Having already thrown caution to the wind, Akainu not only rained down a massive barrage of molten fists toward Sherwin this time but even diverted a significant portion of them toward the other side of the battlefield.
As usual, his attacks made no distinction between ally and foe the CP agents, Holy Land guards, and Celestial Dragon slaves currently fighting the Sun Pirates and the Felynes were equally targets of his assault.
"Weapon Transformation: Shield Girl!"
Without needing a reminder from Sherwin, Baby-5 proactively transformed into a shield.
However, since Akainu rained down too many fists this time, Sherwin was unable to continuously use perfect blocks to control the direction of the deflections. He could only use standard parries to knock them aside one by one.
As for the fists flying toward the Felyne side, Sherwin didn't have to worry at all...
"Fire Style: Cat Flame Roar Jutsu meow!"
(=Φ3Φ=)
Klee Meow, who had long since finished off her opponents and was being held back by Huamei, finally found an opportunity to strike. Tilting her small head back and puffing out her cheeks, she spat out several flaming Felyne heads into the sky to meet those giant molten fists.
However, after these Felyne heads collided with Akainu fists, they were clearly at a disadvantage and even showed signs of dissipating quickly...
So the physical laws of the One Piece world really dictate that magma is superior to fire?
Noticing this, Sherwin twitched his lips, but his heart remained as steady as an old dog.
This was nothing. Klee Meow hadn't even used her blue flames yet, let alone the even more powerful purple flames.
However, the little Ragdoll solution was simpler than Sherwin expected. Seeing her flames falling behind, Klee Meow immediately raised a paw toward the sky and gave a gentle squeeze.
"Art is an explosion! Meow!"
(=`皿´=)
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!!"
Those flaming Felyne heads that had not yet been extinguished were instantly transformed into explosive sparks by Klee Meow, taking those giant magma fists down with them in a mutual destruction.
Although the lack of explosive materials meant the power of these explosive sparks was only average, it was sufficient to deal with Akainu Meteor Volcano.
"W-what is going on?!"
With such a massive commotion occurring outside, it was impossible for the kings currently in the meeting not to hear it.
When they rushed out, what they saw was a sky filled with thunderous light and scorched marks everywhere the originally beautiful and tidy square had become pitted and hollowed, and even a section of the outer city wall had collapsed.
Once King Neptune grasped the situation, he joined the battle without hesitation.
While his personality left something to be desired, the fact that he was regarded as a friend by Whitebeard meant he certainly possessed a level of strength, and it was by no means weak...
At the very least, he was stronger than any of his three sons.
Thus, when King Neptune joined the fray, the World Government forces—who were already retreating steadily—found it even harder to hold their ground.
To be honest, Sherwin was also somewhat puzzled. The World Government hadn't actually moved against King Neptune when he was separated from them earlier, instead allowing him to regroup with Sherwin side.
Furthermore...
Even with things escalating to this point outside, the Five Elders had still not appeared, and there was not even a sign of the so-called Holy Knights.
If the Holy Knights were absent because they were far away, the Five Elders should have been right inside Pangaea Castle. Yet, allowing Sherwin and the others to run riot here was incredibly strange.
Did the Five Elder Devil Fruits have some sort of special property? Or was it that, even at a time like this, those five old men were still clinging to their status and refusing to step onto the battlefield?
Sherwin felt that he might need to push them just a little bit harder...
"Klee!"
"Oh!"
(=`=)
The little Ragdoll cat cheered after receiving Sherwin permission. She swung her arms, circling them several times before hurling a clump of blue flames upward.
"Summoning Jutsu: Lunastra Meow!"
The blue flames expanded rapidly in the air, quickly sprouting a head, limbs, a tail, and wings. A strange giant dragon composed of blue flames, possessing certain lion-like features, flapped its wings and hovered in the sky above Holy Mary Geoise.
"Roar—!"
Lunastra raised its head, which looked as if it were wearing a crown, and let out a heaven-shaking roar. As its wings vibrated, countless blue flame sparks shook loose, and the air surrounding it began to warp due to the heat it radiated.
With Lunastra appearance, everyone felt the surrounding temperature rise rapidly. Because the heat increased so quickly, many people even subconsciously felt their mouths and tongues grow dry.
The people from the Alabasta Kingdom had the strange experience of feeling as if they had suddenly returned to their own country.
Since she didn't have her spatial bag with her, Klee Meow naturally couldn't add explosive materials to her flames, so this Lunastra was actually a flame summon just like Dodo Advance.
Of course, even if Klee Meow had brought explosive materials, Sherwin wouldn't have let her use them.
After all, there were still a large number of people from other countries inside Pangea Castle, many of whom he was on quite good terms with.
If he really let a "C2 Lunastra" explode, he couldn't say what would happen to the World Government side, but it was estimated that few members of the allied nations would survive.
Therefore, although the "Summoned Beast: Lunastra" could also be detonated in a sparking mode, there was still a huge difference between it and the C-series that contained added materials.
Leaving aside the destructive power of the blue flames themselves, the power of such a large Lunastra exploding was actually inferior to a single Jumpy Dumpty.
But...
The Navy and the World Government didn't know that!
According to their intelligence, this was a super dangerous thing capable of blasting away and even wounding Kaido while he was using Rising Dragon: Flame Bagua.
"Stop her!"
The two Marine Admirals and the surviving CP0 member expressions shifted drastically. They abandoned their respective opponents and lunged toward Klee Meow and the Lunastra in the sky.
The division of labor was clear: the CP0 agents all rushed toward Klee Meow, while the two Logia-class Admirals charged at the majestic and domineering Lunastra in the air.
Sherwin couldn't worry about the others for the moment, but he wasn't about to let Sakazuki, who was right in front of him, get away easily.
"Where do you think you're going, Sakazuki?"
Sherwin swung the maid longsword in his hand, slashing at Akainu.
However, Akainu ignored him entirely, using his legs to unleash a Great Eruption.
While the standard Great Eruption involved Akainu elementalizing his arms to launch his fists like a volcanic blast, he now elementalized his legs, launching his entire body toward the Lunastra like a projectile.
In terms of overall strength, Sherwin was actually slightly weaker than these Admirals much like the battles between Admirals and Emperors, while he might not win, he could contend with them for a while.
Sensing that Akainu was no longer holding back, the ever-steady Hunter smoothly transitioned his combat style.
He shifted from the Peerless Combat Banquet, which focused on Striker Style, to the Hunter Dance, which leaned more toward aerial combat.
Furthermore, since Sherwin wanted to use Akainu pressure to trigger Adept Style, he hadn't used any burst skills other than the initial Demon Mode and the Demonic Blade: Rakshasa.
Consequently, once Akainu went all out, the momentum of the battle shifted again, and Sherwin found himself being suppressed once more.
This was the primary reason Sakazuki didn't care about Sherwin interception—he didn't believe Sherwin posed a significant threat, nor did he think Sherwin could possibly catch up to him.
Marine intelligence did contain information regarding Sherwin ability to boost his combat power for short durations, but Akainu had mistaken the Demonic Blade: Rakshasa—which had a limited duration and needed to be reactivated periodically—for the trump card mentioned in the reports.
Clouded by anger and hatred, Akainu overlooked another detail mentioned in those reports: Sherwin had once managed to wound Kaido!
Though it wasn't a trap Sherwin had intentionally set, the current situation was that Sakazuki was completely unprepared for Sherwin sudden explosion of speed and power...
Flurry Rush: On!
Valor Style: On!
Monster Hunter Style Hidden Art: Crimson Sky Slash!