Charlotte Linlin stared blankly at the completely transformed Borsalino floating in midair, shock churning in the depths of her eyes, impossible to conceal.
Long hair, interwoven with black and gold, danced wildly in the wind, and heterochromatic eyes, one gold, one purple, looked down upon the earth. Multiple forces intertwined and wrapped around her.
This posture gave Linlin an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Her memories raced backward, freezing on the battle of God Valley many years ago. On that day, she had also seen a similar sight: the same heterochromatic eyes, the same ultimate pressure reigning supreme over heaven and earth, and the same resonance of abilities, except that figure had been wrapped in a heavy, pitch-black power, gloomy and terrifying.
The young Marine before her was actually so similar to him.
"A Marine who has awakened Conqueror's Haki..." Linlin murmured softly, and then her lips suddenly split into a wild, unbridled laugh, battle intent igniting her entire body. "This is truly too interesting!"
"Come, then let us fight to our hearts' content!"
Charlotte Linlin no longer held back her strength, fully releasing all her Haki. Red and purple lightning gathered frantically across the sky, and Conqueror's Haki swept outward in a grand, majestic wave.
"Zeus! Prometheus! Napoleon!"
With her sharp shout, the three Homies trembled and resonated simultaneously. The thundercloud Zeus rolled with lightning across the sky, the sun Prometheus burned with blazing heavenly fire, and the greatsword Napoleon was enveloped in pitch-black Haki infusion. Under the guidance of her top-tier Conqueror's Haki, the three rapidly merged, intertwining into one.
Boom!
A massive phantom that blotted out the sun took shape in midair, instantly filling the world with an aura of ultimate destruction.
"Tenman Daijizai Tenjin!"
This was Charlotte Linlin's trump card, her ultimate secret technique, the peak trinity fusion. Her all-out strike!
The moment the technique took shape, Linlin's body visibly thinned, her cheeks sinking slightly, her blood and energy severely depleted. It seemed this move also placed an immense burden on her.
High up on the opposite side, Borsalino felt the new power within her body. She believed that once she fully mastered and integrated it in the future, her strength would rise to another level.
With her Conqueror's Haki awakened and her comprehension of Life Return complete, her control over her own strength had already entered a brand-new realm. Compared to the previous crude compression and eruption of energy, at this moment, she possessed an exquisitely precise control over every inch of her physical energy, every wisp of her Devil Fruit power, and every thread of her Haki.
She no longer compressed her power into a single point, but instead let it fully expand, spread, and sublimate.
A faint, flowing golden light slowly rose from her body, gentle yet highly penetrating, instantly covering the space within dozens of meters in a halo like pure daylight. Thick, pitch-black Armament Haki firmly coated the long blade Qingyue, with purple Conqueror's Haki lightning arcing around the blade. The three forces were no longer simply stacked, but were merging layer by layer, cycling continuously, and constantly sublimating. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
Within the space, countless rays of light infinitely refracted, overlapped, and condensed, the light on the blade growing brighter and brighter, turning from translucent white to a brilliant golden glow, until it lit up the entire sky, piercing through the dark, gloomy clouds.
A massive phantom of light, ninety percent similar to Borsalino in appearance and stature but several times larger, slowly condensed and took shape behind her. Its posture was upright, sacred, and awe-inspiring, as if a god of light had descended upon the mortal world.
"Divine Realm of Myriad Flowing Radiance!"
With a soft cry, the ultimate power of light erupted completely under the dual enhancement of Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki, its power doubling layer by layer, faintly shaking the surrounding space as the air let out crackling pops.
The two ultimate techniques clashed with a bang!
There was no extra noise, only a momentary dead silence, followed by a terrifying, world-destroying shockwave sweeping in all directions. The ruined ground beneath their feet simply could not withstand the clash of such top-tier power, collapsing, cracking, and sinking layer by layer, with all the rubble and dust blown away by the torrent of energy.
The entire island was forcibly blasted with a giant crater over ten meters deep, its walls smooth and scorched, a scene of complete devastation. Dazzling light and lightning swept across the sky, blotting out heaven and earth, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
Who knew how much time had passed before the blinding light slowly faded and the turbulent air currents gradually calmed.
At the bottom of the giant crater, two figures lay on opposite sides, their breaths rising and falling violently, their physical strength almost completely overdrawn.
Borsalino's hair returned to its usual black. Her messy long hair lay scattered over the rubble. Though her heterochromatic eyes remained, the light around her body had completely dimmed, leaving her entirely limp and weak. The overloading of her Devil Fruit and Haki had completely drained her stamina.
Not far away, Charlotte Linlin also lay on her back, her breathing heavy, her once-plump figure growing even thinner, her face completely devoid of color. Clearly, that ultimate secret technique had also cost her a great price.
In the ruined crater, only the heavy breathing of the two remained.
After a moment, Charlotte Linlin turned her head to look at the exhausted young girl not far away, her tone filled with deep shock and suspicion.
"With this level of combat power, how could you be just a mere Marine Captain?"
Borsalino slightly raised her eyes, returning to her usual lazy tone, "I cannot help it. I just want to work peacefully, get my salary, and get off work on time."
"Hahaha, simply ridiculous!"
Linlin burst into loud laughter upon hearing this, her fatigue mostly dissipating, her eyes filled with insight and certainty, "An ordinary Marine who can awaken Conqueror's Haki? How could you be willing to submit to others? Your future is destined to be far more than this."
Charlotte Linlin, who had been full of domineering aura just a moment ago, had her stomach growl at this inappropriate time. The high-intensity techniques had overdrawn her physical energy. At this moment, hunger instantly swept through her entire body, making her wither quite a bit. She did not even have the energy to suffer from her Eating Disorder.
Seeing this, Borsalino smiled helplessly. As expected of that snack-loving Yonko Big Mom.
She reached into her arms and pulled out a few packs of compressed biscuits she had casually taken from the warship's supply depot before landing on the island, throwing them to Charlotte Linlin.
Charlotte Linlin was stunned for a moment, reflexively reaching out to catch them. The packaging was plain and simple, looking completely ordinary, a world away from the exquisite desserts she usually ate. But starving at this moment, she was not picky at all. She tore open the packaging and began to devour them in huge bites.
The coarse, dry texture made her frown slightly, yet she still ate with great seriousness.
"It really does not taste like much, dry as dust."
Linlin complained bluntly while swallowing in large gulps, then looked at Borsalino, her tone incredibly sincere, "but you really are a good person."
In Charlotte Linlin's simple and straightforward worldview, anyone willing to share food with her was a good person.
She raised her voice and said, "If you have time to visit Totto Land next time, I will treat you to the best chocolate cake in the world. It is absolutely a hundred times better than these lousy biscuits!"
Borsalino nodded slightly and smiled calmly, neither agreeing nor refusing.
Afterward, they each supported their battered bodies and slowly stood up. They had no strength left to fight, nor was there any need to. The two exchanged a look. Without needing to say anything, they turned and stumbled away in opposite directions.
Borsalino looked up and happened to see Sakazuki, Onigumo, Yamakaji, Momonga, and the others rushing over in a hurry, their faces filled with worry.
Seeing them approach, Borsalino gently raised her hand to signal that she was fine, "I am fine, just overexerted my Fruit and Haki, and ran out of stamina. No serious injuries, but I will probably have to lie down for a while."
On the other side, Streusen and a crowd of Big Mom Pirates officers rushed over, quickly stepping forward to support the unsteady Charlotte Linlin, their faces full of tension. They could not imagine that their Captain had actually been pushed to such an extent by someone. Not daring to linger, they supported Linlin and quickly turned around, running swiftly toward the ships on the distant sea.
Borsalino stood at the edge of the deep crater, watching the backs of the Big Mom Pirates carrying Charlotte Linlin as they fled, a trace of a smile flashing in her eyes.
She did not lose this battle.
She would forge a brand-new path of the strong that belonged entirely to her, Borsalino.