Chapter 126: Madara's Dance of War!
The air above the Whole Cake Chateau was no longer air; it was a churning soup of scorched ozone, screaming winds, and the terrifying weight of a Emperor's rage.
While the center of the plaza had been reduced to a chaotic hellscape of lightning and fire, the area occupied by the Suzaku Pirates remained an island of uncanny tranquility. It was as if an invisible barrier separated them from the apocalypse unfolding mere meters away.
Hashirama Senju stood with his arms crossed over his crimson armor, watching the battle with a complicated expression. The legendary God of Shinobi, who had once reshaped maps with his wood style, now looked more like a concerned neighbor watching a domestic dispute that had gotten out of hand.
He scratched the back of his head, his long dark hair swaying in the violent gale caused by the clash of Haki. A signature, troubled wry smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Sigh... Madara really hasn't changed a bit," Hashirama lamented, his voice tinged with a heavy nostalgia. "He still has that fiery temper. The moment someone challenges him, he goes straight for the throat."
He turned his head toward Suzaku, his eyes pleading. "Captain... actually, is this really necessary? We could just sit down and talk things out peacefully with them! I'm sure if we explained our position, they would understand. Violence just breeds more violence, you know?"
Suzaku, who had been leisurely observing the fight with the calmness of a spectator at a theater, glanced at the First Hokage. He shook his head slowly, his expression flat.
"Hashirama, you need to put away those naive ideas of yours," Suzaku said, his voice cutting through the noise of the battlefield.
"But—"
"No 'buts'," Suzaku interrupted firmly. "In this sea, in this dog-eat-dog world, 'peace' is a luxury bought with blood. Any peaceful negotiation must be built upon one absolute prerequisite."
Suzaku raised a finger, pointing toward the raging figure of Charlotte Linlin.
"That is, you must possess the absolute strength to force the other party to sit down, shut up, and listen to you. Without the power to crush them, your reasoning, your ideals, and your kindness are utterly worthless. They are just jokes told by the weak."
Standing to Suzaku's left, Albedo's golden eyes narrowed. She had been listening intently, and the word "strength" seemed to trigger a switch in her mind. A flash of intense, sadistic bloodlust crossed her enchanting face, distorting her beauty into something terrifyingly demonic.
She took a graceful step forward, placing a hand over her heart, and bowed respectfully to Suzaku.
"Lord Suzaku is absolutely correct," she purred, her voice dripping with venom directed at their enemies. "These lower lifeforms do not understand language. They only understand pain and submission."
She looked up, her gaze hungry. "If that is the case, is it necessary for this servant to join the fray as well? It would be a splendid opportunity to let these frogs in the well—these so-called pirates—witness the true, despair-inducing strength of the Suzaku Pirates. I can strip the flesh from their bones to teach them manners."
"Unnecessary."
The cool, detached voice came from the other side. Ulquiorra Cifer stood there, his hands buried in his pockets, his posture slouching slightly. His porcelain-white skin contrasted sharply with the chaotic colors of the battlefield. His emerald green eyes were locked onto the battle, analyzing every energy fluctuation with machine-like precision.
"If we were to join in," Ulquiorra stated flatly, "the final result would not be 'sitting down to talk,' as Hashirama suggests."
He paused for a beat, the green tear marks on his face emphasizing his melancholy, nihilistic demeanor.
"Instead... it would result in the total annihilation of their leadership and the outright conquest of this nation. There would be no one left to negotiate with."
Suzaku blinked, then turned his head to look at the Espada in genuine surprise. A wide, pleased grin spread across his face.
"Oh! Ulquiorra, you can say things like that now?" Suzaku laughed, patting the Arrancar on the shoulder. "It seems my usual teachings are quite effective after all! You're starting to think like a conqueror."
Rem, standing dutifully behind Suzaku, covered her mouth with a small, gloved hand. Her single visible blue eye curved into a crescent moon of amusement.
"Lord Suzaku!" she chimed in, her voice like a melodious bell amidst the thunder. "Rem believes Lord Ulquiorra has always had his own thoughts. He is just a bit shy and doesn't usually like to express them!"
The group continued to chat and banter, discussing the philosophy of conquest and personality traits as if the battle of a Yonko—a clash capable of shaking the very foundations of the New World—was nothing more than an irrelevant sideshow to their conversation.
This composure formed a striking, almost eerie contrast with the increasingly ferocious battle at the center of the field. To the onlookers, the Suzaku Pirates looked like monsters in human skin, utterly unconcerned by the wrath of an Emperor.
However, only a few hundred meters away, Charlotte Linlin had completely descended into madness.
"Mamamama...!"
Her laughter was no longer joyous; it was a shriek of pure, unadulterated rage. Her eyes were spinning spirals of bloodshot fury.
For decades, she had ruled the seas. She was Big Mom. She was a natural-born destroyer. People cowered at her name. But today? Today, her proudest attacks, her soul-infused Homies, were being casually nullified one by one by this unknown, spiky-haired man!
This was not a battle. This was humiliation. And for a Sea Emperor, humiliation was a fate worse than death.
"Die! Just die for me!"
Big Mom's massive body, usually perceived as clumsy due to her size, suddenly erupted with astonishing speed. The ground beneath her shattered as she launched herself into the air, defying gravity with sheer physical power.
She reached up and grabbed the bicorne hat on her head. The sword, Napoleon, elongated and transformed, crackling with energy. Simultaneously, she summoned the dark thundercloud, Zeus.
"Zeus! Power up!"
"Yes, Mama!"
The cloud turned pitch black, merging with the blade. Arcs of high-voltage electricity, thick as tree trunks, danced wildly around the steel.
Big Mom spun in the air, her body curling into a ball of destruction, turning herself into a living buzzsaw of lightning and Haki.
"Mom Raid!"
She came crashing down toward Uchiha Madara like a divine judgment bolt from the heavens. The pressure alone caused the stone tiles of the plaza to pulverize into dust before the attack even connected.
This strike was the perfect fusion of her monstrous physical strength, her master-class swordsmanship, and the elemental power of her Homies. It was fast, accurate, and vicious enough to sink a battleship in a single hit.
The Sweet Commanders watching from the sidelines held their breath.
"Mama is serious!" Perospero gasped, licking his candy cane nervously. "That's the move she used to crush the giants!"
However, facing this thunderous strike that blocked out the sun, Uchiha Madara did not panic. He did not even lift an eyelid.
He stood there, his arms crossed, his red armor gleaming under the flashing lightning. His Rinnegan eyes tracked the trajectory of the Emperor with bored precision.
Too slow.
Just as the lightning blade was about to cleave his skull, Madara's figure blurred.
It wasn't a run. It wasn't a jump. It was the Body Flicker Technique—Shunshin no Jutsu—executed at a level that transcended mere speed.
His figure left a faint, static afterimage where he stood. The massive blade crashed through the afterimage, smashing into the earth with apocalyptic force.
BOOM!
The ground groaned and gave way. A blinding explosion of purple lightning erupted, blasting a bottomless crater into the bedrock. Electrical snakes slithered wildly across the plaza, vaporizing debris instantly.
But Madara was gone.
He reappeared instantly, ten meters away, his feet touching the ground as lightly as a feather. He dusted off his shoulder, looking at the crater with mild disappointment.
"Is that it?" Madara taunted, his voice low but carrying clearly to Linlin's ears. "I expected a dance, not a stumble."
"You...!"
With the strike missing, Charlotte Linlin's rage burned even hotter. Steam hissed from her mouth. The humiliation was burning her insides.
She didn't stop. She couldn't stop. She reversed her grip on the giant sword Napoleon.
"Prometheus!"
"I'm here, Mama!"
The sun homie descended, wrapping the blade in scorching, magical flames. The power of thunder from Zeus and the fire from Prometheus converged on the blade, twisting together to form a chaotic halo of destruction.
"Clamor Light Sword!"
Linlin swung her sword horizontally with a roar.
SHING!
A massive wave of sword energy, composed of superheated plasma and lightning, swept out. It was a crescent moon of death, tearing through the air with a high-pitched, ear-piercing shriek. The heat was so intense that the air itself warped and shimmered, creating mirages around the attack.
It was an attack wide enough to slice a mountain in half.
Madara looked at the approaching wave of energy. He didn't dodge this time.
"A brute force energy attack?" Madara scoffed. "How pedestrian."
He reached behind his back and unslung the large, gourd-shaped fan—the Gunbai.
He stepped forward, planting his feet firmly. He held the Gunbai out in front of him, facing the oncoming devastation.
"Uchiha Reflection."
The contact was instantaneous.
The terrifying sword energy, powerful enough to level a mountain peak and incinerate armies, collided with the fan. But instead of an explosion, there was a strange, warping sound.
Woom.
It was as if the attack had hit an invisible, absolute barrier. The energy didn't disperse; it compressed. The Gunbai absorbed the kinetic energy, the chakra—or Haki—and the elemental force.
Then, with a flick of Madara's wrist, the fan glowed.
"Return."
BOOM!
The attack was violently reflected back at a speed even greater than its approach! The flames and lightning were twisted, amplified, and sent hurling straight back at their creator.
"What?!"
Charlotte Linlin's pupils constricted violently to the size of needlepoints.
She had fought powerful swordsmen. She had fought Logia users. She had fought Garp and Roger. But she had never, ever seen someone simply swat an attack back like a tennis ball!
"What kind of ability is this?!" she screamed internally. "Not only can it reflect flames, but it can reflect sword energy too?!"
There was no time to dodge. The reflected blast was already in her face.
In her haste, she could only cross her arms, covering her entire body with a thick, blackened layer of Armament Haki.
Bang!
A violent explosion erupted on her massive frame. Fire and lightning washed over her, engulfing the Yonko in a sphere of chaotic energy.
Although her "Iron Balloon" body prevented substantial harm, the physics were undeniable. The force of her own attack lifted her off her feet and sent her skidding backward, her heels carving deep trenches into the stone ground.
Smoke rose from her skin. She wasn't injured, but she was stunned. And more importantly... she was embarrassed.
To be repelled by her own power? In her own territory? In front of her children?
This caused her sanity to finally snap.
"Bastard... Bastard!"
Charlotte Linlin's eyes were bloodshot, glowing with a demonic light. Her breathing was ragged, sounding like a broken bellows.
"You certainly have some tricks up your sleeve, little ghost!" she roared, her voice dropping an octave into a guttural growl. "But let's see you reflect THIS!"
She tightly gripped the hilt of Napoleon with both hands. She planted her feet wide, rooting herself to the ground.
She raised the blade high above her head.
The atmosphere suddenly changed. It became heavy. Suffocating.
All the power in her body, her immense physical strength inherited from birth, her advanced Armament Haki, and even her soul power began to converge madly onto the blade. The sword began to vibrate, emitting a terrifying hum that resonated in the chests of everyone present.
A spiral of air formed around the blade, reaching up into the clouds. The sky darkened further.
"In that case, try this move of mine! A technique from the giants!"
She aimed the blade directly at Uchiha Madara.
"Elbaf Spear..."
She swung down.
"...IKOKU SOVEREIGNTY!"
ROAR!
The next moment, sound ceased to exist.
A gigantic, cylindrical shockwave of pressurized air and Haki blasted forth from the tip of her sword. It wasn't just a slash; it was a tunneling beam of pure destruction. It tore through the plaza, obliterating the stone, the soil, and the very air in its path.
The shockwave was massive, wide enough to cover almost the entire plaza, and it was moving at a speed impossible for the naked eye to track.
This was her personal version of the strongest combined attack technique learned from the Giant Race of Elbaf. It was the ultimate manifestation of pure strength and Haki, the symbol of her maximum destructive power as one of the Yonko!
In the distance, Katakuri's eyes widened. His scarf fluttered violently in the wind pressure generated by his mother's preparation.
His Observation Haki, honed to the level of seeing the future, suddenly screamed at him.
Danger.
Extreme Danger.
But the danger wasn't coming from the attack. It was coming from... the man facing it.
"This is bad..." Katakuri whispered, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "He isn't moving."
His instincts were screaming a contradiction. Logic said the man should be vaporized. The Future Sight showed only darkness and a pair of purple, rippled eyes.
Meanwhile, the faces of the other Sweet Commanders—Smoothie, Cracker, and the eldest son Perospero—lit up with cruel, relieved smiles.
"It's over!" Perospero cheered, raising his staff. "Lick-lick-lick! To actually force Mama to use Ikoku, that arrogant fellow is definitely dead this time! There is nothing in the world that can block that!"
"He should have just surrendered," Smoothie added, crossing her long legs. "Now there won't even be a body left to squeeze juice from."
In their eyes, the farce had reached its conclusion. The Yonko were invincible. This was the law of the sea.
BOOM!!!!!!!!
A roar infinitely more exaggerated than all the previous explosions combined suddenly erupted as the attack connected with something.
The entire Cake Island—no, the entire sea area surrounding Totto Land—seemed to tremble violently under this terrifying impact. The ocean waves spiked, and the chateau's windows shattered from the shockwave alone.
Blinding white light swallowed everything, bleaching the color from the world and causing everyone to shield their eyes.
The violent shockwave churned up smoke, dust, and debris, spiraling upward to form a massive mushroom cloud that shot straight into the sky, piercing the dark clouds above.
Silence followed the roar. A heavy, dusty silence.
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