"I... my... belly!"
In the center of the icy plain, Big Mom knelt half on the ground, her right hand propped up, while her left hand cradled her abdomen, her expression one of bewilderment.
Blood dripped from her fingers, mixing with the steam rising from the hot blood and the cold mist of the ice, slowly vaporizing.
Rowen's final blow, "Splendid World," had utterly removed her lower abdomen, the most crucial organ for a woman!
For a normal-sized human-like Rowen, he wouldn't have had much of a chance to strike, but Big Mom was gifted with an extraordinary stature— 9 meters tall with a 9-meter waist!
Most giants couldn't match her towering figure!
This meant that in battle, she was destined to have a hard time defending against attacks at a height of about three meters.
Thus, Rowen's punch that tore open her abdomen had blocked any chance of her expanding the Charlotte Family.
Such severe injuries to both her body and organs would be difficult for anyone to accept, not just Rowen!
"Soryu!!!"
Bang!
Big Mom's voice was shrill and hysterical, her terrifying Haoshoku Haki suddenly surging, causing a crack to appear in the ice plain several dozen meters in diameter out of thin air.
The raging killing intent seemed tangible, as purple-black lightning shot through the air. Big Mom stared with her eyes, now red and piercing, saliva dripping from her mouth, resembling a wicked specter.
"Hmm?!"
Rowen, who was catching his breath, sensed the terrifying killing intent and was slightly startled.
"Indeed, this level of injury isn't much for a Yonko, but let's call it a day for today."
He had just awakened and needed time to familiarize himself with his current power.
He was already quite satisfied with being able to fight Big Mom to this extent; continuing might lead to him being outmaneuvered by her.
Swish!
As he spoke, a dark light shot swiftly from the distant sky, exuding an overwhelming aura!
What was even more astonishing was that wherever the dark light passed, the ice masses seemed to come alive as if they had a life of their own.
They constantly changed form, layering upon each other. From the solid ice emerged cute-shaped snowmen, but with red eyes, and sharp teeth, something that only appeared in a Dark Fairy Tale.
Awakening Skill: Dark Fairy Tale!
"So fast!"
Rowen narrowed his eyes. With his Awakening ability, he could easily see through the planet's magnetic field without any effort. With a flicker of his body—
Swish!
He blinked!
Pop.
The dark light struck where he had been standing before, and the ice masses immediately turned grayish-white, losing their previous luster.
It wasn't physical destruction, but at that moment, these ice masses gave off an unmistakable feeling of being "dead."
"Soul-Soul Fruit, it's indeed not that simple!"
Rowen frowned. This eerie ability couldn't be explained by Fusion alone.
If before, Big Mom had only demonstrated the Fusion Assimilation ability of the Soul-Soul Fruit, now she had infused the concept of "soul" into the objects she touched.
Whatever it was!
It would be deprived of all vitality, becoming a lifeless soil for the "soul" to exist in.
Thinking about how Kuma could eject the concept of "injury" from his body through his "Paw" technique, Rowen couldn't help but sigh.
"Logia, strongest of the three series?"
"Oda, are you sure you're not messing with me?!"
Even Mythological Beasts weren't this unreasonable, right?
Boom!
A massive hand made of Ice Mass suddenly reached out from the grayish area, aiming to grab Rowen in the sky.
Unlike the humanoid faces that usually appeared on it, this hand was different. It lacked expression, just staring blankly with eyes devoid of focus.
It was Icy and silent!
Like a truly wicked spirit from the depths of the underworld, numb and mechanical, attacking anything it could perceive as living.
"Hmph!"
The towering hand, akin to the Five-fingered Mountain, reached out. Rowen snorted coldly, and above his head naturally appeared a pristine spear of lightning.
Gungnir!
Whoosh!
The meteoric guns flashed and vanished suddenly, without a word, tearing apart the Iceberg hand made of Ice Mass, under Rowen's control, exploding!
Bang rumble!
Crushing tons of solid ice into shards, a large amount of unmelted ice fragments fell and rubbed against each other, emitting an unpleasant noise.
"Soryu!"
A humanoid figure rushed forward, Big Mom seemingly losing her sanity, her voice sounded like it had come from the depths of hell, chilling to the bone! One by one, wicked snowmen were summoned, jumping in place and fusing with each other, building a magical ice and snow staircase on the ground.
Thunk!
The fat body, weighing dozens of tons, stepped on the steps. Big Mom's eyes were bloodshot, instantly crushing the steps beneath her feet, then swiftly rising.
Without Zeus's Thunder Cloud, Big Mom had to resort to brute force to attack Rowen in the sky.
It was hard to imagine that Big Mom, who was severely injured, could still unleash such astonishing speed. Rowen widened his eyes slightly, watching the fist swinging towards him.
Then...
Boom!
"Watch out!"
A cry rang out from the sky.
Aokiji, floating ice under his feet, swiftly moved. Witnessing Rowen being hit by Big Mom's resentful blow, Aokiji didn't have time to think much and spread his ten fingers.
Raving Pheasant Beak!
Even though he arrived late, he had to prevent Rowen from being entangled by Big Mom.
However, why would Rowen, with Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), still be beaten to a pulp?
Aokiji wondered strangely.
The next moment, a heaven-alarming explosion suddenly appeared, engulfing him and Big Mom, who had just arrived on the battlefield.
Awakening Skill: Thunder Clone - Kamikaze Bomb!
The "Kamikaze" was initially mentioned repeatedly after a certain island country was invaded by another country during the Ming Dynasty of China. A storm drowned the enemy's fleet, helping them resist the invasion. Hence, the term came to symbolize divine protection.
Later, through the island country's constant promotion, "Kamikaze" not only became a symbol of "divine blessing" and "courage" but also had a unique connotation because of Rowen's unpredictable state of friend or foe.
And Kizaru, who had an excuse to slack off after taking Kaido's Hot Breath, stood in the distance, looking at the rising sun, and reluctantly swallowed his saliva.
"Geez, that must hurt!"
Ice Mass feared high temperatures, and thunder happened to have a high temperature.
Holy Land, Mary Geoise.
"That's right! No retreat allowed. If Big Mom wants to fight, then fight back ruthlessly!"
"Hey? Do you understood? I don't care what methods you use, but you must stop that crazy woman at the Red Line, understood, Sengoku?!"
Crash!
Hanging up the phone, the mustachioed Gorosei felt parched, lifting the cup ruthlessly and taking a gulp of water, drinking like a thirsty bull.
Then, he put down the cup and glanced at the others in the room, a slight smirk forming on his lips.
"Everyone, the plan was a success!"
The mustachioed Gorosei announced loudly, with a hint of excitement.
The wave of shifting conflicts was highly successful; the frenzied Big Mom had almost mobilized all her available troops, relentlessly assaulting the Marine defenses.
For at least the remaining two months of 1519, the war simply wouldn't stop.
"As long as there's war, we have the highest decision-making power of the World Government in public view."
The bald Gorosei sheathed his sword, equally pleased. "When Orrick emerges from his sanctuary, he'll find that he has no allies left, but..."
"But we mustn't be careless at this moment, everyone."
The golden-haired Gorosei loosened his cuff and sat back in his luxurious, soft chair. "The war with Big Mom's pirate crew has tied up too much of the Marine's fighting force. At this point, our enemies are not only Big Mom but also those mongrels looking to stir up trouble."
"But isn't that a minor issue?" the mustachioed Gorosei asked rhetorically, then fell silent, raising a glass and sipping.
For the "Gold Emperor" Gild Tezzoro, any problem that could be solved with money wasn't a problem.
For the Gorosei, any problem that could be solved with lives wasn't a problem either.
How to deal with the mongrels causing trouble? How to address the splitting of Marine's elite forces? Simply fill the gaps with lives!
It's such a straightforward matter.
"As long as Big Mom realizes that the Marine won't announce a retreat, everything will fall into place."
The white-haired Gorosei summed it up, and the others nodded in agreement.
However, what they didn't know was that Big Mom's fury this time wouldn't be so easily quelled.
(End of this chapter)
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