Battle of the strongest!

Just as Shanks was willing to offer various conditions to retrieve his photo from Nicolas, a fierce battle was erupting on an island in the New World's Hachinosu Sea.

"You've really pissed me off..."

With a forceful swing, a pair of scythes slammed heavily onto the diamond freak in front of him.

"Speaking of anger, I'm way more furious than you right now, you bastard!"

With a roar, Jozu stomped the ground fiercely, and his diamond-encrusted hands grabbed Jack's arms, bending them backward with force. Jozu then lifted Jack's massive body and hurled him backward.

In mid-air, Jack's body rapidly transformed. In an instant, he became a giant mammoth. As the mammoth's back slammed into the ground, it created a massive boom.

As the dust cleared, a huge shadow emerged from within it.

Standing at over twenty meters tall, with limbs like massive stone pillars and tusks resembling curved swords, the mammoth's blood-red eyes shone with intense rage.

With a trumpet-like roar, the mammoth's enormous legs began to move, its massive tusks aiming at Jozu, while its thick trunk whipped through the air with a sound like a steel whip slicing through the wind.

"Hah!"

Facing the charging mammoth, Jozu, who seemed tiny in comparison, let out a loud shout. He positioned his diamond-encrusted right arm in front of him and charged at the mammoth as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The mammoth's steps shook the earth with every stride, while Jozu's swift movements produced nothing but the sound of rushing wind.

As they approached each other, the diamond-covered right arm and the gleaming tusks were both enveloped in Haki.

When the diamond arm and tusks collided, there was a brief silence before a terrifying shockwave erupted.

The two were locked in a fierce struggle, neither willing to back down. It was clear that their battle would not be easily resolved.

As the clash continued, white vapor began to emerge from Jack's nostrils. Given his confrontational nature, which led him to fight anyone, anywhere, he was clearly unhappy with the current stalemate.

After all, he was one of the two main forces of the Beasts Pirates... or rather, after Queen's return, he was now the third in command, but still the infamous Jack the Drought!

Enraged, Jack's attacks became even more ferocious, relying on the formidable physical prowess of his Zoan fruit to trade injuries for an advantage. This strategy briefly gained him the upper hand.

Just as Jack was about to make another trade of injury for advantage, a claw engulfed in blue flames slammed into his massive mammoth body.

"Talons of the Phoenix!"

Boom!

As blood spurted from Jack's trunk and his eyes rolled back, sending his body flying, Marco's cold voice echoed.

For Marco, after returning to the Whitebeard Pirates and learning of the group's situation, as well as Teach's betrayal and his attack on Thatch, his fury had reached its limit.

As Marco spread his wings, ready to finish off Jack, a high-speed figure swooped down from the distant sky, blocking his path.

"Marco, as the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, sneaking up on someone isn't very honorable! Now, I will be your opponent."

The one blocking Marco was King, one of the All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates.

"When your Beasts Pirates attacked us, this war had already begun. In war, there's no such thing as honor—only winners and losers! If you stand in my way, I won't hesitate to take you down too!"

Marco, in his phoenix form, flapped his wings and coldly addressed the pterosaur before him.

Boom!

The sky exploded as what had been a clear day suddenly became overcast. The wind roared, and lightning danced across the churning clouds.

Suddenly, darkness descended rapidly, and as the black clouds surged, thunder rumbled, and the wind howled, creating an apocalyptic scene.

"Brat! What did you just say!?"

A voice like thunder rolled over the battlefield, penetrating everyone's ears.

The fighters looked skyward, and with the howling wind, a terrifying creature's head emerged from the depths of the clouds. As the foul wind blew, the creature's true form was revealed.

A massive dragon, hundreds of meters long, covered in hard, blue scales with a muscular body and sharp claws wreathed in flames. Its enormous, cold eyes were filled with indifference.

A dragon!

Everyone on the island froze at the sight of the enormous dragon in the sky, their hair standing on end as their muscles locked up. This was their bodies' instinctive response to facing a top-tier predator.

This was the Beast... Kaido!

Despite the immense pressure of facing Kaido alone, Marco showed no fear.

He flapped his wings, his eyes burning with fighting spirit as he locked gazes with the dragon in the sky.

Roar...

With a terrifying roar, flames began to well up in Kaido's throat, and a searing breath of fire erupted toward Marco, covering him in a thousand-meter-long blaze.

Blazing Breath!

The intense heat of the flames seemed to warp the very air as they descended like a firestorm from the heavens.

Just as Marco prepared to withstand the blazing breath with his Phoenix Form, a sharp crack cut through the air.

With a booming sound, a burly figure wielding a naginata appeared between Marco and Kaido, his right arm frozen mid-swing.

Bang!

A massive shockwave suddenly erupted as spiderweb-like cracks spread across the space between Kaido and Marco. The searing breath of fire shattered upon touching these cracks, breaking into countless sparks that rained down like embers, igniting the forest below and sending flames rising all across the island.

The shockwave from the shattering space spread outwards, stirring up gigantic waves in the surrounding sea.

Everyone on the island stared in shock at the scene before them, their battles momentarily forgotten. Even Jack, who had reverted to his human form, looked up at the sky with unrestrained awe and reverence.

Whitebeard had entered the battlefield!

"Whitebeard, Edward Newgate."

From afar, Doflamingo, who had been watching the fight from a safe distance, now wore a grim expression as he observed the towering figure.

While Kaido was incredibly powerful, in Doflamingo's view, he still fell short compared to the monstrous Whitebeard.

"Whitebeard!"

In the sky, the dragon's nostrils flared, spewing sparks as its gaze locked onto Whitebeard.

"Gurararara, Kaido, you've really pissed me off this time!"

Though Whitebeard laughed, the murderous intent in his voice was unmistakable.

Boom!

As the two glared at each other, their Haki collided with a thunderous crash.