Chapter 252: Dragon-Shaped Nuclear Weapon

"Whether Knight Gao Wen chooses to flee or stay and fight head-on, he will draw the attention of all the pirates, buying us enough time."

"Now that we have succeeded, it is too late even if the other pirates realize what has happened."

"Knight Gao Wen is destined to suffer this loss."

Perospero nodded, yet another layer of concern weighed on his mind:

"Mama, Knight Gao Wen is, after all, a Warlord of the Sea; according to our intelligence, the fellow even defeated a former Marine Admiral and threatened the World Government just to qualify for joining the Seven Warlords."

"His strength is not weak; if he comes seeking revenge later, we..."

"Then let him come!"

Big Mom's lips curled into a smile, her eyes ferocious and ruthless:

"Countless new powerhouses emerge in these seas every year; how many can actually gain a foothold in the New World?"

"Not to mention launching an assault against one of the Four Emperors after establishing that foothold!"

"The gap between him and me, between him and the existences standing at the apex of this world, will far exceed his imagination."

"Even the hurdle posed by Katakuri has remained unconquered by anyone for so many years, let alone reaching my presence!"

"These seas are ultimately a cruel world where the winner takes all and the loser is at the mercy of others!"

"And we are undoubtedly the existences standing at the pinnacle of the Jin Zita!"

"Correct!"

Perospero nodded heavily, his concerns completely dispelled, an expression of immense excitement appearing on his face:

"As long as we can continue to grow stronger, no monsters like Shanks, Kaido, or Whitebeard can stop us from ascending to the summit!"

"Relationships bound by blood are far more solid than so-called comrades."

"Even if brothers and sisters occasionally quarrel, when facing matters of life and death, they will always stand together."

Upon hearing these words.

Big Mom looked at Perospero with even greater satisfaction; she could not even control herself from reaching out to pat the latter's head, embodying the posture of a loving mother.

But only the group of children sitting at the dining table at this moment knew just how ugly her true face really was.

In Totto Land, any existence daring to defy Big Mom would have a portion of their soul extracted.

Since a person's total soul quantity is limited and directly linked to their lifespan, having too much soul stolen could even cause instant death from old age on the spot.

Just like a certain Mink who broke into Totto Land a few years ago; because he bore the cost for his captain, his soul was extracted, and he died violently on the spot.

The people present still remembered that person's appearance; it was a Polar Bear Mink.

"Mama~ Mama~"

Big Mom habitually emitted a few light laughs, then immediately buried her head to continue consuming the Mountain Dessert piled high on the table.

Though called a banquet, in reality, the only one qualified to eat here was Big Mom herself.

Only after she was satisfied would it be time for everyone else to eat.

In a flash, two days passed.

Upon learning that Katakuri had succeeded, the members of the Big Mom Pirates concealed their tracks and remained here waiting for pickup.

Yet at this very moment.

Whistling sounds came from the sky, the roar triggered by some massive object penetrating the air at high speed.

Whoosh—!

The Totto Land pirates responsible for guarding the harbor instantly grew tense.

They looked up and scanned the skies, yet saw nothing.

Had several pirates not raised their heads together, they would have thought they were hallucinating.

"Something just swept past from high above!"

"The last time a similar sound was made, it was Beasts Kaido!"

"Alert!"

"Alert!"

Countless pirates went out onto the decks to investigate, but ultimately saw nothing.

Although the first few lookouts spoke with certainty, lacking evidence, they could only treat it as nothing having happened.

Within the clouds.

Gao Wen, transformed into his Demon Form, looked down with lowered eyes at the pirate ships in the harbor, his gaze sharp as a hawk's:

"Although they removed their Jolly Rogers to hide their identities, these ships all bear the obvious style of Totto Land and are gathered together."

"There is no mistake!"

"This is the hiding place of the Totto Land Fleet!"

"Since you wanted to use me as a shield and even injured my companions, you must be prepared for the backlash!"

The next instant.

Gao Wen's body rapidly expanded; within a few breaths, he transformed into a Red Dragon form exceeding one hundred and thirty meters in length.

His wings spread wide.

The shadow cast completely obscured the Totto Land Fleet anchored in the harbor!

"Damn it!"

"What is that thing?!"

"A dragon?!"

"A dragon... different from Kaido?!"

"Damn it!"

"It's a Devil Fruit user, a Mythical Zoan type!"

The pirates in the harbor instantly erupted, staring blankly at the massive figure high in the sky.

Especially upon seeing the azure flames brewing in the Red Dragon's mouth, they felt an even deeper chill of dread!

"Something is coming!"

"Is that guy crazy?! He actually dares to provoke the Totto Land fleet?!"

"We are... the Four Emperors!"

Some instinctively struck the arrogant pose of the Four Emperors, yet upon seeing that figure high above, they appeared somewhat lacking in confidence.

Big Mom, who had been taking a short nap inside the cabin, was abruptly awakened.

Although her Observation Haki had not reached the level of Katakuri's, capable of foreseeing the future, it still possessed extraordinary perceptive abilities.

But at this moment, even Big Mom felt a bone-chilling cold!

That thing can actually pose a threat to me?!

Amidst her shock,

surging fury rose within Big Mom's heart:

"How long has it been since anyone dared to provoke me?!"

"Since you seek death, I will send you on your way!"

Boom!

Big Mom leaped up, directly smashing through the cabin.

No further commands were needed.

The hat atop her head, namely the Homie named Napoleon, instantly transformed into a long blade, gripped firmly in Big Mom's hand.

According to past experience,

the next instant should have seen Big Mom slash out with her blade, sweeping away all the weaklings before her eyes.

Many newcomers who had once invaded the New World and reached her presence had met exactly this fate, annihilated by a single slash from her!

Everything should have proceeded just so!

Yet her pupils instantly contracted to the size of needle tips!

"What is that?!"

"The sun?!"

"No, it's a high-density energy source compressed to the extreme; if such a thing detonates at this distance, my fleet..."

"Are you kidding me!"

Big Mom instinctively raised her hand to swing the blade.

But her movement was ultimately one step too slow; before her blade momentum could form and her Haki could gather, that energy sphere detonated mid-air...

"Red Emperor Azure Star!"

After this explosive shout,

heaven and earth fell silent for a moment.

That dragon's droplet, resembling the sun, erupted; the leyline energy compressed to the extreme within it instantly spread to a radius of several kilometers, nearly engulfing the entire harbor.

Boom!

The ultra-high temperature evaporated the seawater along with the flesh and blood of some pirates completely.

Big Mom, bearing the brunt of all this, could only forcibly manipulate Napoleon to shield her body, only to be completely engulfed in the next instant.

At this moment, even with her physique comparable to a monster, she felt her skin and flesh being roasted cooked!

It must be known that whether facing Kaido's Azure Dragon form head-on breath attack or the elemental attacks of the three Navy Admirals, she had always taken them head-on without ever sustaining injury, yet this thing before her broke her defense the instant it made contact.

When the surrounding commotion finally subsided, the pirate ships anchored in the harbor...

No, not just the pirate ships, but even the entire harbor's buildings were flattened; upon the earth, only flowing magma remained.

The vast majority of Totto Land pirates perished from this single strike, including even some of the Sweet Commanders.

Even those who survived were now in a utterly wretched state.

Many of them were charred black, burned until their flesh and blood were blurred, constantly emitting painful wails; they would have been better off dying directly in the earlier explosion!

"What exactly happened... *cough cough*!"

Perospero pushed aside the candy that had shielded him, yet he felt that every breath of air seemed like flames licking his lungs.

His own skin was also a deep crimson, severely burned.

Perospero, however, paid no heed to anything else, using his remaining stamina to create candy like a suit of armor to protect himself.

This was the ability of the Puku Puku no Mi, capable of consuming stamina to create objects out of thin air, or transforming touched objects into candy.

Immediately after, Perospero looked around.

Everything within sight had nearly melted; crimson magma flowed upon the earth, like rivers streaming into the seawater, forming massive amounts of rising steam.

"Was this... caused by that thing just now?!"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Even an Ancient Weapon could only achieve this much at most, right?!"

Perospero simply could not find words to describe his shock, but what followed was fury and fear, especially upon hearing the wailing sounds from all around!

From this single strike alone, all the warships Totto Land had brought here were completely disabled, and the casualties were countless.

"Mama!"

Perospero instinctively called out to Big Mom; the fury accumulated in his heart needed release.

Even merely looking at that figure high in the sky, he knew he was no match for the opponent; to defeat such a monster, only an even stronger monster would suffice.

And Big Mom was precisely that invincible monster.

Those once self-important newcomers, approaching Big Mom with arrogance, could never withstand her invincible swift blade.

The dignity of an Emperor is forged through absolute power!

No one is Mother's match, absolutely no one!

Even over so many years, not a single enemy has ever appeared who could injure her.

As long as Mother remains here, she can crush any invading foe.

Perospero and everyone in Totto Land believed this point with near paranoia.

Perospero looked left and right, searching for Big Mom's figure, but his gaze froze in the next instant:

"Mother... you..."

At this moment, Big Mom appearing in his line of sight was utterly wretched.

She had just been hit at nearly point-blank range, blocking most of the power of the Red Emperor's Blue Star.

Even as an Iron Balloon, an existence that had never been breached, facing the massive amount of ley line energy Gao Wen concentrated by rupturing his own flesh and letting energy dissipate, she was directly severely injured.

Her outer clothing had long been burned to ash by the earlier explosion, revealing her bloated body, entirely red, with rolls of fat exposed, while her originally pink hair was burned completely clean, leaving only scorched scalp.

"To think... to think someone could injure Mother to this extent?!"

Perospero found it difficult to describe the shock he felt at this moment.

As Big Mom's eldest son, and furthermore one of the ministers in Totto Land who had followed Big Mom the longest among the current officials.

Perospero had never seen Big Mom injured to this degree.

Even thirty-plus years ago at God Valley, that fierce great battle gathering many powerful figures of the time, nearly changing an era, had not injured Big Mom to this extent.

"Monster!"

"That fellow is definitely a monster just like Mother, but who exactly is he? And why is he launching an attack on Totto Land?!"

Equally puzzled were the few survivors present; they all lifted their heads.

They saw that crimson dragon high in the sky continuously shrinking as its energy was exhausted, finally transforming into a human form with two wings.

That person had a head of golden hair, handsome features, and eyes brimming with cold killing intent, yet made everyone feel an indescribable sense of familiarity.

Until after a startled exclamation, everyone finally showed expressions of realization, followed by even more indescribable shock and...

Awe.

"That fellow is Knight Gao Wen?!"

Perospero's eyes went straight:

"Knight Gao Wen? That scapegoat? How is that guy possibly... how..."

His voice grew quieter and quieter, until at last it was nearly silent.

Why is it impossible?!

That fellow became a Warlord only after defeating a former Navy Admiral.

This can only mean he is stronger than the former Navy Admiral, but who knows exactly how much stronger?

Was that battle a evenly matched life-or-death struggle, or a one-sided slaughter?!

No one knows this point.

Perospero did not know either; what he knew was that both his hands were constantly trembling.

Without a moment's hesitation.

He directly discarded everything, turned around, and ran, paying no heed whatsoever to those younger brothers and sisters still struggling to survive.

Nor did he see the despair in those people's eyes.

"If... if it were Brother Katakuri, even wagering his life, he would definitely save us!"

"Perospero, you are simply not qualified to be mentioned alongside Brother Katakuri!"

"Hiss—!"

A piercing sound of breathing suddenly emanated from the center of the explosion.

Big Mom gradually regained consciousness; the rolling flesh all over her body transmitted indescribable pain, yet instead aroused the ferocious temper she had not felt in her heart for a long time.

So close!

Just a little bit more!

If I hadn't timely placed Napoleon, and even Prometheus, in front of me, I would already be dead!

A near-death experience never before felt made Big Mom's entire body tremble at this moment, while in contrast, the Conqueror's Haki rising around her grew ever more intense.

Intense, violent, fierce...

The domineering aura of an Emperor at this moment transformed into an impact as if tangible, blowing apart the clouds in the sky.

The stray hairs before Gao Wen's forehead were even blown into wild dancing.

"Taking a map cannon from me head-on and still having mobility?"

"Damn it!"

His gaze fell upon Big Mom, his expression incredibly Solemn:

"This Conqueror's Haki, in both quality and intensity, is above mine; even among Legends, is there such a gap?!"

"That makes sense."

"Back then, Roger could suppress Big Mom and hammer her, even seizing the Road Poneglyph from Big Mom's hands, yet suffered not a scratch."

"However, the gap isn't to the point where fighting is completely impossible."

Gao Wen subconsciously pressed his hand against the hilt at his waist, but his vision blurred in the next instant.

He only felt a sudden weakness overcome his body.

The Crimson Emperor Azure Star, who had just flattened an island and annihilated Auntie's fleet, had drained nearly all the energy within him; he could not even maintain his Crimson Dragon form now.

"Tsk!"

"I can't fight in this state; first, I must find a place to absorb some ley line energy and recover to my peak before doing anything else."

(End of Chapter)