Boom!!
Under the immense and terrifying force, a series of sonic booms ripped through the air.
"Imperial Flame Wing Kick!!"
Suddenly, King let out a mighty roar. After spinning at high speed in the air, he used his flame-wreathed wings to kick ferociously toward Zunesha, striking like a drawn bow.
As a Lunarian, a member of the so-called "Race of Gods," King could survive in any harsh condition. When the flame on his back was burning, his speed would decrease, but he would gain astonishing defensive power. When the flame was extinguished, his defense would return to normal, but his speed would increase dramatically.
Countless bursts of fire erupted, and the sky filled with intense black lightning. The power behind King's attack was immense; an ordinary pirate ship would have been obliterated instantly. But King was not facing an ordinary ship. He was facing Zunesha.
Boom!!
As the two collided, a deafening roar of compressed air echoed out. And then... King was swatted away like an insignificant fly.
Whoosh!!
A trickle of blood escaped the corner of King's mouth as he was sent hurtling back toward Onigashima.
"What the hell is this power?!"
King was utterly bewildered. He had never witnessed such strength, not even from Kaido. This level of power simply shouldn't exist in this world.
Jack and Queen watched this unfold, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"As expected of Zunesha!" Kaido thought to himself. "Perhaps the title of 'World's Strongest Creature' should belong to it." Although he had anticipated this outcome, seeing it with his own eyes was still profoundly shocking.
"Rising Dragon: Flame Bagua!"
With a thunderous roar, Kaido, in his Azure Dragon form, unleashed a torrent of flames from his maw. He shot forward at incredible speed, hurtling directly toward Zunesha.
In an instant, countless streaks of black and red lightning crackled through the sky. The heavens themselves seemed to dim under the clash of Conqueror's Haki.
"Lord Kaido!!"
Jack and Queen watched with hopeful eyes as Kaido's form surged through the air.
Bang!!
A massive impact sounded, but it was King's body that appeared before them first. He slammed violently into the ground, driven by a colossal shockwave.
A crater several meters deep formed in an instant.
At this point, Zunesha's trunk was only a few hundred meters from Wano.
In just two more breaths...
Wano Country would be struck.
Fortunately, Kaido's enormous body intercepted the attack first. Though Kaido's dragon form stretched for a thousand meters, it was still nothing compared to the 35,000-meter-tall Zunesha.
Bang!!
With a deafening collision, a massive shockwave swept across the sky, instantly causing the sea below to erupt in countless towering waves.
Incredibly, Zunesha's attack had been stopped cold by Kaido.
"As expected of Lord Kaido!"
Jack and Queen's perception of their captain's strength was reinforced once more.
ROAR!!
Its instinctual advance interrupted, Zunesha let out a bellow that shook the very seas. An even greater power surged from its trunk. In an instant, Kaido was also sent flying, shot backward like a cannonball toward Onigashima.
"Truly terrifying!!"
Ryuuto and Yamato gasped, watching the scene unfold.
"Who am I? Where am I?"
Kaido's mind went blank. Never before had he felt so weak.
Jack and Queen exchanged a glance, then both wordlessly lowered their heads, not daring to watch their leader's humiliating return.
At that very moment...
Zunesha's terrifying attack slammed directly into the remaining cliffs surrounding Wano.
Bang!!
A colossal impact shook the country. The entire landmass began to tremble violently.
Crack!!
The sound of splintering rock filled the air.
It was clear that the cliffs encircling Wano could not withstand Zunesha's assault and began to fracture immediately.
"What's happening? Is it an earthquake?!"
"Run!!"
Across the islands of Wano, the ground shook violently. Buildings began to collapse one after another. Cries for help and the panicked screams of fleeing people could be heard everywhere.
"No!"
From the sky, Tama watched in horror as her small thatched hut was crushed.
The Shogun's castle and Onigashima were in complete chaos.
Kaido slowly climbed out of the crater he'd made. The memory of the last few moments was utterly humiliating. His pride, his immense strength, had been so effortlessly shattered by this ancient creature.
"Lord Kaido, are you alright?!"
Queen immediately rushed over, his face a mask of deep concern.
Rumble!!
But it was far from over. As the cliffs around Wano crumbled and fell into the sea, they kicked up terrifying tsunamis. The full, true form of Wano was revealed to the world: a collection of isolated, mountain-like islands, standing in a formation that defied all logic.
ROAR!!
Zunesha moved again. After another deafening roar, it stomped its massive foot on the sea floor. The ocean itself trembled, and a colossal wave, thousands of meters high, rose up and began to surge toward Wano.
The people within Wano, however, could not see this. All they felt was the endless, violent shaking of the islands.
"It seems there's no stopping it now," Kaido said, slumping to the ground. He looked up at the sky, defeated. Only that one thought remained in his mind.
Far away in Mary Geoise, Imu was watching the events unfold with rapt attention. For them, this was a massive opportunity. They had never imagined that the object hidden beneath Wano would be revealed to the world in such a spectacular fashion.
They were already prepared.
The Holy Knights were ready to be deployed at a moment's notice! Such a weapon had to be theirs!
"Faster... faster!!"
In the distance, a massive ship flying a "smiley face" jolly roger was being propelled forward by its propellers. Onboard were nearly all the senior officers of the Revolutionary Army: Dragon, Kuma, Ivankov, the four commanders, and Sabo. It was clear that Dragon was staking everything on this.
Back in Wano, Ryuuto's group was in a state of shock.
Yamato, in particular, was stunned. She had never imagined that the "opening of Wano's borders" she so desperately desired would happen in this way. She began to doubt everything she believed in.
But Zunesha was not finished.
ROAR!!
As its trunk coiled deep beneath the waves, it felt resistance. Letting out another strained roar, it began to pull with all its might. Its mission was to bring the behemoth from the seabed back into the light of day.
Rumble!!
As Zunesha strained, the sea churned violently. The islands of Wano shook even more ferociously.
"Can someone tell me what is going on?!" Orochi shrieked, cowering under a table in abject terror.
"Die!"
At that moment, as if making a final, desperate decision, Denjiro suddenly drew his dagger and lunged toward the cowering Shogun. He could not wait any longer. This was the perfect chance to assassinate Kurozumi Orochi, and he seized it without hesitation.
Stab!!
The dagger, gleaming with a faint black light, plunged into Orochi's shoulder just as the Shogun turned, completely unaware. Denjiro had been aiming for his heart, but Orochi's sudden movement caused the strike to miss its vital target.
Orochi's fear instantly transformed into mortal terror, which then curdled into immense rage.
"Denjiro, what are you doing?! You dare try to assassinate me?! I'll kill you!!"
With a furious scream, a terrifying aura erupted from Orochi as he transformed into his Yamata no Orochi form. Eight massive heads writhed in the air, roaring in fury, before lunging at Denjiro.
"What a pity, Orochi. I failed to avenge Lord Oden this time!!"
Seeing his attempt had failed, Denjiro leaped back. He dropped his facade, glaring at Orochi with eyes filled with pure hatred.
"You... who are you?"
Hearing that familiar name, Kurozumi Orochi recoiled.
"Die!!" he shrieked, and his eight massive serpent heads began spitting purple fireballs at Denjiro. A series of explosions rocked the room. But Orochi's own combat prowess was lacking. Despite possessing a powerful Devil Fruit, his mastery over it was clumsy, and for the moment, he was unable to land a decisive blow on Denjiro.
Outside, on the sea, the vibrations grew more intense. The entire landmass of Wano was swaying violently. With Zunesha's continuous effort, the sea churned as a behemoth began to stir in the depths.
Boom!!
At the same time, Wano itself began to tilt. From Zunesha's perspective, one could see that the islands of Wano were perched atop the colossal structure rising from the seabed.
"It's finally here."
Kaido slowly sat up, letting out a long sigh of resignation.
"Lord Kaido, what is happening?" Queen asked obsequiously.
"Pluton! It's appearing! Prepare yourselves. We may face attacks beyond anything you can imagine!" Kaido didn't bother hiding it, shouting the warning to his three All-Stars.
"Pluton?!"
King's and Queen's eyes widened in shock. They immediately thought of the legendary weapon.
"What? Pluton is underneath Wano?" Even Jack, who wasn't the sharpest, quickly understood the implications. He stared in disbelief.
"What is going on?" Yamato hovered in the air, her expression grim. This was a far cry from the "opening of Wano's borders" she had envisioned.
Tenguyama Hitetsu's face was also grave. He had heard of this secret history, but to see it actually come to pass filled him with a new kind of dread. With this reckless opening of the country and the acquisition of the world's most dangerous weapon, could Wano truly survive in the world to come?
His gaze even drifted toward Kaido. Perhaps, from this moment on, Kaido had become a protector of Wano in a completely different sense.
No... there was still Ryuuto and his group.
"Such a chaotic era. To have two of the Four Emperors in Wano at once! The Emperors of the Sea!!" Tenguyama Hitetsu's thoughts were a tangled mess.
"I knew it!!"
"Pluton was under Wano all along!!"
Ryuuto's guess was confirmed, and his mood instantly brightened. Even the rebellious Yamato by his side suddenly seemed much more appealing. Rebellion was good! She had to be rebellious!
Rumble!!
Zunesha continued to pull at the behemoth beneath the waves.
Time ticked by...
Bang!!
As tons of seawater cascaded off its surface, an impossibly huge ship, 10,000 meters in length, slowly rose into view. It was the Ancient Weapon—Pluton!
With its appearance, an ancient, primordial aura washed over the world.
It was a warship of an incomparably ancient design. Its massive hull was covered in scarred steel, but the most eye-catching feature was the gigantic steel cannon mounted on its bow.
During Pluton's emergence, Wano tilted to a terrifying fifty-degree angle. Collapsing buildings slid directly into the sea, taking many of Wano's citizens with them. In the face of such a behemoth, the existence of a single person was as insignificant as that of an ant.
"Pluton!!"
"As expected of an Ancient Weapon. Only the technology of the ancients could forge a ship of this size!" Kaido thought, mesmerized by the steel warship.
Pluton's existence stunned everyone who saw it.
"I wonder what kind of power source a ship this massive uses. As for its offensive capabilities, it must be that giant steel cannon on the bow," Ryuuto mused, sizing up the Ancient Weapon.
Yamato, however, was more focused on Wano itself. She stared in shock, unable to comprehend that Wano was an integral part of Pluton, rising from its deck like a bizarre series of masts, yet somehow not looking out of place.
ROAR!!
Having brought Pluton back into the world, Zunesha seemed to have fulfilled its mission. It let out a triumphant roar that echoed across the heavens, announcing Pluton's return to the world. Then, it fell silent, standing motionless in the water.
"Another huge ship?"
"So cool!!"
"That ship is massive! It's bigger than most islands!"
Nami, Burgess, and the others couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
"It has emerged. Pluton."
In Mary Geoise, Imu watched Pluton's arrival and spoke softly. A faint smile touched their lips beneath the black cloak.
"You may depart now," they said, seemingly speaking to the empty air, issuing a command.
"Yes!!"
A response echoed back from the void.