Ch 49: The Boiling Sea

Chapter 49: The Boiling Sea

As soon as Marco finished speaking, everyone used their abilities to jump off the Moby Dick.

Fire spewed from Ace's feet and hands as he soared into the sky. Yamato transformed into her half-beast form and leapt into the sea, immediately freezing a section of the water with her icy breath.

Ayaan used his chakra to walk on water and stood steadily on the surface. Several of Whitebeard's sons used techniques similar to Geppō (Moonwalk) to disembark from the ship.

Meanwhile, on the Moby Dick, a storm of wind and thunder roared as Kaido, now in his hybrid form after being struck multiple times by Whitebeard, clashed with him directly on deck.

"Damn! Are Dad and Kaido going to sink the Moby Dick?" Ayaan glanced back at the intense battle, concern flashing in his eyes.

Although the ship was likely made of Treasure Tree Adam, a legendary wood tougher than steel, it was still risky to have two Yonko battling on its deck.

Yamato began unleashing more of her icy power, rapidly expanding the frozen sea around them, even encasing some of the enemy ships in the distance.

However, just as the ice crept forward, a man with orange hair and a bizarre hairstyle appeared on one of Big Mom's ships. From the deck of a Homie-infused vessel, he released his power, causing the sea to boil. The intense heat clashed with Yamato's freezing ability, releasing massive amounts of steam into the air.

"That must be Charlotte Oven, the user of the Netsu Netsu no Mi (Heat-Heat Fruit)," Ayaan muttered, narrowing his eyes.

Many of the Charlotte siblings had fruit powers related to food, thanks to their gluttonous mother. Although this often led people to underestimate their combat capabilities, Oven was an exception.

The Netsu Netsu no Mi, despite its name implying mere heat, was more accurately described as a "baking" fruit. It allowed Oven to generate and transmit immense heat, enough to boil the ocean around him.

"That ship must have tried to approach us, but Yamato's ice stopped it," Ayaan observed, grinning. "Now that the stage is set, it would be a waste not to put on a show."

"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Water Clone Technique)

In an instant, nine water clones formed beside Ayaan.

While water clones were weaker than Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clones), each clone still carried a tenth of his chakra. Besides, Ayaan hadn't yet learned the shadow clone technique.

Ever since his first body transformation during his encounter with Ace, Ayaan's chakra had been increasing at a rapid pace. Although he hadn't fully reshaped his body using Whitebeard's genetic structure, his chakra reserves had already reached beyond typical Kage levels.

Even a tenth of his chakra was equivalent to a seasoned Kage-level ninja. If only he knew more advanced ninjutsu, his true strength would lie in his ninja abilities rather than his pirate ones.

The nine water clones, along with Ayaan, rushed toward the battlefield, their hands forming seals in synchronized motion.

Seeing this, many on the battlefield turned their attention toward him. Queen and Black Maria, both having suffered at his hands previously, shouted in alarm:

"Stop that kid!"

"No—it's too late!"

"Suiton: Takiryū no Jutsu! (Water Style: Waterfall Technique)!" ×10

Ten Kage-level chakra users unleashed the Waterfall Technique upon the sea—each fueled with maximum chakra.

A monstrous tsunami surged across the ocean, even dwarfing the sea quakes caused by Whitebeard himself. But worse yet, this tsunami was boiling.

The 100-degree Celsius water threatened to melt ships and scald flesh. It was an ocean of death.

"Huff…" Ayaan exhaled slowly, his clones dissipating and his chakra nearly spent.

Luckily, he wasn't just a ninja—otherwise, his depleted state would leave him defenseless against any senior officer from the enemy side.

But now, the enemy had no time to think about retaliation.

The Big Mom Pirates, although fewer in number due to their support role, had stronger Devil Fruit users per capita. Three of them stepped forward to counter the incoming boiling tsunami:

Katakuri, his face covered by a scarf, used his Mochi Mochi no Mi to transform the sea near his ship into mochi. He raised a towering wall of rice cakes to shield nearby vessels.

Charlotte Cracker clapped his hands, summoning legions of biscuit soldiers. He formed a thick biscuit barrier—well aware that water softened them, so he quadrupled their thickness.

Charlotte Perospero crafted a Candy Castle using his Pero Pero no Mi (Lick-Lick Fruit). Though resistant to seawater, his candy was vulnerable to heat—thus, he reinforced it even more.

The three commanders coordinated their abilities, shielding all the ships on their side.

Other siblings, with less versatile or ranged abilities, did what they could: flying, slashing, punching, kicking, or redirecting waves—all to reduce the tsunami's momentum and save their crewmates.

Meanwhile, the Beasts Pirates were not so fortunate.

Most were Zoan users with no large-scale defensive powers. They desperately launched ranged attacks to chip away at the oncoming wall of water. But against boiling waves over a hundred meters high, their efforts barely made a dent.

King, the lead All-Star, flew into the sky with his Lunarian wings, grabbed Jack, and carried him up as well.

Queen transformed into his hybrid brachiosaurus form, fire shooting from his feet. As he lifted off, he noticed a sticky web around him—Black Maria. After a moment's hesitation, he carried her up with him too.

Who's Who, the user of the Neko Neko no Mi: Model: Saber Tiger (Cat-Cat Fruit, Saber-toothed Tiger Model), leapt high using Geppō.

The rest of the Tobi Roppo scrambled to use whatever limited aerial or evasive techniques they had, barely avoiding the tsunami in a disorganized panic.

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