Wano Country, Onigashima.
"Go, go, go! You pathetic fools, speed is key in war—prepare to seize Whitebeard's territory!"
Drunken and raving, the Beasts' Kaidou burst out in laughter and barked the command.
Not long ago, after receiving a report from the royal secretary, Kaidou learned that the old man Whitebeard was about to leave his territory to battle the Marines.
In his drunken state, Kaidou smacked his own head, then gave the order to set out.
He wanted to take this opportunity to seize the territories under Whitebeard's control.
"Uwoohhh!"
At Kaidou's casual decision, the Beasts Pirates roared with mindless cheers and excitement.
"Everyone, move faster!" barked Jack the Drought.
"Kaidou-sama, I want to go too~!" whined the foul-mouthed and fiery Ulti.
"No way, sis. This time we're staying behind with Queen to defend the home front," Page One replied calmly.
"Judging by Kaidou's state right now, it wouldn't be surprising if he ends up taking the entire fleet and vanishing into the ocean. I'll just go mess around in Udon and bully that Vice Warden of Hell," muttered Queen the Plague softly, earning a glare from King the Wildfire.
Queen flinched, whistling and turning to walk away.
Soon after, the Beasts' army had fully assembled.
CRACK!
A brilliant bolt of lightning pierced the sky and struck Kaidou directly.
"Go, go, go!"
With thunderous laughter, the Yonko Kaidou's body began to swell with wind.
Within moments, he had transformed into a massive, sky-blue Eastern dragon, hundreds—perhaps thousands—of meters long.
With a powerful stomp of his dragon claw, fiery clouds swirled beneath him.
The flagship "Dragon Ship" of the Beasts Pirates lifted into the sky, riding on the dragon's back.
Their destination: the territory of the Whitebeard Pirates.
At that moment...
As the Beasts Pirates rushed out to rob Whitebeard's home...
...they had no idea that, just a few hours later, Wano itself would receive a most unexpected group of uninvited guests—who had come to rob them.
While they were out stealing, someone else was already stealing from their own house.
---
Meanwhile...
In the New World, one of the Four Great Pirate Emperors—Red-Haired Shanks.
The symbol of the Red-Hair Pirates, the Red Force ship, cut through waves and wind.
"Boss, are Whitebeard and the Marines really going to fight?" asked Lucky Roux, the chubby crewmember.
"Yeah... Looks like it's inevitable," Shanks nodded solemnly.
"I didn't expect things to escalate this fast. It's ten times worse than we imagined. That guy Ace didn't just lose to Blackbeard—he got handed over as a bargaining chip to become a Shichibukai!" Yasopp frowned deeply.
"Blackbeard, who had hidden in Whitebeard's crew for so many years, clearly has bigger ambitions," Beckman, the first mate, exhaled smoke with a pensive look in his eyes.
"What exactly does he hope to achieve by starting this war?" asked Limejuice, one of the officers, brushing back his long blond hair.
"I suspect this war is part of a much larger plan. Gaining the title of Shichibukai is just a stepping stone for him," Beckman theorized.
"Captain, what should we do? Ace is Luffy's brother, and he was close with us too…"
Before the officer could finish, Beckman interrupted him.
"This war is between Whitebeard and the Marines. We have no reason to get involved. If anything, we'll be the ones cleaning up the aftermath."
Red-Haired Shanks spoke with quiet gravity.
"So we just do nothing?" Lucky Roux asked.
"No. There's still something we must do," Shanks said with a small smile.
"My goal has always been the same: maintain balance on the seas. Until there's a clear outcome between Whitebeard and the Marines, we cannot allow the New World to descend into chaos."
"Shanks... you mean Big Mom and Kaidou might…" Dick Snake, one of the officers wearing sunglasses, trailed off.
"Big Mom might not act, but Kaidou definitely won't sit still," Beckman affirmed.
"Ahahaha! Let's go, everybody. It's time we paid a little 'visit' to the Beasts Pirates!"
---
Meanwhile...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"Sengoku, the Yonko are moving faster than we thought!"
"The New World is about to descend into chaos," said Vice Admiral Tsuru, one of the Marine HQ's senior strategists.
"Let it descend. This was always going to happen. As long as we can take down the Whitebeard Pirates, it will all be worth it," said Fleet Admiral Sengoku firmly.
"The New World will be temporarily entrusted to Gion, Tokikake, and Zephyr's Pirate Guerrilla Task Force."
BANG!
Suddenly, the doors to the Fleet Admiral's office were slammed open.
"Sengoku, are you serious?! You're really declaring war on Whitebeard?!"
"Can't we just lock Ace up in Impel Down?!"
Vice Admiral Garp, the legendary Marine hero, slammed his palm on the desk.
Crack!
A web of cracks spread across the surface.
"Portgas D. Ace has the bloodline of a King and is Whitebeard's right hand. If left unchecked, he'll become a major threat in the future. We have to eliminate him before he fully matures," Sengoku said coldly.
"Even so, is it really necessary to execute him publicly?!" Garp challenged.
"It is necessary! You know better than anyone who Ace's real father is! His public execution will have enormous historical significance," Sengoku insisted, uncompromising.
"But... can we really pull it off? You know who we're dealing with..."
"It's just the Whitebeard Pirates. With the full force of Marine HQ, we're confident we can take them down. All I ask is that you stay neutral and don't act on personal emotions."
Sengoku's tone softened just a bit.
"Do you think I'm some random officer? I'm a Marine too," Garp shouted.
"Then let's hope you remember that," Sengoku said.
"Sengoku…"
"That's enough, Garp. This has already been decided," Tsuru interjected.
Garp clenched his fists.
But in the end... he could only let them fall, powerless.
Even as a hero of the Marines, with unmatched status and prestige, there were things he simply could not change alone.
War was now inevitable.
---
From the moment Ace's public execution was announced—commander of the Second Division of the Whitebeard Pirates—the world erupted in shock.
The entire sea shook.
The Four Emperors of the New World began to move.
All other major and minor forces stirred as well.
It was as if a new, chaotic era was about to explode onto the world stage.
It was easy to imagine what would happen if Whitebeard was defeated at Marineford and died in battle:
The entire New World would plunge into bloodshed.
The fragile balance of the seas that had lasted four years would be shattered.
A new era of rising warlords and chaos would begin.
Of course...
All of this depended on the assumption that Whitebeard would lose—and die.
That was the "normal" timeline.
But now...
This timeline held a massive, foreign anomaly.
In Wano Country, Luffy the Fifth Emperor led a group of twenty into action.
On the Island of White Soil, Baltigo, two of the Revolutionary Army's top commanders moved to the battlefield.
In East Blue, Loguetown, a small ship carried someone who didn't belong to this era—a "King".
And he was about to bring a world-shaking storm the likes of which had never been seen before...