Chapter 126: Round One (1)

"...Don, I'm calling from Big Mom's territory. I have White Den Den Mushi with me, so worry not for a potential of eavesdropping."

Looking around his left and right, one man whispered into a mini Den Den Mushi in his hands.

"Big Mom has gotten her hands on a person from the three-eye tribe. Recently, that man has awakened his ability to... decipher Poneglyphs."

On the other side of the call, Ochoku smiled as he tapped his fingers on a table.

"Perfect."

After their victory against Whitebeard Pirates, they were closer to One Piece than they ever have been. However, one thing has kept them troubled—the lack of a way to read and decipher Poneglyphs, that is.

That was primarily the reason why Ochoku closely monitored Dr.Vegapunk; there was no way that the world's most intelligent and curious man would ignore the enigma known as Poneglyphs.

Unfortunately, Dr.Vegapunk, during their war against Whitebeard Pirates, abruptly disappeared. Ochoku was investigating the cause, however, with the information regarding Big Mom having been given to him, Dr.Vegapunk was no longer needed.

"...You heard that."

Behind Ochoku was 'Blackbeard' Marshall D. Teach, who stood up from his seat full of beautiful women. He grinned with a strong ambition visible in his eyes.

"Zehahaha..."

The next destination of Pirate Alliance, whose leader was outwardly known as 'Strategist' Ochoku, was set.

__________

"With our plans having been successfully integrated, the World Government is now in a pinch."

Monkey D. Dragon and his Revolutionary Army.

Currently, they were in a war room—along with the past marines ranging from Garp to Zephyr.

"Mariejois is running out of food supplies. Though we can't see what exactly is happening within, they will eventually be forced to 'descend' themselves to meet their needs."

In the middle of the room, there was one large map; it was an incomplete map that depicted Mariejois, the Red Line below, and islands surrounding the Red Line.

On top of the two among the surrounding islands, pieces were laid.

"Right now, East Army under the command of Ginny and West Army under the command of Morley are deployed in Tajine Kingdom and Shishano Kingdom, respectively. If their missions are to go in success, we will now have complete control over 12 kingdoms that are located in proximity to Mariejois—giving us full control. This way—"

<<Purururu, Purururu,>>

The Den Den Mushi cried. Within the silence, the cry echoed throughout the room.

For some reason, it gave a chill in everyone's spine. Kuma, who was observing the Den Den Mushi with weary eyes, found himself shedding a cold sweat.

Knowing that a call at this time signaled a dire situation, Dragon immediately accepted the call.

<<I-Is this, ugh, the command center...>>

There were noises—the noises of explosions, gunfires, civilians crying, and more. The man who called seemed to be injured, as there was no power behind his speech and he had to pause in the middle to take a breathing.

"Yes, this is Supreme Commander Monkey D. Dragon. Speak."

<<This is Walts of... East... Army speaking. Huff, huff... the revolt in Tajine Kingdom has successfully been completed, but then... World Government's elite troops!!< p>

They... they're here!! Led by God's Knights!!!>>

Kuma, unable to hold in, shouted in urgency,

"G-Ginny! Is she alright?!"

<<Commander Ginny, huff, she's barely fending off Figarland Garling. She... isn't having a good time.>>

That's all that Kuma needed to hear. Immediately after, Kuma hurriedly ran out of the room, and through the operation of his devil fruit, shot himself through the sky, toward the Tajine Kingdom where the East Army was deployed.

Dragon, with a grimace, thought briefly. He then spoke,

"The war has already begun. This isn't a mere retaliation. The fact that God's Knights are present in Tajine... means that they've opened an all-out war."

Tsuru seemed to be agreeing with Dragon,

"And losing the East Army would be critical in terms of not only the military strength of our force but also our morale. Though that Kuma's action was born out of rashness, this ongoing battle in Tajine must be intervened."

"Heh!"

Everything was finally going down to one simple truth: war. Garp, bumping his fists together, liked the simplicity of the situation.

"Our younger generation is currently dealing with problems in the New World."

Zephyr grinned as he clenched his right fist in vigor,

"We can't have them surpass us just yet, can we?"

From the map, Dragon lifted a piece that was laid on top of a white cloud that was drawn atop Calm Belt. Then, he slammed it down on the Tajine Kingdom, where another piece was already sitting.

"There won't be any tricks. Let us go...

...to the war that will decide the fate of this world."

Revolutionary Army versus World Government. The turmoil that everyone in the world has been watching in nervousness... finally broke into a full-scale war.

__________

Most of the Beast Pirates on the ship were reduced into piles of ashes immediately. It was only a select few who barely managed to survive... albeit with severe injuries.

"Ugh..."

"Huff... huff..."

"What... just... happened..."

Kaidou, surrounded by the damaged ships that were smoking as they sank, glared murderously at Smoker who hovered high above in the sky.

His right hand slowly reached for his priced weapon, Hassaikai, which was a massive kanabo with sharp spikes on its surface.

"...King."

King, who seemed to have calmed down, heard Kaidou's order.

"Wano..."

What flashed in Kaidou's mind wasn't the ongoing situation in Prodence, Meliana, or Vastrode—no, those kingdoms were none of his interest.

"Go back to Wano and ensure that no bug has gotten through!!"

If Smoker was able to 'magically' make the citizens of Dressrosa disappear, who knew what else he could do? Furthermore, how could Kaidou trust that what he witnessed was the truth, that those three kingdoms were taken over?

Within Kaidou was a sprout of paranoia, born from the death of Whitebeard.

To seize One Piece. To become the beginning of the end, the beginning of the war that will bring this world to its true state.

Kaidou was waiting long for this moment to come. Though he desired to face the death of a warrior, he didn't wish to give up the chance to become the Pirate King.

In that sense, he couldn't afford to lose Wano, the base of his fleet. As long as Wano belonged to him, he could always restore his force. And Kaidou, just from this encounter, knew that Smoker was a sneaky fellow.

"You hear that, King?!"

"Yes."

King, after glancing at Smoker coldly, turned around and transformed into a large pteranodon. Opening his wings, he soared up at high speed.

However, before he left, he suddenly turned to Smoker, and,

"Imperial Slings and Arrows!"

sent forth a series of sharp air projectiles at Smoker, which flew dangerously at him. Smoker, sensing no integration of Haki within the technique, raised an eyebrow as his body partially morphed into smoke and let said air projectiles bypass him with ease.

"KING!!"

As Kaidou roared, King clicked his tongue before flying away. Smoker, watching as King flew, raised his finger, aiming at King's back.

'White—'

However, Smoker was then forced to utilize Geppo to shift backward, dodging an arc of sharp air projectile that was several times more lethal than King's.

Quickly looking down, he saw that Kaidou was flying at him in his human form, holding onto his Hassaikai with both hands.

"Thunder!!"

Kaidou growled as his Hassaikai revealed a black spark that crackled dangerously.

'...Infusion of Conqueror's Haki, huh.'

Smoker revealed a serious expression, knowing that this wasn't going to be an easy fight.

"Conqueror's Haki: Infusion. It is not only the hardest but also the strongest technique one may be able to muster with Haki. You hear that, brat?"

He recalled the words he heard from his one and only teacher, Garp.

"By concept alone, it is similar to Armament Haki. You 'wrap' around yourself or your weapon but with Conqueror's Haki instead of Armament Haki. What makes this especially difficult is the fundamental difference between those two types of Hakis.

Armament Haki is born from a will to defend, a will to capture the true state of enemies. Being a will born to reinforce one physically, it was meant to be draped from the very start.

In contrast, Conqueror's Haki... is conceptually far more abstract. Conqueror's Haki, a will to conquer, is essentially the manifestation of your ambition itself. Unlike Armament Haki, the level at which this Haki afflicts damage onto the enemies transcends beyond the level of physical injuries. Technically, it can be considered that Conqueror's Haki 'crushes' enemies' very ambition itself.

'Infusion' of Conqueror's Haki, therefore, serves two purposes. One, by wrapping yourself around with it, you 'protect' yourself from enemies' ambitions. Two, by concentrating your will into a singular region through infusion... the effect of Conqueror's Haki becomes amplified—by a vast extent."

"White,"

Upon Smoker's will, a mass of white smoke swirled before condensing into a white smoke-made bat. As he caught it with his right hand, said bat was imbued by Armament Haki: Emission.

Then, the bat began to descend at Kaidou, who swung his Hassaikai upward.

Just before the the clash occurred, Kaidou then saw,

a burst of black spark.

"BAGUA!!!" / "Crash!"

An incredible force arose without two weapons coming into direct contact. As the struggle began between them, the black sparks flew everywhere and the very air itself trembled from the might of the clash. And then,

the sky itself has been split into two.

"...!"

One barely conscious member of Beast Pirates, from below, stared at the scene in a mix of fear and disbelief with his eyes squinted to minimize the impact of the strong gust.

"T-The sky..."

And that's all he managed to say before the strong wave consumed the entire ship and sent it into the depths of the water.

The air itself pulsated and screeched as the clash seemed to have no end.

Kaidou, glaring at Smoker, growled,

"Infusion... how is it that you are able to do it, White Hunter?!"

Only a handful of people in this world are born with Conqueror's Haki. Awakening Conqueror's Haki was one thing, and refining it into Conqueror's Haki: Infusion... the possession of this skill itself was proof that its user stood at the apex of the world.

Rocks D. Xebec, Gol D. Roger, Edward Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, Monkey D. Garp, and Kaidou himself.

'So you're telling me... that you stand on the same level as us?!'

Feeling a tinge of excitement within the vigorous rage, Kaidou retracted Hassaikai and morphed his entire body into a gigantic azure dragon—within a split second.

Right in front of Smoker, Kaidou's large mouth was opened, revealing sharp teeth.

"BLAST BREATH!!"

A concentrated blast of fire was 'breathed out' from Kaidou's agape mouth, right onto Smoker. The blast of fire traveled a vast distance before it hit a body of water, generating a huge amount of steam.

"...Worororo."

Kaidou shifted his eyes at his back, knowing that Smoker wasn't hit by it.

"White Storm."

And then Kaidou saw, Smoker standing right behind him with a huge volume of white smoke swirling around atop his palm.

A hurricane made out of white smoke was then drilled onto Kaidou's draconic body,

"Pesado!"

BOOOOM!

The air exploded from the sudden impact, and Kaidou's huge body was blasted back. However, Kaidou simply let out a small grunt as he forced his body to stop the flight.

Turning his head, Kaidou's gigantic eyes met Smoker's.

Smoker found himself grinning, and so did Kaidou.