It wasn't just the onlookers who were stunned — even Charlotte Linlin herself stared wide-eyed in disbelief at the massive beast in the sky.
But she quickly snapped back to her senses. If she let the creature keep absorbing at this rate, her Prometheus would be completely drained in no time.
With that thought, Linlin roared in anger:
"Thunder Drum!"
At her command, the thunderclouds above instantly shifted into a thunderstorm state, unleashing a mad barrage of lightning toward Rodan.
"Heh-heh, old hag — this kind of stuff doesn't work on me in the slightest!"
Rodan let out a savage laugh mid-air, basking in the storm. Compared to the Boss's lightning, this was weaker by a hundred thousand leagues. To him, these strikes were little more than a back scratch.
Hearing that booming voice from the sky, Linlin's blood-shot eyes blazed with fury.
"Bastard! Then try this on for size!"
"Shock Imperial Thunder!"
With a shout, a massive sphere of lightning gathered in the sky — at least fifty meters in diameter — before crashing down without mercy.
The blinding lightning tore through the overcast heavens like a doomsday calamity.
The colossal lightning pillar struck Rodan squarely in the back with an earth-shaking roar, his massive frame lurching as he plummeted toward Whole Cake Island.
"Ikoku Sovereignty!"
Seizing the moment, the enraged Linlin grabbed the hat atop her head, which transformed into a massive sword, and unleashed a gargantuan slash.
Invisible shockwave energy ripped through the air, wrapped in a pressure wave, tearing toward the falling figure.
RUMBLE!
The slash was so powerful it could pierce even a super-giant Sea King — and when it struck the flaming monster, it detonated with a deafening blast, knocking Rodan back into the air.
"ROAR! Damn you, old hag!"
Rodan howled as the impact sent searing pain ripping through his abdomen. He opened his beak wide and spewed a blast of crimson flames mixed with volcanic ash.
The blazing torrent rained from above, catching everyone off guard.
"AHHH!"
"Help me!"
"Momma, save us!"
Across Whole Cake Island, countless souls perished in an instant under the scorching wave.
But it didn't stop there — the storm of fire swept through the gaps between buildings, engulfing the island in every direction. The food-based structures melted or burned instantly under the heat.
The flames roared sky-high; screams filled the air.
Linlin's shame and rage boiled over. She screamed again and again, her voice shrill with fury.
Since becoming a pirate, she had never been this enraged.
In a single breath, a third of her beloved Tottoland was reduced to ash by that one breath attack. A hellish killing intent radiated from her enormous body.
The pressure was so overwhelming that every pirate nearby — even her own children — trembled.
But no matter how mighty her soul aura, it had no effect on the beast above.
That was one of the traits of the Titan form — a creature like Rodan had no soul to influence in the first place.
Linlin began gathering the souls of the countless creatures that had just perished in the firestorm. One by one, the flames of life were pulled into her grasp.
"I'll kill you!"
Her massive sword morphed further, becoming even larger. With a mighty leap, her towering, heavy frame shot skyward, and she unleashed a slash of monstrous scale.
A violet arc, streaked with black lightning-like energy, shot toward Rodan like a crescent moon, brimming with Haki and raw fury.
BOOM!
A colossal explosion rang out, white-gray smoke billowing upward, blotting out the sun.
THUD!
Linlin landed back on the ground, sweat beading her brow — that last strike had taken a heavy toll.
"Should be dead now… right?"
Her subordinates stared into the roiling cloud above, wondering the same.
Then someone suddenly shouted:
"There — look!"
Through the haze, something surged upward — and the next instant, a ferocious beast burst from the smoke, trailing a fiery wake as it dove straight down!
"Damn you!"
Linlin ignored her own exhaustion, swinging her massive sword in another slash.
But this strike was far weaker than the last.
What looked terrifying at a glance was, to Rodan, as fragile as a breeze.
The beast merely reached out with a thick, short claw from its abdomen, snatching the slash mid-air — and with a sharp crack, the attack dispersed into nothing.
Gasps of horror erupted from below.
As the beast descended, pirates scattered in panic.
"This is MY territory! I won't let you run wild here!"
Driven to madness, Linlin swung slash after slash, uncaring whether they could harm her foe. Each one was terrifying enough that even a revived Kaido might hesitate to take them head-on.
But she had no idea — her opponent wasn't Kaido. It was a monster from eight hundred years ago… and one with a hidden identity.
The beast ignored every attack.
BOOM… BOOM…
Its heavy impacts came one after another, clouds of dust rolling like waves in a storm.
Then, within that storm, Rodan suddenly beat his wings, skimming just above the island's surface.
Everything in his path ignited and melted in an instant.
"I'm done playing with you, old hag!"
Rodan screeched, opening his beak toward Linlin and the buildings behind her. He drew in a deep breath — and with a WHOOOM, unleashed a tide of black-ash-laced fire.
The blazing surge tore through everything, incinerating the structures in its path.
Faced with the oncoming inferno, Linlin cloaked herself in Armament Haki, then gathered every last ounce of her strength and energy.
Her ten thick fingers clenched the massive sword. Raising her arms, she bellowed:
"Ikoku Sovereignty!"
HUM!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A formless shockwave ripped forward, scraping the ground as it sped toward the approaching tide.
This was all she had left — the one strike in which she poured every shred of her remaining power.
In an instant, the shockwave clashed with the flames. With a thunderous blast, it cut through the inferno, barreling onward toward the colossal beast.
"Kill him!"
The pirates erupted in cheers, as if their "Momma's" attack was certain to fell the monster in the next second.
But when the strike hit…
Every eye went wide to the limit — filled with disbelief.
And in a voice trembling with despair, someone cried out:
"Impossible…!!"
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