Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
And now—
At the edge of the First Half of the Grand Line, the world held its breath.
The greatest war in history was about to begin.
Approximately one hundred and seventy Marine ships stood assembled across the sea—one hundred and seventy warships arranged in precise formation, their cannons aligned, sails taut, flags snapping sharply in the wind.
From above, the formation looked like a steel wall stretched across the ocean itself.
Every Marine stood at attention.
Hands on weapons, eyes fixed on the horizon.
They were waiting, waiting for pirates to appear.
And they didn't wait long.
Only a few minutes passed before the sea ahead stirred.
A single ship emerged.
Not a fleet.
Just one.
But the moment it appeared—
Every Marine became alert.
Because that ship carried a crew powerful enough to make even Admirals tense.
The Red Hair Pirates had arrived.
The Red Force cut cleanly through the waves, its presence calm, overwhelming, undeniable.
No warning shots. No provocation. It simply stopped at a distance—close enough to be seen, far enough to avoid conflict.
They didn't engage.
They waited.
Minutes passed.
Then—
The sea on another horizon began to churn violently.
Massive shadows rose from the depths, and a monstrous fleet surged forward.
The Big Mom Pirates had arrived.
Towering ships, grotesque designs, living homies clinging to hulls and sails—an armada that radiated madness and terror. Yet, just like the Red Hair Pirates, they did not attack.
They stopped.
They waited.
Their intention was clear.
First, let everyone gather.
Then—
Divide the cake.
The Marines.
The world.
Everything.
The air grew heavier.
Only a few more minutes passed—
And suddenly—
The sky darkened.
Clouds rolled unnaturally fast, blotting out the sun in uneven patches. The light dimmed, shadows stretching long across the sea.
Then—
A sound echoed.
" Worororrooroo, The greatest war I have been waiting for has finally arrived.
Marines take my greeting gift. "
Bolo Breath
The moment Kaido's voice rolled across the sky—
The clouds split.
From within the darkened heavens, a colossal dragon emerged.
Scale by scale, its massive body revealed itself, coils stretching across the sky like a living calamity. The air trembled under its presence alone. But Kaido didn't stop there.
His jaws opened.
And from within—
A pillar of molten destruction burst forth.
A Bolo Breath—compressed fire and heat so intense it distorted the air itself—ripped through the sky, racing toward the Marine formation as if meant to erase them from existence before the war could even begin.
Among the Marines—
Akainu's rage ignited.
"That reckless beast—!" he snarled.
Kaido hadn't waited for his crew.
Hadn't waited for anyone.
He had attacked simply because he wanted to.
Akainu stepped forward and punched the air.
Great Eruption
A colossal magma fist erupted from his arm, roaring upward to meet Kaido's attack head-on.
The two forces collided.
Fire and magma crashed together, neither yielding.
For several long seconds, the sky screamed.
Then—
The attacks canceled each other out.
What remained was nothing but violently boiling seawater below, massive clouds of steam rising into the air as heat evaporated the ocean itself at the point of impact.
Kaido let out a low, amused rumble.
"Wororororo…"
He didn't attack again.
Instead—
Beneath him, the sea shifted.
Dozens of ships surfaced, emerging in formation.
The Hundred Beast Pirates had arrived.
At the front of the main ship stood Yamato.
She gazed toward the Marine fleet, her expression calm—but heavy.
The moment one of the central figures of the enemy armada revealed herself—
The Marines grew tense.
Even seasoned Vice Admirals swallowed unconsciously.
Akainu's eyes locked onto Yamato.
And something inside him snapped.
"YOU—!"
Magma exploded beneath his feet.
In a blink, Akainu vanished from his position, surging across the sky straight toward Yamato like a living meteor.
No one interfered.
Not the Marines.
Not the pirates.
Not even Kaido.
He only watched—with interest.
Yamato inhaled slowly.
She gathered power—not rushing, not panicking.
Her hand tightened around her mace.
Then she leapt.
The two figures met in the air.
Black lightning erupted.
Yamato swung.
"Raimei Hakke!"
Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki wrapped her mace in roaring arcs of power as it crashed toward Akainu.
Akainu met it head-on.
The impact shook the sky.
The shockwave rippled across the sea, forcing ships on both sides to sway violently.
Akainu was pushed back.
Not far—
But enough.
Enough to make every witness inhale sharply.
Yamato didn't pause.
In the very next second, her body shifted.
Muscles expanded.
Fangs bared.
Her form transformed into her hybrid state.
Her eyes flared.
A strange, sharp clarity surged through her gaze as her power focused—not outward, but inward.
She raised her mace again.
This time—
She didn't swing.
She slashed.
Her Kanabo carved through the air, reinforced by Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki—and something more, something refined through her eyes.
Akainu blocked.
But once again—
He was forced back.
Water exploded beneath him as he skidded through the air, magma dripping from his arm.
Silence followed.
Yamato didn't pursue.
She landed back on her ship, her body slowly reverting to its normal form, mace resting against her shoulder.
For the next half an hour—
No one arrived.
The sea remained tense and silent, broken only by the creaking of ships and the restless shifting of thousands of eyes fixed on the horizon.
Everyone was waiting.
Impatient.
Everyone—
Except Kaido.
He was having the time of his life.
One moment, he swung his massive body toward Big Mom, laughing as their attacks clashed briefly, shockwaves rippling across the sea.
The next, he turned and hurled himself toward the Red Hair Pirates, testing them with wild, casual strikes—more provocation than true battle.
And when even that grew dull—
Kaido attacked Marines.
Just because he could.
Even Yamato felt embarrassed.
She pinched the bridge of her nose, looking away as Kaido roared with laughter in the sky.
Behind her, King observed quietly.
Since Yamato had become captain, Kaido's posture had changed.
Looser.
More careless.
More reckless than ever before.
As if he had finally unshackled himself.
King said nothing.
After all—
They commanded a Double-Emperor-level crew now.
Who, in this sea, could they possibly fear?
Finally—
A few more minutes passed.
And a new presence arrived.
But not the one anyone had expected.
Dozens of ships cut through the sea in tight formation.
Black flags.
Revolutionary markings.
The Revolutionary Army had arrived.
At the center, on the main ship, stood Monkey D. Dragon.
No cloak.
No attempt to hide.
He stood openly, the wind pulling at his hair as his gaze swept across the battlefield.
Interest spread instantly.
Pirates.
Marines.
Emperors.
All eyes turned toward him.
They had heard the rumors.
That Yamato's movements were connected to Dragon.
That Ace's path had crossed his.
That this man was the world's greatest criminal.
And—
The man who had once stood at God Valley, saving Shanks and a Holy Knight.
Yamato looked at him.
Her expression was complicated.
Dragon was one of the reasons Ace had died.
And yet—
Ace had chosen that path himself.
She said nothing.
Dragon noticed her gaze.
He nodded once.
Yamato returned the nod.
Then looked back to the sky.
Still waiting.
And then—
The sea split.
A fleet of more than fifty ships emerged from the horizon.
At the front—
A massive whale-shaped vessel.
The Moby Dick.
The moment it appeared—
The air changed.
Standing at its bow was Whitebeard.
His eyes burned with fury.
And as he arrived—
Conqueror's Haki exploded outward.
The sea screamed.
The sky trembled.
In response—
More erupted.
Yamato
Kaido
Big Mom
Katakuri
Shanks
Dragon
Sabo
From the Marines—
Sengoku
Garp
More than ten Conqueror's Haki clashed at once.
The sky—
Split apart.
Clouds were torn to shreds, scattered violently across the heavens.
Perhaps—
This was the greatest gathering of Conqueror's Haki since the God valley incident.
Whitebeard raised his fist.
"Sengoku," he roared, voice shaking the world,
"take my punch."
He struck.
The air shattered as his fist surged toward the Marine fleet, power enough to sink everything in its path.
Sengoku's expression hardened—
But before he could move—
Garp vanished.
He shot forward like a cannonball.
"Whitebeard," Garp shouted, eyes blazing,
"don't be too arrogant!"
He pulled back his fist.
"Galaxy Impact!"
The two attacks collided.
The impact dwarfed everything before it.
The sea split.
The sky screamed.
The shockwave tore outward—
And the true clash between Pirates and Marines began.
---
Kaido seeing the clash of Whitebeard and Garp became exited and leapt from his ship straight toward the Red Force, the flagship of the Red Hair Pirates.
Kaido's laughter thundered across the battlefield.
"Wororororo! Shanks!"
His eyes burned with fury.
"I didn't expect you to be a traitor—
a traitor of the World Government!"
The words struck like a hammer.
"Now I understand," Kaido continued, voice heavy with accusation.
"Why you stopped me back then. Why you didn't let me help Big Mom."
His gaze sharpened.
"You were with the World Government from the very beginning."
At those words—
Eyes turned.
Unfriendly.
Suspicious.
Sharp.
Shanks said nothing.
Kaido didn't wait for an answer.
His kanabo descended.
A crushing swing, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, tearing through the air toward Shanks.
Shanks stepped forward.
Calm
Unhurried
He drew Gryphon
Black lightning coiled around the blade as Shanks answered the strike head-on—steel meeting kanabo in a deafening clash.
The sky split again.
Shanks didn't explain.
Didn't argue.
Misunderstandings like this could never be cleared with words.
A hundred explanations wouldn't matter.
Only strength would.
And just like that—
Shanks and Kaido began to fight.
---
Elsewhere—
Akainu, who had been preparing to reengage Yamato, suddenly felt the temperature spike violently.
A massive sphere of living fire descended from above.
"Prometheus—burn him."
Akainu turned.
Big Mom's voice boomed across the sea, filled with fury.
"Akainu! You dared to burn my island—
now prepare to face my revenge!"
The fire crashed down.
The war exploded into motion.
At Big Mom's command, the Big Mom Pirates surged forward.
Cannons roared.
Marine artillery answered.
Explosions rippled across the sea as iron and fire collided.
Homies screamed and laughed, unleashing lightning, flame, and living storms upon the Marine fleet.
Akainu rose to meet Big Mom.
Magma and flame clashed violently, turning the battlefield into an inferno.
And then—
Garp saw it.
Kaido
Fighting Red-Haired Shanks.
Something inside him snapped.
If Shanks had been imprisoned back then by him—
Luffy wouldn't have become a pirate.
And maybe—
Ace wouldn't have either.
Garp roared.
"Sengoku!"
"Take care of Whitebeard!"
His eyes burned with rage.
"I'll take my revenge on Shanks!"
He vanished.
The air cracked behind him as he shot forward like a meteor.
Whitebeard blinked in surprise—
Then laughed
" Gurararararraa "
"Garp…"
"You haven't changed."
Whitebeard shifted his gaze to Sengoku.
"Sengoku," he said calmly,
"show me whether your strength has declined or not."
Sengoku's eyes hardened.
If Garp had been Roger's rival—
Then he had always been Whitebeard's.
He stepped forward.
Golden light erupted.
Sengoku transformed, his massive Buddha form towering over the sea, radiating overwhelming pressure.
Whitebeard answered instantly.
He swung his fist.
The atmosphere itself shattered.
The sky screamed.
As another pair of Emperor-level monsters clashed—
The war crossed a line from which there was no return.
---
While the Four Emperors clashed with one another, something strange happened—
The wind shifted.
It condensed.
Twisted.
And formed into a human figure.
Monkey D. Dragon stepped out of the gale, standing calmly at the edge of the battlefield—directly in front of Aokiji's ship.
Kuzan looked up.
"…So," Dragon said quietly, his voice carried by the wind, "since everyone's fighting—"
He met Kuzan's eyes.
"Let's have a fight too."
Kuzan sighed.
"Man… how troublesome."
He scratched the back of his head, clearly uninterested. Part of him wanted to lie down, let the others tear the world apart, and take a nap until it was over.
But then he glanced around.
Admirals
Emperors
Legends
If he stayed out—
It would look like the Marines were afraid.
"…Guess I don't have much choice," Kuzan muttered.
Ice crept beneath his feet.
"Alright," he said, lifting his gaze,
"let's go."
In the next instant—
Both vanished.
The wind roared.
The sea froze and shattered.
And just like that, Dragon and Aokiji left the central battlefield, their clash tearing its own path across the ocean.
---
Five nautical miles away—
The sea was crowded.
Thousands of different pirate ships floated together, packed so tightly it looked like a floating city of greed.
They hadn't advanced earlier for a reason.
The main battlefield was a domain reserved for Admirals and Emperors.
Enter too early—
And you'd be crushed without even understanding how you died.
And worse—
You'd draw the attention of monsters.
So they waited.
But now—
The sounds reached them.
Thunderous impacts.
Exploding seas.
The sky splitting again and again.
The war had begun.
And with it—
Opportunity.
"They're fighting," someone whispered.
"If we go now…"
"We might kill a weakened Admiral."
"Or an Emperor."
Greed ignited.
Some believed—
If everyone here fell—
Then they could become the next Pirate King.
The next ruler of the world.
From one ship, a man with scarlet eyes stepped forward.
A bounty of 1.5 billion hung over his head.
Red-Eyed Dor.
He raised his weapon and laughed.
"Let's go—Dor Pirates!"
"For the One Piece—!"
"For the King of the World!"
Cannons roared.
Sails unfurled.
And just like that—
Thousands of pirate crews, from ten-million-berry nobodies to billion-berry monsters—
Charged toward the battlefield.
---