Under the repeated persuasion of Bonney, King Bulldog, and Dowager Queen Koni, Kuma was finally forced to abandon the nobles and residents of the northern territories. Exhausted to his core, he returned with Bonney and the others to the Ark Maxim to rest.
Kuma needed to recover quickly. He had to rejoin the war.
After completing their mission, Trafalgar Law and Lafitte also arrived at the shoreline battlefield. From the shadows, they watched Enel and Gecko Moria clash, biding their time and searching for the perfect chance to strike.
With Karasu the Crow joining the fray, he and Morley combined their strength to severely wound the God Knight, Perigord Saint, forcing the knight to flee in desperation.
When Gecko Moria was nearly slain by the female God Knight, Tomila, Karasu and Morley finally freed themselves from their duel in time to rescue the battered Moria.
Sensing the tide turning against her, Tomila immediately retreated, regrouping with the remaining God Knights.
Their war had already ended in failure.
The rest of the God Knights were either injured or fleeing. Even the one locked in battle with Enel, Prezes Saint, tried to retreat—but Enel, mad with bloodlust, blocked his escape with merciless fury.
This gave Karasu and Morley the chance to close in, surrounding Prezes completely and cutting off his last path.
Seeing Moria gravely injured, Law and Lafitte had no choice but to carry him back to the Ark Maxim, where they began urgent treatment to stabilize his shocking wounds.
In the CP special medical unit, three God Knights lay broken.
Montabard Saint, gravely wounded and poisoned by Souta Kiryuu's claws.
Klein Saint, nearly crushed to death by Big Mom.
Perigord Saint, battered by Karasu and Morley.
All were receiving emergency treatment.
When Tomila returned, her face was grim. She couldn't erase the image of Goster Saint, torn apart by Souta Kiryuu's dragon form. The memory weighed on her like a stone.
The mighty God Knights—reduced to this?
"Quick! We must save Pains Saint. He has the Pluton blueprints—we cannot allow Big Mom or Shiki the Golden Lion to seize them!"
Klein Saint gritted his teeth as he spoke. His own blueprints had already been stolen by Big Mom, a humiliation that burned his soul.
"Prezes is already trapped by those vermin—we need to get him out!"
Perigord Saint, whose wounds were lighter, snapped angrily. Seeing Tomila abandon Prezes to save herself only stoked his fury.
"I can't save him alone!"
Tomila's reply was cold. She had felt it—Dragon had returned to the battlefield. If she hesitated, she would never have made it back alive.
The unlucky Prezes Saint, too slow to flee, had been caught by Enel's relentless thunder. It was bad luck—but also weakness.
"Damn it all!!"
The surviving God Knights roared in fury, cursing the Navy for their sluggish support. If only Kizaru or the Iron Fist Garp had arrived in time, they would never have been forced into such a humiliating state.
On the shoreline, the war raged on.
King the Wildfire, already injured by Akainu, was now being brutalized by two God Knights. He could only rely on his ability to fly, dragging out the fight, dodging and countering—but at this rate, he knew he wouldn't last.
Meanwhile, the battle between Souta Kiryuu, Kaido, Garlyn Saint, and Sakazuki burned hotter than ever.
The sheer force of their Conqueror's Haki clashing tore the battlefield apart. For kilometers around, no one dared approach. Any ordinary Vice Admiral who stepped into the zone collapsed instantly. Only elite Vice Admirals or Admiral candidates could even remain standing under such suffocating pressure.
"Wororororo! Now this is living! This is battle!!"
Kaido bellowed with manic laughter, his dragon scales shimmering with every strike. Here, he was the strongest fighter. But even then, he wasn't invincible. Souta Kiryuu—the so-called "rookie"—was the weakest of the four, easy prey in theory. Yet his monstrous endurance exceeded even Kaido's.
He was unkillable, a cockroach that refused to die.
That this upstart, so young and new to the seas, could already stand in the highest tier of combat… it spoke volumes of his terrifying strength and unrivaled potential. He was already stronger than the Four Emperors and Admirals had been in their youth.
But even Souta's breathing was now ragged, like a bellows straining under the flames.
Garlyn Saint, the ancient veteran, was also showing signs of fatigue. Only Kaido and Akainu still fought with inexhaustible vigor, engines of destruction with no off switch.
The battle's rhythm shifted: Kaido and Akainu became the main aggressors, while Souta Kiryuu and Garlyn Saint were pushed into the secondary struggle.
"Hah! Souta brat! I've no interest in those ridiculous political marriages like Charlotte Linlin's—but you, I like! You'd make a fine son-in-law! I'll even throw in my idiot daughter for you!"
Kaido's eyes gleamed with savage delight, each swing of his kanabo rattling the heavens. He was beyond pleased. This war, sparked by Souta, was the most exhilarating battle he'd had in years—more thrilling even than his fights with Whitebeard or Shanks.
"Then it's a deal. And I'll send you some artificial Devil Fruits as a gift in return!"
Souta's claw, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, clashed violently with Garlyn's Supreme Blade, forcing him back dozens of meters. His growth was visible in real time—each exchange sharpening him further.
The killing intent in Garlyn's eyes deepened. If Souta continued like this, within a year he would rival Kaido himself. Within two or three? He might even surpass him, becoming a monster like Rocks D. Xebec reborn.
But what made him truly dangerous was not his power—it was his mind.
The Yonko did not threaten the World Government's foundation. But Souta Kiryuu and Dragon? They were different. They threatened the very core of the Celestial Dragons' dominion.
Driven by desperation, Garlyn unleashed his might, aiming to end Souta here and now. But Souta fought cunningly, often letting Kaido intercept those killing strikes, forcing the old titan and the beast to collide head-on.
The battle tore everything apart. Even Kaido and Akainu were coughing blood now, their wounds spraying crimson across the battlefield. Souta greedily tried to collect their blood—but the three veterans were wise to his tricks. Akainu's magma burned it away, Kaido's dragon fire evaporated it, and Garlyn's blade reduced it to nothing.
Souta's claws closed on empty air.
Elsewhere, with Dragon's arrival, Prezes Saint was pushed into absolute peril. In less than half an hour, he was beaten down, moments away from being finished off by Enel's merciless thunder.
But then—
At the shore of the Sorbet Kingdom, a crimson, dragon-headed ship appeared. Dragon's gaze sharpened instantly, his brow furrowing.
Even Enel faltered. A suffocating Conqueror's Haki suddenly crashed over the battlefield, so intense it nearly forced him out of his elemental form. It reminded him of Souta Kiryuu's own monstrous Haki—but somehow even sharper, more refined.
He turned, eyes locking on the new presence at the shore.
"This war has gone too far. It threatens the balance of the world. Dragon, give me this favor—let this Celestial Dragon live, and end this war here. I will personally ensure the safety of this kingdom's people."
A man with fiery red hair strode onto the battlefield, his black cloak billowing behind him. Conqueror's Haki surged from him in waves, black and crimson lightning tearing through the air, illuminating the heavens themselves.
The arrival of Red-Haired Shanks drew grimaces even from afar. Kaido and Garlyn Saint both frowned deeply, neither pleased to see him here.