"What!!!"
Amidst the stunned and embarrassed silence of the Navy, Admiral Fujitora didn't offer another word. He simply gripped his sword-cane and swung it, activating the gravity-warping powers of his Devil Fruit. With a sudden surge of force, he lifted into the sky and drifted away from the battlefield. All that remained was his white Admiral's coat—a symbol of the highest authority in the Marines—which fluttered down like a falling leaf until it landed softly on the wooden deck of the warship.
For the Marines, this was an unprecedented blow. In the long history of the Navy, there had never been a moment more humiliating. A war hadn't even started yet, and one of their greatest powers had resigned and walked away in disgust. On the global stage, the Marines had been turned into a laughingstock.
"Wow..."
"Hahahahaha!"
"Did you see that? They're clowns! Pure circus clowns!"
"The Marines are a joke!"
"Even their own Admiral couldn't stand the smell of their 'Justice'!"
Laughter erupted across the sea, echoing from every pirate ship and coastal town watching the broadcast. The faces of the high-ranking officers grew grim, but more concerning was the wavering look in the eyes of the ordinary soldiers. They looked at the discarded coat on the deck and wondered: was the Justice they fought for really something to be laughed at?
"KAIDO!!!"
Akainu's roar was a physical force. Black smoke billowed from his shoulders as scorching magma surged from his skin, melting the deck beneath his feet and incinerating Fujitora's fallen coat in an instant. The sky itself seemed to bleed, the dark clouds turning a terrifying, bruised red as the Fleet Admiral's rage reached its peak.
"Mamamama..." Big Mom looked up, a spark of genuine surprise in her eyes. "Is this the power of a Logia awakening? He's actually warping the environment around him!"
Kaido didn't even flinch. He looked at the bubbling Fleet Admiral with pure disdain. "Oi, Akainu. Do you think that fancy new title means you can bark at me? Or do you think a weak Logia awakening is enough to make me crawl?"
"What if I'm added to the mix?!"
Monkey D. Garp stepped forward, his fists clenched. Usually, the "Hero of the Marines" was a stable defensive wall, staying back to protect the fleet. But seeing the morale of his men crumbling, he had no choice but to take the front line. His presence alone acted like an anchor, stopping the Marines' spirit from sinking into total despair.
Sengoku moved to stand beside him. "Count me in too. I might be semi-retired, but I can still crack a few skulls."
The line was drawn. Akainu, Garp, and Sengoku stood together—a current Fleet Admiral, a legendary Hero, and a former Fleet Admiral. It was a concentrated wall of World-Class power.
"No choice, I guess," Admiral Ryokugyu muttered, scratching his head as he stepped up. Beside him, Kizaru's eyes flashed with a dangerous golden light. Five of the most powerful combatants in the world were now squared off against two of the Yonko. The aura of their combined strength was enough to crush a normal man's spirit.
"Just the pathetic wailing of defeated dogs," Kaido sneered, his voice cutting through their imposing presence.
The five Marines bristled, but Kaido was already bored with them. He turned his attention back to Shanks. "Let's set a time and place, Red Hair. I don't like being kept waiting."
Shanks sheathed his saber, Gryphon, and looked away from the Navy. "Give me one week. I need to return to Elbaf first. I'll send word on the location then. To keep things simple, Beckman will handle the trade."
"Fine," Kaido grunted. "I'll send King to meet him."
"Then it's settled," Shanks said. "Remember your promise, Kaido."
"Of course. I'm not a hypocrite like these 'Justice' freaks," Kaido shot back. He then glanced at the Marines again. "As for you lot, if you want to stay here as guests, I'm happy to entertain you."
"No need," Shanks interrupted. "Beckman, we're leaving!"
"Understood, Captain!"
The Red Hair Pirates didn't linger. They had achieved what they came for, and there was no point in getting caught in a crossfire between the Navy and the Beasts Pirates. Under the watchful eyes of thousands, the Red Force turned and sailed into the mist, vanishing as quickly as it had arrived.
Kaido turned his full attention back to the warships. "Now, Marines. Why are you still here? Do you really think I don't know what you're actually doing?"
The officers on the ships stiffened. Kaido was right—something was off. Usually, the Marines would have attacked by now. Their restraint was unnatural.
The truth was that the Navy was exhausted. The war with Whitebeard had ended only three months ago, and they hadn't even called in the Warlords for backup this time. They weren't here to win a war against two Emperors; they were here to buy time. Their real goal was to keep Kaido busy while the Holy Knights of the World Government moved in the shadows.
"Kaido, stop talking," Akainu growled. "If we have to sacrifice every man here to wipe you evil pirates off the map, we'll do it."
Kaido laughed, a deep, mocking sound. "Don't treat me like an idiot. Do you think I'm as naive as Whitebeard? Wano is my home. Did you really think I'd leave it unguarded while I came out here to play with you?"
The Marines' expressions shifted from anger to genuine alarm. Even Big Mom looked surprised. "So that's why King isn't here," she realized. "Kaido, did you know the Marines were moving on Wano?"
"It's not the Marines," Kaido corrected, his eyes glowing with malice. "It's those lapdogs for the Celestial Dragons."
The high-ranking officers looked sick. They had hoped the operation was a secret.
"Only Jack is here today," Kaido continued. "The rest of my All-Stars—King the Conflagration, Queen the Plague, and Enel the Lightning Disaster—are back home. Did those 'God's Knights' really think hiding their Haki would be enough to sneak past them? I knew they were in Wano the second they stepped onto the sand."
"What!!!"
In the New World, on the rocky shores of Wano Country, two figures stood in the shadows. Saint Quilingorm and Saint Somaz, members of the elite Holy Knights, felt a chill run down their spines as they listened to the broadcast of Kaido's voice.
"Impossible," Somaz hissed. "He's bluffing. We completely erased our Haki signatures. Without Kaido here to sense us, there's no one in this country who could possibly know we've arrived."
Quilingorm nodded in agreement, though his hand drifted toward his weapon. But before he could speak, a mocking, cold voice drifted through the air behind them.
"Oi, oi, oi... are all you Celestial Dragons this full of yourselves?"
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