The Five Elders never expected someone to appear unexpectedly and disrupt their plans.
They were originally headed to Lodestar Island to deal with the Straw Hat Pirates, but were intercepted mid-way by the Whitebeard Pirates.
Although they had considered this possibility, when the Whitebeard Pirates actually appeared, they were still in disbelief.
The two sides clashed, and the Five Elders' side was completely unprepared.
A great battle was imminent. When Shamrock led the God Knights into action, Whitebeard, Kaido, and Charlotte Linlin also made their appearance simultaneously.
"Gurararara... kid, we meet again," said Whitebeard.
"Mamamamama... he really looks exactly like Red-Hair, the only difference is the lack of a scar on his face," Charlotte Linlin stared at Shamrock.
"So, this is the guy who left that scar on your chest. Seems he has the same Haki as Red-Hair," Kaido remarked.
"Be careful with the sword in his hand. It's a sword that ate the Dog-Dog Fruit, Mythical Zoan Cerberus. Stay alert," Whitebeard warned.
"I see. So it's not just his own strength. That sword looks quite familiar," Charlotte Linlin said.
"Hmm, Roger's Ace," Whitebeard replied.
Ace was standing behind them. Hearing Whitebeard's words, he looked at Shamrock, never imagining that the sword in the other's hand was actually Ace, and that it even contained a Devil Fruit power.
"Where is Loxus?" Shamrock asked.
"Him? He's already gone to kill the Five Elders," Whitebeard answered.
Shamrock looked back. A mass of black shadow flowed on the ground, quickly merging into their shadows and slipping through the passage they had just come up from.
"Could it be…"
"Yeah, that's him," Whitebeard said. "We don't know what his ability is exactly, but he's got a lot of them. He can become anything."
"With that kind of ability, plus his own Haki, he should be enough on his own, right?" Charlotte Linlin said.
"No way. This war isn't something one person can decide," Whitebeard retorted.
"Wororororo, this is the war I've been craving!" Kaido charged forward.
"Thunder Bagua!"
Despite being ten thousand meters high in the sky, thunderclouds gathered, and lightning coiled around Kaido's weapon, the Hassaikai, as he swung it with immense force towards Shamrock.
Shamrock looked up, a sharp red light flashing in his eyes. A torrential surge of Haki erupted from him.
Kaido saw Red-Hair's shadow in him; the two were indeed identical, even their sword-drawing stances were the same.
The innate arrogance of the Celestial Dragons, who have ruled the world for nine hundred years and proclaim themselves gods, manifested in this Haki.
Kaido's Conqueror's Haki erupted in response. The Haki of the two collided.
Immediately after, their weapons swung towards each other simultaneously.
BOOM!
A violent explosion reverberated through the skies, the thunderous roar audible even in Wano below.
"Momonosuke-sama," Kin'emon and the others looked at Momonosuke.
"The Whitebeard Pirates are at war with the World Government," Momonosuke said, looking up at the sky.
"Momonosuke-sama, what are your orders? We await your command," Denjiro prostrated himself on the ground.
Kin'emon and the others also knelt. They knew the upcoming war concerned their very survival. Should Wano join the Whitebeard Pirates and attack now, or wait for Luffy and the others?
They were aware of the Whitebeard Pirates' preparations during this time and knew they had long been readying for war with the World Government. This battle had been brewing for a long time and had finally begun.
If Wano did not fight, they would eventually be annihilated by the Celestial Dragons.
Should they wait for the Sun God Luffy, or should they join the Whitebeard Pirates now?
Momonosuke's mind flashed with an image of Luffy. His clenched fist remained tight as he gazed at the sky.
"Wano must open its borders. Whitebeard and the others have already begun to act. We were once part of the world. Now that Wano is opening, how can we hide like cowards? Everyone, are you willing to fight our way to the sky with me?" Momonosuke declared.
Deep down, he was still a child, but in this moment, he grew up. The next second, Momonosuke transformed into a pink dragon.
Denjiro, Kin'emon, and the others leaped onto him, along with other samurai of Wano.
"Charge!"
The dragon soared into the sky, heading straight for the battle.
After Kaido made his move, the others joined the fray. Ace, King, Katakuri, and the others all found opponents, and they were all formidable enemies.
Several of those wearing white suits possessed strength surpassing that of the former Warlords of the Sea. Their combat power was astonishing, allowing them to hold their own against Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, and the others without being at a disadvantage.
Ace, whose combat power nearly rivaled that of an Emperor, encountered a Logia user whose ability left him doubtful.
"How can such an ability exist?" Ace found it hard to believe.
"How could an ant comprehend the vastness of the world? Have you never heard of it, never even imagined it?" The opponent was a woman with blue hair, extremely beautiful, her every move graceful as a dance.
If Ace was a blazing inferno, then she was the icy sky.
A Logia user of the Rain-Rain Fruit.
When the wind carried raindrops, piercing through the flames and through Ace's body, his eyes widened in disbelief.
There was actually an ability that could control water. The demons brought by the Forest God were cursed and despised by the Sea God.
As a power not belonging to this world's natural order and for the death of the Sun God, the Sea God enacted a punishment: the ocean would swallow all who ate Devil Fruits.
Yet now, here was someone who could control rain. Even if it was mere rain, it was still water.
Ace's body elementalized. Those water projectiles couldn't truly harm him, but they could extinguish his flames.
"Fire Fist! I'll evaporate all your rain!"
Ace's flames turned deep red. The terrifying inferno engulfed his opponent's body. Under the high temperature, her body turned into a mist.
A light rain began to fall from the sky, and the air filled with a foul smell like sulfur.
Sizzle!
A raindrop fell on a pirate, who let out a scream as the rain corroded his body like acid.
His skin burned as if scalded. As more rain fell, others fled the area.
Ace's body blazed with fire, blocking the corrosive rain, evaporating the falling droplets.
"Acid Rain!"
A voice sounded behind Ace. The blue-haired woman reappeared, now holding a whip, which she lashed towards Ace.
"Fire Blaze!"
Ace turned and threw a punch. Flames swirled around his wrist, and the erupting fire formed a massive vortex, swallowing his opponent.
"Crack!"
The flame vortex was dispersed by the whip. The woman looked coldly and elegantly at Ace.
"Remember my name, Marcus Suiren. Flame Emperor Ace, you will die by my hand."
.....
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