To be honest, Mars was initially quite intimidated by the young girl before him.
After all, she had earlier appeared and cleared all the mist in one go, then thwarted his attack. She certainly didn't seem ordinary.
But after just a short while of actual combat, Karin's weaknesses were exposed.
Her Haki reserves were simply insufficient.
An attack of the same intensity that Mars could perhaps take without bleeding forced Karin to rely on her metallic feathers to tank it.
For example, at this moment, Mars was manipulating flames and Haki, beating Karin into a state where she couldn't fight back.
She could only maintain her spherical [Immobile Form] to avoid being knocked down.
Yet even that wasn't enough.
'I can only hold on for five more minutes at most. My feather regeneration speed can't keep up with his destructive rate.'
Karin was inwardly anxious.
Her initial attack was too aggressive, allowing the scheming Mars to exploit her opening, leading to her being pushed back step by step without even finding a chance to counterattack.
This was also related to her desire to prove herself.
Having never been in love or had any experience in that area, Karin didn't know how to gain Naruto's favor.
So she chose the most awkward, yet simplest method.
Just demonstrate her abilities.
Unfortunately, the gap in innate talent was that vast. Even though both had eaten Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits, Sasuke's strength was still above hers.
The Five Elder who could beat Karin into being unable to fight back was already in his 'respawn cooldown' against Sasuke.
Speak of the devil, and the devil arrives.
Karin, inside the metallic sphere, sensed Sasuke's approach through Observation Haki.
This brought her a bit of relief, but also a strong sense of defeat.
"Hey! Don't just stand there stunned!"
Suddenly, Karin heard Sasuke's shout.
She immediately snapped back to attention, only to find the Itsumade that had been strutting around moments ago was now pinned beneath the Huodou, being hammered mercilessly.
The demonic fire controlled by Saint Mars couldn't harm the 'fire-eating' Huodou at all. All he could do was try to flail about or bend his long neck to attempt a peck at Sasuke.
Sasuke, meanwhile, while trying to wake up the still-dazed Karin, continued his relentless assault, Haki and shockwaves wrapping his fists as he frantically pummeled Mars's body.
At the same time, he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan's Dojutsu.
[Magatsuhime!]
Instantly, a chill swept through Mars's body.
Before he could react, a cramp-like sensation seized the base of his wings.
This caused a brief stiffness in his struggling movements.
That tiny moment of immobility was precisely what Sasuke seized.
He immediately used both claws to grip tightly the bird's head, pulling it up and down with immense force.
Mars's long beak, filled with sharp teeth, caused numerous tiny cuts on Sasuke's claws.
But this only further increased his strength… it served no other purpose.
One could say Sasuke, with his Huodou transformation, facing the flame-controlling Mars, was the true definition of a 'hard counter'.
Seeing this, Karin quickly regained her composure, transforming back from the metallic sphere into her Valkyrie form.
Then, her wings flapped violently.
"Great Body: Adamantine Thousand Feathers!"
This time, her metallic feathers were imbued with Haki, pouring all at once into Mars's gaping mouth.
Along with the countless blade-like feathers, a massive amount of air was also forced in.
Itsumade's abdomen instantly swelled up. At the same time, Mars felt his internal organs being frantically sliced by countless fine blades, the pain making him let out a sharp, beastly shriek.
Yes, not a cry, but a roar like a beast.
The roar transformed into thunderbolts, striking indiscriminately around.
Both Karin and Sasuke were hit several times, but their actions didn't falter. Mars's stomach continued to expand.
Adding to his agony, as his organs were being sliced, his wounds healed at an extremely fast rate, further amplifying the pain.
Yes, without Conqueror's Haki suppression, they were indeed ageless and immortal.
But it was never said they couldn't feel pain.
The countless adamantine sharp feathers were like a thousand cuts, carving Mars's belly scarred from the inside.
Even the immortal power Imu bestowed upon them, which healed wounds, couldn't keep up with the rate new ones were created.
Soon, the blood gushing from his organs flowed up his windpipe and overflowed from his mouth, making it difficult for Mars to continue his roaring.
Sasuke and Karin seized this opportunity, increasing their effort further!
"Give it… a break!"
With a crisp cracking sound, Mars's bird head was forcibly torn into two separate parts by Sasuke, dangling limply on either side of his body.
Meanwhile, the feathers inside him burst out from his body, tearing him full of holes.
Thud!
As Sasuke released his grip, Mars's bird body, now resembling a corpse, fell to the ground.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
Sasuke formed hand seals directly, using the Fire Release the Uchiha Clan was most proficient in. Enhanced by the Huodou's Calamity Flames, a blue-green fire dragon head instantly covered Mars's body, causing him to writhe frantically as if having a final burst of life.
"That should keep him from recovering for a while."
Withdrawing his hand seals, Sasuke wiped the blood from a scrape on his forehead, then turned to look at Karin.
"...Thank you."
"Huh?"
Sasuke thought he misheard.
After all, this girl hadn't given him a single good look since the day they met.
-Of course, Sasuke himself didn't much care about that.
However, Karin didn't continue, just silently looked at her own palm.
Tap.
At that moment, Sasuke's hand suddenly grabbed hers, holding her wrist.
Karin instinctively looked up.
"It's not time to use that yet. The situation isn't that bad."
As he spoke, Sasuke pointed towards the other side.
Byrnndi World and Bullet were still holding their own against their respective Five Elders. But Nusjuro, fighting Naruto, was almost reduced to a limbless human trunk... well, a horse trunk.
Three of his four skeletal legs had been severed, half his neck was cut open, and his head hung limply.
"Im... possible. We are... immortal!"
The horse mouth opened wide, trying to bite Naruto, who instead backhand punched, shattering even its front teeth.
The Conqueror's Haki wrapped around Mushoukou suppressed Warcury's self-healing to the point of almost being ineffective. This old bald man truly felt death beckoning him.
It was a death delayed for over seven hundred years, one that should have come long ago.
'No, I don't want to die here!'
'I still have endless wealth to enjoy! Infinite power!'
Perhaps God truly heard Warcury's plea from the heart.
At that very moment, the ground beneath the execution platform suddenly shook. Immediately after, the ground was drilled through by a large drill.
Even Naruto hadn't anticipated this.
After all, during combat, most people's Observation Haki is used to observe and predict the opponent's actions, not for large-scale monitoring of the surroundings like usual.
With a hoarse [Coup de Burst], a large ship shot from the ground into the air.
Garp, who had been watching the battle and pondering whom to help, saw the somewhat familiar ship and immediately gaped.
The lion figurehead with a drill in its mouth was indeed rare, but Garp happened to have seen it once before.
That was the Thousand Sunny!
"Luffy!?"
'What is that kid doing here!'
It was only then Garp remembered the important thing he had forgotten since the battle began.
'No, no! That's not the main point!'
'This battlefield is not a place for Luffy to set foot on!!'
"Ace! We're here to save you!!"
On the deck, Luffy shouted towards Ace, who was getting closer and closer.
Ace, who had been tied to the execution platform watching the battle like a blockbuster movie, was stunned.
'Luffy?!'