Above the prison ship, Gunko, standing atop a massive arrow, gazed down at the direction of Whole Cake Island.
Even as a member of the God's Knights, she couldn't help but gasp in astonishment at the sight of the Big Mom Pirates' overwhelming defeat.
However, she didn't believe that Kuzan could single-handedly plunge Whole Cake Island into an ice age so effortlessly, nor could he freeze the powerful Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates into statues.
Among the formidable fighters like Smoothie and other core members of the Charlotte Family, many were not only master swordsmen but also wielded various bizarre and powerful Devil Fruit abilities.
If it weren't for Orion overwhelming Conqueror's Haki suppressing the entire battlefield, it would have been nearly impossible for Kuzan to freeze everyone on Whole Cake Island alone.
"Buru Buru~"
Suddenly, the Den Den Mushi in her arms rang.
Immediately after, a deep and powerful voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"Gunko, it's Garling!"
Hearing this, Gunko quickly straightened her posture and replied respectfully.
"Lord Garling!"
Without beating around the bush, Garling on the other end got straight to the point.
"What's the situation in the New World now?"
Gunko didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she slightly raised her head to look towards the harbor and calmly said.
"The Big Mom Pirates have been utterly defeated, posing almost no substantial threat to Fleet Admiral Orion!"
"Whole Cake Island has now been completely frozen by Admiral Kuzan, and everyone in the Charlotte Family, including Charlotte Linlin, has been turned into statues!"
Upon hearing Gunko report, Garling who was in the meeting hall of the God's Knights in the Holy Land, didn't show much surprise.
He spoke in a serious tone "I need you to do something. After the events on Whole Cake Island are over, inform Fleet Admiral Orion about the two underground forces involved in this war. Tell him this is intelligence provided by the God's Knights."
"The one who sent assassins to infiltrate G-5 was peclo and the one who helped the Beasts Pirates smuggle their forces into G-5 was Umit!"
Hearing the intelligence from the Den Den Mushi, Gunko delicate brows furrowed slightly.
She was well aware of Garling intentions—to take this opportunity to curry favor with Orion, who now held absolute power in the Marine and to draw him into the fold of the Figarland Family.
"Lord Garling, I don't think this intelligence is of much importance to Fleet Admiral Orion!"
After a brief silence, Gunko decisively spoke "Because his next targets are the so-called Emperors of the Underworld. Whether it's Peclo, Umit, Giberson, Stussy, or Morgans, they are all just lambs waiting to be slaughtered! Telling him this intelligence now might backfire!"
Garling, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window in the God's Knights' meeting hall, looked out at the Pangaea Plaza outside, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Gunko, you wouldn't have questioned my orders in the past. Have you been influenced by Orion after spending so much time with him?"
"Of course, I know that the so-called Emperors of the Underworld pose no threat to him, but that's not for you to consider. Your task is simply to relay everything I've said to him!"
Sensing the displeasure in Garling tone, Gunko hesitated but ultimately chose to relent, nodding slightly.
"Understood."
At this moment, the warship carrying Orion finally arrived.
Before the warship could dock, Mihawk standing on the deck, prepared to leap off.
It wasn't that he was eager to join the battle, but rather that his black sword had been thrown away by Orion and he needed to retrieve it as soon as possible.
However, just as he leaped onto the bow of the ship and was about to jump down, his pupils suddenly contracted and he looked up in disbelief at Cake Island, which had been transformed into a giant ice sculpture.
Not only Mihawk, but the other members of the Seven Warlords on the warship, as well as Marines like Morgan, were all stunned by the scene before them.
There was no intense battle with roaring cannons, nor any earth-shattering collisions.
Instead, there was only a massive ice island, as if it had been transported to the Ice Age, with castle-like ice sculptures and humanoid ice statues frozen in various poses.
The vast Cake Island was eerily quiet, the howling wind sweeping across the island, giving them the illusion that they had stepped into a prehistoric ice age.
"Is… is this the headquarters of the Big Mom Pirates?" Perona, floating in the air holding a red umbrella, stared wide-eyed at the 'ice island' ahead, stammering.
"Lord Moria, didn't you say the Big Mom Pirates were terrifying? Why… why is it so quiet now?"
"And what's with this island? Even the castles are ice sculptures. Aren't the Big Mom Pirates afraid of the cold?"
Hearing this, Moria broke out in a cold sweat and explained.
"It's not that the Big Mom Pirates aren't afraid of the cold. This place was frozen by Admiral Kuzan using his Ice-Ice Fruit ability!"
"Fufufufu, what an astonishing ability!" Doflamingo let out his signature sinister laugh, his gaze behind his sunglasses sweeping toward the tall castle standing in the center of Cake Island.
When he saw the humanoid ice statue pinned to the castle by a black sword, his pupils contracted sharply, and he exclaimed inwardly.
"That's… Kaido!"
After a brief moment of shock, he immediately turned his gaze back to Mihawk.
Mihawk also noticed Kaido, frozen into a statue and pinned to the castle by the black sword, as well as the hilt of the black sword that had pierced through Kaido body.
Like Doflamingo, the moment he saw Kaido pinned to the castle by the black sword, even the world greatest swordsman couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
After all, Orion had taken the black sword from his back and thrown it from several kilometers away.
Firing a slash that traveled several kilometers was not difficult for him, but throwing a black sword several kilometers and accurately hitting the target was not just a matter of difficulty—especially when the target was one of the Four Emperors, Kaido.
Although Kaido had been injured and captured in his battle with Sakazuki, judging from Orion' earlier reaction, Kaido had clearly regained his freedom and posed a threat to Sakazuki and the Marines escorting him.
This meant that even after regaining his freedom, Kaido couldn't avoid the black sword that had been hurled from several kilometers away.
Just as the Seven Warlords were secretly alarmed—some because Kaido had been nailed into a castle, others because Whole Cake Island had been frozen—Monrgan had already led a group of soldiers off the warship and onto the icy surface.
"What are you all standing around for?!"
"Land on the island!"
***
Meanwhile.
Because Whole Cake Island had been frozen, all the younger siblings had been turned into ice statues.
Katakuri, distracted during the battle, was slashed away by Gion with a single strike.
"Katakuri, it's over~"
Before Katakuri body could even hit the ground, Gion followed like a shadow, her blade Konpira landing at Katakuri neck.
Surprisingly, Katakuri didn't dodge.
Instead, he allowed the cold blade to press against his neck, his eyes wide as he stared at the humanoid ice sculptures at the port.
His fighting spirit vanished, quickly replaced by overwhelming despair.
When Orion had slashed Charlotte Linlin from a distance, he knew the glory of the Big Mom Pirates was over.
But he never imagined it would end like this.
He didn't care much about the existence of the Big Mom Pirates.
What filled him with despair was his inability to save his frozen younger siblings.
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