Chapter 287

Wang comes to meet Wang.

Either the beginning, or the end.

248, Im's power, the War of Two Kings (combined)

Feeling the dangerous aura emanating from Luo En.

"Roar!"

The black dragon circling the sky let out a deafening dragon roar, shattering the silence.

It opened its mouth, and a bursting dragon breath slashed across the sky, roaring downward toward Luo En with fierce momentum.

Luo En did nothing.

Watching as that dragon breath, seemingly destined to annihilate all things, was about to strike him.

A thick slash, wrapped in Haki, sliced in from afar.

Splitting that dragon breath right down the middle!

Everyone turned to look.

When they saw the red-haired Shanks and his companion Beckman appear.

All were struck with shock.

"One of the Four Emperors—Red-Haired!"

Not just Admiral Akainu and Garp, but even the Five Elders stared at the two with utter disbelief.

Whether the Marines or Luo En's side.

None had expected that one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired, would join the battle.

One of the Five Elders beside Im couldn't help but roar at Red-Haired Shanks: "Red-Haired, are you really going to side with them?!"

Red-Haired Shanks, holding his sword in one hand, lifted his gaze and stared coldly: "Side with them? That sounds as if I've always been on your side."

He raised his longsword, pointing it at the pale-faced Elder, his voice icy: "Understand this—I'm a pirate, a pirate who craves freedom, and I will never be your ally."

"You bastard…"

Several of the Five Elders glared at him with dark, furious eyes.

"We should've never listened to your advice—we should've wiped out every pirate on this sea long ago!"

"Now you say this? Isn't it too late?"

Beckman, arrogant and fierce, smoked a cigar, raised his silver pistol, and locked onto the Elder who had spoken.

"Don't move."

"Huh?"

The Elder, wearing a hat, dressed in a black suit, with a bushy beard and white curly hair, laughed bitterly with rage: "A mere pirate dares to command us?!"

A powerful aura erupted from him.

He stomped his foot and vanished instantly from his spot.

Beckman's eyes flashed with the deepest extent of Kenbunshoku Haki, glimpsing a fragment of the future, and he fired a shot toward a certain point.

The moment the Elder reappeared, a bullet wrapped in potent Armament Haki shot straight toward his forehead.

He narrowed his eyes and thrust out one finger.

"Hell: Finger Gun."

A powerful finger force instantly formed an air cannon that crushed the bullet outright.

Beckman, holding a pistol in one hand and a blade in the other, flashed upward and brought his left-hand longsword down, wrapped in Haki.

"Heaven: Paper Drawing."

The tall, burly, curly-haired Elder twisted like a fluttering scrap of paper, dodging Beckman's slash at an impossible angle.

Beckman's slash struck the ground, carving a hundred-meter-long crack across the earth.

Beckman now understood this Elder's ability.

Mastery of all three Haki types, and a higher-tier version of the Marine Gura Gura techniques beyond the standard Six Powers!

The white-haired Elder beside Im bowed to Im, then joined the battle, engaging Dragon.

What he displayed was the ability of the Paramecia-type Kūkū Fruit—the superior form of the Mera Mera Fruit—capable of manipulating space.

The bald Elder with the sword mastered all three Haki types and swordsmanship, now fighting Lei Li.

The golden-haired Elder was a taijutsu expert, his Armament Haki reaching the advanced third stage, now battling Zef.

The mustached Elder was an Animal-Type Mythical Zoan—Dragon Turtle—and had achieved Fruit Awakening; besides his immense defense, he could fire devastating energy orbs.

He was now fighting Kaido in his strongest form.

The Five Elders, long mysterious and standing atop the world's power structure, revealed their abilities and strength to the world for the first time.

Admiral Akainu fought against Tenghu, the Phoenix Ma Erke, and Fire Fist Ace.

With Tenghu's addition as a Fleet Admiral-level combatant, Akainu was gradually being suppressed.

Kuzan, already wounded from his battle with Kaido, was held back by Empress Hancok and Gu Yina; their sword qi continuously shattered his ice, while Hancok's attacks rained down like a storm, pinning Kuzan and preventing him from aiding others.

Sabo and Tyrant Bear fought against Admiral Akainu; shockwave met shockwave, and the Gura Gura Fruit's ability made it hard for Akainu to focus—he was likewise on the defensive.

Red-Haired Shanks walked to Luo En's side, looked up, and said: "I'll handle that black dragon. Don't lose."

After saying that.

He stomped his foot, leapt high into the air above Mary Geoise, where massive island fragments floated, and slashed at the black dragon with his single arm and sword.

"Don't lose…?"

Luo En, gripping his blood blade, gazed at the abyssal, unfathomable Im before him, and smiled faintly.

"I never thought I'd lose."

……

At this very moment.

Above the ground of Mariejois.

A host of top-tier powerhouses were battling until heaven and earth collapsed, all manner of abilities and techniques emerging in endless waves, every strike interwoven with shockingly domineering collisions, blood-colored lightning born of those powerful clashes of dominance spreading out in every direction!

In the air where massive boulders floated, a lone figure and a dragon clashed fiercely, domineering slashes and explosive dragon breath colliding without pause, forging the sky into a blood-red hue, wave after wave of black ripples sweeping across the heavens, spreading outward from the apex of the Red Land toward the skies on all sides!

Everyone could feel this holy ground, Mariejois, slowly crumbling and collapsing.

Sengoku, who had transformed into a giant golden Buddha, after being forced back by a combined strike from Bartholomew Kuma and Sabo, swept his gaze across the entire battlefield, his expression grim and ugly.

With CP0 chief Zero defeated by Dragon, Admiral Aokiji sent flying by Kaido, Fujitora turning coat, and the sudden appearance of the Red-Haired Pirates' crew…

Now they had already played every card on their side, yet still could not completely suppress the enemy, and were even slightly at a disadvantage in terms of strength.

Sabo appeared at lightning speed beside Sengoku, a shining side-kick lashing out.

Sengoku was forced back over a dozen meters once again.

He clenched his teeth, staring fixedly at Sabo and Bartholomew Kuma ahead.

Dammit!

He could already feel his stamina rapidly declining; in a little while it probably wouldn't be enough to sustain this giant golden Buddha form.

Admiral Aokiji had probably also run out of stamina to keep fighting.

If some more fighting power popped out over there…

No!

Sengoku's heart jolted violently!

If both sides' stamina were factored in now, then the scales of this war probably weren't balanced — they were slowly tilting toward the enemy!

Could it be… they were really going to be defeated?

Sengoku clenched his teeth tightly.

No, there's still hope!

Sengoku looked toward a direction.

There.

Im and Luo En stood a hundred meters apart, facing each other from afar.

On this world-turned-upside-down, chaotic battlefield.

The place where those two stood was calm and still, like a small realm that didn't belong.

Sengoku gazed toward there, a flash of hope glinting in his eyes.

As long as that mysterious existence revered by the Five Elder Stars won, this war would still be their victory!

Finally.