On this sea, there had never been an era so small that it could hold only one protagonist.
Even in the era when Roger, the Pirate King, stood above all others, there were still figures like Whitebeard, Shiki, and Garp who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
After Roger's death, Yemu and the Sky Pirates propped up a new era, but that did not mean Yemu and the Sky Pirates were the only protagonists of this age.
Whether among Marines or pirates, this sea had never lacked heroes.
Among the new legends spreading across the sea, aside from the stories centered on Yemu and the Sky Pirates, there were many others.
Bartholomew Kuma, the man nicknamed Tyrant Kuma, was one of the protagonists of those stories.
Born in the South Blue, he became the king of Sorbet Kingdom, one of the World Government's member nations, from a young age. Yet after growing up, he did something no one expected. He chose to become a pirate.
No one knew exactly what had happened, but that dramatic reversal of identity alone was enough to become perfect material for countless legends.
And Bartholomew Kuma, a king who had become a pirate, had done quite well for himself. His bounty of 140 million Belly was proof of how wary the Marines and the World Government were of him.
But absolutely no one had expected this man to appear on the battlefield between the Sky Pirates and the Marines.
In every intelligence record, this man was extremely solitary and silent. No matter what he did, he acted alone, with no companions and no friends.
Yet at this moment, that man had appeared on the desolate Golden Crow Island, standing alone before five massive Marine warships.
Clearly, he could not be one of the Marines. Then there was only one answer.
"Don't tell me Bartholomew Kuma actually joined the Sky Pirates?"
This was not only Hammond's thought. It was what everyone thought the moment they saw Tyrant Kuma appear.
"No..."
Suddenly, a gentle voice that did not match Kuma's towering body came from his mouth.
"I am not a member of the Sky Pirates. I only came to help because someone invited me."
"..."
Hammond froze for a moment, then shook his head.
"It doesn't matter. At a time like this, whoever you are, as long as you stand against us, you are an enemy of the World Government and must be eliminated. You don't actually think you can stop all these people by yourself, do you?"
"Of course not."
Kuma's voice remained extremely gentle.
"My goal is only to stop you. As for the others, they are not within my range of attack."
"Hm?"
Hammond froze again, then seemed to realize something and looked around.
Just then, an extremely strange voice rang in everyone's ears.
"Hee-haw! Stop looking around, BOY. Kuma BOY was talking about us..."
As the words fell, another air door appeared behind Kuma.
Along with a huge purple figure spinning rapidly down from the sky, someone appeared before Hammond, and before everyone watching the war, leaving them all dumbfounded.
"You're... the Queen of the Kamabakka Kingdom, Emporio Ivankov..."
Wearing a flamboyant red high-slit dress, with a fluffy purple afro and heavy makeup painted across his face, Ivankov looked at the CP0 agent before him in surprise.
"I didn't expect you to know me, BOY!"
"For someone in CP0, there is nothing in this world we don't know. The real question is why you're here. Are you like Kuma and also... No, it doesn't matter. Even with the two of you here, you can't stop all of us..."
Hammond shouted anxiously, sensing that the situation was beginning to slip out of control.
But just then, Ivankov gave a bewitching smile and said something that made Hammond panic even more.
"Cute BOY, who told you there were only two of us?"
As soon as he said that, a somewhat familiar scene appeared.
From the air door behind Kuma and Ivankov came a chaotic rush of footsteps.
Along with those unsettling sounds, a scene that left everyone watching the war utterly astonished appeared.
"Women..."
"So many beautiful women..."
"Hey, what kind of eyes do you have? Only half of them count as women. The other half are transvestites..."
"That's terrifying... their leg hair is longer than mine..."
"Those women are so burly too. That's scary..."
...
Yes. The ones appearing behind them were groups of transvestite warriors from the Kamabakka Kingdom and Kuja warriors from the Amazon Lily Kingdom, nearly ten thousand in total.
At their front, aside from Elder Nyon, the Empress from two generations ago, were Lina, the female giant who had returned to the battlefield after caring for her mother, Vinsmoke Judge, the king of the Germa Kingdom, and Tesoro, who had once been saved by Yemu on the Sabaody Archipelago, received the Jara Jara no Mi from him, and now had come to repay that debt.
"Um... Elder Nyon, are you really all right?"
Hearing Lina's worried voice beside her, the hunched Elder Nyon rolled her eyes, then looked at the CP soldiers before them and the four leaders at their head, speaking fiercely.
"Little girl, don't look down on this old woman. I was still the Empress two generations ago. I may be old, but I'm not so old that I can't fight. Besides, if you want to stop those four, you won't be able to do it by yourselves."
After saying that, Elder Nyon sighed with a heavy expression.
In her heart, she did not support the Kuja taking part in this battle. But since the final decision had already been made, she would not say anything that would hold them back. All she could do was risk this old life of hers to carve out a future for the Kuja. Perhaps it could also count as making up for the mistakes she had once made.
At that moment, the situation on the battlefield changed once again.
Four CP0 agents leading thirty thousand CP soldiers versus the allied forces of Kuma, Ivankov, Judge, Elder Nyon, Tesoro, and Lina, who led ten thousand transvestite and Kuja warriors.
It could be said that the allied forces' mission was vital. Whether the Sky Pirates could hold their rear depended on them.
Meanwhile, at the front of the war, with the addition of fifty thousand Marines, the situation on the front battlefield also began to change dramatically.
Although there was still one final surprise move left, that was the key to turning the entire battle. It was not time for it to appear yet.
In other words...
"So it's finally my turn to appear..."
As Yemu spoke, Flare emerged from the air door behind him and looked at him nervously.
At that moment, no more words were needed.
"Take care of them."
"Mm. I'll wait for you to come back."
As the words fell, Yemu's figure slowly rose into the air.
And as Yemu finally began to move, every gaze on the battlefield was drawn to him.
"Is the final battle finally about to begin..."