The crackle of the burning wood was the only sound left inside the ruined estate.
Toki dropped her hands to her sides, her knees trembling beneath her heavy silk robes. Her gaze was entirely fixed on the blonde pirate standing in the center of the shattered wall.
Marco stepped deeper into the room, his sandals stepping lightly over the smoking embers. He looked at the empty space where the vassals and Momonosuke had been standing just moments prior. His advanced observation haki picked up the residual temporal energy fading into the atmosphere.
"So they got away," Marco said, his voice dropping into a quiet, somber register.
Toki took a ragged breath, her fingers gently stroking the hair of the weeping Hiyori. "Yes. My son. The retainers. They are safe from the immediate danger."
Marco looked out toward the distant, glowing skyline of the Flower Capital. The heavy, dark pressure of Kaido's presence still saturated the clouds over the mountains.
"Where is Oden?" Marco asked.
Toki lowered her eyes, a heavy, suffocating tear finally sliding down her cheek. "He survived the execution hour. But he did not survive the aftermath. My husband... Oden is probably already dead."
Marco stopped. His lazy eyes narrowed, a sharp spike of genuine grief and anger flashing through his expression. He clenched his fists tight at his sides, the blue flames around his shoulders flickering wildly.
"I see," Marco said, looking down at the floorboards. "So we were too late. I am incredibly sorry, Toki. We came as fast as the ship could sail."
Toki shook her head slowly, her face maintaining the timeless grace of the Kozuki family despite the tragedy. "Do not apologize, Marco-san. It is not your fault. The borders of Wano are an absolute graveyard for outsiders. But tell me... how did the Whitebeard Pirates even know what was happening here?"
Marco let out a dry, mirthless chuckle, his mind flashing to a certain reckless blonde delinquent. "An idiot friend of mine called Giovanni had a hunch. He literally jumped off our ship and ran across the country on foot just to buy us some time."
Toki's eyes widened slightly at the name, but she didn't have time to process it.
BOOM!
The pile of rubble in the outer courtyard violently exploded into a mountain of shattered timber and loose soil.
A massive silhouette erupted from the dust cloud, coated in a dark, murderous aura.
King the Conflagration had returned.
The black leather of his suit was scorched from the initial impact, and a thick streak of blood was visible through a fresh tear in his mask. His large, serrated katana was already drawn, the steel radiating a terrifying, white-hot heat.
"Whitebeard's first mate," King hissed, his voice echoing with absolute hatred through the burning corridor.
Marco didn't even blink. His right arm instantly transformed back into a magnificent wing of blue and yellow fire.
"Get behind me, Toki," Marco commanded smoothly.
SHING!
King accelerated to an absolute, blistering velocity. He leaped through the ruined wall, bringing his heated katana down in a devastating, vertical executioner's slash aimed straight for Marco's skull.
Marco didn't attempt to dodge. He raised his left forearm, completely enveloped in the flames of regeneration, to block the descending steel.
CRA-RACK!
The sheer force of the collision generated a massive shockwave that tore up the remaining tatami mats in the room. The white-hot edge of King's sword cut deep into Marco's arm, but the wound was instantly swallowed by the swirling blue fire, healing the flesh at the exact millisecond of contact.
"Is that all you've got?" Marco asked, a sharp smirk breaking across his face.
Marco shifted his weight, using his advanced balance to slide inside King's guard. He executed a lightning-fast, spinning kick with his right leg, his foot transforming into a heavy, flaming talon.
WHAM!
The kick connected squarely with King's ribs, sending the All-Star skidding violently across the room, his boots carving deep trenches into the wooden floorboards.
King stabilized his stance instantly, his massive black wings flexing as he leveled his blade once more.
"Imperial Flame!" King shouted.
He thrust his hand forward, unleashing a massive, roaring torrent of natural Lunarian fire that shaped itself into a giant, hunting hawk. The heat was so immense that the surrounding wooden pillars immediately turned to ash.
Marco soared straight into the center of the inferno, his phoenix wings beating the air with a thunderous roar. He sliced through the Lunarian fire entirely, his healing flames neutralizing the destructive heat as he closed the distance to King.
The two flying monsters clashed in mid-air, a spectacular storm of blue and yellow flames colliding against white-hot steel and black feathers. Marco clearly maintained the upper hand, his superior agility and instantaneous regeneration allowing him to continuously press the offensive and deflect King's brutal counter-attacks.
But the battlefield was about to get much more crowded.
"What a complete and utter mess!" a loud, theatrical voice bellowed from the courtyard.
BOOM!
A massive, round silhouette crashed through the remaining western wall of the estate.
Queen the Plague had arrived.
The gargantuan cyborg All-Star stood in his hybrid form, his massive brachiosaurus neck and metallic tail swaying violently. His mechanical left arm was spinning rapidly, a heavy Gatling gun barrel emerging from the palm.
"Die, Marco!" Queen roared.
Queen unleashed a devastating barrage of high-caliber, laser-infused rounds straight toward the center of the room.
KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA-KRAASH!
The laser fire completely pulverized the upper levels of the estate, sending a massive shower of burning beams and debris falling directly toward the corner where Toki and Hiyori were trying to navigate their way out of the building.
Marco's eyes snapped toward the collapsing ceiling.
'Damn it!'
'I can handle these two mechanical freaks by myself.'
'But the building is completely compromised.'
'If I leave my position to block those lasers, King will cut them down from behind.'
Marco executed a rapid aerial maneuver, using his fiery wings to shield Toki and Hiyori from the falling embers, but his attention was dangerously split. King and Queen were already preparing a synchronized, dual-assault from both flanks to capitalize on his hesitation.
Queen raised his mechanical jaw, a massive green laser beam charging deep inside his throat.
"Brachio Bomber!" Queen shouted.
The destructive laser beam fired, tearing a line of absolute obliteration through the air, aimed directly for the fleeing mother and daughter.
SHING!
A fast, spinning circular blur of pure steel and pink water energy burst out from the shadows of the corridor.
"Kappa Style: River Wave Deflection!" a loud, booming voice roared.
A massive, wide-bladed katana cleanly intersected the path of the incoming green laser. With an incredible display of physical strength and flowing Ryou, the blade completely redirected the trajectory of the energy beam, sending the laser crashing harmlessly up into the stormy night sky.
The dust cleared to reveal Kawamatsu the Kappa.
The legendary sumo wrestler and loyal vassal stood tall, his straw hat tilted low over his face, his heavy frame completely blocking the path to Toki and Hiyori.
Kawamatsu shifted his gaze toward the airborne Marco, his small eyes widening in recognition of the Whitebeard insignia.
"Are you one of Lord Oden's old friends from the sea?" Kawamatsu barked, his voice filled with urgent desperation.
"Yeah," Marco shouted back, deflecting a stray slash from King. "I am!"
Kawamatsu tightened his grip on his katana, his body radiating a thick aura of Ryou as he faced the two towering All-Stars.
"Listen to me, Please!" Kawamatsu yelled, his voice echoing over the roar of the flames. "Take Lady Toki and young Hiyori out of here! Get them completely out of Wano! This country is lost, but the bloodline must survive!"
Kawamatsu took a heavy sumo stance, his blade humming with lethal intent.
"I will hold these two monsters back with my life!"
---
Meanwhile, miles away in the ruined execution plaza of the Flower Capital.
The rebellion of the regional Daimyos was reaching its tragic, inevitable conclusion.
The five master samurai of Wano were completely scattered across the shattered stone pavement. Their clothes were tattered, their katanas chipped, and their breathing was heavily labored.
Kaido stood at the center of the crater. He had stopped playing entirely.
The curious, respectful demeanor he had maintained during Oden's execution was gone. He was fighting with the cold, calculated efficiency of an absolute conqueror. His twelve-foot frame moved with a velocity that the samurai simply could not match.
Shimotsuki Ushimaru launched a desperate forward dash, his blade coated in a thin layer of blue frost.
"Ringo Frost—"
Before he could finish the chant, Kaido shifted his torso by a fraction of an inch, dodging the slash effortlessly. He brought the heavy handle of Hassaikai up in a swift, brutal chin-strike.
BANG!
Ushimaru was launched vertically into the air, spitting blood as his consciousness flickered.
Kaido didn't even watch him fall. He pivoted instantly, delivering a savage, backhanded swing that caught Fugetsu Omusubi and Uzuki Tempura simultaneously across their chests.
CRACK!
The two massive Daimyos were sent hurtling across the square, crashing heavily into the base of the collapsed royal pavilion.
Shimotsuki Yasuie and Hyogoro of the Flower tried to close the gap from behind, but Kaido simply released another massive, unmitigated wave of Advanced Conqueror's Haki. The sheer, suffocating pressure caused their knees to buckle, their swords scraping uselessly against the pavement as the black lightning drove them into the dirt.
Kaido raised his spiked club high above his shoulder, looking down at the fallen Ushimaru with a cold, merciless expression.
"You fought well for a bunch of isolated old men," Kaido rumbled. "But your era ends tonight."
The heavy weapon began its final, lethal descent.
BOOM!
A sudden, violent explosion of dust erupted at the edge of the plaza.
A silhouette burst through the smoke, moving with a desperate, staggering speed.
Norwell D. Giovanni threw himself directly into the space between Kaido's descending club and the fallen Daimyo.
His left arm was still dangling completely uselessly at his side, broken and blood-stained. His chest was covered in deep purple bruises from the previous Thunder Bagua. He looked like a walking corpse, but his right hand was still locked around the golden hilt of Ace.
Ushimaru blinked through the blood in his eyes, his voice cracking with panic as he saw the youth return.
"What are you doing, boy?!" Ushimaru yelled. "Get out of here! You are far too injured to stand against him again! Run!"
Giovanni didn't move a single inch.
He slowly looked back over his shoulder, his bleeding lips stretching into a wide, completely unhinged smile.
"I told you before, old man," Giovanni muttered, his voice raspy but entirely steady. "I'm a pirate. I don't follow the rules of a tactical retreat."
Giovanni turned his head back toward Kaido. He inhaled a deep, ragged breath.
Suddenly, the air around the execution plaza completely stopped moving.
The loose pebbles on the ground began to float into the air, completely defying gravity.
A thick, blinding shroud of dark purple and crimson spiritual energy began to violently erupt from every single pore of Giovanni's broken body. It wasn't just crackling around his sword anymore. It was completely enveloping his entire physical frame like a living armor of pure malice.
The sheer, unprecedented density of the Haki caused the black lightning to arc across the entire capital square.
Kaido stopped his swing, his eyes narrowing to the absolute limit as he felt the intense change in the spiritual atmosphere. He lowered his club slightly, his gaze locking onto the glowing, purple-shrouded form of the rookie.
"Advanced Conqueror's Haki," Kaido whispered, his voice dropping into a dangerous, deadly serious register.
The pirate took a slow step forward, the black lightning of his own will rising to meet the challenge.
"Your body is completely broken, brat," Kaido rumbled, his eyes burning with a mixture of raw curiosity and absolute killing intent.
"What the hell are you planning on doing now?"
---
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