"Boss!!"
"Big Bro Shutenmaru!!"
Seeing this scene, the samurai cried out in panic.
A massive shadow cast down from the sky as a colossal, serpentine dragon coiled above everyone's heads.
"This is...!"
"...!"
Under the terrified gazes of the samurai, the giant dragon opened its ferocious maw, revealing two rows of fangs as a mass of scorching energy rapidly condensed and compressed.
"Since we're supposed to make a scene, there's absolutely no need to hide."
Sanji, in his giant dragon form, narrowed his naturally intimidating golden eyes and suddenly unleashed a Blast Breath from his mouth!
Boom!!
"Uwaaah--!!"
"Aaaagh!!"
The pillar of Blast Breath, containing terrifyingly high temperatures, swept across the land, triggering a series of violent explosions accompanied by countless wails echoing through the sky!
With Gin and Sanji attacking simultaneously, it only took a brief moment for Shutenmaru and the hundreds of samurai he led to be completely wiped out!
"What in the world... is going on...!"
Kikunojo, who had just rushed over from Okobore Village, stood on the loess slope. His pupils trembled as he looked at the tragic scene before him, his face turning a terrified, deathly pale as he stood frozen in disbelief.
Meanwhile, at the edge of Wano Country's waters, over thirty warships sailed in one after another.
Leading the charge, a massive white ship with a whale-shaped bow pierced through the turbulent waves, leading the fleet forward in a grand procession.
An ink-wash-like black bird swooped across the sky and landed on the deck of the Moby Dick, bursting with a *splat* and scattering into ink across the wooden floorboards.
"The letter has been successfully delivered. Kiku should have already taken action."
Looking at the words formed by the ink on the floor, the bushy-red-haired Kanjuro laughed excitedly.
"And Princess Hiyori, Denjiro, and Shutenmaru are all still alive. This is truly wonderful."
"Beautifully done, Kanjuro! If Kiku can gather the samurai within the country, our military strength will receive a massive boost!"
Kin'emon, sporting his samurai topknot, looked thrilled. Clenching his fists, he spoke with burning eyes,
"With the aid of the nation's samurai, our chances of defeating Kaido will increase significantly. This time, we absolutely will not fail!"
"Hey, hey, aren't you guys celebrating a little too early?"
Marco dug his pinky finger into his ear, his eyelids half-drooping in a lazy manner as he said,
"Although it hasn't been long for you, twenty years have passed in this world. The samurai of Wano Country might not still possess the fighting spirit they had back then."
"Speaking of which, we haven't been to Wano Country in many years either. To put it bluntly, it's hard to say if the samurai from back then are even still alive."
Marco poured a timely bucket of cold water over their enthusiasm.
Hearing this, Kin'emon wanted to retort, but he hesitated and stopped himself, his expression gradually dimming.
Only a few of them had been sent forward by Lady Toki's ability. What felt like just yesterday to them was a full twenty years ago for the rest of the world.
He wasn't the one who had waited bitterly for twenty years, constantly suffering under Kaido's oppression—it was the domestic samurai who had survived the decisive battle back then. Did they truly still have the will to rebel?
Kin'emon felt he had no right to answer for them. Over these twenty years, the samurai within the country might have long since lost hope in them.
At that moment, the 16th Division Commander and former Kozuki Family retainer, Izo, stepped forward.
"Don't overthink it, Kin'emon. Twenty years is indeed enough time to make many people give up resisting, but not everyone. There are definitely plenty of people like me out there. Besides,"
Izo patted Kin'emon's shoulder and chuckled softly,
"Don't forget that the Whitebeard Pirates are here. We are a force that won't lose to the Animal Kingdom Pirates. We will absolutely win this war!"
"Izo..."
Kin'emon was moved to tears. Gripping Izo's hands tightly, he suddenly burst out crying,
"Uwaaah! Bearing the heavy responsibility of restoring our nation yet lacking the power to fight Kaido, I am truly too disgraceful!"
"To receive the full support of everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates! I am endlessly grateful. Please allow me to thank you all on behalf of the citizens of Wano Country!"
With that, Kin'emon dropped to his knees with a thud, his face covered in tears and snot as he bowed deeply.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing, Kin'emon? You're going to make us look bad. Hurry up and get up."
On the bow deck, Ace shook his head and smiled helplessly.
"Although I joined relatively late, as the former Second Division Commander, I've heard plenty of stories about the previous commander, Kozuki Oden."
Ace hopped up lightly, sitting on the railing, and chuckled as he looked down at them.
"Besides, I made a promise to Yamato back then. Even without all this, I was planning to go to Wano Country to find Kaido anyway."
"...?"
Kin'emon lifted his head, slightly confused. He felt like that name sounded a bit familiar.
"Anyway, this war is destined to happen. Overthinking will only affect you negatively. Just get ready for battle,"
Ace concluded.
In an unnoticed corner, Kanjuro held a large calligraphy brush, swiftly drawing a flying bird on the side of the ship's hull.
As the final stroke fell, the lifelike bird instantly came alive, flapping its wings and flying off the wooden planks.
Kanjuro hid a letter containing the Whitebeard Pirates' battle plan on the bird and controlled it to fly away, before casually returning to the crowd as if nothing had happened.
The Moby Dick maintained its top speed. As evening approached, it led the massive fleet and finally arrived at the towering sea peaks beneath the island of Wano Country.
Warships rocked on the turbulent sea. Ace stood at the bow, his gaze fixed on the distance.
Thousands of meters away on the sea, another densely packed fleet of over twenty pirate warships was assembled.
"Is that the pirate fleet under the Demon Lion? Their presence doesn't lose to ours at all," Ace remarked with a sigh.
"You say you'd go fight Kaido even without all this, but in the end, you still put Wano Country's coup first."
Marco slowly walked up from behind him and chuckled softly,
"Using the Demon Lion crew's actions as cover to charge into Wano Country amidst the chaos will at least ensure the plan to assassinate Kurozumi Orochi goes smoothly."
"However, doing this also carries the risk of drawing hostility from both sides. No one can say for sure what unexpected variables might occur during the subsequent duel with Kaido."
"If we really end up being attacked by both of their forces simultaneously, your operation will be ruined. Are you sure you want to do this?"
As Marco's words fell, he realized he had asked a redundant question.
Ace's expression was serious as he said, "No matter what, I hope to kill Kaido here and now. As long as Wano Country isn't ruled by him, that's fine."
"As for Demon Lion Allen..."
"I can't say for sure. That guy has many territories under his banner, and his reputation has always been good. I've interacted with Red Hair before, and he rates that guy very highly too."
Ace's eyes grew thoughtful. "Wano Country falling into his hands might not be a good thing, but it certainly wouldn't be worse than it is now. Of course, it would be best if we could take Wano Country ourselves."