The frost giant formed by Aokiji fused its lower body with the icy ground, frigid air flooding outward like a tide. In a blur, he charged at Zunesha, pressing one massive hand down on the elephant's other leg.
Aramaki glanced at the icy colossus beside him in surprise.
"You hot-blooded rookie," he muttered, "When did you learn that trick?"
While pushing against Zunesha, Aokiji replied calmly,
"It's not that hard. I just never had the chance to use it before."
He said it with a cool, deliberate arrogance. Aramaki couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Ha! Great! Let's see whose power is stronger!"
With that, Aramaki let out a deep shout. Thick vines surged from his body, coiling tightly around his massive arms like layers of muscle fibers.
In fact, the vines did function much like muscles—the more of them he summoned, the stronger he became.
Naturally, Aokiji wasn't about to be outdone. While his ice couldn't enhance his physical strength, it could drastically slow Zunesha's movements through sheer cold.
According to the principle of relativity: if the enemy slows, you speed up, if they weaken, you grow stronger. Push and pull. In the end, Aokiji's efforts were just as effective as Aramaki's in halting Zunesha.
Aramaki's treant form roared, vines like pythons wrapping around the giant elephant's leg.
"This beast is all mine!"
Aokiji's frost giant pressed a hand to Zunesha's abdomen, instantly freezing its thick skin.
"Don't overexert yourself... Your vines are about to give."
With both Marine Admirals blocking its path, Zunesha's movements slowed more and more. And above, Akainu, Borsalino, and Kuma rained down attack after attack—lava hounds, laser blasts, and the explosive shockwaves of the Paw-Paw Fruit—each blow shaking even Zunesha's mountain-sized body until it teetered dangerously.
Its mournful bellow echoed across the sky. The combined restraint of ice and vines left it struggling to move. Akainu's magma hound clamped down on its trunk, Borsalino's lasers poured like a storm, and Kuma's shockwaves tore through muscle beneath the frozen skin.
The battlefield grew tense as the giants and the Mink Tribe fought desperately, watching in despair. Zunesha was their ultimate weapon—their trump card, unstoppable once it moved.
Before the war began, no one could've imagined that even a creature like Zunesha could be held back by human hands. The very thought shattered their understanding of power.
Could humans truly grow this strong? And five of them—five Admirals—were all from the enemy side.
Worse yet, there were said to be six Marine Admirals. Which meant... one was still unaccounted for.
If another Admiral showed up now, could they even keep fighting?
But that wasn't the most terrifying part.
The most terrifying part... was the man above even the Admirals.
The Fleet Admiral of the Marines, a Celestial Dragon.
How powerful must he be?
Could Joy Boy... really hold his ground?
...
At that moment, atop Zunesha's head, the ever-composed Joy Boy suddenly furrowed his brow. He raised both fists, clenching them tightly—he could feel his power draining.
He glanced down at Akainu and the others below, murmuring to himself,
"Is this all it takes... for doubt to creep in?"
Shaking his head, he said softly,
"I suppose... they're not the people from 800 years ago. I shouldn't expect too much."
Then Joy Boy suddenly bent down and pressed both hands against Zunesha's skin. The Drums of Liberation resonated in perfect rhythm with the giant elephant's heartbeat.
"My friend... the time has come!"
Zunesha's pupils burst into radiant golden light, and archaic symbols began to glow across its skin—like molten gold flowing through ancient patterns.
The moment stunned the three attackers still pummeling Zunesha. Before they could react, Zunesha let out an ear-shattering roar. A physical shockwave blasted forth, sending Akainu, Borsalino, Kuma, and even Aokiji and Aramaki flying.
The frost and vines binding its legs shattered.
With no more Admirals in its path, Zunesha charged again—this time even faster than before. Akainu and the others had barely regained their footing before they were struck. Their elemental bodies were scattered into fragments.
Kuma, not a Logia user, panicked when Zunesha barreled toward him. He threw up both hands, placing his paw pads against the elephant's skin.
He couldn't bounce Zunesha away, but he could use the recoil to launch himself in the opposite direction and dodge the incoming impact.
Even Kuma wouldn't dare take a direct hit from a thirty-five-kilometer-tall behemoth.
But with the five Admirals' blockade broken, Zunesha surged forward once more. Golden glyphs shimmered on its skin as it barreled toward the Red Line like an unstoppable force.
Given its colossal size, each step covered ten kilometers. At full charge, it would reach the Red Line in moments.
...
Seeing Zunesha rushing forward again, the giants and Minks roared in renewed hope.
"For freedom!!!"
The Marines snapped out of their daze and launched a counterattack, immediately suppressing the rising momentum. The briefly reignited morale of the giants and Minks dimmed once more.
Yet that brief burst of hope had already helped restore Joy Boy's fading strength. Standing tall atop Zunesha's head, one hand holding his straw hat, his eyes pierced the clouds toward the Red Line ahead—toward Mary Geoise—already envisioning the moment it shattered under Zunesha's charge.
...
Meanwhile, at Mary Geoise, the guards had spotted the massive shadow approaching across the sea. Panic spread like wildfire. Messengers were sent rushing toward the rear of Mary Geoise to report the threat.
Some of the Celestial Dragons had already gone to bed with their concubines, only to be jolted awake by guards bursting into their chambers. Before they could even shout in anger, they heard the terrifying news—Mary Geoise was about to be struck by a gigantic creature.
The Celestial Dragons panicked harder than the guards.
Clutching only a coat over their nightclothes, they fled into the night.
The moment they stepped outside, they heard screaming from their fellow nobles.
In a comical twist, someone among the terrified Celestial Dragons suddenly shouted,
"Saint Carl, save us!!"
At first, the others froze in confusion—then, like drowning men seizing a lifeline, they all cried out in unison:
"Saint Carl, save us!!"
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+150 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg