Dark clouds loomed over Delson Island as explosions erupted one after another across the land, shaking the ground beneath the pirate stronghold.
Several infamous pirates, each with a bounty exceeding 100 million, stood tense with weapons in hand, their eyes fixed on the towering woman in front of them.
Big Mom, now slightly overweight with a face full of flesh, let out a twisted grin. "Who should I start with?"
Her cold gaze swept across the group like a predator selecting its prey.
Alvin Hugh, captain of the Blast Pirates, knowing they couldn't stall any longer, roared, "Everyone, attack! Take her down!"
"Exploding Slash!!!"
He was the first to strike, unleashing a powerful blast of sword energy infused with the Bomb-Bomb Fruit's power.
Big Mom turned her eyes toward him, casually reaching out and grabbing the slash midair.
BOOM!!!
A mushroom cloud shot dozens of meters into the sky, billowing with thick, dark smoke.
Tap, tap, tap, tap...
Footsteps echoed through the haze as Big Mom walked out, completely unscathed.
"Then I'll start with you. Mamamama~ Prometheus!"
The living sun, Prometheus, surged from her hand, growing rapidly in the wind and transforming into a massive wave of flames that came crashing down on the pirates.
Seeing the towering firestorm, the Blast Pirates quickly pulled out their weapons and counterattacked. Sword energy, Devil Fruit abilities, martial arts, and Haki were all unleashed at once.
There weren't many of them, but everyone was an elite pirate. United, they managed to break through Prometheus' fiery onslaught.
Just as the swordsman Mory Wise landed on the ground, he suddenly heard his captain shouting:
"Wise! Dodge!"
Wise instantly felt someone behind him, and a chill ran down his spine.
"What?!"
He instinctively tried to turn around, but before he could move, Big Mom's voice rang out, "Die in peace."
And then, darkness. Her massive hand, coated in Haki, slammed down on his head, grinding it into the earth. Simultaneously, a bolt of lightning from the sky connected to her palm.
A shockwave burst outward, followed by a heavy cloud of black smoke and the acrid scent of scorched flesh.
Wise was crushed into a pulp, his body turned to ash.
Big Mom grinned and said slowly.
"Thunder Bolt."
Gritting his teeth, Alvin glared at her. "Damn you! You monster!"
With a furious roar, he charged at the woman. His sword stabbed directly into her chest, targeting the heart.
BOOM!
The explosion was huge, but it had no effect. Big Mom didn't even flinch.
Alvin abandoned his sword, lunged forward to grab her by the throat, and yelled:
"RUN!!!"
Then, activating his Devil Fruit ability, he blasted off from the ground, dragging them both into the air with immense force.
In a flash, they were already a thousand meters up and still climbing fast.
Big Mom understood his plan. "You're trying to trade your life to buy time for your crew to escape. Mamamama~ how noble, but… It won't work."
Her monstrous hand clamped around Alvin's neck and lifted him effortlessly.
Crack. Crack.
Two sharp cracks echoed in the air as both of Alvin's legs shattered from her kicks, causing their ascent to come to a sudden halt.
Rip!
Using brute strength, Big Mom tore off both of Alvin's arms.
"Zeus!"
A dark thundercloud flew up to meet her.
"Coming, Mama!"
Zeus caught her, and together they began descending. Around 300 meters above ground, she told the thundercloud to stop.
From that height, the battlefield below was clearly visible, with tiny figures scattering in all directions as the Blast Pirates ran for their lives.
At the edge of the island, Perospero, Katakuri, and the others stood watching, making no move to stop them.
Endless thunderclouds gathered in the sky above, drawing Katakuri's gaze upward. "So, it's coming."
Perospero sneered. "Foolish little worms. They'll pay with their lives for provoking Mama. No matter how fast they run, can they outrun lightning? Mama controls the weather, after all. Kukukuku…"
* * *
Up in the air, Big Mom stood atop Zeus, gripping Alvin by the back of his neck and turning him to face the scene below. "Say goodbye to your crewmates."
"God of Lightning Tenjin!"
Numerous lightning bolts rained down from the sky, twisting erratically as if alive, yet landing with perfect precision.
Each one struck a fleeing member of the Blast Pirates, and in a chorus of screams that echoed across the heavens, every single one of them was reduced to charred corpses.
When Alvin's eyes went bloodshot with despair, Big Mom's cold voice came again.
"Since you care about your crew so much, I'll let you live. But the price is… forty years! Mamamama~"
She plunged her hand into Alvin's chest and yanked it out. A pink, mist-like spirit was pulled from his body and devoured in one gulp.
"Delicious." She licked her lips with satisfaction. Meanwhile, Alvin aged at an alarming rate, withering into a frail old man, struggling weakly.
Riding Zeus down to the ground, she threw the pirate captain aside.
"Let's go. To the next island."
The Charlotte family followed her, leaving behind Alvin, now armless, aged, and weeping, crawling helplessly across the scorched earth toward the blackened remains of his fallen comrades.
* * *
A few days later.
The attack led by the two Emperors shook the entire New World.
No one had expected it to be so swift and ruthless. These once-rising pirate crews didn't even have a chance to resist before they were slaughtered in the most brutal fashion imaginable.
The so-called "new generation of pirates" had become a complete joke.
Countless pirates fell to their knees, begging for their lives. Those who dared to resist were crushed like ants before the power of emperors, wiped out thoroughly.
From north and south, the two forces advanced and finally, they were about to meet.
The territories that had once been divided among the new generation were now steadily swallowed up by Knox and Big Mom, without resistance.
* * *
"Nomiro Island, huh…" Sengoku muttered as he set down the map in his hands.
Two giant warships sailed side-by-side across the sea toward Nomiro Island.
As expected, the two Emperors had begun a purge; however, nobody thought it would be this fast. In just a few days, by the time they arrived here, the operation was nearly done.
According to the latest intelligence, only Nomiro Island remained untouched.
Now, both sides were converging there.
Sengoku immediately ordered a course change, heading there as well. They hadn't come all this way for nothing. Maybe… there'd still be a chance.
* * *
Three days later.
As Nomiro Island came into clear view, two colossal mushroom clouds, one white, one flaming red, twisted and clashed in the sky above it.
The island quaked violently. Shockwaves and searing heat burst outward, sending waves rippling across the surrounding sea in powerful, expanding rings.
BOOOOOOM!
The deafening blast hit moments later, followed by a scorching gust and a surge of Conqueror's Haki.
On the warship deck, the normally lazy Kuzan straightened up, a bit more serious. "An entire island, wiped out just like that, huh."
There was no question; under that kind of force, everything on the island would be obliterated.
Borsalino also said with an exaggerated look of surprise, "How scary~ this is…"
* * *
Beyond the island's edge, Katakuri's eyes narrowed as he turned.
"The Marines."
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