The earthquake finally came to a stop, the castle no longer shaking. Nobody could tell what just happened, but some were relieved that the island didn't sink like some thought. Zoro gazed at the hole in the rooftop, frowning deeply. Robin approached him with a knowing look:

"I saw it too, Zoro...O-Kiku-chan's arm..." she spoke.

"I got a late start. I wish I could just fly there. But every route has its challenges" he said.

Those who were infected with Ice Oni stood back on their feet, and charged at them at full speed. Zoro and Robin prepared themselves for a fight when a wall of blue flames engulfed the enemies. Marco made his appearance, smiling cheekily down:

"Straw Hats!" he exclaimed.

"Marco the Phoenix!" cried out Robin in surprise.

"Yeah, that's who I am-yoi! You guys are the main force, why are you still here on this floor?!"

"It's not like we wanted to be!" Zoro retorted.

"Heh. Is there anything I can do?" he offered a cocky smile, one that was quickly replaced by surprise and shock at the sight of the Ice Oni. "This is..."

"Warming up your bodies will halt the progress of the virus!" Chopper repeated. "It takes time to produce many antibodies. Meanwhile, the virus will keep spreading and more people will get infected! So please, find some! Fire! Flame! Sufficient time for survival!"

"Then let's do this-yoi!"

When Chopper asked for assistance, he didn't envision himself being set on fire with the help of Marco's Devil Fruit. The reindeer screamed in pain while his comrades could only watch in horror. Zoro and Brook were quick to react and charge at the former commander. Marco dodged their attack while commenting on their short temper. It's only when the skeleton reached for Chopper to put out the fire that he realized the flames weren't really burning him.

"Chopper-san, you need to relax!" Brook told him, finally managing to calm down the doctor.

"...Huh? I'm burning but I'm not getting burned! It's not too hot, nor cold...This flame is comfortably warm" Chopper grinned with a small flush, appreciating the feeling.

"Dr. Chopper!"

Chopper shot a look behind him to see both Miyagi and Tristan waving at him to get his attention.

"We're ready to produce the antibodies! Come here quickly!" the goat Mink stated.

A swarm of Ice Oni encircled them to their horror. Marco was quick to react and with a single swipe of his wings, he sent a wave of fire that engulfed everyone infected by the virus. Warmth spread through their body, and most of them began to slowly regain their senses.

"Thank you, Marco! Your flames are halting the progress of the virus!" Chopper smiled.

"Well, I'm not doing much-yoi. Like you said, it's raising your body heat. Once your physical stamina runs out, you'll turn back into an oni again!" Marco warned him. "I just bought you a little time-yoi!"

Chopper didn't waste any more time and followed after Miyagi and Tristan to prepare the antidote as fast and soon as possible. The two Minks also dragged your body along not leave you out in the open while still vulnerable.

"That bastard of Marco and the damn raccoon are a pain in the ass!" Queen spat angrily, clutching his mic tightly. "Oi! Catch the raccoon already! Don't tell me you fell for the raccoon's words saying that he'll save everyone! THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY A LIE! Why would he wanna save you guys?! That shitty raccoon is trying to deceive us and bring us all down!"

The All-Star's words struck doubt in the heart of your enemies. They were unaware of Chopper's true nature, and if they could actually trust someone on the other side of the war with such an important task.

"If you don't wanna die, get rid of the raccoon and take back the antibody!" Queen ordered his men. "Else...I'll kill you all!"

They gulped at the threat, and soon took back their swords to charge in Chopper's direction. However, the samurais wouldn't let a single hair of his fur being touch. Drake offered his services to protect the reindeer too while he was preoccupied.

Meanwhile, Ess observed the current situation of the battlefield from his perch above one of the Performance Floor's balconies. Irritated by Queen's stupid games, he was wondering if he should put an end to everything right here and now. But he knew that Kaido wouldn't have his own fun if he did though.

More importantly, he needed to put all his focus on his target: you.

"I wonder what Silvers Rat's heart will taste like..." the man licked his lips, drooling at the thought of ripping the still beating organ out of your chest to make its strength its own.

"Ess-san! Troublesome news concerning Lady Setsuka-san!!" Bao Huang appeared through the roof.

The elder warrior clicked his tongue at the shinuchi for disturbing his peace. Since she was part of the crew's surveillance division, the 'Marys', she had the constant duty of keeping the records around the island. Strange. He thought that she was busy with King not a moment ago.

"What did that wench do again?" Ess groaned.

"Lady Setsuka is heading to the second basement of the castle! She is ignoring her current orders of securing the left dome from the intruders!"

"What do you want me to do about it? Just send the guinea pig or something. Those two seems to get along with each other just fine..."

"King-sama demanded you specifically! Under Kaido's orders to dispose of Lady Setsuka who turns out to be a traitor!" Bao stated.

"Those brats!" Ess' eyes held fury. "So be it. I will head down here and see what she's up to. But let me be clear about something: Silvers is mine to fight!"

In the depths of the secondary basement, a lone figure stood in front of a Poneglyph blue in color. Trafalgar Law was unaware of all the fighting going on at the moment, and perhaps for his sanity it was for the better. He traced the engravings of the giant cube with his lean fingers, wondering what story or information it told about.

"This isn't it...I need red ones" he spoke to himself, narrowing his eyes.

Corazon's words rang inside his head. The people of the D., also known as 'Enemies of the Gods'. He recalled all the events that led to that, from his parents and Lami's death, to the destruction of Flevance and to the meeting with Donquixote Rosinante.

For Cora-san, he needed to know the reason why he led such a checkered life. All because of the D. in his name. He blinked in surprise when he heard footsteps behind him, whipping around to face whoever decided to visit this place. Law had his weapon drawn out, sword glistening under the dim torches.

"One wonders if your checkered life is worth meeting it's end sooner?" the voice of Setsuka echoed in the room. "Trafalgar D. Water Law"

"......You know my true name?" the young man raised a single brow, lowering his sword when he understood that she was no enemy of his. Yet.

"One can recognize a D. easily" Setsuka strutted to the Poneglyph, stopping to stand next to Law while keeping her focus on the blue cube. "A brand that none can escape, unfortunately"

"I will take a guess that you know about the Will of D.?"

"One knows far too much. And one cannot share her knowledge"

"Why's that?"

"One lived long enough to understand the consequences of revealing to the world the truth...And one knows there is...a certain creature lingering in the shadows of the castle at this right moment" Setsuka spoke enigmatically as she narrowed her eyes to a corner of the room. "They are searching for the D...And once they do, they will eliminate them"

Law blinked at her words, wondering what exactly she meant by that. Certainly she didn't refer to the Celestial Dragons, as it would be impossible for any of those lazy bastards to head into the headquarters of an Emperor of all people. Perhaps she meant an assassin of sort? Maybe even Cipher Pol.

"....Are they currently listening?" Law wondered.

"...It's hard to tell their exact location. But one knows they have been following me for quite some time. And you and your allies far longer"

Law felt the dread settle in. The thought that an enemy has been following them without anyone knowing...What exactly was their motive to begin with? To find out those who held D. in their names? If so, why didn't they act on Straw Hat from the very beginning? The foolish captain never understood the weight of his name at any point in his whole life.

"One shall give you an advice: if you are to face a threat wearing a mask, do not fight them. At any cost" the woman told, pressing her hand against the Poneglyph.

"It is quite vague of a description, wouldn't you say?" Law grunted, pulling his hat over his face. "Anything can be-"

"You will know if you see them" Setsuka cut sharply, her eyes shining under the flames. "They belong to the shadow of God. And if you think you have ever faced the darkness before... Heed one's words, Trafalgar"

"...I thought you were working for Kaido. Why would you help someone that could turn out to be your enemy later? You are aware this alliance between me and Straw Hat is temporary, right?"

"It will not matter. Those who are D. are the holders of the dreams. And like a string connected between them, they are bonded to the same goal. But one has talked too much already. They are aware of one's presence now" Setsuka stated, shooting a look behind her as if there was someone else in the room. "If you are to find the 'red one', you won't find it here. Rather, it is hidden in a secret cave located in Wano"

"...I see"

Truth be told, Law had no obligations to believe anything this enigmatic woman said. She was once working under Kaido for a reason, and there's a chance she was still allied with the Emperor. But for her to know his full name...There's more she is hiding.

At first, Marco couldn't understand fully the situation he was dragged in the first few moments since he arrived at Kaido's castle. The fiasco of allying himself with Perospero on a common goal to rid himself of Kaido was a flop the moment he entered in contact with Big Mom. And now he had to deal with some strange virus called Ice Oni that transformed both allies and enemies alike into mindless monsters fighting everything in sight until their eventual death one hour after being infected if not less.

The ex-division commander allowed to win some time for the tanuki to prepare the antidote while he was fighting off mobs of hard-headed idiots who were terrified of Queen. And who would blame them after witnessing what he just did to their comrades with his dangerous inventions?

"Nico Robin! Skeleton Man! Do what you gotta do!" Marco motioned to the two who nodded at his words. "Don't waste your time with those small fries! Run to the castle!"

The two shared a glance between each other before nodding at his words, turning around to leave the area and head for the castle. Marco then glanced at Zoro:

"You ready?"

"Do it!" the swordsman replied.

Marco blew the enemies away as he transformed into his Zoan form, flying toward Zoro to grab his shoulders between his talons. The two flew in the direction of the roof, but it didn't take long for another obstacle to obstruct their way, taking the form of the two All-Stars: King and Queen. Both of them have shifted into their beast form too, waiting directly at the hole to block the entrance.

"You can't go through here easily, Marco! And I'm sure all the samurai outside are killed by now!" spoke Queen.

"Now all that is left is for Kozuki Oden's son to die and this battle will be over. And the Land of Wano...will become a pirate empire called New Onigashima!" King enriched.

"If you really believe that, your reasoning is garbage!" Marco retorted. "You guys are up against the new era now-yoi!"

"We will dominate the new era and everything else!"

Queen fired a barrage of bullets at the phoenix, passing through his body without leaving a scratch. Marco then shifted the fire of his wings to grab and capture both the All-Stars at the same time. The two opponents struggled in his hold while Marco took this time to launch Zoro through the hole in the roof, said man yelling about not being ready for that.

The battle continued, and unknown to all parties except for the late Shogun, some masked assassins were casually taking a respite inside a room safe from the fighting between the allies and Kaido's army. The cup of sake was almost left forgotten as Guernica, a masked agent of CP0, or more properly known as Cipher Pol "Aigis" Zero. The strongest intelligence agency working directly under the World Nobles.

"We never imagined our supplier would die, and the banquet that we were invited to would turn into a battlefield" the masked man with the white bowler hat mused.

"I heard it's a battle to win vengeance for one who died 20 years ago in this country" Maha stated, a masked agent holding it with a long stick grasped with both hands.

"But when Doflamingo fell from power, the clash between Kaido and the Worst Generation became inevitable" stated Joseph, moving pieces across the Go board to track the forces.

"It was fate...that brought the samurai and the pirates together" Guernica finally sipped the sake of his cup. "At the time when the world's situation is about to turn over..."

"If by any chance both of those Emperors get taken down..." Maha continued.

"No one can tell what will happen in the world. But there's no worry about that" Joseph stated.

A young woman was playing the shamisen in their guest room. She was another of the 'Marys', made to provide information about the current situation of the battlefield.

"The number of enemies that invaded the island is 5,400. But 400 of them have fallen. On the other hand, we Beasts Pirates have more than 30,000 troops. But 3,000 of them have already fallen" she sang.

"The samurai did a good job. The difference in power means they can't even reach the leader if they attacked head-on. The operation to launch a successful sneak attack was brilliant" Maha commented.

"But this battle won't end even if they chop off the leader's head" Guernica scoffed, sneering. "This is an all-out war, there's no refuge on the island. If they leave Kaido's powerful top officers at large, those officers will take down 100 soldiers at a time"

"If the Worst Generation can't stop the top officers...This game of Go will end with all black pieces on the board" Joseph shook his head. "It's a little too obvious which side will win..."

"Underestimating insects is one way to reach another's end, wouldn't you say?" a distorted voice commented.

Guernica almost broke the cup in his hand at the sound of...their voice. Joseph and Maha lifted their head in the direction of the noise to find a a strange figure collapsed on themselves like a broken toy. It lifted its limbs one by one to stand up abruptly, which caused a few screams of fear from the geishas that were 'spying' on the agents. Not that they cared about them in the first place. Among the masked agents who were assisting the banquet was an enigmatic person that didn't seem to look human in the first place.

Skin similar to ceramic with elongated fingers that constantly dripped with a dark substance, almost like ink. They were constantly dressed into a white and black checkered admiral outfit that reminded them more of some sort of clown than the typical agents they could meet in Cipher Pol Zero. The mask they were wearing had a smile stretched creepily from the mouth all the way to the imaginary ears, since it covered completely the head. The cavities that served as their eyes didn't reflect anything human, only a void that would consume everything.

Among their ranks, they were known as Marionette.