BOOM—
With a deafening explosion, Konpira, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, clashed with Katakuri trident.
In that instant, a terrifying shockwave erupted from the collision of blade and trident, sending ripples through the void.
Amidst the surging shockwave, Orion continued to stride forward.
Leading Sakazuki, Kuzan, and a group of Vice Admirals, he walked past the two who were locked in combat.
"Didn't you just awaken your Conqueror's Haki?" Katakuri, who had also unleashed his Conqueror's Haki and wrapped it around his trident, couldn't spare a glance at Orion, who still hadn't turned his head.
Instead, he stared at Gion in disbelief, his face filled with shock.
"You've just awakened Conqueror's Haki and you've already mastered Haki Infusion?!"
"Is Haki Infusion really that hard to master?!"
Gion pressed her blade closer to Katakuri, her voice low and firm.
"Don't forget, I am Gion, a New Admiral of the Marines!"
As her words fell, the Conqueror's Haki wrapped around her blade intensified forcefully pressing the trident down onto Katakuri shoulder.
Almost simultaneously, as the battle between Gion and Katakuri erupted, Smoothie, who had been struggling to withstand the impact of Conqueror's Haki at the port, suddenly sharpened her gaze.
In the next second, she took a decisive step forward, raising the longsword she had been gripping tightly.
It wasn't that she had broken free from the suppression of Conqueror's Haki through sheer strength, but rather that the Conqueror's Haki that had enveloped the entire island had silently dissipated as Gion and Katakuri clashed.
Of course, all of this was within her expectations.
Because she didn't believe that Orion Conqueror's Haki was inexhaustible.
If Orion Conqueror's Haki were truly inexhaustible, he wouldn't have needed to have Sakazuki and Gion lead the Akainu Army and Momousagi Army in a prolonged battle against the Beasts Pirates.
He could have easily wiped out all members below the Three Calamities with his vast and endless Conqueror's Haki.
"Now is the time!"
"Stop them and buy time for Mama to recover!"
Smoothie, with her longsword raised high, fixed her blazing gaze on the figure approaching in the distance, her overwhelming aura reaching its peak.
Although she was a Sweet Commander of the Big Mom Pirates, she wasn't naive enough to think that the dozen or so family members who had barely survived under Orion Conqueror's Haki could take down the imposing Fleet Admiral.
All she could do was fight with everything she had, buying as much time as possible for Charlotte Linlin, who had fallen into the sea and was soaked in seawater, to recover.
Only if Charlotte Linlin recovered would they have a chance of survival.
Otherwise, the fate of these dozen or so members would be the same as the other family members lying on the ground.
After all, they were now facing the highest combat power of the Marine Headquarters, led by the Fleet Admiral himself.
As her words fell, Smoothie immediately took a step forward, releasing the power of her Paramecia-type Shibo Shibo no Mi (Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit).
With a low hum, the already tall Smoothie grew taller and the longsword in her hand grew into a massive blade as the fruit power continuously infused into it.
"Fleet Admiral!"
"Underestimating the Charlotte Family will cost you dearly!"
Without hesitation, Smoothie gripped the hilt of her massive sword with both hands and swung it down with full force toward Orion, who stood a hundred meters away.
Whoosh—
The massive sword cut through the air, its sword energy shining like a rainbow, sweeping out at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
Wherever it passed, a fierce gale erupted and the sea frozen by the Ice-Ice Fruit cracked, forming a fissure that rapidly extended toward Orion.
Just as the sword energy was about to strike Orion, a tall figure stepped out from behind him—it was Marine Vice Admiral Bastille!
"Those who stand in the way of the Fleet Admiral shall die!"
Before the words even finished echoing, Bastille, who had flashed in front of Orion didn't hesitate for a moment.
He swiftly raised his Shark Slayer blade and slashed through the air.
In an instant, a domineering and overwhelming sword aura shot out, colliding head-on with a terrifying surge of sword energy that came crashing toward him.
At the same time.
Following behind Sakazuki and Kuzan, Vice Admirals such as Momonga, Yamakaji, Stainless, and Strawberry swiftly dashed forward, their targets clear—the remaining dozen or so core members of the Charlotte family at the port.
Facing the simultaneous assault of the Marine Vice Admirals, Perospero, Cracker, and the four sisters—Mondee, Hachee, Effilee, and Amande—who had just endured the impact of Conqueror's Haki, had no choice but to rush out to meet the attack, despite not yet fully catching their breath.
Before the charging Vice Admirals could clash with the Charlotte family core fighters, a bone-chilling cold suddenly erupted.
In the next second, the unfrozen waters of the port rapidly turned to ice.
Before the Charlotte family members could react, the freezing cold that had solidified the port's surface accelerated its spread toward the shore.
The ground it passed over visibly froze in an instant.
"Not good!"
"It's Admiral Kuzan!"
Amande, who had been about to charge out with her family, shouted in alarm as she saw the ground rapidly turning to ice.
"Everyone, be caref—"
Whoosh~
Before Amande could finish her sentence, the freezing cold covering the shore accelerated once more, sweeping across the entire port like a sudden hurricane.
Wherever it passed, whether it was Cracker and the other Sweet Commanders charging forward or the core members of the Charlotte family led by Perospero, they were all instantly frozen into ice sculptures.
Some were frozen mid-charge, others with their swords drawn, and many more with their eyes wide open, expressions of terror etched on their faces.
Amande was no exception.
Before she could finish her sentence, she was frozen into a human-shaped ice sculpture, her face still twisted in alarm.
Even Smoothie, who had been the first to charge out and had just withstood Bastille sword slash, was swiftly frozen by the oncoming cold.
She stood tall, her massive sword raised high, like a loyal guardian of Whole Cake Island under the sunlight.
"!!!!!"
The moment she was frozen, Smoothie pupils contracted.
She tried to swing her massive sword to shatter the ice, but she found herself severely weakened from withstanding the Conqueror's Haki earlier, utterly unable to break free from the constraints of the Ice-Ice Fruit power.
As the last member of the Charlotte family was turned into an ice sculpture, the port suddenly fell silent.
The freezing cold that filled the port didn't stop there.
After freezing everything in its path, it continued to spread outward at an astonishing speed.
By the time the group of Marine Vice Admirals charging across the ice reached the port dock, the entire Whole Cake Island seemed to have entered an ice age.
Whether it was the towering castle or the members of the Big Mom Pirates on the island, they had all been transformed into ornamental ice sculptures.
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