"That's… the fifth strongest fighter of the Straw Hat Pirates!?"
"The King of the Insect Tribe—Usopp!"
"As expected of soone bold enough to call himself 'King'—he's unexpectedly powerful!"
On the ground, witnessing Usopp enter the battlefield and imdiately land an effective strike on Alicia Mirabelagon, both Boa Hancock and Gecko Moria—who had been battered around by her for quite so ti—couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Even after undergoing Pokémon-ization, their strength had risen to the peak level of top-tier Yonko Commanders.
But against a monster like Mirabelagon—who not only possessed Admiral-level combat power but also an undying body—they could do little more than stall her briefly.
In the sky, Mirabelagon gritted her teeth, enduring the strange sensation spreading through her body as she glared viciously at Usopp in the distance.
"They're just a bunch of filthy insects! Do you really think such petty tricks will work on !?"
Swish—
The pitch-black blade rose once more. She prepared to swing it down and cut down the clown before her.
But then—
"…Ugh."
The monstrous crow-tengu's body suddenly froze mid-motion. No matter how hard she tried, she could not bring the blade down.
"Heh… You let my bugs crawl inside your body. That was pretty brave of you~"
Whoosh~
Behind Usopp, a massive flower suddenly blood into existence. Its petals spun in midair, propelling him backward and out of Mirabelagon's attack range.
Clearly, Usopp was not incapable of flying.
At over Level 60 as a Pokémon, his base stats alone were enough to contend with renowned powerhouses. Techniques like Moonwalk were sothing he had long mastered.
He simply lacked the confidence to use them in front of top-tier opponents—so he usually didn't.
"You damned bastard!"
Watching Usopp retreat into the sky, Mirabelagon instantly realized that the giant stag beetle from earlier had been nothing more than a trap.
But what she could not understand was this—
How could a swarm of frail insects make her movents this stiff?
At that mont, Usopp's faint laughter drifted through the air again.
Of course he knew what was happening.
After all this ti, his efforts had finally borne fruit.
He had achieved his long-standing goal:
To hatch insect tribes born with innate Pokémon moves.
That's right.
Through relentless effort, combined with the terrifying reproductive power of the swarm—and artificial selection—Usopp had successfully created multiple insect tribes that were born with inherited Pokémon Egg Moves.
And the parasites now inside Mirabelagon were one such tribe.
Unlike other insect strains that inherited battle moves like Flathrower or Quick Attack, this parasite strain had inherited an Egg Move that most Bug-type Pokémon possessed—
Stun Spore.
One insect alone was pitifully weak. Even if it used a Pokémon move, it would never affect soone like Mirabelagon.
But when tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of insects used Stun Spore simultaneously…
Even a dical examiner might only sigh apologetically and say:
"Sorry… we found a small amount of blood within the Stun Spore."
Stun Spore flowing through one's bloodstream was an entirely different matter from re surface contact.
Even soone as powerful as Mirabelagon could not escape paralysis.
"So next, I just need to hard-CC you here until Red and the others get back, right?"
Floating in midair, Usopp grinned. Even so, seeing Mirabelagon's body grow increasingly stiff, he still wasn't satisfied and released a vast additional swarm from within himself.
Unlike the parasites—
Every single insect in this swarm had received Red's enlightennt and Usopp's specialized training.
Each possessed its own Pokémon move.
They were precious beyond asure.
In an instant, thick clouds of yellow powder ford above Mirabelagon's head, raining down and enveloping her body.
At last, she fell into complete paralysis, unable to move, plumting from the sky.
A faint electric current crackled across her body.
No one had expected it—
The seemingly strongest of the Five Elders, Alicia Mirabelagon, had been subdued so easily by Usopp with just a few tricks.
"This… this is unbelievable?!"
Hancock and Moria, who had rely admired his thods before, now shivered as they looked at the fallen crow-tengu who couldn't even grip her blade.
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness that cunning bastard was on their side.
"You lot!!!"
Lying on the ground, Mirabelagon strained to turn her head toward the battlefield where the other Five Elders were fighting.
Her expression twisted as she roared:
"Attack !!!"
"Attack now!!!"
"Hm?!"
"That was Mirabelagon's voice!"
Saint Warcury shook his dizzy head as he struggled to his feet.
In just this short ti, he had already taken no fewer than ten kicks from Sanji, and the ground beneath his feet felt unreal—soft, unstable, as though he might collapse at any mont.
anwhile, Saint Mars and Saint Peter also climbed out of their respective craters.
In theory, although they were not as overwhelmingly powerful as Mirabelagon or Saint Nusjuro, they still possessed Admiral-level strength.
Itsumade's aerial supremacy, the Sandworm's burrowing ability, the Boar's overwhelming defense—
Abilities that could dominate battlefields elsewhere were rendered useless against Sanji's extre speed.
Even Warcury—who could withstand nearly all physical attacks—was left baring his teeth in pain under Sanji's blazing flas.
"It's definitely Mirabelagon's voice… Sothing happened over there!?"
The three elders exchanged bewildered glances.
After all, in terms of destructive power, Mirabelagon surpassed them. With neither the Straw Hat captain nor vice-captain present on that battlefield, how could she possibly face an opponent she couldn't handle?
"What do we do?"
"Saint Peter, why don't you travel underground and check on her!?"
Blocked by Sanji's wall of searing flas, they had no idea what was happening beyond.
But Peter shook his head.
"Impossible!"
"I've tried multiple tis already. That Black Leg—Sanji—not only has terrifying speed, but his Observation Haki seems nearly at the level of future sight…"
"Every ti I tried to break past the flas, he interrupted ."
More importantly—
Each of Sanji's attacks had utterly killed him once.
Even with immortality as a passive buff, repeatedly experiencing death was starting to leave psychological scars.
"Well, well~"
"In just a mont, you three are already chatting?"
A teasing voice suddenly echoed from above.
The Five Elders looked up in unison to see Sanji, having taken a Super Potion, fully restored and returned.
The consumption of the Speed-Speed Fruit wasn't trivial.
Even with enhanced recovery from its acceleration effects, Sanji's stamina had bottod out multiple tis.
But holding back three Five Elders at once demanded sacrifice.
Compared to the destruction they would cause if they escaped, a few Super Potions were a small price for the Straw Hat Pirates.
Sanji knew very well—they had no way to eliminate the Five Elders.
For now, all they could do was stall.
"…Though."
"When did that idiot Usopp get so damn capable!?"
Sanji subconsciously glanced toward the distant battlefield, as though he could see through the boiling fire wall.
A comrade's growth was sothing to celebrate.
But if that growth was too explosive…
He couldn't help but reflect—had he been slacking lately?
He had just touched the threshold of awakening the Speed-Speed Fruit, finally catching up to that moss-head—
Only to see a powerhouse he himself found troubleso subdued so easily by Usopp.
For a mont, Sanji's heart was a complicated ss.
"Do we really have to be this competitive?!"
With a long sigh, he transford into a streak of black shadow and appeared behind the Five Elders once more, beginning another round of rciless beating.
anwhile—
Having witnessed Mirabelagon's fall, Saint Nusjuro found himself caught in a dilemma.
He understood her intention.
She wanted soone to destroy her body so she could regenerate anew through her immortality.
But—
"Oi! Old man, where are you looking!?"
Clang!!!
Boom!!!
Blazing sparks erupted as four blade tips collided midair, unleashing a terrifying shockwave.
Fortunately, thanks to the Straw Hats, all civilians had already evacuated the island.
Otherwise, the aftershocks alone would have reshaped the entire landscape.
"Trying to save your companion?"
eting Nusjuro's gaze at close range, Roronoa Zoro smirked coldly.
"Don't bother. I'm not letting you pass."
"You'd better swallow that idea."
"More importantly… shouldn't you start getting serious?"
"Your strength should be more than this, right?"
Boom!!!
As Zoro finished speaking, a surging pressure burst forth from his body, racing along his blades toward Nusjuro.
The fusion of extre Conqueror's Haki and the Pressure ability reached its peak in his hands, forming a ferocious aura unique to him alone.
Nusjuro's face darkened.
Partly due to the overwhelming pressure—
But more because of the disdain in Zoro's tone.
"You brat… You'll pay for those words!"
Clang!
Sparks scattered as Nusjuro exerted force, pushing Zoro back.
No matter how one looked at it, even if Red had assisted sohow in that previous battle—
The fact remained that this man had slain Admiral Akainu.
His future was imasurable.
The urge to rescue Mirabelagon faded.
Killing this swordsman before him seed far more important.
"If you want to see my true strength…"
Sss—
An aura from the depths of the underworld surged from Nusjuro's body, accompanied by chilling frost that instantly froze everything around them.
"Hmm? Power like Brook's?"
Zoro's brow twitched as he sensed the shift.
He sharpened his focus.
At this mont, Nusjuro had finally cleared his distractions.
Now, he would fight as a true master swordsman.
Their auras collided violently in midair.
Thunderous booms echoed as black lightning crackled from clashes of Conqueror's Haki.
"Underworld Abyss · Hell Slash!!!"
Boom!!!
The Shodai Kitetsu, pitch-black under Armant Haki, swung down.
A massive slash capable of splitting the world itself shot forward at terrifying speed.
Zoro's lips curled upward, eyes blazing.
"Now that's more like it~"
He assud his Three Sword Style stance.
Though none of his blades had yet beco true Black Blades, a closer look revealed subtle changes—
The Great Grade ito Wado Ichimonji, the Ryo Wazamono Narukami, and even the ordinary-grade Sandai Kitetsu were all deepening in hue.
Perhaps because he wielded three swords at once, none had yet fully blackened.
But during this battle, Zoro noticed sothing—
Every ti Sandai Kitetsu clashed with Shodai Kitetsu—especially when it gained the upper hand—
Its color darkened further.
The stronger Nusjuro's slashes grew, the more pronounced the change.
It was as if Sandai Kitetsu were devouring Shodai Kitetsu's power.
Perhaps this was the nature of a cursed blade.
That was why Zoro had provoked him.
If his guess was correct—
He might soon forge his own Black Blade.
Why should Shodai Kitetsu be Supre Grade while Sandai Kitetsu remained inferior?
Today—
My slash will make your na known!
Buzz—
As if responding to Zoro's will, Sandai Kitetsu flashed crimson, its edge growing sharper.
Boom!!!
In an instant, the two great swordsn vanished—
Only to collide midair in a violent eruption of force.
"How lively~"
At the sa ti—
Thousands of ters above Abra Island, figures hovered mysteriously among the clouds, observing the battle below as if it were entertainnt.
(End of Chapter)
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