Charlotte Smoothie wanted to curse.
The bone-chilling cold was her worst nightmare. Her body, swollen with the water of a thousand trees, was beginning to stiffen. Frost crept along her veins, turning her blood to slush.
I'm freezing. If this continues... I'll be a statue.
She knew her weakness. Aokiji was the only Marine she feared. But she hadn't expected to meet another Cryo master here.
"Damn it... how can there be someone like you!"
In desperation, she activated her fruit's ability.
Wring.
She twisted her own body like a towel. Massive amounts of water sprayed out, jetting from her pores. She was forcibly expelling the liquid mass to shrink back down. If she didn't, the ice would shatter her giant form from the inside out.
In seconds, she returned to her normal size. She had lost her power, but she had regained her mobility.
"Oh? You gave up on being big?" Eula smirked, her breath misting in the frozen air. "Smart. But if you think swordsmanship will save you... you're mistaken."
"Hmph! Don't get cocky!" Smoothie slashed, sending a wave of liquid sword-qi flying.
Eula deflected it effortlessly.
"Your slash... lacks conviction. Forget Beidou; you couldn't even beat Kazuha. Let me show you... what a true 'slash' is."
Eula raised her greatsword.
A frost storm spiraled up from her feet, turning the world white. The Song of Broken Pines hummed, its blade coated in silver light.
"Favonius Bladework - Edel."
She began to dance.
Her figure blurred in the snow, elegant and deadly.
Flash.
A burst of cold light exploded.
Smoothie raised her sword to block, her Haki fully activated.
BOOM!
The hurricane hit her. But it wasn't a single impact. It was a million tiny, razor-sharp shards of ice, spinning in the vortex.
Smoothie coughed blood. Her armor shattered. Her sword was pitted with thousands of tiny holes.
"Cough..."
The Sweet Commander fell to her knees. She didn't understand. She had blocked the blade. Why was her body... full of holes?
She looked down. Her chest was a sieve. The ice shards had bypassed her guard entirely.
"I... lost?"
Her heart stopped. Charlotte Smoothie, Third Sweet Commander, was dead.
...
In the Multiverse Mission Group.
Hu Tao:Hey... I don't get it. How did Eula kill her? She blocked the sword!
Kaedehara Kazuha:I think I understand. It wasn't a slash.
Su Han:Correct. Eula deceived her. She called it a slash, but in reality... when the ice mist rose, she shattered her sword-qi into millions of microscopic ice blades. It wasn't a sword; it was a shotgun blast of diamond dust. No amount of blocking can stop rain.
Everyone has their own style. Diluc created "Twilight" to burn everything. Eula created "Frost's End" to erode everything.
...
Back in the Whole Cake Chateau.
The battle between Beidou and Big Mom had turned the castle into ruins.
Luffy, awake but weak, watched in awe. "So that's how you use Haki... not just coating, but infusing..."
He had learned a valuable lesson. But he couldn't move.
Beidou was panting, but grinning. Big Mom was raging.
Suddenly, a voice cried out from above.
"Mama! Bad news! Katakuri... he's been defeated!"
"Smoothie has fallen too! The enemy killed her!"
"WHAT?!"
Big Mom froze. Her children... her strongest commanders... defeated?
Beidou laughed. "Looks like it's almost over, old hag! Your empire is crumbling!"
"SHUT UP!"
Big Mom roared. "Prometheus! Zeus! Get over here! Combine!"
"Yes, Mama!"
The sun and cloud merged with Napoleon. Maser Saber.
A beam of annihilation shot towards Beidou.
Beidou dodged, but the shockwave sent her flying.
"Mama! We need reinforcements!" Perospero screamed into his snail. "Call all the islands! Everyone to Whole Cake Island! Crush these intruders!"
But the snail remained silent.
"Hello? Cacao Island? Jam Island? Answer me!"
Static.
"What's going on?!" Big Mom yelled.
"Mama... we've lost contact with the outer islands! All the Transponder Snails... they're dead!"
"Report! The enemy isn't just here! There are others! They're raiding the warehouses! They're taking everything!"
Big Mom's eyes went bloodshot.
"They're... robbing me?"
...
On Cacao Island.
Jean stood amidst the ruins of a warehouse. She had taken everything. Cocoa, sugar, flour... even the salt.
"This is a good haul," she murmured, checking her inventory. "Millions of Mora worth of goods. Mondstadt won't go hungry for a decade."
She looked at the smoking snail she had just crushed.
"Sorry," she said politely to the corpse of the guard. "But I can't let you call for help."
She turned to leave. "Time to regroup. Beidou can't hold her off forever."
In the shadows, the remaining pirates trembled.
These weren't heroes. They were locusts.
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