Using the Marine Headquarters building as the dividing line, Marineford had already become divided into two battlefields. On the plaza, the Whitebeard Pirates were locked in a deadly battle with the Marine elites, mixed in with some idle Shichibukai and a few slackers from the Beasts Pirates.
Behind the building, however, was a battlefield of even higher caliber. Kaido leaned against the ruins with a gloomy expression — having the fight interrupted left him quite displeased.
Sengoku had taken the full force of the Fire Dragon Dance Bagua square in the chest. Originally, he wouldn't have been hurt this badly — the golden Buddha body was the strongest shield for Sengoku.
As his power reached its peak, the number of times his shield had been broken could be counted on one hand. The last time had been over a decade ago, when Arceus broke through his defense.
But Blackbeard's ability caused immense interference. Sengoku had been holding his shield up to block Kaido's attack, when suddenly his shield disappeared.
His body reacted, but it still wasn't enough. Such a Sengoku caused Kaido to lose the will to fight.
Kaido cared a lot about the process of battle, but he wasn't rigid. If a fight would determine the future, Kaido would choose to take down the opponent in front of him — though he'd kill whoever interfered afterward.
But this time was different. Sengoku wasn't his main target — just a toy to relieve his boredom.
The process he wanted to enjoy had already been ruined, so naturally Kaido wouldn't continue. Whether it was healing Sengoku or giving himself a blow to forcibly bring them to the same level — neither fit Kaido's logic.
So he simply watched silently as Zephyr took Sengoku and temporarily retreated from the battlefield, while his eyes followed the direction of King and Blackbeard.
He wanted to see what methods this freak has to survive this time.
At this moment, King's battlefield had also split into two parts. Pizarro and Blackbeard stood in front of King, while the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates were blocked on the other side by Shayna.
"Pizarro! Get me out of here, the plan's changed — we can't afford to mess with this guy right now!"
Blackbeard's plan had already fallen apart. He had originally intended to work with Kaido to scheme up something new. Among the Four Emperors, he had an old grudge with Red Hair and had violated Whitebeard's iron rule. Ever since the day he killed Thatch, he had already made enemies of half the Four Emperors.
There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests — that was the creed he lived by. Killing Sengoku should've benefited both sides, which was why Blackbeard had gone ahead with it.
Blackbeard knew that King wanted to kill him, but as long as Kaido agreed to the alliance, he should be able to hold King back — after all, Kaido was King's captain.
What he hadn't expected was that Kaido's train of thought was so unconventional — there wasn't the slightest intention of forming an alliance.
His Black Hole could indeed transfer targets, but it was far too slow. Judging by King's earlier performance, his Black Hole wouldn't make it in time at all.
But Pizarro's Island-Island Fruit was a different story. For Pizarro, who had eaten the Island-Island Fruit, an island was simply an external extension of his body — transferring within the island was a breeze.
"You really are weak, Teach. Scared already? Why don't you let me be the captain instead, meow?"
Although he had taken the Earthquake from Kaido, most of the earthquake's power was absorbed by the island itself. Pizarro had managed to detach from the island he was possessing just in time, so he wasn't greatly affected.
"Cut the crap! Hurry up! You rusty prison relics have no idea how terrifying these monsters outside really are! Watch his sword hilt — that lunatic's got Seastone bullets loaded in there!"
These pirates had all been locked up in prison for quite a while. The only relatively recent one was Devon, who was sent in by Olga. Most of them had no clue what kind of monsters the current Four Emperors are.
Whitebeard and Charlotte Linlin had made names for themselves earlier, so they still knew fear. But when it came to Red Hair and Kaido, they lacked that fear. After all, they themselves had once been great pirates, and still had a bit of confidence in their own strength.
"Got it, meow."
The real reason these people joined Blackbeard was to escape Impel Down. After that, it was just a temporary alliance based on shared interests. As Devil Fruit Users, they were also restrained by Blackbeard's powers, so they were willing to give him a bit of face — for now — and temporarily follow his orders.
Pizarro's body began merging with the ground, planning to take Blackbeard underground and escape.
After he burrows underground, the entire island becomes his body. Attacking the island itself would be useless — only by finding his true body hidden somewhere in the island could any effective damage be done. Originally, this was a decent escape ability.
But just as he began merging with the island, a piercing sound suddenly came from behind — it wasn't King's slash, but a crimson-red chain.
The other end of the chain was in Shayna's hand, her mouth curled into a mocking smile.
"Don't get in the way — he is King's. Your opponent is me."
"Nyahahaha! That won't work, your tiny chain can't reach my bo—wha… what the hell?!"
Pizarro was extremely familiar with his own powers. Just a moment ago, only his rock-like face had been left on the surface. Yet that very face suddenly twisted in overwhelming pain.
"Tiny chain? You have no idea — this is a creation bestowed upon me by a supreme power."
Shayna gripped the chain in her hand and gave it a sharp tug upward, nearly tearing up half the street. It looked like an ordinary chain, but the moment the spearhead pierced the ground, the shape of the Red Chain changed.
The underground portion spread outward in all directions, with dozens of sharp spikes nearly engulfing the entire street. Pizarro thought he had dodged Shayna's attack, but what he didn't know was — that was merely the prelude.
As the Red Chain pierced into his body, the power Arceus had left within the chain activated. Pizarro's Island-Island Fruit ability was nullified, and like a dead fish, he was yanked out by Shayna.
The sharp barbed spikes sank into Pizarro's body, making him scream in pain. He was then dragged by Shayna into her battlefield, and was thrown right in front of the other members of the Blackbeard Pirates.
"Since you've chosen to follow that guy, then be ready to die alongside him. My cute little brother swore on our honor — if that guy escapes again, I really would be too ashamed to show my face."
The two of them were the only known Lunarians still alive in the world. Perhaps there were other survivors, but in all these years, Shayna had never found a trace of them.
Even though King had grown from a weak child into a renowned monster, in her heart, he was still her little brother from back then.
Originally, she hadn't cared much about the whole Blackbeard situation. King had said he wanted to handle it himself. But just now, King had made a vow, and he used the honor of their race to do it. Under these circumstances, Shayna would never allow anything to go wrong.
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