In the distance, Newgate leaned against a chunk of ruined stone. His hand still pressed against the horrific wound at his waist. His eyes showed a look of weakness he'd never displayed before.
It looks like we're going to fail. Charlotte Linlin can't stop Finn.
Was he going to die here? What a waste. After so many years of conquering the world, ultimately defeated by the Marines' schemes.
But was he unwilling to accept it?
Not particularly. If he had to die, dying honorably on the battlefield was a perfect ending for a pirate, wasn't it?
Just as Newgate was contemplating this, his eyes suddenly sharpened. His free hand struck backward without warning.
Powerful vibration force exploded outward.
A cloud of white smoke burst apart. Smoker's figure leaped from the dissipating vapor, lunging for Newgate.
"Pops!" Teach's form appeared from seemingly nowhere, raising his weapon and slashing at Smoker.
Smoker quickly transformed into his element and passed by Newgate. The old pirate suddenly spat out another mouthful of blood. His already weakened condition deteriorated further.
Looking toward the distant white smoke, Smoker's figure slowly solidified. He held a bloody long blade in his hand.
The demon sword Shindokutō.
Smoker's eyes were slightly red. The evil aura radiating from Shindokutō had already begun affecting his mind. But soon, Smoker suppressed the restlessness in his heart and looked at the cursed blade with genuine shock.
"How the hell does Finn manage to wield such an evil thing?" Smoker murmured softly.
He didn't spare a glance for Newgate and the nervous Teach. Soon, he transformed into white smoke and vanished.
Only then did Newgate spit out another mouthful of blood, looking utterly exhausted.
"Pops!" Teach supported Newgate, who was about to collapse.
"Teach..." Newgate's voice was faint. "Hurry and leave this island."
To be honest, Teach did have feelings for Newgate. No matter how evil, dark, or ambitious he was, he was still human. He'd been on Newgate's ship for so many years and received so much care from the old man. It was impossible to say he felt nothing.
But Teach was undoubtedly cold-blooded, and those emotions only existed when there was no conflict of interest.
When Newgate's existence blocked his path, he would kill his 'father' without hesitation.
But for now, Teach and Newgate were still aligned.
He needed Newgate's banner called "Whitebeard." As long as Whitebeard's banner didn't fall, he could leverage far more resources. For Teach, Newgate couldn't die now.
What's more, he understood the principle that no eggs remain unbroken when the nest is destroyed.
If Newgate died on this island, the Whitebeard Pirates would be finished. Without Whitebeard's banner, how could he secretly search for the Dark-Dark Fruit?
"Pops, let's go together!" Teach's voice was firm.
Without waiting for Newgate's response, Teach hoisted the man who was twice his size and began moving toward evacuation.
At the same time, after Finn had completely sealed Rayleigh within Planetary Devastation, he turned his fury on the rampaging madwoman Charlotte Linlin.
"Get lost!" Finn roared. Invisible gravity erupted from his body. The powerful repulsive force blocked Charlotte Linlin's Emperor Sword in mid-air.
At that moment, Smoker's figure, accompanied by billowing smoke, quickly wrapped around Charlotte Linlin. Then Smoker shouted, "Go!"
A flash of cold steel shot from the white smoke. Finn smiled and extended his hand. Under the guidance of gravity, the blade flew directly into his palm.
A dark, obscure, evil aura instantly burst from his hands.
At the same time, Charlotte Linlin tore through Smoker's white smoke. Her massive frame burst free.
But the next second, her expression froze.
Because not far away, Finn had a vicious smile on his face. And the demon sword that should have been embedded in Newgate's body, Shindokutō, was now in his hands.
"Are you ready to face despair, you old hag?" Finn's smile was savage.
As he finished speaking, Shindokutō rose before him.
Charlotte Linlin's expression changed drastically. The Emperor Sword in her hand ignited with blazing flames. Without a word, she brought it down toward Finn.
At that moment, Smoker seemed to be fighting with everything he had. A massive amount of white smoke erupted from his body as he rushed toward the blazing Emperor Sword and instantly tore into Charlotte Linlin's space.
Finn's expression remained utterly calm. His palm gently brushed across Shindokutō's blade as he murmured, "Secret Art: Void Slash."
Regardless of whether it was monotonous or not, Void Slash was undeniably effective. One technique to rule them all.
The moment he finished speaking, Shindokutō had already turned pitch black. In that instant, Charlotte Linlin punched through Smoker's smoke cover.
The next second, Finn shot forward. Shindokutō swept toward Charlotte Linlin in a devastating arc.
Charlotte Linlin, having nearly been beheaded by this technique before, knew exactly how brutal it was. She didn't dare block it at all. With a roar of fury, she stomped hard and her sturdy, massive body retreated violently.
"Die!" Charlotte Linlin roared.
As she roared, Homies suddenly emerged from the ground. All of them were Dyna Stone.
"Ice Age!" Kuzan's furious roar came from the distance.
It was clear this guy was genuinely enraged.
Just as the dozen or so Dyna Stone Homies were about to detonate, bone-chilling cold swept across the ground at incredible speed.
In moments, all the explosive rocks that should have detonated were sealed tight by Kuzan's ice. Not a single spark appeared.
Charlotte Linlin's face changed. Before she could react, she felt her movements freeze. Her feet had been frozen to the ground.
In that instant, Finn had already closed the distance. With killing intent blazing in his eyes, he brought down the terrifying Void Slash.
"Aaaaah!" Charlotte Linlin screamed in shock and rage. The Emperor Sword, wrapped in Armament Haki and scorching flames, rose to meet Finn's technique.
Without making a sound, Shindokutō, carrying the power of Void Slash, touched Charlotte Linlin's Haki coating and shattered it.
The next second, Napoleon, who had transformed into the Emperor Sword, roared in pain.
Charlotte Linlin's eyes filled with vicious determination. An endless stream of soul power poured into the Emperor Sword. Incredibly, this actually blocked Void Slash for a moment.
But only for a moment. In the next instant, Napoleon wailed. The Emperor Sword he'd become was cut cleanly in half by Finn.
The brief moment Napoleon had bought was enough for Charlotte Linlin to break free from Kuzan's ice.
With a sharp crack, Charlotte Linlin's feet came free.
There was no time to run or retreat. Charlotte Linlin, just like she had before, without any grace or dignity befitting a strong fighter, rolled her massive body into a ball and tumbled across the ground in utterly embarrassing fashion.
Finn's Void Slash ultimately missed, only crippling Napoleon.
Without even a chance to stand up, Charlotte Linlin remained sprawled on the ground. With a roar, scorching flames erupted from her arms and shot toward Finn.
Finn casually waved Shindokutō and cut through the flames. The next moment, his figure vanished into the fire.
Charlotte Linlin's Observation Haki remained active, locked onto Finn.
The instant Finn disappeared, Charlotte Linlin rolled twice across the ground without hesitation. As expected, the moment she dodged, Shindokutō pierced directly into the spot where she'd just been.
"Soul Shock!" Charlotte Linlin suddenly thrust her palm through the air.
A massive surge of dark green soul energy burst from her hands like a tsunami, enveloping Finn in an instant.
Finn froze. For a moment, his mind went blank. It was a powerful impact directly on his soul.
He even felt that this invisible, intangible soul shock was impossible to defend against.
This was indeed one of Charlotte Linlin's killing moves. Even Kaido and Whitebeard would be interrupted for a moment when hit by this technique.
For masters, a single moment was enough to create the perfect opportunity.
But for Finn, it took only that moment for his Iron Will to activate instantly. The force that should have shaken his soul suddenly vanished.
But he pretended not to react and remained motionless.
As for Charlotte Linlin, whether she was genuinely frightened by Finn or had discovered his ploy was unclear.
She didn't seize this 'opening' to rush forward. Instead, she quickly rose from the ground, took several steps back, and created distance from Finn.
"Tsk, didn't fall for it?" Finn clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Charlotte Linlin was stunned for a moment. She really hadn't realized Finn was pretending. She'd simply been cautious and hadn't dared engage him in that instant.
As a result, that very caution had allowed her to avoid Finn's trap.
"Impossible! That kind of soul impact is unbearable unless you're a master of soul manipulation!" Charlotte Linlin said in disbelief.
"Nothing is impossible. The reason you think it's impossible is simply because you've never encountered such a situation." Finn's grin was savage.
Looking at Finn's ferocious smile, Charlotte Linlin suddenly realized something. Her Conqueror's Haki erupted, spreading out in all directions.
But it was already too late.
Kuzan, braving the powerful wave of Haki, stood firmly behind Charlotte Linlin. He placed a hand on her massive frame.
"It's over..." Kuzan's voice was soft.
Chilling ice energy emanated from his hand. Charlotte Linlin's movements became stiff.
At that moment, Finn appeared beside Charlotte Linlin.
A flash of blood passed by. Charlotte Linlin felt intense pain, and then she wailed. "Aaaaaaahhhhh!"
The piercing wail instantly shattered the ice Kuzan had encased her in. Even Kuzan himself was blown apart into ice shards on the ground.
Finn was also thrown backward by the terrifying sound wave.
He didn't look particularly embarrassed. After more than ten meters, he stood steadily on the ground with a smile on his face.
There was a heavy THUD.
The sound seemed to interrupt Charlotte Linlin's wailing. When she looked down, she saw a fat, powerful arm, severed at the shoulder, lying on the ground with a massive pool of blood spreading beneath it.
It was Charlotte Linlin's left arm.
The moment Kuzan had controlled Charlotte Linlin, Finn had used Void Slash to rip off one of her arms.