"With thunder, shatter the darkness!"
"Myriad Thunder Attraction · Thunder Domain!!!"
BOOM!!!
At some unknown moment, dark clouds had gathered over nearly half the city. In an instant, a dazzling golden bolt of lightning tore through the clouds, as if a god were unleashing divine wrath upon the mortals below.
The next second, countless streams of electricity—like nimble serpents—raced through the clouds, converging and compressing until they formed enormous spheres of thunder.
And the one responsible for all of this, Nami, was sitting playfully atop her Clima-Tact. Her fair legs were crossed as she stuck out her tongue, cheerfully inviting the Black Lion Alliance pirates below:
"I really didn't expect so many people to want my head!"
"Two hundred million Beli… just thinking about it gets my blood pumping!"
"But—"
"If you think you can take money from me, you're way too green!"
"Enjoy the baptism of thunder!"
BOOM!!!
As she looked down at the pirates who had already fled the city, a sharp flash of lightning glinted in Nami's eyes.
In an instant, the thunder stored within the clouds poured forth like a heavenly deluge, illuminating the darkened Amazon Lily as torrents of lightning crashed down upon the pirates below!
"AAAAHHH—!!!"
Under the ravages of the lightning, agonized screams rang out as the pirates were wracked with pain.
But after witnessing everything they had done to Amazon Lily, Nami had no intention of holding back.
If anything, she feared they wouldn't die quickly enough—and increased her output even further.
Her battle with the Pirate Empress had already shown her her own shortcomings.
Against demons like these, mercy was unnecessary.
At the same time, on the other side of the city—
Robin hovered in midair, a pair of soft pink flesh-wings extending from her back.
Though she couldn't compare to natural Observation Haki prodigies like Aisa or Usopp, the amplification from her immense mental power allowed Robin's Observation Haki to cover nearly half the city!
More importantly, the Flower-Flower Fruit allowed her to freely manifest her abilities on any target she detected.
Which meant—
"Mil Fleur · Flower Sea!"
Whoosh—
Robin suddenly crossed her arms before her chest, a mysterious glint flashing through her eyes.
In the next instant, illusory petals scattered across the war-torn streets of Amazon Lily, as though two unrelated worlds were overlapping.
Then—
Piercing screams erupted from the narrow alleys.
Compared to Nami's instant, merciful thunder strikes, Robin's methods were far more ruthless.
Without warning, pale arms sprouted directly from the pirates' bodies—locking around their necks or vital joints before they could even react.
Crack!!!
With ruthless precision, the arms exerted force, snapping necks and joints as the pirates were killed on the spot.
Any particularly resilient survivors were quickly surrounded by the insectoid army capable of sensing life force, and devoured whole.
In just a few minutes, over a hundred pirates had lost their lives.
At some point, the nature of the battle had changed.
The pirates who had once rampaged through Amazon Lily now felt as though they had wandered into a demon's nest.
Those who had been pushing toward the city center now wanted nothing more than to escape.
"Damn these bugs! S-save me!!!"
"Gah—!"
"Run!!!"
"Where are Lord Golden Lion and Lord Blackbeard!? This is way beyond us!"
"..."
"..."
The chaos engulfing Amazon Lily only grew worse.
"So… this is the Straw Hat Pirates' true strength?"
Watching the tide of battle completely reverse in less than an hour, Hancock finally understood—
Why the World Government had placed such terrifying bounties on them.
The Black Lion Alliance was a monstrous force, even on a global scale!
If not for its short history, it would surely stand among the world's top powers.
And yet such a terrifying organization—one that could push Amazon Lily to the brink of destruction—was being utterly crushed by the Straw Hat crew.
Whether elite fighters or large-scale warfare, they had no weaknesses!
This pirate crew was practically born for war!
A single group, standing against an entire nation!
"No wonder you dared to do something like that…"
Hancock recalled the earlier conversation between Blackbeard and Luffy, her back tingling with unease.
Taking a deep breath, she turned her gaze toward the skies above Amazon Lily.
On the Black Lion Alliance's Sky Island, Usopp's battle with the Corrupt King had already ended.
Under Usopp's merciless bombardment, the Corrupt King—his Devil Fruit ability sealed—had been completely powerless.
In the end, he fell with resentment beneath the hands of the insect-controlling youth.
"It's finally over!"
"Phew!"
On the Sky Island, Usopp stood atop ground cratered like the surface of the moon. With a wave of his hand, he stored the half-dead Corrupt King into his storage space, declaring the battle's conclusion.
"I can't believe I actually pulled it off!"
"Looks like I really should listen to Red and focus more on plant cultivation from now on."
Slumping onto the back of his stag beetle, Usopp sighed in exhaustion.
The overwhelming power of the insect army had carried him to heights that didn't truly belong to him.
As a result, he had devoted nearly all his energy to breeding insects—leaving his plant research almost completely stagnant.
Usopp guessed—
That Red had noticed this long ago, which was why he deliberately sent him to fight the Corrupt King, a special Devil Fruit user, to remind him that properly used plants could be just as powerful.
Usopp resolved that once the Amazon Lily battle concluded, he would immediately enter Laboon's inner world and devote himself to developing new plant weapons.
But just as he was about to rest—
The Sky Island beneath him suddenly began to shake violently.
The next second, before his shocked eyes, the massive island split in two—then shattered into countless fragments, shooting even higher into the sky.
"This is… the Golden Lion's power!?"
Having studied the intel beforehand, Usopp instantly realized what was happening.
Dodging flying debris atop his beetle, he pulled on his goggles and stared upward.
Half an hour earlier…
While the Straw Hats were carrying out their operations on Amazon Lily, Luffy and Red—who had arrived earlier—were already locked in battle with the Black Lion Alliance's two leaders.
Their battlefield, however, was not Amazon Lily itself.
To prevent the four of them from completely destroying the island, Red had activated Hyperspace Hole and Teleportation at the very start—relocating all four away from Amazon Lily.
They arrived above a Calm Belt sea nearby.
And there, in that deserted ocean, a battle between world-class titans erupted in silence.
Luffy immediately chose Blackbeard—his destined enemy.
Old acquaintances, they exchanged no words and clashed instantly.
A battle between kings unfolded in the skies.
On the other side, the Golden Lion stared at Red, a complex and savage glint flashing through his eyes.
Soldier versus soldier, general versus general!
Blackbeard had immediately engaged the opposing captain—didn't that imply his own status was inferior!?
That flicker of dissatisfaction vanished as quickly as it appeared.
After all, Red was no easy opponent either!
With a sudden motion, the Golden Lion ignored the others and shot straight into the sky.
Red smirked and followed, understanding his intent.
The two ascended in silence, as though this were not their first meeting.
Only when they reached nearly ten thousand meters did the Golden Lion finally stop and turn around, a狂妄 grin spreading across his face.
The thin air posed little problem for someone long accustomed to Sky Islands.
Laughing loudly, he said:
"Brat, at this height, you can't use that weird sea-summoning ability anymore, can you!?"
"As expected of a legendary pirate—spotting the flaw so quickly."
Red didn't deny it.
Even here, he could connect space to the ocean via Hyperspace Hole—but the cost far outweighed the benefit.
What the Golden Lion didn't know was—
Red had never planned to defeat him with seawater in the first place.
"However, Senior Golden Lion…"
Red chuckled, his gaze calm and assured.
"Who told you I only had that one ability?"
"Didn't Blackbeard tell you… about me?"
Whoosh!
Before the Golden Lion's stunned eyes, Red's arms transformed into a pair of wings radiating immense energy.
Blazing flames and biting frost manifested simultaneously—yet didn't interfere with one another.
His legs became avian talons, lightning crackling around them.
At that moment, the power of the Legendary Birds descended upon Red.
Meaning—
He could now use all of their techniques!
BOOM!
A terrifying aura erupted from Red, blasting away the surrounding clouds and clearing the sky.
"Come, Senior Golden Lion! Let me witness the power of a legend!"
Red grinned—calculation flickering behind his eyes.
The Golden Lion's expression hardened.
"No wonder your powers are so strange… you're a Mythical Zoan user!"
"But if you think a single Devil Fruit is enough to challenge me, you're sorely mistaken, brat!!!"
BOOM!!!
Though old wounds had weakened him—
A starved camel was still bigger than a horse!
Even with a blade stuck in his head, he remained—
The Tyrant of the Seas!!!
"Wave Slash!!!"
Slash!
Without giving Red a moment to prepare, the Golden Lion shot upward, twisted midair, and swung his famed blades Kogarashi and Oto, unleashing two massive golden slashes.
They tore toward Red like they meant to cleave heaven and earth apart.
Yet just before impact, Red flickered—vanishing via Teleportation.
The slashes continued downward, splitting the Calm Belt's sea open with a colossal fissure.
The once-silent ocean boiled as shockwaves rippled for hundreds of kilometers.
"That's insane…"
"How did movie Luffy ever beat this guy?"
"Was it really just Electric-type moves dealing double damage to Flying-types?"
Red muttered internally.
But his expression quickly turned serious.
Even weakened, the Golden Lion had merely dropped from top-tier to just below top-tier.
Underestimating him would be fatal.
Electric arcs burst from Red's body.
In the next instant, he unleashed Zapdos's strongest Electric-type move—
Zap Cannon!
Crackle—
Blinding lightning condensed before Red.
As the Golden Lion stabilized himself—
A beam of thunder tore through the sky, roaring straight toward him.
"What!?"
The Golden Lion's eyes widened in horror.
The lightning pierced heaven and earth, slamming into his body without mercy.
"AAARGHHH!!!"
Thunder like divine punishment engulfed him.
His scream echoed across the sky.
(End of Chapter)