"Heat Breath!"
A blinding surge of light burst forth, and the searing heat of the dragon's breath instantly made the entire island feel like it was starting to boil.
But Whitebeard stood firm, unfazed. He even shielded his beloved mustache with Armament Haki, refusing to let a single hair be singed.
He gripped Murakumogiri, the great bisento planted in the ground beside him.
With one mighty swing—
The razor-sharp slash cleaved the wave of dragonfire right down the middle.
Kaido's attack didn't even touch him.
Of course Kaido knew that.
But the burning breath kept pouring out of him, relentless.
The temperature of the land kept rising, hotter and hotter!
The split flames rained down upon the earth, and before their eyes, grass and trees visibly withered and browned, the ground cracking apart with sharp creaks like the agonized groans of something on the verge of death.
"What terrifying heat!"
Whitebeard's face grew grim.
The searing temperature was enough to burn through anything—his flesh included.
No matter how mighty he was, his body was still flesh and blood, still human. Stay in this environment long enough, and even he would perish.
"Hissssss—!"
The ground beneath him began to melt little by little, turning into molten lava.
The heat only kept climbing, threatening to transform the entire island of Jainan into a scorched, lifeless wasteland.
Whitebeard understood this well. This was Kaido's strategy: change the battlefield itself, shift the environment to force a loss.
But what he hadn't expected was that the Azure Dragon Fruit—this Mythical Zoan power—could alter the climate with such terrifying force.
"What a monstrous Devil Fruit..."
Whitebeard muttered in awe.
But if Kaido thought this alone would make him kneel and wait for death... well, he was sorely mistaken!
"Gurararara! Kaido, you really think so little of me, huh?!"
With a booming laugh, Whitebeard planted Murakumogiri at his side.
His fists began to glow with pale white light—that was the condensed power of his Fruit.
And then, with a roar, he brought both fists crashing down.
But not upon the island.
His target... was the sea!
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
It was as if a hundred torpedoes exploded at once on either side of Jainan Island.
Walls of seawater surged upward, rising like doomsday tsunamis and crashing back toward the island.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!
The icy sea quenched the molten lava in an instant, turning it into black, hardened stone.
The swirling waters gathered around Whitebeard, forming an invisible shield, making him look like a god commanding the seas—here to slay the evil dragon that dared defile the world.
"Worororororo! I underestimated you, Whitebeard!"
Kaido, watching from above, grinned wide, excitement burning in his eyes.
This... this was shaping up to be a real war of attrition.
And that thrilled him to his very core!
Transforming back into his human form, Kaido hefted his spiked kanabo, the Hassaikai, and with a bellow, charged downward like a meteor.
A prolonged fight? That was his favorite kind!
BOOOOOM!
Each time the Hassaikai met Murakumogiri, the island trembled violently under the impact.
Their Haki clashed like thunder, sending shockwaves that even their distant subordinates—battling miles away on the open sea—could feel down to their bones.
"Scary stuff, pero~lin!"
Perospero muttered, his long tongue dangling as he watched the titanic duel on Jainan Island.
At some point, the Queen Mama Chanter had arrived at the nearby waters.
From afar, they watched the bloody struggle between the Whitebeard Pirates and the Beasts Pirates. Both sides, seeing new arrivals, grew a little more cautious. No one wanted to be the one left vulnerable and picked off.
"Where's Mama?" Cracker asked, scanning the battlefield, but his mother's silhouette was nowhere to be seen.
"Up there," Katakuri replied curtly, pointing toward where Numancia Flamingo's ship hovered.
His Observation Haki was the sharpest in the family.
"The Heavenly Yaksha... he's here too?!"
Oven, arriving mid-route, caught sight of Doflamingo and his pupils shrank.
The Doflamingo of today wasn't the desperate punk who once barely escaped Mama's wrath.
No—this was the new legend who had slain the Golden Lion himself.
"Shouldn't we go greet Mama?" asked Mont-d'Or, the future Minister of Cheese, his dull-witted question hanging awkwardly in the air.
Young and inexperienced, he hadn't been on many voyages.
At his words, his brothers and sisters all turned to him with looks that screamed: Are you stupid?
Was this guy for real?
Someone always had to handle Mama... especially if her infamous mood swings acted up. Anyone sane would savor this rare moment of freedom away from her tantrums.
Amid the silence, Amande stepped forward, her gaze flickering uncertainly toward the Flamingo's ship.
"Mama's having a little chat with her favorite son-in-law right now. All we need to do is wait till she summons us."
...
Aboard the Numancia Flamingo—
Charlotte Linlin, the Big Mom herself, lay fast asleep on a luxurious bed crafted by Doflamingo's threads.
Bellies full, thirsts quenched, shows watched to satisfaction—now it was time to rest and recover.
As for Doflamingo himself?
He was nearby, doing his usual daily workout, his body rising and falling with each rep.
...
Back on Jainan Island, the battle raged on.
An hour passed... then two... then an entire day...
The stars wheeled overhead.
But Whitebeard and Kaido showed no signs of stopping.
The island, already straining under the clash of titans, was now a devastated ruin—like a wall that had been pounded and gouged by a wild child's tantrum.
Everywhere you looked, there were craters and fissures.
Both pirate crews—the Beasts and the Whitebeards—had withdrawn, dragging their wounded and battered remnants to opposite ends to lick their wounds and watch their captains' duel from a safer distance.
"How long is this fight gonna last?!"
"Oi, anyone keeping track of the time?"
"Three days!"
...
Sixty nautical miles away, at a reef-strewn outpost—
This was the Navy's temporary staging ground.
Inside the flagship's war room, smoke curled thick in the air.
"So... this 'reinforcement' Fleet Admiral Kong mentioned... what exactly is it?"
Sengoku muttered through a cloud of smoke as he exhaled deeply from his pipe.
Kaido. Whitebeard. Big Mom had shown up too. And looming on the sidelines was that unpredictable Celestial Dragon, Doflamingo.
Could the Navy really hope to capture Kaido or Whitebeard under these conditions?
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Beside him, Garp was going to town on Sengoku's stash of rice crackers, demolishing them without a care.
Fight? He was always up for that. Lose? Just run away. Simple.
Creak.
The heavy door to the war room swung open.
Cough cough—
A figure stepped in, hacking twice as the smoke hit him.
Sengoku's eyes lit up as he recognized the man's purple hair.
"Zephyr! What are you doing here?!"
"Ha ha ha, long time no see!" Garp paused in his snacking to wave casually.
"Fleet Admiral Kong sent me," Zephyr replied, still dusted with road grime from his journey.
"Saw the mess brewing and figured I couldn't just sit back while you idiots got my students killed."
"Instructor Zephyr!" x3
Three voices rang out—one deep and steady, one lazy, one flippant.
Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino had just arrived from their escort ship, answering the call.
Zephyr's gaze swept over them, lingering a little longer on Kuzan and Sakazuki while blatantly ignoring the grinning trickster among them.
"You've all grown..."
With a sigh, he continued, "Oh, and Gion is right behind me. I figured the situation might shift quickly, so I moved in first."
At that, Sengoku's worry lines eased, replaced by a spark of renewed confidence.
With himself, Garp, and Zephyr here...
Well, the world was a big place—and they were ready to take it on!
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg