The sky gradually darkened as the night's fierce battle wore on, leaving the Beasts Pirates steadily retreating under the relentless assault of Whitebeard's forces.
"Your men can't hold on any longer!" Marco shouted, still locked in a deadly aerial duel with King. The two flying combatants, each possessing formidable abilities, clashed with lethal intent. Marco's Phoenix Fruit granted him the power of regeneration, allowing him to mend his wounds almost as quickly as they were inflicted. King, on the other hand, drew strength from his Lunarian heritage, his divine flames doubling his defense as they blazed around him.
"There is only one outcome to this war—Lord Kaido will prevail!" King retorted coldly, his mask shattered in the heat of battle, revealing his true face. White hair, slightly curly, fell over his shoulders as his piercing eyes locked onto Marco's.
Nearby, the center of the battlefield was a grim scene. Severed limbs and bodies lay strewn across the blood-soaked beach. The once formidable ranks of the Beasts Pirates had been decimated—thousands strong at the start, now more than half lay dead, and most of the survivors were sprawled across the ground, barely clinging to life. Less than a hundred continued to fight, their morale shattered, sustained only by the fear of Kaido's wrath.
In stark contrast, the Whitebeard Pirates had suffered far fewer losses. Though they too had started with a thousand men, Whitebeard's fifteen captains, each with exceptional combat prowess, gave them a decisive edge. The difference in mid-to-high-level combat power was clear, and the tide of battle had turned in their favor.
At this moment, Jozu and Vista had Queen cornered, the hulking pirate having reverted from his Zoan Dragon Fruit, Ancient Brachiosaurus form. After fighting tirelessly for a full day and night against several of Whitebeard's captains, Queen's strength had finally reached its limit.
"Huff... huff..." Queen panted heavily, slowly shifting back to his human form. The massive man, once an indomitable force, now half-knelt on the ground, struggling to catch his breath.
"Time to end this!" Jozu declared, leaping into the air. His right foot transformed into an unbreakable diamond, and he came crashing down with a devastating stomp onto Queen's back.
Boom!
Queen collapsed under the impact, blood spurting from his mouth as he hit the ground.
"Your Haki's exhausted, Queen. You've lost!" Vista said, approaching with his sword drawn. The tip of his blade hovered at Queen's neck, poised to deliver the final blow.
"You bastards, ganging up on me like this... it's disgraceful!" Queen spat, his face twisted in anger and humiliation.
"You're the one who's disgraceful!" Vista shot back, his voice laced with contempt. "Now, hand over the antidote! Many of our crew have inhaled your poisonous gas—you owe them their lives!"
Queen chuckled darkly, despite his predicament. "Hehehe... there's no antidote," he sneered. "That gas bomb was one of my latest inventions. Too bad it didn't work as well as I'd hoped."
"What did you say?!" Jozu roared, his fury igniting. Without hesitation, he drove his fist into Queen's face, a resounding crack echoing through the battlefield.
A hand suddenly grabbed Jozu's arm from behind.
"What!?" Jozu's expression shifted to surprise and alarm. When did he get this close?
"The battle has already been decided. Here's the antidote you were looking for. You should thank our Heavenly Father for his mercy."
"You're... Chenlong!" Vista exclaimed, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the intruder. The figure wore a grimace mask, towering with an imposing presence, and a pair of black wings stretched from his back. Even without transforming into his dragon form, Chenlong exuded an overwhelming pressure.
Beneath the mask, a pair of cold, golden starry eyes offered a silent warning.
"What incredible strength... a monster!" Jozu struggled to break free from the iron grip on his wrist. Only when Chenlong released him did Jozu manage to pull back, quickly retreating to a safer distance.
Queen, still on the ground, looked on in shock. "Wait, how does Edie have the antidote?"
"That's the poison gas I've spent months developing. The antidote was supposed to be distributed to our own troops in advance—it should have been used up!"
Queen's voice trailed off in disbelief as a horrifying realization dawned on him. "Could it be that... Edie cracked my poison gas formula in just one night?"
The thought was too much to bear. The poison gas he had painstakingly developed over several months had been neutralized in a matter of hours.
Chenlong's voice cut through Queen's thoughts like ice. "The exact time was one hour and thirty-three minutes, including the trip to and from the Flower Capital Research Institute."
"..."
F*ck!
Queen's face twisted in frustration. Stop talking! I don't want to hear it! This is worse than death!
Ignoring Queen's despair, Chenlong tossed the antidote to Vista. "I've given you the antidote. But if you insist on continuing this reckless behavior, I'll be your next opponent!"
Vista and Jozu exchanged glances. Without hesitation, Vista grabbed the antidote and rushed to administer it to their poisoned comrades.
Jozu grinned, a fierce light in his eyes. "I am the man who ate the Diamond Fruit. I possess the strongest defense in the world!" As he spoke, his right arm transformed into a diamond, glittering brilliantly in the morning sun.
In the next instant, Jozu launched a powerful punch toward Chenlong.
Chenlong's eyes remained cold, unmoving as he absorbed the blow. The punch struck his chest but failed to make him budge an inch.
"How... hard...!" Jozu was shaken, disbelief washing over him.
Chenlong flicked his arm as though swatting away a mere insect. With a single, effortless motion, Jozu was sent flying, tumbling across the ground for dozens of meters.
Meanwhile, in the forest along the coast...
The area was unrecognizable, no longer a forest but a wasteland of destruction. Tall trees had been uprooted, strewn about like broken twigs. The earth was torn apart with deep pits and jagged cracks, evidence of the colossal forces at play. The ground lay devastated, a chaotic mess of a battlefield.
Kaido, in his hybrid dragon form, stood amidst the wreckage, his breath coming in heavy gasps. His mace, slick with blood—both his own and Whitebeard's—hung from his hand.
"Is that all you've got?" Blood dripped from the corner of Whitebeard's mouth, yet he laughed heartily. "Gurarara... You've grown stronger than before, but you're still no match for me, brat! If you want to run away, do it now, like the slippery eel you are. Run, Kaido!"
"Oh, haha... Aren't you supposed to kill me, Newgate? I'm still standing!" Kaido sneered defiantly.
"Your men are almost wiped out."
"That level of combat power can be replenished anytime!"
With a cold snort, Kaido leaped into the air, raising his mace high. Dark lightning crackled as he brought the weapon down with immense force.
"Ragnarok!"
Seeing the attack coming, Whitebeard's eyes sharpened, and he countered with an upward strike, unleashing his own devastating power.
However, at this moment, the sky was split by a thunderous voice.
"Enough."
A massive blue dragon broke through the morning clouds, its voice resonating across the battlefield as it spoke in human words. Simultaneously, two shadowy figures descended onto the scene.
Zishu intercepted Whitebeard's blade with his own sword, while Wuma blocked Kaido's mace with a single punch.
Boom!!
The resulting shockwave erupted with a deafening noise, radiating outwards for thousands of meters. The remaining forest was obliterated as vegetation and trees were uprooted, the immense power of four Conqueror's Haki clashing with such force it seemed to tear apart the very fabric of space. The reverberation was so powerful that it even reached the Flower Capital, causing the Wanokuni Inland Sea to churn violently.
Marco and King, who had been locked in fierce aerial combat, were both startled by the surge of energy, halting their attacks in unison.
"That's... Dr. Edie," King muttered, recognizing the figure in the sky.
"Damn it, he really intervened!" Marco cursed, his reaction a mixture of frustration and concern.
As the energy wave gradually dissipated, Kaido stared at the unfamiliar masked figure who had blocked his attack. His frown deepened in suspicion. "Who are you?"
"Twelve Earthly Branches, Wuma," came the curt reply.
Landing back on the ground, Kaido smirked, his eyes narrowing. "So, Edie, you've finally decided to act?"
"If you continue this battle, you'll be beaten to death," Edie, now in the form of the Azure Dragon, said calmly from the sky. "This is the end, Whitebeard."
Kaido slapped his face in disbelief—who was this blue dragon to claim that he would be beaten to death?
Whitebeard, on the other hand, eyed Zishu, who had just blocked his strike. "My earlier suspicions were correct. This Earthly Branch is formidable! And..." A nagging familiarity tugged at his thoughts. "Why do I feel like I know him?"
His gaze shifted upwards to the Azure Dragon Edie, his shock growing. The third dragon!
"What the hell is going on? Isn't this man's ability supposed to be a Paramecia Space type Devil fruit user?" Whitebeard recalled how Edie had erased the Moby Dick with a mere snap of his fingers. "No matter how you look at it, that's a Paramecia ability! The Blue Dragon Fruit doesn't grant such powers!"
The realization dawned on him, eliminating all other possibilities. No matter how impossible it seemed, the remaining truth was undeniable—Edie possessed multiple Devil Fruit abilities.
Yet, the most profound shock wasn't Whitebeard's—it belonged to a seemingly insignificant crew member who had performed well during the war. A member of the Second Division, an inconspicuous man named Marshall D. Teach. His eyes widened in disbelief as he gazed at the dragon in the sky.
"How is this possible... Could it be that this man is the same as me?!"
In that moment, no one paid any attention to this "small" character.
Whitebeard took a deep breath and looked up, his voice carrying across the battlefield. "Didn't you agree to stay ten kilometers away?"
"The outcome is decided between you," Edie, in his Azure Dragon form, responded calmly from above. "Most of the Beasts Pirates are dead. You should be satisfied. Don't push yourself too far, Whitebeard."
The brutal reality was clear— mostly everyone except Kaido, King, and Queen had been wiped out.
Whitebeard's eyes narrowed, his voice taking on a menacing edge. "What kind of joke is this? In this sea, if you touch my people, you must pay the price in blood!"
Now that it had come to this, Whitebeard was determined—Kaido must die.
Upon hearing this, Zishu's excitement flared.
"Heavenly Father, this old guy doesn't understand human language. Finally, it's my turn!" he declared eagerly.
Azure Dragon Edie remained composed. "I admire your courage, Whitebeard. As a reward, Zishu will be your opponent. If you can defeat him, I'll kill Kaido for you! But if you lose... accept this victory."
The moment Edie finished speaking, Zishu, too impatient to wait, launched his attack.
"Divine Departure!"
The sword slash, infused with incredible power, flew across tens of meters in an instant, heading straight for Whitebeard.
"Impossible...!" Whitebeard's pupils shrank, and his expression turned to one of pure horror. Roger's move?!