Momonga flipped several times in mid air before landing steadily between Huoshaoshan and Onigumo.
He narrowed his eyes at Pedro, who was still roaring toward the sky in the distance, and frowned.
"What is wrong with that guy? Why did he suddenly become like this? Can the Drums of Liberation really push someone to this level?"
Huoshaoshan adjusted the cigar hanging at the corner of his mouth and replied,
"No, his form has changed. This is likely an unknown racial ability unique to the Mink Tribe."
A cold glint flashed through Onigumo's eyes.
He lowered his stance, his eight swords spreading out as he assumed his Eight Sword Style posture, his voice filled with icy disdain.
"I do not care what race he belongs to. Anyone who opposes justice is inferior!"
In the distance, Pedro's ears twitched.
It was as if he had heard those words clearly.
The phrase inferior race pierced through his already fractured sanity.
In an instant, his gaze locked onto Onigumo.
His claws extended again, growing to nearly half a meter long, sharp and gleaming like blades.
"Die!!!"
Pedro transformed into a streak of bloody light, charging forward at an even greater speed than before.
Onigumo stepped forward to meet him head on.
All eight swords slashed downward at once.
Yet, the blades were deflected by Pedro's enlarged claws, the clash ringing out sharply.
In the next moment, Pedro opened his mouth and lunged to bite.
Onigumo's pupils shrank.
He twisted his body just in time, narrowly avoiding a fatal bite. However, a strand of his hair, which was wrapped around one of his sword hilts, was caught between Pedro's jaws.
Before Onigumo could retaliate, Pedro clenched down and swung violently.
With a powerful motion, he flung Onigumo away.
At that instant, Huoshaoshan and Momonga appeared simultaneously, their figures flashing forward.
Two slashes struck Pedro's body at the same time.
Dark red blood burst from his chest, splattering outward.
However, both Huoshaoshan and Momonga immediately sensed danger.
Their Observation Haki screamed warnings.
Without hesitation, they abandoned any follow up attack and retreated, avoiding the blood that sprayed from Pedro's wounds.
Pedro, despite his severe injuries, only paused briefly.
Within seconds, he descended further into madness.
His body surged forward again, targeting Huoshaoshan, who stood closest.
His attacks came like a violent storm, relentless and savage.
The ice beneath them cracked continuously, unable to withstand the force of their clash.
High above the battlefield, more than ten thousand meters in the sky, at the head of Zunesha, Joy Boy sat silently.
Despite the immense distance, he could clearly perceive everything happening below.
With his arms crossed, he murmured to himself,
"So this is the Blood Lion form… Pedro, it seems you will not live to see the arrival of the New World with me."
At that moment, Zunesha beneath him let out another mournful cry that echoed across the heavens.
Joy Boy looked down.
A massive surge of magma had climbed up along Zou's trunk.
From within it, a gigantic magma hound head emerged, crashing violently into Zou's eye.
No matter how enormous the creature, its eyes remained a vulnerable point.
Even a giant like Zou, towering thirty five thousand meters tall, was no exception.
Pain shot through Zou's body.
It shook its head wildly, its massive form trembling.
Joy Boy immediately crouched and placed his hand against it.
White ripples of energy spread outward, calming the distressed giant.
Once Zou steadied, Joy Boy stood and spoke lightly,
"We cannot afford to remain entangled here."
As his words fell, his figure vanished instantly.
The magma clinging to Zou's trunk writhed.
Akainu emerged from it, his body radiating intense heat.
Without hesitation, he launched a magma fist toward Joy Boy, who was descending toward him.
The attack exploded violently.
Joy Boy met it head on.
His fist collided with Akainu's, and he laughed.
"I will admit, you are an exceptional soldier. It is unfortunate that you serve a corrupt World Government."
Akainu's expression remained unchanged.
His voice was cold and unwavering.
"Pathetic. What right do you have to say that, hiding here while your subordinates die?"
He roared.
Magma surged from his shoulder, pouring forward in a blazing torrent toward Joy Boy.
Joy Boy shook his head slightly.
His arm, slender in comparison, suddenly compressed as power gathered within it.
In the next instant, an overwhelming force erupted from his fist.
Even Akainu's expression shifted.
The impact blasted him away, sending him plummeting toward the ice below like a burning meteor.
Boom!!!
Akainu crashed onto the frozen surface, transforming into magma upon impact.
When he reformed his body, a thin stream of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Joy Boy did not pursue.
He remained standing atop Zunesha.
After knocking Akainu down, he suddenly beat his chest.
The sound of the Drums of Liberation intensified, reverberating like thunder across the sky.
Under the thunderous rhythm, Zou raised its trunk and released an excited roar.
Then it began to move.
Its pillar like legs stepped forward, stirring massive waves across the sea.
With a body of such colossal scale, every movement created catastrophic disturbances, generating tsunamis in all directions.
Now Aokiji was forced into action.
His figure moved rapidly across the battlefield, repeatedly releasing Ice Age to freeze the surging waves.
Akainu roared angrily,
"Stop it! It is heading toward the Red Line!!"
Aramaki reacted first.
His expression darkened.
"I will never allow the Holy Land to be destroyed!"
In an instant, countless vines erupted from his body, intertwining and expanding.
They grew larger and larger, eventually forming a towering tree giant nearly three thousand meters tall.
Though still small compared to Zou, it was the largest form Aramaki could achieve.
He roared,
"You idiot! Make the ice beneath me stronger!"
Aokiji immediately appeared beside him.
Placing both hands on the ice, he reinforced it continuously, thickening the frozen layer.
At the same time, Aramaki charged forward, his massive form surging like a forest in motion.
He raised his enormous arms and pressed them against one of Zou's legs.
Despite the vast difference in size, he managed to slow Zou's advance.
Aramaki gritted his teeth, his entire body straining as he pushed forward with everything he had.
"Kill this beast now!"
Even without his command, the others moved.
Akainu, Kuma, and Kizaru unleashed their abilities simultaneously, launching wide scale attacks toward Zou.
After reinforcing the ice, Aokiji slowly rose.
His pupils had turned an icy blue.
He looked toward Aramaki, who was struggling to hold back Zou, and spoke calmly,
"You are not the only one who can grow larger, Aramaki."
A chilling aura erupted from his body.
Cold air gathered densely, expanding outward at an astonishing rate.
The frozen mist thickened, swelling in size.
Finally, it dispersed.
In its place stood a massive frost giant, equal in size to Aramaki's transformed form.
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