Ye Yu's words filled Wang Quanshi and Song Ling with humiliation and anger, yet they couldn't refute him. They had thought they could at least make him exert some effort, but to their shock, a single-handed Divine Departure effortlessly shattered their Overlord Sea, the residual force even injuring them both.
Had it not been for the other top-tier Chosen Ones nearby who intercepted the aftermath, the two would have been sent flying with far worse injuries.
The world watched in awe.
"Overlord Sea—sounds impressive, but it's nothing special."
"It's mainly because Ye Yu is too monstrous. Even powerful Combination Skills seem weak before him."
"Though they look a bit pathetic, this battle will inevitably end with Ye Yu at a disadvantage."
"Right, everyone thinks so. The combined bounty of these fifty top-tier Chosen Ones exceeds Ye Yu's by over a billion. While that doesn't mean their overall strength is vastly superior, there's no way Ye Yu can defeat fifty of them at once. The outcome is clear—Ye Yu will admit defeat, becoming second in the Pirate Crew hierarchy, the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew will ascend as one of the Four Emperors Pirates, and the King's Alliance will crown its One King."
...
Most believed Ye Yu couldn't pull off another miracle.
Yang Luo warned, "Don't even think about facing Ye Yu alone. We must unite. Even a two-person Combination Skill is nothing before him. Only by sticking together—fifty of us attacking and defending as one—can we withstand his assaults and eventually overwhelm him."
The others understood. In a one-on-one fight, they might end up like Cai Ji—instantly cut down by Ye Yu's blade. After all, facing an 1.8-billion-bounty pirate alone as a 100-million-bounty fighter was a massive gap. But united, they had no reason to fear.
Meanwhile, the frozen sea stretched endlessly, howling winds like wild beasts hurling shards of ice into the sky. Sunlight refracted off the icy surface, casting a harsh, blinding glare.
Ye Yu stood alone on the frozen expanse, facing Yang Luo and twelve other renowned top-tier Captains, backed by thirty-seven elite Pirate Executives. The lineup was terrifying.
Jin Mo struck first, activating his signature Float-Float Fruit ability. Massive chunks of ice hurtled toward Ye Yu like meteors, their shrieks piercing the air.
Wang Quanshi transformed into a half-dragon, spewing roaring flames that intertwined with the ice, forming a terrifying fusion of fire and frost.
Song Ling chanted Soul Incantations, summoning Thundercloud Zeus. Lightning erupted from all directions, lashing out like furious claws.
Lin Muxue, wreathed in Lightning Flash, vanished and reappeared above Ye Yu in an instant. Her Thunder God's Whip descended with the force of a thousand thunderbolts.
The rest attacked simultaneously—against Ye Yu, coordination was key.
Ye Yu took a deep breath, his Conqueror's Haki surging like a tangible force. Gripping Black Blade Night tightly, he coated the blade in Conqueror's Haki Coating, crimson-black lightning writhing along its edge. Facing the overwhelming assault, he stomped the ice and shot skyward, swinging Black Blade Night downward with all his might. The slash tore through the air with a deafening shriek, carrying the full weight of his power.
Fifty powerful attacks collided head-on with Ye Yu's single slash, and in that instant, it seemed as though the entire world held its breath. The ice surface shattered under the tremendous impact, countless ice pillars shooting skyward before crashing back down.
Across the world, countless people watched this battle of the century through live broadcasts. At the moment of collision, all eyes widened as everyone wondered who would gain the upper hand in this first true clash.
Most believed Ye Yu stood no chance against this terrifying combined assault. Yet just as the crowd assumed he was at a disadvantage, Ye Yu erupted with even greater power, his blade locking in a deadlock against those fifty attacks.
The shockwaves raged, churning the ice into towering waves. This evenly matched spectacle stunned the world and left Yang Luo and the others wide-eyed with disbelief.
With a deafening boom, both sides were forced back.
Ye Yu staggered slightly, retreating noticeably farther than his opponents.
Seeing this, Yang Luo and the others flashed excited glances, realizing their combined strength indeed held the advantage.
"Continue! Just like this—our advantage will only grow!" Jin Mo laughed maniacally as he directed another assault.
The battle raged on, growing ever fiercer. Jin Mo pushed his Float-Float Fruit ability to its limits, filling the sky with manipulated objects that rained down relentlessly on Ye Yu. Lin Muxue unleashed the full power of her Rumble Rumble Fruit, countless lightning bolts pouring down like a storm, melting the surrounding ice into rising steam. Faced with this overwhelming onslaught, though Ye Yu resisted valiantly, he was clearly at a slight disadvantage.
The global audience watched the broadcast nervously, their gazes shifting to other battlefields in hopes that Ye Yu's allies might deliver powerful reinforcements to turn the tide.
First to catch their attention was the battle involving the vice-captain of the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew.
Xiao Ke stood at the center of the battlefield, surrounded by a hundred combat crew members and six executives. His expression was ice-cold as he pulled the trigger repeatedly, each gunshot accompanied by an enemy falling. His marksmanship was peerless—every bullet seemed to have eyes, striking vital points with unerring precision.
Meanwhile, Xia Ling unleashed her Ice Fruit ability, erecting walls of ice wherever she moved to block enemy attacks.
And Sun Long faced multiple opponents without fear. His formidable swordsmanship forced back numerous assaults with each swing of his blade.
Sun Long's expression was cold as the three sharp blades in his hands gleamed ominously. He shifted his stance slightly, leg muscles tensed, exuding an aura of deadly chill.
The battle erupted instantly. An executive struck first, leaping high with his spiked club raised overhead before bringing it down with crushing force, the air whistling from the impact. Sun Long remained calm, sidestepping swiftly to evade the lethal blow while crossing Wado Ichimonji and Shuihu to slash at the executive's arm. The executive reacted just as quickly, pulling his club back to block Sun Long's attack—the metallic clang reverberated deafeningly.
"Three-Sword Style · Crow Demon Hunt!" Sun Long suddenly roared, exerting force with all three blades simultaneously. The flashing sword lights resembled a flock of black crows pouncing toward the Pirate Crew Executive. The Executive's expression shifted slightly as he hastily raised his spiked club horizontally to form a defensive barrier. A series of rapid clashing sounds rang out as the tremendous force sent the Executive stumbling backward, leaving cracks in the ground beneath his feet.
Regaining his footing, a ruthless glint flashed in the Executive's eyes. Muttering an incantation, his spiked club suddenly emitted an eerie glow. His Fruit Ability had activated—the club became as soft as rubber yet possessed powerful elasticity, instantly rebounding toward Sun Long at an astonishing speed. This was an unprecedented Fruit among Pirates—the Elasticity Fruit. It granted weapons elasticity, increasing their speed and power like a rubber ball bouncing off a wall with formidable force, similar to the Spring Fruit.
Seeing this, Sun Long's eyes sharpened. "Two-Sword Style · Eagle Wave!" Crossing his blades, he unleashed a crescent-shaped sword wave that howled through the air, colliding with the rebounding club. The opposing forces canceled each other out, erupting into a powerful shockwave that sent sand and stones flying into the sky.
Meanwhile, on another part of the battlefield, Xiao Ke was locked in an intense battle with a formidable Executive from Bai Shaohan's Pirate Crew. The burly Executive wielded dual axes, roaring as he swung them with earth-shaking momentum.
Xiao Ke remained composed, dodging each attack with precise movements. Suddenly, the Executive charged forward, his axes carving two arcs aimed at Xiao Ke's head and chest. A faint smile touched Xiao Ke's lips as he leaned back, nearly touching the ground, while raising his gun. Two gunshots rang out, accurately striking the Executive's wrists. The pain caused a momentary pause in the axes' momentum.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Ke rolled behind the Executive and pressed his gun against the man's back. Reacting swiftly, the Executive spun around with a sweeping axe strike, forcing Xiao Ke to leap away. Bullets clashed against the axes, sparking brightly.
"You won't defeat me so easily! I'm an Octopus Fruit Ability User!" the Executive bellowed as his arms multiplied like tentacles, each gripping an axe. He launched another assault, his axes whirling into an impenetrable barrier as he advanced.
Xiao Ke focused intently, constantly shifting positions to find an opening. Spotting a gap in the Executive's leg defense, he unleashed a rapid barrage of bullets toward the man's legs. Staggering from the hits, the Executive left himself vulnerable—Xiao Ke dashed forward and smashed the gun's stock into his chin, sending him flying backward.
Meanwhile, Xia Ling radiated an icy aura as her Ice Fruit Ability plunged the surrounding temperature. A powerful female Executive darted toward her like a purple lightning bolt, thrusting a dagger at Xia Ling's heart. Unhurried, Xia Ling waved her hands, erecting an ice wall just in time. The dagger struck the wall with a crisp clang.
"Ice · Thousand Blades!" Xia Ling shouted softly as countless sharp icicles instantly sprouted from the ice wall, shooting toward the woman. The woman hastily retreated, her body flipping nimbly in midair to evade the icy projectiles.
Upon landing, she tapped the ground lightly with her toes and charged at Xia Ling again. This time, her speed was even faster, her twin short swords moving like a pair of agile vipers in her hands. Xia Ling's eyes narrowed as the ice beneath her feet rapidly expanded, sliding toward the woman. He stretched out his hand, and an ice sword materialized in his grip, clashing against the woman's short swords.
The sound of metal clashing rang out continuously as their figures darted across the battlefield.
The Ice Fruit's power was pushed to its limits, covering the entire battlefield in a thick layer of ice as the temperature plummeted. The woman's movements began to slow, her exhaled breath instantly turning into frost.
"Ice Prison · Cold Hell!" Xia Ling roared. The ice around the woman suddenly surged upward, trapping her within a massive frozen cage. She struggled desperately, trying to break free, but the thickness of the prison rendered her efforts futile.
Xia Ling had developed some of his own Ice Fruit techniques—after all, ice offered countless possibilities for combat applications.
However, while he could swiftly defeat one Executive after another, as well as powerful combat crew members, killing them proved difficult due to the sheer number of allies supporting them.
Meanwhile, those outside gradually realized that despite the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew's Vice-Captain and Executives fighting valiantly, their advantage was far from decisive—in fact, they were at a slight disadvantage.
This outcome was far from what they had expected. They had assumed the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew would be at a severe disadvantage on other battlefields, yet the reality was not as dire as they had imagined.
"Facing so many of our forces, you're at a disadvantage—and you still talk about killing six Captain-level fighters? Ridiculous!" Jin Mo mocked loudly.
Song Ling and Lin Muxue also sneered from the sidelines, convinced that Ye Yu's situation would only worsen as the scales of victory tipped further in their favor.
As the battle raged on, Yang Luo and the others grew more confident, launching another coordinated assault with renewed vigor. A torrent of attacks surged toward Ye Yu.
Ye Yu smirked coldly, thinking to himself, Let them cling to this illusion—it'll make them drop their guard.
Just as Yang Luo and the others were about to reach him, Ye Yu suddenly froze. Slowly, he pulled out two photographs from his chest. In an instant, two Phantoms materialized on either side of him—both bearing Ye Yu's likeness.
At the sight of these Phantoms, Yang Luo and the others paled. They were well aware of the Phantom Fruit user's terrifying abilities, but now that Ye Yu could summon two Phantoms, the battle had taken an unpredictable turn.
The moment the Phantoms appeared, Yang Luo and his allies had no time to dodge. Even if they tried, Ye Yu's overwhelming Observation Kill disrupted their senses, making it impossible to lock onto their targets or mount an effective defense. They had no choice but to brace themselves and counterattack.
"Everyone, go all out!" they shouted. "Fifty full-powered attacks might not lose to the Phantoms' strikes! Besides, Phantoms can only attack once—they're nothing to fear!"
Yet what they never expected was what happened next.
"Sun Long!" Ye Yu called out. "Lend me Enma!"
Without hesitation, Sun Long tossed the Enma blade to Ye Yu. Catching it in his right hand, Ye Yu gripped Black Blade Night in his left—and the two Phantoms mirrored his stance, each wielding Black Blade Night and Enma as well.
Jin Mo and the others paled at the sight, realizing that Ye Yu had been gripping an extra Enma when taking the photo. What terrifying move was he about to unleash?
With a cold sneer, a glint of icy determination flashed in Ye Yu's eyes as he declared with murderous intent, "Now begins the slaughter of Captain-level foes!"
Raising the Black Blade Night in his left hand high behind him, Ye Yu roared, "Dominion Country!"
Simultaneously, his right hand swung Enma, fully coated in Conqueror's Haki, unleashing a devastating slash: "Divine Departure!"
The two Phantoms by his side mirrored his movements perfectly.
The world seemed to freeze at that moment. Every spectator widened their eyes, glued to their screens, unwilling to miss this breathtaking spectacle. Three Divine Departures combined with three Dominion Countries—an unprecedented, overwhelming assault. The sheer power distorted the surrounding space itself.
Yang Luo and the others' expressions twisted in alarm. Though they tried to reassure themselves, the overwhelming force bearing down on them sparked genuine panic for the first time.
The onlookers were stunned. Could Ye Yu truly achieve such a feat? Was his claim of slaying Captain-level opponents not mere bravado, but a genuine opportunity seized?
Yang Luo growled, "Give it your all! There's no way he can kill us—at worst, some of us might get injured."
The others steadied themselves, taking solace in their united front of top-tier Chosen Ones.
(End of Chapter)