Sack hovered in the air, his heart pounding violently, a fearful gaze locked on the scene below. Where he had stood moments ago was now a massive crater dozens of meters wide; the surrounding ice field had completely vanished.
This sudden, devastating strike chilled him to the bone. If he hadn't dodged in time, he likely would have been vaporized.
"Found you." Queen's icy voice suddenly rang out. His colossal serpent body leaped up, all seven ferocious heads opening wide. Fangs sheathed in jet-black Busoshoku Haki gleamed coldly as they lunged to bite Sack from different angles.
Faced with this lethal encirclement, Sack remained surprisingly motionless. His body began to glow with an eerie red light, his temperature rising at a terrifying rate. "An attack of this level doesn't even require dodging," he sneered, a flicker of contempt in his eyes.
CRACK! The foremost snake head was about to bite its target when, mere meters away from Sack, it suddenly let out a pained shriek. The scales on the head began to smoke; the Busoshoku Haki was actually being burned away by the sheer heat. The entire head instantly turned crimson red, like raw meat tossed into a furnace.
"Hot! So damn hot! It burns!" Queen shrieked in agony, all seven heads retracting simultaneously. He stared in disbelief at the scalded head. Its scales were charred black and curled, emitting the scent of roasting meat.
"Hahaha! Now it's my turn!" Sack sneered, raising his hands. Two blood-red spheres of intense heat coalesced in his palms. Terrifying heat waves distorted the surrounding air; even from a distance, the destructive temperature was palpable. "High-Temperature Heat Bomb!"
Two fireballs screamed forth, tracing scorching trails through the air. Queen's pupils contracted. The eyes of his main serpent head suddenly shot out two thin but deadly laser beams.
BOOM——! An earsplitting explosion shook the heavens. Two completely different energies collided mid-air, erupting into a blinding flash of light and billowing black smoke. The shockwave utterly pulverized the surrounding ice layer, turning it into a cloud of icy crystals.
"Mmmhahaha! I should have thought of it sooner!" Queen cackled wildly within the smoke and dust, his seven heads thrashing madly. "To deal with a high-temperature monster like you, only long-range attacks will work!" Before his words had even faded, all seven heads opened their maws wide, spewing forth a variety of energy beams—poison, flame, ice, lightning, lasers... five completely different energy attacks wove together into a net of death.
Sack, unwilling to be outdone, blazed with red light, swinging his arms continuously to unleash wave after wave of high-temperature shockwaves.
Two devastating powers clashed violently in mid-air. Explosive flares erupted one after another, illuminating the entire ice plain as if it were daytime.
This made the pirates in the vicinity forget about fighting each other, and they all started running toward the distance.
Gunsmoke drifted across the sea as the fierce battle raged on. Albert narrowed his eyes, his gaze looking past the battlefield toward the distant seven-headed serpent monster locked in combat with Sack. His brow unconsciously furrowed. As an officer of the Beasts Pirates, this monster's strength far exceeded his expectations.
"The Beasts Pirates actually have a fighter of this caliber besides Kaido," Albert muttered to himself. He knew Sack's strength well. Although he himself held a slightly higher rank, even he found Sack's troublesome Devil Fruit ability a headache. He hadn't expected a random officer sent by the Beasts Pirates to be able to fight Sack to a stalemate.
"Hahaha, Albert! Today is your end!" Oven's loud laughter interrupted Albert's thoughts. A wave of scorching heat rushed toward him as Oven's Heat Fist struck again.
"With just you lot?" Albert's lips curled into a cold sneer. His arms instantly transformed, morphing into two high-speed rotary machine guns. Metallic luster flashed in the sunlight as the barrels began to spin furiously.
"Metal Storm!"
With a furious shout, countless sharp, three-pronged spikes poured forth like a torrential downpour. The sound of rending air was incessant; the dense hail of metal spikes formed a curtain of death.
Oven immediately countered with his fists, a barrier of heat dispersing the first wave of spikes. But the subsequent attacks were endless, forcing him to retreat repeatedly, searching for a chance to counterattack while dodging.
On the other flank, Daifuku manipulated the lamp genie, gathering power before swinging its longsword to whip up a violent whirlwind that knocked down all the spikes aimed at him.
It was in this split-second opening that Katakuri seized the fleeting opportunity.
"Mochi Whip!"
Katakuri's legs suddenly split into dozens of strands, lashing out at Albert like willow branches with incredible speed.
Albert, however, seemed to have anticipated this. He shifted his form and easily dodged. His right arm morphed instantly into a high-speed spinning lance.
"Spiral Lance Kill!"
The sharp lance tip shot toward Katakuri with a piercing shriek. Facing this lethal strike, Katakuri didn't retreat but advanced instead. His right arm turned into sticky mochi as his trident, spinning at high speed, met the opponent's attack.
"Mochi Thrust!"
CLANG—!
A deafening metallic crash resounded across the battlefield.
Under the immense impact, Katakuri's entire body was sent flying backward. Mid-air, a glint flashed in his eyes. He slammed his hands downward, using the recoil to execute a flawless backflip before landing in a stable crouch.
"An opening!" Albert seized this instant, charging toward Katakuri. His entire right arm transformed into a longsword, poised to slash down at Katakuri.
"Candy Wall!"
At that moment, a wall formed of candy appeared before Albert. His attack struck the candy wall, slicing the thick barrier cleanly in two.
But Katakuri, who had been there, had already vanished from the spot.
Only then did Albert look toward the one who had intervened. "Big Mom Pirates, Perospero!"
Perospero approached steadily, his candy cane in hand, before fixing Albert with a serious look. Having fought for so long now, Albert bore no significant wounds, while his three younger brothers all showed numerous injuries.
"As expected of the Second Division Commander of the Golden Lion Pirates. Your strength is formidable," Perospero said.
"Now you know the might of the Golden Lion Pirates. If you leave now, I'll let you go," Albert said, feigning disdain.
The strength of the Big Mom Pirates was within Albert's expectations. If they were alone, victory would be assured.
But now there was the added factor of the Beasts Pirates, whose strength could not be underestimated. One opponent had already tied up Sack. And there was still that guy who had frozen the entire sea, who hadn't shown himself yet. As it stood, they were at a stalemate. If the one who froze the sea were to act, the battle would turn against them. Therefore, Albert, for once, was inclined to let them leave.