Charlotte Perospero's face twisted in shock as he hastily conjured a candy shield to block the impact of the massive stone dragon.
But against the overwhelming power of the Float-Float Fruit… how could their meager strength possibly hold?
BOOOOM!!
The giant dragon came crashing down, engulfing all of the Big Mom Pirates' ministers in an instant!
"Gah!!"
Those at the forefront—Cream Minister, Ice Cream Minister, Cheese Minister, Butter Minister—were struck head-on and instantly spat blood, gravely wounded by the blow!
Don't be fooled by its appearance—the dragon was made of solid rock and infused with Whiteflame's Advanced Armament Haki. Even Jack the Drought might have struggled to withstand a hit like that, let alone these ministers who weren't known for their physical endurance or hand-to-hand combat prowess.
Just moments ago, they were shouting arrogantly.
Now? They'd all been utterly humiliated—vomiting blood, faces pale. If not for their various life-saving techniques, they might've been killed on the spot!
"Boss Shanks, this…?"
Lucky Roux, still chewing on his drumstick, nearly dropped it as his mouth opened wide in shock.
"I saw it too… He's using Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit!"
"Whiteflame… is hiding strength even we didn't know about!"
Shanks' eyes gleamed.
Meanwhile, Queen of Calamities, Wind Calamity, wasn't idle. She leapt through the air, kicking off invisible footholds—an ability similar to Moonwalk from the Navy's Six Powers, but faster and more agile.
Within a breath, she was in front of Whiteflame.
She bared her bloodstained jaws—two razor-sharp fangs, coated in Armament Haki, lunging straight for Whiteflame's throat!
But before her fangs could sink in, a massive elephant hoof slammed into her face!
[Shockwave: Trample of War]
Whiteflame had fused the wave-based Shock technique with Jack the Drought's elephant hoof Trample of War, and unleashed it without hesitation—right into Wind Calamity's skull.
Didn't she hate Jack the Drought with a passion?
Then let her taste defeat at the hands of the power he left behind.
BOOM!
A blast of invisible shockwave erupted as Wind Calamity was sent flying—her sabertooth tiger form hurtled through the sky like a cannonball and smashed into a mountain, splitting it in half on impact.
"I've found your opening… Now's the time!"
For a brief moment, time seemed to freeze.
Suddenly, Kizaru appeared at Whiteflame's side like a flicker of light. His leg, glowing faintly with yellow energy, came crashing down toward Whiteflame's skull!
The timing was perfect.
Whiteflame had just finished attacking Wind Calamity—completely exposed, no time to react or dodge, let alone counter.
BOOM!!
Whiteflame's body was blasted downward like a cannonball, slamming into the earth with a deafening crash, gouging out a massive crater and kicking up a storm of dust.
"Haven't had a proper fight in ages,"
Kizaru muttered, watching the smoke below.
"This time… even if he doesn't die, his skull should be completely shattered."
He'd held nothing back—his leg coated in Armament Haki, his full force behind the blow.
This was the same attack he'd once used to instantly eliminate a pirate with an 800 million bounty, a feat that solidified his status as a Navy Admiral.
But since then, Kizaru hadn't needed to go all out. Most enemies crumbled from a flick of his finger. Full power? Rarely necessary.
But facing Whiteflame?
Kizaru wasn't taking any chances. One hit to end it.
However—
Splurt!!
Kizaru's eyes suddenly widened in horror. He looked down—
A blackened hand, coated in blood and hardened Armament Haki, had pierced straight through his chest—right through his heart!
The black hand yanked.
Kizaru's shattered heart was ripped out of his chest, spraying blood across the sky!
He turned, and saw Whiteflame, emerging from a mass of bandages, holding his heart in one hand.
"Ugh—!"
Blood poured endlessly from Kizaru's mouth.
"Y-You… When did you…"
Kizaru's pale face was twisted in disbelief.
He clearly landed a direct hit, with full power, to Whiteflame's head!
So why—why wasn't Whiteflame injured at all?
Because you kicked a shell—while I climbed out of the one behind you.
And how had he silently closed the distance… and pierced Kizaru's heart?
"No need for a corpse to know too much."
Whiteflame said coldly. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the heart backward.
An IBM opened its massive maw and devoured it whole.
Without a heart, Kizaru had no chance of survival. Drenched in unwillingness and disbelief, he began to fall from the sky—
But before he could even hit the ground, several IBMs pounced on him midair and began to ravenously devour his flesh.
"Hand over your life!"
[Blender: Honey Watermelon Juice!]
A fierce gust of wind roared in—Charlotte Smoothie, the Juice Minister, was suddenly in front of Whiteflame, lunging forward with her sword!
The earlier attack had left the other ministers gravely wounded. Only the powerful Juice Minister had escaped unscathed.
Catching Whiteflame while he dealt with Kizaru—this was her moment!
But Whiteflame didn't panic.
He raised a hand—hardened with Armament Haki—and grabbed her blade with his bare hand!
"Hm?"
As the blade touched him, Whiteflame suddenly felt moisture being drained from his body—his water content seeping through his skin and into Smoothie's sword.
"So this is the Juice-Juice Fruit's ability… Just one touch, and it silently steals moisture from the body—even Armament Haki can't block it. She can then use that stolen fluid to empower herself…"
Whiteflame's hand quickly shriveled—his wrist reduced to skin and bones.
"A truly bizarre and insidious ability."
"But if you think this alone can kill me… you're dreaming!"
He flicked a finger.
Smoothie's sword suddenly shot upward, ripped cleanly from her grip and soaring into the sky!
Inanimate. Touched. Ruled. That's the Float-Float gospel.
Anything touched by a Float-Float Fruit user—so long as it's not alive—immediately loses its gravity and falls under their control.
That's the true essence of the Float-Float Fruit!
"My sword isn't the only way I fight!"
Smoothie showed no fear. Her gaze sharpened as droplets of juice formed at her fingertips—then launched like high-speed projectiles toward Whiteflame!
Ting! Ting! Ting!
Whiteflame re-summoned the flying sword and used it to deflect the attacks.
"Done with the warm-up?"
"If so… it's time I sent you off."
Suddenly, an enormous surge of white threads and gold erupted from the earth. They wrapped around Whiteflame's arm—merging into a colossal golden-threaded limb.
[Golden Thread War King Fist: Skyward Annihilation]
A gigantic golden-threaded fist, reinforced by Advanced Armament Haki and enhanced by abilities he'd absorbed from devoured foes—this was a fusion technique unique to Whiteflame.
"Now DIE!"
His eyes gleamed coldly as the monstrous fist rocketed toward Smoothie!
She gasped, crossing her arms to defend herself.
But she vastly underestimated Whiteflame's current strength.
BOOM!!!
Her defense shattered like paper.
Smoothie's body was blasted into the air, her guard obliterated on impact!
"Life energy threshold exceeded. Congratulations: 1 new IBM acquired. You can now summon: 24 IBMs."
"Life energy threshold exceeded. Congratulations: 1 new IBM acquired. Total: 25."
"Life energy threshold exceeded. Congratulations: 1 new IBM acquired. Total: 26."
"Life energy threshold exceeded. Congratulations: 1 new IBM acquired. Total: 27."
At that moment, a massive surge of blazing-hot energy flooded Whiteflame's body—
Kizaru's power, devoured and fully absorbed, now returned to fuel him.
"And right as I finished digesting Kizaru… Bad luck for you, Smoothie."
Whiteflame's figure converted to light, flashing into the air directly above the reeling Juice Minister.
[Golden Thread War King Fist: Second Annihilation]
Another punch—faster than even a thought.
Smoothie couldn't react in time. The Light-Light Fruit's power, wielded by Whiteflame, was even more terrifying than when used by Kizaru.
She was blasted downward, helpless.
"Not done yet."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!
Kizaru rationed light like a miser. Whiteflame spent it like rai
Whiteflame's figure flickered madly across the sky—teleporting again and again.
Unlike Kizaru, who restrained himself when using the Light-Light Fruit, Whiteflame didn't hold back.
Unlimited stamina meant unlimited uses.
And unlimited use meant one thing for Charlotte Smoothie:
An inescapable beating.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
She became a human pinball, battered through the sky without reprieve. Each blow heavier than the last. Each drop of blood darker than the one before.
Only when Whiteflame finally began to tire… did he stop.
He stepped out from the body of another IBM, looked at Smoothie falling toward the ground, and slowly raised a finger.
SPLURT!!
A massive surge of white-threaded wave—coated in Advanced Armament Haki—burst from the ground like a spear…
…and impaled Charlotte Smoothie through the torso, suspending her in the air, her blood trailing like a crimson banner.
The spear thrummed, its grain gone black; even a Sweet Commander's hide couldn't shrug off coated threads.
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