Kaido noticed what Katakuri had been doing earlier, and his eyes immediately glared at Big Mom with ill intent.
Big Mom, on the other hand, met his gaze without a hint of guilt, her expression clearly saying, "Fight if you want to."
"Still have time to look around at a time like this?"
"Die, pirates!"
Partisan!
Great Eruption!
An icy spear and molten lava shot toward the two Emperors.
"Mamamamama! You think a move like this can handle me? Akainu!"
Seeing the molten dog head that wasn't even as thick as her wrist, Big Mom felt as if she were being mocked. She immediately raised Napoleon in her hand.
"Zeus! Prometheus! Gaia!"
"Yes! Mama!"
The three special Homies immediately responded to Big Mom's call, instantly transforming into their combat forms and attaching themselves to the long sword Napoleon had become.
In an instant, Napoleon's blade was coated with magma similar to Akainu's, thanks to Gaia and Prometheus.
Zeus transformed into arcs of electricity wrapping around the sword, further increasing its destructive power.
"Emperor Sword: Lava Cannon!"
As Big Mom swung, the terrifying energy above Napoleon almost instantly transformed into a fearsome magma dragon.
In comparison, Akainu's dog head seemed somewhat crude.
You burn? I'll burn hotter!
If that were all, it wouldn't be a big deal. That terrifying high temperature, though not inferior to Akainu's, wouldn't be much use against a Logia-type user like Akainu.
What use is extreme heat, aside from increasing the destructive power of magma?
But the one using this move was Big Mom.
The exceptionally gifted Charlotte Linlin, known as the [Steel Balloon].
Not the aged and frail Whitebeard, who even needed an IV.
Conqueror's Haki infused Napoleon, and this anger-fueled Haki-coated slash was not something just anyone could withstand.
Even Akainu had to actively disperse part of his body to dodge.
Otherwise, if struck by this slash, his remaining arm would likely be lost.
The magma of Great Eruption was almost instantly swallowed by Big Mom's Lava Cannon without even stirring a ripple.
Of course, Akainu himself successfully dodged the blast and was not directly hit.
As for dodging, Akainu didn't feel it compromised his 'dignity as a strong fighter'.
Or rather, he never believed he needed to adhere to such so-called dignity.
To successfully kill pirates and uphold the justice he believed in, Akainu was willing to employ any means necessary.
Not just dodging… even scheming and sowing discord were within his methods.
It was just that this time the situation was urgent, and with so many pirates around, he hadn't had the chance to turn any of them.
Though, to be honest, even if he tried to turn a certain bald pirate, that guy might not believe him anyway.
Whitebeard using them as 'sacrifices' to save Ace? Didn't he see Big Mom and the Beasts Pirates were here too? Could he possibly betray both groups at once?
Over on the other side, Aokiji wasn't having an easy time either.
Although Kaido didn't have as many flashy moves as Big Mom, as most of his techniques boiled down to 'swing the club hard' and 'swing the club really hard'… that was enough.
Quality over quantity… there were plenty of cases where mastering one move was enough to dominate.
"Don't come looking for death right now, Aokiji!"
[Thunder Bagua!]
Commonly known as swinging the club really, really hard.
He could be said to be the youngest of the Four Emperors, second only to Shanks. Both his physical stamina and strength were in their prime.
He could keep up this level of Haki-coated attack all day!
"So scary-"
Aokiji mimicked his colleague's catchphrase, actively turning into ice, only to be smashed into a blizzard by this enhanced Thunder Bagua.
The frigid air he released successfully coated half of Kaido's body in frost, but it couldn't stop the man's movements at all.
"A bit cold…"
Kaido took the gourd of wine from his waist and gulped it down, then soared into the air, transforming into a several-hundred-meter-long dragon.
Perhaps not wanting to be outshone by Big Mom and Akainu, Kaido decided to turn up the heat even more.
"Let's warm this place up! Fire Dragon Form!"
The next moment, terrifying dragon flames spewed from his mouth, enveloping his majestic draconic form.
The previously somewhat gloomy sky was instantly illuminated bright by the fiery light.
"What is that…"
"Monsters… So this is what the [Four Emperors] are like?"
On the Marine side, many people froze in place at the sight of the flaming dragon… in fact, it wasn't just the Marines. Many pirates also temporarily lowered their weapons, looking at Kaido's display of power as if witnessing a legend.
It could be said they were benefiting from Aokiji's presence.
Under normal circumstances, not many who saw Kaido in this state lived to tell the tale.
At this very moment, Kaido's majestic dragon form was being broadcast to various parts of the world by a few bold, or perhaps just stunned reporters.
Similar exclamations echoed across islands worldwide.
Those in the New World were less shocked… they had more or less heard of Kaido's reputation.
The ones truly hit hard were the pirates in Paradise, or even those still in the Four Blues who hadn't yet entered the Grand Line.
Looking at Kaido transformed into a dragon, then at themselves with their rusty cutlasses and flintlock pistols…
Why even bother competing for the Pirate King title? Might as well go home and sleep.
The dragon circled mid-air, then dove sharply downward, targeting Aokiji, who had already reformed his body.
Compared to Kaido's current size, Aokiji's nearly three-meter height didn't even reach the dragon's head.
"This is really troublesome now!"
Aokiji's expression when he said this was no longer as relaxed as before… he genuinely felt troubled.
Clearly, Kaido hadn't considered that there might be allied pirates in the battlefield when using this move. Or perhaps he had, but as he himself said, he didn't care.
"Worororororo!!!"
Kaido let out an earth-shaking roar of laughter, getting closer and closer to the ground below.
The wave of heat even curled some people's hair.
Even the Thousand Sunny, buried under thick ice, could see the growing fiery light through the layers.
"Aaaaaah! We're gonna die, we're gonna die!"
"Usopp! Stop covering my eyes!"
Franky pulled Usopp off his back, regaining his vision.
Though his expression wasn't much better at the moment.
Though unsure what was happening above, it was clear everyone was in danger now.
There wasn't much time left for careful digging.
"Everyone, hold on! We're going all out now!"
"Coup de… Burst!"
By reducing the propulsion of the Coup de Burst and instead accelerating the drill at the front, the Thousand Sunny's digging speed increased several times over.
The trade-off was that the stability and smoothness of the tunnel drastically decreased, with many ice chunks already crashing against the ship's hull.
Just as the Straw Hat Pirates struggled to save themselves beneath the ice, Aokiji on the surface above also began to exert himself.
This forty-seven-year-old Marine Admiral, who usually lived as leisurely as a ninety-seven-year-old, was now making up for all the slacking off of the past few decades.
"Hoo-"
Frigid air slowly exhaled from Aokiji's mouth, and soon the exposed skin of his body turned as pale as frost.
But that alone wasn't enough.
Soon, that pale color deepened toward an icy blue, and pirates near him, even without direct contact, began developing large patches of ice crystals on their bodies.
"Absolute… Zero."
In an instant, invisible freezing air shot toward the flaming dragon diving from above.
Sensing this chill, Kaido narrowed his eyes but showed no intention of slowing down.
On the contrary, the flames coiling around his body grew even more intense.
"Flame Bagua!"
The terrifying high temperature and absolute zero collided mid-air, resulting in a thick fog that rapidly spread across the entire battlefield even before the clash.
This fog also obscured Garp and Whitebeard, who had been locked in a staring contest from the beginning.
"Garp-san?"
Kizaru, watching the spectacular attacks, even the usual laziness on his face faded away.
"Borsalino, go help them. I'll handle things here."
Garp's expression was grave. Even though the fog had completely obscured Whitebeard's figure, the solemnity on his face didn't lessen in the slightest.
"There's still one more troublesome guy who hasn't shown up."
Without Garp needing to say more, Kizaru knew who that man was.
'Indeed, that man had so boldly stormed Impel Down earlier… it made no sense for him to back down now.'
Though puzzled, Kizaru didn't hesitate. He cupped his hands together, and a bright light emerged between his palms.
"Yata no Kagami-"
A beam of light shot rapidly into the thick fog.
This wasn't natural light that would be blocked by fog… it was photons created by the Pika Pika no Mi, essentially part of Kizaru's body.
His figure followed this path of light at incredible speed, joining the battle.
Meanwhile, Garp remained seated, seemingly unmoved even by Kaido's attempt to unleash such a large-scale clearing move.
'Naruto…'
The image of that brash kid surfaced in his mind. In his eyes, Naruto had always been that mischievous ten-year-old boy.
As a Marine, he shouldn't wish for a criminal like Naruto to arrive here.
But as a grandfather, an unbidden thought arose in his heart.