The New World.
A warship with a dog-shaped figurehead cleaved through the raging waves, charging full speed toward Onigashima in Wano.
On the deck, the Marine hero Monkey D. Garp stood with his arms crossed, his face so dark it looked like you could wring water out of it.
The sea wind tugged at his graying crew cut, but it couldn't blow away the irritation carved between his brows.
Buru buru buru…
The Den Den Mushi beside him rang, mimicking Sengoku's trademark goat beard and stern expression.
Garp snatched it up impatiently. "Sengoku. What is it now?"
"Damn it, Garp! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Sengoku's roar burst from the other end, fury barely restrained. "Do you realize what it means if you charge in alone? You're going to drag the Marines into a full scale war against two Emperors!"
"So what?" Garp dug a finger into his nose, utterly unconcerned. "Ace got taken. You expect me, his grandpa, to just sit and watch?"
Sengoku fell silent for a moment, then his voice softened slightly. "Garp, listen. We've got new intel. Aaron Kael is also heading for Wano."
"Oh?" Garp raised an eyebrow. That was exactly what he'd expected.
"Kael's motive is still unclear. That flying battleship of his might even have traces of Shiki's influence," Sengoku said grimly. "Garp, this is a chance. Kael will draw most of Kaido's attention. You can use the chaos to extract Ace and his unit and avoid direct conflict with Kaido and Kael. That's the best option for the Marines right now."
Garp listened to Sengoku's "optimal solution" and snorted.
Avoid conflict. Rescue in the confusion.
He knew, clear as day, why Kael was going to Wano. It was for Ace, one hundred percent.
That brat never said it out loud, but he was more protective than anyone when it came to his own.
If Garp really followed Sengoku's plan and hid in the back to pick up scraps, then when it was over, wouldn't Kael laugh him to death?
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you. You're so damn naggy, Sengoku," Garp grumbled, and hung up.
He scratched at his head in frustration. Things were getting more and more complicated.
Kael was going to save Ace. Garp was going to save Ace. And yet neither of them could say it openly. They still had to pretend they were enemies.
"Ahhh! What a pain in the ass!" Garp roared, making the nearby Marines jump.
Whatever.
Plans, strategies, tactics.
Garp's "super genius" told him that at times like this, you used super power.
You punched every obstacle out of the way.
…
Meanwhile, above Wano.
The massive aerospace warship, the Widofnir, hovered above the clouds. Its black hull blotted out the sunlight below, casting a vast shadow across the land.
On the deck, the mood was nothing like their departure. A cold, murderous stillness hung in the air, the kind that came right before a battle.
"Fufufufu. Kaido's taste is still trash," Doflamingo said, adjusting his sunglasses as he looked down at the enormous skull-shaped island. "Onigashima still looks like the inside of a coffin."
"Shishishishi! I can smell that bastard Kaido!" Moriah trembled with excitement, the shadow beneath his feet twisting into all kinds of grotesque shapes. "My shadow is starving for revenge!"
Crocodile blew out a thick plume of smoke and snorted. "Just a beast den. We should level it with one barrage."
"Yahaha! A mere beast squatting in the lower world dares call itself 'Beasts'?" Enel hovered in midair, lightning flickering around him. "Pathetic. I'll show him what a real god looks like!"
Mihawk remained with eyes closed, as if asleep, but the black blade Yoru on his back gave off a faint, ominous hum.
At the bow, Kael stood looking down on that familiar yet unfamiliar land, his mind unruffled.
That old man Garp would be arriving soon, too. When he did, the scene would only get messier.
But messy was good.
The muddier the water, the easier it was to fish.
"Robin. Tell Morgans the broadcast can begin," Kael ordered without turning his head.
"Yes, Captain." Robin stepped to the railing and lifted a special video Den Den Mushi.
Kael drew a breath. His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried across the entire warship.
"Tom. Enel. Take us down."
"Roger!" Tom answered.
"Yahaha! Tremble, you mortals!"
With Enel's manic laughter, the Widofnir's engines released a low, rumbling roar. The ship began to descend, slipping through the thick cloud layer.
…
At the same time, on Onigashima.
A massive shadow swallowed the daylight, plunging the island into dim gloom.
"W what is that?"
"There's an island floating over us!"
Countless members of the Beasts Pirates stared upward, slack-jawed, as a colossal object emerged from the clouds.
A black hull laced with intricate dark gold patterns.
Dozens of blue-glowing thruster ports radiating ominous light.
A vicious, fanged ram at the prow that looked like it could punch a hole straight through the sky.
"It's a ship! A ship that can fly!"
"Is it Shiki?!"
At the peak of Onigashima, Kaido surged to his feet from his throne. Club in hand, he glared at the sky, suspicion flashing in his eyes.
He knew Shiki's ability well. But this ship didn't feel like the Float-Float Fruit at all.
And if he wasn't wrong, Shiki was off somewhere in a corner of the world, scheming in the dark.
When the aerospace warship Widofnir fully revealed itself above Onigashima, Kaido finally saw the man standing at the prow.
Black hair. Golden eyes.
A black coat traced in gold.
A massive black-and-gold naginata gripped in his hand.
If it wasn't the man carved into his bones, then who was it?
Aaron Kael.
And behind Kael, figures lined up on either side, each radiating a presence that made the air feel heavy.
The world's greatest swordsman, Dracule "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk.
"Sir Crocodile" Crocodile.
The "Underground Nightmare," Gecko Moria.
The "Heavenly Yaksha," Donquixote Doflamingo.
The "Gold Emperor," Gild Tesoro.
Kaido's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
His Beasts Pirates were numerous, but any one of those monsters could dominate a sea on their own.
How in the hell had those unruly beasts gathered in one place, and how were they all taking orders from Kael?
Beside Kaido, the lead All-Star, King the Wildfire, showed nothing behind his mask, but his sharp eyes were locked on the flying dreadnought.
Queen the Plague's fat body trembled. The cigar in his mouth nearly fell out. "Oi oi oi… you've gotta be kidding me. Why is that monster here?"
Jack the Drought went pale. He remembered years ago in Ringo, the sight of Kaido being crushed in a single move. It had become his lifelong nightmare.
"Kael!!!"
Kaido roared like a beast, old grudges and fresh hatred surging together.
The humiliation of being one-shot in Ringo years ago was a stain he could never wash away.
Kael stood at the prow, looking down at the formation below. A faint, amused smile tugged at his lips.
He didn't waste a single word.
He unleashed his Conqueror's Haki without holding back.
Boom!
An invisible shockwave erupted from Kael, forming a black-and-gold spherical domain that swallowed all of Onigashima in an instant.
The clouds above were ripped apart by brute force. The sea heaved into monstrous waves. The entire island shuddered under the pressure.
Thud. Thud.
Countless Beasts Pirates grunts couldn't last even a second. Foam spilled from their mouths as they dropped in waves, unconscious.
"Wororororo! Don't look down on me too much, Kael!" Kaido bellowed, releasing his own kingly Conqueror's Haki in answer.
Two of the strongest Conqueror's Haki in the world collided violently in midair.
Crackle!
Black-red lightning tore across the sky. The heavens and earth seemed to change color. The wind screamed like the end of the world.
Kael watched the officers below who still remained standing, and then looked at Kaido, whose presence had clearly risen far beyond what it had been back then. He spoke with lazy mockery.
"Oh? Been a few years. You've gotten stronger, Kaido."
His voice carried a teasing edge. "Looks like that lesson did you some good."
The moment he mentioned that crushing defeat, veins bulged on Kaido's face. Rage exploded.
Over these years, Kaido had swallowed humiliation and sharpened himself, his strength skyrocketing. He believed he finally had the capital to fight Kael head-on.
"Enough talk! What do you want?!"
Kael threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing across Onigashima's sky.
"What do I want? A pirate's nature is plunder."
He spread his arms. In his golden eyes burned both mania and amusement.
"I've set my sights on your Wano. So I came."
"You're courting death!!!"
Kaido's fury ignited completely. He stopped wasting words, his body swelling rapidly as azure scales surged across him, horns sprouting from his head. A colossal dragon body surged into the sky.
In the blink of an eye, an enormous blue dragon coiled above Onigashima, wind and thunder twisting around it, draconic might shaking the air.
Compared to that monstrous body, even the massive Widofnir looked small.
"Kael!" the dragon spoke, voice rolling like thunder. "If you still look down on me like you did in Ringo back then, you'll leave your life here today!"
Before the last word faded, Kaido opened his jaws, searing energy gathering in his throat.
The next second, a heat breath powerful enough to erase an island blasted straight toward the Widofnir.