Charlotte Linlin was sent hurtling back into the magma by a single punch from Diarmuid. From the moment she emerged to the moment she was hammered back down, less than two minutes had passed.
A Yonko, one of the world's top-tier pirates, had been brutally suppressed just like that.
The punch had shattered her nose bridge, forcing tears of pain from Big Mom's eyes. As she plunged back into the molten depths, the shock nearly caused her to drown in the magma. Fortunately, she reacted in time to seal her mouth and nose; otherwise, a couple of gulps of that liquid fire would have been truly agonizing.
Submerged in the magma, the stinging heat and the searing pain gradually cleared Big Mom's mind from the shock of the impact. Then, a strange sense of terror and disbelief washed over her.
Diarmuid had always been strong, often taking on two or three opponents at once, but it usually wasn't until he unleashed a finishing move like Abyssal Devourer that he truly secured the advantage. Even then, his opponents usually had the strength to fight back.
But this time, the encounter offered an entirely new experience. Diarmuid hadn't used his old ultimate moves; in fact, she could feel that he wasn't even taking her seriously. Yet, despite that, she was being "one-shotted" by him.
Even as a powerhouse standing on the first tier of the world's elite, she felt an overwhelming sense of power emanating from him. It felt as though he was no longer in their league! He had ascended to a completely new level!
"How is this possible!?" Big Mom's heart was filled with a mix of fury and fear. She felt the gap, yet she didn't dare accept it.
While Big Mom was busy questioning her life choices in the magma, Diarmuid retracted his fist. Before he could even turn his head, two sharp gusts of wind streaked toward him at extreme speed!
It was Kaido's Demolition Gust.
Originally, Kaido hadn't planned on targeting Diarmuid yet. He intended to ambush Sakazuki first, coordinating with Whitebeard to take down the Admiral, a relatively easier target, immediately. Then, the three of them could free up their hands to face Diarmuid together.
But things hadn't gone according to plan. Before he could even strike Sakazuki, Diarmuid had already backhanded Big Mom into a state of total confusion.
Kaido could see that Big Mom was genuinely rattled. Diarmuid had grown stronger, frighteningly so. If he didn't support her immediately, Diarmuid might actually finish her off before long. If that happened, the situation would collapse; once Big Mom was dealt with, Diarmuid could join Sakazuki to take out both him and Whitebeard.
The disadvantage would only widen!
Kaido immediately shifted his strategy. He had to team up with Linlin to face Diarmuid. He didn't expect to kill him, but at the very least, they had to pin him down!
Though he found the "old man" Newgate annoying at times, Kaido had to admit Newgate was powerful. Even if the old man had lost to Diarmuid before, his strength was undeniable. Sakazuki, despite his title as a Marine Admiral and his impressive display of power, lacked a track record of taking down top-tier legends. No true heavyweight had ever died or been broken by Sakazuki's hand.
Kaido reasoned that if Newgate and Sakazuki were in a 1v1, Newgate would eventually win. If he and Big Mom could stall Diarmuid until Newgate finished Sakazuki, the battle would return to a 3v1 favor.
That would be their winning chance!
While Kaido was often seen as a brute, he was no fool when he actually applied his mind. His tactical shifting was instantaneous; the moment Diarmuid hammered Big Mom, Kaido already knew his next move.
His cursed blade, Kokorowatari, slid from its sheath, carrying a heavy, dark, and malevolent curse.
With a flash of Observation Haki, Diarmuid didn't even look back. He swung Kokorowatari twice behind him. The blade, which inherently generated wind-pressure slashes, precisely intercepted the Demolition Gust intended for him. He sliced through the wind, sending his own pressure slashes back along the trajectory of the attack.
It was an instinctive counter, performed in a heartbeat. However, the moment his slashes left the blade, his Observation Haki traced the source, and he realized Kaido's silhouette wasn't there.
His brow twitched as he sensed the trap. He raised Kokorowatari in a parry.
Sure enough, in the next instant, Kaido in his Dragon-Human form descended from the sky. His kanabo, wreathed in lightning and thunder, slammed down toward Diarmuid's head with unstoppable momentum.
"Kosanze Ragnaraku!!!" Kaido roared.
Infused with Conqueror's Haki!
The Demolition Gust was only the first phase of the ambush, meant to distract Diarmuid. This strike was the second phase, the main assault!
It came incredibly fast. Diarmuid knew Kaido was using a powerful Conqueror's Haki infusion, but he didn't have enough time to coat his own blade in kind to defend!
The heavy kanabo slammed into Kokorowatari, forcing the blade downward. The immense force traveled through the steel into Diarmuid's arm, and his body was driven down with it.
Diarmuid was currently using his own power to hover in the air; he had no solid ground to brace himself or redirect the force. While Diarmuid possessed great strength, Kaido was an Awakened Mythical Zoan. Under the cover of an ambush and a full-power strike, Diarmuid, with no footing, found it difficult to hold his position!
Kaido was attacking from above, carrying the advantage of gravity and momentum. Diarmuid held out for a brief moment before Kaido roared again, putting more power into his arms and literally slamming Diarmuid out of the sky!
Dark energy began to seep from Diarmuid's feet. He planned to absorb the surrounding magma into his infinite darkness the moment he hit the surface to create a footing and kill this "ambush dog."
But before he hit the magma, Charlotte Linlin, her hair disheveled and her face covered in blood, burst out from the molten depths. She had likely used Prometheus's solar fire to shield herself again, as her wild hair hadn't been burned off.
Linlin had been "woken up" by Kaido's aura, snapping out of her daze. Though Diarmuid's strength exceeded her expectations, she wasn't about to beg for mercy. Given her history with him, she knew he'd kill her even if she called him "Daddy." She was going all in!
The moment the Demolition Gust went out, Linlin had been preparing. Kaido's follow-up had successfully hammered Diarmuid down, and she seized the opening with ruthless precision.
Kaido was above; Big Mom was below.
Kaido's reflexes were just as sharp. The moment Big Mom appeared, he understood the play. Having fought alongside her against Newgate and Smoker previously, their synergy had improved significantly. Now, after spending more time together in the alliance, their coordination was near-perfect.
The moment Big Mom showed her face, Kaido knew what to do. Similarly, Linlin's eyes filled with grim determination upon seeing Kaido.
They had Diarmuid sandwiched between them. Before he could even touch the magma, Linlin swung Cognac...
"Ikoku!" she screamed.
"Sekkai!" Kaido bellowed. (sea-commanding / overwhelming like the ocean)
Cognac unleashed a terrifying wave of destruction, matched by the power of Kaido's kanabo. The two ultimate attacks, coming from above and below, pinned Diarmuid in place. As the attacks neared each other, their auras actually began to "fuse" under the guidance of their shared intent.
It wasn't a physical blending of energy, but a resonance of technique. Two attacks from opposite angles were merging into a single, cohesive force!
"HAKAI!!!!!" Kaido and Big Mom roared in unison as they felt their energies sync.
Diarmuid was currently falling under the weight of Kaido's previous strike, making his movements stiff. Linlin and Kaido were less than twenty meters apart, each no more than ten meters from Diarmuid. To unleash such a massive ultimate at this range was essentially a suicidal tactic as the blast would consume them all.
Because of this, Diarmuid had no way to dodge!
The two techniques, now one, created a localized phenomenon. Diarmuid felt as if every direction—up, down, left, and right—was covered by the range of Hakai. Even with his reflexes, there was no escape!
A true "guaranteed hit"!
"And these two say there's nothing going on between them!" Diarmuid cursed.
The moment the words left his lips, a violent explosion erupted, completely engulfing him. The power of Hakai was so immense that Kaido and Big Mom were swallowed by their own attack. They were too close to avoid the backlash, but they had no choice!
Kaido was sent flying, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Big Mom was blasted back into the magma once again, looking utterly miserable.
Yet, both felt a surge of grim satisfaction. Despite the mutual damage, Diarmuid's greatest weakness was that he didn't possess a "monster-tier" physical constitution. Big Mom was the "Iron Balloon" with invincible defense; Kaido was covered in dragon scales and was virtually impenetrable. In terms of raw durability, both could outclass Diarmuid.
This suicidal tactic was perfect for this situation. If all three took the same damage, the consequences would be far different for the "human" Diarmuid compared to the two of them! This was, in fact, one of the contingency plans they had discussed for dealing with him.
For them, figuring out how to beat Diarmuid was a task that required both raw power and every dirty trick in the book.
Kaido tumbled through the air before landing on the ground, his feet sinking into the magma. He didn't even flinch at the heat, his eyes fixed on the spot where Diarmuid had been.
Big Mom surfaced once more, her eyes filled with anticipation as she looked toward the sky.
As the dust settled and the aftershocks faded, both expected to see a heavily wounded Diarmuid. Instead, they saw a pitch-black sphere floating in the air. Diarmuid was nowhere to be seen!
As they stared in shock, the surface of the sphere cracked like glass. A hand reached out from within, brushing aside the fragments.
"That was quite the surprise. If this had been the old me, you bastards might have actually succeeded," Diarmuid's voice echoed from within.
Then, his figure stepped out from the darkness.
Kaido and Big Mom's expressions froze, their eyes widening in pure disbelief. They could now see Diarmuid clearly...
He was completely unscathed!!!
In that moment, the mental pressure was crushing. Despite their best efforts and a suicidal combined attack, they hadn't left a single scratch on him.
This overwhelming power...
Truly, he was the strongest Marine Admiral in history!