Splash!
A massive stream of water tore through the sky right over Mont-d'Or and the others, hurtling toward Zhurong like a piercing javelin.
"Who's there?! Huff—"
Zhurong wheeled around, brandishing his blade as the flames enveloping his body flared up violently. Opening his mouth, he unleashed a searing torrent of fire that coalesced into a massive fireball several meters wide.
BOOM!
In an instant, the multi-meter stream of water clashed head-on with the colossal fireball. The intense, blistering heat instantly began evaporating the fresh water, even as the fireball rapidly shrank in turn. A harsh, sizzling hiss echoed through the air, rapidly blanketed by a heavy shroud of white steam.
Within a few breaths, both the piercing water torrent and the giant fireball vanished into thin air, leaving behind a thick fog that spanned dozens of meters, swallowing both Jinbe and Zhurong within its depths.
"Damn it, he blocked it!"
"There wasn't enough water! It all evaporated from the heat!"
Mont-d'Or and his companions watched the display, throwing their hands up in bitter disappointment.
Moments later, the dense blanket of steam finally dissipated, revealing Jinbe and Zhurong to the onlookers.
"You're... Knight of the Sea, Jinbe!"
Zhurong eyed Jinbe up and down, recognizing the newcomer's identity.
"Stand down!"
Jinbe glared at Zhurong with a solemn expression, his voice deep and resonant. "The outcome of this battle ultimately rests on the clash between those two. There are far too many innocent civilians caught in the crossfire here!"
"And why should I care?"
Zhurong tilted his head, a thoroughly sinister smirk playing on his lips as he sneered at Jinbe. "My only desire is to watch everything burn. I'm going to reduce this entire island to absolute ash!"
Hearing this, Jinbe's expression hardened. He dropped into a firm Fish-Man Karate stance and warned, "As a member of the Big Mom Pirates, I cannot allow you to do that!"
"Hahahahaha—then just try and stop me!" Zhurong bared his teeth in a wild laugh. With a violent slash of his sword, a massive wave of fire surged forth, transforming into a rapidly spreading sea of flames.
…
Seducing Woods.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Aeridar and Big Mom were locked in a ferocious clash. Since both possessed the ability to fly, their battlefield had quickly shifted from the outskirts of the town straight into the depths of the Seducing Woods.
The catastrophic shockwaves from their devastating attacks tore the Seducing Woods apart. Countless tree Homies and flower Homies were ripped to shreds in a display of pure apocalyptic horror.
For the residents of the Seducing Woods, it truly was the end of days. Big Mom had handed down an absolute order: none of them were permitted to leave the forest.
"Ahhh! Run for your lives!"
"Mama is fighting here!"
"Mama! Mama! Have mercy!"
Countless Homies trembled violently, shrieking in panic as they scattered in all directions. Yet, not a single one dared to step a foot outside the forest boundaries. They could only watch in terror as entire swaths of their kind were blasted into splinters by the residual shockwaves of the two monsters.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Zeus hovered high in the sky, raining down bolt after bolt of lightning that shattered the earth, sending rocks flying and leaving the ground charred and blackened.
"What a nuisance!"
Aeridar cursed under his breath. Abandoning his immediate assault on Big Mom, he utilized consecutive flashes of Soru to blink through the air, dodging Zeus's relentless lightning strikes.
Rumble, rumble—
Simultaneously, the earth below began to churn violently. Countless tons of soil and rock fused together, shaping into a colossal earthen serpent hundreds of meters long, resembling the legendary Master of the Sky from Skypiea. Opening its massive jaws, the serpent lunged toward the heavens, threatening to swallow Zeus whole.
Ba Serpent!!! [1]
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Zeus hastily soared higher, unleashing a massive tempest of electricity. Like a raging thunderstorm, the bolts battered the earthen serpent's body relentlessly. Within moments, the colossal snake was riddled with craters, and massive chunks of rock and earth came raining down from the sky.
"I'll slaughter you! You brat!!"
Meanwhile, Charlotte Linlin roared in a towering rage as she hot on his heels. Swinging her giant sword, Napoleon, her Observation Haki hyper-focused on tracking Aeridar's movements, she unleashed a relentless barrage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The earth and forest were utterly pulverized under Charlotte Linlin's devastating rampage. Every time Aeridar halted, his fists, clad in jet-black, metallic Armament Haki, clashed violently against the descending giant blade. Deafening metallic screeches rang out continuously, unleashing fierce shockwaves that erupted outward in visible rings.
After several exchanges, Charlotte Linlin caught a split-second opening in Aeridar's evasive maneuvers. With a sweeping strike capable of cleaving an army, she swung her giant sword horizontally toward his waist, the blade tearing through the atmosphere with a deafening whistle.
With no time to dodge, Aeridar crossed his arms before him, bracing to take the blow head-on.
BOOOM!!
A thunderous boom shook the air, sending a violent shockwave blasting outward.
"What insane strength!"
Aeridar was shaken. A violent tremor raced through his arms, his bones groaning under the pressure as the impact sent him rocketing backward dozens of meters.
"I'm not done with you yet!"
Charlotte Linlin bellowed, charging forward once more. Zeus's crackling lightning cloaked Napoleon as she thrust the giant blade straight toward Aeridar's chest.
In the face of imminent peril, Aeridar acted on pure instinct, throwing a punch into empty space. A stark white halo erupted from his fist, unleashing a massive, circular shockwave that engulfed Charlotte Linlin, obliterating everything in its path like a tidal wave.
Impact Wave!
Rumble, rumble—
The earth shuddered violently as a column of air and dust shot into the sky. A massive swath of the forest was utterly erased, leaving behind a barren wasteland. Yet a thousand meters away, Charlotte Linlin stood with her arms crossed, completely unscathed.
"If that's all the power you've got... you're a hundred years too early!"
Charlotte Linlin lowered her arms slowly, her eyes flashing with sheer malice as she glared at Aeridar.
"Tch! What a monster!" Aeridar spat, his face turning grim.
Suddenly, Charlotte Linlin's aura surged drastically. Grasping Napoleon with both hands, she unleashed her devastating signature technique: Ikoku Sovereignty!
A colossal, pink flying slash erupted from her blade, instantly gouging a massive trench into the earth.
Pop!
With a faint distortion in the air, Aeridar vanished on the spot.
BOOOM!!!
The next instant, the massive pink energy wave tore through the space where Aeridar had just been standing, vaporizing countless flower and tree Homies. It ripped completely through the Seducing Woods, rocketing out across the open sea.
Simultaneously, Aeridar materialized tightly on Charlotte Linlin's right flank. Without a second thought, he drove a punch straight toward her.
Crack!
Rumble, rumble—
His fist, enveloped in a pale white bubble of pressurized air, literally cracked the atmosphere, sending over a dozen fractures spiderwebbing through the air. The devastating vibrations propagated instantly through the medium.
The ground beneath shattered and buckled instantly. A monumental shockwave swept out in all directions, kicking up a massive curtain of dust that blotted out the sky.
Whoosh—
A few seconds later, a violent gust of wind swept the billowing dust away. Big Mom's massive silhouette burst through the haze at blinding speed, hoisting Napoleon high with a single hand before bringing it down on Aeridar's head.
BOOOM!!!
The blade buried itself deep into the earth. The terrifying force erupted outward, carving a massive fissure into the ground that extended over a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
Floating safely in mid-air, Aeridar looked down at Big Mom and muttered to himself, "I knew it. And here I thought you were immune to pain!"
At that moment, Aeridar's body was continuously pulsing with invisible kinetic ripples, forming an intangible barrier that deflected the lightning bolts Zeus rained down upon him, keeping them at bay several meters away.
"You miserable brat! Zeus!"
A thin trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Charlotte Linlin's mouth. Her eyes burned with a murderous, apocalyptic fury as she roared toward the heavens.
The moment the command left her lips, she leaped dozens of meters into the air. Right on cue, a massive, black thundercloud drifted over, catching her bulk perfectly.
With bloodshot eyes wide with unbridled rage, Charlotte Linlin rode atop Zeus, rocketing directly toward Aeridar at terrifying speed.
"You Golden Ring brat! GET THE HELL OFF MY WHOLE CAKE ISLAND!!!"
[1] Ba Serpent or Bashe is a gigantic serpent from Chinese mythology, famous for being enormous enough to swallow elephants.