"CrAck! Rumble! Crack!"
The once-magnificent residence of Kurozumi Orochi, the tyrannical Shogun of Wano Kuni, had now been reduced to ashes.
Kurozumi Orochi staggered forward, barely able to maintain his Eight Headed Snake form granted by his Snake-Snake Fruit: Mythical Zoan model. His body was charred and battered, and his eight-headed form was reduced to a mere three heads. His wide, fear-filled eyes fixated on the figure hovering above him—an embodiment of thunder itself.
The once-proud dictator, who had lorded over Wano Kuni with Kaido's backing, now stood humiliated, his body scarred by burns.
"Damn it! This woman... why? Why is she here?!"
His voice trembled with panic as he stared at the radiant figure above him, his pupils dilated in terror. He recognized her all too well.
During the infamous Flame Emperor Incident, this woman had joined forces with "Pluton" Silver Rayleigh and "Dark Ranger" Issho to achieve the unthinkable: capturing Admiral Kizaru of the Marine Headquarters alive.
She was one of the most fearsome users of Logia-type Devil Fruits.
A commander of the Entei Pirates Grand Fleet.
A bounty of 2 billion berries.
"Flame Emperor Thunder Cat Burglar... Nami!"
Despite Wano Kuni being cut off from the outside world, Orochi had his ways of staying informed. Like everyone else, he had witnessed the live broadcast of the Flame Emperor Incident—a spectacle that had shocked the entire world.
Back then, Nami was already recognized as having Admiral-level combat power. However, she had heavily relied on her Thunder Fruit abilities, with her Haki and overall skill set still relatively underdeveloped.
But now...
"What's happening?! This power... this woman!"
Orochi's trembling gaze was locked on the thunderous figure of Nami in the sky. Fear seeped into every corner of his mind.
---
The Eight Headed Snake form of his Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit granted him eight heads, each representing a separate life. For someone to kill him, all eight heads had to be destroyed.
While his fruit wasn't as powerful in combat as Kaido's Fish-Fish Fruit: Azure Dragon model, its survival capabilities were formidable. Yet now, in mere moments, five of his heads had been obliterated by the overwhelming attacks of this woman.
The sheer destructive power of her thunder left him utterly helpless. His devil fruit, his abilities—none of them could withstand her ferocity.
"This can't just be the Thunder Fruit's power..."
A horrifying thought crept into his mind, and his fear deepened.
"You're good at running," Nami said, her lips curling into a cold smile. "But the game ends here."
Her voice was calm but carried the weight of absolute dominance. Before arriving in Wano Kuni, Nami and Conis had learned of the atrocities Kaido and Orochi had inflicted upon the nation. Witnessing the suffering of Wano's people firsthand only fueled her rage.
"Scum like you doesn't deserve mercy."
Orochi fell to his knees, trembling as he begged for his life.
"Spare me! Please! Your target is Kaido, isn't it? I-I can help you! We can work together!"
He knew deep down that escaping from a Thunder Fruit user like Nami was impossible. Only someone like Kizaru, the user of the Sparkling Fruit, might have a chance to flee, given its superior speed.
But against Nami? And in his current state? He had no hope.
Even with the survival-enhancing powers of his mythical fruit, Orochi realized that each of his lives was meaningless in the face of her absolute power. The Thunder Fruit wasn't just about speed—it was a devastating combination of speed and raw destructive force, a perfect weapon in combat.
Now, as he faced her, Orochi finally understood why the Thunder Fruit was regarded as one of the most invincible abilities among the Logia types.
Orochi's thoughts spiraled into chaos as he stared at Nami, who was now preparing her final attack. In her, he saw the embodiment of wrath, vengeance, and power.
"Are you finished?"
Nami's voice broke through his frantic thoughts, her expression growing colder by the second.
"Then you can go to hell. Do you think someone like you is worthy of working with our captain?"
Orochi's face twisted in desperation.
"Wait!"
But before he could say more, Nami's icy command echoed:
"Two hundred million volts: Queen Cobra!"
The sky lit up as a serpent of pure thunder materialized. Its glowing form writhed violently, its fangs gleaming with raw, destructive power far more terrifying than Orochi's own Eight Headed Snake form.
With a deafening crack, the Thunder Queen Cobra lunged, roaring as it descended upon Kurozumi Orochi.
But suddenly—
"Little girl, don't get too full of yourself!"
A thunderous roar from above interrupted the scene.
"Roar!!!"
To Orochi's astonishment, a massive dragon head emerged from the clouds, its sheer size dwarfing everything below. The azure-scaled form of Kaido descended, blocking Nami's thunderous serpent with his own immense body.
Nami narrowed her eyes as she watched the colossal figure of Kaido.
"So he approached from above the clouds, isolating his presence with his Conqueror's Haki," she thought.
Her Observation Haki, amplified by her Thunder Fruit, could cover an entire country. However, such amplification came at a price—draining both her Haki and physical strength the wider the range she tried to cover.
Focused on monitoring Onigashima and Kaido's flame clouds, Nami hadn't detected Kaido himself hiding in the sky. Adding to the difficulty, Viola, who had been observing with her Glare-Glare Fruit, couldn't locate Kaido as long as his Conqueror's Haki cloaked him. Against a foe whose Haki vastly exceeded her own, Viola's abilities were rendered ineffective.
Kaido collided with Nami's 200-million-volt Queen Cobra, their clash shaking the skies.
"Sizzle! Boom!!!"
Kaido's expression shifted as soon as their powers made contact.
"What...?"
This wasn't just the Thunder Fruit's power. There was something else entwined with it.
"Conqueror's Haki?!"
With a fierce burst of purple-black lightning, Kaido unleashed his own Conqueror Haki, wrapping it around his dragon head. The violent surge of power tore through Nami's Thunder Queen Cobra, sending it spiraling into the clouds above.
"Boom!!!"
The serpent erupted in a dazzling display of light and sound, scattering arcs of electricity across the sky.
The Thunder Fruit, imbued with the raw, volatile power of Conqueror's Haki-entanglement, unleashed its might in an instant.
Vast swathes of clouds dissolved and collapsed, obliterated by the overwhelming intensity of the energy released.
"I didn't expect this. Truly, I didn't think you had mastered Conqueror's Haki-entanglement," Kaido said, his expression serious as he fixed his gaze on Nami.
While her Conqueror's Haki couldn't match Kaido's overwhelming force, the combination of the Thunder Fruit and Conqueror's Haki-entanglement was more formidable than he had anticipated.
"Such power… it deserves my full attention."
"So, it's really the Conqueror's Haki-entanglement!"
From behind Kaido, Kurozumi Orochi's eyes widened, his pupils trembling as the realization set in.
Even though he had already guessed it, hearing the confirmation left him stunned.
"Are all the members of the Entei Pirates monsters?!"
The thought made Orochi's heart race in dread. Entei's power was frightening enough, but now even Nami had reached the pinnacle of combat techniques—something only the strongest conquerors of the world wielded.
A chill ran down Orochi's spine.
If Nami had suddenly gained the strength to match Kaido in battle, what about the other officers of the Entei Pirates?
"Why does it feel like, even with Kaido and the Big Mom Pirates working together, facing the Entei Pirates is still a terrifying gamble?"
Cold sweat trickled down Orochi's forehead as unease gnawed at him.
"There's a lot you don't know, Kaido," Nami said confidently, twirling her Clima-Tact.
She stood tall, radiating strength. For the first time, she felt ready to face the world's strongest.
Ace…
Nami's fighting spirit surged, spurred on by the thought of the man who gave her everything she had and loved.
"Your presence is disrupting the balance of power on this battlefield. Before Entei arrives, I'll take you down first!"
Kaido let out a thunderous roar toward Onigashima, the island floating in the distance.
"Linlin!!!"
Dignity didn't matter anymore. For Kaido, winning this war was everything.
Nami's unexpected leap in strength—what was once barely Admiral-level combat power now rivalled an Emperor—had completely altered the dynamics of the battle.
Kaido couldn't afford to underestimate her anymore. If he wanted to maintain his grip on victory, he needed to act swiftly.
"I don't know why Entei himself isn't here, but that just makes things convenient. Before he arrives, I'll ensure the Entei Pirates lose one of their key fighters!"
A chilling, cackling laugh echoed from the distance.
"Mama! Mama!"
Charlotte Linlin, the monstrous matriarch of the Big Mom Pirates, arrived atop her Homies Zeus, her massive form looming over the battlefield. Clad in her usual menace, she carried Napoleon, her Homies-transformed giant sword, as she descended toward Nami.
"What an impressive showing, Entei Pirates!" Linlin sneered, her bloodshot eyes locking onto Nami. "But this is where it ends. Mama! Mama!"
Opening her grotesque mouth, Linlin swung Napoleon down in a vicious arc aimed directly at Nami.
"Clang!"
Before the blade could connect, a powerful gust of wind swept across the battlefield. Invisible but overwhelming, the force deflected Linlin's attack mid-swing.
Linlin's eyes narrowed, her expression twisting in surprise.
"Roar!!!"
A deafening tiger's roar pierced the air. Kaido and Linlin turned to face the source of the sound, their expressions darkening.