"King! Raise the execution flag!"
"Yes, Boss Kaido!"
King lifted his left hand.
Dragged out was an old man — disheveled, wearing a long-nosed mask, black, broken wings folded on his back, his body covered in wounds.
It was Kozuki Sukiyaki, struggling with all his might. But with his arms and legs firmly pinned by the talons of four Golden Eagle-men, he couldn't move an inch.
Terror spread through his heart.
He didn't want to die. The bloodline of the Kozuki clan couldn't end here.
But it was useless.
With cruel grins, the Eagle-men tied Sukiyaki high up on the mast.
Once everything was set, King raised his left hand, gripping the Ame-no-Habakiri high.
This was once Kozuki Oden's treasured blade, a masterpiece forged by Sukiyaki himself.
With a fierce swing, the blade came crashing down.
A bitter scream of despair froze on Sukiyaki's lips as his skull split clean down the middle.
And with that—
The Kozuki bloodline of men was no more!
"Uooh ro ro ro ro!"
With the last unstable piece of Wano erased, Kaido burst into roaring laughter.
"Listen up, brats! The relics of the old era are crumbling!"
"Let them know who rules this new age!!!"
"Oooohhhh!!!"
...
Meanwhile, in the New World, the Navy's surveillance network caught wind of strange movements.
"The Beasts Pirates are fully mobilizing!"
"The Whitebeard Pirates are also launching an all-out sortie!"
The intel made its way to Marineford in no time.
In the headquarters' war room, every available admiral and vice admiral gathered. The air was tense.
Two Emperor crews moving at once — whatever they were planning, it was nothing short of catastrophic.
With Marineford's current forces, they didn't have nearly enough manpower to counter both at the same time.
Thud, thud, thud...
The heavy footsteps echoed as former Fleet Admiral Kong, now mostly retired, made a rare appearance, arriving from Mary Geoise.
"Fleet Admiral Kong!" several voices called out at once.
Known as the man who once stood alone against the Crimson King, his presence lifted spirits in the room.
"Don't worry. Justice will prevail!" Kong's voice wasn't loud, but it carried weight.
"Justice will prevail!" the gathered marines roared in unison, snapping into salute.
"The situation is critical. Sengoku, Garp—"
Standing at the head of the table, Kong's gaze seemed to pierce through the walls, as if staring straight at the two Yonko forces advancing through the New World.
If Whitebeard and Kaido were moving together, only Sengoku and Garp — the Navy's two greatest active legends — stood a chance of stopping them.
If only Zephyr was still fit to fight, the Navy wouldn't be so backed into a corner.
But Zephyr had to stay behind to guard headquarters.
"You two are to depart immediately. Head to the waters near Jainan Island."
"Based on their trajectory, that's where the two forces are likely to meet."
"If Kaido and Whitebeard show any sign of forming an alliance, you must stop it before it happens."
"But if they're clashing against each other... stay hidden. Wait until they're spent, then strike at the right moment."
If the chaos in the Four Blues was merely scattered storms...
Then the Grand Line was the floodgate.
And the New World? That was the point where everything spun completely out of control.
Over 80% of its seas had become lawless pirate playgrounds.
If Whitebeard and Kaido truly joined forces — and if Big Mom, who'd already colluded with Kaido before, threw in her lot too...
Then the New World would spiral into chaos no one could contain.
It wasn't impossible. After all, all three had once sailed under the same flag — as part of the Rocks Pirates.
The Navy had thought those old ties long severed.
But the recent war near Shiki's territory had shattered that assumption.
If those two really did form an alliance... neither the Navy nor even the World Government could allow it.
On the other hand, if they fought — if they truly went all-out, throwing everything into a battle like the legendary Battle of Vaught back in '95 — and if one side took heavy losses...
Then the entire balance of power in the New World would shift.
And the Navy's control over the seas could grow stronger once more.
...
Dressrosa.
Basking in the sun, munching on grapes fed to him by Smoothie, Doflamingo stretched lazily.
Completely unfazed by the looming storm of war.
After all, it wasn't his head on the chopping block. The more they tore each other apart, the better for him.
Smoothie, with a sly glint in her eye, suddenly shoved a grape right up toward Doflamingo's nose.
"Hm?"
Doflamingo tilted his head to dodge, then chuckled as he eyed her.
"Smoothie, still worried about how Mama's gonna react when we meet again?"
"I'm sorry, Doffy!"
Smoothie lowered her hands to her thighs, kneeling formally with her head bowed low like she was awaiting punishment.
"Fuffuffuffuffu. No need to worry. You belong to me now. Mama already gave her blessing."
Watching her emotions flicker between secret delight and raw panic, Doflamingo's fist darkened with Armament Haki—and without warning, he slammed it straight into Smoothie's cheek.
Boom!
Smoothie crashed into the wall behind her, dust and debris flying.
If she wanted to pretend she was so terrified, fine.
He'd give her something new to fear.
Once he figured out what little game Smoothie was playing today, Doflamingo figured his brand of "therapy" was perfectly reasonable.
After all, he had no time for silly love games.
"Cough, cough..."
Wiping blood from the corner of her mouth, Smoothie looked up at him dazedly.
"Doffy...?"
"Too many distractions in your head. Lemme help you clear them!"
Suppressing his strength and speed just enough to keep from breaking her, Doflamingo lunged again.
Today, he was going full-on tough love.
"W-Wait! Doffy!"
Panic-stricken, Smoothie hastily drew her greatsword, nearly in tears.
This wasn't like the romance guides she'd been reading the past few days at all!
Wasn't Doffy supposed to comfort her or something?
"If your strength doesn't grow beyond ordinary limits, you'll never be able to handle what's coming! Now come on!"
...
By evening, the black dragon tore through the clouds, descending over Dressrosa.
Landing at the bow of the Numancia Flamingo, the dragon spotted the once-lively girl now sitting silently, wrapped in bandages, face cold.
"Doffy, I'm here!"
"Let's go, Vergo. Time to show you an even bigger stage than before."
After exchanging a few words with Vergo, Doflamingo turned to the battered and gloomy Smoothie.
"Smoothie. We move out!"
"O-Okay!"
The Numancia Flamingo lifted into the sky.
...
At the same time, on Whole Cake Island—
"Mamamamamama! Let me go see that old fool Whitebeard with my own eyes!"
Big Mom's massive singing ship set sail toward Jainan Island, her crew dancing and feasting along the way.
...
A few days later—
The waters near Jainan Island.
Across the sea waves, two massive fleets slowly closed the distance.
Whitebeard's fleet, and Kaido's.
Lined up side by side, they stretched across the horizon.
"In just a few short years… Kaido's built up this much muscle," Whitebeard muttered, visibly impressed.
His fleet alone, counting his main crew and summoned allies, totaled nearly 50 ships.
Sixteen hundred men served directly under him, and counting his affiliates, the total force neared ten thousand.
It had taken his veteran commanders decades to build such strength.
But Kaido...
Barely ten years ago, he'd only just begun making a name for himself in the New World.
Yet now, his fleet numbers weren't far behind.
And judging by the sheer number of beastly soldiers he fielded... he might've even surpassed Whitebeard's headcount.
Across the waves, Kaido grinned as he spotted the towering figure of Whitebeard.
"Uooh ro ro ro ro! Get those ships over there, now!!!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg