Roger flashed to Linlin's side and spoke in a low voice,
"Linlin, isn't it time to end the misunderstandings between us? Our only enemy now is this Black Dragon!"
Linlin wasn't blind. As soon as she saw Carl stepping on Oven's body, the culprit became clear. But she had no intention of apologizing to Roger. Instead, with a fierce expression, she shouted,
"Cut the crap! Everyone, get him! Tear this Marine to pieces!"
At Linlin's command, the Big Mom Pirates immediately shifted their focus to Carl, surrounding him from all sides.
Facing enemies from all directions, Carl's expression remained calm. Huge black wings unfurled from his back, unleashing a fierce gust that swept across the battlefield like a hurricane. Weaker foes were blown away, unable even to approach him.
Next, a blinding white light erupted from Carl's body, spreading a powerful repulsive force. After one wave of impact, only Linlin's elite children remained standing. The rest fell to the ground, bleeding from their mouths and noses.
After all, the eldest son of the Big Mom Pirates, Perospero, was only in his twenties and hadn't yet reached his peak. For someone of Carl's caliber, they were barely a challenge.
Realizing how quickly her crew was falling, Linlin furiously called Perospero and the others back. Grabbing her sword, she charged at Carl herself, with Roger following closely behind.
With two Emperor-level fighters against him, even Carl didn't dare take it lightly. A silver ribbon appeared around his form, signaling his transformation into the Moon God state. Silver lightning shot from his fingertips, but Linlin blocked the bolts with her strong physique. Roger leapt from behind her, slicing a red sword slash toward Carl.
Carl deflected the blow, but by then Roger and Linlin had closed in, swinging their swords down together.
Boom!
Carl raised his sword to block, causing the ground beneath him to collapse. Haki crackled around him, turning into streaks of lightning as the sky over Cake Island darkened.
Linlin roared,
"Thunder!"
Zeus immediately released a thick bolt of purple lightning toward Carl. Using his power, Carl phased through the lightning, causing Linlin and Roger to stumble slightly as they overextended. Seizing the moment, Carl leapt into the air, materializing as a massive sphere of darkness expanded from his palm, enveloping the two of them.
Carl raised his arm, and the dark sphere containing them shot skyward, where it hovered high above.
"Dark: Planetary Devastation!"
From the black sphere, a terrifying gravitational pull spread out, making Cake Island tremble. Waves of suction pulled at the ground, cracks spreading across the earth. Pirates felt their bodies being yanked upward, helpless against the invisible force drawing them toward the sphere.
Screams and crashing echoed across the island. Only a few could resist the pull, such as Bullet, who, using his Clank-Clank Fruit, fused with the ground, sweat dripping from his face as he struggled. Shanks, looking calm amidst the chaos, watched the scene, with Buggy clinging to him as though his life depended on it.
The black sphere above, now covered with pieces of rock and debris, was layered with a thick coating of cake and cream from the island's sugary buildings, filling the air with a cloying sweetness.
Carl clenched his fist, intending to crush the small black hole as he had done in his battle with Golden Lion. But this time, he felt unexpected resistance from within.
Suddenly, the long-absent Streusen leapt from the ground, having used his Cook-Cook Fruit ability to turn part of the ground into cream and escape underground, evading the pull of Carl's gravity. He swung his sword toward Carl, shouting,
"Die!"
Clang!
The clear sound of metal clashing echoed. Streusen's eyes widened in shock as he stared at his blade against Carl's neck, disbelief on his face.
"How...how is this possible?!"
Carl grabbed Streusen's neck, and a dark vortex appeared, twisting his body with a sickening crack, nearly turning him into a pretzel.
Just then, a loud crash echoed from the sky. Frowning, Carl released the barely-conscious Streusen and vanished in an instant.
As he disappeared, two massive sword slashes struck the ground, leaving deep grooves. Above, Linlin and Roger, using their intense Haki, broke free from the darkness. They looked somewhat battered, especially Linlin.
Her pink dress was torn, revealing her legs, which Roger pointedly avoided looking at.
As they descended, Zeus brought the bleeding Streusen to Linlin's side. Seeing the wreckage of Cake Island and Streusen's battered form, Linlin lost control, letting out a deafening scream filled with her Conqueror's Haki. While it had little effect on powerhouses like Roger and Carl, others weren't so lucky.
For those pirates who hadn't been sucked into the black sphere, the scream was too much. Injured and exhausted, they crumpled to the ground.
Frowning, Carl's ears rang from the roar. Though it didn't harm him, it certainly annoyed him. Just as he prepared to silence her, Roger stepped forward and punched Linlin in the stomach. Her scream stopped, and she coughed up saliva, finally calming down.
Seeing Linlin's eyes regain their clarity, Roger breathed a sigh of relief. He had no desire to fight alongside her, thinking of her as a ticking time bomb, unpredictable and liable to explode at any moment.
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+170 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg