At this pivotal moment, not only did the crew aboard the Black Star learn of Kaido's defeat, but everyone across the front battlefield—including the Whitebeard Pirates, the Mink warriors, and the Big Mom Pirates—received the earth-shaking news within moments.
A brilliant beam of blue flames suddenly shot skyward as Marco's triumphant laughter echoed throughout the entire war zone.
"Yoi! Both Big Mom and Kaido have fallen! Why haven't you surrendered yet? What are you waiting for?!"
When the remaining Beast Pirates members and recent converts heard this announcement, their faces filled with complete disbelief before each reacted in drastically different ways.
As pirates who had served under Kaido's banner, even those who didn't fully comprehend his true strength had the Emperor's invincible image deeply embedded in their hearts. The concept of his defeat seemed to shatter their fundamental understanding of reality.
The Big Mom Pirates were equally shocked, though their immediate concern focused on whether their captain had truly been defeated.
Katakuri glanced toward his eldest brother Perospero, noticing that distraction had caused him to be knocked away by his opponent. The Sweet Commander quickly surveyed the battlefield and realized that his brothers and sisters had completely lost their will to fight. He shouted decisively: "Everyone, disengage immediately! Mama has left us behind, so we need to protect ourselves! Begin strategic withdrawal!"
"Katakuri-sama! But Mama..."
"No way! I refuse to believe it!"
"Brother Katakuri, shouldn't we be avenging our mother instead?!"
Seeing that many family members couldn't accept this harsh reality and were being injured by enemies due to their distraction—while others couldn't clearly assess the tactical situation—Katakuri roared again with stern authority: "RETREAT! THAT'S AN ORDER!"
He immediately unleashed the awakened power of his Mochi-Mochi Fruit, transforming vast sections of the battlefield into controllable sticky mochi. For crucial moments, this allowed him to hold off their pursuing enemies while providing cover for his numerous younger siblings.
Witnessing their strongest brother's decisive action, the Big Mom Pirates gritted their teeth and began withdrawing rapidly toward the Queen Mama Chanter.
During this organized retreat, the Whitebeard Pirates and Mink warriors naturally wouldn't allow their enemies to escape easily. They pressed forward aggressively to harass and obstruct the withdrawal.
Global Reactions
Outside Onigashima's territorial waters, the expressions of people worldwide watching this unprecedented battle were twisted with pure shock and disbelief.
Ever since news of Big Mom's defeat had been revealed through the live broadcast, heated debates had erupted across the globe. Some viewers remained in complete denial, others held their heads while wailing in despair, many applauded with celebration, and certain opportunistic pirates were already preparing to set sail for Big Mom's territories to capitalize on the power vacuum.
Big Mom had ruled vast stretches of New World waters for decades, naturally accumulating numerous supporters and establishing business relationships with countless organizations. Her sudden downfall would undoubtedly trigger cascading political and economic consequences.
While people continued arguing with those around them and preparing for various conflicts, news of Kaido's defeat came through Cavendish's commentary, shocking every viewer watching the global broadcast.
Although both were Four Emperors, Kaido was specifically known as the "Strongest Creature on Land, Sea, and Air." His personal combat prowess was so overwhelming that he commanded not only admiration from allies but genuine terror from enemies.
"Hey! Does this mean that in a single battle, both Four Emperors were actually defeated?!"
"Who on earth managed to defeat them both?!"
"Are you deaf or blind? Didn't you hear what was mentioned in the live broadcast? Fire Fist Ace defeated Big Mom, while Leviathan Jerry defeated Kaido!"
In Mock Town's bustling tavern, numerous pirates created tremendous noise while gathered around entertainment. A large Visual Den Den Mushi screen mounted on the wall broadcast live footage from Onigashima. At this moment, the bandaged Cavendish was chattering enthusiastically about the battle's developments.
Although most of his commentary was filled with shameless self-promotion, there was no denying that he provided everyone with the most current battlefield intelligence.
"Damn you! Stop talking so much! This is world-class breaking news! If you keep revealing everything, how am I supposed to sell newspapers?!"
At World Economic News headquarters, Morgans gnashed his teeth while glaring at Cavendish, who was serving as an impromptu commentator during the live broadcast. The News King gestured wildly while cursing the beautiful prince's loose lips.
Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's Office
Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru looked at each other before both nodded with solemn expressions.
"Although I hate to admit my advancing age, I'm afraid a genuinely new era is beginning," Sengoku declared with weary resignation.
After hearing the Fleet Admiral's assessment, Vice Admiral Tsuru shared his sentiments completely. "The situation in the New World moving forward..."
"We'll need to monitor it extremely closely." Sengoku sighed deeply, leaning back in his chair before continuing slowly: "The crucial factors now are the Whitebeard Pirates and the Black Star Pirates. I never expected that Fire Fist Ace would develop to this level of strength. I sincerely hope they won't pursue anything too radical."
"Regarding the Whitebeard Pirates, the situation shouldn't become too severe. You know their traditional operating methods," Vice Admiral Tsuru shook her head thoughtfully. "However, the Black Star Pirates are indeed a major headache. Leviathan's next moves..."
At almost the same moment atop Mariejois, the Five Elders were developing contingency plans with grim expressions covering their ancient features.
Not only were the World Government's highest authorities taking action, but with the conclusion of Onigashima's battle, countless pirates across the seas became tremendously excited. However, this enthusiasm remained primarily limited to Paradise and the Four Blues. Within the New World—except for inexperienced newcomers and reckless hotshots—most pirate crews possessing significant size and strength maintained careful restraint, refusing to act rashly.
During this transitional period when old Emperors had fallen and new ones were ascending to power, the Whitebeard Pirates could be described as having two Emperors within a single organization. Their collective strength had reached unprecedented heights, while the Black Star Pirates were rising like the sun itself.
If anyone were foolish enough to provoke these two crews through mistaken aggression, they would likely face absolutely catastrophic retaliation.
The Whitebeard Pirates already controlled vast ocean territories, making further expansion perfectly logical given their enhanced position.
Following the Black Star Pirates' meteoric rise, although they possessed fewer than ten official members, nobody could predict whether they would expand their influence to become the next dominant sea power.
Therefore, until the next actions and attitudes of both crews became clear, the New World would inevitably experience significant chaos—though for now, it remained largely an undercurrent of tension rather than open warfare.
Onigashima Aftermath
On Onigashima itself, watching Jerry use Moonwalk to descend gradually through the air before landing on solid ground, tens of thousands of Pleasures and Waiters who had betrayed the Beast Pirates created an extremely spacious clearing. They feared offending the legendary warrior who had defeated Kaido himself.
Even though Jerry was visibly covered in serious wounds, nobody dared approach to test his remaining strength.
"Oh? You guys made it out too. Is everyone alright?" Jerry used Armament Haki to make his fishing rod rigid, employing it as a makeshift crutch while slowly turning around to address the approaching figures.