The patrolling grunts had no time to even register the threat before the invisible force of Whitebeard's will crashed into them.
Their eyes rolled back into their skulls, and they collapsed in silent heaps, their minds plunged into darkness.
The squad leaders and higher-ranking officers fared little better, letting out pained groans as their own consciousness buckled, sending them crumpling to the ground.
Even the mighty Flying Six were struck by the sudden, overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki.
A splitting pain shot through their heads, and they gritted their teeth, confusion and shock flooding their minds.
Why would Kaido unleash such a ferocious, indiscriminate attack?
Was there an emergency?
However, the truth, delivered moments later, was far more terrifying: the Haki shockwave wasn't from Kaido at all.
"Whitebeard is here! Everyone, get up!"
As the "eyes" of Onigashima, Bao Huang was the first to spot the intruder, her unique ability allowing her to broadcast the dire warning across the fortress.
In the main hall, Kaido, who had been lost in the hazy depths of a drunken slumber, was jolted awake by the earth-shaking force of Whitebeard's will—a raw, palpable presence that tore through his alcoholic fog like a bolt of lightning.
His eyes snapped open, blazing with a mixture of pure fury and startled surprise.
"Who the hell dares to cause trouble on my turf?!" He roared, his massive body trembling with rage.
He snatched up his kanabo, Hassaikai, ready to pulverize whoever had disturbed him.
But then, as the familiar, overwhelming presence washed over him completely, he paused.
"Wait... this Haki..."
A wide, almost manic grin of disbelief spread across Kaido's face, his hostile glare shifting into one of pure, unadulterated excitement.
His heart began to pound like a war drum, his entire body thrumming with the thrill of facing a true powerhouse.
"Wororororo! Whitebeard! I knew you'd come!"
No sooner had he spoken than his body began an astonishing transformation.
His muscles swelled to impossible proportions, and iridescent blue dragon scales emerged beneath his skin, rapidly covering his entire form.
Massive horns sprouted from his forehead, his hands lengthened into razor-sharp claws, and a long, powerful tail unfurled behind him.
ROOOOAR!!!
With an ear-splitting draconic roar that shattered the roof above him, Kaido, now a majestic and terrifying blue dragon, soared into the sky.
"WHITEBEARD, YOU'VE FINALLY ARRIVED!!!" He bellowed, his voice echoing across Wano, heralding the beginning of a battle that would shake the world.
....
Outside, Whitebeard felt the sudden, enraged roar from the fortress.
He paused momentarily, retracting the crushing output of his Conqueror's Haki.
His gaze turned toward the massive, skull-shaped mountain and a cold smirk involuntarily curled at the corner of his lips.
It was a smile that held both contempt for his rival and absolute confidence in the plan about to unfold.
He gave a subtle, almost imperceptible nod to the chaos below.
It was a silent command, instantly understood by his sons.
Across the island, his sons sprang into action, moving like ghosts.
If one could observe from above, they would see a strange sight: countless tiny, dazzling beams of light—interwoven arcs of blue electricity and golden radiance—darting at impossible speeds between the hidden structures of Onigashima before vanishing from sight.
At the same time, a streak of black fire descended onto the battlefield: King.
As one of the few strong enough to mostly withstand Whitebeard's Haki, he was the first to charge forward.
"Whitebeard! You actually came!" King had seen the Yonko's lightning before and knew the rumors were true.
Whitebeard was a Three-Fruit user.
But the man before him showed no signs of the frailty or illness that the world whispered about; if anything, he looked more vital than ever.
He must have Marco's Phoenix power as well, King surmised, knowing he had to test the legend's strength before Kaido intervened.
"King the Wildfire," Whitebeard murmured, his voice flat.
He had no interest in a drawn-out fight; Ron's mission required speed.
Stalling is a waste of time, he thought, his grip tightening on his bisento.
Might as well cut him down in one strike.
Before the thought could even fade, his body exploded into a bolt of lightning.
The hundreds of meters distance between them vanished in the blink of an eye.
"WHAT?!" King's face went deathly pale.
He never expected such a sudden, terrifyingly fast attack.
While he was still reeling in shock, Whitebeard was already looming directly above him, his massive Murakumogiri raised high.
"If you survive this strike," Whitebeard's voice rumbled, icy and resolute.
"Count yourself lucky."
As the words fell, the lightning-wreathed blade descended with overwhelming force, tearing through the air with an ear-piercing shriek that seemed to freeze the world itself.
"Raikiri!"
"Emperor's Pride!" King roared in a panic.
He grabbed his horns, coating himself in a thick layer of Armament Haki and yanked his head backward.
Releasing his grip, he catapulted his face forward like a living cannonball, aiming to meet the Emperor's legendary blade head-on.
BOOM!
The moment the two attacks collided, King's body was launched backward as if struck by a mountain.
The force was so absolute, so overwhelming, that he couldn't resist it for even a fraction of it.
Like a cannonball fired from its barrel, his body shot straight towards the ground, a black meteor leaving a trail of smoke and dust that left everyone dumbfounded.
BOOM!
With a deafening crash that echoed across the island, the ground caved in, forming a massive crater as a web of deep cracks spiderwebbed outward, swallowing entire buildings in a cascade of splintered wood and shattered stone.
A thick cloud of dust billowed into the sky, blotting out the sun.
After swatting King aside with a single strike, Whitebeard didn't spare the fallen Calamity another glance.
To him, delivering such a blow was already giving the opponent enough respect; there weren't many people left in the world worthy of his personal intervention.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Just as everyone thought the initial clash was over, an untimely, arrogant sneer pierced the silence.
"Seems like the position of All-Star will be mine."
A man clad in bright red robes, his face hidden behind an exquisite mask, slowly stepped into the center of the battlefield.
It was Who's-Who, his eyes burning like twin lanterns of pure fury.
He had long coveted the position of All-Star, and seeing King so effortlessly defeated, his ambition swelled into reckless arrogance.
As he looked up at Whitebeard, a surge of immense power coursed through him, and his body began to twist and contort, muscles expanding and tiger-like stripes emerging across his skin.
"Whitebeard," he snarled, a vicious grin curling his lips.
"You had the chance to walk the path of heaven, yet you chose to charge through the gates of hell. Your head will be the foundation for my rise!"
With a cold laugh, his Hybrid-Zoan form vanished, his speed so explosive that the naked eye couldn't track his movement.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared directly behind Whitebeard, his fingers curled into claws and coated in a thick, sinister layer of pitch-black Armament Haki.
He ruthlessly thrust his claw straight toward Whitebeard's heart.
'So this is the legendary Yonko? Pathetic' he thought, his entire body trembling with the ecstatic thrill of victory.
He can't even keep up with my speed!
His fingers seemed to pierce through an invisible barrier, sinking deep into Whitebeard's back.
Yet, unbelievably, not a single drop of blood flowed from the wound.
It was as if he hadn't struck a physical body at all, but a mere illusion.
More crucially, from start to finish, Whitebeard hadn't moved an inch.
Impossible… Who's-Who's heart lurched with confusion and shock.
Just as he sank into deep bewilderment, a cold, emotionless voice whispered directly in his ear, a murmur from hell itself.
"Too slow. Is it fun screaming at my afterimage?"
"What?!"
An unprecedented chill shot down Who's-Who's spine.
Before he could even begin to process his terror, Whitebeard's fist, wrapped in a shimmering, transparent force field of quake energy, slammed mercilessly into his abdomen.
The punch nearly shattered his internal organs, and the tremendous impact sent him flying backward, a mouthful of blood spraying from behind his mask.
"Tremor-Tremor: Grief!" Whitebeard grunted, not even turning around.
A second, even more violent shockwave erupted from his fist, catching Who's-Who mid-air.
The sound of bones cracking echoed across the plaza as the force hurled him out of the battlefield and into the distant woods, his fate unknown.
"WHITEBEARD!!!"
Kaido had finally arrived.
The massive blue dragon's head was contorted with pure fury, and magma-like flames gathered in his maw.
"Boro Breath!" He roared.
An immense beam of concentrated fire, several kilometers long, shot forth, powerful enough to vaporize a mountain in an instant.
"Hmph," Whitebeard scoffed, a flash of disdain in his eyes.
In the past, he might have met the attack head-on.
But now… it was far too slow.
"Have you truly grown old, Kaido?" he taunted. "Such a sluggish attack."
No sooner had he spoken than his body dissolved into lightning, reappearing in an instant directly above Kaido's colossal head.
"Old debts and new—we settle them all today!" Whitebeard's voice thundered.
"Wouldn't have it any other way!" Kaido roared back, his voice brimming with manic glee.
"Whitebeard, you'd better kill me today! Grant this man his wish!"
With a deafening cry, he lunged upward, his jaws wide open.
In response, Whitebeard swiftly raised his Murakumogiri and planted it vertically in Kaido's gaping mouth.
CLANG!
Sparks flew as Kaido's massive teeth came to a grinding halt against the legendary blade, locking it firmly in place and leaving Whitebeard momentarily unable to withdraw his weapon.
The colossal dragon began thrashing violently, trying to shake the Emperor from his perch.
Yet, Whitebeard held the hilt with an iron grip, his feet planted firmly on Kaido's enormous chin, completely unmovable.
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