"Hah~"
Aokiji, who had distanced himself from Meiser, exhaled a cold breath and said, "So it really isn't that simple after all."
It seemed restraining this guy with ice wouldn't be an easy task.
Hearing Aokiji's words, Meiser looked down at him and declared, "Aokiji, your ice can't freeze me!"
At this stage, Susanoo's power and defensive capabilities were truly terrifying!
Freezing it was practically impossible!
"It seems capturing you really won't be easy," Aokiji said with a furrowed brow.
But before Aokiji could make a move, a woman's voice rang out from the distance.
"Damn Blood-Eyed Ninja, this empress will not forgive you!!"
Aokiji: ???
Hearing Hancock's voice, Aokiji instinctively glanced sideways and immediately noticed the furious woman.
"Has she broken free from the Blood-Eyed Ninja's control?" Aokiji murmured.
Did this mean... those hypnotized by the Blood-Eyed Ninja could break free through their own power?!
At this thought, a contemplative gleam appeared in Aokiji's eyes.
"It seems young Meiser's hypnotic ability isn't perfect after all," Garp, who also noticed this scene, remarked with narrowed eyes. "I just wonder how Boa Hancock managed it."
"Scary~"
Borsalino watched Boa Hancock charging forward and said, "As expected of the Pirate Empress."
This way... the Blood-Eyed Ninja would have to face Boa Hancock's wrath!
As if thinking of something, a playful smile appeared on Borsalino's face.
"I never expected you to break free from my control through willpower alone," Meiser stared at the approaching Hancock with a furrowed brow. "What a surprise."
"No one has ever dared treat this empress like this!" Hancock raged. "This empress will kill you!"
As she spoke, her aura began to surge while simultaneously infusing Armament Haki into her long legs.
Immediately, the woman's speed skyrocketed as she charged toward Meiser!
"Ara ara, seems my help isn't needed anymore," Aokiji commented.
If the Pirate Empress was willing to stop this guy, that would be perfect!
With this thought, Aokiji used Shave and vanished from the spot.
Noticing Aokiji's departure from the corner of his eye, Meiser smiled inwardly: 'It seems they really haven't noticed anything wrong.'
Good, this way they had no reason to cause trouble for Hancock!
Then, Meiser raised his TimePiercingSpearOfToki, aiming at Hancock as he declared, "It seems I'll have to eliminate you."
"Then try it!" Hancock shouted.
As her voice faded, the woman leaped up, swiftly soaring into the air before kicking directly at Meiser's Susanoo!
The next moment:
"Clang!"
"Boom!!"
The spear collided with Hancock's high heels, instantly unleashing a terrifying shockwave!
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
"Whoosh~"
"BOOM!!"
"Gasp!"
Watching a stone fly past his head, Mr.3 wiped a cold sweat from his forehead and muttered, "That was too close! If I hadn't dodged fast enough, that rock would've taken my head off!"
"I need to make a candle wall for protection, now!" Mr.3 thought anxiously.
Acting quickly, he created a barrier of wax to shield himself, then cautiously peered through the gaps toward the distant battlefield.
"I wonder who'll win," Mr.3 murmured.
"Gulp..."
"What a frightening woman," Inazuma remarked.
If Meiser hadn't used his hypnotic ability to control her in time, their side would have suffered heavy casualties!
After all... this woman was incredibly powerful!
Just then, the situation shifted.
Hancock, mid-air, began losing ground, gradually being pushed back by Meiser's massive spear.
Finally... she was sent flying!
"Whoosh~"
"BOOM!!"
Like a cannonball, Hancock crashed into the distant ruins.
After accomplishing this, Meiser sneered, "Hmph, not so tough after all."
"What a terrifying man," a Marine swallowed hard, thinking that even an Admiral and a Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea couldn't handle him... How were they supposed to fight?
The thought made their faces pale.
"Fufufu~"
"Quite merciless, aren't you~" Doflamingo chuckled.
To immediately go for the kill after she broke free of the control... This ninja was a true pirate at heart!
Watching Hancock climb out of the rubble, Sengoku frowned. "So she was knocked back."
Judging by the force of that strike, neither of them had held back—both were intent on killing the other!
Plus, Bartholomew Kuma still hadn't broken free of the control...
That meant Boa Hancock probably wasn't acting.
Sengoku nodded in confirmation.
Then he mused, "Could Kuma's inability to break the hypnosis be due to his lost personality?"
Recalling the Blood-Eyed Ninja's earlier words, Sengoku fell into deep thought.
"Damn it..."
Hancock, her body enveloped in Armament Haki for protection, glared coldly at Meiser. "This isn't over between us!"
"The Blood-Eyed Ninja's hypnotic ability isn't all that impressive," Jack the Drought scoffed while watching the broadcast. "She broke free so easily."
Big Brother Queen and Big Brother told him to be careful around this guy, but it seemed completely unnecessary!
If it were him, he'd shake off the hypnosis in an instant!
The thought brought a flash of contempt to Jack's eyes.
"Even so, he achieved his objective," Queen noted.
Although he didn't control the Pirate Empress for long, he still used her to accomplish his mission, didn't he?
"True enough," Jack nodded.
He then cast a puzzled glance, wondering why this big brother had remained silent all this time.
The one he was watching was staring intently at the images of Hancock and Bartholomew Kuma on the screen.
One could break free from control, while the other couldn't...
Why was that?
Could it be... because that Royal Seven Warlord of the Sea called Bartholomew Kuma was a Cyborg?
Thinking this, King fell into deep contemplation.
Just then, Queen spoke up: "Damn King, what are you thinking about?"
"None of your business," King said coldly.
Queen: ???
Hey, this hot-tempered bastard!
Seeing that the two big brothers were about to fight again, Jack quickly intervened: "Please calm down, both of you. Don't miss the scene of Whitebeard's death."
As he spoke, Jack pointed at a figure on the screen, his meaning quite clear.
Hearing this, Queen was momentarily stunned, then snorted coldly: "You're right. I'll let you off this time."
To this, King merely snorted in response, not bothering to argue with the guy.
Jack breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, then said: "Whitebeard has suffered such severe injuries—he's definitely going to die."
"Indeed," Queen nodded. "He's done for."
With his chest smashed up like that, and being on a battlefield like Marine Headquarters... even if he's the World's Strongest Man, he'll still die!
"From the footage provided by that Clown, Fire Fist Ace has already been rescued," King said. "But Whitebeard hasn't retreated with the Whitebeard Pirates..."
Pausing here, King narrowed his eyes and continued: "He must have already prepared to die there."
"Muhahahaha, using Marine Headquarters as his grave?" Queen laughed heartily. "That's perfect!"
"Hopefully he can sink Marine Headquarters!"
If Whitebeard could actually sink Marine Headquarters, then... the Marines wouldn't have time to bother with pirates like them!
Thinking this, Queen laughed even more happily.
"Sink Marine Headquarters..." King fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then shook his head. "The probability of that isn't high."
"Why not?"
"Don't forget, the Marine Hero Garp and the Fleet Admiral haven't even made their move yet!"
Glancing at the two figures standing in the corner of the screen, King slowly narrowed his eyes.
"Strong men from the previous era," Queen muttered, also noticing the two figures. He stopped laughing and frowned. "That is indeed a problem."
After thinking for a moment, Queen shook his head: "Forget it, doesn't matter. As long as Whitebeard dies, muhahahaha!"
After all, they were only interested in Whitebeard's territory, weren't they? Muhahahaha!
To this, King simply shook his head without saying anything more.
Jack blinked, wanting to say something, but after seeing King's expression, he forcibly kept his mouth shut.
Better to stay quiet at a time like this.
"They're really showing no mercy," Mont-d'Or said, staring at the massive figure on the screen. "Not the slightest hint of cherishing beauty.""
If it weren't for the Pirate Empress's formidable strength, that woman would probably have been killed with a single spear thrust!
"If they've become enemies, why show any mercy?" Smoothie said.
If they were allies, she might consider the matter differently, but once they became enemies... she should strike without holding back!
She felt Meiser was handling this correctly.
"That's true," Mont-d'Or nodded in agreement.
"More than that, I'm curious about that huge pale golden giant surrounding Meiser," Daifuku remarked. "I don't remember it being this large before."
He recalled the previous half-body giant being only a few meters tall, but now... it had grown to over twenty meters?
It was practically as tall as the Giant Race!
"Perhaps something happened during the broadcast interruption that we're unaware of," Smoothie suggested.
The live feed had been cut off for quite some time, so anything could have occurred.
"True enough."
"I wonder if that guy has Giant Race bloodline," Mont-d'Or mused.
If he did... they could fulfill their mother's dream of having Giants in Totto Land!
"Probably not," Smoothie shook her head. "The Giant Race is purely physically massive. His form is clearly an energy construct."
While she didn't know exactly what kind of energy it was, it definitely wasn't a physical body.
The others nodded, agreeing with Smoothie's assessment.
"The Marine Headquarters is really suffering," Oven commented. "Not only have they been devastated by Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, but Meiser's abilities have destroyed many areas too."
"If this continues, the entire island might sink."
"Wouldn't that be better?" Perospero said with a grin. "That way, the Marines would lose their ability to monitor the New World."
"We could freely compete for the Whitebeard Pirates' territory!"
As if struck by a thought, Perospero broke into a wide smile.
"That's true," Daifuku nodded. "Without Marine interference, our operations would become much more convenient."
"Don't celebrate too early," Mont-d'Or cautioned. "Don't forget about the Beast Pirates and Red Hair Pirates!"
"The other two Four Emperors..."
"Exactly," Mont-d'Or nodded. "While Red Hair isn't particularly interested in seizing territory, the Beast Pirates certainly are!"
If Whitebeard dies at Marine Headquarters, the Beast Pirates would undoubtedly send forces to claim territory immediately.
At that point, conflict between their two crews would be inevitable.
"What's there to fear? We'll just fight them if we have to!" Oven declared.
"Well said."
"Right! With Mother here, we don't need to fear the Beast Pirates!"
"OH!!"
Energized by thoughts of their mother's power, they burst into laughter, their eyes growing increasingly fierce.
What could the Beast Pirates possibly do?
They weren't pushovers either!
"Galette, why are you so quiet?" Brulee asked curiously, looking at Galette.
"I'm watching Meiser," Galette replied, chin resting on her hand. "Now that we finally have the broadcast back, I want to watch him more."
Brulee: "..."
Seeing Galette's lovestruck expression, Brulee found herself at a loss for words.
Never mind, let her be.
Just then, the door behind them swung open, revealing a tall figure.
"Brother Katakuri!"
Seeing Katakuri's furrowed brow, everyone's eyes showed a hint of confusion. What was going on?
"Brother Katakuri, what happened?" Smoothie asked.
Could it be... something bad had occurred?
"Mother had another outburst because the live broadcast cut out, but it's fine now," Katakuri explained.
Hearing Katakuri's words, everyone's expressions cleared with sudden understanding.
Now they knew why Mother had unleashed her Conqueror's Haki again.
"Alright, let's continue watching the broadcast," Katakuri said.
As he spoke, Katakuri turned his gaze to the battlefield on the screen, slowly narrowing his eyes.
"Yes, Brother Katakuri!!"