Under Souta Kiryuu's command, Blackbeard Teach joined him in exerting full force.
The swirling vortex of darkness, the shockwaves, and the surge of primordial power all erupted together, forcibly resisting Imu's barrage of shadow lances and shadow arrows head-on.
Souta Kiryuu's Six Paths form beat its wings once, his body veering sharply to the side as he flew upward into the sky.
Ledfield transformed into a massive blood-red bat, leaving behind a fleeting silhouette as he shot toward Imu's teleportation magic array at astonishing speed.
Their goal was clear—they would coordinate with the chaos occurring in Mary Geoise and force Imu to retreat.
"Souta! Let me help you too!"
The Pirate Empress released her Conqueror's Haki, and out of fierce devotion, she forced herself to repeatedly unleash the advanced form of Haki-infused strikes—though her mastery was not yet perfect. Her Haki blasted upward to intercept the raining shadow spears.
Meanwhile, the Tyrant Kuma—who had been invisible at the edges of the shadow world—finally chose a target. He compressed a transparent miniature paw-print bomb, and with a soft pop, it vanished, teleporting toward the array in the sky.
The Red-Hair Pirates atop their massive flame-red dragon had been battered earlier by Imu's indiscriminate attacks, but since Imu had not been specifically targeting them, they were in better shape than most. And now, with Imu withdrawing his assault elsewhere, they finally had a moment to breathe.
"Imu's teleportation array is failing. Souta Kiryuu really isn't simple. He must have arranged forces to attack Mary Geoise."
Benn Beckman, the strategist of the Red-Hair Pirates, studied the vast magic array above and then looked toward Souta Kiryuu—the true monster of this war.
This man's plans never ended.
Even cornered, he found leverage—stealing Whitebeard's and the Five Elders' Devil Fruit powers and gaining the upper hand.
"This war is approaching its final stage—and that's when it becomes the most dangerous."
Shanks and Yasopp, both capable of seeing glimpses of the future, focused their Observation Haki. Crimson flickers shone in their eyes as they tried to peer ahead.
Yet the overlapping Conqueror's Haki, and the strange primordial forces swirling across the battlefield, completely disrupted their foresight. No meaningful future could be seen.
"The Four Elders are moving to kill Kaido and Barrett."
The officers of the Red-Hair Pirates had all noticed the rapid approach of the Four Elders.
Could fighters who had just been crushed and exhausted by Imu really handle the fully-rested Elders?
"Do we intervene?"
Beckman lit a cigarette slowly and looked toward Shanks, awaiting his final call.
From a pirate unity perspective, they should intervene—to stop the Elders and save the remaining pirate powerhouses.
But from a world balance perspective, the World Government had already lost a Five Elder, and the Marines were heavily damaged. If Barrett, Wald, and Kaido died here, it would restore balance.
And from the Red-Hair Pirates' own personal perspective:
The Kiryuu Crew's forces had killed their own commander Gab, Shiryu had seriously injured Lucky Roo, and the Beasts Pirates had destroyed much of the Red-Hair allied fleet.
Souta Kiryuu himself was also Shanks' "father's killer."
By every personal metric—helping them made no sense.
"...Souta's crew is far too strong. Their numbers need to be reduced."
"We focus on resting and recovering. If necessary, we will be the ones to end this war."
Shanks' eyes flickered.
He chose to remain a spectator—for now.
He would act only at the decisive moment, to force both sides to stand down.
Meanwhile, on the Glacier Battlefield—
Wald hadn't even managed to catch his breath when the Four Elders suddenly came charging in.
"You cowardly bastards!!"
He forcibly drained his own stamina and unleashed the power of his Momo-Momo Fruit, retreating at a hundred times speed.
"Barrett, I'm out! You're on your own!"
His ragged voice echoed behind him as his body blurred away, fleeing the battlefield entirely—away from the glacier and away from the Elders.
But Elder Nasujuro had no intention of letting him escape. His four legs dug into the ice and he sprinted forward like a phantom, launching into full pursuit.
A colossal sand-demon worm lunged toward Barrett, its jaw gaping wide.
"Hah! You Government dogs always love your group hunts!"
Barrett roared with harsh laughter. Twenty years ago, he had been bombarded by a full Buster Call fleet, with Sengoku and Garp both involved, forcing him into exhaustion and capture.
Today—first Kuzan, then Imu, and now a full-force Elder assault.
Even with his monstrous physique, overwhelming Haki, and recovery ability—this was almost too much.
With a roar, Barrett launched a massive Conqueror's Haki blast, tearing open the sand-worm's jaws.
"Scum like you should have rotted in Impel Down. Allowing you to live was mercy.
Since you escaped and continued your crimes, there will be no second chance."
Elder Pita's voice was cold.
The suction from his massive beast-like maw pulled Barrett toward him, trying to swallow him whole.
"My life… is not something trash like you gets to take!"
Barrett awakened the full power of his Fusion-Fusion Fruit, merging with the glacier itself to anchor against the pull.
He quickly threw a Blood Crystal Dandelion and several nutrient stimulants into his mouth.
He had always found such items beneath him—since his body alone was strong enough.
But today was proof:
Having extra trump cards was never a mistake.
He would not repeat the humiliation of collapse through exhaustion.
"Hmph. Die for me, insect!"
Elder Pita's armed-tail whip smashed toward Barrett's fusion ice-fortress.
"Heh… Then come on. Let's see how strong the 'rulers of the world' really are!"
With his strength restored, Barrett's twisted grin returned.
Fighting the Five Elders was far more exhilarating than fighting Kuzan.
"To recover that much stamina… Another trick of Vegapunk's work?!"
Elder Pita's expression darkened.
He had expected to finish off the weakened Barrett easily.
Instead—this pest had bounced back again.
Their "quick execution" strategy was already collapsing.
Now all he could hope was that Mary Geoise managed to hold long enough
for Imu to crush Souta Kiryuu's side again.
Meanwhile, Kaido was being attacked by two Elders at once—defending while desperately trying to understand the mysterious power behind Imu's strikes.
"What the hell is this power?! Why can't I learn it?!"
Kaido roared.
He had learned Conqueror's Haki-infused strikes by clashing with Whitebeard and Roger.
He stood at the peak of the world—yet this power remained unreachable.
"Sinners of the lower world have no right to wield the power of gods!"
Elder Masu, transformed into the monstrous Yatagarasu, shrieked.
Elder Wakuri, in the form of the colossal sealed boar, released a deafening shockwave.
Even the so-called Strongest Creature began to bleed from his ears, his hearing temporarily shattered.