Flame, Lightning.
Two Calamity-Class Natural Elements danced around Kaido and Charlotte Linlin.
The raised Long Sword and Spiked Club were wreathed in Flame, Lightning, and Conqueror's Haki, radiating a terrifying Aura.
Their massive Forms exuded an Aura of Terror.
It was as if two monstrous Ferocious Beasts roared silently in the stillness.
These two Sea Emperors, who reigned supreme in the New World, simultaneously gathered their power, preparing to unleash a devastating joint attack on Nicholas.
Observing Charlotte Linlin and Kaido's stance, Nicholas clearly felt an immense Pressure, an illusion that anything standing before them would be obliterated in the next instant.
Even the passage of Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
Nicholas was certain that something terrifying was coming!
Should he face it head-on, or evade its might? Perhaps retreat for now?
With barely a moment's hesitation, Nicholas decided to confront it directly.
After all, he wanted to test if his current Strength could withstand a combined Strike from two Sea Emperors.
"Thunder God!"
Nicholas lightning-fast sheathed his Long Sword.
As he muttered, the Lightning around him intensified, engulfing his entire Form and expanding rapidly.
In moments, a hundred-meter tall Thunder God towered where Nicholas once stood.
Nicholas's response was observed by Charlotte Linlin and Kaido.
"Uro-grogro-gro, looks like he's going to meet us head-on. Are we being underestimated, Big Mom?"
Seeing Nicholas show no intention of dodging, choosing instead to confront them directly, Kaido's Eyes gleamed with ferocity.
Initially, they had to be wary of Nicholas's Lightning Ability and its terrifying movement Speed.
That's why Charlotte Linlin and he hadn't attacked immediately, opting first to use Observation Haki and Presence to lock onto Nicholas's energy.
Now—
Seeing the Thunder God standing between heaven and earth, there was no need for such caution.
If they couldn't hit a Target that size, he might as well retire to running a zoo.
"Big Mom!"
"Mama-mama-mama... Kaido, let's take him down together!"
The Presences of Kaido and Charlotte Linlin intertwined and merged, their initially separate auras becoming unified through their unspoken understanding.
"Conqueror of the Seas!"
Their Presences surged, and Charlotte Linlin and Kaido attacked almost simultaneously.
The Napoleon Longsword, wreathed in Flame and Lightning, and the Spiked Club, bristling with thorns and crackling with crimson Lightning, unleashed Shockwaves of devastating Aura of Destruction towards Nicholas with near-identical Power and Speed.
Blinding Radiance erupted, instantly becoming the most prominent Existence in the world.
The Shockwave's passage caused even the Air to groan, and the Ground and Architecture debris caught in its path were utterly annihilated into molecular dust.
"Conqueror of the Seas!!?"
The People of the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates were all visibly shaken the instant the two attacked.
The terrifying force, threatening to obliterate everything, sent shivers down the spines of even those dozens of miles from the Battlefield.
Almost at the same Time, an idea flashed through their minds.
"Nicholas is dead for sure."
Deep down, they believed no one could possibly withstand such a devastatingly powerful attack head-on.
As Kaido and Charlotte Linlin launched their attack, Nicholas, transformed into Thunder God, clasped his hands into a flower-bud shape, then drew them to his Waist. Intense Lightning began to compress and gather in his Palms, almost solidifying.
"Kamehameha!!"
Following Nicholas's voice, a colossal Light Beam, over fifty meters in diameter, erupted and hurtled towards Kaido and Charlotte Linlin.
In terms of sheer force, it rivaled Conqueror of the Seas.
In the blink of an Eye, Nicholas's Shockwave collided head-on with the combined Shockwave of Kaido and Charlotte Linlin in mid-Sky.
"Boom!"
The instant the two Shockwaves collided, a deafening Rumbling Sound was all anyone could hear.
Immediately after, an intense light flashed, stealing everyone's Line of Sight. Many, caught off guard, felt tears instantly welling up in their Eyes.
Everyone present was stunned and shocked, instinctively closing their Eyes.
The next Instantly, a shockwave of Air, like an invisible Wall, slammed into them.
Dud-dud...
Officers and ordinary Crew member alike from both the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates were blasted backward by the violent Air Wave.
"What happened...!!!"
Everyone present reflexively raised their Arms, shielding their brows.
They squinted, peering towards the collision point, now a vortex of terrifying Aura.
A massive sphere of light filled their vision, accompanied by concentric rings of Air Waves surging outwards.
They couldn't see any details beyond that.
"Lord Kaido and Big Mom's combined attack... it was actually blocked...?!?!"
Perospero, Lollipop still in his mouth, used his Devil Fruit Ability to conjure makeshift sunglasses, barely able to discern the situation. But what he saw made his eyes nearly pop out of their sockets, and in his shock, he even bit down and shattered his Lollipop.
Though he had always held Nicholas's Strength in high regard, this scene showed that the Weapon seemed utterly unfazed by Big Mom and Kaido's combined assault.
"Lord Perospero, what are you saying...? That terrifying attack, how could it be stopped?!"
Hearing Perospero's Words, the Crew member without sunglasses, unable to look directly at the blinding light, were bewildered.
"..."
Perospero first glanced at the Crew member unwilling to accept reality, then turned silently towards the Battlefield, for the two sides were still locked in a stalemate, the Outcome yet undecided.
However, Apprehension was etched deeply on Perospero's Face.
The overwhelming power within the Place soon subsided. At the same Time, the deadlock finally broke. A Light Beam of pure Aura of Destruction roared through the Dust Cloud, slamming into the colossal Thunder God, which then vanished.
As the Smoke cleared, everyone watching saw the vast Open Ground carved out by the Shockwave, Kaido and Charlotte Linlin standing firm, and Nicholas standing equally unscathed on the opposite side of the Open Ground.
"This..."
The People who were so sure Nicholas couldn't withstand Charlotte Linlin and Kaido's combined Strike stared in stunned silence at the unharmed Nicholas in the Place.
Many were left with a single Thought: "I don't understand it, but I'm utterly blown away."
(End of chapter)