"Who's that? Who's Who?!"
Celo instantly recognized the one dueling Sabo.
It was Who's Who, the future member of the Flying Six.
A former CP9 agent who fled to Kaido's crew after his transport of the Gum-Gum Fruit was intercepted by Shanks.
He claimed to rival Rob Lucci in strength.
And he was indeed formidable.
His martial arts, combined with his Ancient Zoan Saber-Toothed Tiger form, clashed furiously with Sabo, who now wielded the powers of the Flame-Flame Fruit.
The two were evenly matched, going blow for blow.
"Where's Koala?!"
Celo didn't see her at first.
Only after a moment did he spot her, on an upper balcony.
Then he saw… Kaido is standing right next to her.
The strongest creature in the world.
A Yonko.
Captain of the Beasts Pirates.
This was Celo's first time seeing Kaido in person.
The sheer oppressive presence he gave off left Celo shaken.
"Why's that gorilla-faced jerk here too?!"
Yamato growled, glaring at Kaido.
That one sentence completely shattered the serious impression Kaido had just left on Celo.
Yup, she's Kaido's daughter.
"Looks like Koala got captured somehow, and Sabo's risking his life trying to rescue her. That's probably what led to this hellish standoff."
Celo analyzed the situation.
And it was grim, a one-in-ten-thousand chance of survival, if that.
He scanned the grand hall.
The entire place was swarming with Beasts Pirates, and more were pouring in every second.
Soon, there wouldn't even be room to stand.
But what concerned Celo most wasn't the grunts.
It was the upper balconies where Sasaki, Ulti, Page One, and Black Maria were watching from above.
And even Doflamingo and the Donquixote Family stood on the third level.
The lineup looked like something straight out of the Paramount War.
If the Three Disasters were here too, it'd be a full-on Marineford-level showdown.
Thankfully,
Jack the Drought was stuffed in a burlap sack.
King Wildfire had been led away by Little Sparrow.
Queen of the Plague was probably singing and dancing in Udon Prison.
"This is hopeless… I should just give up..."
Celo had zero confidence in escaping with both Sabo and Koala.
One misstep, and he might die right here on Onigashima.
Just as he was spiraling into despair,
Yamato suddenly raised her kanabo, pointing it straight at Kaido on the balcony.
"Kaido! In the name of Kozuki Oden, I challenge you!!!"
Her voice boomed through the hall.
Every single eye turned to her, even Kaido's.
And by extension, they also stared at Celo, standing right next to her.
He froze.
"Yamato, could you not drag me into your showboating?!"
Celo wanted to scream.
He regretted everything.
He should've run the moment he had the chance.
Now?
Forget running, even moving an inch might get him swarmed and blasted by the Beasts Pirates.
[Ding!] Mission Assigned: Escape Onigashima Alive – Reward: Tsunade!
Even the system thought surviving this place was worthy of a mission and a reward.
But… what's Tsunade?
A person? A weapon?
Can it be eaten?
Celo didn't linger on the thought.
He couldn't afford it.
He figured there's no way he's surviving this anyway.
"Yamato! What the hell are you doing here?! And where are your cuffs?!"
Kaido stood up, thunder in his voice.
He spotted that the explosive handcuffs were missing, and his eyes narrowed on Celo.
That unfamiliar guy beside Yamato…
He must've been the one who removed the cuffs.
Kaido's eyes now blazed with fury, locked on Celo.
Yamato was the one who started the fight,
But Celo could already see who was about to get wrecked.
"This is too much…"
He unsheathed his katana.
Yamato assumed he was preparing to attack Kaido and leapt in front of him.
"Kaido's mine. Celo, go rescue those two!"
But Celo hadn't intended to fight Kaido.
That was the last thing on his mind.
"Yamato! If we want to save Ace, we have to make it out of here alive first!"
That's all he could say.
"I will!!!"
Nothing and no one would stop Yamato from reaching Marineford and saving Ace.
Not even Kaido.
Wielding her club, Yamato launched herself at Kaido.
The last guy who charged Kaido like that?
Gecko Moria.
Now an orphan on the Grand Line.
Here's hoping Yamato doesn't become a widow… metaphorically.
BOOM!!
Suddenly, the balcony where Celo was standing shook violently.
If he hadn't reacted in time and dodged, he might've died before the battle even began.
"Where's that damn woman?!"
A massive head appeared,
A Pachycephalosaurus.
It was Ulti, clearly seeking revenge on Hancock.
Right behind her was her brother, Page One, in his Spinosaurus form.
The two siblings now had Celo surrounded,
Eyes cold, jaws ready.
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
Celo stopped holding back. If he wanted to leave Onigashima alive, he had to go all in.
Streams of water surged from his katana as he leapt,
In an instant, he landed atop Ulti's dinosaur head and swung with full force at her neck.
"What are you trying to do to my sister?!"
Page One, enraged, launched himself after Celo.
He'd seen Celo aim to slice Ulti's dinosaur neck clean off and now raced in to stop him.
In a flash, Celo twisted midair, coating his blade with advanced Armament Haki (Ryuo).
He changed direction and slashed directly at Page One's charging dinosaur form.
Terrified, Page One wrapped his head in Haki to defend,
But it wasn't enough.
CLANG!
With a mighty blow, Celo sent the massive dinosaur flying dozens of meters, smashing through multiple walls.
A deep gash appeared on Page One's forehead.
He was down and out of the fight.
"Little brother!!!"
Ulti, seeing her brother badly injured by this intruder, lost it.
Howling in rage, she charged headlong at Celo in her Pachycephalosaurus form.
She covered her hard skull in Haki, turning it into a battering ram.
But Celo didn't flinch.
He simply placed his katana vertically on the ground.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Calm as Still Water."
He stood there… calm and still, watching Ulti charge.
Something was off; anyone watching could sense it.
But Ulti, blinded by rage and pride in her dinosaur form, believed her head was unstoppable.
Just 10 centimeters from impact,
Countless slashes shimmered through the air.
The next second, Ulti reverted to human form and collapsed in front of Celo, motionless.
Her body was covered in countless fine cuts, blood trickling everywhere.
In just a few minutes,
The battle on the balcony was over.
No, it wasn't a battle.
It was a one-sided beatdown.
Celo had demolished Page One and Ulti.
The Beasts Pirates in the hall were stunned.
"Page One-sama and Ulti-sama… got defeated?!"
"No way! How?!"
"That guy's sword, is he a samurai from Wano?!"
"Did anyone even see how he beat Ulti? I didn't catch a thing!"
"Look! Sasaki-sama is going to take care of this guy now!"
Before Celo could catch his breath,
A massive figure loomed over him, casting a shadow.
It was Sasaki, a future member of the Flying Six.
Ancient Zoan: Triceratops form.
He was also a swordsman.
"Kid, you've reached the level of a Great Swordmaster at such a young age. That's impressive."
Sasaki had recognized the use of advanced Haki from Celo's slash on Page One.
And the mysterious multi-slash technique that took out Ulti,
Even Sasaki could barely follow it.
Celo was no ordinary swordsman; he was a Great Swordmaster.
Still only a Swordmaster himself, Sasaki couldn't help but admire that.
And now,
He was eager to test his blade.
Raising his massive mechanical spiral sword, Sasaki swung it down at Celo's head with brutal force.
"Let's have a real sword duel, shall we?"