Chapter 332: Slaying the Heavens
Chapter 332: Slaying the Heavens
The dark clouds gathered, like black cotton balls, constantly shrinking and revealing a face that gradually became clearer from the vagueness.
There was no distinguishable feature, but a pair of scarlet eyes and a mouth emitting a red glow opened in the dark sky.
The storm intensified, as the already large raindrops fell with greater urgency, as if intent on battering someone to death. Violent and fierce.
The raging winds caused Sage's white flame hair to dance wildly, even tugging at his facial skin.
Boom!
Thunder rumbled, snaking across half the sky, brewing and poised to pour down at any moment.
Compared to Zeus' ordinary thunderclouds, these seemed like storm clouds. Though they were conceptually the same, under Charlotte Linlin's soul transformation, they took on a different form.
The more distinct the entity in the sky became, the more dejected Zeus looked.
He could feel it too—that thing was far stronger than him.
Mommy, was she going to abandon him?
"Mama mama mama, come on, you seem really strong. Bring me victory!"
Charlotte Linlin laughed hysterically, and the devil's face burning on her hair seemed to want to break free from its restraints, blazing even brighter.
If she could make this annoying thing submit to her will, then the troublemaker wouldn't be her, but that calamity brat.
She didn't know why every time she used lightning, thunder would fall from the sky, but that didn't matter anymore. With this power, she could use the might of the storm to deal with Sage.
"Activate, Homies!"
Boom!
The thunder that rumbled in the sky was louder than ever, giving form to the face in the sky. Just as it was about to fully materialize, beneath the dark clouds, a figure flashing with white light had reached the sky.
In the vast and immense sky, that figure seemed as insignificant as a needlepoint.
But the more insignificant it seemed, the more its might couldn't be underestimated.
At this height in the sky, with the raging storm, the air was already in chaos. Even Sage couldn't use Moonwalk for extended periods at this altitude.
With one kick, Sage disturbed the air, creating a turbulent airflow that caused him to kick at nothing but air, and his body started to fall.
"Get up!"
Bang! Sage threw a punch downward, and the impact of his fist exploded a wave of air that, in turn, propelled his body upward due to inertia.
The rippling waves of air calmed the turbulent airflow, and Sage kicked the air again, using Moonwalk to ascend further and reach the clouds above.
In the dark sky, beneath the materialized scarlet eyes and mouth, Sage's body, charred black, emitted white smoke. As his wounds healed, he let the biting wind blow through his hair, his face solemn.
Just the damage from that bolt of lightning had already inflicted a significant injury on Sage, and now, something even more alarming was about to appear.
Haki was, of course, supreme, but the power of nature could never be underestimated either. These two forces were not mutually exclusive.
Charlotte Linlin possessed both and excelled in both.
Just the damage from that lightning strike was enough to give him a hard time.
And now, the might displayed was clearly even greater.
It must not be allowed to fully form!
Breaking through the sky was not difficult.
In essence, it was a technique that belonged to the category of 'Fire Slash, Thunderclap'. A special skill born from the combination of Observation and Armament Haki, it could attack elements.
But this didn't mean it was a counter. Aside from nature itself, nothing could truly counter nature; all one could do was neutralize it.
Moreover, using this technique was more exhausting than using Haki, and it was a tedious task.
Because elements were just that—elements. One could temporarily neutralize elements with a small range, but with a vast range, it was impossible. Moreover, if one had the means to do this, they could just directly attack the caster.
Like the lightning Charlotte Linlin released earlier, its speed, power, and wide range made it impossible to completely neutralize, and one would still end up taking damage.
Not to mention, while you're attacking the element, the caster can just get up close and personal and hit you with another attack.
However, Sage had mastered this technique.
His original plan was to first get rid of the thundercloud that could generate lightning, then strike the flames on the old lady's head to prevent her from using the elements. But now, he had to switch targets.
After Charlotte Linlin's punch sent him downward, Sage sensed that something was about to take form, and he quickly reacted by kicking off the sky.
If it fully formed, things would get really troublesome!
Before that—
Sizzle!
Sage's fist transformed into a hand blade, and viscous black flames surged, entwined with black-red lightning.
"Let's get rid of you first!"
The hand blade, trailed by black-red lightning, slashed straight into the clouds.
"Kongoku Karezan!" (Adamant Country Splitting Slash)
Bang!!
With this hand blade, the entire sky rippled with a massive cloud layer, obliterating the dark clouds overhead. It was as if something had crushed a block of tofu, swiftly creating a large circle in the sky.
The very nature of Haoshoku Haki gave it the power to alter the weather, and when concentrated and combined with one's own overwhelming burst of Haki, it was indeed possible to disperse the sky!
The darkness scattered, the wind and rain ceased, and the tempestuous storm came to a halt, causing even the tumultuous waves in the nearby sea to quieten momentarily.
As the wind and rain subsided, the revealed massive dark clouds, along with the entire sky, were cleansed by Sage's single hand blade.
That threatening presence had vanished.
"Zeus' Rage!!"
Sage had barely caught his breath when Charlotte Linlin's roar echoed from below, and a thick purple lightning bolt surged from the ground upward, illuminating Sage's figure brilliantly.
In less than a breath, the lightning was upon him!
This time was different from before, as the previous lightning had been partially blocked by the stormy weather, but this time, there was no such hindrance.
BOOM!!
The lightning coursed between heaven and earth, engulfing Sage's figure. It was unclear if it descended from the heavens or rose from the depths.
But just as the sky had been cleared of darkness, it now darkened once more beneath this lightning strike.
...
Earlier, before the storm had dissipated.
After Charlotte Linlin's punch sent Sage flying, the battle on the sea underwent a change.
"Lady Lily, all the cannons have been shaken apart and are unusable!"
On the Grim Reaper's Ship, the subordinate in charge of firing the cannons turned back and shouted.
Lily's eyes narrowed, and she instructed, "Check the status of the cannons on all ships."
Then, she turned to Renetia beside her and asked, "Can the main cannon still be used?"
Even before she finished speaking, Renetia had already disassembled the ignition device and leaned in to check the main cannon's condition.
Hearing this, she withdrew her head and shook it, replying, "No, several ignition devices inside are damaged as well. It'll take some time to fix them."
"Lady Lily, all the ships' cannons are malfunctioning."
At that moment, the subordinate holding the Den Den Mushi came over to report.
"The influence of Haoshoku Haki," Lily said, gripping the White Lightning in her hand and glancing at the Big Mom Pirates fleet, which continued to advance behind the massive pile of ship wreckage.
She pointed the White Lightning forward and said solemnly, "Move the ship closer and engage in a boarding battle!"
Whether it was the cannons on this ship or those on the other ships, they had all been shaken apart by the overflowing Haoshoku Haki that had spilled from Sage's and Charlotte Linlin's earlier clash.
Aside from a boarding battle, there was no other option.
Retreat?
Retreating was not the style of the Heavenly Disaster Pirates, nor was it Lily's style! They would definitely fight a good battle!
"Are they making their move?"
Marika opened her eyes, her long, flowing black hair dancing wildly in the howling wind.
Renetia took out her mechanical hammer, extended it, and gripped it with both hands, baring her two small tiger teeth.
On the ship behind the Grim Reaper's Ship, Hawkins drew his long sword expressionlessly, put away his tarot cards, and said indifferently,
"From here on, fate will be decided by our individual actions."
"Hehehehe!"
On another ship, Moriah laughed gleefully, "It's been a long time since I've encountered such a grand scene. This weather is quite nice, too!"
The entire fleet began to move straight ahead, navigating through the giant waves toward the pile of wreckage.
"They've changed their strategy over there; they're going to engage us in a boarding battle."
In the Big Mom Pirates fleet, Perospero looked at the rapidly approaching fleet, which had changed course, and his extremely long tongue flicked. Then, he waved his candy cane staff and shouted,
"Attack! Let them witness the power of the Big Mom Pirates!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Katakuri beside him gripped her trident, her long legs stepping forward. As she stepped onto the bulwark at the ship's bow, her entire body surged forward. The bright trident's prongs turned pitch-black as she viciously stabbed at a flash of black lightning that suddenly appeared in front of her.
CLANG!!
A crisp sound rang out as the trident firmly blocked the thin, two-finger-wide sword blade that had stabbed at her.
Lily's figure appeared in the air, her eyes widening in surprise as she glanced at the briefly suspended Katakuri in front of her. She shifted her sword-wielding hand to the side and, with her legs, kicked off the air in front of her, her body retreating backward as she swung her sword upward.
"Flying Bird Forest!"
In the air, Katakuri's body transformed, becoming soft and fluid like white dough.
Even before Lily's slash could approach, Katakuri's body had already broken apart in several places, allowing those flying slashes, like a flock of birds returning to the forest, to pass through the openings.
He stretched out a hand that had transformed into dough, and the dough quickly reshaped itself into a six-barreled Gatling gun, hardening into a black color under Armament Haki, resembling a real weapon.
"Matchless Dough Bullet!"
RATATAT!
The rice balls transformed into round bullets, turning pitch-black under the power of Haki, and swept toward Lily in the air in a barrage.
"Lightning Net!"
Lily's figure quickly disappeared, leaving only a series of afterimages in the air. Amidst the afterimages, she slashed with her sword, creating a net of lightning that deflected the dense barrage of bullets.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew as metal clashed, and amidst the rampant lightning, a path abruptly cleaved through, hurtling straight towards Katakuri, who was beginning to descend due to the dissipation of the Moonwalk's air suspension effect.
Buzz!
Just then, as the lightning raged, Katakuri's trident-wielding arm morphed into a spread-out slab of mochi, spinning at a rapid pace and propelling the trident in a hurricane-like motion, piercing towards the encroaching lightning.
"Mochi Thrust!"
Clang!!
The sword tip collided with the spiraling trident, unleashing a burst of impact that not only dispersed the force but also deflected the powerful blow, swiftly piercing through and continuing forward.
Lily's eyes narrowed as she swiftly prepared to employ the Moonwalk, her figure evidently sidestepping to the side.
Whoosh! But at that moment, the wind howled, and a strip of pitch-black mochi abruptly appeared before her eyes.
"Mochi Horn!!"
The power and speed of this attack
It must not make contact!
Lily's eyes gleamed with scarlet, and the Haoshoku Haki within her surged forth, inundating Katakuri.
The nature of Haoshoku Haki allowed it to entangle and bind before it could be used offensively. When facing formidable opponents, it was not prudent to simply unleash it; instead, one ought to seize the opportune moment to strike, momentarily stunning the opponent's spirit.
However, just as Lily's Haoshoku Haki assailed Katakuri, a surge of Haoshoku Haki equally matched to hers erupted from within him, forming two semi-circular shields of contrasting colors that repelled each other.
He had it too!
Lily grit her teeth and, with lightning speed, positioned her sword defensively in front of her, the blade angled towards her opponent. Simultaneously, she imbued her entire body and sword with Busoshoku Haki, her muscles tensing in preparation.
"Iron Block: Air Fang!"
She had mastered all six styles of Haki, although she didn't frequently utilize them all.
But now, she had no choice but to resort to this defensive technique.
This defensive maneuver, due to the sword's presence, also possessed a degree of offensive capability. If it connected with the sword, it would inflict a certain degree of damage, and if it struck elsewhere, Lily could swiftly release the tension of Iron Block and execute a cutting strike.
However, she had no intention of employing the latter; she was confident in her speed and believed that her attack would connect with the sword. Boom!
The strip of mochi attacking her abruptly changed direction as it drew near her White Lightning, ultimately slamming into her face and sending her plunging into the sea, crashing into the remnants of a ship protruding from the water.
BOOM!!
A sizable portion of the wreckage caved in, splitting it into two segments.
Katakuri, at that moment, landed on another fragment of the deck, gazing across the seawater at the figure in the distance.
From within the wreckage, Lily emerged, leaping from the hole and landing on a broken mast, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Half of her face was visibly injured, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"A Logia user? No, the intelligence indicated you're a unique Paramecia user, didn't it?" Lily inquired, her tone steely.
If she hadn't preemptively prepared her Busoshoku Haki defense and swiftly shifted it to Entanglement upon impact, concentrating the Haki around her face, that punch would have inflicted far more severe damage.
That wasn't all; crucially, none of her attacks had landed, and they had all been deftly evaded.
It was reminiscent of a Logia user's evasion capabilities.
However, there was a distinct difference; Logia users could elementalize their entire body, and the premise of this evasive maneuver was that the ability user's physical form was grasped, allowing them to shift their substance and avoid the attack. If one was purely an element, there would be no need for such an action.
"I ate the Mochi Mochi Fruit, which allows me to transform any part of my body into mochi. This ability lets me freely manipulate my body, creating holes, altering angles, and so on with ease."
Katakuri's voice was solemn as he declared, "Your every action is futile against me."
Ten seconds ago, he had foreseen the future—this woman would initiate the offense, momentarily stunning him with her Haoshoku Haki before cleaving through the ships with her sword, dealing them significant losses.
Katakuri was astonished by her combat style, prompting him to take the initiative and counter the 'Sword Princess' to thwart her plan.
Anything could happen in a naval battle, and Katakuri wouldn't allow an opponent with Haoshoku Haki to approach him unchecked.
"You are not my match. It would be more fitting for Moriah to face me."
Katakuri raised his trident and asserted, "Once I defeat you, I will turn my attention to Moriah and crush all of you!"
Lily inhaled deeply, her expression becoming increasingly solemn.
This opponent was incredibly formidable! His Haki prowess, the development of his abilities, and the power to foresee her actions (she knew it was future prediction because Sage possessed a similar ability) far surpassed her own.
All of these factors made him a formidable adversary.
However,
"Whether I'm your match or not, we'll know once we fight!"
Lily tightened her grip on White Lightning, her eyes shimmering with scarlet as the Haoshoku Haki within her overflowed and billowed outwards, causing her golden hair to flutter wildly.
"I won't back down just because you're strong. Do you know who I am?!"
A Sword Empress never retreats!
(End of Chapter)
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