Nomiro Island.
The ground, scorched by the mushroom cloud, was in ruins. In the sky, two figures held their positions firmly amid violent shockwaves.
Knox's lower body had transformed into steam, and the rest of him remained in a natural vaporous form. Wielding a big steam-forged sword, he slashed toward Big Mom.
Flames danced above her head as she stood atop Zeus. Holding Napoleon in hand, she looked at him and laughed. "Mamamama. You've grown a bit, little Knox."
He scoffed. "You haven't changed at all, old hag. This time, there's no Golden Lion to bail you out. Better be careful or you might die."
Big Mom sneered. "If you think you can kill me, then go ahead and try."
"Heavenly Fire!"
With a wave of her hand, part of the flame above her head split off and dropped into her palm. She then hurled it toward him like a blazing spear ripping through the air.
Knox's figure immediately turned into white steam, merging into the air around them.
The flame spear tore through the mist and crashed into the ground in the distance. A towering pillar of fire erupted from the impact, destroying everything in its path.
Boom!
At the spot where he had just vanished, Knox reformed. Without even turning his head, he threw a condensed steam spear behind him.
Another massive white column of steam burst up from the ground and collided with the fire, dispersing both.
Swoosh!
A thick beam of light shot from the tip of Big Mom's sword, aiming straight for him.
"Maser Cannon."
Infusing his weapon with Haki, Knox braced against it, then was blasted backward. He twisted midair and flung the sword toward a distant mountain.
The mountain was instantly obliterated by the beam, leaving behind a huge crater as shards of stone rained down.
The sword in Knox's hand dissolved and merged back into his body. "Cut the useless tricks, old hag."
"Pressure Kill: Steam Execution."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he turned into mist, covering the island with white steam. From it, towering giants over a hundred meters tall began to form and charged toward Big Mom.
She let out a cold snort. "You're looking more and more like a slippery eel, little Knox."
The problem was obvious—she couldn't grab him.
Unlike the brawlers who clashed head-on with brute force, Knox was more like a mage with unlimited energy. He couldn't beat her in pure Haki or hand-to-hand combat. But she couldn't land a hit either. With his stamina and mastery of the Devil Fruit, he could stay hidden and keep generating steam giants to attack for days.
It was a stalemate. While he couldn't break through her defense, she couldn't catch him. Both of them knew this, but they had come too far to back down. Neither could afford to walk away now. It was a matter of pride.
This was the final island, and losing it meant losing face. As Emperors, falling behind was unacceptable.
Even as these thoughts circled Big Mom's mind, her hands didn't stop moving. She saw the giants charging at her and coated Napoleon with flames, then slashed horizontally.
The blade extended forward and widened, cutting through five steam giants in a single sweep.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The broken giants detonated, but more quickly formed and rushed at her again. Explosions rang out in a continuous rhythm as mushroom clouds bloomed one after another throughout the island.
Suddenly, something caught her eye. When Napoleon sliced through a steam giant, the fire along the blade burned away a chunk of the steam.
Big Mom grinned wickedly.
"Happy Mother's Blaze."
Flames burst from Napoleon, wrapping around her entire body. Gripping the sword with both hands, she pulled it behind her right side and hurled it forward with all her strength.
A blazing fire pillar shot from the blade, extending endlessly and spiraling across the island like a mosquito coil. The fiery spiral thickened and surged in heat as it engulfed the land, then exploded.
From afar, it looked like a sun had risen from the island.
* * *
Far off on a stationary warship, Sengoku stood with his arms crossed, silently observing the battle with a blank expression.
Behind him, the younger generation of marines stared in shock.
"Hey, seriously?"
"Is that a sun rising from the island?"
"That fireball's bigger than the island itself."
"Is this really something a person can do?"
"Hss..."
Most were stunned, mouths open in disbelief. But a few like Doberman, who had followed Sakazuki before, showed no surprise.
They'd seen scenes even crazier than this during past missions with him.
Before everyone could finish reacting, a massive white steam sphere formed over the island and collapsed downward in an explosion.
Even in daylight, the intense light that followed was blinding. The radiant blast spread in all directions.
When the light faded, the distant island was... gone.
Looking more serious than usual, Kuzan said, "That's a bit much... this level of power."
Borsalino spoke in his usual odd tone. "How scary~"
Kuzan's brow furrowed deeply as he scowled. "Enough already. You say 'scary' at everything. I don't even hear a hint of fear in your voice."
Borsalino looked at him like he'd just discovered a new world.
"How sc—"
Sengoku cut in. "Alright, knock it off. It's pretty much over. Pull the warships back a little."
Following his command, the two ships retreated slightly, but even from that distance, they could still sense the two pirate fleets.
* * *
Aboard the Big Mom Pirates' ship.
Big Mom slowly descended, standing on Zeus the thundercloud.
Her children rushed up at once.
"Mama!" echoed numerous voices.
She waved a hand. "I'm fine, but that brat Knox... he's getting harder to deal with. Didn't think he'd grow this much in just a few years. I'll have to reevaluate him going forward."
Katakuri stepped forward.
"Mama. Two marine ships, far out."
At his words, she froze. Then she fully expanded her Observation Haki and reached toward the distant direction Katakuri had pointed.
She hmphed. "Sengoku and Garp, huh. Why aren't those two staying cozy in their base? What are they doing here? Zeus. Prometheus."
Two spheres zoomed toward her.
"Here, Mama!"
One turned into flames, the other into thunderclouds.
Big Mom raised Napoleon and pierced it through the two homies, pointing the tip at one of the marine ships.
"Maser Cannon!"
Through the closed energy loop formed by the three homies, a dense laser beam, meters thick, blasted out. It skimmed over the sea's surface and rushed toward the warship.
The violent shockwaves and sword aura split the ocean like it had no end.
* * *
Aboard the ship.
Garp's large frame leapt into the air. Arms wide, he spun his right arm around, targeting the incoming attack.
"Haah!!!"
His iron fist, coated in thick Haki, slammed into the center of the laser.
The beam, originally narrow, abruptly expanded into a huge flattened oval. Then under Garp's explosive strength, it reversed direction and flew straight back toward Big Mom's ship.
Thud.
Garp landed at the ship's bow, casually picking his nose. "Looking for a fight, huh? This old woman."
Sengoku's glasses flashed gold. "Just a probe. Doesn't matter."
* * *
Back on Big Mom's ship.
Big Mom watched the laser fly back and muttered, "Old geezer. Still as strong as ever."
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