Linlin slowly turned her head, like a robot, revealing a terrifying grin.
"Ezekiel…"
Then she turned her entire body, a bright red handprint still visible on her ankle. Zeus was hurling thunderbolts furiously, Prometheus was spewing flames, and the sword Napoleon gleamed in the night.
Her enormous, nearly ten-meter-tall body with its witch-like face looked like a monster straight out of legend.
Suddenly, a fearsome wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted!
Ezekiel's eyes narrowed as he unleashed his own Haki as well.
Boom!
Dark waves rippled through the air, and the overwhelming force scattered the clouds and mist across the sky, as if splitting the heavens and the endless sea.
Charlotte Linlin swung Napoleon in her hand.
She didn't possess any special swordsmanship techniques; she simply relied on the monstrous power of her body, the force of her attack, and the sharpness of her blade—more than enough to slice through stone. Air split with a deafening sound as her strike barreled straight toward Ezekiel.
"Gravity Blade!" Fujitora drew his sword and deflected the blow with a single swing.
Ezekiel was unharmed, though his hair was tossed wildly by the force. The attack passed just behind him, blasting a gaping hole in a distant castle.
A thunderous explosion shook the area, and everyone nearby trembled. The hearts of the Straw Hat Pirates seemed to stop for a moment. Only now did they realize the incredible assault Katakuri had endured for half an hour.
This battle was inevitable.
In Ezekiel's hand appeared the famous Royal Sword of Alabasta, passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.
Although Ezekiel hadn't found the legendary Pluton in Alabasta's tomb, he didn't leave empty-handed. This sword was at least a thousand years old since its forging, yet it remained as sharp and sturdy as ever. According to Fujitora, this sword was flawless.
King Cobra had told Ezekiel the history of this blade. Its significance was extraordinary. It was the sword that the royal family used to protect their people during times of war. Many years ago, for reasons unknown, their ancestors sealed it away in the tomb.
Its name was the Royal Sacred Sword Okurien.
Ezekiel measured Charlotte Linlin's Conqueror's Haki, narrowed his eyes slightly, and raised Okurien high.
His blade clashed with Napoleon.
Fiery sparks scattered in every direction. Big Mom attacked with wild abandon.
"Zeus, Lightning Strike!" cried Charlotte Linlin, swinging her hand as a bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky.
But Ezekiel didn't even bother to dodge. The lightning fizzled out, its thunder quieted, and not even his clothes were scorched. Only a blue electric glow lit up his face. In that instant, Big Mom felt a moment of confusion. Even in her maddened state, she was capable of some thought. She took a step back.
"Oh! Lightning?" Ezekiel gave a terrifying grin—and then a horrifying bolt of lightning erupted from his body, melting the ground layer by layer, while an even more powerful current gathered in the sky.
Ezekiel had already absorbed the power of the Thunder Fruit. His lightning carried a charge of 200 million volts!
Ezekiel's lightning struck fear into Big Mom. Instinctively, she raised Napoleon. But as the blinding current condensed above, Napoleon was completely stunned, his fierce spirit evaporating—cold sweat even broke out. Seeing the terrifying thunder gather around Ezekiel, Napoleon shrieked hysterically,
"Mama, Mama!"
But Big Mom was already unconscious, lost in a starving trance, and couldn't perceive his cries.
Napoleon became a human lightning rod, taking the brunt of the devastating electric bombardment.
"Mama!"
Boom!
At last, the pillar of lightning—striking from the sky ten times in a row, guided by Napoleon—crashed straight into Charlotte Linlin, blowing a massive hole in the ground beneath her and blasting right through her body.
The sky filled with smoke and dust, obscuring the enormous crater and making it impossible to see Big Mom's condition.
"Is she dead?" Sanji asked, swallowing hard.
Zoro, who had arrived not long ago and witnessed the whole battle, stared hard into the smoke. The sense of danger hadn't left him.
Bang!
A hand shot out from the massive crater, grabbing onto its edge, followed by a wheezing, demonic croak:
"Mousse!"
Everyone's hearts clenched.
She's a monster!
Big Mom was covered in scars from the lightning strikes. Even such a terrifying creature—a being of immense power—couldn't escape unscathed from that attack, but it was still nowhere near enough to be fatal.
"Mousse, I want mousse!"
Her subconscious, it seemed, had been stunned by the lightning blast, leaving her in a half-comatose state, her actions driven by the frenzied remnants of her personality. She suddenly leapt up and charged at Ezekiel, transformed into a hideous monster.
"So this is what they call an eating disorder?" Ezekiel smiled as he watched Big Mom in her fit of madness.
"She really is an Emperor!" Hancock shuddered.
She actually survived a hit like that?
What could possibly inflict fatal damage on this monster?
If Hancock were to ask Ezekiel, he would have a clear answer.
Even Advanced Armament Haki, the technique Ezekiel learned from Rayleigh, wouldn't help. Precisely because he himself used Advanced Armament Haki, he understood that this power could, in theory, harm monsters like Big Mom or Kaido—but it all depended on the person wielding it!
Why was Kozuki Oden able to wound Kaido so badly
Because he was a monster in his own right!