First Half of the Grand Line, the residents here are equally tense and anxious, praying and hoping, but no matter what their feelings are, they all wish for the Navy to be the final victor. Whitebeard's death signifies peace to them.
Under the World Government's propaganda, they firmly believe that a pirate like Whitebeard is the root of the disorder, even if in nursery rhymes, Whitebeard is merely a dreadful ghost, a factor of instability in the sea.
Meanwhile, a large number of journalists have gathered at the Shampodi Islands, awaiting firsthand reports of the war.
However, the most anxious ones are the Navy Soldiers of Marinfanto; this is the first real all-out war against the Sea Emperor since the Great Pirate Era began at the Navy Headquarters.
The civilians of Marinfanto have been evacuated, and the plaza is crowded with packed Navy soldiers, with a touch of chaos in the order. Even though they are elite from all over the world, they inevitably feel nervous.
With the appearance of the Three Great Admirals before the execution stage, the Navy soldiers gain a bit more confidence, while the Seven Warlords are unsure what to think.
At this moment, Kuma has completed his entire transformation, turning into an emotionless Peacekeeper, standing like a War Robot. Hawkeye awaits the appearance of the world's strongest man, while Hancock seems the most bored.
"Ah, I wonder what Olga is doing. These men just make me feel nauseous."
"Snake Princess, you spoke your mind."
"Shut up, I, of course, know but I do not care about such matters. Jinbe, don't think that having some connections allows you to casually talk to me. Although not so nauseating, you are also a man."
At this time, Hancock stood at the edge because she didn't want to get too close to those men. Jinbe, due to matters concerning New Fishman Island, had dealt with Hancock a few times, making her slightly more accepting.
Seeing that Hancock wasn't planning to talk to him, Jinbe sat down cross-legged. He's just confused about this war, so he wanted to talk to someone.
"Fufufufu, don't make the gunpowder smell so strong, everyone must have their own purpose for coming here, right?"
"Hey, heeheehee, of course, quite a few strong shadows will surely be born here, let more strong people die, dead bodies, living shadows, those are what I want."
Doflamingo was speaking cryptically, but the shut-in Moriah hiding in the Devil's Triangle didn't grasp the meaning and proactively engaged.
Doflamingo didn't mind and continued speaking to himself.
"Speaking of which, what about that alligator punk's replacement? Wasn't it a compulsory summons; why are only six of us here?"
There are only a few hours left until departure, but Blackbeard is still nowhere to be seen. Doflamingo remembers seeing him in Mary Geoise before, if Blackbeard backed out at the last minute, he'd be truly disappointed.
Doflamingo's chit-chat didn't continue, Sengoku's speech quickly interrupted their whispers. With the revelation of Ace being Roger's son, the sea was shocked for the first wave.
...
On the eve of the execution, Whitebeard's fleet successfully entered the bay. Prior to this, the Navy had already lost track of the Whitebeard Pirates' movements, any surveillance ships sent out sank immediately, forcing Sengoku to opt for waiting.
War arrived as scheduled, all plans were still underway following Sengoku's strategies, and the biggest changes began with Continent-Puller Oars' appearance.
He came to aid Ace, following Whitebeard's orders to rescue his good brother. As the descendant of Continent-Puller Oars, little Oars is quite honest and got along well with Ace, but unlike the original timeline, he's not as desperate.
Ace didn't go to Wano Kuni, nor did he learn how to weave straw hats at Bianli Village. Missing that level of gifting relations, their intimate bond was slightly weaker.
Yet this posed a bigger problem for the Navy. The angry little Oars, who wouldn't listen to Whitebeard's advice, played completely different roles compared to the orderly advancing little Oars following Whitebeard's arrangements.
As the war commenced, the actions of the performers gradually came through. Up to now, the six Seven Warlords have made only one strike in total, and apart from that, there's been no other display; if not for fear of overdoing it, Jinbe wouldn't have planned to even stand up.
A large number of pirates successfully infiltrated the bay under Oars' cover, and the Navy plans also started up. The Iron Defense built by the Navy some time ago rose successfully, compensating for the gap originally formed by the absence of little Oars' body.
In contrast, Squard, deceived by Akainu, failed to stab Whitebeard in the back. His comparatively healthy body enabled Whitebeard to use Haki to block the strike.
...
"Even if you're a foolish son, I still love you... Squard, it's up to you whether to trust me or the Navy."
Whitebeard didn't take his anger out on Squard; looking at the current situation, it seems like the Whitebeard Pirates cannot break through the Navy's enclosing wall. Whitebeard is planning to act personally, but just as he jumps off the Moby Dick, a sky anomaly occurs.
A flash light trail streaks across the sky, directly crossing the Navy's enclosing wall, leaving a deep groove in the plaza, with a humanoid crater at the end.
If this flash light trail wasn't attention-grabbing enough, then the giant dragon circling the clouds is entirely different.
Entangling fiery clouds around its limbs, Kaidou had left the body of the eight-headed dragon, holding fiery clouds, and extending his head out of the clouds, looking down with frenzy at the battlefield below.
"Huguhugu, Newgate, you're still the same, able to tolerate your foolish subordinates to this extent."
"Kaidou..."
The sudden appearance of Kaidou in the sky seemed to disrupt everyone's thoughts, even the battlefields suffered a brief pause. Both Whitebeard and Sengoku were very vigilant of the figure in the sky.
Nobody knew what this madman came to do.
"Huguhugu! Such a lavish war, let me... add fuel to the fire! Hot Breath!"
Blazing flames spewed from Kaidou's mouth, moving directly from the ice surface towards the execution stage as he swung his dragon head. Whether it was the pirates of the Whitebeard Pirates or the guards of the Navy Headquarters, all were included in Kaidou's attack range.
But the ultimate landing point of his attack was the crater previously created by the impact of an unknown flying object.
His indiscriminate attack led everyone present to deem him insane, but at the next moment, they realized they had underestimated Kaidou.
"Damn old man!! Is this your idea of a cool entrance?! Who arranges anything like this?! Cough, cough, cough..."
Accompanied by bouts of coughing, Yamato crawled out of the crater, ignoring the Navy soldiers around her, and angrily pointed at Kaidou in the sky...