Katakuri's startled thought "Could that be a Giant Sea King?" vanished as quickly as it came.
In the One Piece world, Sea Kings are colossal ocean beasts that rule the deep, especially near the Calm Belt, and only the Ancient Weapon Poseidon has the power to control them. They are so massive that one mermaid princess, Shirahoshi, can communicate with them directly.
This made it nearly impossible to believe one could appear near Peach Garden.
"What is this? Did a mountain really rise from the seabed?" Perospero exclaimed, his voice shaking.
Kaido's ship and Big Mom's ship had stopped their advance. Now their attention was drawn to the enormous mound that had risen from the sea surface. Dark blue in color, it was circular and glistened faintly in the light.
And it was huge — nearly three hundred meters tall.
Wyper tentatively stepped onto the mound with his taloned foot. The texture felt strange, neither solid like rock nor soft like sand. It felt instead like stepping on the enormous head of a giant whale.
To be cautious, Wyper transformed into his Pterodactyl form and circled the shape from above.
The crews on both pirate ships cried out in awe.
"What is this thing?"
"So tall… like a mountain!"
"Could it really be a Sea King?"
"Mon‑monster!"
"Run! Get out of here!"
One by one, the pirates panicked.
Then, suddenly, a massive eye opened on the side of the mound. Just that eye alone was nearly fifty meters across.
The pupil fixed its gaze upon the two pirate ships with overwhelming intensity. A crushing aura rippled outward across the sea, thick and suffocating.
The air felt dense and heavy, as if the sky itself weighed down.
Gulp… gulp…
Sounds of choking came from the sailors on both ships. Every pirate felt as though a mountain was crushing them, making it hard to breathe.
The oppressive aura was ancient and primal, unlike anything any pirate had ever felt. It seemed older than time itself.
"It's… really a Giant Sea King!" someone screamed.
"So massive…"
"A monster!"
"Run now!"
"Tell my mama I might not be home for dinner!"
Big Mom stomped forward atop Prometheus, raising Zeus in surprise and disbelief.
"What kind of Sea King is this? It's enormous!"
She had seen Sea Kings before, but they were usually one or two hundred meters long at most. A head alone being three hundred meters tall suggested this creature's total length might exceed a thousand meters. Titanic Sea Kings of that scale existed only in legends.
Kaido, too, stared at the colossal beast with wide eyes.
"Hey old woman, have we ever seen a Sea King this huge?" he asked incredulously.
Big Mom met his gaze. "I saw beasts this size only in Pirate World Secrets," she admitted — a rare tome detailing legendary sea monsters and forbidden encounters.
Kaido reverted to his human form at the mention of that name. "I never expected something like this to actually exist. It's terrifying."
Just then, a violent aura locked onto them.
Looking up, they saw the massive pupil fixed on them, and a chilling hostility radiating from it.
Kaido cackled, gripping his kanabo casually over his shoulder, "Urorororo, old woman, if this thing becomes dinner, it'll be even tastier!"
Big Mom paused for a moment, then laughed back, "Mama, then let's carve it up and let Long Mianbao cook it!"
Kaido transformed into his azure dragon form, his cheeks puffing with flaming crimson energy — a sign of extreme heat gathering within.
Big Mom held Zeus in her right hand while standing on Prometheus. She unleashed a crackling purplish‑black bolt of lightning from Zeus, the crackle humming with oppressive energy.
"Lightning Strike!"
At the same time, Kaido breathed out a scorching plume of flame from his dragon mouth.
"Heat Breath!"
Their combined attack of lightning and fire intertwined, creating a blazing plasma storm that descended upon the Giant Sea King's head at fearsome speed.
Boom!
Sizzle!
The resulting explosion was deafening. The Sea King's head was enveloped in thick smoke, and an enormous shockwave thundered outward, forcing the sea surface down dozens of meters.
The wind roared so fiercely that the clothes of the four figures suspended above the battle fluttered violently.
Giant circular waves radiated from the blast's epicenter.
The two pirate ships were pushed backward by the swelling waves until they slashed against Peach Garden's Electromagnetic Barrier, then recoiled outward.
Big Mom grinned with satisfaction at the result of their combined assault, turning to Kaido with a playful scolding tone.
"Mama Kaido boy, did you not hold back at all? If you burn our dinner, you're buying dessert tonight!"
Kaido laughed heartily, still gazing at the center of the explosion, "Urorororo, old woman, you hit hard too."
As the smoke cleared, the huge Giant Sea King's head rose into view again, its flesh torn but far from defeated. The gash was massive by human standards, but to a creature of this size it was merely a superficial wound.
"How is this possible?" Big Mom and Kaido said almost simultaneously, stunned by its resilience.
The Sea King blinked its giant eye and lifted its trembling head toward the two pirate emperors above.
At the same time, a soft female voice called out:
"Elder Lan, wait!"
The hostile aura dissipated instantly as the voice reached the Sea King.
Everyone turned toward the source of the sound.
Two figures floated forward on glimmering bubbles, one a huge pink mermaid, the other a small graceful blue figure beside her.
The voice that quelled the Sea King's fury came from the pink mermaid.
Kaido and Big Mom exchanged shocked glances.
"Masaka! It's an Ancient Weapon Sea King!"
Pirates who had sailed for decades and had even followed Rocks to the Final Island were well aware of the legends of the three Ancient Weapons: Pluton, Poseidon, and Uranus.
Poseidon was said to be the power to command the Sea Kings of the world — and here it appeared that power was in the hands of this mermaid.
Kaido's voice trembled slightly, "Old woman, it seems the Sea King is responding to one of these two girls!"
Big Mom's eyes widened, then her expression turned wild with excitement and greed.
"Kaido boy, what if we join forces to seize this Ancient Weapon?" she suggested with manic exhilaration.
Kaido's pupils glowed crimson. "Good! Old woman, if we take down Sea King today, then this world will be within our grasp."
Their greedy gazes fell upon the two mermaid beauties floating before them.