In the first half of the New World, in the waters near the vacation resort Rainbow Kingdom, three Marine battleships slowly advanced through the waves.
On the lead battleship, Akainu stood tall at the bow with his arms crossed over his chest. A cigar was clamped between his teeth as his gaze fixed on the island engulfed in artillery fire.
"Reporting to the Fleet Admiral."
A Marine officer approached Akainu, saluted, and reported:
"Across the entire Ward Sea Area, the front lines have launched attacks on five territories under the Demon Lion Pirates' banner. We have currently breached the defenses of three of those islands."
"Well done. Have the fleet continue to advance and execute the original plan," Akainu replied in a deep voice.
This time, the Marines had mobilized a total of fifty battleships of various sizes, advancing along the Grand Line with the plan to attack half of Allen's territories.
Taking advantage of the war between the Demon Lion Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates, which left their territories weakly defended, the Marines were determined to seize a massive amount of their turf.
If everything went smoothly, by the time the war between the two pirate crews ended, a quarter of the Demon Lion Pirates' territories would have already been occupied by the Marines.
As long as Big Mom could significantly weaken the Demon Lion Pirates' forces during the war, or even annihilate them completely, the remaining territories would be rapidly seized by the Marines one after another.
At a time of rare upheaval in the New World, the Marines had to forcefully seize the initiative. As long as they captured these territories, their future control over the New World would reach a higher level!
Akainu stared at the war-torn island and shouted in a deep voice:
"Cease the bombardment! Assemble the elites to break through the coastline and make landfall!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Marine officer saluted and replied loudly, then quickly went down to pass on the orders.
Soon, the three battleships led three thousand fully armed Headquarters soldiers, aggressively closing in on the Rainbow Kingdom.
Upon reaching the coast, a large number of Marine soldiers poured out of the battleships. An officer held a megaphone and shouted toward the tightly shut city walls:
"Listen well, army of the Rainbow Kingdom! On charges of betraying the World Government's affiliated nations, the Marines are officially conducting an arrest operation against the Herschel Royal Family!"
"You are now surrounded by battleships! Drop your weapons and cease your resistance immediately, otherwise you will be treated as...!"
"Shut up, Marines!!"
On the coastline, a robust middle-aged man wearing a seven-colored rainbow cape and a crown inlaid with seven-colored gems stepped forward on the city wall!
"Bullshit World Government! All you do is sit high and mighty collecting the Heavenly Tribute, not to mention those bullshit Celestial Dragons who rely on their power to commit filthy acts right in the streets!"
King Herschel looked furious, pointing his longsword straight at Akainu.
"You lapdogs of the World Government! To actually turn around and bite us, using this as an excuse to provoke a war—are you even worthy of being called an army of justice?!"
"I will absolutely not compromise with you today! I swear to live and die with the citizens of the Rainbow Kingdom!"
"Kill them!!"
Herschel roared loudly, gripping his sword with both hands as he leaped forward. Countless soldiers followed closely behind, brandishing swords and raising guns as they furiously charged at the Marines!
The Marines quickly formed up, lining up in a row. They loaded their guns and cannons, methodically preparing to meet the charge.
"Watch out for the Royal Army's general! He's a Devil Fruit user, prepare the Seastone capture nets!"
"Load!!"
"Fire!!"
Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!
With a single command, the Marines' guns and cannons fired in unison. The roar of the torrent of steel mercilessly swallowed the charging Royal Army.
Flames rose alongside billowing smoke, and screams echoed across the coast.
On the battleship, Akainu watched everything unfolding below with a cold gaze.
Flesh and blood flew as wails filled the air. Round after round of firepower easily crushed the Royal Army's resistance.
The Devil Fruit user general struggled furiously within the Seastone capture net, while the king who had led the charge had already fallen in a pool of blood.
After routing the Royal Army's charge, the Marine officer led a squad of elite soldiers in a counter-charge to mop up the remaining enemies.
Before long, blood and fire dyed the entire coastline red. Corpses littered the ground, resembling an asura's battlefield.
"Listen well, people in the city! Those who conspire with pirates are considered equally guilty! Your king has already been executed! Giving up resistance is your only way to survive!"
The broadcast urging surrender echoed once more.
Akainu stood on the battleship, waiting quietly.
But at that moment, a panicked shout suddenly came from the ship's cabin behind him.
"Terrible news, Fleet Admiral! All of our surveillance ships in Totto Land have been sunk!!"
"What happened?"
Akainu's brow sank, exuding an imposing aura without anger, as he turned to look toward the cabin.
A communications soldier rushed out the door in a panic, not even having time to salute, and shouted loudly:
"The war in Totto Land is over! Big Mom... Big Mom has been defeated by Demon Lion Allen!"
"What did you say?!"
Hearing this, Akainu's expression drastically changed on the spot. His eyes were filled with shock and anger as he barked:
"Are you sure the intel is correct?! Damn it, how could that guy possibly..."
"To think Big Mom was actually defeated by him... Are you kidding me?!"
Bang!!
Akainu gritted his teeth and furiously smashed the guardrail beside him to pieces with a single punch.
The entire strategy department, including himself and the Admirals, had bet everything on Big Mom winning. That was why they had mobilized such a massive force to attack the Demon Lion's territories.
And now they were telling him that Big Mom had been defeated by Demon Lion Allen!
It hadn't even been a day!
"Fleet Admiral! The World Government higher-ups have ordered a full-scale Marine retreat!"
"Fleet Admiral! The strategy department is calling for you!"
"Bad news, Fleet Admiral! Our Marine base closest to Totto Land has been annihilated! It's been confirmed to be the work of the Demon Lion Pirates!"
For a time, shouts continuously rang out from the communications room, and countless transponder snails beeped incessantly.
Akainu clenched his jaw tightly, veins bulging on his forehead. Without a doubt, this strategic decision was a complete blunder.
The full-scale retaliation of an Emperor of the Sea was coming!
"Retreat! Notify the fleet to immediately turn around and return to Marine Headquarters!"
Akainu barked the order.
No matter how formidable the Demon Lion Pirates were, they wouldn't go so far as to attack Marine Headquarters. As long as the battleships were recalled, they would be fine, but the other Marine bases were likely going to suffer.
As for the extent to which the other party would retaliate...
They had Marine bases, and the other side also had many crucial territories. A bottomless slaughter would be detrimental to both sides.
The Five Elders had probably already started contacting them to negotiate. The incident likely wouldn't escalate into an all-out war.
Akainu deduced the situation in his mind.
Regardless, the outcome of the battle between the Demon Lion Pirates and Big Mom had clearly exceeded everyone's expectations. The Marines would definitely have to pay a price for this.
But fortunately, the battle ended quickly, and the situation was still within a controllable range.
"Damn it. Withdraw the troops and return to Headquarters!"
"Yes, sir!"
Four days later, overwhelming news regarding the incident that erupted in the Totto Land sea area spread across the entire world.
In the middle-latter half of the New World, in the Wano Country sea area, inside Onigashima, which faced the Wano mainland across the sea.
In a dimly lit room, King slowly walked in, while Queen and Jack stood silently at the door.
Inside the room, Kaido lay casually on the floor, bare-chested and snoring soundly. A wine gourd lay beside him, its liquor spilled all over the ground.
"Wake up, Brother Kaido. Today's news."
Pop!
The rising and falling snot bubble on his nose popped. The soundly sleeping Kaido suddenly opened his eyes, seemingly sensing some kind of emotion from the auras of King and the others.
He slowly turned his head to look at King, his gaze falling on the newspaper in the other man's hand.
Kaido sat up and silently stared into King's eyes for a moment.
"What happened?"
"You should see for yourself."
King raised his hand and offered the newspaper.
Kaido glanced at him, reached out to take the newspaper from his hand, and unfolded it to read.