"That appearance…"
Seeing the wide grin on Luffy's face and the white flames coiling around his body, the expressions of the four Five Elders surrounding the ice cavern darkened instantly.
Although it differed slightly from the intelligence reports, with Imu-sama's personal confirmation, there was no doubt at this moment—Luffy had already completed the awakening of his Devil Fruit.
"The legendary Nika… actually appeared!?"
The four gigantic monsters stared ahead with a mixture of fear and shock, something flickering endlessly in their eyes.
As Imu's closest attendants, they understood all too well what Nika's emergence meant…
That's right!
It meant that their long-standing negligence—never truly taking the Nika Fruit seriously—was about to be exposed to Imu-sama!
They exchanged glances, reaching a consensus in an instant.
Without another word, the four Five Elders erupted with overwhelming pressure, preparing to strike Luffy in midair—determined to kill the Nika Fruit user on the spot.
However…
At that very moment, two pitch-black spatial wormholes abruptly opened before them.
The next second, the figures of Whitebeard and Kaido stepped out simultaneously from the void.
At the same time, Red's crimson silhouette appeared above everyone's heads.
"So many of you ganging up on our captain alone—don't you think that's a bit lacking in honor!?"
"Is this how the World Government does things!?"
"It's you!"
Seeing Red appear again in midair, Saint Saturn—who had just been toyed with by him earlier—instantly revealed an enraged expression, glaring up with hatred-filled eyes.
At this moment, he truly regretted not slaughtering these bastards back in Pangaea Castle at Mary Geoise.
Who would have thought that a moment's carelessness would allow these pirates to stir up such massive chaos?
"Shishishishi—why are all of you here?"
Luffy exclaimed in surprise when he saw all the Five Elders, two Emperors, and Red gathered around him just after setting sail.
But a wild, boar-like howl suddenly made his body shudder.
"Oooargh~!"
Saint Warcury, wreathed in black flaming ribbons, twisted his enormous body in midair, letting out agonized roars as he struggled—yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape the restraint of the steel fork in Luffy's hand.
Even so, Warcury's violent struggle pulled Luffy's attention back to him.
Luffy quickly called out to Red,"Red, I'll deal with this big boar first! I'll leave the rest to you guys!"
As he spoke, a surge of evolved, sacred light flashed briefly across Luffy's body.
Though it lasted only an instant, Red knew—
Luffy had already entered his Pokémon-ization · Complete Form.
The next moment, Luffy's body transformed, stretching and coiling like an elastic rope, wrapping tightly around Saint Warcury.
Invisible to all others, two Luffy clones grabbed both ends of Elastic Rope Luffy, swung him with all their might, then suddenly let go.
In an instant, Luffy and Saint Warcury were launched like a comet toward the distant sky, completely breaking away from the Five Elders' encirclement.
"I've got this~"
Red smiled reassuringly, raising his hand and flashing an "OK" gesture toward Luffy's retreating figure.
Then his gaze shifted downward to the four remaining Five Elders, the warmth in his smile fading into a polite, measured one.
"Honorable Five Elders, you heard my captain's order, didn't you?"
"He doesn't want you interfering with his battle."
"So next, please set aside any other thoughts and focus on fighting Whitebeard and Kaido, the two senior legends."
"Oh, right~"
"I've heard you're all immortal. Not sure if that's actually true…"
"If it is, then that's wonderful!"
As he spoke, Red's expression turned unsettling, a familiar glint of greed flashing in his eyes—one that made Saint Saturn's heart sink.
"Because…"
"I'm really looking forward to running all kinds of experiments on you after I defeat you."
"Who knows—maybe using your immortality, I could even build a true perpetual motion machine?"
Red grinned broadly.
Yet the seriousness burning in his eyes sent a chill down the spines of the remaining Five Elders, their expressions changing drastically.
"You brat… you dare!?"
Humiliated and enraged, their gathered pressure condensed into dark clouds that surged toward Red.
But Red decisively retreated, positioning Whitebeard and Kaido in front of himself as shields.
With an infuriating grin, he added:
"My apologies, gentlemen."
"Combat isn't really my strong suit."
"So I'll leave this honor to the two senior legends."
"Whitebeard, Kaido—you don't need to hold back."
"Defeating the Five Elders, storming the Red Line, and making your names echo through history—today's the day!"
"Hah! Even without you saying it, I'd do it, brat!"
After hearing Red's words, Kaido's mouth twitched slightly.
For some reason, he no longer felt like a warrior challenging the world's authority—
Instead, he felt like hired muscle paid by Red.
This kid… had probably planned it this way from the very beginning.
"So I've been used as a weapon, huh~"
Kaido finally realized that from start to finish, he'd been led around by the nose by Red—or rather, the Straw Hat crew.
Strangely, what should have been infuriating didn't make him explode in anger.
After witnessing the power the Straw Hats displayed, he found himself silently enduring it.
Though he didn't know what "Nika" truly was, as someone once experimented on by the World Government and a former ruler of Wano, Kaido had learned many truths about history.
The moment Luffy's Nika form appeared, Kaido sensed how extraordinary it was.
Especially that strange drumming sound…
If circumstances allowed, he would've loved to sit down and have a long talk with the Straw Hats.
Clearly…
All his previous assumptions had been wrong.
The power and methods possessed by the Straw Hat Pirates had completely surpassed his understanding.
Perhaps he should change his mindset—and take this opportunity to truly exchange ideas with them.
But all of that would have to wait until after the battle!
On the opposite side,
Knowing Red's abilities, the Five Elders quickly realized—
To kill the Joy Boy spoken of by Imu-sama, they had to deal with the two Emperors first!
Otherwise, Red would endlessly use his terrifying spatial abilities to block their movements.
Though defeating Emperors was no easy task, the immortal Five Elders didn't believe it was impossible.
It would simply be… arduous.
In an instant, the entire sea boiled once more.
Far off at the horizon, Luffy looked like a Spanish matador, engaging in a terrifying yet comical aerial bullfight with the boar.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard—empowered by the Parental Love trait—had advanced far beyond his original strength.
This time, he switched opponents, deliberately choosing Saint Saturn and Saint Ju Peter—one a spider, the other a sandworm—far better suited to ground combat.
On the other side, Itsumade and Makotsu surged forward to meet Kaido's charge head-on.
The great battle was about to erupt!
…
…
Elsewhere.
Under the coordination of several Vice Admirals, the Marines finally regrouped their remaining forces.
Knowing they were no match for the top-tier battlefield, they wisely withdrew from the area, sneaking across the shattered ice fields toward the Whitebeard Pirates' fleet.
Out of more than a hundred warships, only a little over eighty remained operational after the chaos—losses exceeding one-fifth.
Even so, over eighty large warships were still a force no faction at sea could afford to underestimate.
…
…
"Marco, the Marine warships seem to be closing in on us!"
Aboard the Moby Dick, Ace—who spotted the movement first—immediately warned Marco, the Whitebeard Pirates' unofficial vice-captain.
Marco nodded as well. "Looks like the Marines don't plan on quietly waiting for the battle to end."
"That's fine…"
"At least we didn't come here for nothing."
Marco grinned.
He knew exactly why the Marines chose them instead of the Beasts Pirates.
After all, the Whitebeard Pirates hadn't come to Totto Land seeking war. Aside from the Moby Dick, fewer than twenty ships had accompanied them.
If not for the recent pressure from the Marines and World Government forcing them to travel in groups, they might not have even gathered a dozen ships.
"Battle time!?"
Vista of the Flower Swords drew his blades, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
At Marco's command, the Whitebeard fleet moved swiftly, sailing straight toward the Marine armada.
…
…
"So the Marines and Whitebeard have started moving?"
On the other side, at the Beasts Pirates' fleet, one of the Three Calamities—King the Wildfire—stood at the bow, frowning slightly beneath his mask as he watched the Whitebeard Pirates advance.
Beside him, Jack the Drought couldn't help stepping forward."King, the Marines are already moving—aren't we going to close in too!?"
"What's the rush!?"
At that moment, Queen the Plague suddenly spoke up.
The man suspected to be Franky's biological father wiggled his massive body, letting out a crafty laugh."Wouldn't it be better to let Whitebeard and the Marines tear each other apart first!?"
"Don't forget—our original goal was to seize Totto Land!"
"Fufufufu…"
Queen plopped down on the railing, cigar in his mouth, watching the distant battlefield like it was a show.
But then, King—appointed by Kaido as the fleet's temporary commander—suddenly turned around, his voice cold and decisive:
"All ships, move out immediately. We're going to support the Whitebeard Pirates."
"What!?"
Queen's jaw dropped, his freshly lit cigar falling straight to the deck.
Ignoring it, he shouted in disbelief:
"Are you sick, King!?"
"Don't forget—the Whitebeard Pirates are our competitors!!!"
"I know that."
King didn't turn back. Instead, he looked toward the distant battlefield where Luffy fought, starlight flashing in his hidden eyes.
Then he said firmly:
"But what does that have to do with helping them right now?"
"Don't forget—the World Government and the Marines are our real enemies!"
"If Whitebeard's side collapses and affects Kaido-sama's battle, that would be the real loss!"
"As for the Whitebeard Pirates… we'll have plenty of chances to deal with them later."
"..."
Hearing King's explanation, Queen followed his gaze to the far-off sky.
There, Luffy had transformed into a towering giant, gleefully spinning Saint Warcury by his tusks like a carnival ride.
The violent winds scattered the surrounding clouds, sunlight pouring straight down onto the sea.
Elsewhere, Whitebeard—commanding the ground advantage—used his quake powers to suppress the sandworm and Saint Saturn, who couldn't burrow or seriously harm him.
Further still…
Though two Straw Hat fighters were being pressed by Akainu and Aokiji, they fought back-and-forth, completely tying down the Marines' top combat power.
Looking across the entire high-level battlefield…
It seemed that only their captain, Kaido, was getting beaten around.
Under Makotsu's terrifying slashes, even the old wound left by Kozuki Oden had gained countless new gashes.
Though the Five Elders differed in strength…
The bald Elder was unquestionably the strongest, and Itsumade—Saint Mars' form—was the only one who truly ruled the skies.
Yet no matter how he looked at it, Kaido seemed to be the one falling behind.
Gulp.
Realizing this, Queen swallowed hard.
Only then did he understand—
Among all these factions, they were actually the weakest!
Wait… how did things end up like this!?
When did old, sick Whitebeard become this terrifying!?
And that Straw Hat kid—barely active for over a year—should that kind of power even exist in this world!?
And those five monsters—injured again and again, yet recovering instantly!?
Could they really be immortal, just like that brat Red said!?
That… how is that possible!?
Suddenly, Queen felt his scalp go numb.
Did the world evolve without telling them!?
At that thought, he fell silent, letting King pull out a Den Den Mushi and issue orders to the Beasts Pirates.
Jack, another of the Three Calamities, didn't think that deeply.
As long as there was a fight, it was fine!
Especially when he saw the Beasts Pirates' fleet charging across the sea, rapidly closing in on the Marines—his excitement skyrocketed.
After all…
What he loved most was ramming ships head-on!
(End of Chapter)