Black clouds churned with flashing lightning, splitting the sky evenly with roaring flames. One side black, the other red, Ace's crew and the Animal Kingdom Pirates faced off in the sky.
Kaido looked Ace up and down, a hint of disdain on his face. "To think a snot-nosed brat inherited Newgate's will after his death. If the Whitebeard Pirates don't have anyone capable left, you might as well disband early."
Faced with Kaido's mockery, Ace didn't get angry at all. Instead, he burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! You're wrong, Kaido. It's not just me who inherited Pops's will, but all of us."
"As for whether we're capable or not, why don't you try us and find out? Don't underestimate the youth, you stubborn old man."
Ace's eyes burned brightly, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly as he spoke.
His mid-length black hair fluttered in the wind, and a red pirate cloak billowed wildly behind him.
Kaido suddenly fell into a daze. For some reason, a phantom image of Roger appeared in his mind, slowly overlapping with the Ace before him.
During the Summit War, Kaido had originally planned to take advantage of the situation and cause a massive uproar, but he was intercepted by Red Hair halfway there. It was only later that he learned from the news that Ace was Roger's son.
Roger had been dead for a long time, and Roger was Roger, Ace was Ace. Bloodline didn't prove anything.
Therefore, Kaido hadn't cared too much about the matter, though he still paid a little attention to the news regarding this young man.
Contrary to the rumors of his impulsive and rash nature, the Ace before him was more mature than he had imagined, possessing a steady aura mixed with a hint of unbridled wildness.
Kaido looked somewhat nostalgic, his tone filled with interest. "You do have a bit of Roger's aura from back in the day. It's a pity that Roger is Roger, and you are you."
"That's right. Roger is Roger, and I have always been me."
Ace smiled in relief, the corners of his mouth raised.
Whether it was about Roger or Whitebeard, he had now completely let go of many things he once found hard to accept.
After living for over twenty years, he had finally become himself—someone who could stand on his own and carry the banner of the Whitebeard Pirates.
*Whoosh!*
Ace brought his palms together, and fierce flames ignited from within them.
"Sacred Fire: Sword of Totsuka!!"
With a low shout, Ace slowly separated his palms. A flaming sword condensed from raging fire appeared in his grasp, radiating a crimson glow and containing terrifying thermal energy.
"Hmph!"
A somewhat ferocious smile appeared on Kaido's face. He bent his knees into a half-crouch and tightened his grip on his kanabo.
*Bang!!*
Stomping heavily on the ground and leaving a deep crater, Kaido launched himself from the edge of Onigashima!
Ace's eyes darkened. His lower body elementalized into fiercely erupting flames, and he shot forward like a streak of crimson light, the fire of the flaming sword in his hand burning even brighter!
Kaido raised his kanabo high, violent lightning coiling around it.
The two figures rapidly closed the distance and collided heavily in midair!
*Boom!!*
The flaming sword and the kanabo clashed fiercely! Terrifying flames and lightning exploded, scattering countless streams of interwoven red and blue light that bloomed grandly like fireworks!
Ace and Kaido clenched their jaws. As their weapons trembled, their two Haki clashed intensely, sending out a powerful shockwave of Conqueror's Haki!
Dense black lightning flashed wildly in the air. Ten thousand meters above, the clouds were split open as if by an invisible giant blade, creating a massive chasm in the sky!
Fierce winds howled across the ground. At this moment, everyone in Wano Country looked up, their eyes filled with disbelief at the exaggerated, apocalyptic scene unfolding above.
Inside the Shogun's Palace, the group looked up at the sky but fell into silence.
After a long while, Sanji finally spoke, his tone flat. "Hey, we've been completely ignored, haven't we?"
"Yeah, it certainly looks that way for now," Allen replied calmly, falling silent again after speaking.
"Ahem, isn't this actually a good thing? Let them fight it out completely, and when the time is right, we can step in and take them all down in one fell swoop?" Nami suggested to Allen with a questioning tone. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she knew she was probably wasting her breath.
"You make a good point, but I have a better idea."
Sure enough, Allen suddenly spoke up. He turned to look at her, the corners of his mouth curling into a grin. "I've decided. Let's take them both down today!"
With that, a pair of pitch-black wings suddenly unfurled from his back.
"Hey! Don't be reckless, you bastard!" Nami cried out in alarm upon hearing this, but it was too late to stop him. Allen flapped the wings on his back, kicking up a fierce gust of wind as he rapidly soared into the sky!
Sanji took a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled a stream of smoke. "Is this guy serious? Taking on two Emperor crews at the same time sounds no different from courting death."
"It is a bit reckless. However, our goal is to conquer the New World, so what does a little recklessness matter?" Gin said with keen interest, his eyes burning as he stared at the sky.
"I'm going in!"
With that, he drew the twin tonfas from his waist, leaped into the air, and used Moonwalk to fly toward the floating Onigashima!
"At least look at the difference in military strength! Would it kill you to wait for the main force to gather? Good grief," Sanji sighed, rubbing his forehead in exasperation. He then turned to look at the group behind him, roughly calculating their numbers in his head. "Kid, go help Gin. The rest of you, come with me to deal with the Whitebeard commanders."
"Hah? Who do you think you are, the vice-captain? Why the hell should I listen to your orders?" Kid retorted, crossing his arms with a displeased expression.
"Taking on two Emperor crews at once is indeed a bit risky. It's normal to be scared." Sanji was quite experienced in handling Kid, and immediately mocked him. "Since you don't want to go, forget it. Leave the fighting to us. You can just wait here safely to receive the main force."
"What did you say, you bastard?! Do you think I'd fall for such a cheap taunt?!" Kid shouted angrily. He reached out, attracting countless pieces of metal to form a mechanical ship, and jumped onto it. He waved for Killer and the others to follow.
"Let's go! We're more than enough to handle the Whitebeard Pirates. Don't anyone get in our way!!"
"..."
"Forget it, let's just go."
Killer and the others exchanged glances but still jumped aboard. Kid then steered the mechanical flying ship straight toward the Whitebeard Pirates.
Sanji shrugged nonchalantly and turned to Nami and the others. "Then let's change the plan a bit. Miss Nami and Miss Robin, go support Gin. Don't be too aggressive; focus on stalling until the main force arrives."
"We know."
"Understood."
Nami and Robin nodded in agreement. Pitch-black wings unfurled from their backs as they flew toward the floating Onigashima.