"Ten thousand against fifty thousand, and we're facing two Four Emperors at the same time…"
"This time, that man is really playing it big."
Near Onigashima, where the battle had already begun, three figures in white suits and masks stood on the water.
The Five Elders had given them a direct order—not only to obey Roman but also a secret directive: If the situation became too dangerous, they were to ensure Roman's retreat at all costs. If they failed, they were to answer with their lives.
"A battlefield like that… even if we rushed in, we wouldn't know if we'd come out alive."
Hearing his comrade's frustrated words, the CP0 leader, wearing a black-and-white eye mask, shook his head.
"Calm down. From what we can see, the allied forces that person has brought together actually have a real chance of winning. Their numbers may seem smaller, but that won't be obvious right away. And when it comes to high-ranking fighters, both sides are pretty evenly matched. The key is—"
——————
"The key is when you'll take down Kaido, Luffy!"
As long as the main leader falls, it will have a huge impact on morale for both sides. That's why Roman rushed to the front to remind Luffy.
"Leave it to me!"
Luffy pressed down on his straw hat, grinning as carefree as ever.
"And I've got Ace to help me too~~"
"…It's rare to see you actually let someone help. But don't let your guard down."
"Kaido has been a legendary pirate for decades. And unlike the Golden Lion or Redfield that we fought before, he's not weakened by injuries or old age."
"Don't worry—?!"
"Move!!"
The moment Luffy shouted a warning, Roman had already grabbed Nami with one arm and dashed sideways. A transparent door suddenly appeared in the air, and the two of them vanished instantly.
At the same time, Luffy lunged sideways, pulling a large group of allies along with him.
The next second—
"Conqueror's Sea!!" X2
A massive shockwave, beyond the reach of any observation ability, tore through the battlefield.
A circular void, over a hundred meters in diameter, appeared out of nowhere, slicing across the entire battlefield.
Buildings, trees, the ground… even the sea itself was carved out, leaving behind a massive semi-circular crater that stretched beyond the horizon!
And everyone caught within that path—whether they were Beasts Pirates elites, Wano's samurai, or even Whitebeard Pirates—was instantly erased, as if wiped away by an invisible eraser.
No, not all of them were gone.
A few dozen figures remained—most of them Whitebeard Pirates who had barely survived thanks to Marco shielding them, though they were battered and torn.
Among the survivors were a few samurai from Wano, but they were barely clinging to life.
"Master Yagyu—?!"
"That's… Lord Hyakuri…!"
It was clear these survivors were well-known warriors in Wano, or else they wouldn't have been recognized so quickly even in such a battered state.
As Ace landed beside Luffy, Roman reappeared from thin air, stepping through another door while still holding Nami.
Their expressions were grim as they all stared toward the end of that devastating attack.
There, at the front entrance of Onigashima's towering main building, a massive hole had been blasted through.
Two enormous figures emerged, each surrounded by a group of followers:
Artificial Devil Fruit users, elite fighters, the Tobiroppo, the Calamities…
Perospero, Daifuku, Cracker…
"Ma ma ma ma… only two thousand down? Kaido, have you gotten weaker?"
As the wielder of the Soul-Soul Fruit, Big Mom only needed a glance to "see" the exact number of souls that had just been claimed. She seemed a little unimpressed with the "combo attack" she and Kaido had just unleashed.
"Hmph, how long has it been since we last used that move together? Linlin, you've got some nerve blaming me."
Kaido stepped forward, resting his spiked club on his shoulder.
"The brat they call Luffy—get over here and—?!"
Before he could finish, a Haki-coated fist came flying at lightning speed!
With a deafening boom, it smashed straight into Kaido's face, cutting off his words entirely.
"Kaido, I'm gonna send you flying!!"
Smashing a Four Emperor's face in front of tens of thousands—only Luffy would pull something like that!
And just like that, the morale of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet surged again.
As long as the main fighter was still standing, there was always a chance to turn things around!
Still… what a monster. That one attack wiped out so many samurai, even those who had nearly reached the level of a master swordsman…
Meanwhile, Kaido, who had been knocked backward, slowly straightened up again, staring down at Luffy.
"So it's just that brat again. Weren't you the one I beat down a few days ago? You needed someone to carry you just to escape, and now you've come back to die?"
"The me standing here today is not the same as before!"
"That's right! Because this time, we're fighting side by side as brothers!"
?!
Luffy's words didn't seem to bother Kaido much—he probably just saw them as reckless bravado.
But the person standing next to Luffy made Kaido's eyes widen in surprise.
"…It's actually you. Roger's son—Gol D. Ace!"
"How the hell did you survive Marineford?"
Forget Ace—if even his father, Roger, were to return from the dead, charging into Marine Headquarters would still mean certain death!
Unless…
"You've got it wrong. I'm Portgas D. Ace."
Ace stared fearlessly at the man before him—one of the Four Emperors. Without hesitation, he declared who he was.
"My father is Edward Newgate. My mother is Portgas D. Rouge. I have nothing—absolutely nothing—to do with that man named Roger.
"The one standing here today is the acting captain of the Whitebeard Pirates! Luffy's big brother!!"
Roger: Well, that was sudden…
"Ma~ma~ma~ma~ma~~ So that's how it is!"
Big Mom, standing nearby, looked at Ace with great interest. "So you're that 'Asa'? No wonder I couldn't find any information on where this so-called acting captain of the Whitebeard Pirates came from. Turns out, you're the last remnant of Roger's bloodline!"
"This is some big news," Big Mom said, repeating the famous words of Morgans, the head of the World Economic News. "This intel could sell for a fortune! But what I'm more curious about is how you escaped from the Summit War…"
"You might be disappointed, then. My life was dragged back from the underworld by Pops and my brothers. And besides—"
RIP!
At this point, there was no need for disguises anymore.
Ace tore off his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body. Then—
*Boom, boom, boom, boom boom, boom boom boom boom!!!*
A rapid, drum-like sound echoed across the battlefield, making the elite members of the Beasts Pirates turn pale.
"Damn it, it's Essa's 'Emperor Engine'…!"
"Idiots! I told you, this guy is Ace! And Kaido-sama is right here—what are you afraid of?!"
Black markings spread from the left side of Ace's chest, branching outward. His heart, coated in Armament Haki, pounded violently, fueling his body with inhuman power—far beyond Luffy's Gear Second!
"Ace, you've gotten so much stronger."
Hearing Luffy's words, Ace smiled warmly.
"Luffy, you're the one who's gotten even stronger!"
You've already surpassed me. You're truly charging toward the Pirate King's throne—not just talking about it anymore.
Then let me, as your big brother, give you a helping hand—
"It's time to go, Luffy!"
"Yeah, Ace!"
In an instant, Ace, with his 'Emperor Engine' running at full power, and Luffy, who had entered Gear Fourth, vanished from sight!
The next second, Kaido, who had been standing in front of the Beasts Pirates, also disappeared—only for a massive explosion to erupt where he had just been!
A chain reaction of explosions spread rapidly across Onigashima, finally snapping the onlookers back to reality.
"Y-you've gotta be kidding… That's way too strong…"
Fukurokuju, one of the Flying Six, didn't even notice when the cigarette fell from his mouth. He had been planning to settle an old grudge by taking on Straw Hat Luffy, but now—
Good thing he didn't go through with it. Otherwise, he would've been beaten to a pulp in no time!
"So… what now?"
Roman glanced at Kaido, who was now locked in battle with Ace and Luffy. After all this preparation, it was finally his turn to make a move.
"Nami, are you ready?"
"This time, we're going head-to-head with a Four Emperor."
At Roman's words, the girl with orange hair tucked a loose strand behind her ear and nodded. She held the Thief's Secret Manual in her hands.
"As long as I'm with you, Roman, I don't care if we have to cross the river to the afterlife."
Roman shook his head.
"We won't fall. Because when the time comes, I'll carry you across."
You two—
As the rest of the Straw Hat Crew watched with awkward expressions, Roman lifted Nami onto his shoulder. Then—whoosh!—countless sheets of white paper fluttered into the air, quickly transforming from flat sheets into a fully-formed, three-dimensional structure!
Like a true giant, the form rapidly took shape midair—bones, muscles, a beating heart… The pounding rhythm of the heart echoed like the war drums of an ancient titan, exuding wild, earth-shaking power.
Various Devil Fruit abilities flickered and merged within the giant's body, while Roman's Haki served as the core, seamlessly connecting everything together. His aura—overbearing, cold, proud, and overwhelmingly powerful—was amplified to an extreme, making it feel as though an unstoppable king had descended upon the battlefield, exerting crushing pressure over all.
In an instant, a towering figure over ten meters tall—The White Knight—stood firm. The knight's gleaming armor radiated both beauty and raw strength, and every breath from behind its helmet sent small whirlwinds sweeping outward. A fierce, dominating Haki surged skyward.
At the same time, a magnificent throne materialized on the knight's shoulder. Nami, now draped in a luxurious robe and adorned with a crystal crown encrusted with multicolored gems, sat regally atop it. The book Thief's Secret Art unraveled into countless swirling pages, dancing in circles around her.
In the knight's massive hands, a colossal black-marked sword crackled like lightning, while a gigantic shield bore an emblem of two crossed fingers—a symbol of absolute rejection.
This wasn't just a simple construct made with supernatural abilities.
This knight was built using Roman's paper, structured down to the finest details of a human body, with Haki weaving everything together. The skeleton was reinforced with slicing power, muscles and blood vessels shaped by rubber-like elasticity, the heart driven by the opposing forces of magma and ice, nerves conducting through electrical surges, armor formed from diamond-hard durability, and all enhancements amplified to their limits by the Momo Momo no Mi.
Meanwhile, a stockpile of "blood-infused paper," accumulated over a year, provided an endless energy supply. The result—a monstrous warrior, a fusion of overwhelming strength and an arsenal of auxiliary abilities. Not only did it elevate Roman's power to the extreme, but it also allowed him to surpass the original abilities of the fruits he wielded.
In other words, standing here wasn't just two people.
It was a team of top-tier ability users!
"Fusion Technique—Omni-Knight!" (x2)
As the towering knight took a step forward, its aura surged skyward, standing on equal footing with the strongest figures on the battlefield.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma! Interesting!!"
Locked onto by the dazzling, diamond-clad Omni-Knight, BIG MOM tightened her grip on Napoleon, leaped onto Zeus, and let Prometheus entwine her hair, transforming into a roaring flame cloak. She was now fully ready for battle.
"So you really want to go one-on-one with me? Fine! I'll grant your wish!!"
A clash between two of the world's most complex and powerful ability users—was about to begin!
(End of Chapter)
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