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Sengoku's tense nerves finally relaxed slightly. He narrowed his eyes, watching the two Four Emperors confronting each other in the distance, a cold smile unconsciously appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Staff Officer Tsuru gently pushed up her glasses, the look behind the lenses flashing with shrewd calculation.
"It seems we'll be the fishermen today," Tsuru said softly, her fingertips lightly tapping the tactical board. "Let these two Emperors fight it out first..."
Garp, however, still had a deep frown. He grabbed a handful of rice crackers, stuffed them into his mouth, and chewed loudly. "Don't get happy too soon. That lunatic Kaido never acts reasonably."
His gaze swept over Ace on the execution platform, then looked at the Whitebeard Pirates standing ready in the distance, his fists clenching unconsciously.
At this moment, the situation on the sea had become extremely delicate. Kaido's true form as an Azure Dragon hovered in mid-air, his scales gleaming with a cold metallic shine in the sunlight.
The Whitebeard Pirates' fleet, meanwhile, had formed a defensive formation, with Marco, transformed into a phoenix, confronting the giant dragon from the air.
"Gurarararara..." Whitebeard suddenly burst into laughter, bringing Murakumogiri down heavily on the deck. "Kaido, do you think you alone can take on my Whitebeard Pirates?"
A hint of tyranny flashed in the dragon's vertical pupils. Kaido's voice boomed like thunder: "Old man, do you think you're still the 'World's Strongest' from back then?" The flame clouds beneath his dragon claws suddenly surged. "Today, your era ends completely!"
Just as the three forces were about to collide, the entire sea area suddenly fell eerily silent.
Even the surging waves seemed frozen in mid-air, and a suffocating sense of pressure swept in from the flank of the battlefield.
"That's...!" Marco's phoenix eyes suddenly narrowed.
A simple-looking two-masted sailboat emerged from the mist like a ghost, the red dragon pattern on its bow glowing with a bloody light in the sunlight.
The sails of the Red Force flapped loudly, and the one-armed figure in a black coat standing at the bow made everyone who saw his face involuntarily hold their breath.
"Red-Haired... Shanks!" Sengoku frowned. What was going on?
Why had all the Four Emperors shown up, one after another!
Was Marine Headquarters doomed today?
"...."
Shanks slowly raised his head. His originally gentle eyes instantly turned sharp as knives. He took a step forward, and in an instant—
BOOM!!!
The world changed color!
Centered on the Red Force, dark red Conqueror's Haki erupted like a tsunami.
The solid shockwave forcibly pressed the sea surface into a thousand-meter-wide depression, and a massive tear was ripped open in the clouds in the sky.
On the nearest Marine warships, hundreds of soldiers simultaneously rolled their eyes and collapsed to the deck, without even having time to scream.
"This... this is..." Vice Admiral Onigumo fell to one knee, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like a waterfall.
Among the Shichibukai, Hawkeye Mihawk showed a serious expression for the first time. His hand unconsciously gripped the handle of his black blade, Yoru. This guy was too reckless; even he was affected by the Conqueror's Haki.
And Kaido's Azure Dragon, which had been showing off its might in the air, now had to lower its altitude. A hint of worry flashed in its dragon eyes. Why was Shanks here? But it didn't matter; they could just fight together!
"Ara... you've got to be kidding..." Aokiji lifted his sunglasses, the corner of his mouth twitching twice. "This level of Haki..."
On the Whitebeard Pirates' side, even the Division Commanders had to assume defensive stances.
Jozu's diamond body gave off overloaded creaking sounds, and Vista's twin swords trembled in defense. Only Whitebeard himself remained standing, although surprised by the appearance of the 'apprentice brat' from Roger's ship. However, anyone who tried to stop him from saving Ace was an enemy!
Just fight!
Shanks' voice wasn't loud, but it clearly spread throughout the entire battlefield: "Could you give me some face and stop this war!"
Every word struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer. On the closest Beast Pirates warship, the Gifters were fainting in groups. The abilities of the artificial Devil Fruits were completely useless in the face of this overwhelming Haki.
Garp's cloak flapped violently, stirred by the Haki. He stared intently at Red-Hair in the distance. "This apprentice brat... has he actually grown to this extent?"
Shanks slowly drew Gryphon. Where the sword tip pointed, space began to distort. "Kaido, you can still leave now." His gaze swept across the entire field. "This war... it should end."
As the last word fell, another wave of Conqueror's Haki shockwave swept out.
This time, even the sturdy walls of Marine Headquarters began to crack, and the supports of the execution platform let out a harsh groan.
Both Admirals simultaneously released Armament Haki to resist, while nearly thirty percent of the regular Marines had already collapsed.
Amidst this world-destroying might, Shanks stood alone at the bow of his ship, watching everything with indifference!
Just then,
An observer in the Marine command center suddenly exclaimed, "Report! The main fleet of the Beast Pirates is approaching!"
Sengoku's face turned grim again. He sharply turned to look at Staff Officer Tsuru. "Immediately reassess the battle situation!" Tsuru's fingers moved quickly on the tactical board, her expression growing more serious. "The situation has changed... Kaido is probably planning to..."
On the distant horizon, dozens of warships flying the Beast Pirates flag were sailing in grand formation. What was most unsettling was that the decks of every ship were packed with the Gifter army. Those underlings, enhanced by artificial Devil Fruits, were letting out bloodthirsty roars.
The members of the Whitebeard Pirates all changed color. Jozu's diamond body reflected dazzling light. "Pops, we're surrounded!"
Marco, transformed into a phoenix, circled in the air. "That lunatic Kaido... he's trying to..."
Whitebeard slowly raised Murakumogiri, the fighting spirit in his eyes growing more intense. "It seems I'll have to stretch these old bones today." He turned and shouted toward Marine Headquarters. "Sengoku! It looks like your wishful thinking is going to fall through!"
Cold sweat seeped from Sengoku's temples. He realized the situation was about to spiral out of control. How many people had Kaido brought!
The planned execution operation was turning into a Four Emperors free-for-all that could change the world's balance of power.
What was even more terrifying was,
In this free-for-all, Marine Headquarters was very likely to become the biggest casualty...
Akainu's magma fists were already ready. "Fleet Admiral, we can't hesitate any longer!"
Aokiji rarely showed a serious expression. "This is really troublesome~ Having to deal with two Four Emperors at once..."
Just as everyone on the field was stunned by Shanks' Conqueror's Haki, an unusual fluctuation suddenly came from the sea surface.
"Gurgle..."
Accompanied by a low roar from the sea, a massive Sea King slowly drifted on the surface.