Keqing stood on the deck of the floating fortress, her jaw dropping as she looked at the marble floors and ornate railings. "Wait... Ningguang, isn't this the actual Jade Chamber? How did you bring it here?"
"Think of it like Beidou's ship," Ningguang explained with a calm smile. "If a vessel can cross worlds, why can't my ultimate weapon? To others, this is a palace; to me, it is a catalyst for my geo-energy. It is my blade."
Kazuha nodded, sensing the immense energy signatures humming beneath the floorboards. "A fortress in the sky... it provides the perfect high-ground advantage for this world's sea-based warfare."
"Does that mean we can all bring heavy weapons?" Xiangling asked, her eyes sparkling. "Can I bring a Guizhong Ballista next time? I could snipe dragons from three miles away!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself," Keqing sighed. "The cost and weight of a Ballista are immense. Besides, Diluc is right—we shouldn't rely solely on siege engines. Our own strength is the only thing that won't fail us when the portal closes."
Diluc, standing at the prow with his hand on his claymore, stared toward the dark silhouette of Onigashima. "The battle has already begun. I can feel the sky screaming."
[Onigashima Rooftop]
The night sky over Wano was being torn apart. Purple lightning crackled as Conqueror's Haki collided. Luffy had just been sent tumbling backward by Kaido's "Ragnarok" strike. Despite his growth in Wano's prison, the gap between a "Great Pirate" and a "Four Emperor" was still a chasm.
Zoro, Law, and Kid were in no better shape. Without Big Mom to distract him, Kaido was focused entirely on the "Brats." Kid's metal arm was shattered, and Law was coughing blood, his "Room" flickering with exhaustion.
"Is this the power of a Yonko?" Kid growled, his teeth bared in a bloody grin. "Even Awakening isn't enough!"
Just as Kaido raised his mace to deliver a finishing blow to the struggling Luffy, a streak of crimson fire descended from the heavens.
BOOM!
A massive flaming phoenix collided with the ground between Kaido and the Straw Hats. As the smoke cleared, a man with a high red ponytail and a black coat stood there, his eyes reflecting the inferno on his blade.
"So... you're the 'Strongest Creature'?" Diluc asked, his voice low and dangerous.
Kaido narrowed his eyes, his grin widening into something predatory. "Red hair... strange energy. I've heard of your kind. You're the ones who ended Linlin, aren't you?"
"We are the ones who bring balance," Diluc replied, his Vision glowing intensely.
Kaido didn't waste words. He vanished, reappearing instantly with his mace swung low. "Thunder Bagua!"
"Flame-Bathed..." Diluc's blade ignited, the spiritual pressure of his Zanpakuto creating a localized vacuum.
CLANG!
The sky split. The clouds above Wano were pushed back for miles. Kaido's eyes widened in surprise. This man didn't have the "disposition of a King," yet he was using his soul's density to mimic the effects of Conqueror's Haki.
[The Tide Turns]
As Diluc and Kaido traded blows that leveled the surrounding towers, Xiangling plummeted from the sky.
"Big guy! Try this on for size! Awakening: Flame Purgatory!"
She slammed her palms into the roof. Because she possessed the Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit) and the blessing of the Stove God, the entire rooftop of Onigashima turned into a literal sun. Even Kaido's scales began to smoke.
"Tch, annoying gnats!" Kaido swung his mace at Xiangling, but she simply smirked.
"Focus Point!" Xiangling concentrated her fire into a single, needle-thin beam of blackened flame, piercing through the kinetic energy of Kaido's swing and scorching his chest.
Simultaneously, Keqing moved. She was a streak of purple light, her new blade—forged by Totosai and infused with the Dragon King's essence—humming with Electro.
"Starward Sword: Spirit Slash!"
Her blade bypassed space, aiming for the wound Xiangling had opened. But before her steel could touch Kaido's neck, a wooden barrier erupted from the ground, and a gravity-well pinned her to the spot.
A man in a blindfold carrying a wooden sword stepped out of the shadows. Beside him, a man with a forest of plants growing from his back emerged.
Admiral Fujitora and Admiral Ryokugyu.
"My, my," Fujitora sighed, his "Zushi Zushi no Mi" increasing the gravity on the roof by a hundredfold. "The world is in such chaos. It seems we aren't the only ones who came to hunt a Dragon today."
King the Wildfire landed beside them, panting from his brief clash with Keqing. "You Marines... you think you can take advantage of this?"
"We don't think," Ryokugyu sneered, his fingers turning into vines. "We know. Between the Yonko and you 'Outlanders,' the World Government has decided that none of you are allowed to see tomorrow."
The three-way war for Wano had officially begun.
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