The Four Emperors, each refusing to submit to the others, stood lined up in a single row.
On the Marine side, it was obvious Kaito was the one taking the lead—Admiral Kaito at the front, while the other three Admirals naturally stood behind him.
Kaito's gaze swept across the four, finally settling on Kaido.
"Kaido, how's Wano doing now?"
Kaido froze for a moment. The others all turned to look at him—what was with that tone? It sounded like there was some personal history between them.
Red-Hair couldn't help remembering what Kaito had said back on Foosha Island—that he'd spared Kaido's life. Now, hearing Kaito bring it up again, he couldn't help but wonder... could Kaido be some kind of traitor?
Kaido snorted and replied gruffly,
"I had King take over as Shogun of Wano. How he runs the place is his business!"
King quickly stepped forward,
"Admiral Shikiryū, I've already lifted Wano's isolation policy. All the forced labor has been disbanded."
Kaito nodded in satisfaction and even offered praise.
"Not bad. Didn't think you'd actually be reliable."
Red-Hair was getting more and more uneasy listening to this. Why did it sound like King was about to become Kaito's underling?
Big Mom finally cut in impatiently,
"Enough! How long are you planning to chat? Isn't this supposed to be a war?!"
Kaito had never liked Big Mom. Narrowing his Rinnegan, he unleashed a Universal Pull.
Big Mom was still grinning when she was suddenly yanked toward him. It was her first time facing a Universal Pull, and she had no idea how to counter it.
Fortunately, her "teammates" Whitebeard and Red-Hair still had some sense. Both of them moved at the same time, charging toward her. Whitebeard, showing zero "gentlemanly restraint," slammed his hand down on her head and drove her straight into the ice.
Kaido, watching from behind, was fighting to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching. He coughed twice, feigning disinterest.
Big Mom yanked her head out of the ice, spitting shards everywhere, and glared at Whitebeard.
"Newgate! Were you trying to kill me?!"
Whitebeard didn't even look at her, replying flatly,
"Would you rather have let him pull you in and finish you off?"
Red-Hair stepped in to play peacemaker.
"Alright, let's take out Shikiryū first!"
Hearing Red-Hair say that, Kaito let out a laugh.
"You're a little too confident for your own good."
With a mere thought, the full Susanoo armor enveloped him. In an instant, his figure vanished from sight, reappearing right in front of Red-Hair the next second.
Before Red-Hair could react, Kaito drove a powerful kick into his chest.
Red-Hair's body shot backward like a cannonball, slamming into a pirate ship and shattering it to pieces.
Kaito's left eye crackled with violet lightning. Overhead, black thunderclouds began to gather. A massive purple beast descended from the sky, crashing into the wreckage where Red-Hair had landed.
"Five Hundred Million Volts!"
BOOM!
The deafening thunderclap shook the heavens. The ice beneath Red-Hair's position completely melted, seawater erupting upward.
Whitebeard's expression darkened—he couldn't sense Red-Hair's presence anymore.
Seeing that, Big Mom immediately dropped her act and scrambled to her feet.
But before she could even stand fully, Akainu charged at her, blasting a massive wave of molten fire straight at her.
Big Mom dodged frantically, but the magma still caught the hem of her skirt, almost exposing her.
After patting out the flames, she roared in fury, channeling all of Zeus and Prometheus's power into Napoleon and bringing it down hard toward Akainu.
Akainu's body dispersed into magma, splitting into two streams and flowing around her attack, avoiding it completely.
By this point, even Kaido couldn't just stand back. Gripping his spiked kanabo tightly, he bellowed,
"Lads! Charge!"
He led the way himself, with King and the others close behind, eager to back up their boss.
But the Marines at HQ weren't just standing around either. They leapt down from the high platform, joining the battle.
Whether Marine or pirate, anyone fighting here was no weakling.
The ice before Marineford erupted with deafening booms, the clash of powerful martial skills and bizarre Devil Fruit powers dazzling the live audience watching around the world.
And with Kaito on the field, even the Shichibukai were going all out. Boa Hancock was the most relentless—by now, the pirates she had turned to stone could form a small mountain.
Yamato swung her spike-less kanabo, knocking out enemies one after another. She deliberately avoided members of the Beasts Pirates, targeting only Big Mom's crew.
Finally, someone had had enough. A towering figure from Big Mom's pirates emerged, his arm transforming into a dough-like substance and lashing toward Yamato.
In the middle of her unstoppable assault, Yamato didn't notice and got caught around the waist. She froze for a second before being flung into the air and slammed into the ice.
Sitting on the ground clutching her head, she groaned,
"Damn it! That hurt, you bastard!"
Shff!
A tall figure appeared in front of her—it was Gion, her Konpira blade still dripping blood.
Seeing Gion, Yamato's expression instantly softened into one of grievance.
"Gion!"
Gion crouched and affectionately ruffled her hair, speaking gently,
"Yamato, this is war. You can't afford to be careless."
Yamato nodded obediently, then stood and glared angrily at the man who had thrown her.
Following her gaze, Gion saw a tall man wrapped in a thick scarf.
"That him?"
"Gion, who is that guy?"
"He's the First Sweet Commander of the Big Mom Pirates—Charlotte Katakuri."
"So he's that ugly woman's kid too?"
"Yes. He's Big Mom's second son."
"Heh… then I'm gonna teach him a lesson!"
"Wait, Yamato, you—"
Gion reached out to stop her, but the hot-headed Yamato had already charged forward, transforming into her half-beast form mid-run.
Katakuri gave a short, cold snort and swung his trident, Mogura, to meet her.
Yamato's strength was top-tier even among the Shichibukai, but Katakuri was still a step above—and had far more battle experience.
She brought her kanabo down on him, but he'd already used Observation Haki to predict her move, transforming his body into mochi to evade the strike, then driving a fist into her stomach.
Yamato was sent flying right back to Gion's side.
Across the battlefield, Big Mom noticed the fight and smirked mockingly at Kaido.
"Heh, Kaido, looks like my kid's still the better one."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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