Shimotsuki Ushimaru stood tall at the edge of the crater, his katana catching the flickering orange glare of the burning oil cauldron. He expected the young blonde outsider to slide back, to seek medical attention for his shattered left arm and heavily bleeding body.
Instead, a low, raspy chuckle echoed from the center of the debris.
Giovanni slowly dragged himself up from the rubble, using the pristine edge of Ace to balance his weight against the cracked stone floor. A wide, blood-stained smile broke through the heavy soot on his face.
"I'm not going anywhere, old man," Giovanni said, his voice ragged but dripping with raw adrenaline.
Ushimaru glanced back over his shoulder, his brow furrowing slightly at the sheer insanity of the youth.
Giovanni wiped a fresh trail of crimson from his chin with the back of his good hand, his golden eyes locking straight onto the massive Yonko above. "I traveled across the entire treacherous expanse of the New World just to get to this isolated rock. I want to fight Kaido too."
The four other master samurai of Wano exchanged brief, deeply approving glances. The kid had a broken body, but his spirit was entirely unbroken. He possessed the true heart of a warrior.
Kaido stood on the upper rim of the shattered execution plaza, looking down at the gathered group. He rested his massive iron kanabo, Hassaikai, carelessly against his right shoulder. His dark, draconic eyes scanned the faces of the regional rulers who had dared to disrupt his execution.
"Ushimaru. Yasuie. Omusubi. Tempura. And the old yakuza boss, Hyogoro," Kaido rumbled, his voice like a low earthquake echoing off the palace walls. "Oden is gone. His dream is dead beneath the oil. There is absolutely no point in throwing your lives away for a ghost. Wano belongs to the strong now."
The Daimyos remained perfectly still, their katanas leveled forward in unison, their spiritual energy beginning to hum through the air.
Kaido took a single heavy step forward, his massive twelve-foot shadow stretching completely over the crater. "Come work for me instead. Put your blades under my banner. With your localized strength and my military numbers, we can challenge the World Government and turn this entire planet upside down. What do you say?"
Hyogoro of the Flower spat a thick glob of blood onto the ruined pavement, his flaming hair flickering with pure defiance. "The samurai of Wano do not bow to cowardly invaders who hide behind poison factories and dirty tricks. We refuse."
Shimotsuki Yasuie let out a soft, mocking laugh, his grip tightening on his hilt. "A dragon is nothing more than a giant snake wearing a fancy title, Kaido. You will never own the soul of this nation."
Kaido's massive expression completely hardened, the playful, curious light vanishing from his eyes instantly.
"Too bad," Kaido said.
BOOM!
The earth violently tore open as Kaido detonated from his standing position. He dropped into the center of the crater like a falling meteor, swinging Hassaikai in a massive, horizontal sweep designed to decapitate all five masters in a single motion.
"Shimotsuki Sword Style: Ringo Frost Bite!" Ushimaru roared.
He stepped forward into the path of the swing, his blade coated in a dense, freezing layer of pale blue Ryou. He unleashed a rapid series of circular slashes that formed a barrier of icy spiritual energy, meeting the iron club head-on.
CLANG!
The collision generated a freezing shockwave that coated the nearby rubble in white frost, the ice crackling against the burning air.
"Raging Sakura Burst!" Hyogoro bellowed.
The legendary yakuza boss leaped high into the air, his muscles bulging as a torrent of fiery, concentrated Ryou erupted from his palms and coated his short sword. He brought his blade down in a crushing overhead strike, aiming directly for Kaido's exposed right horn.
Kaido raised his left forearm, his dark blue scales hardening to the density of iron.
BANG!
Hyogoro's fiery blade slammed against the dragon scales, sending a massive shower of bright pink sparks flying across the plaza. Kaido grunted, his immense physical strength shifting as he violently flexed his arm, throwing Hyogoro backward through the air.
Simultaneously, the other three masters closed the distance from the flanks, exploiting the brief opening.
"Fugetsu Sword Style: Granite Mountain Cleaver!" Fugetsu Omusubi shouted, his massive frame driving forward as his broad sword radiated a heavy, brown aura of compressed energy.
"Uzuki Sword Style: Piercing Horizon!" Uzuki Tempura cried out, his blade transforming into a singular, razor-sharp thrust aimed directly at Kaido's throat.
"Hakumai Sword Style: Thousand Autumn Leaves!" Shimotsuki Yasuie chanted, his sword weaving a complex, erratic pattern of wind slashes that obscured his true trajectory.
The three high-tier Ryou attacks converged on Kaido's torso simultaneously.
KRAAAASH!
The absolute force of the combined samurai techniques created a massive, blinding explosion of dust and kinetic pressure at the center of the crater. The stone floor collapsed down another five feet, the structural foundations of the capital groaning under the immense stress.
Kaido stood at the center of the storm, his blue scales chipped and bleeding in several places, but his stance remained entirely unyielding. He let out a deep, draconic roar, a massive wave of Advanced Conqueror's Haki exploding outward from his body like a physical tidal wave.
FWOOSH!
The intense spiritual pressure forced the five masters to slide backward across the dirt, their sandals carving deep furrows into the broken stone as they guarded their faces from the black lightning.
Through the thick curtain of rising dust, a new presence emerged.
Giovanni was moving.
He ignored the excruciating agony screaming from his dislocated left shoulder. He ignored the warm blood pouring into his eyes. He channeled every single ounce of his remaining physical stamina, his future meta-knowledge, and his compressed King's Haki into the dark-patterned steel of Ace.
The sky above the Flower Capital completely darkened, the clouds swirling violently as a massive vortex of purple and black spiritual lightning began to wrap around Giovanni's body. The sheer density of his willpower caused the surrounding air to shriek in absolute protest.
He launched himself high into the sky using a rapid series of sound-barrier-breaking kicks.
CRACK! CRACK!
He hovered at the absolute apex of the execution plaza, looking down at the massive Oni below.
'This is everything I have got left.'
'The absolute limit of my current power.'
Giovanni gripped the hilt of Roger's sword with his right hand, his muscles straining to the absolute maximum as the blade grew entirely enveloped in a roaring, tempestuous vortex of dark energy.
"Davy Sword Style!" Giovanni roared, his voice echoing across the entire nation of Wano.
"Conquest!"
He brought the weapon down in a catastrophic, reality-tearing vertical arc.
A colossal, crescent-shaped wave of pure, concentrated dark energy exploded from the blade. The attack was absolutely massive, spanning the entire width of the execution square as it descended like a judgment from the heavens.
Kaido looked up, his draconic eyes widening significantly as the towering wave of Haki illuminated his face.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The entire Flower Capital shook violently as if hit by a cataclysmic earthquake. A blinding sphere of purple light swallowed the center of the plaza, completely vaporizing the loose rubble and sending a massive shockwave that blew the Daimyos and Hyogoro back against the outer palace walls.
The dense smoke lingered for several long, breathless seconds.
When the dust finally settled, Kaido was still standing at the epicenter of the crater. The colossal attack had not managed to cut through his iron hide permanently, leaving nothing more than a massive, smoking scorch mark across his chest and shoulders.
But Kaido was not laughing.
His face was completely contorted into an expression of raw, aggressive bewilderment. He stared up at the drifting blonde pirate with a mixture of fury and deep, unsettling memory.
'That specific stance.'
'The precise, internal compaction of the conqueror's lightning.'
'The sheer, unapologetic arrogance of the flow.'
'It is eerily similar to that man.'
'Rocks D. Xebec.'
A sudden, monstrous surge of pure rage erupted from Kaido's core. The memories of God Valley and the fall of his former captain flashed through his mind, completely erasing his playful respect for the rookie.
"Where did you learn that style, brat?!" Kaido bellowed, his voice carrying a terrifying, demonic resonance.
Kaido exploded forward at a velocity that completely bypassed the concept of speed. He appeared directly in front of the falling Giovanni before the young pirate could even touch the ground. Hassaikai was completely enveloped in thick, violent ropes of Advanced Conqueror's Haki that crackled like thunder.
"Thunder Bagua!" Kaido roared.
WHAM!
The massive iron club struck Giovanni squarely in the center of his torso.
The concussive force of the strike completely shattered the surrounding atmosphere, creating a physical vacuum ring that blew away the remaining smoke for miles around the capital.
Giovanni's body was launched through the air like a broken ragdoll. He shot across the Wano sky at supersonic speeds, blasting completely over the high stone walls of the Flower Capital, flying past the outer borders, and crashing violently deep into the distant forest wastelands of the outer districts.
His eyes rolled back, his grip on Ace finally loosening as darkness claimed his consciousness. Seemingly completely taken out of the fight.
---
Meanwhile, miles away in the desolate region of Kuri, a completely different nightmare was unfolding.
The historic timeline of Wano had been violently disrupted. Because Giovanni had launched a massive, prolonged assault on Kaido in the center of the capital, the precise sequence of events had fractured.
Inside the traditional wooden estate of the Kozuki family, thick pillars of black smoke were already rising from the outer courtyard.
Kozuki Toki stood at the center of the grand tatami room, her hands trembling as she lowered her glowing palms. She had just utilized her unique time-travel powers, successfully sending her young son, Momonosuke, alongside the core vassals Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, and Kikunojo, twenty years into the future.
But the chaotic, altered timing of the battle had cost her dearly.
The spell had closed too quickly. She had not managed to get her young daughter, Hiyori, out of the room in time.
Hiyori was currently kneeling on the wooden floorboards, clutching the hem of her mother's elegant robes, weeping uncontrollably as the heat of the approaching fires intensified.
The heavy wooden sliding doors of the room were suddenly blown inward, reducing the paper panels to fine splinters.
Stepping through the debris was King the Wildfire.
The high-ranking All-Star of the Beast Pirates stood imposing, his massive black feathers rustling against his leather suit, his large, serrated blade resting loosely in his right hand. The natural flames on his back flickered with a dull, menacing glow.
King looked down at the remaining members of the Kozuki bloodline, his masked face completely unreadable.
"It is too bad Oden had to be an enemy of Kaido-sama," King said, his voice completely calm, devoid of any personal malice but filled with absolute finality.
Toki stepped firmly in front of her daughter, using her own body to completely shield Hiyori from the All-Star's gaze. She looked up at the terrifying Lunarian, her voice shaking with a mother's desperate resolve.
"Please," Toki whispered, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. "I beg of you. Let Hiyori live. Take my life instead. She is just an innocent child. She has absolutely nothing to do with this war or her father's choices."
King slowly raised his heavy blade, the steel catching the reflection of the burning estate.
"Everything related to Kozuki Oden must die today," King said coldly. "No exceptions."
He brought the massive blade down in a swift, lethal executioner's arc meant to split them both in half.
BOOM!
The entire northern wall of the room completely exploded inward in a spectacular shower of broken timber and plaster.
A brilliant, blinding streak of blue and yellow flames of regeneration tore through the burning structure like a falling star.
Before King's blade could travel a single inch closer to Toki, a heavy, claw-shaped human foot completely enveloped in roaring phoenix fire slammed directly into the side of his masked face.
CRASH!
The sheer, unprecedented kinetic momentum of the surprise kick completely bypassed King's defenses. The All-Star was launched horizontally across the room, smashing violently through three separate structural walls of the estate, flying entirely out of the house, and tumbling deep into the dirt courtyard outside. He was literally kicked into tomorrow.
The heavy dust and settling embers slowly swirled around the center of the room.
Marco stood in the gap of the ruined wall, his arms slowly transitioning back from magnificent blue fiery wings into human limbs. He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses with a casual flick of his finger, letting out a heavy, tired sigh.
He glanced toward the distant hole in the outer wall where King was still rolling through the dirt.
"I fought alongside the guy in a death battle but I still don't like him," Marco said smoothly, shaking his head with a lazy expression.
He then slowly turned his head toward the center of the room, his serious combat expression instantly vanishing, replaced by a warm, familiar, and deeply reassuring smile as he looked at the terrified woman.
"Hey there."
Toki stared at him, her large eyes widening to the absolute limit in complete, unadulterated shock. The tears on her face dried instantly as she recognized the iconic blonde pompadour and the distinct, healing blue flames dancing around his shoulders.
"Marco-san?" Toki said, her voice filled with absolute disbelief.
---
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