Deep inside a secluded corridor of the fortress, a harsh argument shattered the quiet atmosphere.
Pacing furiously across the tatami mats, Kurozumi Orochi glared at the painted samurai kneeling on the floor. The Shogun's face twisted in paranoia and anger.
"You said they were dead!" Orochi spat, kicking a wooden stool across the room. "You swore the Straw Hats and the Akazaya ghosts burned in the ruins!"
Keeping his head bowed, Kanjuro did not flinch. "I reported exactly what I witnessed, Lord Orochi. Kaido unleashed his Bolo Breath directly onto Oden Castle. Nobody could have survived that blast."
"Then why are there reports of intruders on the Live Floor?!" the tyrant shrieked, gripping his own hair. "The prophecy is haunting me! I need proof!"
Stopping his frantic pacing, Orochi pointed a shaking finger at the undercover spy.
"Go," the Shogun ordered. "Grab Oden's brat. Bring Momonosuke to me right now. We will end this Kozuki farce tonight, right in front of the entire island."
Nodding silently, the traitorous samurai rose to his feet and slipped out of the room to execute the command.
Several floors above the banquet hall, the winding corridors of Kaido's castle formed a confusing maze.
Walking down a long hallway, Luffy looked around for the stairs leading upward. The captain ignored the sounds of fighting echoing from the lower levels, focused on reaching the roof to find the King of the Beasts.
A loud, childish argument echoed from the stairwell ahead.
"You're walking too fast, Pagey!" a female voice complained loudly.
"I'm walking normally, Ulti," a tired, muffled voice replied. "Stop complaining."
Bursting through the doorway, two members of the Tobiroppo tumbled into the corridor. Throwing a massive tantrum, Ulti tripped over her own heavy boots. Falling forward, the masked woman grabbed her brother's collar, dragging Page One down the stairs with her.
The two dinosaurs crashed onto the floorboards, rolling directly into Luffy's path.
Stopping his march, the rubber pirate looked down at the tangled pile of limbs.
Untangling herself from her brother, Ulti jumped to her feet. Dusting off her skirt, she glared fiercely through her patterned mask at the disguised intruder. Sensing the dense, overwhelming Haki radiating casually from the boy, her combat instincts triggered instantly.
"Who are you?!" Ulti demanded, her body expanding rapidly.
Shifting into their ancient Zoan forms, the siblings did not hesitate. Thick scales covered their skin. Sharp claws extended from their hands.
Lunging forward, Page One snapped his massive Spinosaurus jaws toward the intruder.
Sidestepping the bite effortlessly, Luffy coated his fist in Armament Haki, the captain delivered a quick, heavy upper-cut to the dinosaur's chin, rattling Page One's jaw and sending him crashing into the wall.
"You hit my brother!" Ulti shrieked, lowering her head.
Charging like a battering ram, the Pachycephalosaurus hybrid aimed a devastating headbutt directly at the pirate's chest.
Ulti-Mortar!
Preparing to dodge, Luffy shifted his weight.
Before the rubber captain could move, a tall figure dropped silently from the ceiling rafters. Wearing a white, horned mask and a massive nio-dasuki rope tied behind their back, the newcomer intercepted the charge.
Swinging a heavy, spiked iron kanabo, the masked warrior struck Ulti squarely in the side of the head.
Thunder Bagua!
The impact echoed like a cannon shot. The force of the Haki-infused strike knocked the Tobiroppo completely unconscious, sending her tumbling down the hallway.
Landing lightly on wooden sandals, the masked warrior grabbed Luffy by the collar of his dark cape.
"We have to go!" the horned figure urged, dragging the confused captain down the opposite corridor.
Recovering quickly from the upper-cut, Page One shook the dust from his scales. Spotting the masked warrior carrying the intruder away, the Spinosaurus roared in anger and immediately gave chase.
"Let me go!" Luffy demanded, struggling against the iron grip. "I have to get to the roof!"
"I can't talk here! Too many witnesses!" the masked warrior insisted, sprinting past a group of startled Beast Pirates.
Refusing to be carried around like a sack of potatoes, Luffy dug his heels into the floorboards. Using the sudden friction to halt their momentum, the captain spun around and launched a heavy, rubber kick directly at the pursuing dinosaur.
The strike caught Page One in the chest, stalling the pursuit.
Using the distraction created by the attack, the masked warrior grabbed Luffy again, diving through an open ventilation shaft and scrambling into the dusty, abandoned attic of the castle.
Elsewhere in the sprawling fortress, the invasion continued to carve a path of destruction.
Surrounded by a horde of heavily armed Gifters, Zoro and Bonney fought back-to-back in a wide courtyard.
Swinging Enma with devastating precision, the swordsman launched a compressed wave of flying force. The purple blade carved through the enemy ranks, shattering shields and sending dozens of Beast Pirates flying into the stone walls.
Matching the pace, Bonney ducked beneath a spear thrust. Pivoting on her heel, the glutton delivered a heavy, bone-crushing kick to an armored guard's stomach, clearing the immediate area.
"There are too many of them!" Bonney complained, wiping sweat from her brow.
"Just keep hitting," Zoro grunted, already searching for the next target.
Down on the Live Stage, the atmosphere remained chaotic.
Standing in front of the massive crowd, Orochi held a microphone. The Shogun delivered a rambling, paranoid speech detailing the history of Wano, the treachery of the Kouzuki family, and his own brilliance in stopping the time-traveling ghosts.
Approaching the performance area, a different threat loomed.
Stomping across the banquet hall, Big Mom ignored the Shogun's speech completely. The Emperor marched forward, surrounded by a swirling army of newly created, yokai-based Homies. Flames, storm clouds, and animated weapons danced around her massive frame.
"Where did she go?!" Big Mom roared, tearing a banquet table in half.
Moments earlier, the Emperor had cornered the navigator's group. Before the Yonko could launch an attack, Nami and Vivi group had simply vanished into thin air, utilizing the Apparition spell to teleport their division safely away from the crossfire. Furious at losing her prey, Big Mom now searched the Live Floor, destroying everything in her path.
Hidden securely beneath the choppy ocean surface, the Polar Tang maneuvered into position.
Navigating the treacherous underwater currents at the rear of Onigashima, the yellow submarine hovered below the foundations of Kaido's castle.
Standing in the control room, Law drew his long nodachi.
"Room."
A massive, glowing blue sphere expanded outward from the surgeon's blade, passing through the metal hull of the submarine and breaching the stone floor of the fortress above.
Gathering some of the Nine Red Scabbards into the center of the room, Law focused his spatial manipulation. Targeting a collection of rocks inside the castle basement, he swapped their positions.
Shambles.
The samurai vanished from the submarine instantly, teleporting directly into the lower levels of the enemy stronghold. Ordering the Heart Pirates to retreat into the deeper ocean to avoid detection, Law joined the Scabbards, leading the infiltration toward the main stage.
Dust motes danced in the dim light of the castle attic.
Sitting on a pile of broken crates, Luffy crossed his arms. "Start talking. Who are you?"
Reaching up, the masked warrior unfastened the horned disguise. Pulling the porcelain mask away, a young woman with long, stark white hair tipped with teal framing her face revealed herself.
"My name is Yamato," she announced, her eyes shining with intense admiration. "I am Kaido's son."
Luffy blinked, unfazed by the contradiction in terms.
Reaching inside her kimono, Yamato pulled out a thick, worn notebook. "I witnessed the Legendary Hour twenty years ago. I watched Kozuki Oden burn in the boiling oil to save his retainers. It was the most glorious, honorable thing I have ever seen. I found his journal washed up on the riverbank later that day."
Clutching the journal tightly, a fierce determination burned in her chest.
"Oden wrote about opening the borders of Wano," Yamato continued, speaking rapidly. "He wrote about a massive war that would engulf the world. Kaido is destroying this country. I want to fulfill Oden's dream. I want to fight by your side."
Leaning forward, she offered the final, crucial piece of information.
"I am a friend of Ace," Yamato confessed softly. "We fought here in Onigashima years ago. We drank sake together."
The suspicion instantly vanished from the captain's face.
"You know Ace?" Luffy asked, a wide smile breaking across his features.
Nodding enthusiastically, Yamato grinned back.
"Okay," Luffy agreed immediately, standing up from the crates. "Let's go beat up Kaido."
Holding up her wrists, Yamato stopped him. Heavy, metallic cuffs shackled her arms.
"I can't leave this island," she explained, looking down at the metal. "Kaido locked these explosive cuffs on me when I was a child. If I step off Onigashima, they detonate. I am a prisoner here."
Frowning, Luffy reached out. "I can take those off for you."
Before his fingers could touch the metal, a loud, booming voice echoed from the floorboards below them. The sound carried through the castle's internal projection system, broadcasting directly into the attic.
Down on the Live Stage, Kaido had taken the microphone from Orochi.
"Listen closely!" the King of the Beasts roared, commanding the attention of the entire fortress.
Stopping their conversation, Luffy and Yamato peered through a small grate in the floor, watching the main hall below.
Big Mom stomped onto the stage, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the dragon Emperor.
"The Big Mom Pirates and the Beast Pirates have allied!" Kaido announced, the words crashing over the silent crowd. "We are going to claim the Ancient Weapons. We are going to find the One Piece. And to do that, we are transforming this country!"
Pointing his spiked kanabo out toward the ocean, Kaido laid out his vision.
"The New Onigashima Project begins tonight!" the Emperor declared. "Wano is a natural fortress. We are moving this entire island to the Flower Capital! We will enslave the remaining citizens and turn the entire nation into a lawless paradise for pirates! The greatest weapon factory in the world!"
Standing near the edge of the stage, Orochi's face twisted in unhinged panic.
"You can't do that!" the Shogun protested angrily, waving his arms. "The capital belongs to me! Wano is my territory! You need my connections to the World Government!"
Kaido didn't even look at him.
Drawing King's massive katana in a blindingly fast, casual motion, the Emperor swung the blade horizontally.
The sharp steel sliced cleanly through Orochi's neck.
The Shogun's head tumbled from his shoulders, rolling across the wooden stage. The headless body collapsed into a pool of blood.
Shock paralyzed the entire banquet hall. The Beast Pirates stared in horror as the ruler of Wano died in a single stroke.
Tossing the bloody sword towards King, Kaido looked down at the terrified Oniwabanshu ninja and the Mimawarigumi samurai who had accompanied the Shogun to the festival.
"I do not need the Kurozumi clan anymore," Kaido stated coldly. "The choice is simple. Join my crew right now, or die right here. Make your decision."
Peering through the grate, Yamato gritted her teeth in fury.
"He is insane," she whispered, anger radiating from her trembling hands. "He is really going to enslave everyone."
"He isn't doing anything," Luffy corrected, his voice turning cold and serious.
Furious at the Emperor's cruelty and the danger presented to Momonosuke, the captain didn't bother finding the stairs. Drawing his fist back, Luffy punched through the wooden floorboards of the attic.
The flooring shattered.
Tumbling through the broken ceiling, Luffy and Yamato fell directly onto the balcony overlooking the Live Stage. The sudden crash drew the attention of thousands of pirates, ruining their stealth.
Landing lightly on his feet, Luffy reached out and grabbed the explosive cuffs binding Yamato's wrists.
Focusing his advanced Armament Haki, the rubber captain channeled the spiritual energy directly inside the locking mechanisms. The internal gears shattered instantly. Ripping the cuffs apart with his bare hands, he tossed the heavy metal shackles over the balcony.
A split second later, a massive, deafening explosion ripped through the cavern.
The blast destroyed a large section of the seating area, confirming the lethal nature of the restraints. Spectators screamed, diving for cover as smoke billowed into the air.
Down on the stage, Kaido turned toward the explosion, searching the smoke for the intruders.
The Emperor never saw the ambush coming.
Bursting from the shadows behind the execution platform, the Nine Red Scabbards attacked in silence. Moving with the speed of twenty years of accumulated vengeance, Kin'emon and Denjiro led the charge.
Leaping into the air, the samurai unleashed their blades.
"Sunacchi!" the retainers roared together, the ancient Wano battle cry echoing through the dome.
The katana blades struck the King of the Beasts simultaneously. Pushing through the impenetrable dragon scales, the weapons pierced Kaido's flesh. Blood sprayed across the wooden stage.
Stumbling backward from the force of the ambush, confusion flashed across Kaido's face. The impossible had just happened. The ghosts of Oden Castle had returned, and their blades carried the same terrifying Haki as their fallen master, officially beginning the final war for Wano.