In terms of status and strength in the underworld, Stussy naturally could not compare to the Joker, Doflamingo.
However, Doflamingo didn't dare underestimate the woman in front of him. Others might simply think Stussy was not an ordinary woman, but Doflamingo, who had some connections with the World Government, knew that there was a shadow of the World Government behind her.
"Well, Nico Robin, as long as you agree to work with us, we not only have the power to revoke the Navy's bounty on you but also to maintain your current position. However, in certain situations, you will have to follow our orders, and half of the profits from the weapons company must be handed over to us annually."
Stussy, being a member of CP0, had the backing of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, so her promises were not empty words.
But Robin, who held deep resentment toward the Celestial Dragons, was clearly never going to align herself with the World Government.
"You two don't need to argue anymore. The conditions you've offered are certainly tempting. However, your offers assume that our captain is no longer with us. Do you really believe that being hit by Big Mom's Ikoku would be enough to kill him?"
Robin had immense trust in Wood's strength, a trust that even surpassed her belief in herself.
It was true that Devil Fruit users falling into water was troublesome, but when had she ever said that their captain was a Devil Fruit user?
Doflamingo and Stussy were about to retort, but to their astonishment, as if to prove Robin's words true, the battlefield in the distance underwent a dramatic change.
The sky over Totto Land was filled with rampaging lightning and flames, making it impossible for others to approach the area.
Yet, just as Kaido's Boro Breath and Big Mom's flame-infused sword, Napoleon, were about to clash again, the sea beneath them suddenly began to freeze over at an incredible speed.
The previously scorching hot air dropped to freezing temperatures in an instant, and massive ice spikes erupted from the frozen sea, shooting directly toward Big Mom and Kaido in the sky.
Seeing the dense barrage of ice spikes, both Big Mom and Kaido were forced to alter the trajectory of their attacks mid-air.
Kaido's Boro Breath swept across the sky, instantly evaporating a large number of ice spikes and even splitting the frozen sea below in half.
Big Mom, wielding Napoleon, encased in flames, unleashed a fiery strike that instantly evaporated the ice spikes before her, and with her sharp Observation Haki, she caught sight of Wood's figure hidden among the ice.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing echoed through the air as Wood's sword, Asatsuyu, collided with Big Mom's Napoleon. The explosive force of their sword clash sent shockwaves in all directions.
The frozen sea beneath them was sliced into irregular chunks of floating ice, as if the ice itself were as fragile as tofu under the pressure of their clash.
The ice-coated swords and Big Mom's flame-infused blade generated an intense physical reaction at the point of impact, with both sides attempting to erode and destroy the other.
In the end, as sparks flew and ice shards fell, Wood and Big Mom were forced to separate, each retreating a hundred meters.
Wood, now completely soaked, had bright silver rune markings glowing brilliantly through his drenched shirt.
"What a monster! Even with my current strength and physique, and using the power of the Heart of the Gods, I still couldn't gain the upper hand in that clash?" Wood muttered in disbelief.
"Did I see that right? That brat actually held his own in a direct clash with Mama, neither gaining nor losing ground!"
While Wood marveled at Big Mom's strength, Zeus and Prometheus were equally shocked by the outcome of the clash. Having been with Big Mom for so long, they knew her power better than anyone. Their Mama, like Kaido, possessed a special body.
Kaido's special body came from his terrifying physical strength and near-immortal regenerative abilities.
Meanwhile, Big Mom's special body was her inhuman, almost monstrous, natural strength.
At the age of five, Big Mom had been capable of tearing apart a bear with her bare hands. When she swatted a mosquito off a giant, she nearly killed the giant in the process.
Big Mom's body had once been nearly indestructible, but after the disappearance of Mother Carmel, that advantage seemed to have disappeared. Most people believed this was due to the effects of her Soru Soru no Mi, which seemed to enhance her soul power rather than her physical strength.
Among the Yonko, Whitebeard was likely the strongest overall, Kaido the toughest to beat, and Big Mom the strongest in raw physical power.
As for Red-Haired Shanks, he likely had the strongest Haki—after all, he was known as the user of the Face-Fruit…
As the Yonko with the greatest physical power, even Kaido would struggle against Big Mom in an arm-wrestling contest. Yet now, Wood had fought her to a standstill—how could anyone not be astonished?
Just as Wood and Big Mom had finished their sword clash, Kaido once again unleashed a blast of Boro Breath aimed at the two.
Faced with Kaido's incoming attack, Big Mom and Wood reacted differently. Big Mom maneuvered Zeus to fly out of harm's way, while Wood, wielding his twin blades, sliced through Kaido's Boro Breath, splitting it apart.
Thanks to the power of the Heart of the Gods, Wood's strength had increased significantly. His ice-infused slash not only froze and tore through Kaido's Boro Breath, but the residual force of the attack even managed to slash Kaido's face, sending a spray of blood into the air.
But it didn't end there. As Wood delivered his slash toward Kaido, his body moved rapidly through the air.
Each step of Wood's Moonwalk echoed with a sonic boom, propelling him forward at an incredible speed.
Kaido, his face slashed, was about to roar in anger, but he realized that Wood had already disappeared from his sight.
The next moment, as if Kaido's Observation Haki had sensed something, he gave up his plan to use another Boro Breath and instead swiped his dragon claws toward a specific spot.
"Wood, you're still too inexperienced! Before my Observation Haki, you have no chance of catching me off guard!" Kaido roared in triumph as his dragon claws tore toward the spot where Wood's figure appeared.
But Kaido's laughter was cut short when he realized that his claws had passed right through Wood's body—it was only an afterimage left behind by Wood's rapid movement.
The real Wood had appeared behind Kaido's back, already in position for a draw-slash.
"Hyakki Yagyō Two-Sword Style: Snow Maiden!"
As Wood drew his swords, the image of a beautiful woman in white appeared behind him, her figure blending with the falling snowflakes. Two radiant slashes shot toward Kaido's back, expanding as they flew.
Kaido's scales shattered under the force of the attack, leaving a massive X-shaped wound on his body. Blood sprayed out, and the ice properties of the slashes froze half of Kaido's massive body.
"So what if your Observation Haki saw it? In your current state, you can't keep up with me!" Wood taunted.
Like all Zoan Devil Fruit users, Kaido's Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu, gave him access to three forms: his human form, his hybrid form, and his full dragon form.
Kaido's dragon form allowed him to fly and unleash devastating attacks, making it his most powerful state.
However, there was a drawback—his massive dragon form made him less agile, turning him into a massive, slow-moving target.
While his offensive power and defense were absurdly high, Kaido's enormous size made him vulnerable to fast opponents, unless they were also of his caliber.
Meanwhile, Big Mom, having dodged Kaido's attack earlier, circled around in the sky. She had intended to go after Wood for payback, but Prometheus spoke up, "Mama, calm down! We can deal with that brat later. Right now, Kaido's injured—this is our best chance to finish him off! If we kill him, you'll be the ultimate winner!"
Big Mom, who had been rampaging after her tea party was disrupted, wasn't in a full-blown food rage. So she hadn't completely lost her senses.
Hearing Prometheus' words, Big Mom quickly regained her composure and grinned at the sight of the wounded Kaido.
"Zeus, Prometheus!"
"Yes, Mama!" both of them responded in unison.
Prometheus' flames intensified, while he bit down on the tip of Napoleon's blade. Zeus, in turn, transformed into a massive storm cloud, with the top of Napoleon's blade piercing through him to form a large energy ring.
In the next moment, Big Mom, Napoleon, Zeus, and Prometheus all spoke in unison.
"Mingguang Cannon!!!"
The energy ring at the tip of Napoleon unleashed a high-density laser beam, crashing into the sea and sending waves surging as it shot toward the frozen Kaido.
The Mingguang Cannon was one of Big Mom's strongest techniques, a joint attack by her three Homies: Napoleon, Zeus, and Prometheus. Its power was strong enough to pierce through multiple islands in an instant!
Having already been injured and half-frozen, Kaido's massive body fell from the sky, but soon flames erupted from his body, forming a gigantic flaming dragon that encased him.
The moment the flaming dragon appeared, the ice that had frozen Kaido's body melted away in an instant. This was one of Kaido's fruit abilities—Flame Dragon Torch.
The heat of Kaido's Flame Dragon Torch was even greater than his Boro Breath, capable of instantly vaporizing anything it touched.
Although Wood's ice magic was powerful, it couldn't withstand the continuous erosion of Kaido's flames, and it quickly melted away.
However, just as Kaido melted the ice and prepared to regroup and take revenge on Wood, Big Mom's Mingguang Cannon struck.
Still reeling from his earlier injuries, Kaido stood no chance of blocking Big Mom's powerful attack.
In an instant, the flames surrounding Kaido were obliterated by the laser beam, and the thick beam of light shot down like a ray from the heavens, piercing through most of Kaido's body.
"Old hag, you bastard!" Kaido managed to curse with a long, drawn-out snarl before being blasted away by the force of the Mingguang Cannon.
Kaido's fortune was that his fall landed him on another island, rather than into the sea.
"Fantastic! Mama and the Navy traitor Wood have teamed up to defeat the Hundred Beasts Kaido!"
The unexpected turn of events shocked everyone in Big Mom's crew, and they could hardly contain their excitement as they witnessed the scene unfold.
Though Big Mom and Kaido's battle had destroyed several islands in Totto Land, if they could eliminate Kaido, it would all be worth it.
"Wood, brat, my offer still stands. I can overlook what you did to me earlier. As long as you marry one of Brûlée or the others, the Big Mom Pirates will form an official alliance with you."
Unlike Perospero and the others, who were rejoicing, Big Mom knew Kaido well enough to understand that the joint attack from her and Wood hadn't killed him.
Nonetheless, this was the closest she had ever come to defeating Kaido in their long history of battles.
While Kaido might seem like an immortal monster, even he wasn't invincible. If Wood agreed to ally with her, the chances of killing Kaido here were quite high.
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Don't forget to give Power Stone
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