The celebration of the Beast Pirates' victory over Oden had died a sudden, violent death.
In the war room, the map of Wano was spread out. Kaido stood at the head of the table, his chest bandaged where Oden had cut him, but his energy was manic. He wasn't afraid. He was vibrating.
"Newgate," Kaido grinned, his eyes wide and bloodshot. "He's actually coming. The old bastard hasn't left his territory in years."
"This isn't funny, Kaido," Ren said, his voice tight. He looked at the gathered Calamities. King (Alber) was stoic, but his flames were burning hotter than usual. Queen was nervously smoking a cigar, his funk completely gone.
"You don't understand," Ren continued, slamming a report on the table. "This isn't the Whitebeard from the newspapers who sits and drinks sake. This is Prime Whitebeard. He is healthy. He is angry. And he has the greatest fleet in the world."
Ren pointed to the Vivre Card sitting in a glass jar. It was smoldering, reacting to Oden's life force fading in the Udon prison.
"He knows we have Oden. He's coming to burn this island to the bedrock."
"So what?" Jack—currently a hulking 8-year-old Fishman who was already larger than most adults—grunted. "We fight."
"We lose," King stated bluntly. "If they make landfall with Marco, Jozu, Vista, and Thatch... and Newgate himself? We don't have the numbers yet. We just took Wano. The Samurai are rebellious. If Whitebeard lands, the country joins him."
Ren nodded. "Exactly. We cannot let them land. We have to kill them at the waterfall."
Ren turned to the corner of the room. He needed a specific counter. The Moby Dick had to climb the waterfall to enter Wano. That was the choke point.
"Bring in the prisoner," Ren ordered.
Two Beast Pirate guards dragged in a massive figure. It wasn't a samurai. It was a pirate captain from a crew they had crushed a week ago—a Shark Fishman with a bounty of 200 million berries.
"Perfect," Ren muttered.
He placed his hands on the floor.
[System Engage.]
[Target: Water Superiority.]
[Sacrifice: Elite Fishman.]
[Summoning: Kisame Hoshigaki.]
The room grew cold and damp. The grey ash swirled, wrapping around the screaming Fishman sacrifice. The body convulsed, bones snapping and reshaping. Blue skin replaced scales. Gills flared on the neck.
Kisame Hoshigaki stepped out of the dust, grabbing the massive, bandaged Samehada sword that materialized with him.
He took a deep breath, tasting the air.
"Salty," Kisame grinned, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. "But a bit dry. Who woke me up?"
"I did," Ren said. "We have a ship to sink. A big one."
Kisame looked at Ren, then at Kaido. He whistled. "A Dragon? You keep scary company, kid. Alright. Who's the target?"
"The Whitebeard Pirates," Ren said. "And the strongest man alive."
Kisame's grin widened. "Sounds like a suicide mission. I'm in."
The Great Waterfall of Wano
The sky was clear, a stark contrast to the storm approaching from the sea.
Ren stood on the cliffs of Hakumai, looking down at the ocean below. Next to him stood King and Kisame.
"Here they come," King said, his voice muffled by his mask.
On the horizon, the Moby Dick appeared. It was majestic—a massive white whale of a ship, flanked by three allied vessels.
And standing on the bow figurehead was He.
Edward Newgate.
He stood twenty-one feet tall. He wore a massive captain's coat over his bare, muscular chest. His signature crescent moon mustache was white, but his long, wild hair was a flowing mane of gold. He didn't have a single tube or bandage on him. He radiated health and terrifying power.
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard's laugh echoed up the waterfall, overpowering the roar of the water. "KAIDO! I KNOW YOU'RE UP THERE! GIVE ME MY BROTHER BACK!"
Ren felt the air pressure drop. Just the voice carried Conqueror's Haki.
"He's a monster," Ren whispered. "Kisame. Now. While they're hooking the koi."
"On it."
Kisame dove from the cliff. He didn't fall; he plummeted like a missile, crashing into the water at the base of the falls.
Underwater, Kisame was in his element. He weaved hand signs.
Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!
The ocean around the Moby Dick erupted. A massive dome of water rose up, trapping the ship.
"What the—?" Marco, younger and with a pineapple hairstyle that looked even sillier than in the future, looked over the rail. "The water is rising!"
"Fishman Karate?" Jozu asked, turning his arm to diamond.
"No," Whitebeard said calmly. He didn't even reach for his weapon. He just made a fist.
Kisame burst from the water, standing on a wave. "Eat this! Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!"
Thousands of water sharks launched at the ship.
Whitebeard punched the air.
Crack.
It wasn't a technique. It was a disaster.
The atmosphere shattered like a mirror. The vibrations traveled through the air, into the water, and into the sharks.
The sharks disintegrated. The massive dome of water Kisame had created didn't just collapse—it was pulverized into mist.
Kisame's eyes popped. "You're kidding me."
The shockwave hit Kisame. Even underwater, the force was like being hit by a train. Kisame was blasted backward, slamming into the rock face of the Red Line, coughing blood into the water.
"King!" Ren shouted into his ring. "Stop the ship!"
King dove from the clouds, a meteor of Lunarian fire. He aimed for the Koi fish pulling the ship.
Imperial Deep Pride Stake!
Whitebeard looked up. He saw the Pteranodon.
"A Lunarian?" Whitebeard mused. "Rare."
Whitebeard grabbed his murakumogiri (bisento). He spun it once and stabbed the butt of the handle into the deck.
He grabbed the air with his free hand and pulled down.
The sky tilted.
King's trajectory was warped by the gravity of the quake. He missed the ship and slammed into the ocean, the water acting like concrete under the pressure.
The Moby Dick surged forward, riding the chaotic waves Whitebeard was creating. It shot up the waterfall, not pulled by fish, but propelled by the tsunamis Whitebeard was generating behind him.
"He's brute forcing physics!" Ren screamed. "Kaido!"
"WORORORORO!"
From the clouds above Wano, a massive Azure Dragon descended.
Kaido didn't wait. He opened his maw.
Blast Breath!
A beam of superheated fire the size of a mountain slammed down toward the ascending ship.
Whitebeard looked up at the fire. He grinned.
He swung his blade.
The air cracked again. The Blast Breath was cut in half, the fire diverting harmlessly to the left and right, incinerating the forests on the cliffs but missing the ship entirely.
The Moby Dick crested the waterfall. It flew through the air, crashing down into the inland sea of Wano.
They had breached the wall.
Whitebeard leaped from the deck. He landed on the shore of Hakumai. The ground shattered for miles around him.
He stood up, towering and golden.
"Bring out Oden!" Whitebeard roared, his Haki stripping the leaves off the trees. "Or I will sink this entire island!"
Ren stood on the cliff, trembling.
Kisame pulled himself out of the water, looking battered. "Ren... that old man... he's not human."
"I know," Ren whispered. "That's the strongest man in the world."