Marco turned to Ace and the others, his expression steady.
"Ace, take your men back through Brulee's mirror first. I will head to Wano and see the situation myself."
Ace nodded without hesitation. "Understood. Be careful, Marco."
Without another word, Marco spread his phoenix wings and ascended into the sky, flames rippling behind him as he followed the massive pink dragon ahead, Kaido already racing toward Wano.
King immediately transformed into his Pteranodon form and soared after them. Roux shifted into his pink dragon form as well, keeping pace. As King passed above the Beasts Pirates fleet, he called down to Jack.
"Jack, the war is over. Return to Wano immediately. Something has happened."
"Yes," Jack responded at once.
Several hours later, Kaido and Marco arrived.
What greeted them was devastation.
The once towering Nation Protecting Wall, a structure that had stood nearly a thousand meters tall, was now half destroyed. It appeared as though an enormous blade had sliced through it at an angle. The side facing Onigashima had suffered limited damage, but the portion facing Wano had been obliterated, reduced to only four or five hundred meters in height.
Beyond it, there was nothing.
The land of Wano Country had completely vanished.
Even with the collapse of the wall lowering the water level by several hundred meters, there was no trace of the island. No ruins. No mountains. Nothing remained.
Kaido hovered in the air, staring at the empty sea below.
"Damn it," he growled.
With the water level lowered, more of Onigashima was exposed, but that only made the absence of Wano more obvious.
Marco frowned, his gaze sweeping across the destruction. "This level of power is overwhelming."
Kaido's jaw tightened. Wano was not merely territory. It was the foundation of his decades of effort. The factories, the weapons production lines, the Sea Prism Stone resources, the SMILE fruits, all of it had been built there.
Now it was gone.
Kaido descended onto Onigashima. The surviving members of the Beasts Pirates rushed forward when they saw him.
"Governor Kaido, you are back!"
Kaido's eyes fell on the one leading them, Poker, one of his Headliners, whose limbs were formed from serpentine bodies.
"Poker," Kaido said coldly. "Where is Queen? And Caesar?"
Poker's expression was grim. "Lord Queen's Vivre Card has completely burned away. As for Caesar, we never made a Vivre Card for him, but with that level of destruction… I am afraid…"
Kaido's face darkened further. His fists clenched unconsciously. He did not need confirmation to understand what had happened to those stationed in Wano.
After Orochi's earlier feigned death triggered the explosives beneath Onigashima, severely damaging the island, Kaido had moved much of his headquarters operations to the Flower Capital. He had believed the location secure.
He had not anticipated that the World Government would strike with such ruthlessness.
Kaido looked at the hundreds of surviving pirates before him. "Are you the only ones left from all of Wano?"
Poker nodded painfully. "Yes."
Silence fell.
Kaido lowered himself onto a massive stone, his imposing figure strangely still. Wano Country had been the result of decades of conquest and ambition. In a single moment, it had been erased.
Marco surveyed the ruins and the empty sea beyond. Even he could not suppress the weight of what he was witnessing. The power of an Ancient Weapon was no exaggeration. It could truly erase an entire nation.
Terrifying.
He turned to Poker. "How long did it take from the appearance of the weapon to the destruction of Wano?"
Poker stiffened. "Weapon?"
"Uranus," Marco said evenly.
Poker's eyes widened. "You mean that giant flying ship was the Ancient Weapon Uranus?"
Marco gave a cold smile. "What else could possess such destructive force?"
He continued, his tone serious. "Answer the question."
Poker steadied himself. "When it appeared, it emerged from a massive magic circle. It descended slowly. I would estimate several minutes passed before it attacked."
"Several minutes…" Marco murmured.
Poker continued, "After that, numerous cannon like structures extended from beneath it. They emitted a blinding white light. We could not see anything. Then there was a deafening roar, followed by violent shockwaves. By the time we could open our eyes again, Wano was gone."
Marco's expression grew more solemn.
A teleportation array combined with Uranus. The ability to appear above a target, charge for several minutes, and annihilate it from the sky. From a strategic standpoint, it was a devastating tool for erasing nations.
He turned to Kaido. "Your base has been destroyed. Are you going to retaliate?"
A savage light flashed in Kaido's eyes.
"Retaliate? Of course I will retaliate!" he roared. "I will show the World Government the consequences of provoking me!"
His body transformed instantly into a massive pink dragon. He surged into the sky, fury radiating from him.
"Let us go!"
"Mr. Kaido," King called out sharply, flying up to block his path. "Even if we seek revenge, we cannot act recklessly."
Kaido paused. Though enraged, he was not ignorant of reality. The World Government's strength was formidable. Beyond the Five Elders, there were also the God's Knights. If they attacked Mary Geoise, the Marines would mobilize as well, likely led by Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the Admirals.
Marco remained calm. "Attacking Mary Geoise does not mean we must defeat them outright. It is a declaration of war. The Three Emperors Alliance was formed to bring down the World Government. They have already attacked Whole Cake Island and now Wano. If we remain silent, we will appear weak."
King nodded. "If we declare war, we must inform the Big Mom Pirates. This is an alliance. The World Government has clearly begun targeting us. The more they pressure us, the more united we must become."
Kaido slowly returned to human form, his anger settling into something colder.
"You are right," he said. "We must inform Linlin. If we are truly going to war with the World Government, we will need her power. And we will need the abilities of the Mirror Mirror Fruit."
Marco gave a short nod.
The destruction of Wano had already changed everything.
===
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