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Though it seemed to take an eternity, it all happened in the space of a few breaths.
The enraged Big Mom, her eyes red, her aura vast and immeasurable, swung Napoleon.
The massive blade howled, tearing through the air like the scythe of the Grim Reaper.
The glinting sword light seemed to fracture space itself.
The deadly blow, like a mountain range, crashed down.
"Ikoku!"
The attack, wreathed in Armament Haki, was terrifying, a blow that could destroy everything in its path.
Jin reached out.
From the Munch-Munch space, he drew Shusui and swung it upward in a single, fluid motion, a devastating slash of black light.
Jin's hair whipped around his face, his eyes calm, yet filled with a conqueror's spirit. He met the attack head-on.
CLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!
The two blades met with a deafening clang that sent shockwaves rippling through the room, blowing away the surrounding furniture.
He'd blocked it?
Big Mom was stunned.
Her strength was absolute.
How had he blocked it?
Her rage intensified. She let out another roar, her eyes turning colder. She twisted her massive body, gripping the sword with both hands, and pushed down.
She would crush him with her brute force.
Crush this brat who had called her old.
Jin's eyes narrowed.
She truly was a natural-born monster. A terrifying force flowed from her blade, an endless torrent of power.
The floor beneath them shattered. Dust and debris shot into the air, only to be held in place by the force of their clashing auras.
Jin also gripped his sword with both hands, pushing back, matching her strength.
The sound of grating steel filled the air.
The force of their struggle pulsed between them, down into the ground, and out into the surrounding area.
The floor cracked, and the fissures spread to the walls, the ceiling.
The chandelier fell.
The pillars collapsed.
In a few short breaths, the reception hall crumbled.
As the dust settled, Katakuri and the others who had escaped could see inside.
Jin and Big Mom were locked in a stalemate, their blades crossed, the clash of their power, the oppressive weight of their auras, bearing down on everyone.
After a moment, the will to fight in their eyes surged. They both broke away, then swung at each other again.
They both struck home.
Sparks flew as blade met flesh.
Their bodies were like steel.
"Shit!" Perospero's tongue lolled out of his mouth.
Oven and Daifuku were trembling.
Even Katakuri's hair was standing on end.
That man... he was matching Mama in strength and defense??
No... he was actually holding his own.
They all took a sharp breath. Among the Four Emperors, Big Mom was most famous for her physical constitution.
She was a freak of nature.
Even Whitebeard, a man more terrifying than any monster, had admitted that he couldn't match her natural durability.
And Kaido?
Before he'd eaten the Azure Dragon Fruit, he was nothing.
But Jin... what kind of monster was he? To be able to stand against Big Mom?
———————————————
Everyone was dumbfounded.
After the exchange of blows, Big Mom took a step back. She was staring at Jin as if he were some strange new curiosity.
Her rage was gone.
Replaced by... hearts.
She was looking at him like a little girl staring at a new toy.
She had never met a man who possessed the same monstrous strength, the same incredible durability, as she did. Was it a fruit ability? It didn't seem like it.
Being the object of such a gaze was... unsettling.
A chill ran down Jin's spine.
Big Mom wasn't angry anymore.
That look in her eyes...
He felt a sense of utter dread.
"MAMAMAMA! WE'RE A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN! I DECLARE THAT YOU WILL BE MY FINAL HUSBAND!" she said, her voice filled with glee.
"..." In an instant, the temperature in the air seemed to plummet.
Jin shuddered. Without a second thought, he refused. "In your dreams!"
"Oh?" Big Mom blinked, then laughed. "It's alright. Many of the men I've chosen have said the same thing. But in the end... they all became my husbands. Though I've gotten rid of most of them. But you're different."
Jin's scalp tingled.
"Get away from me!" he yelled. "I refuse!"
Jin's expression was a perfect picture of abject horror. 'Don't you come near me.'
"You won't agree?" Big Mom's expression turned sinister. "Then I'll just have to kill everyone you brought with you, everyone you care about, until you do."
A threat?
Jin's eyes turned cold. A terrifying killing intent erupted from him. "If you think you can," he said, his voice like ice, "then try it."
He was done talking.
Jin sheathed his sword. He took a step and vanished.
Even with Katakuri's Future Sight, all he could see was a faint afterimage. He was too fast.
A fist shot out.
Big Mom reacted, but years of lazing around in the chateau, her body bloated with sugar, had made her slow.
Jin's fist landed. Her massive body shook, like a lake struck by a stone.
Shockwave Fist!
Having experienced the "true damage" of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Jin had simulated its shockwaves, creating a resonant Haki force.
A tidal wave of Haki erupted from his fist.
Big Mom's massive, obese body was sent flying.
She crashed through walls and pillars and slammed into the ground.
"MAMA!"
"She was sent flying!"
Everyone who saw it gasped in shock.
"What?"
"Is that king really fighting Big Mom??" the guests exclaimed, their voices filled with disbelief.
Even Tesoro and Stussy couldn't believe it.
Big Mom fell.
"You bastard! How dare you hurt Mama!" Prometheus roared, erupting in a blinding light, like a burning sun, illuminating the sky.
It spewed a torrent of flame.
Then, lightning flashed, thunder cracked.
Zeus, also enraged, unleashed a bolt of lightning.
Jin ignored them. He strode through the fire and lightning, an invisible pressure radiating from him, as heavy as a mountain.
Big Mom got to her feet.
The long-forgotten sensation of pain sent her into a fury.
"DON'T GET COCKY!" she roared.
She grabbed Prometheus and coated her sword in his flames. The blade grew longer, wreathed in fire, sprouting fangs.
"Mother's Fire!"
She swung the flaming sword, and a wave of fire, a crushing pressure, washed over the crowd, filling their hearts with terror.
Jin didn't retreat. He charged forward and threw a punch, the wind from his fist like a razor, scattering the flames.
CLANG!
Fist and blade met, and the floor of the chateau, unable to withstand the force of their clash, simply disintegrated.
It was terrifying.
Oven, Daifuku, and the others could only watch, their eyes wide, their bodies trembling.
It wasn't that they didn't want to help.
They couldn't.
A single blow from a battle of this intensity would have vaporized them. They would have just gotten in her way.
"IT'S COLLAPSING!"
"RUN!"
"LOOK OUT!"
The castle was coming down.
More and more people were fleeing.
This wasn't his territory. Jin no longer held back. His attacks became more and more ferocious, a wide, sweeping storm of destruction.
His body was a weapon, hardened with Armament Haki, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki. He was a beast, a whirlwind of fists and feet, a barrage of missiles that rained down on Big Mom.
Big Mom, controlling her Homies, also went wild, her giant sword a blur of motion, surrounded by thunder and fire.
The two powerhouses clashed, and the force of their blows shook the castle, the walls and floors cracking and crumbling.
"It's coming down...!"
"RUN!"
The panic, the chaos... it gave Maya and Robin plenty of time.
"Hey! Get them!" Snack shouted, spotting Reiju and Law. He ordered the Homies to attack.
Reiju and Law dodged and fled.
"Well, this is lively," Tesoro said, watching from a distance.
Du Feld clutched at his chest, his heart pounding.
"Fuffuffuffu... Fight, fight! The more brutal, the better!" Doflamingo laughed. He was hoping for a bloodbath.
Only Stussy frowned, but there was nothing she could do. A battle of this level was not something she could interfere in.
Meanwhile, Ace was still on his way...
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