At the same time, Smoothie was being overwhelmed by Shiryu. Facing Shiryu — ranked third in strength among the Elior Pirates — Smoothie could only just keep up in the beginning, barely managing to withstand his assault.
But as time went on, Smoothie found herself completely suppressed.
After all, Shiryu's strength was overwhelming. If Elior hadn't ordered them to maintain their alliance with the Big Mom Pirates, someone on Smoothie's level — even a Sweet Commander — would have already been cut down without hesitation.
To Shiryu, it didn't matter if the opponent was man or woman — he dealt with all enemies in the same ruthless, bloody fashion.
"I won't kill her, but crippling her is fine."
With that, Shiryu's cursed blade radiated a strange purple aura. He slashed down at the already-injured Smoothie, unleashing a crescent-shaped wave of violet energy that split through the air.
Smoothie reacted quickly, bracing herself with her greatsword.
The impact forced her back five or six steps, but she managed to repel the slash.
Shiryu, however, was already on her, his blade flashing again.
She raised her weapon to block, but with a sharp crack—
Smoothie's sword snapped clean in two.
"Ghost-Slaying!"
Shiryu muttered, naming the fearsome technique that shattered her weapon. The purple aura surged violently, flooding the battlefield.
"What—my weapon?!" Smoothie's expression twisted in shock. Losing her blade against a swordsman of Shiryu's caliber was nothing short of fatal.
An instant later, Shiryu's sword energy carved across her side, opening a terrible wound in her waist. Bright blood splattered as she staggered.
On another battlefield, World had already finished his fight against Cracker.
Although Cracker was a Sweet Commander and one of Big Mom's strongest, against a monster of the old era like World he was outmatched.
Cracker fought desperately for over half an hour, but in the end, he collapsed under the barrage of World's colossal cannon attacks.
Too young, too inexperienced — Cracker could not withstand the might of an ancient terror.
Without pause, World turned his guns toward the other Charlotte siblings.
Targets like Perospero and Daifuku, key commanders of Big Mom's crew, tried to resist. But even together, they stood little chance.
After Elior had ordered Bonney to regress World's age by more than thirty years, the once-old pirate now stood at his prime — about forty years old — with his full physical strength restored. His monstrous power of the past had returned in full.
Perospero and Daifuku could only be beaten back and suppressed.
Meanwhile, the weakest of the original Sweet Commanders, Charlotte Snack, who in the canon was stripped of his title after losing to Urouge.
"It seems fate has brought me back against another of Big Mom's sons" Urouge said with a calm monk's gesture.
Snack growled in frustration. His family was being crushed all across the battlefield.
"Damn the Elior Pirates!"
Why was their strength so overwhelming? They were the Big Mom Pirates! Yet they were being beaten down without mercy.
Furious, Snack charged Urouge, clenching his fist as an explosive force erupted from his body. His ability as the Minister of Fries gave him explosive powers, somewhat similar to earlier foes.
The blast forced Urouge back several steps.
But Urouge's karma fruit allowed him to absorb damage and convert it into strength—the more he endured, the stronger he grew. Within his limits, every hit only made him more dangerous.
He roared and counterattacked, clashing with Snack head-on.
The outcome was the same as in the original history—Snack was defeated. Though Urouge also paid a price in blood, victory was his.
Meanwhile, three minutes earlier—back when Big Mom had been blasted away—
Elior calmly sheathed the two famous blades he had borrowed, and clenched his fists. Lightning crackled across his body, arcs of raw electricity flaring around him as he rose into the air.
Big Mom emerged from the smoke, towering over him at more than eight meters tall. Her clothes, miraculously intact, emitted trails of black smoke, but her body was unharmed.
Her defense, as always, was terrifying—equal to, if not greater than, Kaido's. The "Iron Balloon," the strongest physical body in the world, unscathed even after Elior's blows.
Now, enraged, Big Mom glared down at Elior like a giant looming over a mortal.
Elior's hair whipped in the charged wind, his body wrapped in sparks, his aura crashing against hers.
The battlefield trembled as two Yonko unleashed their overwhelming power.
Big Mom roared, her massive fist cloaked in fire and lightning, and swung down with destructive force.
Elior met her head-on.