"Katakuri!!!"
A piercing voice, filled with extreme anger, suddenly echoed across the battlefield.
An oppressive and terrifying aura began spreading over the chaos, gripping everyone in its wake.
The warriors of the Entei Pirates turned solemn eyes toward the source of the enraged cry.
It was none other than one of the Four Emperors, Linlin!
At this moment, Linlin was in a wretched state, emanating a dark and ominous presence that seemed almost otherworldly.
"A born monster, Big Mom Linlin," muttered Kuzan, his face grave. Half of his body had already transformed into ice, and freezing mist poured from his breath.
A dark aura swirled around him as he fully unleashed his Frozen Fruit powers, reinforced by Armament Haki.
"What... is this?"
Nearby, Issho also adopted a tense posture, his expression just as solemn. His staff sword was raised before him, ready for action, imbued with both his Devil Fruit ability and Armament Haki.
"How dare you!!!"
Linlin's terrifying eyes burned with a fury devoid of any human emotion.
Her relationship with her children had always been volatile. When they were young, especially under ten, she sometimes displayed boundless maternal love.
But as they grew older, that love often vanished completely. If any of her children dared to defy her, she would not hesitate to destroy them herself.
Yet, this did not mean Linlin was indifferent when her children were harmed. Far from it.
To her, her children were not just offspring—they were essential components in her grand vision of the future.
Yes, components.
Linlin's dream was to create a utopian land where all races coexisted, the Ten Thousand Kingdoms. To achieve this, she was willing to pay any price.
Many of her children came from special races. When she set her sights on a particular race, she would bear a child with someone from that race, ensuring its inclusion in her envisioned utopia.
Her children were the building blocks of her dream.
And now, those vital pieces were being wiped out by the Entei Pirates.
Years of effort and planning were crumbling before her eyes.
The destruction of her children meant the potential collapse of her dream—a realization that sent Linlin spiraling into madness.
Her fury culminated in a deafening scream, piercing and unearthly.
"!!!"
The sound wasn't human. It ripped through the battlefield, shaking everyone to their core.
"What... is that?!"
Nami surrounded herself with Conqueror's Haki to shield against the sound, but even then, it was a struggle to endure.
Both the Entei Pirates and the surviving members of the Charlotte Family, alongside the Beasts Pirates, Orochi, and his followers, showed visible discomfort.
For the weaker combatants, the strange sound shattered eardrums and rendered them unconscious from sheer pain.
"Old woman, are you losing it?" Kaido growled, sweat dripping from his brow as he eyed Linlin warily.
This wasn't Conqueror's Haki, nor was it the result of a Devil Fruit ability.
It was something far more terrifying—a byproduct of Linlin's unique and monstrous physique.
When pushed to the brink of rage, when her mind completely unraveled, she unleashed this horrifying sound.
As a former "companion" aboard the Rocks Pirates, Kaido knew better than anyone how terrifying Linlin could be.
In terms of raw talent, there was only one rival she could not surpass—Entei.
Linlin was a natural-born monster, with a physique that surpassed all others, human or otherwise. Even mythical creatures like Kaido's Azure Dragon form paled in comparison to her monstrous body.
Kaido's title as the "strongest creature" was largely unchallenged because Linlin had spent much of her later life preoccupied with an endless cycle of sex, getting pregnant, having children, hosting tea parties, and repeating the pattern.
Despite this squandered potential, she still stood as one of the Four Emperors—a testament to her extraordinary talent.
Though Linlin might currently rank as the weakest among the Emperors in her normal state, when enraged—especially when on the brink of losing control—her destructive power became truly terrifying.
A natural destroyer! That was the only way to describe Linlin in her berserk state.
In this state, even Kaido chose to avoid her wrath.
"AAHHHH!!!"
A piercing scream echoed again, sending shockwaves through the battlefield.
Linlin discarded the Homie, Napoleon, from her hand, clenched her fists, and began smashing wildly.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Each strike caused sonic booms that roared through the air, as waves of terrifying energy radiated outward with every blow.
"Don't let her hit you, Gion!"
Hancock's expression was tense as she wielded her Conqueror's Haki, intertwined with her attacks, to hold off Linlin's relentless assault.
Such devastating power!
This was the true strength of a berserk Four Emperors, Big Mom.
"Understood!"
Gion's face was equally grim.
Her offensive abilities, enhanced by the Cat-Cat Fruit: Mythical Beast—White Tiger Form, were among the most potent in the mythical beast category.
However, her defense and physical endurance were her Achilles' heels.
Her White Tiger Form had not yet awakened, leaving her vulnerable to powerful blows. If she were struck directly by the rampaging Linlin, it could result in severe injury—or worse, death.
Fortunately, Gion had speed on her side.
"Zoom!"
The White Tiger Gale surrounded her, propelling her with incredible agility.
The White Tiger Gale, beyond its use as a weapon, significantly amplified her speed. It granted her the swift, devastating attack power that made the White Tiger Form legendary among mythical beast transformations.
Even so, against the rampaging Linlin, Gion and Hancock found themselves in a grueling battle.
Their combined attacks failed to breach Linlin's impenetrable 'steel balloon' physique, while Linlin's retaliatory strikes were lethal enough to end the fight instantly.
Their only option was to evade and bide their time.
"Damn it!"
Watching her friends struggle, Nami's face tensed with concern.
"Shh! Boom!!!"
In a flash, Nami's body transformed into lightning.
"Thunder Eight Trigrams!!!"
A roar echoed as Kaido surged forward, stimulated by the thunderous energy. He appeared before Nami in an instant, his mace charged with thunder and wrapped in Conqueror's Haki.
The weapon descended with devastating force.
Nami barely managed to cancel her elemental form in time, releasing all her strength with the combined power of her Thunder Fruit and Conqueror's Haki.
"Boom!!!"
The clash sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield. The ground beneath them cracked like a spider web, trembling violently from the impact.
"Swish! Boom!"
Not far away, a lightning bolt streaked across the battlefield, reforming into Nami's figure.
"Fighting me while distracted? You've got guts!" Kaido mocked with a booming laugh.
Blood trickled from the corner of Nami's mouth as she turned to face him, her expression grim.
For all its advantages, the Logia class still had its weaknesses.
While elementalization could allow her to avoid most Haki attacks by preemptively dispersing, it failed against large-scale Conqueror's Haki attacks.
Such attacks pierced even preemptive elementalization, leaving her injured despite her best efforts.
Unlike Mythical Zoan users, Logia users did not gain monstrous physical strength or rapid recovery.
"Buzz!"
Thankfully, a healing field appeared, courtesy of Kaya.
Countless golden particles merged into Nami's body, gradually restoring her injuries.
"Not so fast!" Kaido roared.
With his extensive combat experience, Kaido wasn't about to let her heal without interruption.
Nami's injury had already slowed her speed, and Kaido, who enhanced his muscles with thunder, was catching up. While his raw speed might have been inferior to the Thunder Fruit's abilities, the gap was nearly negligible with Nami's current state.
But a head-on clash with Kaido was out of the question.
Kaido's superior physicality, martial prowess, and mastery of Conqueror's Haki left no room for doubt.
While Nami's ability to contend with the Four Emperors stemmed from her Thunder Fruit's long-range advantages, close combat against Kaido—one of the veteran Four Emperors—was a losing battle.
Among the Four Emperors, Kaido was undeniably the strongest.
"Ah, I can't let you destroy things so recklessly."
"Four Emperors? I'll teach you a lesson," Kuzan declared with a calm smile.
"Swish!"
He left the remaining members of the Charlotte Family and the Beasts Pirates behind, appearing directly before Kaido and Linlin.
The chaos unfolding there required immediate intervention. Vivi and the others could handle things elsewhere for now.
The two enraged Four Emperors were pushing the battlefield to the brink of utter destruction. If they weren't stopped, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Ah!!!"
Linlin released another piercing scream and lunged at Kuzan, who stood in her way.
"Ice Gloves!"
Kuzan's expression turned icy cold.
He combined the power of his Frozen Fruit, Armament Haki, and the iron-fist technique he had inherited from Garp.
This was the same confidence that allowed Kuzan to face Sakazuki's Lava-Lava Fruit head-on, despite the Frozen Fruit's relatively weaker offensive capabilities.
"Boom!!!"
The battlefield echoed with the sound of their clash as they fought fiercely.
However, Linlin's wild, mindless punches, paired with her relentless screaming, began to overwhelm Kuzan. Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth as her sheer physical power forced him onto the back foot.
"Perfume Femur!"
Hancock entered the fray, wrapping her legs in Conqueror's Haki infused with the power of her Love-Love Fruit. She struck with precision and ferocity.
"White Tiger Wind—Slash!"
Gion joined as well, channeling the White Tiger Gale and her Armament Haki into her sword. She swung it with incredible force, unleashing a cutting wind toward Linlin.
"Roar!!!"
Despite the combined assault of the three powerful fighters, Linlin stood her ground, unyielding.
"Boom! Sizzle!"
A shallow wound appeared on Linlin's steel balloon-like body.
"What a monster… even these attacks can't break through completely?" Gion muttered, her eyes twitching at the sight.
The attack had only left a scratch. No blood flowed—just a faint mark on her seemingly impervious defense.
Was such resilience even humanly possible?
"This is the Four Emperors, Linlin. Haven't you read the reports?" Kuzan asked with a calm demeanor.
"I'm not an Admiral. I don't have access to all the intel on the Four Emperors," Gion replied.
After all, confronting the Four Emperors was the responsibility of the Headquarters Admirals.
Admiral candidates like her weren't privy to the classified details. Such information wouldn't be much use anyway, considering even a candidate couldn't withstand a full-force attack from a Four Emperors.
But amidst the chaos, their combined assault seemed to bring back a flicker of Linlin's lost sanity.
"Hey! Old woman! Let's show them something big!" Kaido roared, his voice laced with the power of Conqueror's Haki.
Linlin's eyes regained clarity, though bloodshot with fury. A wicked grin spread across her terrifying face.
"Let's do it," she growled.
Linlin extended her hand, and Homie Napoleon flew back to her side.
"Buzz!!!"
She raised her massive broadsword while Kaido hefted his mace.
The air crackled as both weapons radiated with the combined force of their Conqueror's Haki, roaring wildly across the battlefield.
Under the overwhelming might of two Four Emperors at their peak, no one could intervene.
"Be careful!" Issho shouted, his Observation Haki sensing the impending danger.
"Clang!"
The clash of Kaido's mace and Linlin's broadsword erupted violently.
Their powers merged in an instant, creating an energy of unimaginable intensity.
"HAKAII!!"
"Bang!!!"
A devastating black and purple energy sphere expanded outward, tearing through the battlefield with terrifying force, consuming everything in its path.