The spectators below were shocked, but the panic in Big Mom's heart was far greater.
That was Divine Departure. Pirate King Roger's technique, Divine Departure! How could Doflamingo possibly know it?!
She felt the numbness spreading through her body. Although she wasn't seriously injured, the shock was profound. Even the hand she held Napoleon with was trembling.
"Mama, are you alright?!" Napoleon asked worriedly from her hand.
Big Mom shook the chaotic thoughts from her mind, driving out the shock. She glared at Doflamingo and demanded, "Brat, how do you know that move!"
She didn't say the name of the technique, but the onlookers were already reeling, desperately curious to know what had just happened.
"If you want to know, you can go ask the old man himself!" Doflamingo was supremely arrogant, showing her no respect.
"Mamamama! Brat, do you think we great pirates who rule the New World are so easily beaten? You're too arrogant! Even if Whitebeard himself were here, he couldn't say he'd be guaranteed a win against me!" Big Mom boasted shamelessly, posturing.
Doflamingo didn't believe a word of it. 'Whitebeard can't win? That's only because you two have a history, and he'd never go for the kill. Not to mention your little 'brother' Kaido would never let anything happen to you.'
He scoffed at her claim. All talk. She's the weakest of the three, and she dares to call herself an Emperor?
"You talk too much, Big Mom," Doflamingo said lightly, as if she were a mild annoyance. "Hurry up and die. I'm on a schedule."
"Good. Good. Good," Big Mom seethed, completely enraged.
"It's rude not to return a gift. Take this!"
A terrifying sword of lightning materialized in Doflamingo's hand as he instantly appeared in front of her.
Big Mom's reaction wasn't slow. She blocked the thunder blade with Napoleon.
Seeing the thrust had failed, Doflamingo's body twisted, lashing out with a kick aimed at her torso.
"Watch out, Mama!" "Flame Jet!"
It was Prometheus who had spoken, simultaneously unleashing a torrent of fire to intercept the kick.
Doflamingo's successive attacks were blocked. He gave the Homies a look of grudging respect, then teleported a short distance away to prepare his next move.
"A fire contest? Perfect," Doflamingo's playfulness flared up. "Take this, Big Mom! Thunderflame Over the Sky!"
Prometheus countered with "Heavenly Fire!"
The sky was instantly engulfed. Prometheus's bright, blazing fire took one side, while Doflamingo's dim, violent, and equally hot thunderflame took the other. The two forces clashed, locked in a stalemate.
Big Mom and Doflamingo glared at each other, their respective flames surging.
"You're too weak, Big Mom! Get the hell down!" Doflamingo's taunt was like a thunderclap, his words calculated to inflict maximum offense.
"Mamamama! Brat, your arrogance knows no bounds! Die!"
Even a saint has their limits, and Big Mom was no saint.
The stalemate broke. The dim thunderflame launched a full-scale assault. Prometheus's fire, lacking both the explosive power and the sustainability of Doflamingo's, was completely overwhelmed. It was just a Homie; how could it possibly be a match for Doflamingo?
The sea of thunderflame surged toward Big Mom.
Stray embers rained down on the chateau. Anyone they grazed cried out in agony.
In the end, it was Katakuri who moved, using his mochi to extinguish the falling flames. But unlike the relieved survivors, Katakuri's heart was heavy with worry. In that moment, he felt, for the first time, that his mother was not invincible.
"How could Mama lose?!" He shook his head, clearing the impossible thought, and refocused on the battle.
"Big Mom, is this your limit?" Doflamingo taunted the flame-engulfed giant. "You want to be Pirate King? How can you be Pirate King with this?"
Swish!
A sword aura tore through the air, grazing Doflamingo's ear and exploding in the distance. A shallow cut appeared on his handsome face, but it vanished almost instantly.
"Brat! It's far too early for you to defeat me!"
Big Mom burst from the flames. She was battered and her clothes were singed, but she had no major injuries.
Doflamingo's eyes narrowed. He marveled again at her talent. That 'Iron Balloon' body is truly monstrous.
"Is that so? Then let's try." Doflamingo grinned, his excitement palpable.
"200 Million Volt Thunder Dragon!"
A lifelike dragon of pure lightning formed and shot toward Big Mom.
She didn't dare underestimate it. She could take the hit, but the searing heat and paralysis were not pleasant.
"Emperor's Sword: Slash!"
Napoleon clashed with the thunder dragon, but she couldn't break it in a single blow.
"Accept my gift, Big Mom! 500 Million Volt Kirin!"
At some unknown point, Doflamingo had appeared high above her head. From the dark, swirling thunderclouds, a majestic, divine Kirin dived down.
The Kirin landed. The thunder exploded.
Big Mom was completely enveloped by the Kirin, which tore at her. The violent, blinding lightning forced everyone who wanted to help to retreat.
"Aaaargh!" Big Mom's cry of pain echoed across Whole Cake Island.
"Mama!" Her children cried out anxiously, desperate to see if she was alright, but the raging lightning was an impassable wall.
"Mochi Thrust!"
Katakuri couldn't hold back, launching an attack at Doflamingo.
"Katakuri! Who told you to interfere!" Big Mom's furious, enraged voice cut through the thunder, and her children felt a surge of relief.
"Mama, Brother Katakuri was just worried!" Brulee pleaded.
"That's right, Mama!"
"I'm not dead yet!"
Big Mom's figure finally emerged. This time, she was scorched black, her clothes in tatters. Though she had no obvious wounds, her trembling hands and the raw pain in her voice made it clear she was far from unharmed.
The invited guests were dumbfounded. They had watched Big Mom on the defensive from start to finish. They never expected Doflamingo to be this powerful, to fight an Emperor and not give an inch.
Stussy's beautiful eyes watched Doflamingo, who was now parrying Katakuri's Mochi Thrust, her expression unreadable.
Morgans was practically vibrating. What a scoop! What a scoop!
The other two Underworld Kings were already calculating. A new star was rising. They needed to figure out how to build a good relationship with him.
In the midst of the chaos, with no one paying attention, a small girl quietly slipped away.