On this stretch of ice, the top fighters from both sides clashed in pairs, the battle raging fiercely, seemingly evenly matched for the moment.
The members of the Valthior Pirates, mockingly called "babies," were exploding with extraordinary combat prowess.
Shanks and Buggy, the only ones who could be considered weak points, worked together with excellent teamwork. With their strange tricks coming one after another, plus Spencer and Doringo looking after them, they had no problems for now.
As for Kaido, Charlotte Linlin, and Valthior, the three of them also had a perfect tacit understanding.
They knew very well that no one else could stand on the battlefield where the three of them clashed.
So after Hakai was split apart at the beginning, the three quickly rose into the sky.
Kaido stood on Flame Clouds, Charlotte Linlin rode Zeus, and Valthior had wings formed from Susanoo beating behind him.
After a brief exchange in the air, the three of them quickly moved away from the main battlefield.
Once the distance felt about right, Charlotte Linlin shouted. Zeus suddenly accelerated beneath her feet, and her figure rapidly approached Valthior.
Valthior no longer dodged either. He charged directly toward Charlotte Linlin.
"Heavenly Fire!" Charlotte Linlin roared. Flames surged from the Emperor Sword in her hand, releasing intense heat as she slashed at Valthior head-on.
"Cold Tide!"
Facing the high temperature, Valthior did not retreat at all. Frost carrying a jewel-like aura flashed across his battle axe, Merciless, and he chopped hard against the Emperor Sword.
The blazing Emperor Sword failed to melt the ice on the battle axe at all.
The clash of their strength made both their palms go numb at the same time.
If judged purely by strength, Charlotte Linlin could definitely be called the second strongest opponent Valthior had ever encountered.
The strongest was Harald. That man was someone no one could compete with in brute strength.
Charlotte Linlin's monstrous strength was also terrifying. In that brief stalemate, Valthior felt a pure beauty of raw numbers. Even Garp probably could not compare to Charlotte Linlin in physical strength.
However, if strength alone decided who was stronger, then people on the sea would not need to kill each other. They could just hold an arm-wrestling tournament and decide the winner that way.
The Mangekyō spun in Valthior's eyes.
The strength in his wrist loosened, and the Emperor Sword instantly slid past the axe blade. Using the dynamic vision of the Mangekyō, Valthior avoided the sharp blade by the smallest margin. Then he drove a knee hard into Charlotte Linlin's chest.
Though it should have been a place cushioned by ample fat, the impact of his knee felt like smashing against solid steel.
Immediately after, his freezing aura erupted, encasing Charlotte Linlin in ice instantly. But before Valthior could follow up with his next combo, Kaido's roar reached his ears.
"Thunder Bagua!"
Hassaikai came howling in, crackling with lightning.
The sound arrived only after the club itself.
Valthior had no intention of blocking or parrying. The Susanoo around him suddenly collapsed inward, condensing into a layer of pitch-black Haki that armored his body. Beneath it, jewel-like ice crystals gleamed.
In the next instant, Kaido's powerful strike smashed into Valthior's arm.
A sharp crack rang out. The Haki armor held, but the force of the impact left fine cracks spreading across the jewel-like ice crystals encasing his arm.
The fractured ice crystals immediately absorbed and dispersed the remaining force of the blow, leaving Valthior completely unharmed.
Kaido's confident strike had failed to break through his defense, leaving even him momentarily stunned.
Valthior laughed loudly. "Do you understand what collapse absorption means?"
As his words fell, he grabbed Hassaikai, locking Kaido's position in place. Then, borrowing the force, he rose up and drove an elbow hard into Kaido's chest, sending him flying.
The instant Kaido was knocked backward, Valthior opened his mouth and took a deep breath. His chest suddenly expanded.
After a brief charge, a freezing current turned into a beam of energy and burst from his mouth, shooting straight toward Kaido.
But Kaido was also a veteran of countless battles. Using the remaining force from being elbowed away by Valthior, the Flame Clouds under his feet suddenly burst apart. His figure quickly pulled away from the freezing beam, earning himself a moment to breathe.
Without the slightest intention of backing down, he threw his mouth open and roared, "Bolo Breath!!!"
The blazing breath of the Azure Dragon collided head-on with the freezing beam, the two streams of energy crashing together between them.
An instant later, a violent explosion erupted at the point of impact.
Scalding steam billowed across the sky, spreading endlessly until it completely obscured both figures from view.
At that moment, Valthior's Observation Haki locked onto a presence within the haze.
"Ikoku Sovereignty!!!"
It was Charlotte Linlin.
Adjusting to a difficult angle as she charged forward at incredible speed, she rapidly closed the distance between them. Then, swinging the Emperor Sword with tremendous force, she unleashed a lightning-infused slash.
"Mirror Reversal!" Valthior had no time to dodge. He reached out and pulled at the air, and a mirror formed from pure white ice crystals instantly appeared beside him.
The lightning laser slammed into the mirror. The blazing energy made the mirror twist and deform, but in the next moment, it failed to push any farther and was directly refracted away.
Immediately after, Valthior pulled up a smaller mirror in his hand and said softly, "Frost Sky Mirror Shadow…"
With a boom, Charlotte Linlin struck back and shattered Mirror Reversal with one slash.
But just as her blade was about to reach Valthior, his figure suddenly vanished.
At the same time, Kaido happened to land. Before his feet could steady themselves, Valthior's figure suddenly appeared reflected in the ice beneath him.
The ice shattered instantly.
Valthior shot out from below and landed a precise uppercut on Kaido's chin, launching him into the air.
As Kaido felt the impact, his jaw went numb, as though all sensation had been stripped away. Frost energy began invading his body through the spot struck by the punch.
At that same moment, the force of the blow tilted his head upward, bringing Charlotte Linlin into his line of sight.
The two had fought side by side for years, their teamwork nearly instinctive.
The moment Kaido met Charlotte Linlin's gaze, he understood her intent.
His arms spread open without hesitation as he lunged forward and locked Valthior in a crushing bear hug.
"Linlin!"
As his voice fell, Haki turned into armor around Kaido's body. Indigo dragon scales rapidly emerged from beneath his skin. Clearly, his whole body had entered a defensive state.
In the blink of an eye, almost the moment Kaido locked Valthior in place, a powerful aura erupted from the sky.
"Spear of Elbaf: Ikoku!"
"Majestic Attire!" Valthior could not break free from Kaido's hold in that rushed moment. The Mangekyō in his eyes flashed.
The next second, a violent impact covered Valthior and Kaido at the same time. The powerful force pierced straight down through the thick ice, and their figures disappeared together into the deep ice pit.
However, Charlotte Linlin—who had unleashed this strike—felt an unusual sensation in her heart. The impact didn't feel right!
Visually, it was a direct hit.
Her Observation Haki confirmed it was a direct hit. But... her highly refined battle instincts told her the impact was wrong!
Before she could dwell on it further, a massive Azure Dragon burst through the ice and soared upward. Its draconic head radiated overwhelming majesty as it rode atop Flame Clouds, breaking free from the depths of the frozen pit.
Yet before even half of its enormous body had emerged, its movements suddenly stiffened.
In the next instant, a silver-furred claw seized the dragon by the abdomen and forcibly hurled it away. Instead of ascending into the sky as intended, the Azure Dragon was thrown toward the distant ice field.
However, before he could crash into the ice, Kaido used the force of the throw to his advantage and swiftly drew in his massive form.
In the blink of an eye, his enormous dragon body transformed into his hybrid dragon-human form.
His feet landed firmly on the ice, shattering the frozen surface beneath them.
At the same time, Valthior's figure chased after him with Soru.
Kaido gritted his teeth, anger showing on his face. Just as he was about to raise his hand and counterattack, Valthior's left Mangekyō suddenly began spinning.
Charlotte Linlin, who was rapidly descending and preparing to fight alongside Kaido, saw that tiny change and suddenly thought of something. She shouted urgently, "Kaido, that strange—"
"Four Seasons: Ikoku!" Valthior grinned fiercely.
Why had Charlotte Linlin felt that the impact was wrong earlier?
It was because the Ikoku that struck Kaido had taken full effect, while the Ikoku that should have struck Valthior had been completely absorbed by him!
At this precise moment, Kaido was not in the absolute defense mode he had used when locking Valthior down.
And now, that powerful Ikoku appeared directly before Kaido's face without the slightest warning.
Kaido's enormous body was instantly swallowed by the attack.
Almost at the same time, Valthior's battle axe, Merciless, erupted with dazzling light.
"Yasotakeru!"
Two heavy blows struck Kaido's tall body in an instant.
A spray of blood mixed with dozens of indigo dragon scales scattered through the air, and Kaido was sent flying backward.
"Mother Flame Blade!" Charlotte Linlin could no longer afford to worry about Kaido. Descending like a shooting star from the sky, her blade slashed violently toward Valthior.
ut just as she was about to strike him, Valthior's Conqueror's Haki suddenly condensed into a Susanoo arm.
The massive arm slammed into Charlotte Linlin's waist, sending her hurtling through the air.
Valthior did not pursue her.
Raising a hand, he wiped away the faint trace of blood at the corner of his eye before breaking into an arrogant grin.
"If this is all you two have, then coming here to challenge me was far too childish, wasn't it? Linlin… Kaido?"
As his voice fell, Valthior's right Mangekyō began spinning again.
Immediately afterward, his aura started rising rapidly. Surging Conqueror's Haki poured from his body, slowly crushing the ice around him.
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