The reinforcements from the allied captains rekindled the dying morale of Souta Kiryuu's forces. The once-shattered division leaders, now roaring with renewed resolve, vowed to avenge their fallen comrades.
"Ants are still ants, no matter how many crawl out to die."
Sage Lord Nasujuro's expression remained as cold as steel. The glint behind his gold-rimmed spectacles was pure indifference.
He sprinted forward on all fours, his form blurring into afterimages as he tore through the chaos—cutting down Kiryuu clan warriors one after another upon the blood-soaked deck of the Moby Drake.
Wherever he charged, no one lived.
Those division leaders who had banded together for defense were slowly being ground to dust.
No wall holds forever.
They were only waiting for death.
But Nasujuro's sharp eyes caught sight of another crisis unfolding on the horizon. His brows twitched faintly.
"The fools from the Amakiri and Araryu clans are really taking advantage of this chaos…"
As he spoke, he was still killing, and at the same time connecting telepathically with Sage Lords Satan and Peder, who were stationed in the Holy Land of Myōjin.
"Araryu and Dorago are still near the Red Continent. I can't leave for long," Satan said with a frown. Peder, the Sage with the sand-wyrm technique, was unsuited for naval combat at the G-18 Fortress and remained in Myōjin, acting as the magical link to the summoning array that could recall the other Sage Lords at any time.
Even Satan himself couldn't stay away long. None of them could risk leaving Lady Imu unguarded.
If Araryu suddenly stormed the Holy Land and disrupted the summoning array, it would be disastrous.
They trusted Lady Imu's strength, of course—but Araryu, Dorago, the Crimson Earl, the World Breaker, and those Seraphic Guardians were not to be underestimated.
"Admiral Borsan, Black Horse, and Tsuru have gone to the Land of Lulusia to suppress the Revolutionary Army. Isaac and Kong have reinforced the G-1 Command Base against the Araryu Clan. The Holy Land is under maximum alert. If Araryu dares attack, I'll recall you before the barrier even falls."
Peder narrowed his eyes at the live projection—seeing the G-18 Fortress shinobi being beaten back in waves, their casualties piling high.
If reinforcements didn't come soon, they'd be annihilated.
Satan went silent for a moment.
"…We'll consult Lady Imu."
He drew a deep breath. If granted approval, he would teleport there immediately—trusting that Peder could summon them back in time.
After all, the golden barrier forged at immense cost should withstand several strikes from any Emperor-class foe.
That window of time would be enough for a recall.
"Approved."
Without delay, Peder and Satan stepped into the Void Palace to seek Lady Imu's command.
Meanwhile, on the Moby Drake, Nasujuro's rampage continued—his blade cleaving through warriors with terrifying precision. The massive deck ran slick with blood and strewn bodies.
Elsewhere, the giant demon warrior Ozu swung his colossal blade with a roar, bringing it down upon the monstrous bird Yatagaru, splitting it clean in two.
But the bisected creature regenerated within seconds. Even so, Ozu's strike had bought the diamond-skinned Jōzō and the twin-bladed swordsman Bista a brief moment to breathe.
"Thanks, Ozu!" Jōzō gasped, blood dribbling from both sides of his mouth. His diamond armor was cracked; even his internal organs throbbed in pain. The Sage Lord Mas's clawed aura and saw-toothed jaws were devastating. His armament chakra and Emperor's will could pierce through Jōzō's crystalline defense, ravaging him from within.
"Lady Whitby ordered us to fall back when we get the chance!" Ozu rumbled, eyes fixed on the regenerating monster.
A creature that couldn't be killed and wielded overwhelming power—it wasn't something even he could face head-on.
"Fine, but we take the old man with us!" Bista barked, gripping his twin blades though his arms trembled. Hours of fighting had drained him to the edge; his muscles were torn and burning.
They knew it well now—the Kiryuu Clan couldn't defeat even three of the Sage Lords.
If a fourth arrived, they'd be finished.
But retreat wasn't simple. The Sage Lords weren't about to let prey escape.
The Yatagaru shrieked and dove again, its Emperor's will exploding outward. The shockwaves threw Jōzō, Bista, and Ozu backward, battering them in a storm of pressure.
The battle raged on, the skies darkening as the world itself seemed to mourn.
On another front, the red-haired commander Shanksu watched the battle turn grim. Again and again, he urged the Beast King Kaidō to withdraw.
He wanted to pull the Kiryuu forces out of this doomed war—to let the Beast Clan, the Amakiri, and the Araryu fight the Sage Lords and the Allied Shinobi Army.
But Kaidō was beyond reason now, drunk on battle and fury.
"You think I fight or flee when you say so?!" he bellowed. The scarlet-haired commander, already wounded and weakened, was a satisfying target for Kaidō's rage.
Across the sea, the Beast Clan's expeditionary fleet held the advantage over Shanksu's subsidiary forces.
After Shanksu's celestial heritage had been exposed, his allied fleets dwindled to a mere handful of minor groups. Many had already been obliterated during earlier clashes among five Emperor-class powers. Now, under the command of Manbara and Shinta, the Beast fleet crushed what remained.
Even Shanksu's senior officers were falling fast. The roaring warrior Gabu had been slain by the Crescent Hunter, the Nine-Tailed Fox. Lucky Roux was gravely wounded by the blades of Rain Shiryu.
Even without the Plague General Quinn, Kaidō's two remaining Calamities and his aerial elite, the Five Sky Sons, were more than enough to match Ben Beckman and Yasopp blow for blow.
The balance was gone.
The Beast Clan held total dominance.
Unless Shanksu's forces paid an unbearable price, they wouldn't escape alive.
"If I fall here—and Whitebeard with me—none of you will survive the World Government's next strike!" Shanksu shouted through blood-stained lips, still trying to reason with the raging monster before him.
Kaidō only laughed, voice booming like thunder.
"Worororo! You think this world stops turning without you? Die already!"
His club came crashing down. Shanksu raised his greatblade, Gryphon, to meet it—the impact blasting out tidal waves that consumed the horizon.
Even if Whitebeard and Shanksu perished, the Araryu Clan and the Revolutionary Army were already rising to take their place.
Araryu alone commanded three Emperor-class titans: Araryu Tōno, Redfield, and Barrett. They were more than enough to fill the void.
And Shanksu—the wavering idealist who never chose a side—was, in truth, the greatest obstacle of all.
In every world-shaking event against the Government, he had only held others back.
Both Araryu and Kaidō despised him for it.
Under the relentless assault of the old-guard Beast Clan, the young Scarlet Fleet collapsed. Shanksu's four-year-old empire disintegrated live before the eyes of the watching world.
The Scarlet Vanguard was defeated.
The Beast Expedition triumphed.