Angry Big Mom
Unlike Big Mom, Silver Axe wasn't as lucky.
Two powerful slaves held him back, their necks bound by explosive collars. Surrounded on all sides, he had no way to break through.
"Damn it! Gaban! Is Roger really turning against the Rocks Pirates?!"
Gaban grinned but remained silent. His twin axes swung even faster.
Silver Axe staggered under the relentless assault. The two slaves seized the opening, their hands wrapped in Haki.
They lunged from both sides. The moment they locked his arms in place, Gaban's dual axes, infused with Armament Haki, sliced toward the exposed Silver Axe. The blackened blades tore through his armor, pierced both sides of his chest, curved in midair, and returned to his grasp.
"D-damn... ugh…"
The armored figure collapsed. One of the great pirates of the Rocks crew—Silver Axe—had fallen.
With Sengoku, Rayleigh, Gaban, and others joining the battle, Captain John, Ochoku, and the remaining Rocks pirates scattered. Some managed to escape, but many were captured.
...
From a bird's-eye view—
Kaido was fleeing deeper into God Valley. His path happened to intersect with Big Mom, who had also broken away from the main battlefield.
"Huff... Huff... Huff…"
Without a Devil Fruit, Kaido was nowhere near the monster he would become in the future. His body was covered in burns and corrosion wounds. Exhausted, he ran forward with bloodshot eyes, not daring to slow down.
He sensed something ahead—Faster! Faster! Faster!!!
At the same time, Sakazuki also detected a powerful presence entering his perception range. Seeing his target was slipping away, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.
Life Absorption.
Crimson Lotus Mode—Activated!
Sakazuki had burned through too much energy with his previous attacks. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have been able to activate Crimson Lotus Mode.
But he forcibly drained his own life force. His body even shrank slightly from the strain. The moment he entered Crimson Lotus Mode, steam erupted around him.
"Hellhound!"
With an explosive burst, Sakazuki closed in behind Kaido and drove his fist straight into the man's back.
Squelch!
With a surge of power, flesh tore apart. A magma-coated arm burst through Kaido's chest from behind!
"AAAAAHHHH!!!!"
Kaido screamed in agony as he was slammed into the ground. His body convulsed, then finally gave out. His eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.
Just then—
"STOP RIGHT THERE!!!"
A furious roar echoed from the distance.
Along with it, an overwhelming will crashed into Sakazuki's mind, as mighty as a raging storm. His vision wavered, his thoughts momentarily clouded.
"Ikoku Sovereignty!"
A purple, arrow-shaped slash ripped through the sky, hurtling straight at Sakazuki. By the time he shook off the effects of the Conqueror's Haki, the attack was already upon him.
He glanced at Kaido, barely clinging to life beneath him. The lethal power surging toward him left no room for hesitation. In an instant, he made his decision—his aura grew even more menacing.
Pouring every last ounce of energy into his magma-coated arm, he drove it deeper into Kaido's body. At the same time, he forcibly withdrew from Crimson Lotus Mode, his body too drained to sustain it any longer.
The moment the slash reached him, his energy transfer was complete. The searing magma detached from his arm, remaining inside Kaido.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions erupted.
Sakazuki had no time to dodge. The flying slash struck him square in the chest. He reinforced his body with layer upon layer of Armament Haki. His hands, wrapped in Haki, pressed against the incoming attack.
As the slash clashed with his defense, his flesh was instantly torn apart. The force of the impact sent him crashing through countless trees.
Sensing the energy within the slash growing more unstable, he used his Haki-coated hands to forcibly redirect it. The blade of energy veered off, slashing into a small mountain in the distance.
Boom!
A mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Not far from the explosion, Sakazuki slammed into a large boulder, shattering it before finally coming to a stop. Blood dripped onto the ground as he slowly got up. He had just taken Big Mom's Ikoku Sovereignty head-on.
"Cough… cough… Big Mom, huh."
He spat out blood and looked toward the figure lifting Kaido off the ground.
...
On the other side, Big Mom was seething with rage.
From the time Kaido joined the Rocks Pirates, she had felt an inexplicable bond with him. She had always taken care of him, treating him like a younger brother.
She had even warned him that Rocks wasn't someone he could trust. If he ever found himself in trouble, he was to come to her instead.
Even she wasn't sure how this battle would end. So she had arranged for Kaido to stay on one of the rear ships, keeping him on the outskirts of God Valley.
If they won, he could gain experience and rise through the ranks. If they lost, his strength would make it easier for him to escape. She had thought everything through.
But no matter how much she planned, she hadn't accounted for Sakazuki, a man from another world.
For just a moment, she had looked away, and Kaido had nearly died. Seeing his massive wound and barely breathing body, Big Mom wanted to finish off Sakazuki, but Kaido's condition couldn't wait.
Gritting her teeth, she grabbed him and charged toward Rocks' flagship. She knew that Rocks had recently acquired a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. If she could get Kaido there in time, he might survive.
As she ran with Kaido in her arms, Sakazuki understood—just like in the original timeline—the Rocks Pirates' assault on God Valley had already begun to collapse.
Betrayal was spreading among the crew. Some were fleeing, others had turned against their captain.
Suddenly—
"Mother's Visit Cannon: 3000 Leagues of Misery!"
Still running, Big Mom channeled her power into Napoleon and swung it backward.
A towering spectral figure of a woman materialized and surged toward Sakazuki.
"Rising Eruption!"
Sakazuki watched the incoming attack, then pressed both hands to the ground.
His Devil Fruit power surged beneath the earth, forming a small volcanic mound that erupted with lava. The molten force sent the ghostly figure flying. A second later, a volcanic blast shot skyward, engulfing it completely.
"What a pain."
Through the magma, he could sense that the spectral figure hadn't weakened much.
Thick smoke suddenly poured from Sakazuki's body. Then he melted into a pool of magma, sinking into the ground and retreating into the depths below.
With Sakazuki no longer sustaining the lava, the giant ghostly figure tore through the eruption with ease. Lacking intelligence beyond simple instincts, it swung wildly at nothing, searching for its target.
But as time passed… it gradually faded away.
...
Meanwhile, Big Mom, carrying Kaido, finally spotted the Rocks Pirates' ship near the battlefield outside God Valley.
A flicker of relief flashed in her eyes.
"Maser Saber!"
A massive laser shot forward indiscriminately, carving a clear path before blasting through the ship's hull.
"Get the hell out of my way!"
She roared, charging straight for the cabin.
But just then, a surge of energy flared beside her.
She looked at Kaido—her pupils shrank—too late!
Armament Haki burst forth, trying to seal his wounds, but she wasn't fast enough.
Boom!
The magma Sakazuki had left inside Kaido erupted. Lava poured from his body in an unstoppable flood.
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