Onigashima, facing Wano Country across the sea.
Inside the massive demon-skull-shaped castle, a burly figure with bulging muscles lay snoring on the floor of a dimly lit room.
At the doorway, King walked in briskly with a solemn expression.
"Wake up, Boss Kaido. Something has happened in Wano Country."
Approaching the heavily intoxicated Kaido, King spoke in a deep voice to wake him.
Kaido groggily opened his eyes, propping himself up from the floor with one hand. He shook his head, clutching it as a splitting headache washed over him.
"We just received news from Wano. A group of outsiders has sneaked in and is causing a ruckus in the Flower Capital. Jack has already taken his men to check out the situation."
"Hm?"
Kaido's groggy mind cleared slightly. He glanced at King expressionlessly and said in a deep voice, "Then why are you bothering me? Didn't Jack already head over? It's just a bunch of rats sneaking in."
"This time is different, Boss Kaido. According to the intel from the Flower Capital, we suspect they are the First and Second Division Commanders of the Demon Lion Pirates."
"I just went out for a recon patrol and found a massive fleet of pirate ships gathered on the sea below. They're all from the Demon Lion and Whitebeard fleets."
King's eyes suddenly turned cold. "I suspect they've formed an alliance and are preparing to wage an all-out war against us."
"An alliance? Hahahaha, are you serious, King? That Demon Lion guy and that brat from Whitebeard's ship? Forming an alliance?"
Kaido threw his head back and laughed, his tone dripping with mockery.
King frowned in confusion. Two Emperors of the Sea invading their home base simultaneously didn't sound like a laughing matter.
"Are you still drunk? Please take this seriously, Boss Kaido. This is no small matter." King said gravely, "No matter how much you underestimate them, the combined forces of those two factions are not to be taken lightly."
"Hahahaha! Enough, you idiot. You're the one who doesn't understand. How could anyone who has reached the position of an Emperor ever cooperate with someone else to take down another Emperor?"
Kaido continued to laugh. His gaze shifted as he sneered mockingly, "If that's really the case, it only proves they aren't fit to sit on that throne. Their so-called Emperor titles are nothing but empty hype."
"..."
King looked troubled. He trusted Kaido, but the facts he had seen with his own eyes were undeniable. He couldn't help but frown.
"But... I really did see Whitebeard's subordinates: Ice Witch Whitey Bay, Doma, and Great Whirlpool Spider Squard."
"And from the Demon Lion's side: Corrupt King Avalo Pizarro, Pirate Prince Cavendish... There's no way all these people appearing in Wano's waters at the same time is just a coincidence."
"Ah, maybe they really do have some special connection. What's the exact situation over in Wano?" Kaido asked dismissively. He looked around, grabbed his kanabo, and stood up.
King replied, "At noon, a squad patrolling the factories lost contact in the Hakumai region. We sent three more squads to search for them, but one of those also failed to return. At the same time..."
"...an hour ago, a group forced their way into the Flower Capital and caused a massive uproar. The forces sent by the Shogun's palace were completely wiped out. Kurozumi Orochi urgently contacted us for reinforcements."
"Jack immediately led his men there. Based on our intelligence analysis, the intruders are highly likely to be Sanji and Gin of the Demon Lion Pirates. That's why I went out to scout, and I came straight to you the moment I returned to Onigashima..."
King reported everything that had happened from the afternoon up to the present.
Kaido's eyes looked thoughtful, though it was unclear how much he had actually absorbed.
"At the end of the day, it's just two groups coming to pick a fight, right? Hasn't this happened plenty of times before? Just slaughter them."
After King finished speaking, Kaido rested his kanabo on his shoulder and strode toward the door, a ferocious grin spreading across his face.
"Who cares about the Demon Lion or Ace! So what if Whitebeard and Roger themselves came? Tell everyone to prepare for battle!"
"Yes." King replied in a deep voice.
Before long, the entirety of Onigashima was practically boiling over. From the Tobi Roppo, the Numbers, and the Headliners down to the Gifters, orders were passed down through every rank of officers, shifting the island into a state of combat readiness.
Dark, oppressive clouds rapidly gathered in the sky above Onigashima. Amidst the flashes of lightning and roaring thunder, an Azure Dragon swam through the storm, its massive, serpentine body drifting in and out of sight.
*Rumble!!*
The sea surged violently as gale-force winds whipped up massive waves. Amidst intense tremors, the entire island of Onigashima was forcefully uprooted from the ocean, slowly ascending into the sky, wreathed in Flame Clouds from below!
At the same time, within Wano Country.
It was evening. At the border where Ringo, Hakumai, and the Flower Capital met, Allen and Nami's groups successfully rendezvoused. Hundreds of people marched grandly toward the royal capital.
The setting sun cast its slanting rays over the yellowed stone-paved roads. Rows of wooden houses were neatly arranged on both sides of the street, with people bustling back and forth in front of various vendor stalls.
Cherry blossoms fluttered and danced in the wind, painting a picture of prosperity within the Flower Capital.
In stark contrast to the peaceful scene inside the city, a brutal battle had just concluded on the northwest side of the Flower Capital.
The city walls had been destroyed, leaving a field of collapsed ruins and rubble. A large number of samurai lay injured on the ground, yet a continuous stream of soldiers was still rushing over from within the city.
"More of them. This country really has a lot of troops. Wave after wave, it's endless."
Sanji, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, stood atop the shattered city wall with his back to the setting sun. He looked down at the samurai swarming in from all directions and sighed.
*Puru~ Puru~ Puru~*
The sound of a Transponder Snail suddenly rang out. Sanji pulled the snail from his suit and answered it.
"Hey, we've regrouped. How's the situation on your end?"
Allen's voice came through the receiver. Sanji glanced down at the overwhelmingly one-sided battle and replied to the Transponder Snail, "Everything is going smoothly. Gin and I can storm the city at any time."
"That's a lot faster than planned. Start making your move. We're about to enter the city too. See you at the Shogun's palace."
"Got it."
Sanji replied in a low voice. After hanging up the Transponder Snail, he turned to look down and leaped off the wall.
"Let's go, Gin. To the Shogun's palace."
"Understood."
*Bang!!*
Gin replied to Sanji while simultaneously pressing his large hand against the face of a samurai commander, violently slamming the man's head into the ground.
Just as he raised his tonfa to deliver a finishing blow, Sanji suddenly reached out from behind and grabbed the weapon.
"Fighting doesn't equate to slaughter. Don't forget the core principle of our operation," Sanji reminded him with a sideways glance.
Hearing this, Gin withdrew his weapon, slightly calming the fanatical battle lust in his heart.
People were the most important resource in the world. This was Allen's consistent philosophy, a truth that had never been wrong since ancient times.
It was precisely because of this that Allen was qualified to stand at the pinnacle of the era's shifting tides, revered by countless powerhouses under his command as the leader who would overturn the age.
Inside a room in the Shogun's palace, several geisha surrounded a half-bald man with a large, square head sitting in the seat of honor.
"The Whitebeard Pirates are about to arrive in Wano Country! Are the ones invading the west gate their people too?! Damn it, how did this happen?!"
Kurozumi Orochi gritted his teeth and cursed furiously as he read the intelligence report sent by Kanjuro, the spy he had planted years ago.
*Smash!*
"Curse it all! Why haven't Kaido's reinforcements arrived yet?! At this rate, all my guards are going to be slaughtered!"
Orochi angrily slammed the letter onto the table, exasperated and panicked.
"Please do not fret, Shogun. With our Oniwabanshu here, even if the intruders fight their way to the palace, they won't be able to harm you in the slightest."
Opposite him, an elderly man with earlobes drooping almost to the floor sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, speaking at a leisurely pace. "As for the Whitebeard Pirates, given Kaido's personality, it's impossible for him to let them run amok in Wano Country. He might already be on his way here. You can rest easy."
"Furthermore, the World Government has already dispatched CP0. Compared to the Whitebeard Pirates, they would certainly prefer that you, someone they can cooperate with, remain the Shogun of Wano."
"Hmph! Those calculating old geezers in the World Government are only wary of Kaido. I'm not stupid! How could I possibly count on those guys to protect me?!"
A dark, sinister look flashed across Orochi's face as he barked, "Summon all the guards in the city to the palace to protect me! Leave the fighting outside entirely to Kaido and his men. I won't waste another single soldier on those pirates!"