Chapter 221: Crocodile's Determination
"Armament Style — Divine Flame Strike!"
BOOM!
Ace's blazing Haki burst forth in a devastating wave. The impact struck Charlotte Linlin square in the chest—her massive form denting inward before being hurled across the battlefield like a meteor.
But this was no ordinary blow. The Divine Flame Strike didn't just channel Ace's Armament Haki—it was reinforced by the twin eruptions of purple flame bursting from his elbows, driving the strike's force to terrifying levels.
BOOOOM!
Big Mom's colossal body crashed straight through the Whole Cake Castle, tearing through its sugary walls before smashing into the coastline. The impact toppled a mountain of candy boulders before she finally came to a stop amid the rubble.
"Mama was sent flying!"
"H-How is that even possible?!"
Charlotte Perospero and Charlotte Smoothie could only stare in disbelief as they watched their mother—one of the Four Emperors—blasted clear across the island.
Ace exhaled slowly, watching the direction of the crash.
"Well now… looks like I overdid it a bit."
He smiled faintly and flew off toward the coast.
---
"Mama! Mama! Are you all right?!"
Prometheus and Zeus swirled anxiously around the fallen emperor.
"Silence!"
Big Mom roared as she pushed herself up from the shattered rock. Though her hair was a mess and her dress tattered, not a single wound marred her skin. But her expression—pure, unrestrained fury—was enough to make the sky tremble.
"You dare send me flying that far!" she growled, baring her teeth as she bent her knees and leapt high into the air.
"Zeus!"
"Right here, Mama!" Zeus replied instantly, swooping beneath her to lift her massive body.
"I'll crush that insolent brat with my own hands!" Big Mom bellowed.
"No need to look for me. I'm already here!"
Before she could advance, Ace appeared ahead of her, flying directly into her path, flames trailing like wings.
Big Mom's crimson eyes blazed with rage. "You've made me truly angry this time, brat! Napoleon! Prometheus!"
"Here we come, Mama!"
"Understood, Mama!"
The tricorn-hat homie Napoleon morphed into a massive blade, while Prometheus expanded into a roaring inferno, wrapping around Big Mom's hair and body. Her figure was engulfed in blazing flame—her skin glowing molten gold beneath the firelight.
"Emperor's Sword — Broken Blade!"
Riding Zeus through the stormy sky, Big Mom brought her burning sword down with all her might.
"Perfect!" Ace's eyes sharpened as he met her descending blade. Instead of dodging, he interlocked his fingers, forming a massive hammer-shape with his fists. Black and crimson flames surged around his arms, condensing into blinding energy.
"Armament Style — Kongming Hammer!"
BOOOOOM!!!
The instant their attacks collided, the world itself seemed to shatter.
Even before the blows connected, the air split with the sheer pressure of their Haki. Thunder rolled, the heavens darkened, and a suffocating weight crushed everything on Whole Cake Island.
Then—impact.
A shockwave exploded outward like a divine storm.
Buildings, candy forests, and mountains were obliterated.
The ocean around the island heaved violently, waves towering like walls as the very sea bent beneath the force of their clash.
The sky above was torn apart—thick clouds splitting down the middle as lightning illuminated the rift. From a distance, it looked as though the heavens themselves had been cleaved open.
---
"That… that sky…" Perospero whispered, staring upward in terror. His mind flashed back to more than twenty years ago—to the day a certain man came to challenge his mother.
That man, too, had split the sky.
Charlotte Smoothie watched the heavens tremble, her heart pounding as she remembered that same event—when Gol D. Roger himself had crossed blades with Big Mom over a mysterious treasure.
Even now, the sight of that "celestial phenomenon" was burned into her memory.
She clenched her fist tightly.
"That man… Ace… When he fought me before, he was holding back. Completely."
Her lips curled in frustration. "He must have been toying with me."
The realization stung more than the defeat itself.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere on Whole Cake Island, Crocodile stood atop a broken tower, staring silently at the torn sky. The crack in the heavens reflected in his eyes like a mirror to his own ambitions.
"…That power…" he muttered. "So this is the strength of a man who stands among the Four Emperors."
He thought back to Ace's words—not long ago, spoken without arrogance, just simple truth.
> "You've already lost the drive to climb higher, Crocodile. You're chasing strength in things outside yourself… instead of finding it within."
Crocodile clenched his cigar between his teeth, lowering his head.
"…Have I really fallen that far?"
He was silent for a long time. Then his expression hardened.
"…No. Not anymore."
He turned away from the raging storm in the sky and made a silent vow to himself—to abandon shortcuts, to stop relying on anything external, and to rise again by his own power.
---
"Hey, Sand Crocodile! Why's the sky all weird? It's makin' my chest feel tight!"
Monkey D. Luffy, completely oblivious to the meaning of what he was seeing, tilted his head at the apocalyptic scene above.
Crocodile gave him a long, silent look filled with disdain… and then sighed.
He wanted to say something—maybe explain the weight of a clash between Emperors of the Sea—but when he remembered being defeated by this reckless idiot, he simply turned away.
He no longer had the heart to explain.
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