Kizaru's arrival disrupted the battlefield.
With just a casual flick of his legs, they were kicked away like nothing.
That effortless display of overwhelming power froze the Big Mom Pirates, who, moments ago, were still basking in victory, as if they'd all been dumped into an ice cavern.
"B-O-R-S-A-L-I-N-O !!!"
Charlotte Linlin's teeth ground together audibly.
Her blazing, murderous eyes locked onto the man who looked as if he'd come here on vacation. If looks could kill, Kizaru would've been scattered into dust already.
"MARINE! Are you declaring an all-out war against the Big Mom Pirates, here, and now?!"
Her voice was like it rose from the deepest pit of hell, thick with suffocating dread.
"Don't say it in such a scary way now~."
Kizaru remained lazily irritating as always. He poked a finger into his ear and drawled:
"I'm just here on orders to support the G-5 base. But you guys, ganging up on a Marine hero with such a big lineup, isn't that a little disrespectful to the World Government?"
His words sounded like an explanation, but were actually straight-up provocation.
He not only downplayed their attack as "disrespectful," but he also placed Renzo at the height of a Marine Hero.
It was basically dumping gasoline into a wildfire.
"Stop spouting those high-sounding excuses!"
Katakuri appeared at Big Mom's side.
His Observation Haki had already sensed Kizaru's terrifyingly unfathomable strength, and his expression had turned extremely serious.
"Mmamam!" Big Mom laughed in fury.
"Well, since one of the Marine's top powers delivered himself right to my door, I won't be polite! Prometheus! Zeus! Napoleon! Let's go!!"
"Ikoku Sovereignty!!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Big Mom fused the power of all three Homies and swung out a destructive sword strike, flames, lightning, and the power of Ikoku Sovereignty, all forged into a single apocalyptic slash!
This strike was even more violent and focused than the one she used on the Abyssal Slumberer.
Kizaru's sudden appearance had ignited her rage completely.
"What a terrifying power~"
Though he said "terrifying," Kizaru's expression didn't change at all.
One hand remained in his pocket.
The other hand lifted lazily, golden light gathering at his fingertip.
"Ama no Murakumo."
A long blade of pure, dazzling light extended from his hand, meeting the apocalyptic sword head-on.
BOOOOM!!!!
Light, fire, and lightning collided midair, the resulting explosion even more terrifying than the previous battle with the seawater giant.
The resulting shockwave crushed the ocean downward by dozens of meters, forming a massive crater of seawater.
A clash between two top-tier monsters had begun.
Meanwhile, on the Endless Sheep, Renzo watched the scene and nodded with satisfaction.
"Mm, good. The main DPS has successfully drawn aggro," he said to himself.
Monet quietly asked, "Renzo-sama, what should we do now…?"
Sanji, unsurprisingly, was completely unfazed.
After seeing the monstrous battle at Marineford, this didn't even count as a big event.
"Don't rush."
Renzo waved his hand and found a more comfortable position on the sofa, lifting his teacup again.
"Kizaru fighting all alone would be too tiring."
"As his coworkers, we should show some understanding and help him, by creating a good environment for him to deal damage."
Saying that, he gave a small yawn.
A strange, invisible ripple spread outward from the Endless Sheep like gentle waves, silently expanding across the entire battlefield.
[Domain of Sloth, Level One]
Renzo deliberately weakened its intensity, otherwise it would affect friend and foe alike.
Laziness is an instinct for all intelligent life. And Renzo's power was to magnify that instinct infinitely and turn it into a force that affects reality.
At first, no one noticed anything wrong.
Big Mom's officers were preparing to circle around the Kizaru–Big Mom clash and resume their charge toward the Endless Sheep.
But Charlotte Oven, the one running in front, suddenly had a strange thought as he lifted his foot:
'Why… am I so tired?'
'Why am I running so fast anyway?
'Wouldn't walking be enough?'
'No, walking's tiring too…'
'Maybe… I should rest for a moment.'
Once that thought appeared, it spread like wildfire.
A wave of exhaustion washed over his body.
His legs turned heavy like lead, his eyelids drooped, and his running speed visibly slowed.
And he wasn't the only one.
"Ugh… so sleepy. Did I not sleep well yesterday…?"
"The sword in my hand suddenly feels so heavy… I really don't want to lift it…"
"Fighting is such a hassle…"
"The wind is really nice today…"
"Lying on the deck sounds great right now…"
Some weaker pirates even collapsed on the spot, dropping their weapons and falling flat on their backs, snoring happily with peaceful smiles, as if battle was some distant, bothersome Endless and sleep was the true meaning of life.
"You idiots!! Get it together!!"
Katakuri immediately roared, sensing something terribly wrong.
But even he felt an unprecedented fatigue welling up.
The Observation Haki he was so proud of, which required sharp concentration, had become sluggish.
"W–what is this…?!"
Meanwhile, at the battlefield center,
Kizaru sensed the strange phenomenon instantly.
He noticed Big Mom's swing was… just a tiny bit slower?
It was only a fraction of a fraction of a second, but at their level, even 0.01 seconds could decide life or death.
"Yata no Kagami!"
Kizaru seized the fleeting opening.
His body scattered into countless particles of light, slipping past Big Mom's sweeping attack, then condensed again as a massive laser formed beneath him,
BOOM!
The blast hit Big Mom square in the abdomen.
Though her skin didn't break, the spot was left charred black.
"Hm?" Even she noticed something off.
"Why… does my body suddenly feel so heavy…?"
"Oi oi, don't tell me…"
Kizaru looked around at the pirates who were sluggish, yawning, or simply collapsing to sleep, then looked at the relaxed culprit lounging on the distant Endless Sheep, and the corner of his mouth curled.
"This is… some incredible support, huh, Admiral Haiiroyo."
He completely abandoned the idea of fighting Big Mom head-on.
Instead, he embraced the true essence of "cowardly, slippery combat."
Whoosh!
A flash of gold.
He appeared behind Daifuku.
Daifuku was struggling to rub his stomach to summon the genie, but the movement looked like it was slowed down five times, sluggish and languid.
"Too slow~."
That signature voice rang at Daifuku's ear, followed by a golden heel reinforced with Armament Haki.
THUD!
Daifuku passed out before the genie's hand even emerged.
Whoosh!
Another golden flash, this time appearing before Cracker.
His biscuit soldiers were lethargic, some even napping against their own shields.
THUD!
Another one kicked gone.
The scene that unfolded on the battlefield was both comedic and terrifying.
Kizaru had become a golden grim reaper, weaving through the battlefield at impossible speeds.
Meanwhile, the Big Mom officers were stuck in slow motion, their thoughts and bodies weighed down by lethargy.
All they could do was watch that golden flash grow bigger, then… nothing.
"You bastard!! Borsalino!! STOP RIGHT THERE!!!"
Big Mom roared, eyes bloodshot.
She swung Napoleon wildly, trying to hit him.
But she herself was affected by the Sloth's Domain, her movements slowed, dull and heavy.
Her attacks, before Kizaru's ridiculous speed, looked clumsy and pitifully slow.
They struck nothing but afterimages.
All she could do was watch, powerless and furious, as Kizaru moved like a wolf in a flock of sheep, booting her precious sons and daughters one after another, each kick clean, efficient, and merciless.
The frustration…
The humiliation…
The rage…
It was enough to make this Yonko to lose her mind.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu