Luffy proposed a captain versus captain showdown, with the four main fighters taking on Caesar!
With Law and the rest gone, the remaining fighters facing Kaido and Linlin found themselves in dire situation.
"Mamamama! Marco! You think you can stop me? You still too naive!" Linlin cooed with a seductive smile, her Armament Haki blasting away the approaching Marco once more.
The massive Emperor's Sword swept up towering flames, turning the battlefield into a sea of fire.
BOOM!
Marco crashed into the ground, his azure flames flickering as his exhausted face was revealed.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, turning into droplets of blue fire as they fell.
'This is bad! That Caesar is far too strong. Law refused to let Luffy face him alone—he must have his reasons. The battle over there is dangerous, but with Law around, they can still manage. But here, with just me and Yamato, there's no way we can defeat Kaido and Big Mom!'
Marco expression darkened.
If they couldn't break the deadlock in all battlefields, they would face total annihilation.
Marco racked his brain for a solution, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't find a way out.
A dead end!
Even if one of them—Kaido or Big Mom—were removed, the rest of them together still wouldn't be able to quickly eliminate the other.
Without Luffy and the main fighters, though they were still first-rate combatants, they were far from Kaido level and couldn't even deal fatal blows to them.
"All we can do is buy time. Hopefully, Luffy and the others can take down Caesar quickly and come help us deal with Kaido and Big Mom."
As Marco pondered, Linlin seized the moment and swung her sword at him!
"Marco, getting distracted in battle? You're too arrogant! Ikoku Sovereignty!"
The massive Emperor's Sword came crashing down toward Marco head, but just as he was about to dodge—
Linlin blade seemed to strike something as hard as bedrock, getting stuck momentarily and unable to be withdrawn.
"Fish-Man Karate Secret Technique: Vagabond Drill!"
From within the flames, a figure shot out, delivering a powerful punch to Linlin abdomen that sent her towering figure stumbling backward.
"Jinbei!" Marco exclaimed in relief.
Jinbei nodded, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Marco as they faced Big Mom.
"Marco, what exactly is happening here? I saw some familiar faces... dead!" Jinbei expression was grave.
Marco sighed. "It's... complicated. Long story short, another monstrous figure has appeared. Kaido and Big Mom both acknowledged him as their captain. Luffy and the others went to fight that guy. Our job is to stall Kaido and Big Mom. Jinbei, we have to break this deadlock, or the consequences will be disastrous!"
Jinbei brow furrowed, veins pulsing on his forehead, but his voice remained icy.
"It won't be easy Marco! Besides Kaido and Big Mom, they have other forces!"
"What?!" Marco was stunned.
"The underground prison has fallen. King and Queen released the prisoners and somehow healed their injuries. Kawamatsu is severely wounded and unconscious!"
"How?!" Marco face paled further.
At that moment, King transformed into a pterosaur and soared through the air.
Behind him, the swollen-headed dinosaur Ulti, the triceratops Sasaki, the mammoth Jack, the brachiosaurus Queen, the saber-toothed tiger Who's-Who and the venomous spider Black Maria charged forward, crushing everything in their path as they plowed into the crowd in Wano Country!
"Queen!" Sanji face turned pale with shock.
He distinctly remembered having dealt Queen a severe blow, even knocking him off Onigashima.
Yet here Queen, seemingly unscathed and full of energy.
Brook, Nami and the others, who had initially planned to leave the battlefield, halted in their tracks upon seeing this and rejoined the fray.
"Usopp! Chopper! Take care of Franky and find a place to hide!" Nami shouted, gripping her Clima-Tact tightly as she unleashed Zeus from within and dashed into the battle.
"NAMI!" Usopp gritted his teeth, itching to charge forward, but Chopper held him back, shaking his head.
"Usopp! That kind of fight isn't for you. You're a sniper—take Franky and hide. I'll go help them!"
"Be careful, Chopper!" Usopp yelled, struggling to carry half of Franky body as he ran into the distance.
"Waaah… Denjiro, Killer, Kin'emon—they're all dead. Raizo and Franky are badly injured too. Everyone's in such danger now… damn it!" Tears streamed down Chopper's face as, for the first time, he regretted coming to Wano to help Momonosuke reclaim his country.
Though Chopper was kind-hearted, what mattered most to him were Luffy and the others.
Now, with Franky unconscious and in such a terrible state, they faced an even greater crisis!
"Luffy, Nami, Zoro… we can't lose anyone else. Why is the pirate world so cruel?!"
***
"Yamato! Why?! Why are you doing this to me?! I'm your father!" Kaido roared, clutching his massive kanabo as Yamato strike sent him crashing into the ground, his enormous body collapsing the earth beneath him.
"Father? No, you're not! Kaido, I don't have a father like you! I am Kozuki Oden, not Yamato! I will protect Wano!" Yamato panted heavily, shouting back.
"Why?! What changed you?! Haven't I always treated you well?! Sure, I beat you, locked you up, starved you—but it was all to train you! You have no idea how cruel this world truly is!" Kaido rose to his feet, tears pouring down his face as the giant man broke into loud sobs.
[A/N : What kind of father is this? LMAO]
Yamato gripped her smaller kanabo, glaring at Kaido. "You call that training?! You just wanted a son! You always treated me as one. All i want is a peaceful and harmonious life. All the cruelty on this world brought by people like you! Wano was fine before—why did you bring suffering to everyone?!"
"Fine????" Kaido shook his head, raising his kanabo and pointing it at Yamato. "Even without me, this country still had Orochi, Kanjuro and other pirates who would've come. Nowhere in this world is peaceful and harmonious. Why do you think I set sail in the first place?! Because I wasn't strong enough to control my own fate!"
"Yamato! Without strength, you can never enjoy a peaceful life!" Kaido swung his kanabo at Yamato with a thunderous roar.
"Raimei Hakke!" "Raimei Hakke!"
Yamato countered with the same technique, clashing directly against Kaido.
However, it was clear that Yamato strength paled in comparison to Kaido, as the latter's strike sent Yamato flying.
In the distance, Momonosuke trembled uncontrollably, lacking the courage to face Kaido.
Though his abilities had significantly improved after Shinobu used her Ripe-Ripe Fruit powers to make him older and his physique had become as formidable as Oden, His actual age had left Momonosuke without the resolve to confront his lifelong nightmare—Kaido—in direct combat.
"Momonosuke-sama! Please stay hidden and don't come out. I'm gonna go and help Yamato!" Inuarashi urged.
Momonosuke clutched at his sleeve, eyes filled with helplessness and terror as he stammered.
"Run! Let's... let's just run away!"