The source of Emilagon's fury was something neither Red nor Usopp was destined to understand.
But seeing that the opponent was clearly about to unleash some strange ultimate move, Usopp naturally wasn't about to sit there obediently and wait to be beaten.
In the next instant, the Green Vine armor covering his body began to writhe violently, like countless tiny pythons slithering across his frame. At the same time, it resembled the veins and vessels of a plant, rapidly converging around his wrist and forming a thick, heavy cannon.
Green Vine Armor · Combat Form—Transform!
Beast Form · Angel Armament!
Whooo—
A dazzling white radiance burst forth from Emilagon's body.
What had once been a human form adorned with angelic wings was now transformed into a complete and absolute angelic state.
Although her physique remained humanoid, at this very moment, both Red and Usopp could clearly sense an overwhelming aura of holiness emanating from Emilagon—so pure it made one instinctively want to kneel and confess.
Not only that, the golden armor that had previously seemed external now appeared far more form-fitting, perfectly outlining her graceful curves.
It even made Red and Usopp wonder…
Had that golden armor already fused with Emilagon herself?
The golden hue interwoven seamlessly with the skin at her fair neck was the clearest proof.
Even the massive golden holy sword—once nearly as wide as a person—had now condensed into a slender one-handed golden rapier.
Leaving aside how much raw combat power this Mythical Zoan Fruit granted her, the sheer visual spectacle alone was already worth the price of admission!
In the blink of an eye, both Usopp and Emilagon had evolved into entirely new combat forms.
"Finishing Move—Explosive Pinecone · Eternal Winter!!!"
A strangely shaped pinecone suddenly emerged from Usopp's body storage and was smoothly loaded into the Green Vine hand cannon.
At the same moment, the Ice Stone at his waist—still retaining most of its energy—shattered abruptly. A terrifying surge of freezing power flowed along specially cultivated vines capable of bearing Ice-type attributes, flooding straight into the pinecone within the cannon!
Through the joint research of Usopp and Chopper, they had not only cultivated a variety of plants and seeds with unique effects—
They had also refined them further, enabling them to carry different Pokémon elemental energies!
Not every plant could do this, of course, but it was more than enough for Usopp to handle high-intensity combat.
The only drawback was…
This fighting style burned through resources at a terrifying rate.
After just a few shots, an elemental evolution stone had to be replaced.
Even Red—who could freely loot the game world's backpack—would struggle to sustain consumption on this scale.
But the benefit of such immense expenditure was equally staggering—
It allowed Usopp, whose level hadn't even reached 50 yet, to unleash a horrifying attack powerful enough to shock even Zoro and Sanji!
High in the sky, Emilagon—now in full angelic form—raised her holy sword. Brilliant light gathered along its edge, streaking toward Usopp like a blazing comet.
"Divine Punishment · Descent from Heaven!!"
BOOM!!!
The two attacks collided in midair, erupting into a deafening explosion and a violent shockwave.
But in the very next moment—
The holy beam re-condensed at the very heart of the explosion, as if it possessed a second life, and surged once more toward Usopp.
"This has dragged on for far too long!"
After launching multiple all-out attacks without even scratching a single hair on her opponent, Emilagon finally realized the seriousness of the situation.
Especially after Red revealed himself—making it clear that the blasphemers invading Mary Geoise were not limited to just one person!
Although this wasn't entirely unexpected, in her angelic state, an inexplicable sense of foreboding rose within her heart.
Damn that useless trash named Saint Charlos—of all times to disappear, he had to vanish now!
Recalling the intelligence she had accidentally leaked earlier made her seethe with anger.
But what could she do? That trash's father was the head of one of the Twenty Royal Families.
In terms of status, Saint Charlos ranked several tiers above her former self before she joined the God's Knights.
Under the intense pressure from the family head, Saint Roswald, the God's Knights had no choice but to dispatch their main force to search for Saint Charlos.
As a result, Mary Geoise was now left with only Emilagon, a single vice commander, and a handful of ordinary God's Knights members.
At her command, those remaining members had already gone to inspect the ammunition depot. By now, they should have reported back.
In the heat of battle, Emilagon had no time to think further.
Her gaze locked entirely onto the shining beam. Once it pierced Usopp's body, she planned to immediately turn and deal with the next intruder.
However…
Before the scene she expected could unfold, countless azure ice crystals suddenly burst forth from the smoke of the explosion, shooting toward her at a speed no slower than the light beam itself.
Clearly, she wasn't the only one with a hidden follow-up!
"Tekkai · Holy Court!!!"
Shk-shk-shk-shk—
Seeing the sharp ice spikes blanket the sky like bullets, impossible to evade, Emilagon slashed forward with her golden rapier.
A sacred aura surged from her body, forming something like a solid cathedral that enveloped her completely in radiant light.
Ice crystals smashed against the light barrier, shattering like glass against stone.
With a casual sideways thrust, she also easily deflected the beam that had been aimed at Usopp.
For a moment, Usopp and Emilagon found themselves locked in a stalemate, neither able to gain the upper hand.
But in the next instant, holy radiance and blazing artillery once again lit up the skies over Mary Geoise.
Their battle officially entered a white-hot phase.
Watching all of this unfold, Red's eyes flashed with sharp brilliance. Using Psychic Power, he diminished his own presence and lingered far at the edge of the battlefield.
After all, their objective had never been to clash head-on with the World Government or the Celestial Dragons.
If Emilagon were truly defeated and the Five Elders seated securely in Pangaea Castle were drawn out, that would be the greatest possible loss for them.
The longer they delayed, the more slaves Sanji and the others could rescue!!!
Honestly, they were lucky the Supernovas had kidnapped Saint Charlos. Otherwise, Red might have needed to step in personally to block one or two members of the God's Knights.
After clearing Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu / Let's Go, Eevee, his strength had skyrocketed as well.
Previously, he had already exchanged blows with opponents at the level of a Yonko's right-hand man. Now, even if someone like Aokiji or Akainu showed up, he was confident he could hold them back.
Both were using cheats—but his was even easier and more brainless than Luffy's.
And so, relying on the Green Vine device and the madness of unlimited ammunition, Usopp once again clashed fiercely with Emilagon.
In angel form, Emilagon could freely wield both flames and holy light. Whether wide-area devastation or lightning-fast assaults, everything came naturally to her, and her swordsmanship was superb—
Yet against Usopp, whose sole focus was escape, she could only bring out twenty to thirty percent of her true strength!
After all, Usopp's defining trait was something that could practically be called rule-level: Run Away!
In open, unrestricted terrain, he possessed the ability to ignore interception or interception moves entirely—guaranteed escape!
Of course, in actual combat, the effect of Run Away was inevitably reduced by battlefield chaos and couldn't reach a full hundred percent.
But through countless inexplicable flashes of inspiration, Usopp always managed to dodge just before attacks could land.
…
…
"ROOM!!!"
Amid the chaos of Mary Geoise, Law reached the edge of a castle and abruptly expanded his Devil Fruit field.
In an instant, a pile of Den Den Mushi appeared before him.
Among them were several gold-trimmed, clearly high-value special Den Den Mushi.
After acquiring Psychic attributes from the Pokémon world and mastering the subtle applications of mental power, Law's control over his Devil Fruit abilities had become far more refined.
Even beyond his line of sight, as long as something remained within the "ROOM" of the Ope-Ope Fruit, he could freely manipulate it.
This greatly facilitated the squad's operations within Mary Geoise.
"Alright! All communication and surveillance devices have been removed. We can begin!"
"Yeah." Franky and the others nodded firmly. After exchanging glances, they each used their own methods and stormed into the castle.
Due to the earlier unrest, both Celestial Dragons and guards throughout Mary Geoise were already awake.
Thankfully, Law's ability allowed their actions to proceed so smoothly.
Otherwise, if Pangaea Castle had learned of the situation here, the force sent to stop the Straw Hat Pirates would have been far more than just Emilagon.
Unfortunately…
Because Usopp was acting as the shield and drawing Emilagon's attention, after rescuing the slaves, Franky and the others still had to escort them to Capone.
Even with the telepathic group chat channel, it inevitably cost them precious time.
Fortunately, everything was still proceeding according to plan.
…
…
Meanwhile, on the other side—Sanji's squad.
Hawkins sat quietly in a corner, cold sweat beading on his forehead as countless tarot cards flipped rapidly in his hands, activating the divination power of the Straw-Straw Fruit.
After a moment, he snapped his eyes open, pointed toward a distant fortress, and said:
"That one!"
"If we choose that castle, the probability of being discovered is under ten percent. It's the lowest-risk target."
"Excellent. Thanks for your hard work."
Sanji handed Hawkins a bottle of Ether and a Super Potion, then turned to the others:
"In that case, our next target is that castle."
"Mark all the castles we haven't visited yet. We'll come back for them at the very end to rescue the remaining slaves."
"No problem!"
Drake was the first to nod.
Naturally righteous at heart, he had completely forgotten his undercover identity by now.
After witnessing the tragic scenes inside the Celestial Dragons' castles, he wanted nothing more than to personally slaughter every last one of them.
Unfortunately, his strength alone wasn't enough to act as recklessly as the Straw Hat Pirates.
So seeing Sanji and the others working tirelessly to free slaves stirred something new within him.
Though he wouldn't admit it, his eagerness to rush ahead spoke volumes.
No more wasted words.
Once the target was confirmed, Sanji and the Supernovas instantly appeared before the castle gates.
BOOM!!!
A blazing flying kick shattered the massive doors into pieces.
Without Law's flashy Devil Fruit abilities, their approach was simple, brutal, and direct!
"Who's there?!"
"What's going on?!"
Inside the wrecked castle, guards who had just repelled an insect invasion lay exhausted on the ground, battered and broken.
At that moment, however, a massive door fell from above, crushing several guards to death on the spot.
"Enemy attack! This is no time to let your guard down!!!"
The officers shouted desperately.
But before they could organize any resistance, a flood of figures surged in from the entrance!!!
Some wielded long blades and daggers, others fought barehanded. Several still wore shackles on their wrists, yet it did nothing to slow their charge or dampen the fury blazing in their eyes!
A force of over a hundred people swept forward like demonic warriors.
If a man stood in their way, he would be killed. If a Buddha blocked them, even the Buddha would fall!
These people were none other than the strongest among the slaves Sanji's group had just rescued.
Inside Capone's body-castle, they had witnessed Sanji and the others risking everything to save even more slaves—and volunteered to join the fight.
For them, this was both revenge for their past suffering and a chance to save others who shared the same fate.
Thus, a resistance squad of over a hundred members was assembled within Capone's body-castle.
What surprised Sanji most was—
Among those once enslaved by the Celestial Dragons were many formidable experts.
Six of them were pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million Beli!
Some were even stronger than Supernovas like Apoo.
The rest—those brave enough to stand up at this moment—were no weaklings either.
Even the weakest possessed strength equivalent to Grand Line pirates with bounties of around ten million Beli.
Such a force would be significant even within a Yonko crew.
Now, under Sanji's leadership, they surged forward together, returning every ounce of pain they had endured back to the Celestial Dragons.
Rumble—!!!
Not long after, a towering castle collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Dust filled the air. Shouts echoed endlessly.
And for Mary Geoise tonight…
This was only the beginning!!!
(End of Chapter)