The sky screamed. The clash between Shanks' Gryphon and Kaido's Hassaikai was not merely a collision of weapons; it was a war between two heavens. The violet-black lightning of Kaido's Conqueror's Haki battled the pure, potent red aura of Shanks', splitting the very clouds, sending shockwaves that threatened to destabilize Kaido's own Flame Cloud platform.
The remaining combatants on the floating ruins of Marineford could only stare upwards in mute, primal terror. This was a battle on a scale that made the previous war seem like a mere skirmish.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, his golden form flickering, looked from the dueling Emperors to the retreating Whitebeard Pirates, then back to his own exhausted, battered forces.
Akainu was still fuming, Aokiji was grimly assessing the structural integrity of their floating prison, and Kizaru watched the sky-splitting clash with an expression that, for the first time, held no trace of amusement. Garp was still buried in rubble. They were the might of the World Government, but they were not gods.
Shanks' offer—I've come to put an end to this war—echoed in Sengoku's mind. It was a lifeline, but one wrapped in the immense threat of another Emperor's crew.
"Shanks!" Sengoku bellowed, his voice carrying over the celestial din. "You wish to end this war?!"
Shanks, still locked in a stalemate of impossible power with Kaido, briefly met Sengoku's gaze. "I do! Let the bloodshed end here! Allow Whitebeard and his sons to depart with what remains of their dignity!"
Sengoku gritted his teeth, the golden enamel of his Buddha form creaking. Justice demanded annihilation. But pragmatism, survival, screamed another truth.
"We have no desire to fight two Emperors in one day," Sengoku admitted, his voice a low growl of reluctant concession. He then thrust a massive golden finger towards the azure dragon.
"But he is here! Kaido does not listen to reason! If you can make him leave, if you can deal with that monster, then we will cease our assault. We will allow the Whitebeard Pirates to collect their dead and wounded. But the responsibility for what happens next… it falls to you, Red-Hair!"
Shanks offered a sharp, grim smile. "That's all I needed to hear." He then roared at his opponent, "KAIDO! DID YOU HEAR THAT? THE PARTY'S OVER!"
"NOT UNTIL I'VE HAD MY FILL!" Kaido roared back, pushing with all his immense strength.
The two Emperors broke apart, separating by a few hundred feet in the sky, regarding each other like rival gods.
What followed was a battle that defied comprehension.
Kaido, in his hybrid form, was a whirlwind of destruction. He swung his kanabo, each blow a "Thunder Bagua" that sent shockwaves of black lightning tearing through the air. He opened his maw and unleashed a "Boro Breath," a devastating beam of pure thermal energy that could vaporize mountains, streaking towards Shanks.
Shanks was a master of a different kind. He was elegance, precision, and overwhelming, suffocating Haki. He moved with an almost impossible speed, Gryphon a blur of silver. He didn't meet Kaido's raw power with raw power. He parried it.
He used his own advanced Conqueror's Haki, not just as a blunt instrument, but as a shield, a blade, a force that could clash with and redirect Kaido's attacks.
His saber would meet Kaido's kanabo, and instead of a cataclysmic explosion, there would be a sharp KRACK! as the sky itself seemed to fracture around them, the Haki of two kings warring for dominance.
He flowed around the Boro Breath, his red coat untouched, the heat so intense it warped the air around him, yet he remained unharmed, his entire being seemingly protected by his indomitable will.
"WORORORORO! SUCH STRONG HAKI, RED-HAIR!" Kaido roared, and he unleashed another, even more ferocious, volley of Thunder Baguas.
The sky became their canvas. Black and red lightning danced and fought, ripping holes in the Flame Clouds. The pressure was so intense that Marines on the ground below fainted without ever being touched.
It was a battle of equals, a clash between two of the four absolute rulers of the sea. Kaido was the unstoppable force. Every blow could have shattered an island, every parry could have leveled a city.
It was beautiful. It was terrifying. It was the peak of power in the world, on full display for all to see.
And beneath this battle of heavens, the war on the ground came to a halt. The Admirals stood ready, but their orders were to wait.
The Whitebeard Pirates, aboard the Moby Dick and with Kirin's help, were frantically tending to their wounded, their Pops, their unconscious new hope in Gunnar, all under the impossible, protective umbrella of the Red-Haired Emperor's promise.
***
As the clash of red and black lightning that split the heavens. On the burning, crippled deck of the Moby Dick, the war was over.
The remaining Whitebeard commanders moved with a grim, exhausted purpose. They had gathered their most grievously wounded, their dying captain.
Kirin, the Thunderbird, now back in its magnificent peacock form, stood a silent, sorrowful vigil beside Whitebeard, its iridescent plumage a stark, beautiful contrast to the surrounding soot and blood.
From the edge of the floating quadrant, Charlotte Smoothie watched them, her arms crossed, her expression unreadable.
Then, Ben Beckman's voice, amplified by a Den Den Mushi, cut through the air from the Red Force, Shanks' ship.
"The way is clear. The Marines are holding their positions. Kaido and the Captain are keeping each other… occupied. If you're going to leave, now is the time."
Marco looked up, his face set with a grim resolve. "You heard him! Everyone who can move, get this ship ready! We're heading out!"
The remaining pirates, began the frantic, desperate work. They doused the worst of the flames, patched the most critical holes with scavenged wood, and tried to right the tattered sails.
Slowly, agonizingly, the Moby Dick, a ghost of its former glory, began to move. It drifted away from the central chaos, away from the floating ruins of Marineford, propelled by the faint sea breeze that managed to find its way this high up. It was a long, slow retreat from hell.
As they drifted, they looked back.
[A/N: Fuck it, I am gonna mass release, two arcs at once. 20 chapters! Enjoy!!!!]