A dazzling pillar of lightning condensed, almost forming a 90-degree angle with the ground below, striking straight down.
The terrifying power made it clear that this lightning was extraordinary, its might far surpassing anything seen before.
Members of the Charlotte Family, who had already left the battlefield hundreds of meters away, suddenly experienced static electricity on some of them, and were even ignited on the spot by the high voltage.
Similar situations also occurred among some Marine soldiers on the other side.
Although the two groups had moved far from the battlefield, it seemed they hadn't moved far enough.
Even the residual power of the lightning was something ordinary people couldn't withstand.
In the center of the battlefield, where the main power of the thunder was unleashed, the lightning almost solidified.
Zzzzzzzzt!!!
Fiery, bright white lightning poured down like a sea, with countless tiny lightning arcs moving at high speed within it.
The Conqueror's Haki surrounding Kenji had already materialized, and his dense Haki blocked all lightning arcs and electric light from a distance.
The most powerful lightning strike also hit his left hand.
Only this time, his Conqueror's Haki Emission was released, forming a dark red light screen above his head.
The shocking thunder, which could pierce through an island with one strike, was now completely blocked by the dark red Conqueror's Haki light screen.
In fact, this move, containing terrifying power, didn't even truly touch the light screen. It suddenly dissipated at a distance, as if it had hit an invisible absolute wall.
The thick pillar of lightning exploded, scattering into dense, fragmented light, breaking into countless large and small droplets of shimmering light.
However, the power of the scattered lightning was still astonishing. The thick lightning broke into flashes as thick as arms, striking the ground around the center of the battlefield, leaving several scorched, deep pits in the earth.
These scattered electric arcs and lightning could not break through the Steel Balloon defense, causing no harm to the two people in the center of the battlefield. The move could be endured by Charlotte, but under the explosive lightning, even Charlotte was inevitably affected.
Kenji possessed Steel Balloon, and Charlotte had an even rarer, similar trait. Those extremely powerful, wide-range attacks posed little threat to either of them.
The abilities came from the same source, they couldn't break through each other's defense.
"That thundercloud is too much of an eyesore."
Kenji glanced at Zeus in the sky out of the corner of his eye, then clenched his left fist, pretending to strike at Zeus's location.
At the same time, his right fist, wreathed in dark red light and Haki, delivered a heavy blow from a distance, forcing the flame blade held in Charlotte's hands opposite him back to her chest.
But having done this, Kenji also felt his strength nearing its limit, even though he had already used Sea Beast Power.
Charlotte's monstrous strength was actually able to contend with him for a short period.
"Has this 'Born Destroyer' become fully serious?"
Kenji looked at Charlotte's grim, wide eyes in front of him, knowing that she had probably entered her so-called extreme rage state.
Actually, an enemy's rage isn't always a bad thing. Those without strength will only display impotent fury, especially when their consciousness is unclear in a rage state, making them easier to defeat.
However, Charlotte was very different. Even if her consciousness was unclear, or even completely lost, her Steel Balloon innate physique could potentially bring even greater destructive power.
Every top-tier expert must possess both talent and effort, yet Charlotte only relied on talent.
After all, her talent was simply too formidable.
"Why does it feel like fighting a Charlotte whose consciousness isn't quite clear is even more exhausting?!"
Kenji frowned, watching his right fist, which had been pressing against Charlotte's chest, slowly being pushed back by a terrifying monstrous strength that could actually rival his Sea Beast Power.
"How troublesome!"
Kenji's power condensed around him, and his heavy fist, carrying Conqueror's Haki, struck again, simultaneously using the power of Conqueror's Haki Emission.
The next moment, waves of dark red light surged like a tide, making a turn, and then violently striking Charlotte's side and back.
"Grrr!"
Even in her semi-conscious state with wide eyes, Charlotte was still shaken by the attack, letting out a painful roar and spitting out blood.
And then, that was it.
Although she appeared to be spitting up large mouthfuls of blood, after spitting it out, she continued to chop away, and the monstrous strength in her hands not only didn't weaken but seemed to grow even stronger.
It was as if being injured made her even more powerful, showing no loss of combat power or impact whatsoever.
"High offense and high defense..."
Kenji retracted his fist and took a step back, avoiding Charlotte's counter-slash, but his brows furrowed even tighter.
At this point, he fully understood that her attack power might not be as high as Roger's or Whitebeard's, but her defensive power far exceeded theirs.
In comparison, Roger was a fragile glass cannon with high offense and low defense. A single touch from a similar-level expert's attack would leave him nearly dead.
Whitebeard was a bit better than Roger, able to withstand a few more waves of damage.
But even combined, their durability was far inferior to Charlotte's.
Such an 'all-in-one' Born Destroyer indeed needed a 'plot kill' to take her out of commission.
However, Kenji was not without options at this moment.
His Conqueror's Haki Emission could break through Charlotte's Steel Balloon defense.
Since each instance of true damage wasn't fatal, he would just strike her multiple times. If he kept at it, he would eventually hammer her to death.
'You wouldn't still be alive when I run out of strength, would you?'
Kenji shook his fist, not believing Charlotte could be that tough.
'Alright, let's see how many punches it takes to hammer down your Steel Balloon of this intensity!'
Having made up his mind, Kenji's eyes flashed, and he leaped up, deftly dodging the flame blade Charlotte slashed at him.
At the same time, he also avoided another thunderbolt rapidly striking down from the sky above.
Boom!!
A massive pillar of lightning struck straight down, hitting the ground hard, and endless lightning arcs exploded.
For a moment, the observers outside the battlefield had their vision completely engulfed by a sea of fiery, bright white light.
Immediately following, the ground shook violently, emitting a rumbling sound.
And in the center of the battlefield, the lightning weakened, leaving a scorched, through-and-through pit.
The power of the thunderbolt actually drilled through Elbaph Island, leaving a not-so-large, transparent pit.
At the same time, Charlotte, who was below Kenji's heavy fist, suddenly threw her head back and let out an unconscious shout.
"Meat!!"
Charlotte's eyes rolled back, and she no longer showed any sign of active consciousness.
Even when faced with Kenji's incoming fist, she didn't dodge or evade.