"Assemble!!"
The messenger's shout had barely faded when Kaido's thunderous roar echoed across Onigashima.
Beast Pirates who had been watching the sparring match—or minding their own business elsewhere—rushed toward the central plaza inside the island.
Bai Feng rested his greatsword on his shoulder and followed behind the Queen, joining the gathering forces.
Before long, nearly all combat personnel of the Beast Pirates had assembled in the plaza before the castle.
Kaido appeared on a high balcony, gazing down at his rapidly forming ranks with a satisfied grin.
"Worororo! Brats! An enemy dares invade our territory! Follow me and crush them!!"
"ROOOAAARR!!"
The Beast Pirates roared in unison, forming orderly ranks as they marched toward the harbor.
Queen, back in human form, maintained discipline and oversaw deployment. Bai Feng stood beside him.
The Queen lowered his voice. "Kid. You can move freely now, right?"
Bai Feng nodded lightly. "I can."
A month earlier, after continuously absorbing Onigashima's leyline energy, his Xeno'jiiva egg form had officially entered the Stable Phase.
As long as he didn't suffer near-fatal injuries, he no longer needed to worry about insufficient leyline energy reducing his growth ceiling.
The fleet boarded swiftly.
As Kaido passed by Queen and Bai Feng, he spoke:
"The king stays to guard the base. Queen—you and Bai Feng are coming."
"Yes, Kaido-sama!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The Queen's eyes gleamed with cruel excitement.
His earlier spar with Bai Feng had left him slightly embarrassed. Though the wound had healed, phantom pain lingered.
Now?
A fresh punching bag had arrived.
He intended to vent thoroughly.
Bai Feng wasn't as visibly excited, but anticipation stirred within him.
He wanted to know—
In real combat, exactly where did he stand?
Three warships bearing the Beast Pirates' flag departed Onigashima, carrying nearly 500 pirates toward Ringo.
Meanwhile, the Thriller Bark-style pirate ship successfully scaled the waterfall and entered Wano's inland sea.
"Shihihihihi! Finally back!"
Gecko Moria gazed at the distant shoreline, a flicker of nostalgia in his eyes.
Though born in West Blue, he had grown up in Ringo.
He knew the method of capturing the giant carp to climb the waterfall.
He also knew that the waterfall near Kuri would be heavily defended by Kaido.
So he flanked instead—ascending via Ringo.
Now—
He had returned.
"Next step… kill Kaido!!"
The nostalgia vanished, replaced by icy killing intent.
Wano was his second homeland.
This return was not only to step over Kaido's corpse and rise—
But to "save" his homeland.
His ship docked at a natural harbor in Ringo. After hiding the vessel and leaving guards behind, Moria led the remaining crew inland.
One hour later.
The Beast fleet docked.
Five hundred Beast Pirates, led by Kaido and Queen, set foot on Ringo's snow-covered land.
Bai Feng followed Queen as he activated a Den Den Mushi shaped like a snail.
"Where's the Moonlight crew now?"
"They're heading toward the Northern Graveyard."
"Good."
The Queen kept the line open as surveillance updated their movements.
Kaido led the charge.
Hours later—
The two forces encountered each other on a snowy plain several kilometers from the Northern Graveyard.
The moment they saw one another—
Battle intent erupted.
"Brats! Kill them!!"
"Shihihi! Kill Kaido!!"
Both sides charged simultaneously.
Beast Pirates: ~500.
Moonlight Pirates: ~60.
The two forces collided violently across the snowfield, Kaido and Moria leading from the front.
Moria wielded a massive cleaver, swinging with full force.
"Die, Kaido!!"
"Worororo!!"
Kaido met him head-on with his kanabo.
BOOM!!
Their weapons clashed, shockwaves blasting snow skyward.
They were evenly matched.
King vs. King.
Elsewhere—
Soldier met soldier.
General met general.
Queen clashed with Moria's first mate—both wielding oversized blades.
But the gap was obvious.
Queen knocked him back in a single strike and pressed the advantage relentlessly.
Bai Feng remained near the Queen at first.
Positionally, he should have been the Beast Pirates' third strongest fighter.
But his childlike appearance deceived the enemy.
Moria's third-ranked fighter went searching for who he believed was Beast's third strongest.
That mistake allowed Bai Feng to slip directly into the Moonlight formation.
His pitch-black eyes were devoid of emotion.
The six-year-old's body moved like a cyclone.
The door-sized greatsword swung.
Blue-white Underworld Flames wrapped the blade.
A pirate rushed to intercept—
And was cleaved clean in half.
Screams tore through the snow as flames devoured blood and organs alike.
But adrenaline ran high.
No one paid attention.
Bai Feng noticed.
He stopped holding back.
First—
Demon Mode.
Breathing shifted. Muscles tightened.
Physical stats surged to 1.5x.
Then—
Red Blade Spirit coating.
Attack power doubled.
Finally—
Greatsword triple charge.
Every swing aimed for full release.
Slash.
Slash.
Slash.
The red-glowing greatsword carved through the Moonlight Pirates like a harvest scythe.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
Within five minutes—
The Moonlight crew dropped from over sixty to barely thirty.
Moria was still locked in fierce combat with Kaido.
Queen was enjoying his own brutal rampage.
No one realized the true reaper had already entered the field.
Blue-white flames burned around Bai Feng's body.
Red spirit-light flowed along his blade.
Blood dripped from the sword tip onto the snow.
Behind him—
Bodies. Nearly all bisected.
His dark eyes calmly locked onto his next target.
And stepped forward.