Chapter 273: Double Assault

Facing this sudden, violent turn of events, Dragon swept both hands forward. A colossal black wind dragon reared back, opening its abyssal maw to bite down squarely on the kanabo crackling with purple and blue lightning.

CRACKLE!

A bizarre shockwave rippled through the air, freezing atmospheric currents dead in their tracks. Dragon cast a brief side glance toward his rear, verifying that an entire strike force had landed safely upon the plateau of the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

"Gurarara... Revolutionary Army Commander Dragon! Your formidable reputation is indeed well-deserved!" A muscular silhouette materialized in the airspace directly opposite Dragon, hovering in mid-air.

"Kaido of the Beasts!"

Dragon's brow furrowed tightly. He naturally recognized the incoming titan—Kaido, former Yonko and ruler of Wano Country, a land shrouded in hidden secrets.

What Dragon failed to comprehend was why this former Emperor would launch an unprovoked assault against him.

And why was he appearing at this coordinate in the first place?

With Kaido's sudden intervention, Dragon's high-altitude transport line had been severed. He had just strained every reserve of his strength to safely deposit that final wave of troops onto the plaza.

Currently, the Revolutionary Army's frontline force atop the Holy Land numbered roughly one hundred and twenty thousand.

Mobilizing numbers of this scale fell well within his original operational design; after all, how could the World Government sit idly by and permit his forces to expand without counter-measures?

What lay completely beyond his calculations was that the instrument deployed to block him would be Kaido himself.

"It's the former Yonko, Kaido of the Beasts!" Both subversives and Marines stood frozen in utter disbelief. Why was this sovereign titan—who had once reigned supreme over the New World—stepping onto this battlefield?

And why had he launched a direct assault against the Revolutionary Army's Supreme Commander?

"All ranks, hear my order! Launch an all-out assault and annihilate every single subversive on the spot!" Fleet Admiral Akainu bellowed through his Transponder Snail.

Though he lacked the data to decode how the Five Elders had manipulated Kaido into joining their side against the Revolutionary Army, this was an unmissable tactical opportunity.

"CHARGE!!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Thunderous artillery fire roared continuously across the field.

Dragon raised a single palm, summoning a howling tempest that swept through the plaza, grinding the specialized heavy artillery emplacements erected by the Navy into pulverized dust.

"This..." The Marines gasped in absolute horror. This Devil Fruit ability was far too terrifying.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Before the troops could process the shock, another series of deafening explosions echoed across the theater, shocking the entire battlefield into a brief, dead silence.

At this point, there shouldn't have been any functional artillery batteries left atop the Holy Land to maintain a continuous bombardment, so where were these explosions originating from?

Before long, every eye turned toward the horizon, tracing the thunderous detonations back to their source.

"Mamama... MAMAMA!!" A bizarre, piercing laughter resounded from far in the distance.

"That voice... it can't be..."

"Former Yonko, BIG MOM!!"

To claim the assembly felt zero terror would be an absolute lie. The war had barely initialized, yet world-shaking titans capable of shifting global paradigms were arriving at the Holy Land one after another.

The Summit War of Marineford two years ago had been monumental, but the gathering of legends atop Mary Geoise today comfortably eclipsed that historical clash.

Even the Five Elders—who had never historically shown their faces—had all stepped into the open light today, proving beyond doubt that they recognized the existential severity of this crisis.

It signaled that the World Government allocated far greater weight to this campaign than to Marineford.

Unnoticed by the world, the Revolutionary Army's total military mass had expanded to such a staggering degree, assembling a grand army of three hundred thousand troops within an exceptionally compressed timeline!

This was a reality zero minds had managed to simulate.

Down beneath the sheer cliffs of the Red Line, a gargantuan pirate flagship was anchored along the coast. Countless Revolutionary Army soldiers lay sprawling across the shoreline surrounding the vessel, groaning in agony.

"Mamama..." A massive, looming figure slowly stepped onto the deck of the warship.

"Former Yonko... BIG MOM!! Why are you here?!" a Revolutionary Army squad leader stammered, staring in sheer terror at the cackling titan.

"Hm? Former Yonko?" Big Mom's brows twitched furiously, thick blue veins instantly bulging across her massive forearms as her teeth ground together with a sickening crunch.

"Who in the hell... ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

In a fit of wild fury, Big Mom leaped clear of the flagship, driving a massive fist straight into the earth below.

KABOOM!

The ground shuddered violently under the impact, sending scores of subversives tumbling helplessly into the open sea. As chaos erupted across the shore, the remaining Revolutionary Army officers locked their sharpest focus onto Big Mom's frame.

"I am... BIG MOM!!" Big Mom threw her head back and let out an apocalyptic roar. A terrifying shockwave swept through the sector, its piercing, soul-rending frequency causing every soldier on the field to turn pale with horror.

"Curse that Drake! And those brats of the Legendary Four Brothers! I will never forgive any of you!" Screaming in manic rage, Big Mom took a heavy step forward, shattering the bedrock beneath her boots.

BOOM!

High atop the deck of the giant pirate vessel behind her, a squad of elite figures slowly stepped into view—the Big Mom Pirates, the blood children of Charlotte Linlin.

Anchoring the absolute front stood a tall, imposing figure whose lower face was wrapped in a massive scarf, a heavy trident clutched in his grip as he radiated immense physical presence.

The second son of the Big Mom Pirates—Charlotte Katakuri, a master of Advanced Observation Haki capable of glimpsing the future!

Having suffered defeat at Luffy's hands back in Totto Land, the long-dormant Big Mom Pirates had officially stepped back onto the global stage.

"Brother Katakuri, I say we just charge straight up the cliff. With our Big Mom Pirates on the field, whether it's the World Government or the Revolutionary Army, they'll all have to think twice before crossing us!" one of Big Mom's daughters declared arrogantly, stepping forward with a smirk.

"Cinnamon! We have our own objectives for this campaign; we cannot afford to act recklessly," Katakuri checked her calmly, casting a cool glance her way.

"Fine, fine..." Cinnamon grumbled, before adding with a sneer, "But we definitely have to teach that Straw Hat brat a lesson this time! How dare a novice like him replace Mama as a Yonko! Hmph!"

To the executive ranks of the Big Mom Pirates, Drake ascending to Yonko status was something their minds could digest, but Straw Hat Luffy was merely a rising rookie who had barely managed a narrow victory over Katakuri.

Having him dubbed an Emperor was an insult that left a bitter fire burning in their chests.

At this moment, the members of the Big Mom Pirates systematically put on specialized earplugs they had prepared in advance.

Their mother was about to unleash her full fury!

"You lot... must be the Revolutionary Army... To think there are so many of you..." Big Mom snapped her eyes open, a crimson glow flashing through her pupils as an unparalleled, crushing pressure flooded the sea.

"Conqueror's Haki!!" The Revolutionary Army officers gasped, panic surging through their minds!

As countless subversives collapsed like felled trees, a clear, authoritative voice suddenly echoed across the waves.

"The great Yonko Big Mom... resorting to stepping on weaklings. That hardly looks like you, Linlin!"

HUMMM... BOOM!

Following the voice, an intensely sharp, oppressive aura surged forth, cleanly intercepting Big Mom's crushing presence.

"A collision of Conqueror's!!"

Violent gales swept through the sector, tossing the ocean waves into chaos. A massive pirate flagship glided smoothly into the waters flanking the right side of the Big Mom Pirates. On deck, every crew member stood fully armed and ready for battle, weapons held with casual confidence.

"Yonko! Red-Haired Shanks! And the Red Hair Pirates are all here!" The Revolutionary Army soldiers gasped in absolute shock.

Just what tier of war was this turning out to be? Multiple Yonko-level figures were stepping onto the field at once!

What they failed to realize was that high atop the Red Line, another former Yonko—Kaido of the Beasts—was already actively engaged in combat!

"Shanks!" Big Mom's brow twitched as she extended her arm sharply. "Napoleon!!"

A colossal blade slashed toward Shanks with terrifying weight, the sheer kinetic pressure tearing the surrounding air currents to shreds.

Shanks unsheathed his long blade.

BANG!

Two supreme Conqueror's domains collided violently, black lightning crackling wildly across the void as the ground beneath their feet split wide...

"The sky... has sundered!"