Under Souta Kiryuu's command, a masked, heavyset man emerged from Capone Bege's body, followed by dozens of men in black suits—the unmistakable attire of the mafia.
But even through the disguise, the division commanders and members of the Whitebeard Pirates instantly recognized that bastard—Blackbeard Teach. Their gazes turned razor-sharp, murderous intent flaring as they focused on Kiryuu's group.
From the ark floating high above—the Ark Maxim—a brown-skinned, white-haired figure shot forth at lightning speed. His black wings cut through the air like afterimages as he hefted a massive cannon over his shoulder.
"Aim at that magic circle in the sky—fire the PH-01 Cannon Shell!"
Capone Bege barked the order, and his mafia soldiers scrambled to load and fire. Beside them, Kuma and Boa Hancock surged forward to cover the artillery squad, charging toward the massive glowing circle above.
At the same time, Blackbeard Teach and Trafalgar Law vanished together into a shimmering portal of darkness.
Up in the sky, Morgans, the great news king, noticed the monstrous bird—Tengu-like, fierce, and divine—rushing toward him. Still broadcasting live, he flapped his massive wings in panic and veered toward Shiki the Golden Lion and Big Mom for protection.
"Gahaha! Stirring up chaos is my passion—but running away is my major!"
The enormous albatross beat its wings furiously, speeding toward Big Mom and Shiki's direction, desperate to use the two Yonko as living shields. No one could stop him from continuing his live broadcast—not even death.
"Shiki! Let's go, now!!"
Big Mom—Charlotte Linlin—shouted furiously, her face twisted in rage. This one-legged fool still hadn't realized the truth. Now was the time to retreat, not fight.
"Kehahahaha! Linlin! Don't you want to see what it's like to fight the King of the World himself?!"
Shiki laughed madly. Grabbing his fallen sword, Dead Leaves, he tied it back onto his leg by force. His eyes blazed with defiance, pain flashing through them—but anger burned hotter.
Even though his leg screamed with agony, his fury wouldn't let him back down.
The so-called "King of the World" had humiliated him—he would repay that disgrace in blood.
With his blade reattached, Shiki swung both legs, unleashing waves of golden sword aura that split the air.
"We can't let that monster appear!!"
Whitebeard—Edward Newgate—felt an overwhelming sense of danger. For the sake of his sons' safety, he couldn't allow whatever creature was coming through that summoning circle to manifest.
"Heavenquake Break!!!"
As Souta Kiryuu and Dragon were held at bay by the Five Elders, Whitebeard stepped forward alone. His quake-inducing fists shattered the air, launching a second titanic assault on the mysterious entity.
At the same time, Kaido of the Beasts roared and tried to blast the portal as well—to avenge King, his fallen subordinate. But Saint Saturn and Saint Warcury leaped skyward, stepping on the air itself, and together slammed Kaido's massive azure dragon form down to the ground.
The blow sent Kaido—and the corpse of his loyal "Calamity," King—crashing deep into the earth, carving out an enormous crater.
Since Imu's summoning array had appeared, the Five Elders seemed to have gone mad. Their auras flared like they had taken some kind of berserker drug, their fear replaced by fanatical devotion.
From the enormous circle above, waves of shadow energy burst out—turning into countless jagged tendrils that whipped through the sky, swatting away every Seastone shell fired by Bege's mafia cannons.
But Whitebeard's blows once again fractured space itself, shaking the heavens. Cracks spidered through the magic circle's patterns, causing the surging shadow energy to falter and recede.
Yet—after the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit faded—the magic circle reformed, glowing even brighter than before. Endless shadows coalesced once more, writhing with ominous life.
"Try this!!"
Above the battlefield, the Asura Path aimed his massive launcher and fired a giant Seastone bomb straight at the circle.
BOOM!
The explosion tore the sky apart. Shards of Seastone rained down like silver hail, piercing through the air toward the monstrous silhouette forming within the circle.
Even the writhing tendrils of shadow couldn't deflect all the fragments.
Just as the shards were about to strike the shadow's core—
the entire circle vanished.
Gone.
Not a single trace left behind.
"Mission complete."
The Asura Path said flatly, turning back toward the Ark Maxim and soaring away.
Everyone below exhaled in relief. They thought it was over—that the summoning had been stopped. Even Morgans, still circling in the air, groaned in disappointment. So much for showing the world the true face of the so-called "King of the World."
But then—
The sky split again.
The massive summoning circle reappeared, this time right above Morgans himself.
Thousands of dark arrows of shadow erupted from within, streaking toward him at terrifying speed.
"GYAAAH!!"
Morgans screamed, his heart nearly bursting from fear. He flapped desperately, pushing his giant albatross body to the limit, becoming a blur in the air.
"Big Mom! Save me!!"
He dove toward Big Mom, not caring whether she wanted him near or not. In blind terror, he used her as a living decoy, dragging her into the line of fire.
Only those wrapped in Conqueror's Haki could possibly block such attacks—and even then, barely. After all, even King, the mightiest of Kaido's calamities, had been annihilated in an instant.
"MORGANS! GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!!"
Big Mom roared in fury as the fat bird flew toward her. Though she'd once invited the "Big News Emperor" to her tea party, she wasn't close to him—nor did she want to be his shield.
But before she could finish cursing, Shiki darted forward.
"Like hell I can't block you!!"
His entire body exploded with killing intent, aura blazing golden. With a fierce roar, he swung his right leg—
and a kilometer-long arc of golden sword energy tore across the heavens.
"Maaayaaah!!"
Morgans squawked in terror and dove straight down, narrowly avoiding Shiki's wild slash that cut through everything in its path.
BOOM!
The impact detonated in midair, shattering one of the incoming shadow arrows—proof that Shiki's rage-fueled strike had worked.
"Imu, huh?! Come out here!! Let me see what kind of ancient monster you really are, you damn fossil!!!"
Shiki howled at the magic circle, his expression fierce and unyielding.
"Lord Shiki! What dominance!"
Morgans, trembling but alive, quickly hid behind Big Mom and Shiki again, pointing his live broadcast transponder snail toward the massive summoning array.
He locked his lens on the shadowy figure within—desperate to capture the true image of the "King of the World."
But what greeted him was another rain of dark arrows.
The barrage forced Shiki, Big Mom, and their pirate crews to scatter, fleeing far from the sky's vortex.
"Kiryuu, kid! Hand over Ace!!"
Whitebeard's booming voice cut through the chaos as the magic circle reappeared yet again. His face was grim—ready for war if Kiryuu refused.
He was tired of this island. Every second they lingered only increased the danger. The shadow within the circle was far too terrifying—and the Navy's reinforcements were already on their way.
The war had gone far enough.
The Kiryuu Pirates had already slaughtered countless Celestial Dragons and achieved their objective. What more could they want?
Did Souta Kiryuu really believe that they could destroy the entire World Government before the Navy arrived?
Impossible.
Even those mythical Zoan awakeners could fight for ten days and ten nights without their strength fading.
But Whitebeard—old and sick as he was—knew he couldn't last nearly that long.
...
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