On Onigashima, Kaido stood somewhat dazed, Hassaikai raised in his hand.
The Onigashima he spent so much time and effort building up bit by bit had been destroyed so easily.
Sakazuki's figure condensed into shape on the other side.
Neither attacked immediately. Instead, they stood facing each other.
"Kaido, I can feel the anger in your heart. I never expected pirates could actually feel anger too. That they could feel rage because their home was destroyed and their subordinates died." Sakazuki's face was cold. The corner of his mouth curled into a mocking smile.
"But how many people's homes have pirates destroyed? How many families have pirates killed? I've remembered every single debt."
Sakazuki never forgot what kind of group pirates were.
Greedy for money and lust.
They committed every evil imaginable. All across this world, there were orphans born from the devastation caused by pirates.
From the day he enlisted, he swore to wipe out every pirate in one fell swoop.
Fortunately, he wasn't alone on this path.
He met a younger brother-in-arms.
That little brother was stronger, more ruthless, and even better at playing politics than him.
Sakazuki's flaw was that, for the sake of killing pirates, he could disregard everything else.
That was why, although his prestige in the Navy was high, many high-ranking dove-faction officers didn't support him.
Some even attacked him because his methods were too ruthless.
Sakazuki didn't care about those people at all.
Everyone thought he was greedy for power, but only Raleigh and Borsalino knew that if the Fleet Admiral could truly sweep all pirates from the world, Sakazuki would gladly become the fiercest vanguard Admiral.
Unfortunately, the Sengoku of the original story compromised step by step under the influence of the World Government, Garp, and others.
That forced Sakazuki to become the villain.
"Do you know? I've waited for this day for a long time. I've been waiting to use your own methods against you. Only then could I know that trash like pirates can also feel heartache, can bleed, and can grieve because of the deaths of their loved ones. This is truly… far too exciting!"
For the first time in so many years, Sakazuki felt exhilarated.
His heart was beating powerfully, and even his blood seemed to boil.
"Kaido, let me see just how far your anger can go!"
Sakazuki's right hand once again turned into magma and aimed at Kaido's head.
This time, there were plenty of people standing behind him.
"Meigo!" "Raimei Hakke!"
The endlessly extending pillar of magma and Hassaikai collided once more.
The battle between Sakazuki and Kaido reignited.
...
"King-sama, the Navy warships are pressing in!" A pirate underling walked uneasily to King's side.
King's face was pale.
The Armament Haki he raised earlier to resist Sakazuki's attack still affected his condition.
"Notify all officers ranked Headliner and above. They are to intercept the Navy warships with everything they have. We can't let them surround Kaido-san." King glanced at the two monstrous figures fighting on the island.
Kaido gave him a second life.
He would use that second life to protect Kaido's back. Not allowing even a single Navy warship to land on the island would be his final effort.
"King, let's fight above the clouds!"
Above the Navy warships, a ship floated in the sky.
Enel stood there with his secret-gold trident in hand. The trident pointed toward King.
The last time he and King fought, neither side fought with the intention of risking their lives, so the result was mixed.
For a young man like Enel, that wasn't satisfying enough.
This time, he hoped to fight King in the sky with everything they had, throwing away all positions and concerns.
A true man-to-man battle where only one person could survive.
King's expression changed.
He'd thought about using his life to stop another Admiral. However, Enel's appearance made him smile bitterly.
The Navy's strength was truly too deep.
Two Admirals, plus more than a dozen Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals. Even if they wanted to fight two against one, the Navy could afford it.
If he allowed Enel to wreak havoc among the pirate fleet, the result would be no different.
"Tell Queen and Jack that Kaido-san back is in their hands." King transformed into an ancient pteranodon and flew into the clouds.
This time, there wasn't much he could do.
But he hoped he could defeat Enel. If he could trade Enel's life together with his own, then perhaps after Kaido was captured, it might be enough to exchange for Kaido's survival.
Holding that conviction, King pushed his abilities to the limit.
For the first time in front of everyone, he revealed one of the traits of the Lunarian race. T
he flames burning on his body.
Enel's Thunder God form was fully unleashed as his eyes turned pure white.
His voice was like that of a god standing high in the heavens.
"After I fought you last time, I was curious. Why could a user of the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Ancient Model: Pteranodon cover his body in mysterious flames? After I returned, I discussed it with Admiral Raleigh. Turns out you're a survivor of the Lunarian race."
"I heard your people were once called the race of gods. That makes this interesting. Because I am also a god. The god of thunder. Let's see which of us two gods survives today."
After Enel finished speaking, he launched his attack.
"Raigo!" "Tempura Udon!"
The two sides fell into a fierce battle.
The battles in the sky and on the ground both entered a white-hot stage but the battle on the sea had only just begun.
"Heavy cannons, triple volley!"
The Navy commander's roar was drowned out by wave after wave of cannon fire.
During their previous campaigns to occupy the territories of the other two Emperors, the Navy soldiers had grown familiar with this tactic.
They skillfully loaded cannonballs, fired, cleaned the barrels, and loaded again.
Every volley triggered cheers from the Navy and miserable screams from the pirates.
After three consecutive volleys, Navy soldiers carrying buckets of clean water immediately stepped forward and poured it over the scalding cannon barrels to cool them down.
The consequences of doing this were severe. It would greatly shorten the lifespan of the cannons.
But so what? Once a major battle began, no one cared.
If they won, they could drag the heavy cannons back and recast them. If they lost, all the cannons would become someone else's.
Of course, they didn't believe that this rabble of pirates could win this battle.
After the cannon barrels cooled, the Navy soldiers repeated the actions.
Another triple volley of cannon fire followed.
"Damn it! The Navy's cannons have a longer range than ours!" The lower-ranking pirate gunners looked at the cannonballs flying through the sky and felt their hands and feet turn cold.
Their cannons had smaller calibers, shorter ranges, and far fewer numbers than the Navy's. This kind of artillery battle was completely one-sided.
They could only take hits and had no way to fight back.
"Jack-sama, this can't go on! We have no way to deal with the Navy's cannons!" A breathless pirate shouted toward Jack the Drought.
At this moment, all pirates ranked Headliner and above had taken action to help their ships intercept the cannonballs coming from the Navy warships.
Otherwise, if their ships were sunk, they'd have no choice but to soak in the seawater.
Most of the officers ranked Headliner and above in the Beasts Pirates were Zoan-type Devil Fruit users.
Once they fell into the sea, the only outcome left for them would be drowning alive.
Aside from Jack, who was of mixed Fish-Man blood and could survive without moving, the others couldn't avoid that fate.
Jack's face was dark as he gritted his teeth and said, "Their cannons have a longer range than ours. We can only move our ships closer and fight them in boarding combat. That is where our advantage lies."
The pirate underling who heard Jack's words was startled. "B-but, Jack-sama, that is an Admiral's warship!"
Jack grabbed the pirate in front of him and pulled him close, roaring, "Who do you think I am? I am Jack the Drought! Bring the ship closer!"
At this moment, driven by the unwillingness burning in his chest, Jack launched a countercharge against the Navy warships.
If he'd been facing only Sakazuki's warship, then perhaps Jack's order wouldn't have been foolish.
Against the Navy's absolute artillery advantage, close-quarters combat was the only option.
But now Jack was facing a fleet that had one Admiral and more than ten Vice Admirals aboard.
His countercharge would only make him die faster.
Seeing the pirate ships raise their sails and approach the Navy warships, all the Navy soldiers became excited.
Originally, they planned to fire three volleys before entering boarding combat.
But now that the pirates took the initiative to rush to their deaths, they could ignore Raleigh's order for three volleys and directly fight the pirates in melee combat.
On the foremost warship, Bullet stared at Jack with blazing eyes.
A burly man like that looked like someone with thick skin, tough flesh, and a body full of power.
Bullet loved fighting such people in close combat. He felt that only this kind of battle could be called a real fight.
"Jack is mine! Don't any of you steal him!" Bullet shouted, commanding the warship to ram into Jack's ship.
Both sides already drawn their swords and blades, preparing to show the other side their close-combat ability.
Rumble!
Bullet's ship and Jack's Mammoth rammed into each other first. The rams on both ships were damaged at the same time, and their bows crushed together.
In the middle of the collision, a platform about three meters wide formed between them.
Neither Bullet nor Jack moved, while the comparatively weaker soldiers hurriedly climbed up from the deck.
During the impact just now, they could only lie flat on the deck to withstand the violent force.
"Charge! Cut down these filthy pirates and throw them into the sea to feed the sharks!"
"Kill the Navy! Brothers, follow me!"
Two groups with different styles leapt onto the platform between the ships and began fighting each other.
On the platform, large numbers of people were cut down and fell into the sea.
Blood dripped from the edges of the platform into the ocean. However, the battle was so intense that the Sea Kings and sharks within a radius of ten nautical miles had already fled.
They might not have brains, but that didn't mean they didn't know what danger was.
The Navy soldiers who couldn't immediately rush onto the platform took out their muskets and began shooting across the sea.
The pirates weren't willing to show weakness either.
Their cannons might be inferior, but the difference between their firearms wasn't large.
Thus, a strange scene appeared.
On the platform in the middle, Navy soldiers and pirates wielded swords and cut each other down.
On both sides, Navy soldiers and pirate crew members stood ten meters apart, firing muskets at each other across the gap. Neither side retreated even half a step.
This scene was happening on Bullet's warship, and it soon also happened on the warships of Doberman, Onigumo, Strawberry, Gion, and the others.
Bullet twisted his neck, producing a series of cracking sounds. Then he hooked his finger in Jack's direction.
Jack's eyes were stimulated red by the scene. Standing on the deck, he activated his ability.
He was the user of the Elephant-Elephant Fruit, Ancient Model: Mammoth.
When he transformed into a mammoth, he possessed tremendous brute strength, a massive body, and powerful recovery and resistance to damage.
Such an existence wasn't something an ordinary Vice Admiral could handle.
If this were on land, at least two Vice Admiral-level fighters would need to join forces to deal with Jack the Drought in a berserk state.
But the person he was facing now was a former crew member of the Pirate King Roger, the man known as the Demon Heir: Douglas Bullet.
A terrifying muscular monster.
The ships were clearly not enough to bear the battle between the two of them.
The two exchanged a glance.
Then they leapt at the same time toward the beach at the edge of Onigashima. There, the two of them would also carry out a true man-to-man battle.
Raleigh stood aboard his warship, looking at the intense battles erupting across the battlefield, and sighed.
The people of this world… he truly didn't know what to say about them.
Once they got fired up, they loved playing out those so-called "true man" battle scenes. Or perhaps it was to protect the ordinary soldiers on their own side.
After all, when high-level fighters battled, even the aftershocks could kill a large number of ordinary Navy soldiers or pirate crew members.
However, his gaze shifted to the other side. "So, how long do you plan on hiding, Queen?"
Raleigh's Observation Haki had already taken control of the entire battlefield, so he found Queen's location at the first possible moment.
A light breeze drifted by.
In front of Queen, who originally planned to hide and launch a sneak attack, a tall figure suddenly appeared.
"A-Admiral Christian Raleigh!" Queen's fat body trembled from fear.
"Long time no see. I didn't expect that after I gave you a chance to repent back then, you would still end up mixing with pirates." There was a trace of regret in Raleigh's voice.
However, to Queen, that tone sounded like the whisper of a demon.
He would never forget that day.
Because of the research he and Caesar conducted, they drew over that killing god, Christian Raleigh.
Their research base, which had never been found before and was heavily defended, was broken through by Raleigh with ease.
All of Queen's schemes and methods looked like children playing house in Raleigh's eyes.
With just a slight move, Raleigh could change the entire outcome.
He even sent Queen and Caesar into the Navy's prison.
If Kaido hadn't rescued him, Queen might still be squatting in prison even now.
Because of that, his fear of Raleigh was deeply carved into his bones.
So when he faced Raleigh, Queen couldn't summon even the slightest strength to resist.
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