Souta Kiryuu quickly flew back toward the Ark Maxim, his massive dragon wings cutting through the sky. He needed Manjushri's healing at once to restore his full battle strength.
"Hmph! Don't think soaring through the skies will keep you safe!"
Saint Galin steadied himself, then unleashed two colossal slashes of sword aura skyward. The devastating strikes split the clouds apart as if the heavens themselves were being torn in half.
The sheer force of the sword energy made everyone aboard the Ark Maxim break out in cold sweat. Souta immediately lunged forward, intercepting the slashes, pushing the flying vessel out of harm's way.
"This Ark is our most vital ally in toppling the World Government. I won't let you destroy it!"
A gale-force slash, sharp enough to rend the very air, erupted across the sky. It shattered Galin's attack with terrifying precision. The Revolutionary Army's leader, Dorag, emerged amidst the storm winds. His sudden arrival left onlookers stunned—he had disengaged from battle at an impossible speed, moving as if lightning itself carried him.
"You damn green-cloaked rat! Your future-seeing Observation Haki has grown even sharper!" Galin snarled, glaring at Dorag. He turned his fury toward Forth Saint and Kneif Saint, his fellow Knights of God, who had failed to delay their foes.
And then—fiery magma fists erupted from below, blasting toward the Ark.
"It's Fleet Admiral Akainu!!"
The nearby marines erupted in thunderous cheers. Reinforcements from Marine Headquarters had finally arrived.
Almost immediately, the sea froze solid, ice spreading faster than thought. Both pirates and marines ceased their skirmishes in shock. Then came a wave of deafening cheers from the navy, while pirates and treasure hunters panicked, scrambling to flee.
"Admiral Aokiji has arrived as well! Today, victory will belong to justice!"
With two Admirals joining the battlefield, the tide shifted dramatically. The marines' morale soared, while the revolutionaries' faces turned grim—many were already considering retreat.
By now, Bartholomew Kuma should have rescued his friends and the remaining civilians. Without further reinforcements, pressing onward would be reckless.
"Rooaaar!!"
The dragon form of Souta Kiryuu roared as he shielded the Ark Maxim, tanking several of Akainu's molten fists head-on.
"Damn it! Why is Kaido slower than the Marines?!" Souta cursed, clutching the flying ship and soaring higher into the skies, finally evading Akainu's Meteor Volcano barrage.
He quickly shifted back into human form, landing on the deck. Manjushri hurried to heal him, while Souta downed several of Dr. Vegapunk's nutrient serums to hasten his recovery.
Meanwhile, Dorag had already begun retreating with his men.
But then—a colossal blast of fiery breath scorched the frozen sea, obliterating marines and pirates alike in a single, indiscriminate strike.
"Guhahahaha!! Souta, brat—you actually drew out all these big names! Then let this war continue! Let's overturn the seas completely!!"
The monstrous voice of Kaido of the Beasts thundered closer, wrapped in an overwhelming surge of Conqueror's Haki. His excitement was palpable.
"The Yonko… Kaido of the Beasts is here!!"
Marines on the ice let out horrified cries. Was today's conflict about to escalate into a world-shaking war?
"Kaido! This doesn't concern you! Leave now!"
"Meteor Volcano!!"
Akainu immediately unleashed another barrage, aiming his fury at Kaido. Their mission was clear: capture Souta Kiryuu and Kuma. They had no intention of fighting a Yonko.
"Pathetic mutt! These little fireballs are for warming my sake—get lost!"
Kaido's roar ripped through the skies as countless wind blades shredded Akainu's magma fists and hurled the molten fragments back.
"Kehahahaha! Kaido! I didn't expect you, brat, to show up too!!"
From the horizon, a massive floating island ship surged forward, the maniacal laughter of Golden Lion Shiki booming across the battlefield.
"Drop my treasures!!"
From atop the ship, Shiki ordered Dr. Indigo to release the monstrous beasts they had brought. Gigantic cages crashed down, bursting open to reveal terrifying creatures, each with the power of a Marine Colonel—or stronger. Their blood-red eyes gleamed as they ripped apart every human they saw.
"Not on my watch!"
"Ice Age!!"
Aokiji spread his arms, freezing swaths of the battlefield, trying to entomb the beasts before they could rampage.
"Don't you dare interfere with my pets!!"
"Thousand Slashes Valley!!"
Golden blades of air screamed down like a storm, cleaving through Aokiji's ice and even slicing apart his frozen pillars. The monsters gained precious time to scatter and spread chaos.
"The legendary pirate… Golden Lion Shiki himself has returned!"
Both marines and pirates trembled in terror. A man who once rivaled the Pirate King had appeared in the South Seas. If he was here, then the rumors of the Pluton blueprints and Pure Gold… might be true after all.
"Kehahaha! Celestial Dragons! Hand over the Pluton blueprints!!"
Shiki's deranged laughter rang out as he blurted his true purpose.
"Ma ma ma ma!! Shiki, you old fool! I didn't think a cripple like you would crawl out again!!"
The sky darkened as an enormous homie cloud descended. The tyrannical voice of Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, shook the battlefield.
Several titanic bursts of Conqueror's Haki exploded simultaneously.
From afar, Crocodile lurked at the edge of the Sorbet Kingdom's seas, his expression grim. Two Yonko and a legendary pirate had appeared.
If the rumors of Pluton's blueprints were real… there was no way he could seize them now.
"Damn it! Damn it all!!"
The cigar in Crocodile's mouth snapped in half as rage consumed him. Yet he did not retreat. Instead, his body dissolved into sand, slipping ashore onto Sorbet Kingdom. He would try to snatch the prize from the shadows.
Meanwhile, near the cathedral within Sorbet, Bartholomew Kuma stood drenched in blood. His colossal body lay in ruins, but he had crushed an entire CP0 unit, buying Bege and the others time to save civilians into the castle.
Some were stored away with Bege's ability, others shrunk down by Jewelry Bonney—anything to shelter more survivors.
"Kuhaha~… our captain really went all out for this, didn't he?"
The devilish sheriff, Lafitte, twirled a stack of aged papers. Among them were a handful of genuine replicas of the Pluton blueprints—but most were meaningless ancient diagrams.
All forged by Vegapunk himself.
After all, few in this age could read ancient script. Let them scramble like fools.
Vegapunk had always sworn he would never build such a weapon of mass destruction. Yet he had studied every line of the Pluton plans, secretly harnessing its energy system to fuel his own machines—and even slipping elements of its design into the new airborne warships of Skypiea.
"Scatter these blueprints into the chaos. Then deliver the bulk to the Celestial Dragons or the CP agents," Lafitte sneered, his eyes gleaming.
Whoever gathered the full set would win nothing but the title of 'the world's most diligent fool.'