drake and the others when he saw the Nine Red Scabbards taking control of the port area.
"We can finally make a move, right? Then I won't hold back!" Ulti, who had been completely unable to contain herself, charged out immediately.
"Older sister, be careful!" Page One hurriedly followed right behind her.
Seeing this develop, Drake, Who's-Who, and Sasaki stopped standing idly by and led their own subordinates directly into the fray. As the highest-ranking commander present, although Jack really wanted to join the attack, he did not forget his primary duty, which was to oversee the overall situation. Therefore, Jack could only suppress his deep urge to charge forward and observed the chaotic situation from a high vantage point.
Although the Nine Red Scabbards were formidable and posed a great threat to the troops, they could only defend passively against the massive Beasts Pirates' force of over twenty thousand men. If they wanted to go on a proper offensive, they would have to wait until all of the samurai behind them had successfully come ashore. But that landing process would take at least half an hour, if not longer. By then, it would finally be the time for Jack to lead the entire army in a decisive battle to wipe out the Nine Red Scabbards completely.
"I don't see Straw Hat and those other pirates here. It seems they took a detour to the back road. Big Brother, Second Brother, Yamato, and the other two are back there, so everything should be perfectly fine," Jack narrowed his eyes. The current Jack was no longer as impatient and reckless as he used to be. This composure was all trained out of him under Yamato, or rather, forced out of him through sheer experience.
At the rear of Onigashima, there was immense commotion across several distinct battlefields. The most intense among them was the battlefield where Yamato and Ace fought; the blazing flames had never once subsided and were instead growing even more fierce by the minute.
Amidst the blinding firelight, Yamato and Ace constantly clashed, their Conqueror's Haki overflowing into the surroundings and leaving the ground destroyed beyond recognition. Now, Yamato could clearly feel that Ace's strength was much greater than it had been in the past.
"Is it because of the Pirate King's bloodline? Once his potential begins to awaken, he gains massive growth. Right now, he is only a thin line away from the actual level of the Yonko," Yamato thought to herself. However, although Ace's strength had improved significantly, Yamato was still handling the entire exchange with complete ease. After all, Yamato had already stepped into the level of the Yonko several years ago.
"Yamato, are you still holding back against me? You won't be able to defeat me like this," Ace spoke up during a clash. Although his strength had increased a lot, he still didn't have much of an advantage over her. Even so, if Yamato didn't go all out, she wouldn't be able to defeat him easily either.
"Who said I have to defeat you?" Yamato grinned.
Hearing Yamato's words, Ace was momentarily stunned. "Aren't you afraid your idiot father will be defeated by Luffy?"
"What's there to be afraid of? If he's defeated, then he's defeated. He's an old man nearly sixty years old; what's the big deal if he gets beaten by a twenty-year-old kid?" Yamato looked completely indifferent. If anything, it would be much better if Straw Hat knocked her idiot father flat on his face.
"That's true, but you really are broad-minded about this. If Kaido is defeated, it won't do you any good, right?" Ace's eye twitched; he could hear a slightly different meaning hidden in her words.
"Anyway, it's not me being defeated, so who cares? Let's stop talking about them and focus entirely on our fight. Don't you want to defeat me?" Yamato looked at him with a calm smile.
Ace's gaze sharpened instantly. "Of course, I really want to defeat you! Since you put it that way, I won't hold back anymore!" After saying that, he turned completely into flames and continued his fierce attack on Yamato. Those terrifying flames had already turned large areas of Onigashima's coast into scorched earth.
"Who needs you to hold back? If you want to defeat me, then come at me with everything you've got!" Yamato's eyes glowed fiercely, her entire body overflowing with powerful Conqueror's Haki.
Boom!
Fire clouds soared high into the sky like a blooming mushroom cloud.
Just as various places across Onigashima were turning into active battlefields, some strange gray clouds suddenly appeared around the base of the entire island. These gray clouds were similar to regular flame clouds and slowly began to surround all of Onigashima.
Rumble!
Next, these gray flame clouds bound the massive island of Onigashima like thick ropes and then began to lift it upward. These flame clouds came directly from Kaido; he had activated his Devil Fruit ability. Onigashima rose very slowly, bit by bit, so the people fighting on the island didn't feel much of the movement at first.
However, as time slowly passed, the samurai at the front gate who had not yet managed to board Onigashima noticed the massive abnormality.
"Oh no, Onigashima is starting to rise!"
Some samurai fell directly back into the sea because Onigashima was moving away while they were still attempting to land their boats.
"What is that? Are those clouds?"
Finally, the Nine Red Scabbards also noticed the strange gray flame clouds wrapping around the land.
Splash!
By the time they fully reacted to the situation, Onigashima had already completely begun to leave the surface of the sea.
"What's going on? Why is the entire island moving?"
Not only the Wano samurai but even the average members of the Beasts Pirates were deeply surprised by the event.
"What are you panicking for? This is Lord Kaido's ability. Ignore it and keep killing these people!" Jack roared across the battlefield. Hearing Jack's words, the Beasts Pirates immediately snapped out of their shock and continued to charge fiercely at the samurai.
"Damn Kaido, he actually lifted the entire island of Onigashima! Only half of our people have made it up here!"
"It doesn't matter! Even if only half made it, there are still over ten thousand people with us. There's no need to fear them! Keep charging, break into the castle, and take Kaido's head!" Kin'emon led the charge, constantly encouraging everyone with his loud words.
"Do you really think such a thing is possible?" A massive Triceratops suddenly rushed out of the ranks and then transformed back into human form with a dark sneer on his face.
Not just Sasaki, but also Who's-Who, Ulti, Page One, and X Drake all entered their strongest Zoan hybrid forms. These Ancient Zoan ability users, along with other members of the Tobiroppo like Basil Hawkins and Scratchmen Apoo, completely blocked Kin'emon and the other Nine Red Scabbards here, preventing them from ever breaking through the front line of defense.
As time passed, the entire island of Onigashima fully left the surface of the sea and continued to rise steadily into the sky. Many people noticed this happening, but no one paid it much mind because they would only have the time to worry about such things once the war was completely over.
"Did it start so soon? The battle has barely been going for half an hour. Did Straw Hat make my idiot father get serious so quickly?" Yamato thought to herself while fighting fiercely with Ace. If Straw Hat hadn't forced Kaido to get serious, Onigashima shouldn't have started floating into the sky so soon.
"From the looks of it, Straw Hat's strength indeed grew by leaps and bounds after his fight with Charlotte Katakuri on Whole Cake Island. I just don't know if he's reached the level of Devil Fruit awakening yet. Maybe not yet. He might still need my idiot father to give him a little push to complete the awakening," Yamato thought, feeling that Straw Hat's awakening would likely still require Kaido's brutal help. To put it nicely, it's called finding a great opportunity between life and death; to put it bluntly, it's just doing 'sit-ups'.
"Also, I wonder if my Great Aunt will be knocked down by Law and Kid?" Yamato thought of another detail. However, after thinking carefully about it, she felt it was highly unlikely for now.
"They should still manage to separate the two Yonko, but they probably won't be able to just throw Great Aunt into the sea directly. The final result might turn out like this," Yamato could easily imagine the scenario. After Straw Hat completes his awakening in this battle, he will have the necessary strength to defeat Kaido, but Law and Kid won't. Their Haki is definitely not as good as Straw Hat's. So, even if Law and Kid team up, they won't be a match for Big Mom in a direct clash. They can only try their best to find a clever way to remove Big Mom from the battlefield rather than defeating her head-on.
"Doesn't that mean Great Aunt still can't escape the fate of falling off the island?" Yamato felt she had circled right back to the original point. From this perspective, Kaido lifting the entire island of Onigashima was a major blunder; he completely screwed over his old sister.
"Forget it, Great Aunt won't die even if she falls from the sky," Yamato stopped thinking about it. She simply hoped the result of this battle would follow the original development of the story.
When the battle had been going on for over two hours, on the rooftop of Onigashima, two massive surges of Haki had already climbed to their absolute peak.
Boom!
Flames erupted violently, and a figure was knocked backward, turning into fire before landing heavily in the distance.
"Is the winner about to be decided up there?" Yamato glanced up toward the rooftop of the castle. After over two hours of fierce fighting, Yamato's haori had also turned completely to ash, but she had never once entered her Zoan hybrid form during the clash.
Opposite her, Ace's expression looked somewhat weary. Such high-intensity combat was a massive drain on a person's physical stamina.
"Luffy," Ace murmured, as he also felt those two terrifying auras clashing on the rooftop. He could easily imagine that Luffy and Kaido's battle had also entered its final stage, and the winner would soon be decided.
"My second disciple, who do you think will win? Your younger brother, or my father?" Yamato was in no hurry to attack again and instead stopped her movements to ask.
Ace said without a single shred of hesitation, "Is there even a need to ask? Of course it's my brother. He's the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"
"Hahaha! The man who will become the Pirate King? I heard that before, you used to say you would make Whitebeard the Pirate King. Has your thinking changed now?" Yamato laughed heartily.
"The past is the past, and the present is the present. Everyone grows up, though as a price, it's inevitable to lose some important things along the way. But even if I lost some important things, I still have other important things left, and I will definitely protect them this time," Ace's voice was resonant and resolute. This was the main reason why he had come to Wano: because there were family members here he needed to protect.
Hearing Ace say such things, Yamato was deeply moved. "You really have grown up."
"Alright then, let's pause our battle for now and see which of them wins," Yamato planted her heavy kanabo firmly on the ground, directly calling for a temporary truce.
"You— fine. But let me say this first, the winner will definitely be Luffy!" Ace looked surprised by the offer but also agreed to Yamato's truce. The ultimate outcome of this entire war depended on the results of the fights between the three Captains—Straw Hat and the others—and the two Yonko; everyone else on the island was just there to help out. If the main commanders were defeated, then it would be a true defeat for their entire side.
"You really are a brother-con," Yamato smiled.
After a short while, Black Maria and Haruko's battle with Marco the Phoenix also came to a stop nearby.
"Ace, Yamato, you guys really know how to slack off, yoi. Why did you stop fighting all of a sudden? Are you tired, yoi?" Marco flew over, then transformed back into his human form and landed right next to Ace.
Black Maria and Haruko walked back over to Yamato's side.
"We've been fighting for so long, let's stop and take a break. The final outcome of this battle will appear very soon," Yamato pointed up toward the rooftop of the castle.
Marco understood her meaning instantly. "That's fine with me, yoi. We'll just wait for the result over there; it saves us from fighting to the death down here, yoi. However, Yamato, aren't you worried your father might actually lose, yoi? Ace's brother is very formidable, yoi."
"I'm not worried. What's there to worry about? My father is so old; it's perfectly normal for him to lose eventually. Anyway, when the time comes, I'll be there as his daughter to back him up. On the other hand, if Straw Hat gets killed by my father, you guys will be in serious trouble. Given my father's personality, you can probably guess what will happen to Wano then," Yamato reminded them calmly. If Straw Hat lost the fight, then with Kaido's brutal personality, their pirate crews, including the entire force of Wano samurai, would not have a good ending.
Marco and Ace looked at each other. "That would indeed be very terrifying, yoi. But, we believe in him."
"That's quite some incredible trust. Fine then, let's wait and see," Yamato smiled.
While they had completely stopped fighting on their end of the island, the battles in other locations were still actively ongoing. In the two closest locations, the battle between King and Roronoa Zoro, as well as the battle between Queen and Sanji, had also entered their final stages, with the winners about to be decided at any moment.
"Young Miss, it seems Lord King and Lord Queen are falling into a disadvantage," Haruko sensed the active movements with her Observation Haki. She was somewhat surprised by the feedback; she hadn't expected the swordsman and the cook of the Straw Hat Pirates to be so powerful that even King and Queen were trapped in a hard fight.
"Yeah, they truly are Straw Hat's left and right hands," Yamato also sensed the energy, knowing that the battles in those two places wouldn't take much longer to end.