However, because Souta Kiryuu had previously drawn too much lightning to unleash the Thunder Dragon's Great Torch, this time his attack, Thunder Calamity, was slightly smaller than the black thunderball that once annihilated Enies Lobby. Yet, even in its reduced form, it still radiated an aura of utter destruction.
"Kaido!! You thick-headed fool! Take those two bastards down now! If Red-Hair arrives, this battle ends here!!"
The moment Souta saw Shanks enter the battlefield, he knew the war was about to reach its conclusion. This self-proclaimed guardian of balance across the seas would never allow his father to be killed, nor would he permit the conflict to continue spiraling out of control. For now, while Shanks was preoccupied with Eneru's Thunder Calamity, Souta and Kaido had to force Saint Garin and Akainu to pay the ultimate price.
"You little brat, you dare insult me!?" Kaido roared. "But that bastard Red-Hair really is a pain in the ass! Fine then—time for me to show my true power!!"
Flame Dragon's Great Torch!
With a thunderous bellow, the Beast Kaido transformed into an enormous azure dragon. Endless fire spewed from his jaws, forming a blazing dragon stretching for thousands of meters. The terrifying heat melted the ground below, turning it into bubbling magma. Even Akainu, wielder of the magma fruit himself, frowned at the oppressive temperature.
Not to be outdone, Souta's body shifted into a massive crimson-scaled dragon. Rising into the storm-darkened sky, he unleashed his full strength, gathering thunder and calling upon the bloodline of the ancient giants.
Thunder Dragon's Great Torch!
Crackling lightning coalesced into a colossal dragon of pure electricity, matching Kaido's fire dragon in size. Still, Souta's aura was faintly weaker than Kaido's blazing might.
"Wororororo! Brat, not bad at all!!" Kaido bellowed with wild laughter. This little upstart not only imitated his Conqueror's Haki infusion but had even shaped his techniques to mirror Kaido's own. It was infuriating—and exhilarating.
Twin dragons—one blazing red, the other golden with lightning—soared across the heavens. The entire Sorbet Kingdom trembled as every soul beheld the sight. Two mighty dragons spanning the sky—such a scene was truly one of a kind.
"Quick!! Get this all on record!! Is the world broadcast running yet!?" squawked a rotund white bird, flapping furiously in excitement. His eyes gleamed. The Sorbet Kingdom incident would be carved into history.
"Boss, the broadcast has been live for a while now! The entire underworld is streaming it, though the Sabaody Archipelago and several allied nations have already refused to air it." A trembling technician from the news agency called back.
"Gya-ha-ha-ha! Tomorrow's papers—hell, the next week's papers—will sell like crazy!!"
Big News Morgans shook with ecstasy, laughing until his feathers quivered. Even the legendary Holy Knights had fallen into Souta's schemes and suffered a crushing blow. The world would erupt in chaos.
"Three of the Four Emperors' crews clashing in one place! The world's gone insane!"
"The World Government's strength runs that deep!? The Holy Knights are monsters!"
"That black thunderball—who unleashed it? Could that be the same doomsday lightning that destroyed Enies Lobby?"
"Eastfield Souta Kiryuu is already fighting side by side with Kaido!? Has he risen to the level of an Emperor himself!?"
"Mamamama! Kaido, that oaf—and that brat Souta too—they've both become so powerful!"
Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin, was transfixed by the sight of the twin dragons. The falling thunderball forced her to accelerate her assault on Saint Pains; she feared the island would soon be annihilated.
"Jiehahahaha! Such terrifying techniques! I wonder which poor fool will end up taking that hit?"
The Golden Lion, Shiki, laughed uproariously. Even Garin or Akainu would struggle to emerge unscathed from such attacks.
"Damn it!" Saint Pains and Aokiji Kuzan both stared anxiously at the colossal dragons above.
"Fools, all of them," sighed Fujitora. Without hesitation, he invoked his powers, raising a massive section of earth into the air. With it, he carried away throngs of rescued civilians, fleeing from this apocalyptic battlefield.
At the shoreline battleground—
"Bastards! Do they mean to obliterate this island!?"
Divine Departure · Crimson Flash!!
Shanks roared in fury. His sword, Gryphon, was wreathed in dense layers of Conqueror's Haki. Black and red lightning surged, illuminating the heavens as he unleashed a slash that seemed to split the world itself.
Clang!!
The terrifying sword aura cleaved through the black thunderball, rending even the thunderclouds above. The sky itself seemed split asunder. Eneru's pupils contracted sharply, his fists clenching—his most powerful strike, undone before his eyes.
All were left in shock at the sheer might of Red-Haired Shanks. Was this the true terror of a Yonko?
Yet the halved thunderball did not dissipate. Instead, it detonated with cataclysmic force. The explosion engulfed both the Holy Knights and the Red-Hair Pirates, forcing everyone to muster every ounce of their strength to shield themselves.
"This is the best I can do," Shanks muttered grimly. In the future he had foreseen, if Thunder Calamity had landed intact, half the island would have been reduced to ash. Forcing it to explode in the sky was the only way to blunt its devastation. Even so, the battlefield lay utterly ruined.
Boom!!
White lightning consumed the entire sea. Waves of slashing energy tore upward from the shattered earth, ravaging everything touched by the storm.
In the endless lightning storm, the Red-Hair Pirates and the Holy Knights roared, coating themselves in Armament Haki to survive.
"Argh!!"
But Saint Plazers, grievously wounded, lacked the strength to endure. His feeble Haki failed, and the storm engulfed him. His body blackened, charred into a husk. Ears, nose, fingers—burned to ash, erased from existence. When the light faded, he was left a broken shell, chest faintly rising and falling, half a step from death.
Even as the thunderous explosion raged on, the twin dragons had already begun their descent.
Flame Dragon's Great Torch · Infernal Hexagram!!!
Kaido's fiery dragon dove upon Saint Garin, its blazing horns wrapped in terrifying Conqueror's Haki.
Thunder Dragon's Great Torch · I Declare · Victory from Above!!!
Souta's lightning dragon followed close behind, crackling horns equally infused with Haki. From ancient times, battles fought from above were said to favor the one striking down. Today, Souta was determined to fight beside Kaido and cut down a mighty foe.
The fire dragon and thunder dragon bore down together, and terror twisted Garin's face.
"Filthy commoner!!"
Supreme Heavenly Dragon Slash!
With a frenzied roar, Garin swung his supreme blade, Conqueror's Haki exploding outward. His slash collided with Kaido's mightiest strike.
Boom!!
The clash split the heavens. Shockwaves roared as Garin's treasured blade bent under the strain.
"Ugh!"
Blood spurted from Garin's lips, but still he fought to stand.
"Saint Garin!!"
Hellhound!!
Akainu Sakazuki transformed into a massive hound of magma, barreling sideways into Kaido's fire dragon. His furious charge struck with devastating force, knocking Kaido away from the clash.
But Souta's lightning dragon, seizing the moment, slammed down upon Garin. The Holy Knight coughed blood once more, desperately swinging his blade a second time to block Souta's all-out strike.