"Leave the Charlotte Family to us!"
With his katana drawn, Momonga's cold gaze swept over the attacking members of the Charlotte Family. He barked the order to the Marines behind him.
As a Vice Admiral who executed a Buster Call, he had the confidence to back up his words.
Standing at his side were Doberman, Dalmatian, Onigumo, Strawberry, Gion, and Tokikake — six Vice Admirals, lined up shoulder to shoulder.
The strongest forces from both sides locked eyes.
It was about to explode.
Perospero conjured a bow and arrow made entirely of candy in his hands.
Katakuri's right arm morphed into molten mochi, flames flickering from the intense heat.
Cracker didn't bother summoning his strongest biscuit soldiers — there was just too much seawater around for that. Instead, he readied his sword, the Pretzel, gathering power with a subtle ripple through the blade.
Ammande, Amande, Daifuku, and Oven followed close behind.
"Grilled Mochi!"
"Rain of Destruction!"
"Salted Pretzel Slash!"
"Heatwave Surge!"
…
Fiery mochi fists!
Arrows of candy raining down!
Scalding torrents of heated seawater crashing forward!
Compared to the Charlotte Family's colorful and diverse attacks, the Marines launched only a few straightforward, clean slashes in return.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!"
Watching from the shadows, Zephyr nodded quietly to himself.
Their swordsmanship… It wasn't any weaker than that rebellious student of his, Borsalino, who only knew how to fool around with his Devil Fruit power.
…
Meanwhile, inside the massive crater left by Whitebeard's attack…
Borsalino — the very man on Zephyr's mind — stood with arms crossed, looking every bit like a lazy manager avoiding real work while watching chaos unfold.
His amused eyes flicked between two "employees" who clearly didn't get along: Kuzan and Sakazuki.
"Sakazuki, let's go. Find Kaido's corpse," Kuzan said coldly. His tone wasn't that of a comrade — more like someone addressing a heretic.
That was the plan Admiral Sengoku had laid out beforehand: Vice Admiral Garp would cause chaos and draw everyone's attention, while the three of them would seize Kaido's body and then return to reinforce the main battlefield.
Now, it was Sakazuki's turn to get his hands dirty — melting the ground with magma to unearth Kaido's buried remains.
"I know what I need to do, Kuzan," Sakazuki shot back stiffly, tugging his cap lower over his eyes.
Ever since the incident at Ohara last year, his relationship with Kuzan had grown colder by the day. Not that he cared — in his eyes, justice was absolute. There was no room for compromise!
"Great Eruption!"
Scorching magma gushed from beneath Sakazuki's feet, slowly melting the solid bedrock of the island.
But this flashy move… it practically screamed "please come and stop me" to anyone with Observation Haki like King and Queen.
Queen's brachiosaurus head suddenly popped over the edge of the crater. A beam of laser light, impossible for most to defend against, fired from his mouth, aiming straight at Sakazuki!
"Kowaii ne~ For an Ancient Zoan, you sure can shoot lasers," Borsalino muttered as he blurred forward, placing himself between the beam and Sakazuki.
His squinty eyes narrowed further as he lifted both hands. A matching golden laser burst forth.
The two beams collided mid-air, neither overpowering the other right away.
But it wasn't over yet.
There was still another All-Star to deal with — King the Wildfire!
Soaring above like a fighter jet, King's flaming pteranodon form cast a shadow over the battlefield. His icy glare radiated pure hatred for the Marines.
His head tilted back — a signal.
The next instant, compressed air exploded as a powerful shockwave cracked through the atmosphere, sonic booms trailing in its wake.
And the target? Still Sakazuki.
"Great Eruption!"
"Ice Ball!"
Sakazuki's lower half vanished into magma as Kuzan reacted instantly, sealing the incoming attack in a sphere of ice.
Boom!
Say what you will about their bickering — when it came to battle, Kuzan didn't hesitate to cover his teammate.
But their teamwork left much to be desired.
The next second, Sakazuki's magma punch evaporated Kuzan's ice barrier, releasing a cloud of superheated steam across the battlefield.
Sakazuki followed up with another magma punch, colliding head-on with King's shockwave.
With a slight tilt of his head, Sakazuki sank deeper into the earth. Since Kuzan was willing to provide cover, he'd focus on the mission.
Boom!
Above, King swooped down with his massive sword slashing hard.
If these Marines came to die, he'd gladly oblige!
An icy bird and a flaming dragon clashed, filling the sky with brilliant yet deadly light.
Shaking off the frost forming on his arm, Kuzan formed two icy spears and hurled them upward.
All these fire-users… so damn annoying!
"Fufufufufu… Looks like a little rat's trying to steal something!"
The grating voice snapped Kuzan's attention away. He clenched his fist and looked up.
Standing atop the head of the Numancia Flamingo ship, Doflamingo grinned, his smile twisted and manic.
"Where do you think you're looking, you damn Marine?!"
Kuzan's moment of distraction was all King needed. With precise control over his flames, King coiled fire around his sword like a living dragon, ready to strike.
King dived with a roar.
The steam blanketing the battlefield was perfect cover for Kuzan. A freezing gale surged from his back, slamming upward.
Boom boom boom!
Their figures — one blue, one red — flashed back and forth between sky and earth.
For a moment, the battlefield became a world split between ice and fire.
The cascading shockwaves even disrupted Queen and Borsalino's duel.
Breaking off his sustained laser beam, Queen roared in frustration.
"Damn it, King! Stop screwing up my fight!"
Snapping his jaw shut, Queen swallowed a modified secret drug — his own twisted version of awakening.
His already massive form swelled even more, muscles bulging as speed and strength surged.
"Electric QUEEN!"
His beastly form lunged, tail crackling with electricity, moving far faster than his size suggested.
Like a living war hammer, Queen charged at Borsalino, bellowing:
"I'm gonna smash you to pieces!!"
"So scary~"
Only when Queen was practically on top of him did Borsalino casually sidestep, avoiding the blow with ease.
A second later, he appeared right in front of Queen's massive eye.
"Ever been kicked at the speed of light?"
With a smirk, he brought his leg down in a vicious whip kick.
"Spark QUEEN!"
In Borsalino's shrinking pupils, Queen's eye flared — and a blinding beam shot out point-blank.
Boom boom boom boom!
Even with his Logia powers, Borsalino couldn't fully dodge the explosion that lit up his face.
He was sent flying.
Pfft!
Queen's head jerked from the impact, blood trickling from the corner of his eye.
But the next second, powered by the drug, his bulk swelled even larger. Roaring, he unleashed a barrage of laser blasts from his gaping maw, tracking Borsalino's tumbling form through the air.
The wound at his eye? Healing right before their eyes.
"What terrifying regeneration…"
Borsalino couldn't help but mutter.
For the first time, he thought maybe that old geezer Zephyr had a point.
Some monsters out here couldn't be dealt with using Devil Fruit powers alone. You needed Haki.
Troublesome… He'd just have to wait until this beast ran out of stamina!
"You damn dirty monkey! All you do is run, you cowardly little pest!!"
After several failed hits, the enraged, half-crazed Queen let out a furious roar.
Both his right hand and heavily modified left arm lit up, unleashing laser beams.
Three laser blasts crossed paths, sweeping toward the darting Borsalino.
Mid-flight, Borsalino's face turned completely dark.
A fight was a fight, but why the personal attacks?!
"Fufufufufu... What a beautiful scene."
This chaotic battlefield—this was exactly what Doflamingo had wanted.
Especially Queen's string of curses, which made Doflamingo's grin stretch even wider, every tooth clearly showing as his smile bloomed.
He turned to the side and gave an order.
"Vergo. Let the little dog sleeping underground out. But make sure not to disturb Kaido-san's nap."
With his current Observation Haki, he could sense it clearly.
Kaido wasn't dead—just in some sort of hibernation-like state.
Maybe a special recovery method unique to the Azure Dragon fruit?
"I understand! Doffy!"
Standing behind Doflamingo, Vergo plucked the feather sticking to the corner of his mouth.
His body twisted—and transformed into a massive black dragon that blotted out the sky.
Even though he'd already seen the footage and knew Doflamingo had a Kaido replica at his side, watching it in person still left Zephyr with complicated emotions.
Because he recognized this man.
Vergo—not just a Devil Fruit user now.
But once, his own disciple.
Was he a defector… or had he never truly belonged to the Navy in the first place?
As these bitter thoughts swirled, Vergo opened his gaping dragon maw, sucking in the surrounding air like a black hole.
His throat bulged grotesquely, losing the elegant bearing of a true dragon.
"Roar!"
A compressed gas bomb, condensed to the limit, shot through the air in a flash.
It drilled straight into the molten spot where Sakazuki had disappeared.
Vergo dove in right after, plunging headfirst.
A brief swim through lava meant nothing to him.
RUMBLE—!
Sakazuki, who had only just descended less than two hundred meters in his magma form, abruptly stopped.
A magma fist launched upward.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
It was like some demon lord sealed underground was now struggling to break free, triggering a chain of violent explosions.
The canyon floor began to crack apart, inch by inch.
If it weren't for the magma surging upward, the scene would've looked eerily similar to Whitebeard's old tactics.
The seeping lava turned the entire gorge into a furnace of scorching heat and blinding red light.
And yet, the temperature kept rising.
BOOM!
A massive jet of fire and molten rock surged skyward, piercing through the clouds.
Dragon and magma man burst out together, locked in fierce combat.
THUD!
They clashed, each landing a heavy blow.
Both were knocked back!
Vergo slapped the stubborn magma clinging to his chest aside.
Then raised his black iron staff high.
CRACK!
The storm clouds, already churned by Charlotte Linlin, unleashed a bolt of lightning.
It wrapped around Vergo's body.
If flames wouldn't do the job, then he'd just switch tactics!
With lightning crackling along his "Dragon Fang" staff, Vergo's speed skyrocketed as he enhanced his Soru.
Now he moved as fast as a thunderclap!
Sakazuki, meanwhile, had fully merged his lower body into magma.
Fused with the lava pool below him, he now resembled a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"Lightning Surge!"
"Hellhound!!!"
Two forces of pure destruction collided head-on.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Deep underground, even Kaido—half-buried and still in his half-conscious state—could feel the heat of the battle above.
His muddled mind stirred just a little.
But still, he kept munching on dirt...
"Fufufufufu… Time for me to go find some fun! Smoothie, watch my ship—the Numancia Flamingo!"
Having enjoyed the spectacle long enough, Doflamingo shot off toward the most intense part of the battlefield.
Leaving behind one final call:
"Hawk-Eye, free play time starts now!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg