The Juice Minister, Charlotte Smoothie, spoke coldly:
"In one breath, you've managed to offend three major powers. Just for that, having this many big names come for your head… even if you die here, your name will still shake the world. Hardly a wasted life."
In an instant, every gaze locked onto Whiteflame.
"Are you all done running your mouths?"
"If you're finished, then come at me together."
"And don't think you misheard. What I said was—"
Whiteflame's cold eyes swept across everyone as he pronounced, word by word:
"All. Of. You. Come. At. Once."
The moment those words left his mouth, a vicious light flashed in everyone's eyes.
"My, my… what's with kids these days?"
"Each one more arrogant than the last. Each one with less and less respect for anyone."
A cold glint reflected in Kizaru's toad-like sunglasses.
"Heh… so you know you're going to die, and you want to go out with a bit of dignity?"
"You do realize who you're facing right now, don't you? You could point at any random one of us here and find someone who shakes the New World… and you dare tell all of us to come at you together? You really must be insane."
Charlotte Mont-d'Or sneered.
"Quit wasting time on him!"
"I can't wait to sink my teeth into his throat and watch him scream and beg in despair!"
The Wind Calamity Queen's eyes glinted coldly.
"Hard to believe I'd ever agree with you about anything, you annoying woman."
"But since we're of one mind for once, let's not waste time—Mom's waiting for my report."
The Juice Minister, Charlotte Smoothie, raised the long sword in her hand, her eyes indifferent.
"Kill!"
The Wind Calamity Queen let out a piercing roar, her body turning into a raging gale as she tore toward Whiteflame!
Her four paws and her exposed fangs were all wrapped in ultra-dense Armament Haki… If she sank those jaws into someone's throat or ripped them apart with those claws, with strength that surpassed even Jack the Drought, the result was obvious.
"Don't let that annoying woman snatch the kill!"
Smoothie swung her longsword with overwhelming force, slashing down fiercely!
[Half-Moon · Fresh-Squeezed Mango Juice]!
Boom!!
In that instant, the entire Nine Dragons was cleaved in two, a massive arc of orange sword aura ripping along the ground, slashing straight toward Whiteflame!
"Smoothie, you're too reckless! You blew the battlefield apart in your first swing—where are the rest of us supposed to stand?"
"Forget it. If there's no place to stand, I'll just float in the air."
"You bastard who killed my brother—come experience the misery of the world inside my books!"
Mont-d'Or stood atop his book, floating in the air. He flicked his hand, sending a book flying toward Whiteflame. As it flew, it grew larger and larger, its pages fluttering rapidly.
[World of Books]!
Once trapped inside the book's world, you'd be lost in illusion, unable to distinguish reality. Then, you wouldn't be able to dodge anything—and you'd be killed on the spot.
"I'm taking him down in one go!"
[Cream Monster]!
A mass of thick fresh cream gushed from Opera's large body, forming a gigantic cream beast. It surged forward like a massive wave, crashing down from above to engulf Whiteflame!
"Come taste my Candy Cannons!"
Perospero rapidly sculpted three candy cannons, each as tall as a man. Without another word, he aimed them at Whiteflame and fired!
Candy shells with terrifying explosive force roared through the air. If they struck, the damage would be even worse than real cannonfire.
The remaining Ice Cream Minister and Butter Minister also unleashed their abilities, all of them intending to end this battle in one decisive strike.
"This is the first time I've ever teamed up with pirates to deal with a pirate… Quite a historic moment."
"But if that's what it takes to remove this threat, then so be it."
"One hit… Let's end it in one hit."
[Laser Kick]!
Light gathered in Kizaru's lower leg. He swung his foot in a high-speed kick, sending a terrifying laser beam shooting straight at Whiteflame's head at the speed of light!
In that instant, Marine Admiral Kizaru, the Wind Calamity Queen of the Three Calamities, and the Big Mom Pirates' minister-level cadres… all launched a devastating combined assault on Whiteflame almost simultaneously!
A heaven-shattering wave of attacks engulfed Whiteflame from head to toe, leaving him with absolutely nowhere to run.
Threads budded and wrapped his frame—an IBM husk anchoring in place—while the true body slipped upward through a second cocoon strung above the mast.
Slash!
Rip!
Whooo—!
In the blink of an eye, razor sword aura carved a savage gash across Whiteflame's body, nearly splitting him in half.
The Wind Calamity Queen's claws tore across him, blood spraying as wounds crisscrossed his body!
The cream that splashed across his skin reacted like ignited fuel, burning him in a vicious, scorching reaction!
From within the World of Books, Mont-d'Or stuck his head out, firing shot after shot. Haki-coated bullets riddled Whiteflame with holes like a human sieve!
Then came the candy shells. Ear-splitting explosions shook the air as the blasts engulfed Whiteflame and the Nine Dragons both in terrifying destruction!
Kizaru's laser beam, with nothing to block it, pierced straight through Whiteflame's head!
In the space of a single instant—
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
The cataclysmic force of the combined attack drowned Whiteflame completely, tearing into him until blood and flesh blurred together. Through it all, he didn't resist. His expression never changed, and he didn't even move, letting their attacks rip into him without so much as flinching.
"Ha ha ha! He was scared stiff! He didn't even try to dodge!"
"Like dodging would've mattered against that! Either way, the ending's the same—he dies!"
"Yoh-hoh! We can go back and report to Mama now!"
The Big Mom Pirates' ministers grinned broadly. They had already started planning how they'd celebrate completing Mama's orders and avenging Brother Cracker…
"Hmph! Don't start dreaming yet! His head belongs to me! Boss Kaido said we have to bring him back alive. Anyone who tries to snatch him from me, I'll bite their neck off!"
The Wind Calamity Queen flashed out of the blast zone. She was certain that after being hit head-on by her attack, Whiteflame couldn't possibly have survived… Never mind adding all the bizarre abilities of the Big Mom Pirates' freaks on top of that. His chances of survival were zero.
Among them all, only Kizaru stayed silent, scanning the cloud of smoke and dust with a grave expression.
"This time… he's really dead, right?"
Kizaru's heart was full of hope. He wanted nothing more than for Whiteflame to have died here.
And then—
"Is that all?"
"How disappointing."
From within the billowing smoke, Whiteflame stepped lightly into the air, walking out as if nothing had happened. His expression was calm. There wasn't a single scratch on his body… not even a tear in his clothes.
Below, their "kill" unraveled into bandages and collapsed—a hollow, headless wrap, not flesh.
"What?!"
The smiles on everyone's faces froze solid.
The Emperor Red-Hair Shanks Appears!
"Damn it! How is it possible he doesn't have a single wound on him?!"
"I know I hit him… there's no way I was wrong! I never misread a hit!"
"Did we just kill a stand-in? What Devil Fruit power is this?!"
Every face turned incredulous.
They had watched "Whiteflame" with their own eyes as he was torn apart by their combined techniques, unable to dodge, unable to resist… and then in the blink of an eye, the real Whiteflame appeared before them completely unharmed!
If it had just been one person making a mistake, that would be one thing.
But everyone at the same time?
Forget the Big Mom ministers for a moment—just look at the Juice Minister, one of the Sweet Commanders; the Wind Calamity Queen, one of the Three Calamities; and Admiral Kizaru from the Marines…
These were top dogs of three major powers. Any one of them could dominate an entire sea. And yet none of them had managed to inflict so much as a scratch on this man. Was that even possible?
"Don't know what trick you used to dodge all our attacks…"
"But you may have avoided them once. You really think you can avoid them twice?"
Smoothie's gaze turned razor sharp as she lifted her sword again.
"That's right. Just now was only to show off a little and warm up. From here on out… we'll be getting serious."
Perospero said with a sinister grin.
"No matter how many times you slip away, the ending won't change—you die here."
"This time, I'm crushing your skull between my teeth!"
The Wind Calamity Queen roared.
Kizaru remained silent, but behind his sunglasses, boundless killing intent boiled up.
Not a single one of these people was easy to deal with.
They didn't know how Whiteflame had avoided their onslaught, but there was no way they'd be shaken so easily—or give up on killing him.
Whiteflame had to die.
In the same instant, everyone began readying their powers again, determined to give him no more chances and finish this in one decisive strike.
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