Just as Mundor had expected, the moment Charlotte Linlin's agonized screams echoed across Cake Island, what remained of the Big Mom Pirates' morale shattered completely. Their earlier determination evaporated. Panic spread like wildfire.
It did not take long for them to be overwhelmed by Issho and the others. One by one, the remaining officers were defeated and captured, most of them alive.
Only Katakuri still resisted, suspended in mid-air as he clashed fiercely against Redfield.
"You've lost. Surrender," Redfield said calmly, his red umbrella glinting with a cold metallic sheen. "Don't wait for Charlotte Linlin to rescue you. She cannot defeat Captain Kaito. She doesn't understand how terrifying he truly is. None of you understand his limits."
"Impossible. I will never surrender." Katakuri's voice was steady, unwavering.
"Sorry, but your choice doesn't matter." Issho appeared beside Redfield, accompanied by Bullet. His expression was gentle, but his tone was absolute.
"As I said before, surrender doesn't exist in my dictionary." Katakuri took a battle stance, his gaze hardening as he stared at the three opponents.
The Mochi Mochi Fruit activated. Six massive mochi arms materialized behind him. With Armament Haki coating them, the limbs tightened.
In the next instant, Katakuri flashed forward, charging at the three of them with overwhelming force.
Issho shook his head slightly before responding.
The three attacked simultaneously.
Katakuri's six arms swung with explosive power, each blackened fist tearing through the air with sharp sonic cracks as he punched toward all three opponents at once.
He intended to battle three commanders simultaneously.
Issho and the others met him head-on. The bamboo blade in Issho's hand gleamed, sending arcs of sword light slicing through the air. Three powerful surges of flying sword aura shot toward Katakuri.
Redfield moved gracefully, twirling his umbrella with effortless precision. Each of Katakuri's mochi fists was redirected or dispersed before reaching him.
Bullet was raw power. Ghostly energy surged around his body as he lunged like an enraged beast, each punch heavy enough to tremble the sky itself. His strikes collided hard against Katakuri's defenses, sending reverberations through the air.
Though this was the first time the three had fought together, their teamwork was flawless. Katakuri dodged Issho's sword aura, clashed violently with Bullet's force, and tried to counter Redfield's graceful movements.
Explosions of Haki and shockwaves erupted across the sky.
But the outcome was clear.
Katakuri fought as fiercely as he could, but Issho and Redfield alone exceeded his strength, and Bullet surpassed him in sheer power. Against all three combined, he had no chance.
The battle flared and ended quickly. Moments later, Bullet descended onto the deck of a ship, carrying an unconscious Katakuri over his shoulder.
"Katakuri…" Mundor whispered from within his seastone restraints, his voice trembling with despair.
The rest of the Big Mom Pirates stared in fear and heartbreak.
Issho handed Katakuri to the crew then stepped forward, his voice steady and commanding.
"The battle is over. All ships, head to Cake Island. Support the captain."
"Yes!"
—————————————————
On Cake Island.
Charlotte Linlin had no idea that her earlier screams had marked the collapse of her entire pirate crew. Rolling across the ground to extinguish the lingering lightning on her body, she snatched Napoleon and charged toward Kaito with blazing fury.
Her eyes were bloodshot and wild, her expression twisted with pure rage. She looked less like a Yonko and more like a beast driven mad.
Kaito met her without hesitation. His arms tightened, and raw strength surged through his fists. They clashed immediately, entering the most primal form of combat.
Napoleon's blade howled with fiery power. Prometheus burned bright, coating her attacks in flame. Each slash sent arcs of destructive fire through the air.
Kaito's fists tore through the sky like meteors, each strike heavy enough to crack the island.
The shockwaves alone made Perospero, watching from the distant ruins, break into a cold sweat.
"Mother… please win," he whispered weakly.
Booms thundered across Cake Island. The ground quaked. Dust erupted skyward. Buildings collapsed in every direction. The entire island became a battleground, torn apart by two monsters of strength.
Perospero finally understood what it meant to witness a Yonko's full power.
Houses shattered like fragile paper. The ground sank whenever their fists connected. The two figures plowed across the island like unstoppable beasts, destroying everything in their path.
Within moments, almost nothing remained standing. Cake Island had become a wasteland of rubble and craters.
Eventually, the battle soared into the sky.
Kaito hovered effortlessly, not a drop of sweat on his face. His calm expression made it seem as if he had not been fighting at all.
He glanced at Charlotte Linlin struggling a short distance away.
"No wonder they call you the Steel Balloon," he said quietly.
In truth, the battle had barely been a fight. Kaito's speed was overwhelming. For every slash she swung, he landed three punches. Each hit struck her directly, yet her monstrous durability absorbed damage that would have killed anyone else.
"Argg, I miss my wives". Kaito said quietly with a bored expression.
Still, this was nothing more than warm-up for him. The movement and destruction they caused earlier had already signaled the others. It was time to end this.
Black lightning crackled around Kaito. Gathering in his right hand, the electricity condensed, forming a long spear of dark thunder.
In an instant, he flashed forward like an afterimage. The spear vibrated, space trembling around it as he swept it toward Charlotte Linlin.
She bared her teeth.
"You think I'll fear you? I am Charlotte Lin—"
Her flaming blade rose to meet him.
Kaito scoffed internally. Foolish.
Their weapons collided with a deafening crack. Black lightning and flames twisted violently, burning the air around them.
Two sharp screams followed immediately.
"It hurts! Mama!"
"It hurts! Mama!"
Prometheus and Napoleon recoiled instantly, their forms collapsing.
Prometheus reverted into his true form, trembling weakly. Napoleon shifted back into a simple felt hat and fled to Charlotte Linlin's head.
"Mom… his lightning… it hurts so much… it can destroy us…" Prometheus whimpered, terrified.
Kaito let out a low laugh.
The spear continued its deadly dance. Each thrust was faster than lightning, each strike crushing the air with tremendous weight. The black lightning that coated the spear burned with terrifying intensity.
Charlotte Linlin quickly realized she could not take the attacks head-on. The pain from earlier had nearly shattered her soul. She dodged frantically, her massive body twisting through the air with desperate movements.
But she was far too slow compared to Kaito.
It only took seconds before she screamed again as the spear grazed her body.
Kaito's expression remained indifferent.
"Farewell."
He thrust forward.
The spear became a streak of black light. Violent thunder roared. The weapon pierced straight toward Charlotte Linlin's neck.
Crackling lightning exploded outward, as bright and destructive as a dark sun. The force of the impact was catastrophic.
The spear sank deep.
Her scream died instantly.
Charlotte Linlin stared at Kaito, disbelief filling her fading eyes. She tried to speak, but no sound came out. Strength drained rapidly from her body.
As her limbs stiffened, she glared at Kaito with a hatred so deep it could carve stone. Even as life slipped away, her final expression remained one of burning resentment.
Then her body went still.
Charlotte Linlin, the Yonko known as Big Mom, had fallen.
____
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