Amidst the perplexed gazes of those nearby, Buggy's attack plunged into the seawater, prompting the water under the Thriller Bark to churn as if it were boiling. "Rise!"
In the following instant, as Buggy's command resounded through the expanse, a sight that left the world astounded unfurled before their eyes.
The immense Thriller Bark, once as colossal as an island, now floated atop the roiling, dark-blue sea, defying gravity!
This astonishing spectacle drew exclamations from countless onlookers in the distance, particularly within the Marine fleet. Two old men with white hair, who had joined Kizaru and Fujitora to spectate, also joined in the chorus.
"Oi, Garp, doesn't this scene strike you as quite familiar?"
"Hahahaha, how could I ever forget? Shiki, that rascal, tossed islands at Naval Headquarters from time to time and threw us into chaos!"
"Hahaha, indeed. Looking back, it still sends shivers down my spine."
"It was so much fun, the islands in the end were thwacked by my Iron Fist of love!"
"You scoundrel! The islands were obliterated, and Naval Headquarters nearly got pummeled into rubble. Do you have any idea how much the marine budget was squandered? You bastard!"
"Ahahaha, is that so? I must've forgotten."
"You shameless old bastard! You haven't forgotten your idiotic antics, but you conveniently forgot the Marine's financial losses, didn't you?"
The other Marine officers avoided making eye contact, dreading that the two old men might erupt into a skirmish that could sink their ships, just as they boasted.
The vivid recollection of the harrowing incident from over a decade or two ago remained etched in their minds. They had genuinely believed that the Golden Lion would lay waste to Naval Headquarters! The falling islands were unstoppable. Who could stand against such force?
Yet, Vice Admiral Garp had soared skyward without uttering a word, obliterating islands with his fists. It had been a moment when the Marines, custodians of Naval Headquarters, had felt as though they beheld a true hero.
Buggy's current feat held no small measure of shock as well. He wielded an ability different from the Fuwa Fuwa Fruit—it was the Paramecia-type [Chop-Chop Fruit].
This was simply outrageous! Could a Paramecia-type like the Chop-Chop Fruit replicate the feats of another fruit?
Paramecia devil fruit's abilities shouldn't be this versatile, right? But Buggy was doing it right now. The seawater, which had been chopped by him, akin to Kizaru's lasers and Akainu's magma, was now under Buggy's dominion.
With the eyes of thousands upon him, Buggy soared to the skies above them, holding the gigantic Thriller Bark, which now sailed the skies as an island with its sea-bound float!
Nonetheless, despite Buggy's newfound control over the Thriller Bark's ascent, it was still not quite swift enough. Thus, Buggy told those below, "Bullet, do something worthwhile!"
In an instant, Bullet grasped Buggy's intentions and didn't hesitate. Roaring thunderously, dark clouds rolled over the sky, and the tempest surged. Under the astonished gazes of all present, a blood-red dragon soared into the sky!
A strong gale began to blow as the dragon ascended. Rings of golden flame clouds began to envelop the gigantic Thriller Bark, significantly boosting its previously sluggish speed, transforming it into a swift-sailing vessel, soaring through the sky like a warship!
Just as all eyes were fixated on the looming Thriller Bark above the sky, a bout of laughter erupted within it:
"Hahahaha, Captain, Bullet, your speed isn't bad, but it might not quite match up to my Golden Ark!"
Immediately after, those outside witnessed a flash of sky-blue light amid the formidable Thriller Bark, followed by the unmistakable sound of propellers whirring.
While curiosity and uncertainty gripped the onlookers, a colossal vessel with blue thunder emblazoned across it materialized, racing through the air at a pace rivaling that of the terrifying Thriller Bark!
Those in the distance who witnessed this scene immediately recognized the man at the helm of the blue-gold flying ship.
"It's him! The Logia Thunder Fruit user from the God Slayer Pirates! He's incredibly powerful!"
"Can the Thunder Fruit enable such feats? Controlling such a massive airship single-handedly is quite dangerous!"
"Is this the legendary Logia Thunder Fruit, the strongest of them all? The power of thunder God himself? This kind of power in the hand of a pirate is quite dreadful!"
"Have you noticed? The statues on the flying ship are all made of gold!"
It couldn't be denied that Enel's sudden appearance garnered substantial attention, with many astounded by the prowess of the Buggy Pirates. Had Kaido not teamed up with Big Mom this time, Beast Pirate wouldn't have sufficed to face them! The God-Slayer Pirates are truly fearsome!
Observing the Thriller Bark and the Golden Ark heading toward Wanokuni, the spectators were eager to follow, hoping to witness what would happen next.
However, at this juncture, the previously stationary Red-Hair Pirate's ship experienced a sudden surge in speed, shooting ahead of all the other ships in an instant. It then pivoted, facing the pirate vessels with ulterior motives.
Boom!
In the following moment, the formidable Conqueror's Haki, accompanied by the presence of the Akagami and his crew, ascended into the sky, causing the dark clouds formed by Bullet's abilities to disperse instantly.
Red-Hair Shanks' resounding, overbearing voice echoed across the sea:
"From this point forward, it's my brother's battleground. Anyone daring to venture further will face off against me and the Red-Hair Pirates!"
"I don't care if you're a marine, a pirate, or an agent of the World Government. You're welcome to watch, but if you're plotting anything underhanded, don't blame me for killing you and your entire crew!"
Upon Shanks' declaration, the ships encircling the battle suddenly erupted into a commotion. They had assumed that the Red-Hair crew was merely there to observe, much like themselves, only to discover that Shanks intended to provide an escort to the God Slayer Pirates.
"Red hair, aren't you being a bit too domineering? We're just here to watch!"
"Indeed, do you think you're the pirate king, ruling the world?"
"Let's hope you haven't forgotten the lesson you learned from Whitebeard!"
"Arrogance! The Marines have four Admiralpresent; do you think you can thwart them?"
"Hey, hey, ease up, folks; don't include me and Garp in this mess; we're retired!"
"Hahahaha, Sengoku, you're an utterly shameless bastard!"
"Oh, please, Garp. Your entire family is a parade of shamelessness! I've seen more restraint in a toddler's tantrum than in a single member of your family!"
"..."
Originally, the CP Organization's ship from the World Government and the other pirates had hoped to capitalize on the situation involving the Marines. However, they were swiftly rebuffed by the two elderly individuals, Sengoku and Garp.
As everyone continued to curse and complain, a cyan sword beam descended from the sky, spanning over ten kilometers, and slashed a massive "X" into the midst of the Marines, Red hair pirates, and other ships, its diameter several meters wide.
This abrupt turn of events caught everyone by surprise, but soon enough, someone reacted.
"My God! The sea is splitting! It's him, the man is coming! The man!"
"Where is he?"
"Look over there! It's that ship! There he is, the world's strongest swordsman, Mihawk!"
"Do you wish to partake in this war?"
In no time, everyone noticed that a distinctive black sailboat was slowly approaching their location, drifting in their direction. On this small sailboat, a man sat in a high-backed chair, legs crossed, and behind him stood the world-famous, incredibly sharp black blade—Yoru.
Mihawk challenged with a slightly nonchalant yet commanding tone "My adopted son is on that ship. Anyone who dares to act recklessly will have to fight with me first."
Shanks, watching from a distance, burst into laughter upon seeing this, "Hahaha, Mihawk, you've still got that sense of oppression; see how they all dare not move when you're around! You have more clout than me!"
Hawkeye rolled his eyes, paying no mind to Shanks' teasing. And so, the scene fell into an eerie silence for a while. Ten seconds later, laughter rang out among the pirate ships.
"Zehahaha!"
On a massive wooden ship, Blackbeard stood at the prow, enveloped in a shroud of blackness, gazing at the red-haired man in the distance. He broke into hearty laughter, "As expected of a man who gave up One Piece for his brother Buggy. Since you've said so, the Blackbeard Pirates will leave! Lads let's return to Hive Island!"
Oh!!!
The members of the Blackbeard Pirates turned their ships around one after the other, leaving the scene. Kizaru and Fujitora had been closely monitoring Blackbeard's actions.
After all, the current Blackbeard was the Fifth Emperor of the New World, and wielding the power of two Devil Fruits made it impossible for the Marines to not keep an eye on him.
Their primary concern was that Blackbeard always gave the impression of harboring hidden nefarious intentions. During the Marineford war, he had discreetly liberated a lot of prisoners from level 6 Impel Down.
Then, he had taken down Weevil, who had recently risen to the limelight, and even ate the late Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi!
The very notion of one person possessing two Devil Fruits was alarming. Blackbeard was on the path to becoming a formidable force. There had been concerns that he might exploit the chaos, but he had left quite simply.
However, their apprehensions quickly subsided. Even with Blackbeard's double-fruit abilities, at least two Four Emperors-level combatants were on the opposing side.
No matter how formidable one's strength may be, victory against an opponent like this is impossible! "Teach!"
Shanks, gazing at Blackbeard in the distance, felt a dull ache in the scar over his right eye. This man is no ordinary individual! He used to conceal himself so deeply, and now he possesses two of the most powerful Devil Fruits. Shanks couldn't even fathom the potential consequences.
Buggy, perhaps this is the man you need for your next stage! Let me see. What is your level of confidence? Both Kaido and Linlin are absolute monsters.
Shanks cast a concerned gaze in the direction of Wanokuni.
At that moment, a slightly older yet spirited voice sounded behind him, "Don't worry, that man Buggy is Ten Steps ahead of everyone else. He even had Sengoku wrapped around his finger. The fact that he's willing to confront Kaido and Linlin directly means he's sure of something. Furthermore, even if there's a mishap as a former first mate of Roger Pirates, ignore it. After all, we're pirates! Hahaha!"
Shanks turned around upon hearing this and smiled at the white-haired man who was leisurely leaning on a chair and sipping his drink, "Haha, Rayleigh-san, but is it appropriate for you to be here like this? Didn't Shakky return to Amazon Lily?"
Rayleigh shrugged, "As you mentioned Shakky already went back; why should I go with her? If an emergency arises, it's just a couple of calls away."
Shanks was momentarily surprised and then remembered Blueno's Devil Fruit ability.
With that in mind, Shanks glanced at Rayleigh, then at Hawkeye in the distance. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he asked, "Rayleigh-san, do you think we've fallen into Buggy's scheme?"
Rayleigh, mid-sip, was taken aback, feeling suddenly that the wine in his hand was no longer as smooth. He responded in bemusement, "I've been wondering why something felt off, and now it all makes sense. That brat! He fooled us all."
Having said that, Rayleigh and Shanks exchanged glances and then burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, in Wanokuni, the Island of Onigashima,
Buggy and Bullet commanded the massive Thriller Bark and soared directly toward the Island of Onigashima. Buggy decided not to use his territory as the primary battleground this time, as any damage to Wanokuni would require costly reconstruction.
As Buggy piloted the menacing Thriller Bark, he drew closer and closer to the Island of Onigashima. The air grew thick with tension and foreboding, much like the gathering storm clouds.
Especially when Buggy spotted several small reefs and deserted islands suddenly materializing in the sea ahead of the Island of Onigashima.
Seeing this, Buggy understood Kaido and Big Mom's strategy. The sky may be off-limits, but the ground isn't! If they can't pass through the Sky, they'll pass through the sea!
In the open space before the Island of Onigashima, thousands of artificial Zoan Devil Fruit users and thousands of troops brought by Big Mom from Totto Land stood at the ready.
On the opposing side, more than 100,000 enslaved residents of Wanokuni assembled. The combined forces now exceeded the magnitude of the Summit War. The people witnessing the scene from the towering Thriller Bark couldn't help but be astounded.
Even though they knew both Buggy and Bullet had mastered Conqueror's Haki, it was apparent that the opposition had more wielders of this powerful ability, including Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and Katakuri.
The enemy wouldn't allow Buggy to use Conqueror's Haki to knock out their forces easily, making the situation more complicated.
At this moment, Kaido's thunderous laughter resonated in the sky. A dragon's head emerged from the black clouds, and it peered down at Buggy and his group.
Worororo!!!
"Buggy the Clown, you're being careless! How do you intend to defeat us with your current crew? You don't plan to engage in aerial combat with me, do you? You won't be able to keep that heavy Thriller Bark floating like Shiki!"
Linlin, riding on the blazing cloud of Prometheus with Napoleon in hand, surrounded by Zeus's thundercloud, radiating purple lightning, joined Kaido in the sky.
Now, both Big Mom and Kaido stood in the air simultaneously, like Emperors, casting an oppressive presence.
In an aerial confrontation against these two, Buggy and his allies lacked a significant advantage. Buggy had no intention of engaging them in aerial combat, especially when it might lead to the destruction of the valuable Thriller Bark.
He didn't want such a formidable temporary base to go to waste. Consequently, he decided to anchor the menacing Thriller Bark on the sea, a considerable distance from Onigashima.
Seeing Buggy's decision, Kaido and Big Mom revealed sly smiles. Their calculations had proven correct. Buggy didn't dare to confront them in the air.
However, on land, they had no intentions of backing down. They had already deployed hundreds of thousands of troops, and the cadres from their crews were also ready to join the battle.
The tactics were carefully planned, and they knew exactly who their cadres would target. As the front line exhausted Buggy's cadres, it would be the perfect moment for their cadres to reap the benefits.
Kaido and Big Mom may be brutal, but they consider themselves quite clever.
Once the menacing Thriller Bark was lowered, Buggy and his group disembarked from it. They landed on a massive reef situated two kilometers away from Onigashima Island.
Faced with the densely packed hundreds of thousands of soldiers before them, the Buggy Clown raised his makeup-adorned face, his demeanor exuding arrogance and recklessness. He opened his arms and allowed his white cloak to flutter behind him as laughter reverberated through the skies.
"Haha, Kaido, Big Mom, you've made ample preparations to deal with us. Well, then, let's not waste any time!"
Clap!
Amid laughter and under the disdainful gazes of Kaido and Big Mom, Buggy clapped his hands and shouted, his voice echoing throughout the Skies:
"Nativity of the World of Trees!"
---
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