Big Mom could control both fire and lightning.
Among her countless techniques, combining the two into one devastating strike was especially terrifying. At this moment, her massive fist, cloaked in roaring flames and crackling thunder, came crashing toward Elior.
"You're still a long way from defeating me! Is this really the same power you showed back at Marineford?" she taunted while swinging down, her teeth grinding at the memory.
She still hadn't forgiven Elior for stealing Fish-Man Island from her. The thought alone made her rage boil.
The air itself burned and warped under the heat of her attack as her punch tore forward.
"Try it and see for yourself, old hag!" Elior roared back, meeting her head-on with a thunderous strike of his own.
The difference in sheer size between their fists was enormous—but when the two blows collided, the world erupted. Flames burst outward into a sea of fire, while lightning speared in every direction.
Bzzzzt…
Arcs of electricity spread across the battlefield, turning the surrounding area — hundreds of meters in every direction — into a colossal power grid with Elior and Big Mom at its center.
But this wasn't her lightning. Big Mom's power could never stretch this far.
This was Elior's doing.
As for her flames? He simply dismissed them.
Even though Big Mom's fire was deadlier than anything Ace had once wielded, Elior's control over freezing cold made it useless. The chill radiating from his body prevented the flames from even reaching him—snuffing them out before they could burn him.
In that instant, when her lightning crashed against his, Elior unleashed his own electricity, amplifying it to a terrifying degree.
BOOM!
The explosion forced Big Mom's fist back. Her massive body staggered several steps before she could brace herself again, her right hand trembling and numb. The sensation was like being whipped again and again by raw lightning—searing, merciless pain.
Had it been anyone else, their flesh would've been torn apart instantly. But Big Mom, with her "Iron Balloon" defense, managed to endure without breaking.
"Flame Jet!" she bellowed, summoning a blazing whip of fire and lashing it toward Elior, even as arcs of electricity still danced painfully across her body.
CRACK!
From the frozen battlefield, a massive icicle surged upward, colliding with the fiery whip and forcing it back. The flames recoiled and struck Big Mom herself as the colossal shard of ice smashed into her gut like a cannonball.
She was knocked flying again, clutching her stomach with a howl of pain. Though her defense held, the impact left her reeling.
"What a monster…" Ryokugyu muttered from the distance, wide-eyed.
Akainu scowled, his arms folded. "How long can a battle like this even last?"
Tsuru answered grimly, "If one side takes control, it could be over in a matter of hours. But if they're evenly matched… this could drag on for days."
The waiting was agonizing — but the Marine had endured such things before. Back when they finally captured the exhausted Redfield, Garp and the others had waited over ten days.
Sengoku, who had been quiet, spoke gravely now: "We'd better be prepared for the unexpected."
On the battlefield, the clash only grew fiercer.
Lightning and ice clashed against fire and thunder, devastating everything in sight. The ground within hundreds of meters had become a minefield no one dared approach.
From afar, Shanks and the Red Force crew looked on in shock.
The world already knew Elior was dangerous. But seeing his true power firsthand was another matter entirely.
"The way he commands ice and lightning… and on top of that, his swordsmanship" Beckman muttered. "It's hard to believe anyone could be trained into something like this. He's become a monster on his own."
"No doubt," Shanks said darkly. "Compared to Big Mom, who's already past sixty… it's clear this is Elior's era now."
For pirates like Shanks and his crew, who valued freedom and adventure, the thought was chilling. Elior, Big Mom, and Kaido weren't chasing freedom—they were chasing domination, dragging the world into deeper chaos.
And in their eyes, Elior was the most dangerous of them all.
Even Big Mom and Kaido couldn't control men like Bullet or World.
But Elior could.
Why?
Shanks couldn't understand it. Was it just sheer power? No—there had to be something more.
That thought alone left him unsettled.
And it only confirmed one thing—Elior was far more dangerous than anyone realized.
On the battlefield, Big Mom struggled to regain her footing, still wracked with pain from Elior's icicle strike. But this time, he didn't relent.
Like lightning itself, he flashed above her. His right leg came crashing down with terrifying force, twisting the air around it before slamming into her stomach like a massive battle axe.
WHAM!
Big Mom's massive body shot downward like a meteor, smashing into the frozen ground below.
BOOOOM!
The explosion shook the seas. Ice shattered, waves roared, and the frozen battlefield cracked and heaved under the impact. Even from Cake Island, the Navy Headquarters, and the Red Force in the distance, the sound reverberated.
The entire frozen plain quaked violently, the ocean beyond surging in response.
That was Elior's strike.
And yet… for someone of his caliber, this was just another blow.
After all, when beings of such monstrous power clashed, even islands could be reduced to rubble.
And now, it was Big Mom who had been forced back—suppressed.
The sight alone was enough to make onlookers shiver.