Marco turned to Ace and the others. "Ace, take our people back through Brûlée's mirror first. I'll head to Wano and check things out."
Ace gave a small nod. "Alright. Then be careful, Marco."
Marco spread his flaming wings and took off a moment later, rising into the sky to follow behind the massive Azure dragon as they headed toward Wano country.
King immediately shifted into his Pteranodon form, while Zack also transformed into his Pink Dragon form, both of them taking off in pursuit of Kaido and Marco. As King swept over the Beasts Pirates' fleet, he shouted down to Jack, "Jack! The war's over. Return to Wano Country at once—something's happened there!"
"Yes!" Jack answered.
A few hours later, Kaido and Marco reached Wano. What had once been a thousand-meter-tall nation-protecting wall now stood half-collapsed. The colossal barrier looked as if it had been cleaved on a diagonal. The section facing Onigashima was damaged but still mostly intact, while the Wano side had been devastated—its height reduced from a thousand meters to barely four or five hundred.
And the Wano Country it had shielded was completely gone.
Even with the wall's destruction causing the surrounding sea level to drop by several hundred meters, there was still no trace of Wano anywhere.
"Damn it…" Kaido growled, staring at the now-unrecognizable landscape. With the lowered water level, more of Onigashima's rocky base jutted out of the sea.
"This destructive power is insane…" Marco muttered, his brows furrowing.
Kaido ground his teeth. With Wano gone, the factories were gone. The weapons, the Sea Stone, the SMILEs—everything had vanished with it.
Without another word, he flew straight toward Onigashima. The remaining Beasts Pirates stationed there erupted in excitement at the sight of him.
"Kaido-sama, you're finally back!"
At their head stood a peculiar figure whose limbs were all serpents—Poker.
Kaido glared down at him. "Hey, Poker. Where's Queen? And Caesar?"
Poker's expression twisted bitterly. "Lord Queen's vivre card has completely burned away. As for Caesar, we never made a vivre card for him, but with that kind of destructive power, I'm afraid…"
Kaido's face darkened even further, his fists clenching until the muscles bulged. With Wano itself erased, he didn't need anyone to tell him what had become of the Beasts Pirates stationed there.
After Orochi's staged death some time ago had set off the explosives beneath Onigashima and heavily damaged the island, Kaido had moved the Beasts Pirates' main base to the Flower Capital. He had never imagined the World Government would strike back this ruthlessly.
He swept his gaze over the few hundred pirates in front of him and spoke in an icy tone. "Out of all of Wano Country… only you survived?"
Poker's face twisted with pain as he nodded. "Yes."
Kaido sank down onto a nearby rock without another word. Wano Country had been the result of decades of his effort—and now, it was all gone.
Marco gazed out at Onigashima and the empty space where Wano had once been, letting out a slow, heavy sigh. The sheer force of what he'd just witnessed left him shaken. An ancient weapon that could erase an entire country from the map… it was terrifying.
He turned to Poker. "Do you remember how long it took from the moment Uranus appeared to when Wano was bombarded?"
Poker stiffened, eyes going wide. "U-Uranus? Lord Marco, you're saying that giant flying ship is the legendary ancient weapon, Uranus?!"
Marco let out a cold snort. "Besides an ancient weapon, what other kind of weapon could unleash that level of destruction?"
After that brief explanation, his expression hardened. "Answer my question."
Poker straightened, answering just as seriously. "Yes, sir. We didn't time it exactly, but when Uranus appeared, it came out of a gigantic magic circle. The process was very slow—it should've taken several minutes."
"Several minutes…" Marco muttered under his breath.
Poker continued, "Everyone should've seen it. After that, a whole row of cannon-like devices extended from the underside of that flying ship. They fired a blinding white light that completely overwhelmed our vision. Then came a deafening roar and a storm of shockwaves. By the time we could open our eyes again, Wano Country was already gone."
Listening to Poker's account, Marco's wariness toward the World Government only deepened. Imu's combination of a teleportation array and Uranus was practically a godlike method of annihilating nations from afar.
He shifted his gaze to Kaido, whose face was dark and unreadable. "Kaido, your stronghold's been wiped out. You're not planning to just let that slide, are you?"
At those words, a savage light flashed in Kaido's eyes. He roared, "Let it slide? Of course I'll strike back! I'll make the world government understand what fate awaits those who dare provoke me!"
His massive frame instantly transformed into a azure dragon that soared into the sky. "Let's go—!"
"Kaido-san!" King shouted, cutting him off and moving to stop him. "Even if we're going for revenge, we can't just charge in blindly!"
Kaido hesitated midair, calming down a notch at King's words. He knew too well the world government's strength wasn't something to underestimate. Aside from the Gorosei, there were also the God's Knights—and if they attacked Mary Geoise, the Marines would certainly move to support them.
Marco, however, remained composed. "We're not hitting Mary Geoise to actually win a decisive battle," he said. "It's a declaration of war. The goal of our Three Emperors Alliance is to overthrow the World Government. They've already gone after Cake Island and Wano one after another. If we still don't formally declare war, wouldn't that make us look a bit too cowardly?"
King quickly added, "Even if we're declaring war on the World Government, we need to inform the Big Mom Pirates first. This is the Three Emperors Alliance now. The World Government has clearly started targeting us. The more they press us, the more we have to stand united."
Hearing this, Kaido gave a short nod, his expression turning grave. "You're right. We have to tell that Old Hag. If we're really going to war with the world government, we'll need her abilities—and the power of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit."
"Alright," Marco replied.
Marco fixed Kaido with a serious look. "Now that it's come to this, the world government probably won't stop until they erase us. You really not planning to use Pluton yet?"
Kaido's gaze swept over the Nation-Protecting Wall, half-collapsed and crumbling. Within its shattered ring, Wano had already been wiped out. Only half of Onigashima still clung to existence.
With no country left to protect, the wall itself had lost all meaning. Kaido snorted, irritation leaking into his voice. "Hmph, that's right. The power of Pluton shouldn't stay buried. It's time to use it. Whether we can use it right away, though… that's another question."
"Then let's haul it out and take a look," Marco replied casually. "If anything's busted, we just find a shipwright to fix it."
As he spoke, a name had already flashed through his mind—the world's greatest scientist, Vegapunk.
With the strength he possessed now, he was confident he could simply snatch Vegapunk away.
After all, Egghead Island's technological might—Pacifistas, Sea beast weapons, Seraphim, and Vegapunk's genius—was enough to rival a Four Emperors crew.
Kaido glared at Marco, annoyed by his constant nagging. "Hmph, that's none of your business. Now get lost."
"You sure have a temper," Marco said, waving a hand indifferently. Losing Wano had clearly sent Kaido's mood through the roof. Marco had originally planned to pick a fight with him and clear a mission given by the system, but that would have to wait.
He didn't linger on Onigashima. Spreading his flaming wings, he took off and flew back toward his own territory.
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