The Emperors of the Sea did not become Yonko because they inherited some ancient crown. They certainly possessed enormous influence and vast territories, but there was only one fundamental reason all that power and authority gathered around them: strength.
Even if their pirate crews were completely wiped out, as long as the Emperor remained alive, they were still a Yonko. They were monsters among monsters, undefeated conquerors of the sea.
Anyone capable of merely fighting them could be called a top-tier powerhouse. As for defeating them, or even suppressing them, that was something that simply didn't exist within common sense.
But now, on the battlefield of Totto Land, common sense was being shattered.
"No way..."
Night had already fallen. On Liquor Island in Totto Land, a middle-aged civilian woman hiding inside a building after a hurried evacuation stared at the live broadcast in the sky and instinctively covered her mouth.
"They can actually... do something like this?" Shock filled her eyes.
"Mom." Beside her, a gray-haired little girl looked curiously at the screen overhead. "Queen Big Mom is getting beaten up. Didn't you say nobody dared oppose her?"
"I... I..." The woman found herself at a loss for words.
But her daughter suddenly had another thought. "Mom, if Queen Big Mom gets defeated... does that mean we won't have to pay her part of our lifespan every year anymore?"
"That's..." The woman became even more speechless. Big Mom losing? She had never even considered such a possibility.
But at that moment...
BOOM!
A Guard Homie wielding a giant axe suddenly crashed down from the sky, smashing apart the shelter where the mother and daughter were hiding.
"What did you just say...?" The Homie struggled to its feet. Its body was battered and damaged, but its expression remained vicious. "You want to... defy Mother?"
"I'll execute you!" It raised its giant axe and swung it directly at them.
The mother hurriedly wrapped her arms around her daughter and shut her eyes instinctively. But...
SKREE!
The sound of beating wings echoed out, yet no pain came.
The woman slowly opened her eyes and saw a griffin standing before her. The creature's massive talons pinned the Guard Homie to the ground before crushing its iron body apart.
Buzz!
A soul floated out from the destroyed Homie. The griffin swallowed it in a single bite. At the same time, the woman noticed a faint chill surrounding the griffin's body.
The sight made her instinctively hug her daughter even tighter, but the griffin merely glanced at them.
"Go to the winery in the east. The fighting there is already over. Most of the civilians from the islands have gathered there," the words came from its eagle-like beak. Then, it spread its wings and soared toward the Mirror of Dreams near the center of the island.
The woman watched as it flew beside the mirror, tossed the soul it had captured into it, and then immediately turned toward another Homie in the distance. Only then did she finally come back to her senses. Her eyes drifted once more toward the live broadcast overhead.
As she watched the battle unfolding beyond anything she had ever imagined, she couldn't help recalling her daughter's question.
"If Big Mom loses..." There was worry in her voice, but there was also hope.
And just as the mother and daughter had said, the battle taking place on Cake Island had already surpassed anything the sea considered normal. The Emperor of the Sea and the Twelve Zodiac were locked in a life-and-death struggle, yet the one thing nobody could have imagined was the current state of the battle.
"Cognac - Emperor Sword: Thunder Slash!"
Big Mom swung her giant blade. Violent lightning wrapped around overwhelming force as the attack came crashing down.
"Winged Divine Dragon - Ancient Claw!"
But standing directly in its path, Youji didn't dodge. His fist clenched tightly as the scale armor covering his body shone with endless golden light. A golden dragon claw formed around his hand and slammed directly into Big Mom's blade.
BOOOOM!
The collision's destructive force exploded outward in a flash of light and thunder, illuminating Cake Island's darkening sky. The resulting shockwave generated winds powerful enough to flatten buildings, though there were hardly any buildings left on the island to destroy.
"You've got some skill, brat!" Big Mom gritted her teeth as she forced her sword downward with all her strength. The grinding of her teeth was clearly audible.
"You're not bad yourself, old hag!" Youji laughed loudly. Golden claws pushed upward against the blade as the muscles across his body bulged to their limits. His scales and flesh continuously cracked apart under the pressure, only to regenerate moments later.
It was obvious. Among the Twelve Zodiac, Youji possessed the greatest physical strength and vitality. In a pure close-quarters battle, he was fully capable of matching Big Mom head-on.
As the clash continued, Youji suddenly opened his mouth.
BZZZZT!
A powerful laser began gathering inside, radiating terrifying energy.
"Don't even think about it!" Seeing this, Big Mom immediately roared. "Kronos, Thunderquake Barrier!"
"Yes, Mother~!"
The moment she gave the command, lightning surged out from the nun's habit formed by Kronos. Purple lightning powerful enough to blast a massive hole through Onigashima began rapidly gathering.
But Big Mom was still unsatisfied. "Heavenly Feuer!"
The next instant, flames erupted alongside the lightning. Countless fragments of thunder and fire exploded outward, turning the area around them into a scorched abyss as they rushed toward Youji.
Yet Youji didn't move. He didn't turn into light, and he didn't dodge. He remained locked in his struggle against Big Mom's sword while continuing to charge the laser in his mouth. Because...
"Void Slash: Thousand-Door Gate," a calm voice rang out.
Suddenly, countless doors opened in the air around Youji. And then...
BOOM!
The massive storm of lightning and flames vanished into those countless gateways.
"Zishu!" Big Mom roared angrily. Naturally, she knew whose ability this was.
But moments later, her shout stopped. Because...
BOOM!
Youji's fully charged attack had already fired.
"Super Light Cannon - Winged Divine Dragon Cannon!"
The laser transformed into a golden winged dragon, part bird and part dragon, and shot straight toward Big Mom.
Without hesitation, Big Mom raised her hand and abandoned her deadlock with Youji. Instantly, Youji's enormous claw sent her flying backward. The attack tore straight through Kronos's nun's habit form, causing the Homie to scream, but Big Mom no longer cared. She immediately pointed her sword at the incoming attack.
"Resonant Light Cannon!"
BOOM!
A massive beam erupted from the tip of her sword, racing toward the Winged Divine Dragon Cannon. But...
BZZZT!
Just before the two attacks collided, two doors opened once again. One swallowed Big Mom's Resonant Light Cannon, while the other absorbed the Winged Divine Dragon Cannon. Then, moments later, the exit appeared directly in front of Big Mom.
Big Mom's pupils contracted. "Homie Creation - Mud Shield Homies!"
Even then, her combat instincts remained flawless. Soul power scattered outward as the soil and stone beneath her instantly rose into towering walls.
"Let me protect Mother!"
"I'll stop it!"
The newly created Homies shouted as they piled themselves in front of her. But...
"Void Slash: Soul Cut!"
In an instant, arms grew from nowhere and sliced them apart. The chilling aura wrapped around those arms prevented the Homies from rebuilding themselves. And so...
BOOM!
The Winged Divine Dragon Cannon struck Big Mom squarely in the face.
PFFT!
Even her absurdly durable body was blasted away once again. As she flew backward, she heard thunder rumbling from the heavens above.
But that still wasn't the end. Because...
WHOOSH!
"Light Strike Array - Three Thousand!"
"Void Slash - Three Hundred Sixty Sharp Winds!"
While still airborne, Big Mom saw countless points of light and slashes appearing around her. She immediately fought back.
"Conqueror's Haki Infusion - Kronos - Stolen Fire!"
As she growled the command, Kronos transformed into streams of flaming meteors and shot toward the countless lasers and slashes.
"You won't hurt Mother!" Kronos roared, biting directly toward one of the lasers.
But the next second...
"Huh?!"
It bit nothing. Or more accurately, every laser and slash around them vanished instantly.
[Mirage Tower Illusion: Feint]
And then, Big Mom's eyes widened. As the illusions dispersed, she saw three figures appear directly above her.
"Claw of Light - Giant Beast Slash!"
"Void Slash Secret Art - Body Severance!"
"Shadow Blade - Great Shadow Cut!"
The next instant, all three attacks landed solidly. And then...
"UGHHH!" Even Big Mom cried out in pain.
Her enormous body plummeted toward the ground like a cannonball. Deep wounds split across her body, several teeth were blasted out, and blood poured through the air.
That sight caused all of Totto Land to fall silent.
Across the various islands, whether it was Katakuri and the Charlotte Family officers still fighting, the civilians hiding from the battle, or the guests stranded outside Totto Land by Shinryu's blockade watching through intercepted Den Den Mushi broadcasts, everyone could clearly see what was happening.
The situation was unmistakable: Yonko Big Mom was being completely overwhelmed, overpowered in direct combat by those three highest-ranking officers of the Twelve Zodiac.
"These three are ridiculously strong, aren't they?!" On Chocolate Island, Perospero barely managed to drive back the Leviathan Eel in front of him. His tongue was practically tying itself into knots.
"They are strong... Unbelievably strong." Beside him, Katakuri exchanged blows with two Phantom Beast Lords using his giant mochi fists, his expression grave. "But that's not the most important part. The truly terrifying thing is their teamwork."
Though they were enemies, there was unmistakable admiration in Katakuri's voice. It was the admiration of a strong man for those even stronger.
"Teamwork?" Perospero was no weakling in battle, but he was clearly nowhere near Katakuri's level.
"Yes. Teamwork," Katakuri spoke heavily. "Each of them is terrifyingly powerful on their own, but their coordination is flawless in the truest sense of the word. They don't need to talk. They don't even need eye contact. Their understanding is absolute. They must have trained together countless times to achieve a level of coordination that makes them seem like a single person."
Katakuri knew exactly what that meant. Powerhouses of this level inevitably had their own pride and their own fighting styles. For people like that to cooperate so perfectly was already difficult enough. To spend enough time training together to reach this level? That was even harder.
Take Katakuri himself, for example. Of course he was willing to fight alongside his brothers and sisters, but he would never spend huge amounts of time studying how his abilities could create special combinations with Smoothie's. If he had that time, he'd rather spend it improving his own Haki and strength.
Yet these three members of the Twelve Zodiac not only possessed the ability to face a Yonko head-on and hold their ground, but their teamwork had reached this unbelievable level as well. That alone was enough to demonstrate just how unfathomable the Twelve Zodiac truly were.
And more importantly, for warriors of this caliber to willingly train and cooperate like this meant one thing: there had to be a common leader. Someone capable of earning the respect and obedience of every one of them.
"Star Lord..." Katakuri quietly murmured the codename.
"Forget that, Katakuri. What do we do now?" Perospero asked anxiously.
"Nothing," Katakuri's answer was immediate. "A battle on this level isn't something I can change even if I join in." He had never been afraid to admit his own limitations. So his eyes returned to the live broadcast. "However... They're obviously not as strong as they were during the initial assassination attempt. Even though they're suppressing Mother, their stamina is being consumed."
His Observation Haki could clearly sense it. "If they want to defeat Mother this way... It won't be enough."
And just as those words left his mouth, back on Cake Island...
"Mamamama... That hurts... It really hurts..." A strained laugh echoed out.
Within the enormous cloud of dust, Big Mom's massive body slowly rose to its feet once more. At this point, her body was covered in gruesome wounds. Blood dripped continuously, and torn flesh hung open, exposing glimpses of bone beneath.
Clearly, even a monster like Big Mom could not endure attacks of this intensity forever. Or rather, the fact that she had endured this long was itself proof of how terrifying she was.
"When was the last time this body felt pain like this?" Gritting her teeth, she looked toward the three figures descending before her. "You're incredible. Truly strong. Even among all the monsters roaming the seas these past years, you're among the very strongest."
There was no hesitation in her praise. "I don't know how you're able to harm Kronos. I don't know what that strange aura is, either..."
She glanced at Kronos. The strongest Homie created from the fusion of three powerful Homies was visibly weakening, all because of the strange chilling aura attached to the attacks of the three before her.
"And I don't know how you severed my connection to the Homies that died, preventing me from reclaiming their souls."
She once again sensed the Homies scattered throughout Totto Land. Their numbers continued to shrink.
And she was right. Normally, whenever a Homie died, Big Mom could still control its soul and reclaim it whenever she wished. Just as she had done earlier, she could use those souls to restore her own injuries.
But during the battle, she had repeatedly attempted to call back the souls of fallen Homies, and nothing responded, no matter how many times she tried. Which meant the enemy had somehow cut off her connection to those souls as well.
"You've pushed me into a corner." Even as she said those words, there wasn't a trace of fear in her voice. Quite the opposite.
BUZZZZT!
An unprecedentedly terrifying aura began to pour from her body. Her expression grew darker, more dangerous, and far more monstrous.
"You've just made the biggest mistake of your lives."
(End of Chapter)
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