The crunch of my boots on the thick snow was the only sound for a moment. Wano Country's Ringo region was a land of perpetual winter, a vast graveyard where the air was so cold it felt sharp in your lungs. I had bought some hot sake in a town on my way here, and the flask tucked inside my coat radiated a welcome, if meager, warmth.
Following the mountain's slope, I found a large rock that offered a perfect view and sat down cross-legged. From this vantage point, I could see the entire snowfield below. Two groups were facing off, their lines clearly drawn. The chilling tension in the air seemed to freeze the falling snowflakes before they could even hit the ground.
I uncorked my sake gourd and took a long swig. The spicy liquid burned a path down my throat, chasing away some of the biting cold. I then took out the oden I had also purchased, speared a piece of well-simmered daikon radish with a bamboo skewer, and settled in to watch the show.
The group on the left flew a flag with a bat and fangs. Their leader was a tall, thin man in a stylish black leather jacket, his wild purple hair adding to the untamed confidence on his face. Gekko Moriah. He wasn't the bloated, lazy fatty he would one day become. His eyes still burned with ambition and the sharp focus of a true captain. He might have been destined to lose, but he was no coward.
Behind him, however, his crew seemed severely lacking. While they all projected an air of ferocity, their equipment was a chaotic mess and their formation was loose. They looked less like a seasoned pirate crew and more like a mob that had been hastily assembled.
My gaze shifted to the right. Even from hundreds of meters away, the oppressive aura was palpable. Their leader was a mountain of a man in a simple green shirt, his muscular arms casually holding a menacing spiked club. With two horns jutting from his head, he radiated an overwhelming sense of tyranny.
Kaido.
And behind him stood three figures who were just as striking. There was King, the "Wildfire," his face hidden behind a black mask and large black wings folded on his back, giving off an ominous vibe. Next to him was Queen, the "Plague," a large-bellied man with a topknot and a cigar, looking like a cynical, overgrown punk. And finally, there was Jack, the "Drought," who was still just a boy with a hint of childishness on his face. The three All-Stars.
Down on the field, Moriah's face was alight with excitement, his eyes burning with the flames of ambition.
"Gehehehe! Kaido! Hand over your head and become the stepping stone for me to reach the top!"
I glanced at the ragtag crew behind Moriah and couldn't help but shake my head. A few of them looked capable, but compared to the three monsters on the other side, they were like fireflies trying to outshine the moon. How could they possibly win this fight? Was Moriah planning to take them all on by himself?
"Uororororo!" Kaido let out a laugh that sounded like thunder, pointing the tip of his club at Moriah. "Is this it? You and this pile of trash behind you? Moriah, the New World is no place for pirates who are just playing pretend!"
"Save your breath!" Moriah shouted, drawing his massive sword and aiming its tip at Kaido. "My comrades are not trash! We will defeat you together and take Wano Country!"
Inspired by their captain's grand declaration, the pirates behind him let out a deafening roar.
"For Captain Moriah!"
"Destroy the Beasts Pirates!"
From my perch on the cliff, I shook my head again. War wasn't a game. You couldn't win with just loud shouting and bravado.
"Everyone, charge!" Kaido, having no more patience for words, roared and led the attack himself. His massive body thundered across the snow, each step shaking the very ground.
"My lads! Let's show them what we're made of!" Moriah roared back, not to be outdone, raising his sword and charging forward to meet him.
The two pirate crews, caught in a swirl of snow and fury, crashed into each other with a tremendous roar.
CLANG!
Moriah's enormous blade and Kaido's spiked club collided with incredible force, sending a shower of bright sparks into the air. A visible shockwave of white energy erupted from the point of impact, blasting the surrounding snow several meters high.
When the snow settled, Moriah's face was no longer confident. It was a strained grimace, the veins on his arms bulging as he pushed with all his might. It felt less like he was fighting a man and more like he was trying to push back a mountain.
"Uororororo!" Kaido laughed, the sound rumbling from deep within his chest. He still had enough breath to taunt his opponent. "What's wrong, Moriah? Is this all the strength you have?"
Before he even finished his sentence, Kaido twisted his wrist, applying more force.
Moriah felt an irresistible power surge through his blade. He was thrown backward uncontrollably, his feet carving two deep trenches in the snow and shattering several gravestones before he finally managed to stop his slide.
"Gehehehe..." Yet, a fanatical smile spread across Moriah's face. "Now this is more like it! It would be no fun killing you if you were weak!"
In the duel between the captains, they were, for a moment, evenly matched. Moriah's swordsmanship was broad and powerful, each swing tearing through the air with lethal sharpness. Kaido, on the other hand, was pure, unadulterated power. Every strike he delivered felt like it could shatter the world. Their battle was a raw clash of strength, so intense that it seemed to darken the sky and make the snowfield tremble.
However, the rest of the battlefield told a completely different story.
King the "Wildfire" flapped his wings and shot forward, becoming a black stream of light that plunged directly into Moriah's crew. He didn't even bother to draw his sword. He simply swept through their ranks at high speed. Any pirate touched by his wings instantly burst into flames that couldn't be extinguished, their screams echoing as they rolled in the snow before quickly turning into charred corpses.
Queen the "Plague" took a more leisurely approach. He pulled out two massive Gatling guns and unleashed a furious barrage into the crowd.
"Feel the pain, you scum!"
A torrent of bullets rained down, and Moriah's subordinates fell in droves like wheat before a scythe, their blood staining the pure white snow a deep crimson. The youngest of the three, Jack the "Drought," displayed a brutality that was completely at odds with his age. He charged through the crowd, swinging his weapons wildly, each swing claiming several lives at once.
Moriah's crew, the comrades he was so proud of, tried to fight back. But in front of the three All-Stars, they were as fragile as paper. They were utterly annihilated.
This wasn't a battle; it was an outright slaughter.
I watched silently from the cliff. Moriah's individual strength was impressive. The fact that he could stand toe-to-toe with Kaido proved he had the potential to become a top-tier powerhouse on the seas. Unfortunately, he had made a fatal mistake. He trusted his comrades too much. Or rather, he failed to realize that the title of "comrade" didn't make everyone equal in strength. He had led a flock of sheep into a den of wolves and actually expected them to fight alongside him.
"Gehehehehe! Kaido! You're nothing special!"
In the center of the battlefield, Moriah forced Kaido back a step with a powerful sword strike and laughed loudly. He seemed completely oblivious to the tragedy unfolding right behind him. All of his focus, all of his energy, was on his duel with Kaido. He truly believed that as long as he could defeat the enemy captain, the war would be won.
Pushed back by Moriah's blade, Kaido didn't get angry. Instead, he laughed even louder.
"Uororororo! You should look behind you, idiot!"
Hearing this, Moriah instinctively glanced over his shoulder.
The smile on his face froze instantly.
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