The headquarters, already in chaos from Whitebeard's arrival, descended into even greater turmoil.
Why would Kaido appear?
Two of the Four Emperors, here at the same time?
Hadn't it been said the Four Emperors weren't on good terms?
Why were two of them joining forces to attack Marineford?
Whitebeard had just triggered a massive tsunami, seemingly capable of swallowing the entire Marine Headquarters.
Wouldn't the two Four Emperors, along with 100,000 elite soldiers, be wiped out?
Would the entire Marineford sink into the sea?
The elite Marines were already gripped with fear.
Now, that fear was fully unleashed.
The residents of the Sabaody Archipelago were also in a state of panic.
"Kaido?"
"That's Kaido, one of the Four Emperors? And he's... a blue dragon!!"
"The blue dragon soaring in the sky—it looks like a god from another world..."
"Are all the Four Emperors such monsters?"
"Surrounded by fire, lightning, and hurricanes, does he control nature itself?"
"Why has Kaido come here too?"
"Can the Marines resist this?"
Despair rippled through the crowd.
But soon, a different opinion began to surface, gradually easing their fear.
"Don't be afraid! Kaido's not invincible."
"He's just one of the Four Emperors, and we've got five of the Seven Warlords of the Sea! Moria and Doflamingo have both clashed with Kaido. Now that enemies have met again, the two Shichibukai will definitely join forces against him. Kaido's finished!!"
Hearing these analyses, people started to regain their composure.
"That's right. We can't just focus on the enemy's strength and forget about our own advantages."
"We have the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"
"Moria fought Kaido before, and both of them survived. There was no clear victor—they were evenly matched. Now, with Doflamingo in the mix, can Kaido really walk away alive? No way!"
"Exactly!"
"That makes sense. We were scared earlier because of Kaido's overwhelming presence, but in reality, the Marines have the upper hand. The Seven Warlords alone won't let Kaido get away."
"When Kaido sees Moria and Doflamingo teaming up, he'll be so scared he might piss his pants!"
"Hahaha!"
"It's okay! It's just one scary-looking Four Emperor."
"If other Shichibukai are willing to help, then with three of them against Kaido, even if he had ten lives, he wouldn't survive!"
"Exactly!"
After a very reasonable analysis, the panic in Sabaody Archipelago started to subside.
The air of despair dissipated as well.
People went from fear to calmness, then to outright mockery.
The Four Emperors? No matter how powerful they were, could they be stronger than two Shichibukai working together? If so, the Seven Warlords wouldn't deserve to be considered one of the three great powers.
But the fact is, the Shichibukai are part of the three great powers.
So it must be possible for two Shichibukai to defeat one of the Four Emperors.
With this thought, a happy atmosphere spread across the Bubble Islands.
They were eagerly waiting for Kaido to be crushed.
At Marineford, with Kaido's arrival, almost all eyes turned toward him.
Kaido, feeling the stares of so many, calmly observed the battlefield.
In fact, Kaido had already planned his course of action before arriving.
Thanks to his "god's perspective," Kaido knew the layout and flow of the entire battle.
This allowed him to make perfect judgments.
So, Kaido decided to start with the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
He had a side quest: to eliminate three of the Seven Warlords.
This was the easiest of his side quests.
The other tasks—killing the admirals, the legends, the Holy Knights, or even Imu—were far more difficult.
But killing the Shichibukai? That was simple.
So, he decided to start with the easy ones first, gain some rewards, then move on to the admirals and legends.
If he were to fly directly to the square and challenge all three admirals at once, Kaido estimated each admiral had at least two aspects of king-level strength.
That's six aspects of king-level combined.
He wasn't confident he could handle that just yet.
Though Kaido had received four rounds of system rewards and reached king-level strength in six aspects himself, this wasn't a simple power-level comparison. This was reality.
Kizaru would keep his distance with his light-speed movements.
Aokiji could freeze and control the battlefield.
Akainu would finish him off with devastating attacks.
Kaido knew it would be troublesome.
Even with his power, fighting all three admirals would be risky.
And it would be even harder to take down Garp and Sengoku.
Who knew how many king-level strengths those two had?
For the sake of safety, starting with the weakest Shichibukai was undoubtedly the easiest move.
Among the Shichibukai, the strongest was Hawkeye. He could barely be considered on the same level as a Four Emperor or admiral.
Then there was Boa Hancock. In the future, she would be able to petrify the entire Blackbeard Pirates, except for Blackbeard himself.
Whether or not she was strong, being petrified by her would be a real headache.
Aside from those two, the others weren't much of a threat.
Bartholomew Kuma wasn't that strong anymore either.
With this thought in mind, Kaido descended into Marineford, landing in the inner bay.
He stood in Whitebeard's camp.
The Navy's hopes were crushed again.
A moment ago, many in the Navy had clung to the unrealistic hope that Kaido might not be here to aid Whitebeard.
Maybe he had come to attack and assassinate Whitebeard, taking advantage of the chaos?
After all, it was common knowledge that the Four Emperors didn't get along.
Kaido might not necessarily be their enemy.
Maybe he would remain neutral, fighting both sides.
That could relieve some pressure on the Marines.
It would be even better if he only attacked Whitebeard.
However...
These wishful thoughts crumbled instantly when Kaido landed in the inner bay and stood with Whitebeard's forces.
It was over.
Kaido had really come to assist Whitebeard.
The three admirals' expressions darkened.
On the execution platform, Sengoku's face was the most grim.
At that moment, Sengoku picked up the Den Den Mushi, his voice echoing across the battlefield:
"Kaido! Why are you here? Do you intend to oppose Marineford and declare war on the Navy?"
He hoped to talk Kaido down.
After all, they had known each other for a long time.
What was Kaido's relationship with Whitebeard?
Could he really be sincere in helping him?
The chances seemed slim.
Maybe there was still a chance to convince Kaido to leave.
Although, based on the latest intelligence, Kaido seemed to have changed...
As the voice of Sengoku echoed across the battlefield, Kaido responded with a thunderous declaration:
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to declare war on Marineford! And, I intend to destroy the entire Navy!!!"
There was no turning back now.
Kaido had his side quest—kill, kill, and kill.
Of course, the main objective, to protect Whitebeard and extend his survival time, was also crucial.
"Damn it," Sengoku muttered, fists clenched in frustration.
What was wrong with Kaido? When had he become so chummy with Whitebeard?
"In that case..." Sengoku's voice boomed once more through the Den Den Mushi, "Kaido, you should stay here forever. Commence the war!!! All-out war!!!!!"
With Sengoku's words, the battlefield erupted. The sounds of battle cries and the deafening roar of cannon fire filled the air as countless shells rained down into the inner bay.
In the midst of this sudden chaos, a hysterical voice pierced through:
"Kaido!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Gekko Moriah stormed onto the battlefield, his eyes wild with fury. "I've never forgotten our past hatred! I will kill you, get my revenge, and finally end this grudge between us!!!"
Kaido turned toward the voice, his eyes narrowing.
He remembered their past.
But the problem was, this guy was weak. How dare he challenge him?
Was Moriah out of his mind?
Or was he just delivering himself to be slaughtered?