New World, Wano Country.
The core of Kaido's territory.
Kaido, who had previously been sitting calmly and planning to take advantage of Shanks and Charlotte Linlin, now wore a grim expression.
The Navy's sudden change in marching route made him realize who their true target was.
However, Kaido was not afraid of two Admiral-level opponents, as he had the Lead Performers, the Tobiroppo, and other executives by his side.
After gathering everyone, Kaido frowned as he scanned the executives below.
The executives had no idea what was wrong with their boss, so each of them nervously looked around.
"What kind of expressions are those on your faces? Are we, the Beasts Pirates, afraid of the Navy?"
Kaido was angry because he noticed that many of the executives' expressions were off.
Although he was somewhat reckless, he was highly sensitive to such an atmosphere.
"We are not, Lord Kaido!"
"Lord Kaido, with just one word from you, we are ready to sacrifice our lives!"
"Captain, we are not afraid of Sakazuki or Raleigh at all!"
The subordinates noticed by Kaido's gaze immediately began expressing their loyalty.
"You'd better be. If I discover any of you have thoughts of defecting, you know the consequences."
Conqueror's Haki erupted, and Kaido's imposing aura pressed down on everyone present.
"King, gather all the Pirates and bring them to Wano Country. Also, tell Shanks and Linlin that if they want to completely drive the Navy out of the New World, they must come to Wano Country." Kaido commanded King beside him with authority.
"Yes, I will notify them immediately, Kaido-san." King nodded, then prepared to contact the other two Emperors for assistance after the meeting.
Kaido's side lacked strategists; the only relatively intelligent person was King.
The defense arrangements for the Beasts Pirates were all handled by King.
Under Kaido's summons, a large number of Beasts Pirates members abandoned their territories and sailed to Wano Country on Pirate ships.
Wano Country was now filled with Pirates, possibly forming the most luxurious lineup for them.
....
On an island about a hundred nautical miles from Wano Country, Sakazuki and Raleigh successfully joined forces.
"Raleigh, how did your attack go?" Sakazuki sat on a stool, looking at the sand table before him.
Raleigh placed the military flag representing his attack direction on the sand table and said.
"Everything went smoothly. At least, we dealt with most of the elite Pirates before the Red Hair Pirates could react."
Currently, the Red Hair Grand Fleet had no forces left to deploy.
The only uncertain factor was when the Red Hair Pirates would arrive here.
Sakazuki smiled, his side's attack had also gone smoothly.
They fought all the way to one of Charlotte Linlin's core regions before encountering two of the Sweet Commanders, Katakuri and Cracker.
No earth-shattering battle took place.
Mainly because Sakazuki took direct action, coordinating with Vice Admirals like Doberman and Yamakaji to easily kill Cracker
If it weren't for the sudden appearance of another Sweet Commander, Smoothie, who rescued the severely injured Katakuri, the only one left of the Charlotte Family's proud Sweet Commanders would be Smoothie.
"Charlotte Linlin still has a few pirates with decent strength. If they hadn't desperately held me back, I could have killed Katakuri as well."
Sakazuki was somewhat dissatisfied with his results, but Raleigh felt it was acceptable.
The current pirate strength hadn't reached the level seen in the original story; most pirates were still in a rapid growth phase.
The Sweet Commanders, though rising to fame among pirates and considered top talents among the newcomers, were completely outmatched when facing an Admiral like Sakazuki, who was renowned for his offensive power.
Perhaps only by the time of the original story could the Sweet Commanders combined hold off Sakazuki for a while.
The strength of Admirals and Emperor-level pirates was overwhelming to others, depending only on how seriously they fought.
"That battle wasn't satisfying for me, so I want to lead the attack on Wano Country. You don't have any objections, do you?" Sakazuki straightforwardly expressed his thoughts.
Raleigh had no intention of opposing Sakazuki's idea.
It didn't matter who went to Wano Country.
Since Sakazuki had this desire, he could go.
As for military merit? It would be better to exchange a few more favors.
"I knew you wouldn't refuse me. Consider this a favor I owe you," Sakazuki said excitedly. "Raleigh, this time I'll directly invade Wano Country. You know my Fruit Ability—the destructive power is too great. So, wait for my signal before bringing the battleships up."
Raleigh nodded.
Although Sakazuki had been ruthless in the past, he had actually held back a lot.
If his Magma-Magma Fruit were used to its full potential, it could undoubtedly sink an island or render it completely uninhabitable.
The Ice-Fire Island in the original story was proof of all-out warfare, capable of permanently altering an island's climate.
"Alright, Sakazuki-senpai, you can unleash your strength to your heart's content. I'll wait for your signal."
"Hahahaha, I'm off first."
Sakazuki's body transformed into a blazing flame, roaring through the air straight toward the skies above Kaido's headquarters, Onigashima.
The originally overcast weather gave way to a massive fireball.
Sakazuki took a deep drag from his cigar and slowly exhaled thick smoke.
Looking down at the gathering pirates below, his eyes flashed with intense disdain and disgust.
His body continued to burn, with plumes of black smoke billowing from his back, like a meteor from outer space crashing directly toward the center of Onigashima.
"Ryusei Kazan!"
As Sakazuki's main body pierced through the dark clouds, soon after, massive magma fists followed his figure, raining down from the sky.
Just as Sakazuki descended from the sky with an invincible posture, the pirates on the ground seemed to hear a piercing sound.
At the same time, some of the more perceptive pirates suddenly sensed an aura of death.
They looked around, searching for what was causing this feeling.
Only when the sound of Sakazuki's descent became audible did they look up at the sky.
"Is this... divine punishment?!"
A pirate, upon looking up at the sky, was so terrified that he knelt on the ground, frozen in place.
Meanwhile, other pirates frantically searched for places that could shelter their lives.
Kaido, King, and the others had originally been deep inside the island discussing plans to resist the Navy when Sakazuki's sudden ambush forced them to quickly flee from the island's interior.
Observation Haki was instantly released by Kaido, wildly probing the sky.
"How could he appear here so fast!" King's Observation Haki had already detected who the target was. However, upon learning exactly who it was, sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Damn it, Sakazuki!"
Kaido gritted his teeth as he watched Sakazuki diving from the sky.
In an instant, his entire body transformed into the Azure Dragon form, charging into the sky to confront Sakazuki.
"Sakazuki!!"
Those on the island were all Kaido's core members.
Losing one or two was manageable, but if too many were lost, even Kaido would feel a deep sting.
The massive dragon's body was engulfed in raging flames, which Kaido concentrated entirely from his body to his head.
His gaping maw opened, and waves of destructive energy brewed within Kaido's mouth.
"Bolo Breath!!"
Boom!
Kaido violently unleashed his most proficient long-range attack, then followed the blast with his body to engage Sakazuki.
From a distance, Raleigh observed through binoculars and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
It was like the scene of two fiery meteors colliding—truly a rare sight.
Sakazuki in the sky also heard Kaido's roar, but he offered no response, silently increasing the volume of his magma.
Thud.
At the moment of their collision, no sound was transmitted, as at this level of combat, sound could no longer be perceived by human ears.
The explosive noise was converted into high-energy shockwaves, radiating outward in all directions.
The Gifters and Tobiroppo on the ground had no choice but to brace themselves with their Armament Haki to withstand the residual shockwaves from the sky.
Crack, crack...
Among the Beasts Pirates' officers, the sounds of fractured bones rang out one after another, yet not a single one retreated.
They all knew in their hearts that retreat would mean certain death.
Pirates on the island who couldn't find shelter in time felt as if a heavy hammer had struck the back of their heads, instantly losing consciousness.
Even pirates hidden deep within caves felt as if their chests had been hammered three times by a heavy mallet.