Marineford, the Marine Headquarters. The plaza had become a cauldron of chaos as the battle between the Marines and the Pirates reached its zenith. Gunfire roared without end, the deafening echoes shaking the heavens. The ground beneath their feet was slick with blood—bright red rivers pooling from the fallen, Marine and Pirate alike. Every eye burned with a fierce, unrelenting desire to kill.
They fought with everything they had—swords, knives, guns—launching relentless attacks against their enemies. Life and death meant nothing here. Only madness remained.
On the icy surface of Crescent Military Port Bay, a crimson blade flashed through the air. Sephiroth swung his butcher knife in a graceful arc, cleanly severing Lei Qing Makugai's left hand in a single strike. Makugai's face paled with pain as he staggered back. Sephiroth regarded him with a cold, mocking laugh.
"Interfering in another's battle without permission is never wise," he sneered. "Especially when you're so clearly outmatched."
Makugai gritted his teeth, saying nothing. He raised his remaining sword, pointing it defiantly at Sephiroth. "Makugai, go support the others! I can still hold my ground here!"
Nearby, Vista the Flower Sword stood pale and trembling, his usual calm demeanor shattered. His breathing was ragged, his chest marred by a gruesome wound that stretched from his left shoulder to his right waist. The cut was deep enough to expose bone, and blood poured freely from the injury.
During his clash with Sephiroth, Vista's Observation Haki—a skill that allowed him to glimpse the future—had inexplicably failed him. For a brief moment, Sephiroth's presence had vanished from his senses. That instant had nearly cost him his life. Only a desperate, last-second dodge had saved him from a fatal blow. But the wound was severe. Even as he clenched his muscles to stem the bleeding, the injury reopened with every movement. If he kept fighting at this pace, it would never heal.
Above, the sky darkened ominously. Thunderclouds gathered, thick and suffocating, as lightning danced within them. A low rumble echoed through the air. Suddenly, a massive dragon head emerged from the clouds, its cold, reptilian eyes glaring down at the Marines on Oris Plaza. Following Big Mom Charlotte Linlin, Kaido of the Beasts had arrived.
"Worororororo!" Kaido's laughter boomed like thunder. "This is the world-class war I've been waiting for!"
Still in his Azure Dragon form, Kaido inhaled deeply, his chest swelling like a bellows. Then, with a roar, he unleashed Bad Wind. Thousands of dark green wind blades shot from his mouth, slicing through the air with a sharp, keening wail.
The blades descended upon the Marines like a storm of death. Bodies were torn apart, blood and flesh flying in all directions. The wind blades carved deep ravines into the ground, leaving scars that seemed to stretch into infinity. The plaza erupted into chaos as cries of agony filled the air.
This scene, like a natural disaster descending, terrified countless Marines to their very core.
The frozen bay of Marineford trembled as fifty thousand Beasts Pirates stormed the ice, led by Doflamingo, King, Vergo, and Jack. They surged toward the shattered section of the wall where Whitebeard had broken through, ready to join forces with the Whitebeard Pirates and crush the Marines.
"Now we're talking!"
"Big Mom and Kaido's crews are here! Push forward—wipe out the Marines and save Ace!"
"Let the seas belong to the pirates after today! Not a single Marine walks away alive!"
The Whitebeard Pirates roared with renewed vigor at the sight of reinforcements flooding in from behind. Their voices rose in a frenzy, battle cries echoing across the battlefield.
High atop Marineford's towering walls, Sephiroth finally glanced upward. His focus had been locked on Vista the Flower Sword and Lei Qing Makugai, his Observation Haki narrowed to their movements—so much so that he'd missed Kaido's silent ascent into the clouds.
"Took you long enough, Kaido," he remarked, lips curling.
Then, with deliberate calm, he addressed his current opponents. "Shall we call it here? Though if you insist on continuing..." His voice dropped, laced with menace. "I'll oblige—but it'll cost you everything."
As he spoke, the air around him thickened. The awakened power of the Vampire Fruit surged through him, radiating a bloodthirsty aura that made Vista and Lei Qing stiffen.
This whole time... he was holding back?
Vista didn't wait for Lei Qing's response. He gave a sharp nod.
"We're done."
Without another word, Sephiroth spread the obsidian wings at his back and shot skyward, streaking toward the colossal Azure Dragon coiled in the clouds.
Kaido, having just unleashed a barrage of wind blades, drew another deep breath. His massive jaws parted, crimson light gathering in his maw as flames churned and compressed.
Heat Breath—!
A searing pillar of fire erupted from his throat, hot enough to vaporize mountains in an instant. It lanced straight for Sephiroth.
But the swordsman's blade was already alight. Nether Flame roared to life in his grip, the air warping from the heat as he condensed the fire into a spinning wheel of destruction.
"Bursting Flame Splitting Slash!"
His roar carried a pulse of Haki, an invisible shockwave rippling outward. Then he swung—
The flaming wheel tore through Kaido's firestorm like paper, splitting the infernal column clean in half before hurtling toward the dragon himself.
Under Kaido's stunned gaze, the flame light wheel actually slammed straight into his open maw.
BOOM—!
The explosion blasted apart inside his mouth, sending shattered teeth flying as flames engulfed his face.