Sengoku looked at the giant dragon before him, his body radiating golden light, rapidly transforming into a gigantic golden Buddha.
Mythical Zoan Fruit: Human-Human Fruit, Model: Daibutsu.
Bathed in the golden Buddha light, Sengoku exuded a solemn and majestic aura, displaying a terrifying presence.
The gigantic Buddha raised its right palm towards the dragon standing on the fiery cloud over the sea.
A resonant hum echoed through the air.
The battle was imminent.
"I'll leave the others to you. I'll handle this one," Sengoku said.
As his words fell, Borsalino and Issho floated up and flew towards Germa, while the Seven Warlords confronted the remnants of the Beasts Pirates.
Sakazuki, on the other hand, stayed close to Vice Admiral Tsuru, ready to act at any moment.
On the Beasts Pirates' side, seeing Sengoku transform into the Daibutsu and the actions of the Seven Warlords, everyone, including King, felt a heavy heart.
Only Kaido, who knew no fear, coldly stared at the giant Buddha on the navy's flagship.
In the dragon's eyes, a fierce battle intent was brewing.
As their auras clashed, the sky became filled with dark clouds and thunder roared.
Gales swept over the sea.
At this moment, both Kaido and Sengoku knew.
Regardless of who won or lost this conflict, one side would face annihilation.
This was a battle of life and death!
"Muahahaha... truly terrifying," Kaido muttered, his eyes flashing with lightning.
A tornado formed beside the giant dragon, with silver snakes dancing wildly.
The mere aura emanating from him caused dramatic changes.
Facing the giant dragon amidst the storm, rain, and lightning, Sengoku remained calm, unaffected by the overwhelming presence, embodying a serene Buddha.
"Today, the dragon shall be subdued," he declared.
The thunder roared almost simultaneously.
Kaido made his move.
The majestic dragon instantly transformed into his strongest human-dragon form, wielding a kanabo wrapped in black and red lightning, turning into a bolt of lightning in the sky.
Thunder Bagua!
With unparalleled speed, Kaido infused all his strength into this strike, aiming it at the golden Buddha.
This strike was undoubtedly the strongest Thunder Bagua Kaido had ever unleashed.
However—
Even in the face of such an onslaught, Sengoku remained unfazed, neither happy nor sad, unmoving.
He raised his right arm, slightly bent, infusing all his strength into his palm.
His palm, also wrapped in the Conqueror's Haki with purple-black lightning, perfectly met Kaido's kanabo coming at unimaginable speed.
BOOM!
The deafening roar suppressed all other sounds in the world.
In that instant, it was as if the pause button had been pressed—thunder silenced, wind stilled, waves frozen.
Two immense forces collided in mid-air, and Conqueror's Haki burst from both of them.
Countless black and red electric arcs spread like spiderwebs around them.
The space between Sengoku's palm and Kaido's kanabo seemed to crack.
RUMBLE—
Moments later, everything resumed. The collision of their forces summoned thunder, produced gale winds, and stirred waves.
Numerous lightning bolts spread rapidly within the dark clouds, accompanied by deafening roars.
Everyone watched, either in awe or terror, at the two figures surrounded by black and red electric arcs in the storm's center.
...
"Truly remarkable, Sengoku," Nicholas couldn't help but marvel.
As someone who had chased the Pirate King Roger to the brink of death multiple times alongside Garp, Sengoku's strength was undoubtedly monstrous.
"The sky... it's splitting apart!"
"Look at the sky!" Niji exclaimed in a daze.
Following his words, everyone else also turned their gaze towards the roiling clouds. A massive crack had appeared in the sky, centered around the two combatants. Through this enormous fissure, they could even see the moon hanging high above.
"The Navy is serious this time," Judge said, frowning as he stared at the split sky.
Though he lacked the ability to foresee the future, through the Navy's strategic setup since the battle began, Judge could foresee the Beasts Pirates' defeat.
"Is that really within the capabilities of humans?" Judge murmured, realizing that Germa's current technology couldn't hope to achieve such power.
...
"Well, look what we have here, a sand crocodile and a flamingo," Queen said with a smug expression as he saw Crocodile emerge from a sandstorm and Doflamingo swing down onto the mast using his strings.
Facing Queen, Crocodile took a deep drag on his cigar, then locked eyes with the most formidable opponent on the ship, Queen. While the other ancient Zoan users of the Beasts Pirates were notable, none matched Queen's presence.
Crocodile's pride naturally made Queen his target. Doflamingo, on the other hand, had no interest in clashing with Queen. To him, this war was an opportunity to slack off, as the presence of Sengoku and the Navy made him uneasy. This was why he chose to eliminate the remnants of the Beasts Pirates with Crocodile.
Lounging on the mast with his legs crossed, Doflamingo extended five nearly invisible parasitic strings from his fingertips, controlling several lower-ranking Beasts Pirates officers in the chaos. As these puppets slaughtered their comrades, Doflamingo's gaze drifted towards the other two battlefronts.
"Fufufu... what an exhilarating war," he chuckled.
"Doflamingo!" the controlled Beasts Pirates officers snarled, their eyes full of murderous rage directed at Doflamingo, wanting to tear him apart.
For these warriors, being manipulated like puppets was the ultimate humiliation.
"Interesting," Doflamingo said, their hostile glares only heightening his interest. He promptly sent his puppets charging to continue massacring the lower-ranking Beasts Pirates soldiers.
"Captain!?"
"Stay away from me! I can't control myself!"
"Attack Doflamingo! He's the one controlling us!"
These controlled officers shouted as they swung their weapons at their comrades.
"Doflamingo, I'll kill you!" one roared.
"Fufufufu...!" Doflamingo laughed cruelly, watching his puppets' enraged expressions through his sunglasses.
Crocodile, engaged in battle with Queen, found Doflamingo's sadistic games distasteful. He swiftly decapitated the controlled puppets with several Desert Spada attacks.
"Hmm?" Doflamingo's laughter ceased, and he glared coldly at Crocodile.
"Sand crocodile, didn't you see I was having fun?" Doflamingo's eyes glinted with icy malice.
"Oh, I thought you couldn't handle them, so I gave you a hand," Crocodile replied nonchalantly.