Whitebeard — Edward Newgate — sat upon his great throne.
An IV drip still hung from his arm, the medicine container swaying gently with the motion of the ship.
His eyes were narrowed slightly, lost in silent thought.
He was thinking—
How to break the deadlock.
He needed to crush the rising arrogance of the Souta Pirates and restore balance to the New World.
Suddenly, Whitebeard's eyes flashed with sharp resolve.
"Prepare to sail.
We head for G-18 Fortress!"
Since Souta Kiryuu was bold enough to split his forces, then Whitebeard would break one of his claws.
And more than that—
he would rescue the Red-Haired Pirates.
Shanks was one of the few trying to maintain stability in the New World.
If Shanks fell, the seas would plunge further into chaos.
More importantly—
If Whitebeard's guess was correct, then considering the relationship between Red-Haired Shanks and certain Celestial Dragons…
Once the World Government learned that Souta Kiryuu was attacking Beehive Island, they would inevitably dispatch forces to reinforce G-18 Fortress and Shanks.
Then:
Whitebeard Pirates + Red-Haired Pirates + Marine Main Fleet
would form a temporary three-way allied strike force capable of crushing the Beasts Pirates and Souta's detached fleet.
Whitebeard hated the idea of cooperating with the Marines—
but Kaido and Souta Kiryuu were pushing the New World into uncontrollable chaos.
Their rampage was destroying the future.
They were destroying the peaceful world needed for Ace to grow.
So even if it meant damaging the dignity of a Yonko—
he would move.
He would protect Shanks.
He would maim the Beasts Pirates and the Souta Pirates.
Ace's voice rang out, heated and impatient.
"We're going to help Shanks?"
He had originally assumed they were sailing to Beehive Island to confront Souta Kiryuu directly.
But instead—
they were heading for G-18 Fortress to intercept Kaido's forces.
But G-18 also had Souta's troops stationed there.
So that was acceptable.
Ace clenched his fists.
Shanks was his little brother Luffy's benefactor—
and one of the men who had sailed under his father, Gol D. Roger.
"Alright then!
We go to G-18 Fortress!
We'll save Shanks—
and crush Souta's split fleet!"
Marco, the Phoenix, immediately called out in agreement.
Truthfully, he had no desire to engage Souta Kiryuu directly.
As ship doctor, no one understood Whitebeard's condition better than Marco.
Fighting Souta's main force now would be a disaster.
Dealing with the split forces led by Kaido's commanders and Souta's subordinates—
was safer.
At G-18, they would likely only need to face the likes of Barrett and his group.
And Red-Haired Pirates themselves were no weaker than the Beasts Pirates—
the two sides were evenly matched.
Under the orders of Whitebeard and Marco, the Moby Dick immediately accelerated toward G-18 Fortress.
More than forty allied pirate crews also changed course to converge on the battlefield.
This time—
they would seriously cripple the Beasts Pirates and the Souta Pirates' forward forces,
and restore some peace to the New World.
Meanwhile — G-9 Marine Fortress & Adams Kingdom
Saint Marcus Mars received the joint decision of the Five Elders.
Since Souta Kiryuu was at Beehive Island, this was the moment to reinforce G-18.
The Marine main fleet, which had been held back for days, finally received the order to depart—and surged forward with renewed fire.
Aokiji Kuzan, Garp the Fist, Momousagi (Gion), and Chaton (Tokikake) led the main fleet toward G-18 Fortress.
Meanwhile, Green Bull (Aramaki), ever obedient to Saint Mars, remained behind to secure G-9 Fortress and the Adams Kingdom, suppressing all pirates daring to approach.
On the flagship cutting through the sea—
"Tch! Finally we're leaving that damn base. I was suffocating!"
Garp groaned loudly as soon as they had cleared G-9.
Saint Mars' impulsive orders had caused them to miss multiple rescue opportunities, watching other Marine bases fall—especially the heavily pressured G-18 Fortress.
"Our mission is to join forces with the Red-Haired Pirates and completely crush the Beasts Pirates and Souta's forces."
Aokiji spoke plainly.
Joining pirates to fight pirates—
was a stain on Marine justice.
But the Marines were overextended.
If it meant reducing pirate power and restoring balance—
then even forming a temporary alliance was tolerable.
"This battle won't be easy…"
Momousagi murmured, worry clouding her face.
She hoped it would end fast—she wanted to sail for G-14 Fortress to rescue Dahl and Peacock.
Even if Admiral Zephyr's fleet was already on its way, she couldn't relax.
"The latest reports say Barrett, Enel, and Shiryu have already appeared at G-18 to assist Kaido's forces."
Chaton, usually shameless and relaxed, now wore a deep frown.
Even with their reinforcement, crushing both the Beasts Pirates and Souta's elite simultaneously would be extremely difficult.
Chaton exhaled.
"If Saint Mars and Green Bull were here, we could overwhelm them completely."
"Then increase speed."
Aokiji ordered sharply.
The fleet braced and began full-power rowing.
Near G-18 Fortress
The Sky Armada of the Souta Pirates appeared.
And instantly—
the Beasts Pirates, who had been gradually falling behind in the brutal multi-day battle—
erupted in renewed fury.
They were missing Queen, who was guarding Wano's homeland, leaving their upper ranks short-handed.
They were under constant pressure from both the Red-Haired Pirates and the fortress artillery.
One of the Flying Six had already fallen, despite having recently eaten the Ancient Zoan fruit that King had retrieved from Devil Island.
He had been severely wounded—and finally killed—by the furious roar of Gab, the giant warrior.
Ulti and Page One, the young Flying Six siblings, had both suffered heavy wounds at the hands of Ben Beckman and the mighty Lucky Roo and Bonk Punch.
If this continued, the Beasts Pirates would once again be forced back to Wano in defeat.
Shanks shouted across the battlefield, voice hoarse, breath heavy after days of fighting Kaido one-on-one:
"Kaido! Enough!
If we keep going, we'll both end up destroyed!"
Kaido roared back:
"You killed one of my Flying Six and injured countless of my men—
and you want to stop here!?"
Before Souta's reinforcement had arrived, Kaido had been considering retreat.
Without Queen, and with Fuga, Black Maria, and Sasaki all being overwhelmed by Shanks' commanders, continuing the battle was impossible.
But now—
with Barrett and the others arriving—
Kaido's fangs glinted wide.
Today—
the Red-Haired Pirates would pay in blood.