This imposing presence...
The all-out battle is finally about to begin!
"Fire!"
With Smoker's command, responsible for artillery coordination, the Endgame Fleet's over twenty ships roared with side cannon fire simultaneously.
In terms of firepower, it naturally pales in comparison to the Charlotte family.
Yet this salvo sent nearly a hundred shells tearing through the sky, creating a sea of flames in front of the Charlotte Fleet.
However...
The formation opposite remained utterly unperturbed.
On the Queen Mother's Chant ship, Katakuri seemed to have foreseen the trajectory, having already arranged the fleet into a strike formation, dodging all the artillery.
"This level of firepower, there's no need for the managers to intercept."
Smoker flicked some ash from his cigarette, sneering coldly, "The Observation that can predict the future is truly terrifying."
"Therefore, we should still proceed according to the initial plan."
Kuina, with a hair tie in her mouth, fixed her ponytail with her hands behind her back, smirking slightly as she tied her hair:
"Battling the Charlotte family at sea? There's absolutely no need."
Recognizing your shortcomings early is never a disgrace.
Whether it's a personal duel or a war on a royal scale, it's inevitable to capitalize on strengths while avoiding weaknesses, especially when you're outmatched in firepower, naval battle experience, and ship numbers...
Only a fool would go head-on and take this loss!
"Nojiko!"
Kuina shouted coldly without turning her head, "Leaving it to you!"
"No problem!"
A graceful figure with long blue hair responded cheerfully, suddenly leaping from the rear deck, headfirst towards the sea below.
...
Almost simultaneously, on the Queen Mother's Chant.
"That girl..."
After his eyes flashed red, Katakuri's expression changed sharply, grabbing the radio snail to give loud commands:
"All front lines slow down, do not hesitate, execute the order immediately!"
This directive, issued during an all-out fleet charge, seemed rather strange.
But Katakuri's prestige within the family was undeniable; despite not fully understanding, the charging fleet swiftly complied with the deceleration order.
In the next moment.
Nojiko's body was already about to enter the sea, but before that, she slightly raised the corners of her mouth and thrust her hands forward forcefully:
"Frozen River... Era!!!"
Instantly, a bone-chilling cold swept the sea surface, centering on Nojiko, pure white ice and snow surged like an angry wave towards the Charlotte fleet.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The originally turbulent waves solidified instantly, transforming into continuous glaciers.
The sixty Egg Tart Battleships of the Charlotte family were forcibly frozen on the ice surface, even the surrounding area of the Queen Mother's Chant was covered in snow, entirely immobile.
Indeed.
The ability to wantonly alter the terrain even at sea... Katakuri's gaze tightened, observing Nojiko from a distance.
To easily accomplish this with a mere gesture, should one say she's truly the sister of that man.
"That was close!"
On one Egg Tart Ship, a combatant ranked as "Bishop" lay on the prow, nervously checking below.
The woman capable of manipulating ice and snow is truly abominable; freezing the ocean is one thing, but the leading edge of the spreading glacier is covered in spikes.
Fortunately, with Lord Katakuri's reminder, they decelerated in time.
Otherwise, they'd be flipped along with the ship, and with bad luck, they might end up trapped in frozen sea water.
"Full disembarkation! Prepare for land battle!"
The Bishop combatant wiped the cold sweat away, shouting to the crew.
He then squinted, beginning to choose his opponent.
Within the BIGMOM Pirates, combatants like him with no blood ties have a strictly ranked hierarchy.
The so-called "Bishop" is considered relatively high-level, their numbers are limited, essentially pirates with bounties around one billion Belly.
Above them, there are "Knights," even rarer, enjoying treatment entirely at the managerial level, akin to those of Charlotte's Children.
This mission's Knight involves only one individual, and that is...
The Bishop combatant instinctively glanced to the right, where a bearded man in a pink suit, encased in eggshell and holding a wooden staff, elegantly leapt from another Egg Tart Ship.
Baron Egg!
Bounty, 429 million Belly!
"Such an unpleasant power~"
Baron Egg adjusted his glasses, complaining in a gentleman's tone, yet his gaze locked onto the distant blue silhouette:
"However, because of this, it's certainly worthy of serious attention, so I'll deal with it..."
He hadn't finished saying "it" when a silver lightning bolt suddenly surged from a crack in the ice, rapidly approached with terrifying speed, crashing heavily into Baron Egg's waist.
The latter immediately cried out, flying high into the air, and collided against the distant Queen Mother's Chant.
"...Lord Baron?"
The Bishop combatant stared agape.
He quickly turned his head and saw clearly...
The silver lightning racing across the ice was actually a giant wolf with fur like waterfalls, nearly four meters in length!
"Well done, Ah Yin!"
Nojiko clapped her hands with a cheerful smile, stood upright, put her hands on her hips, and marveled:
"It's really fast, it just remodeled the field, yet it was the first to take the lead. Has it been suppressed for too long... Hey! Everyone, we can't fall too far behind!"
She lifted her head and shouted towards the Endgame.
"Coming!"
"Don't worry!"
"We've been itching to get started too!!"
A booming response echoed from the deck, whoosh! Several figures leaped down from the ship's edge.
Zoro's face was composed, with two swords drawn simultaneously, sprinting with a ninja-like posture, letting the sword tips carve out two tracks on the ice;
Sanji bit his cigarette, flames blazing from his legs, sprinting full speed not to be outdone;
Tashigi unsheathed the famous sword Shigure, cast one last glance at Kuina, who was also drawing Wado Ichimonji, and then followed closely.
On both sides, ships belonging to the combat corps also had figures leading the charge, rushing straight towards the enemy lines.
All at once.
Dozens to hundreds of swift tracks unfolded across the glacier, like a meteor shower rushing towards the Charlotte Fleet.
"Hey, why is everyone so fast, wait for me!"
Chopper felt anxious, fumbling through his medical kit to take out a Rumble Ball.
Just as he was about to throw it into his mouth, a delicate white hand suddenly emerged above his head and snatched the Rumble Ball away.
"Huh?" Chopper was dumbfounded, "Sister Robin, why are you..."
"Don't be silly."
Robin shook her head, stepped forward, took the Rumble Ball from her third hand, then knelt down and pinched Chopper's face, speaking somewhat amusedly:
"You've been busy treating the people in the territory recently, haven't even had time to practice Haki, right? The frontline is too dangerous for you, leave the fighting to me."
This little guy, what is he thinking?
Probably just suffering the lack of crew like Sanji.
Otherwise, as a precious ship doctor, who would not stay in the rear ready at any time but instead charge headfirst into the frontline to kill the enemy?
...
"Achoo!"
Law, who was sprinting, suddenly had a tickle in his nose and sneezed hard, nearly stumbling.
"Ship... no, Captain!"
Bebo, following closely behind, hurried to support him, "What's wrong? Is something wrong with your body?"
"If there was a problem, I'd notice it myself."
Law shook his head, glancing at the glacial ice below, "Probably not used to the ice and snow environment after leaving the North Sea for a while."
"Endgame brat!"
Ahead, an arrogant laugh suddenly sounded, "How could you stop halfway through a sprint, you've reached the battlefield, there's no time for rookies like you to idle chat!"
Swoosh!
A long, slender, snake-like blade slashed face-on.
Law hurriedly halted his steps to dodge, looking up to see his opponent's neck as long as a snake's, evidently from the rare snake-headed race.
"I'll help you, Captain!"
A voice full of eagerness immediately came from Bebo behind him.
"This level of guy is fine for me alone, you go handle the rest, no need for a pincer attack."
Law coldly replied, slowly drawing the Demon Sword Kikoku with his right hand.
While glancing at Bebo out of the corner of his eye.
"Charlotte Mascarpone, the thirty-fourth son, very young, with a bounty of 69 million Belly." Bebo crouched on the ground, flipping through a stack of thick Bounty Orders, solemnly spoke.
"Is this what you call helping, when did you become an intelligence officer!" Law couldn't help but yell in exasperation.
"Such disrespect! Waaah! A rookie who hasn't even mastered Haki yet dares to look down on me like this!"
Mascarpone, seeing the two had no intention of acknowledging him, immediately flew into a rage, his long blade stabbing like a serpent's tongue.
Law glanced at him coldly, and Kikoku unsheathed in an instant—
"ROOM·Slaughterhouse!"
A light blue spherical space unfolded abruptly, Mascarpone's body was instantly sliced into segments with almost no resistance!
"You've been in the New World since you were little." Law rested the Demon Sword on his shoulder, "But it seems your Haki isn't much either."
These children of the Charlotte family, even if they grasped Haki, without reaching a certain level, could not resist his ability!
Those with around a bounty of one hundred million Belly, if caught off guard and placed in the same ROOM surgical room with him, would inevitably be instantly killed!
"Bebo."
Law squinted his eyes, musing:
"I must say, your intelligence can indeed be of great use, point out all the cadres in our direction with bounties under 100 million Belly to me, all these people are mine."
He has his ambitions, but he's not that type who likes to show off, focusing more on pragmatism.
His current thoughts are also very clear.
To maximize the role he can play, he should not deliberately challenge those cadres with bounties far higher than his own just to boost his fame and position within the crew.
Whether he could win is another matter.
No matter the outcome, it would waste too much time, causing the battle to stalemate, wasting his ability to unexpectedly instantly kill a pirate of a hundred million Belly level.