Chapter 541: The Clash Over Holy Land: Allied Forces Ascend

“Nani?”

“Why does this feel so familiar?”

“Ahahaha!”

Luffy grinned as he looked at Dragon. For some reason he felt a sense of warmth deep inside, something he’d only ever felt with his grandpa Garp—now, Dragon was the second person to ever give him that feeling.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Fireballs appeared one after another, explosions echoing farther and farther away as if attacking something high in the sky.

“Wororororo!”

“King! Queen! Jack! Follow me!”

Kaido shifted into his azure dragon form, grabbing Queen in one hand and Jack in the other before shooting straight into the air.

“Marco, since you refuse to leave, let me show you what a real massive war looks like.”

“Never thought these old bones of mine would still get some use after all this time.”

After taking out Teach, Whitebeard finally felt fulfilled. He could guess at Karl’s grand scheme—but he never expected to become a chess piece himself. Still, favors are the hardest of all debts to repay. Back then, when Karl handed him the Conqueror’s Haki Infusion manual, it earned a favor too big to ignore.

Now was the time to pay that debt.

“Nanda to?”

“Why is everyone flying up into the sky?”

“Dad?!”

Ace, Jozu and the others watched as Marco and Whitebeard took off, instantly losing the desire to keep fighting the Navy. One after another, they rushed to their ships, determined to smash through the Navy’s blockade and head straight for Holy Land Mariejois!

Roger, watching from the side, couldn’t hide the change in his expression. Ace was his only son. Without caring about Ace’s protests, he just laughed and boarded the Moby Dick.

Zoro came back to Luffy’s side. “Luffy, want to go together?”

“Uh, yeah!” Luffy finally snapped out of it at Zoro’s sudden question and looked up at the sky.

“I feel like something up there is calling for me.”

It was the power deep within the Devil Fruit, guiding him to finish the task Joy Boy left incomplete.

“Roronoa Zoro, I acknowledge your strength.”

“Once this war ends, you and I will settle things properly—let’s see who truly deserves the title of world’s greatest swordsman.”

Hawk Eyes sheathed his blade with a cold look. Then he walked over to stand beside Sengoku and the others.

Even though the fight had been forced to a halt, Sengoku, Garp and even Kong still decided to head for Mary Geoise.

A few other remaining Seven Warlords followed. The battle here had fizzled to an abrupt end, only to tie straight into an even bigger conflict to come.

“Vegapunk, how many more times can we hold off the attacks of the Heavenly King Uranus?”

That was what concerned Karl the most. The number of high-powered missiles and hydrogen bombs they had wasn’t huge—he still didn’t know how many times Im could launch an attack with Uranus, so Karl wasn’t about to show up on the battlefield himself just yet.

Even he could only withstand a few dozen blasts at most—anything more would sap his strength before facing Im one-on-one.

After all, Im couldn’t have ruled the World Government for 800 years just on charisma, right? If she couldn’t fight, how did she keep the Five Elders and countless Celestial Dragons in check?

“Karl, we’ve only got around a thousand anti-air missiles left—if we need more, we’re down to using rocket launchers, but their firepower won’t be enough to fully disperse the energy beams.”

Tech had only recently exploded in progress; managing to build over a thousand anti-air missiles and a handful of hydrogen bombs in just a few years was a huge leap forward. Karl couldn’t fault them for anything.

“Then just keep firing. Don’t stop until nothing’s coming down from the sky.”

“Who knows how many attacks Im can unleash? We won’t win by throwing lives at the problem.”

“Understood!”

Vegapunk hung up the Den Den Mushi and started commanding his researchers. They locked onto the locations of the falling energy beams and fired missile after missile up from Skypiea.

“Interesting idea—trying to counter Uranus’ attacks with your own shells. I wonder how many you’ve got left.”

Im wasn’t worried. She’d seen weapons like these before—centuries ago, back when everyone’s tech was insanely advanced, a few missiles weren’t a big deal. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of nostalgia for those days.

“Old, so old… Now even Im’s underlings can take me down.”

“Haha! But I didn’t expect to see that old traitor before dying. Guess this trip is worth it after all.”

Those who’d been jailed for centuries knew all too well what Karl wanted from them, and what they’d be facing next. As long as they could find a way to survive, nothing else mattered—yet a hint in Karl’s tone made the more perceptive ones realize what might be coming.

The tide had turned. Karl’s power was terrifying. Even the warden—who once seemed so strong—barely lasted a few moves against him.

Their own strength was long gone. Now, faced with Karl at his peak, they had no power to resist.

And even if they tried to run, where would they go?

Still, if they could confront Im face-to-face before dying, ask her about her deeds—that was one regret less.

“Oh? They’re here?”

Karl sensed huge life auras rising up from below—the one at the front was unmistakably Kaido.

Just a moment ago, the battle had been forced to a stop. As Dragon moved forward, Marco, carrying Whitebeard, Kaido with Jack and Queen, and several others able to fly charged together toward Holy Land Mariejois.

“Wororororo! Now this is real combat!”

“Those guys in golden armor are yours, Jack, Queen!”

Kaido paused midair, hurling Jack and Queen downward and instructing King to keep an eye on things.

Kaido himself gripped his kanabo tight and swung it straight down toward the plaza.

Whitebeard, Marco and the rest followed close behind, then came the rest of Kaido’s Flying Six and several others with flying-type Devil Fruit powers.

No one was surprised: those who arrived at the massive battlefield could only stand in shock at what they saw.

“Masaka?”

“Is this really the Celestial Dragons’ sacred land?”

“Who’s got the guts to actually attack the Celestial Dragons?”

Some pirates still didn’t know who was taking on the World Government, but isn’t this too reckless? That organization has ruled the world with iron force for 800 years, and now someone was actually making them the target.

“Thunder Bagua!”

Bang!

Kaido smashed his kanabo down before he even landed, lightning crackling as he slammed it straight onto Derlin’s head, blasting a deep round pit into the ground.

The shockwave sent dust and stones flying, and even the Red Line itself shuddered from the impact.

But it wasn’t Kaido’s attack that shook the Red Line—in fact, right behind it, Zunesha was swinging its massive trunk and body, repeatedly slamming against the continent.

“Kaido?”

“Why are you here?”

“You dare stand against the World Government? Are you tired of living?”

Derlin never imagined Kaido would turn up here; he’d thought for sure Kaido was down below battling the Navy.

Could it be the Navy’s already suffered a total defeat?

Otherwise, how could Kaido have shown up?

His mind swirled with doubts, but Kaido didn’t show any mercy. He swung his huge kanabo, shifting into his smaller dragon-man form, hammering at Derlin again and again. The defenses that once seemed so impenetrable crumbled as Derlin coughed up blood, stumbling backward.

“Sandstorm!”

Shields of sand swept in toward Kaido’s back, half-moon after half-moon, slamming with force.

But just before they hit, a milky-white wall rose from the ground to block the attacks, its strength absorbing the blows completely.

“Where are you looking, Five Elders?”

Standing near the wall was Katakuri, clutching his trident, battered and bleeding from the brow.

Fighting off two of the Five Elders at once and still managing to stay on his feet—his strength was truly something to behold.