Big Mom's proposal was undeniably tempting. Combining their strength to take down Kaido right here wasn't entirely impossible.
If Kaido died, his territory and forces would naturally fall into the hands of the Big Mom Pirates and Wood's weapons company. Wood might even become the next Yonko.
While everyone thought Wood might accept Big Mom's offer, to their surprise, Wood did something completely unexpected.
He drew his sword and slashed at Big Mom, saying, "Though your proposal sounds good, I'll have to decline. I'm used to being my own boss and don't intend to be anyone's underling. Besides, I don't think you'd allow a new Yonko to rise after Kaido's Beasts Pirates are defeated."
Wood's reasoning made sense on the surface, but his real motivation was the tempting rewards from the system's mission.
The task was to participate in the Yonko battle. If he could remain "undefeated," he would be rewarded based on his performance.
Simply surviving against Kaido and Big Mom might earn him the lowest-tier reward. But if he could wound a Yonko, the second-tier reward would come his way. The third-tier reward likely involved defeating two Yonko.
Though the third-tier reward was far off, Wood began to think the second-tier might be within reach.
He had already wounded Kaido. If he could injure Big Mom as well, he might gain two chances at the "All Worlds Life Simulation."
And as Wood mentioned, teaming up with Big Mom to kill Kaido wouldn't benefit him.
Among the Yonko, only Big Mom and Kaido had significant influence in the underworld. They balanced each other out, preventing any one side from becoming too dominant.
If one of them were to fall, Wood didn't believe Big Mom would resist taking over his underworld assets.
An alliance? That's just a fairy tale for children. How many pirates in this world truly honor their word?
Wood's sword strike clashed with Napoleon, Big Mom's weapon, and his refusal completely enraged her.
"Thunder Shock!"
Big Mom reached out, and purple lightning gathered in her hand before forming a horizontal lightning bolt that shot toward Wood.
This attack was similar to Kaido's Boro Breath, except instead of fire, Big Mom released lightning.
"Hyakki Yagyō One-Sword Style: Phoenix Flame!"
Facing the incoming lightning, Wood gripped his sword tightly, and intense fire-attribute magic surged through his blade, heating it until it glowed red.
Clang!
With a sound like a bird's cry, a massive fiery phoenix emerged as Wood swung his sword. The phoenix, its wings aflame, soared through the air, leaving a long trail of fire as it collided with Big Mom's lightning.
The clash of fire and lightning created a massive black energy sphere in the sky. When the sphere expanded to its limit, it exploded, sending a hundred-meter-high tsunami crashing down.
The explosion's lightning ionized the seawater, producing hydrogen and oxygen. What happens when fire encounters this mixture?
The result was an intense chemical reaction, leading to an even larger explosion.
Amidst the chaos, Wood used a combination of "Shave" and "Moonwalk" to move rapidly, dodging the explosion and quickly closing the distance to Big Mom.
While Big Mom wielded a sword, she wasn't a true swordsman. Her strength lay in her Devil Fruit abilities and her overwhelming natural power.
Though not a swordsman, Big Mom's sheer strength and the power of Zeus and Prometheus allowed her to deliver devastating strikes akin to natural disasters.
But a true swordsman relies not only on brute force but also on swordsmanship and combat techniques.
If Wood could force Big Mom into close combat, with the power of the Heart of the Gods augmenting his abilities, he was confident he could overpower her with his superior swordsmanship.
Zeus provided Big Mom with flight, but she wasn't as agile in the air as Wood with his "Moonwalk." After a few quick maneuvers, Wood broke through the explosion's smoke screen and appeared right in front of Big Mom.
With both hands gripping his sword, Wood unleashed a flurry of high-speed slashes at Big Mom. As he had anticipated, Big Mom, though immensely powerful, was not as skilled in combat techniques.
Her strength allowed her to block Wood's attacks, but she was clearly struggling against his rapid onslaught.
No matter how powerful one's Observation Haki was, it was useless if their body couldn't keep up with their awareness. And no matter how strong their Armament Haki, it couldn't block an endless barrage of strikes.
"Thunder Drum!"
"Stolen Fire!"
Under Wood's relentless barrage, Big Mom was forced to retreat. Seeing her struggle, Zeus and Prometheus broke free from her control and attacked Wood of their own accord.
As Homies, Zeus and Prometheus had their own consciousness and could act independently to attack enemies.
However, even though they could attack autonomously, their full power could only be unleashed under Big Mom's control, thanks to the powers of the Soru Soru no Mi.
Watching as Zeus released lightning and Prometheus charged at him like a fireball, Wood switched to wielding his sword with one hand while using his other hand to conjure a blue magic circle in front of him.
"Imperial Water Magic: Water Dragon Swirl!"
A violent torrent of water erupted from the magic circle, quickly forming a fierce water dragon that shot toward Zeus's lightning and Prometheus.
Lightning can usually disperse water, but Zeus's "Thunder Drum" wasn't strong enough to evaporate the massive water dragon Wood had summoned.
The lightning dissipated into the water, vanishing into the raging currents. The water dragon now crackled with electricity as it collided head-on with Prometheus.
Though a Homie, Prometheus had a physical form with elemental attributes. As a fire-type entity, Prometheus's greatest weakness was water.
Before Prometheus could react, the massive water dragon swallowed him whole.
The electrically charged water delivered a full-body shock to Prometheus, sending him flying as the water dragon charged straight toward Zeus.
Big Mom wanted to stop the water dragon, but before she could act, Wood's slashes forced her to block once again.
In the end, the roaring water dragon slammed into Zeus, creating a large hole in his cloudy body.
It was common knowledge that Big Mom's ability to fly came from Zeus, who had transformed into a storm cloud.
Now, with a massive hole torn through Zeus, he could no longer support Big Mom's weight, causing her to plummet toward the ground.
Unexpectedly, as Big Mom fell, she showed remarkable reflexes, grabbing hold of Wood's ankle and using her immense strength to hurl him away violently.
Zeus quickly restored his form and, after a rapid spin in the air, dove down to catch Big Mom.
However, Wood, now hurtling through the air, unleashed a wind blade, slicing Zeus in half once again.
Boom!
Just how strong was Big Mom's physical power? If Wood had to describe it, he would compare it to the legendary giant Oars.
Wood, having been grabbed by the ankle and thrown by Big Mom, felt as if he had been hit by a speeding armored vehicle.
With a deafening crash, Wood's body hit the ground, carving a massive trench through an island, nearly splitting it in two.
The rocks and trees along his path offered no resistance as they were smashed to pieces by Wood's impact.
As for Big Mom, her situation wasn't much better. With Zeus cut in half once again by Wood's "Scythe Weasel," he failed to catch her in time.
Big Mom's body plunged into the sea, creating a huge splash.
When Zeus and Prometheus finally reformed and dragged Big Mom onto a nearby island, she hadn't lost her ability to fight, but being drenched in seawater had left her temporarily weakened.
The onlookers were stunned by what they had just witnessed.
Especially the members of the Big Mom Pirates—they couldn't understand why the Navy traitor Wood, who had just teamed up with their mother to injure Kaido, suddenly turned against her.
Could it be that Wood's goal wasn't just to defeat Kaido but to take down two Yonko at once?
In the past, most of those present would have dismissed such a notion as delusional. But after witnessing the chaotic battle that had just taken place, they suddenly realized they had been underestimating Wood all along.
Many had assumed Wood's success was due to his connections and advanced weapons technology.
Rumors that Wood was second only to the Yonko and the Navy Admirals had circulated, but few took them seriously.
After all, as the mastermind behind Wood's weapons company, Wood rarely fought publicly, leading many to believe that the stories of his strength were exaggerated.
After today's "Yonko Battle," however, everyone realized they had seriously underestimated this man.
This was no "second to the Yonko" or "below the Admirals" situation—Wood was undoubtedly Yonko-level himself!
What had started as a battle between Big Mom and Kaido had now turned into a three-way brawl, with Wood holding his own against the two Yonko.
Based on the earlier clash where the "Sweet Three Generals" had tried to fight Kaido, it was clear that the Yonko operated on an entirely different level. Even the Three Generals, the Disasters, and the Warlords of the Sea were mere children compared to them.
Yet Wood had not only inserted himself into the fight but also managed to wound both Big Mom and Kaido. Clearly, he was no ordinary Warlord.
Even if he couldn't defeat Kaido or Big Mom in a one-on-one fight, he could certainly hold his ground.
From that perspective, Wood was already on par with the Yonko.
Clang!
The clash between Kaido's spiked club and Wood's twin blades caused the island they stood on to split in half.
Before either could catch their breath, Big Mom unleashed another "Ikoku," engulfing both of them and completely destroying the island.
Originally a duel between Big Mom and Kaido, the fight had turned into a three-way melee after Wood's intervention.
Despite taking both Wood's slashes and Big Mom's Mingguang Cannon, Kaido's monstrous vitality kept him from dying or losing his ability to fight.
After taking a huge swig of sake, Kaido maintained his hybrid form, a mix of human and dragon.
In this form, Zoan-type Devil Fruit users could utilize the abilities of their animal forms while retaining their human posture.
Although Big Mom had temporarily weakened after her seawater bath, she soon recovered.
Of the three combatants, it was now Wood, who initially seemed to have the upper hand, who found himself in the weakest position.
When Big Mom had thrown him earlier, his body had carved an entire island in half.
Unlike Kaido, whose nearly indestructible body made him nearly immortal, Wood felt like all his bones had been shattered.
Though the healing magic circle inscribed on his body quickly mended his injuries and restored his combat abilities, it came at a cost.
On the surface, it seemed like Wood had Kaido's regenerative abilities and Big Mom's immense strength, making him seem invincible.
But only Wood knew the price he had to pay for this power.
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Don't forget to give Power Stone
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