"Luffy and Roman aren't doing too well~~"
Nami wasn't the only one who noticed—everyone in the Straw Hat Crew could tell that their "Admiral" was at a disadvantage.
To be fair, if it were just about Haki and physical strength, Luffy and Roman wouldn't lose to Blackbeard. But—
The Dark-Dark Fruit's suppression of other Devil Fruits was just too ridiculous! It was even more troublesome than Seastone. At least with Seastone, you could train and gradually build resistance. But the Dark-Dark Fruit? Where could you even find a way to train against that?
Even that ancient book in the hands of the mysterious figure had only mentioned the "Absorption" ability of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
"Zehahaha~~"
"This era belongs to Blackbeard!!"
"Screw that, it doesn't—!!"
Luffy and Teach still had enough energy to shout back and forth while fighting, but Roman could only focus on maintaining his full Armament Haki defense.
Damn it, this guy is way too overpowered…
With the Dark-Dark Fruit's suppression coming from the girl on Blackbeard's left shoulder, Roman couldn't use any of his abilities. He had to continuously release Haki just to block the fruit's effects—otherwise, he and Luffy would be completely stripped of their powers in an instant.
After all, Luffy relied on superhuman strength, and Roman depended on supernatural abilities. Nearly all of their combat skills were based on Devil Fruits.
If their powers were suppressed… They wouldn't be instantly defeated, but their fighting ability would definitely drop by more than half.
But using Armament Haki like this was draining Roman's energy fast!
And Luffy's Gear Fourth burned through Haki even faster. Even though Roman's paper kept replenishing his life force, this wasn't a video game where unlimited energy meant unlimited attacks. Haki was a mix of life force and willpower—no matter how strong the body was, the mind couldn't keep up with such extreme exhaustion.
Right now, Luffy and Roman were barely holding on!
"Roarrr~~~ Zergins, unbeatable!!"
Chopper's monster form was strong—strong enough to hold his ground even against top fighters. But unfortunately, he was up against another powerhouse, an awakened Ancient Zoan user who was even bigger than him. The fight wasn't going well for Chopper, and on top of that—
"Damn, the Rumble Ball is about to wear off!"
Devil Fruits had a final stage called "Awakening." But unlike Logia users, who were basically "awakened" from the moment they ate their fruit, or Paramecia users, who awakened by fusing with their surroundings, Zoan awakenings were... a trap!
Because when a Zoan user awakened, they had to fight against the primal instincts of their beast form. If their will wasn't strong enough, they'd end up like the mindless monsters of Impel Down—just slightly smarter.
Take Chopper's opponent, Zergins. Calling him a "person" wasn't quite right—he was more like a very intelligent prehistoric gorilla.
Chopper had found a way around this problem. By altering the genetic code of his Zoan fruit (its "Lineage Factor") through science, he bypassed the mindless rampage and gained power equivalent to an awakened Zoan. But since it wasn't true Awakening, he could only maintain it for three minutes.
That might be enough for an Ultraman battle, but in this world, three minutes wasn't even a warm-up.
"Doctor Reindeer, leave this to us!" ×10
"You idiot, I'm not a reindeer! I'm a tanuki—?!"
Chopper instinctively corrected them, then turned around to see a group of young men and women wielding scythes.
The boys were dressed in pink suits with brightly colored top hats, while the girls wore pink skirts, ribbons, and thigh-high stockings. They looked more like an idol group than warriors.
"This place is dangerous, you guys—"
"Don't worry, leave it to us. This is a blood feud for the Charlotte family."
The tallest girl, Charlotte Harmeng, raised her head and spoke firmly. Though her eyes were hidden by her hair, her barely contained rage was clear.
"If you can, Doctor Reindeer, please help Brother Cracker."
The calm and composed Charlotte Nuichy pointed to the other side of the battlefield, where Cracker was struggling against a swarm of bio-enhanced warriors—once proud members of the Charlotte family, now mindless killing machines.
"Help them find peace."
"Please!" ×10
"Alright! As a doctor, I can't forgive anyone who turns dying people into weapons!"
Chopper deactivated his monster form, shrinking back into his small reindeer shape, then dashed toward the other side of the battlefield with his tiny legs.
Zergins, the massive gorilla who had been fighting him, looked down in confusion.
"Where did my opponent go?!"
He had finally found a fellow "little gorilla" to brawl with, and now it had just vanished?!
"Let's do this, everyone!"
The group of young warriors exchanged glances and nodded in unison.
Among all of Big Mom's children, the ten siblings were the most unique. When Blackbeard's crew launched their surprise attack, Katakuri had ordered them to protect their younger siblings and other family members by hiding in the Mirror World.
That was how they survived unharmed.
"Brother Perospero, Sister Counter..."
In the Charlotte family, older brothers were like fathers, and older sisters were like mothers. With Big Mom's personality, it was a miracle the children even got any proper upbringing.
So in reality, the younger generation had grown up under the care of their older siblings. They feared Big Mom, but they truly respected their eldest brothers and sisters.
But now, more than half of those siblings had been turned into mindless bio-warriors, crushing Cracker's biscuit soldiers with relentless attacks.
They used to argue, tease each other, and fight like normal siblings. But now, those moments were gone forever.
Unforgivable!
"Fusion!" ×10
The tallest of the ten siblings, Charlotte Nuichy, activated his "Rumble-Rumble Fruit" power.
In an instant, Charlotte's 36th to 40th sons and 30th to 34th daughters merged into one.
Then—
With a deafening rumble, the ground shook violently.
Blackbeard's 8th Fleet Captain, the massive gorilla Zergins, went from looking down at his opponent to staring up in shock.
Before him, a towering pink figure was growing larger and larger.
Its limbs were long and slender, giving it a "lean" look, but that didn't matter when it stood over 60 meters tall.
And in its hands was a scythe the size of a battleship.
The only thought that crossed anyone's mind was:
Big. Huge. Absolutely massive!
The ruined skyscrapers of Whole Cake Island looked like tiny weeds at its feet.
The warriors from both sides were nothing more than ants in the grass.
In the original timeline, the ten siblings had used their "Rumble-Rumble Fruit" fusion to hold off the four Vinsmoke siblings.
Though they weren't as skilled in Haki or battle experience as the Three Sweet Commanders, when it came to pure strength—
"Taste the wrath of the Charlotte family!" ×10
The fused "Rumble Giant" roared like an ancient titan.
Each step shook the earth.
Each movement sent shockwaves through the battlefield.
In front of it, the massive gorilla Zergins looked small.
Then, the Rumble Giant took a deep breath.
A breath so powerful it seemed to suck the very air from the island, leaving everyone momentarily gasping for oxygen.
With this breath, its slim body swelled with muscles.
Then, raising the enormous battleship-sized scythe, it swung with unstoppable force at the massive black gorilla!
"Rumble Slash—Obliteration!!"
As the giant scythe cut through the air, an explosion of compressed energy erupted.
A hurricane of destruction swept across the battlefield.
Buildings, debris, trees, and rubble were sent flying like thousands of cannonballs, blasting everything in its path.
There's no real skill or Haki involved here. It's just plain old "strength makes miracles"! "Aaaaaarghhhh~~!!!"
The huge gorilla, Zergins, let out a painful scream and fell backward with a crash! Blood sprayed from his chest like a heavy rain, splashing all over the nearby fighters who couldn't dodge in time.
"You… used a weapon…"
There was enough blood on the ground for hundreds of people to take a shower in it. But Zergins, the massive gorilla, pushed himself up again, licked his finger, wiped it on the wound on his chest, and then:
!
"Zergins isn't done! Zergins is gonna tear you apart!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!! As the two giants crashed into each other again, Nami, floating in the sky, rubbed her forehead.
"Seriously? Did I just waste all that setup for nothing?"
The sky above Whole Cake Island was already full of dark clouds, lightning flashing everywhere. Bright bolts danced like snakes or dragons through the clouds, waiting for their master's signal to strike. But Nami's target from the start was this giant gorilla. Monsters like him are dangerous in group fights — they can deal massive damage and split up enemy lines.
And because he's so big, Nami could take her time charging up her lightning strike.
But then... the Charlotte siblings took over the battlefield — and one of them was swinging a giant metal scythe. If Nami dropped her lightning now, she couldn't guarantee who'd go down first.
So:
"Change of plan — split them up!"
?
"Everyone, get ready for a lightning strike!"
??
People in the middle of the battle looked up after hearing Nami's voice. What they saw was a sky full of wild electric snakes weaving through the clouds. Then they all suddenly came together into a single, blinding lightning bolt that crashed down like a waterfall.
BOOM!
And that wasn't just one or two bolts.
It was everywhere!
"Ten Thousand Volts!"
Huge, blinding lightning bolts as thick as water tanks came crashing down one after another. Most of the battlefield was instantly swallowed up by thunder and lightning. Thousands of electric snakes slithered and twisted in every direction, quickly covering the area and forming a sea of thunder!
Hundreds of fighters twitched and jolted wildly in the lightning storm — looking like a whole army of Brooks — and then…
"Nami! Why did you hit us too?!"
"Can't you aim a little better?!"
"Yohohoho! Even I got shocked into an afro—oh wait, I already had one…"
Looking at the charred and smoking Usopp, Chopper, and Brook below, Nami calmly nodded in the sky.
"My aim was perfect. You were the center of the strike."
??!! Wait, is this how the Straw Hat Crew fights?
The Charlotte siblings who got caught in the lightning all broke out in a cold sweat. They were furious but didn't dare say a word. Looking closer, all the lightning really was centered on the Straw Hats. So that means…
Terrifying!
But Nami didn't do this to be funny. She had a reason. Most of the Straw Hats were surrounded by enemies, so she targeted them on purpose to clear the area.
Also:
Ever since she got her lightning powers from Skypiea, and with Roman's help, the Straw Hats had been "training" with lightning every day. Except for Luffy, who's totally immune, the others also built up crazy resistance to it. The difference between the Charlotte fighters twitching on the ground and the still-standing Straw Hats made that super clear.
You can't really blame Nami for being this intense. Like Roman, she relies on special powers to fight — and Dark-Dark Fruit users are her worst matchup! Roman can still use Haki to defend himself, but Nami's Haki is... well, just average.
So her plan?
Clear the small fry fast and free up the others to help Roman and Luffy!
(End of Chapter)
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