A torrent of swamp erupted madly from Wilder's body. Big Mom watched him, her expression unchanging, completely unfazed.
A moment later, Wilder raised a single hand high, holding a giant sphere of swamp that blotted out the sun, a truly shocking sight.
Big Mom's blood-red eyes narrowed slightly. After a pause, she let out a sneer. "Mamamama, a little interesting."
With that, Big Mom raised her hand. Fire and lightning gathered in her palm, a divine and extraordinary sight, as if she were wielding the elements themselves.
BOOM!
The lightning and fire collided with the giant swamp sphere.
The very earth trembled. In that moment, everyone's gaze was drawn to the spectacle, their faces filled with utter shock.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning flashed through the center of the swamp sphere. A moment later, a massive explosion thundered as the sphere split in two. The two halves, wreathed in flames, fell from the sky.
"Aaargh!"
The fiery swamp debris rained down, striking the people below. Screams erupted as those who were hit were set ablaze. Due to the swamp's adhesive nature, the flames clung to them like maggots to a corpse, impossible to shake off. It wasn't just the fire; the corrosive nature of the swamp also inflicted immense damage.
The scene descended into chaos. Figures engulfed in flames ran screaming before falling to the ground and rolling in agony. The smell of burning flesh filled the air as their struggles grew weaker and weaker.
Big Mom watched this with cold eyes, a cruel smile on her face, completely unmoved. Her gaze remained fixed on Wilder.
In this exchange, it seemed Big Mom had the upper hand.
Wilder, likewise, didn't spare a glance for the horrific scene around them. The two of them stood at the epicenter of the explosion they had created, dozens of meters apart, staring each other down.
It was then that the other battles erupted.
As the only remaining top combatant under Big Mom's command, Katakuri was intercepted by Luffy the moment he left. The two of them exchanged a look, and without a single word, they began to fight.
Katakuri had been in a sorry state against Wilder, but that didn't mean he was weak. From the very beginning, the fight was completely one-sided. Katakuri beat Luffy back again and again, sending him flying and crashing to the ground, a truly miserable sight.
Elsewhere, Oven was fighting Vice.
Daifuku was fighting Crocodile.
Moria began to reap the battlefield, using the dead bodies to create an army of zombies. It was clear that his strength had grown considerably in the past two years; his use of shadows and control over corpses had become much more fluid and efficient.
Claire took on two other ministers at once, holding her own.
Ivankov also found his own opponent.
Soon, all of the Big Mom Pirates' main combatants were engaged.
On Morass's side, however, there were still several high-ranking officers left. Like Moria, they became a key factor in turning the tide of the battle, reaping lives across the battlefield.
The main force of the battle was still being fought by the officer-level combatants. The two sides were evenly matched, the fighting incredibly fierce.
Big Mom watched all of this, a blazing fury erupting from her as she stared at Wilder with pure killing intent. "All I have to do is take care of you, Wilder."
"Ah... I was thinking the same thing," Wilder said, taking a final drag from his cigarette. He flicked the butt away and looked up at Big Mom, his eyes cold.
Gurgle!
Crack!
At the same time, both of them moved. The mere sound of their movements was terrifying.
Wilder pulled the Germ Spear from the ground and charged at Big Mom, thrusting it at her.
Big Mom stood her ground, a sinister, strange smile on her face as she reached for Wilder's shoulder with her large, fat arm.
CLANG! The sharp tip of the spear struck Big Mom's abdomen, but it made a sound like metal striking metal. The spearhead sank in slightly, then was repelled, sending a few sparks flying.
Wilder's expression didn't change. His body moved with incredible agility, and he dodged Big Mom's hand, which grabbed nothing but air.
"Tch! What an agile rat," Big Mom said with dissatisfaction. But her hand didn't stop. She used the momentum to turn and slap heavily behind her.
"I'd prefer to be called a snake," Wilder said, a hint of exasperation in his eyes. As expected, it's not that simple. He pushed off the ground and quickly retreated.
BANG!
Just then, Big Mom's hand slammed into the ground, causing it to collapse. Large chunks of rock were sent flying up from below as if struck by some powerful force.
"Getting hit by that would be no joke," Wilder said. But there was no hint of panic on his face. Instead, a cold smile spread across his lips.
He raised his hand, and the spear he was holding vanished with a swish.
Big Mom saw the spear suddenly appear in front of her, but her expression was unfazed. She simply reached out and slapped it.
Slap...! Crack! BANG!
Before the spear could even hit her, it was as if it had entered some high-pressure environment. With a single slap from her, it shattered into dozens of similarly sized pieces.
"With such a flimsy attack, did you not eat your breakfast, Wilder?" Big Mom looked up at Wilder, a scornful smile on her face, but the killing intent in her eyes didn't diminish in the slightest.
"You just said you wanted a proper fight. If this is it, then it's not good enough. I suggest you go back to your mother's milk, little boy," Big Mom said. Although her words were taunting, her voice was icy cold.
With that, she reached up and grabbed at the air.
BOOM! CRACK! RUMBLE!
The next moment, a bolt of lightning was in her hand. She swung her arm, and the lightning shot towards Wilder.
With a mere gesture, she could unleash such a divine and powerful attack. This was Big Mom. All of her movements seemed effortless. She could kill an opponent without even breaking a sweat.
But the Wilder of today was not like her previous opponents.
Seeing the lightning coming at him, Wilder did something that made everyone's jaws drop.
He leaped high into the air, and before the lightning could strike, he was in front of it. Then, he swung his leg in an upward arc.
FWOOSH!
His leg, thick with Armament Haki, collided heavily with the descending lightning.
And then, everyone saw Wilder's kick shatter the lightning...
Shatter...
ter...
...
Everyone who saw this fell silent, staring blankly at the sky, their minds completely blank.
What kind of move was that?
Is he even human?
Is that something a human can do?
He kicked lightning apart...
This... this is unheard of! It's not a question of whether it's possible, it's just... so rare.
Wilder had no idea that his kick had just sent everyone who witnessed it into a state of self-doubt and confusion.
He had already landed. The moment his feet touched the ground, he shot a scornful smile back at Big Mom. "That didn't look like much either."
Wilder's heart was racing with excitement. He had actually acted on instinct just now, and he had never expected it to actually work.
Now, he had a preliminary understanding of his own strength and that of the Four Emperors.
These two power-ups had strengthened his body more thoroughly than he had imagined. It was a complete transformation, a rebirth. Even Wilder himself was a little skeptical that this was his own body.
He felt as if he had the confidence to face anything. No matter how incredible or difficult a move was, he could do it with ease. This was the most obvious effect. But what drove this effect was a huge change within his body.
His strength, speed, constitution, stamina, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki were the basics. But his reflexes, nerves, agility, balance, sense of force, and his ability to react—all of these aspects had been enhanced to the point where he could quickly and thoroughly grasp the situation of a battle. It was as if he had suddenly gained a vast amount of combat experience.
Although his strength wasn't like that, the combat experience itself was something that Wilder and his predecessor had accumulated. And now, it was as if the treasure chest of that accumulation had been completely opened. His body was the key, allowing him to perfectly utilize that experience.
More importantly, with his body as a foundation, his control, application, and release of his swamp, as well as its range, power, and destructiveness, had all been raised to an unprecedented level.
It was all of this that gave Wilder the confidence to test his skills against one of the Four Emperors.
Before this, Wilder had prepared a series of plans and preparations to deal with Big Mom. The failed attack from before was part of it, but it wasn't the only one. However, even now, with his strength greatly increased by these two power-ups, Wilder had no intention of abandoning those plans.
It was always better to be prepared.
"Mamamamama!" Big Mom also gave Wilder a surprised look, then began to laugh sinisterly. She raised her hand again. "Thundercloud Zeus!"
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, momentarily illuminating the entire heavens.
A dark cloud floated down from the sky and came to rest beside Big Mom.
Wilder's eyes narrowed slightly. He stood his ground, watching the dark cloud.
He was very familiar with this, one of Big Mom's main methods of attack. Thundercloud Zeus was a living being created by Big Mom using her ability to infuse a thundercloud with a soul. It possessed human-level intelligence and thought, and it could release powerful lightning to attack enemies or coordinate with Big Mom. It was one of her most commonly used and powerful weapons. Most importantly, it couldn't be dispersed. Even if it was, Big Mom could re-form it at any time.
Of course, from what was shown in the original story, Thundercloud Zeus didn't seem that powerful. In fact, its attacks could be said to be rather unremarkable.
However, Wilder didn't dare to be careless. Having fought Big Mom once before, he knew very well that Thundercloud Zeus was not as simple as it was portrayed in the original story. In fact, the original story had only shown its characteristics and attack methods on a superficial level. In a real battle, Wilder knew very well that Zeus was not only agile and able to re-form after being dispersed, but its attacks, the lightning it released, were also terrifyingly powerful. Both its power and its range were comparable to the top-tier attacks in the world.
Therefore, the moment he saw Thundercloud Zeus appear, Wilder knew that Big Mom was starting to get serious.
Sure enough, the next moment, a terrifying bolt of lightning shot out from the thundercloud, reaching Wilder in the blink of an eye.
Seeing the lightning coming at him, Wilder's expression was calm. He raised his hand and threw a punch.
Yes, he chose to meet it head-on.
Having fought Thundercloud Zeus once before, Wilder knew that if he chose to dodge its attacks, he would be put on the defensive. At that point, with Big Mom's rich combat experience, she would definitely not let such an opportunity slip by. The initiative would fall into her hands, and it would not be easy to take it back. At the very least, it would take a great deal of effort.
BOOM!
As Wilder threw his punch, a roar erupted from the air. A large amount of swamp poured from his fist, instantly coalescing into a giant, hardened fist coated in Armament Haki.
"Harden!" Wilder shouted. The giant swamp fist made a series of cracking sounds, and then, visibly, it shrank by a circle, instantly completing the hardening process.
The lightning and the swamp fist collided heavily. In an instant, the lightning coursed over the fist. And the lightning, under the heavy blow of the swamp fist, was instantly thrown into disarray, scattering in all directions.
BOOM! CRACK!
With a deafening roar, the swamp fist and the lightning exploded simultaneously, turning to ash and disappearing into thin air.
The onlookers in the distance were stunned.
"He actually dispersed Thundercloud Zeus's attack."
"Has Wilder already grown to this extent?"
"Is that kind of power really something a swamp can do?"
The members of Big Mom's crew all stared at Wilder in shock.
"As expected of the boss," Vice said with a grin, dodging a punch from Oven and glancing over.
"Heh... don't get too carried away. That was just an appetizer. You don't really think you can beat Mom, do you? Don't be ridiculous. Even Thundercloud Zeus alone is enough to keep Wilder busy for a whole day," Oven said with a cold smile.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, a giant stream of swamp shot up into the sky in the distance, directly enveloping Thundercloud Zeus. In the blink of an eye, Thundercloud Zeus dispersed, arcs of lightning flashing in the air for a few moments before disappearing completely.
Oven's smile froze on his face, his pupils still reflecting the image of Thundercloud Zeus being dispersed.
"WHAT!!!"
Everyone gasped in unison, their faces a picture of disbelief.
"How... how is that possible?!" Oven stared blankly, his voice barely a whisper.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Vice let out a timely laugh, clutching his stomach, tears streaming from his eyes as he slapped the floor.
Oven's face turned as black as charcoal. Vice's laughter was now incredibly grating to his ears.