"What's the situation, Franpetar?"
The moment Wilder landed, he asked impatiently.
"Reporting to the boss, the battle has begun. It's at the Marine fortress," Franpetar replied quickly, not daring to delay.
The Marine fortress…
Wilder breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he had made it in time.
"Franpetar, I'm leaving this place to you. Be sure to keep a close watch on the surrounding sea areas. Be wary of the Big Mom Pirates possibly coming from other channels. I'm going to support Claire and the others." After saying this, Wilder used Moon Walk again to fly high into the sky, covering a great distance with a single step as he headed toward the Marine fortress.
"Yes, sir," Franpetar nodded solemnly.
...…
In the sea area in front of the Marine fortress, giant fireballs from powerful explosions sent massive waves rolling across the surface.
Giant splashes shot toward the sky. High above, a ball of golden light shone dazzlingly, shooting through the thunderclouds and sending a beam of light down toward the massive pirate ship below!
BOOM! Before the beam of light could strike, a giant hand reached out and slapped it away!
"Borsalino!" Big Mom's eyes were bloodshot. Her huge, obese body made the deck tremble as she walked. By now, the ship had already docked, and one after another, powerful members of the Big Mom Pirates charged off the ship, landing on the Marine fortress!
"Charge!"
"Wipe the Marines out from here!"
The pirates charged like a pack of wolves toward the Marines defending the new fortress.
"Then you'll stay here," Momonga, the commanding officer stationed here, said with a blank expression as he drew the longsword from his waist and slashed down.
Instantly, a wave of sword energy shot out. The pirates charging in its path screamed as they were thrown into the air, their bodies torn apart, blood raining down like droplets.
Thump, thump, thump! The sound of heavy footsteps echoed, and the ground seemed to tremble with each step.
"Big Mom…"
Momonga's expression changed. He looked toward the docks, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple.
Big Mom had landed as well.
CRACKLE! A bolt of lightning fell, heading straight for Momonga.
"This woman…" Momonga's face was grim. He flashed backward to retreat, but just then, a ball of fire came at him from behind!
"When did—!" Momonga's pupils contracted. He turned his head to look, and the light of the fire was already reflected on his face. It was too late to dodge.
Damn it! Am I being targeted from the very beginning?
Momonga's grip on his sword hilt tightened, but his gaze remained sharp.
WHOOSH! Just then, a beam of light descended, coalescing into a tall figure in front of Momonga. Before the fire could hit its target, the figure raised a hand and waved. The flames scattered as if hit by a storm, losing all their power.
"Mr. Kizaru…" Momonga's grip on his sword hilt loosened slightly. He looked up and greeted him with a calm expression.
The Marine fortress had now become a battlefield. There were many monster-level figures among the people Big Mom had brought.
And the Marines were severely short-staffed due to the hasty preparations. So, Kizaru not only had to take on Big Mom himself but also had to manage the entire battlefield.
"You almost succeeded… Charlotte Linlin!" A shadow fell over Kizaru's glasses as he slowly turned around.
"Mamamamama!" Big Mom walked over with heavy steps, a ferocious sneer on her face. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the aura emanating from her body directly caused some of the lower-ranking soldiers around her to faint.
Finally, she stopped less than five meters in front of Kizaru.
"Die, Borsalino," she said in a very flat tone. As her voice fell, her hand shot out to grab Kizaru.
"That's a request… I'm afraid I can't grant," Kizaru said, a rare, not-so-smarmy smile appearing on his face as the light glinted off his glasses.
BAM! A golden light burst forth! As it rose in a brilliant flash, Kizaru suddenly appeared above and behind Big Mom, striking a pose.
"Yasakani no Magatama!"
SWISH SWISH SWISH! Countless beams of light, like cannonballs, shot into Big Mom's back. The scene was instantly engulfed in thick smoke, the golden light and dust enveloping her.
Click. Kizaru landed steadily on the ground, stood up straight, and looked at the area where the smoke was billowing.
A massive figure was faintly visible within the thick smoke. When the smoke finally cleared, everyone's eyes went wide.
"Co… completely unharmed…"
"How is that possible!"
Kizaru's eyes opened a little wider, a look of surprise on his face. "What a terrifying body. Although her Armament Haki is also powerful, this is just unbelievable."
BOOM! Just then, another sound came from another part of the battlefield. Kizaru turned to look and saw two of his officers being relentlessly attacked by Sweet Commander Moscato. One of them was already withered and on the verge of collapse.
"This is not good." Kizaru turned into a flash of golden light and appeared in front of Moscato, sweeping his leg out!
"What!" Before Moscato could react, he saw a blinding light in front of him. A smarmy figure had suddenly appeared. Before he could do anything, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, and his body was sent flying backward like a cannonball from the force of the kick.
However, this left Momonga in a terrible situation. In her rage, Big Mom didn't care about rank and targeted him first.
Momonga was a brave man and naturally would not back down. He charged forward with his sword.
The result was ideal. He successfully unleashed a peerlessly powerful wave of sword energy, which landed on Big Mom.
Unfortunately, it couldn't even cut a single strand of her hair. Instead, he was met with a pincer attack of lightning and fire.
SHING! Momonga tore through the flames with one slash, then turned and swung his sword with extreme speed to deflect the lightning.
"Gah!" But just then, a strong and heavy feeling crashed into his back. Momonga couldn't stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood. He was sent sprawling forward by a punch from Big Mom, sliding a long way.
While Momonga was disoriented, Big Mom seized the opportunity to activate her ability: Soul Pocus.
Her giant hand reached for Momonga!
Although Momonga was not afraid, he couldn't control the wavering of his spirit from the sudden injury. A trace of fear, which he himself hadn't noticed, was hidden within. Wisps of his lifespan began to float out from his body.
The giant hand drew closer. Momonga felt as if his whole body was frozen, incredibly stiff.
In the blink of an eye, it was in front of him, about to grasp the floating lifespan.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in between them. Without pausing, he clenched his fist and struck!
"Great Serpent!"
BOOM! A powerful shockwave condensed into a white fist-imprint, creating a long tunnel as it shot straight into the palm of the giant hand! A fierce and violent airflow exploded outward!
The fist and the giant hand were locked in a stalemate.
Big Mom's expression also froze, then turned as dark as water. Her eyes became even more bloodshot, and her unpleasant, shrill voice echoed across the entire battlefield: "Lucifer… Wi-l-der!"
But the next moment, Big Mom suddenly laughed again, a cold and ferocious laugh. "Mamamamama! How sensible of you. If you've come here to die yourself, then you have no one to blame."
Everyone on the scene knew about the grudge between Wilder and the Yonko Big Mom, so they all secretly broke out in a cold sweat for him.
Of course, Big Mom's side was gritting their teeth, wishing they could go up and cut Wilder down themselves.
"Mr. Momonga, go help the others. This big lug is not someone we can deal with. We have to leave her to Mr. Kizaru," Wilder said with a grin, his back to Momonga. But internally, he was shaken. This was his first simple exchange with Big Mom, but just this exchange had left him deeply shocked.
The power was too immense.
Wilder's eyes shifted slightly downward. His hand was trembling.
Hearing Wilder's words, Momonga nodded. Without a word, he turned and left. Although his position might have made him dislike Wilder, a former pirate, he knew Wilder was right. Big Mom was not someone he could handle. Here, only Mr. Kizaru could deal with her.
Wilder knew the power of the Great Serpent Fist best. That one punch had been enough to make two of the Blackbeard Pirates' division commanders vomit blood and suffer serious injuries. The continuous shockwaves that pushed out from within the body, and the impact damage produced when it exploded from the fist, were absolutely terrifying.
But now, Big Mom's hand had caught that punch steadily, without even a tremor. And the way she blocked his punch, it was as if she were lifting something light, as if the stalemate was an effortless illusion.
Wilder was stunned.
The next second, a violent force was transmitted directly from her fist. BAM! Wilder's entire body was sent tumbling backward, crashing into the ground in the distance and creating a crater!
Big Mom laughed coldly. Her massive body did not limit her speed. She followed closely behind, and before Wilder could even get back up, her figure flashed and she was already in front of the crater.
Her massive fist was raised high, and she brought it down!
BOOM! The crater expanded outward, and the ground cracked. In an instant, thick smoke billowed, and sand and stones flew.
The Marines were all stunned.
"Wilder!" Momonga's reaction was the strongest. His face was incredibly ugly. That punch should have been for him to bear.
SHING! He drew his sword, and a terrifying wave of sword energy swept toward Big Mom!
However, Big Mom only glanced at it out of the corner of her eye, a disdainful smirk on her lips. With a wave of her hand, the sword wave twisted like a tornado and dissipated into thin air.
"Hmm?" But just then, Big Mom's brow furrowed.
"Everyone, look there!" At this moment, some others had also noticed the anomaly. Everyone followed the person's gaze.
They saw a small patch of flat ground behind Big Mom suddenly ripple. The next second, it turned into a puddle of swamp. A section in the middle of the swamp suddenly surged upward, twisting and coalescing into a human shape.
This humanoid swamp took on a semi-crouching posture, one hand touching the ground. Finally, it fully formed, solidifying into the shape of Wilder.
"Hell's Thrust!" Wilder looked up coldly, launching a surprise attack at Big Mom's back.
The next instant, sharp spikes suddenly rose from all around the crater where Big Mom stood. CLANG! CLANG! The sound of metal clashing rang out continuously. The tips of the spikes were aimed directly at Big Mom. Countless spikes emerged from the ground, near and far, stabbing at her body, but in an instant, their sharp points shattered as if they had struck steel.
Big Mom was surrounded by a dense forest of frozen spikes. The scene was like a wild boar that had fallen into a thorn bush—seemingly surrounded by spikes, but actually unharmed.
"Like a sewer rat," a deep voice came from Big Mom, her face shrouded in shadow.
Gulp. The sound of someone swallowing nervously was crystal clear. Big Mom's aura was becoming more and more terrifying.
"This… is this a Yonko?"
Although no one had personally experienced being attacked by those spikes, they could see that their damage was not low. But even so… it couldn't even cause a single scratch to Big Mom!
BOOM! Big Mom turned slightly to face Wilder, a chilling aura enveloping him. And just this simple movement caused the spikes clustered tightly around her body to shatter inch by inch!
"Tsk…" Wilder met Big Mom's gaze without fear, a flippant smile on his lips. He said slowly, with extreme arrogance, "Being told that by a big, white-skinned fat pig that just ran out of a pigsty… is not a pleasant experience."
CRACK!
The moment these words were spoken, the scene fell into a deathly silence. Especially on the Marine side, everyone's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. Their mouths hung open, their chins nearly touching the ground.
It was as if a bell was tolling in everyone's mind. They were stunned.
After Wilder spoke, the scene was enveloped by a terrifying aura. His expression changed slightly, and he twisted his neck to shake off the feeling of stiffness.
The others were not so lucky. Their teeth chattered as they struggled to withstand the terrifying pressure.
Both the Marines and the pirates were affected by this aura.
Except! A golden light shot from the distance and landed beside Wilder, coalescing into a figure.
"Yo… Wilder-kun, you're finally here. Well then, I can free up my hands now. I'll leave the others to you," Kizaru said shamelessly.
"Nyahahaha, how annoying. This is the Marine fortress's business, after all." Although Wilder said this, he knew that the fortress could not fall now. At the very least, they couldn't let Big Mom "pass." Otherwise, the next battlefield would be his kingdom.
Wilder didn't want the nation he had built with countless funds and hard work to be destroyed just like that. So, he had to, and could only, stop Big Mom at this pass.
Besides, Wilder didn't want to face this terrifying woman right now, so leaving her to Kizaru was the most appropriate choice. Only Kizaru on the scene could deal with her.
Giving Big Mom one last flippant smile, Wilder turned and walked away without another word.
He observed the situation briefly. The main battlefield was currently concentrated on the open ground in front of the fortress. This area was very large, a place where the Marines usually trained, so the destruction hadn't caused much loss, as most of the buildings were in the rear.
And at this moment, the few most intense battles were also spread out in different places.
To the west, Claire was fighting Charlotte Linlin's fourth son, Oven. To the east, Vice was fighting Charlotte Linlin's third son, Charlotte Daifuku. And the others had also been engaged by their respective opponents.
The situation was not optimistic.