Unlike the situation in Dressrosa, under Caesar's control, that gas that could transform people into monsters didn't need to slowly diffuse at all.
The pink gas, like a giant dragon, bypassed Caesar's subordinates, charging straight toward the Shark Emeralda.
Even if Karin couldn't perceive fortune or misfortune with the naked eye like Sasuke, she couldn't possibly ignore such an obvious attack.
"Wind—"
Without even needing to specifically perform any move, just with a thought, a terrifying tornado rose from the ground.
Seawater, soil, rocks, and the pink gas… the tornado indiscriminately swept up everything around it.
This was even with Karin deliberately restraining her power to avoid harming those children.
Otherwise, given her current perception, she should be able to create a super-giant hurricane large enough to cover the entire island.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a human-shaped natural disaster.
Thud.
A flintlock fell to the ground.
Even blocked by protective clothing, others seemed to see a look of shock on this armed person's face.
In contrast, the sailors on the Shark Emeralda appeared much calmer.
Tch, what's the big deal? You've never seen the world.
Compared to the massive tsunami created by just casually flapping wings when she transformed into the giant bird earlier, this tornado right now was nothing.
Even Caesar was slightly taken aback when he saw this, his expression immediately turning ugly.
"She actually has the ability to control hurricanes?"
Then his Gasu Gasu no Mi's usual destructiveness would be hard to unleash.
It could be said that over half of Caesar's moves relied on gas diffusion.
Like poisonous gas, or using the 'vacuum pump' principle to rapidly remove the air around the enemy, causing suffocation.
This move worked better in enclosed environments.
But it seemed none could be used now.
At this moment, Orochimaru's expression also turned serious.
He finally remembered where he had seen the creature before him.
"The Summit War."
Caesar, hearing the words from Orochimaru's mouth, didn't quite react.
"Although her appearance has changed somewhat, that giant bird is the Devil Fruit user who appeared in the decisive battle of the Summit War, defeating the Five Elders alongside that guy called Uzumaki Naruto."
After Orochimaru explained, Caesar's previously arrogant expression immediately fell.
Others might not know, but former [MADS's] members like them had a good understanding of the World Government's and the Five Elders' strength.
Weren't he and Vegapunk captured by them?
Because he was engrossed in the research ideas Orochimaru provided at the time, Caesar Clown didn't watch the so-called [Summit War].
So what about Whitebeard? No one could resist the World Government anyway, right?
But just a few days later, he heard the news of the World Government's collapse from others.
For Caesar, this was as shocking as Doflamingo taking down Big Mom.
Hearing that the giant bird could defeat the Five Elders, Caesar felt his legs going weak… even though he hadn't created his own legs at the moment.
His bullying-the-weak, fearing-the-strong personality took over again.
Seeing this, Orochimaru's eyes subtly changed, then he said.
"Don't be afraid. She only helped a bit, and the ones who truly defeated the Five Elders were others."
Like Sasuke, who defeated him earlier.
Of course, he didn't plan to say that out loud.
"And don't forget, we still have Drug No. 2, right?"
Drug No. 2, the contingency Orochimaru set in the Dressrosa royal palace, was a drug mixed with Seastone factors, having a special suppressing effect on Devil Fruit users.
Simultaneously, it also had the ability to turn ordinary people into snake-men.
"But... but I'm a Devil Fruit user too!"
Hearing Orochimaru mention Drug No. 2, Caesar's expression immediately turned bad.
He couldn't fuse the drug into his body like before and spread it using gas.
That drug wasn't much different from Seastone… it could also suppress his abilities.
"No problem. Leave the gas release to me."
"You deal with those crew members."
After saying this, Orochimaru added.
"Don't think about running, Caesar-kun. If we don't deal with them, our experiments, those materials and data… none of it will leave this place."
The latter part truly hit Caesar's weak spot.
"...Alright."
On the other side, the pink gas, tightly wrapped by strong winds, was forcefully compressed into a large pink sphere, then carefully sent far away by Karin.
During this process, she couldn't harm her own side and had to avoid affecting those children.
It was her first time doing such delicate work, so it took a bit more time.
When Karin finished dealing with the gas and looked back, the guy with the lower body made of gas had already disappeared.
Her half-baked Observation Haki swept over but couldn't find any trace of that guy.
Left behind was a guy who gave off a sinister feeling just by looking at him.
Karin felt this guy looked familiar but couldn't remember where she'd seen him for the moment.
If her counterpart from a parallel world were here, she'd definitely recognize Orochimaru at a glance.
Even though the current Orochimaru looked like a pale youth, that white-phosphorus-snake-like aura was all too familiar to his old subordinates.
Plus, Orochimaru would appear in different forms every now and then, making it easier to accept.
In contrast, this Karin had only seen Orochimaru once during the Chunin Exams, from who knows how far away.
And Orochimaru was disguised at the time.
So she can't be blamed for not recognizing him.
"Hehe... as expected of Sasuke-kun's comrade, equally terrifyingly strong."
Orochimaru walked toward Karin, simultaneously, as if unaffected by the surrounding temperature change, removed his robe, revealing the strange skin beneath.
This body came from a youth... or rather, a child.
Of course, being valued by Orochimaru, it naturally had its merits.
This guy, found from who knows where by Caesar, also had a Devil Fruit ability.
Perhaps because of the experience of 'controlling' a powerhouse like Yamato, Orochimaru was even more adept at controlling this body.
"Sasuke? You encountered that red-eyed weirdo?"
Karin looked Orochimaru up and down, then let out a disdainful laugh.
"Seems your escape skills are quite impressive."
While saying this, Karin, transformed into the divine bird, landed back on the ground.
Behind her, Lucci and the other two had finished dealing with the people on the warships and were about to come over but were stopped by Karin.
"You guys, figure out how to rescue those children later."
Karin's voice was very soft, but they weren't ordinary people, and the distance was close, so they could hear clearly.
Hearing this, Lucci looked into the distance, then snorted coldly, but still nodded lightly.
Couldn't be helped… when under someone else's roof, one has to lower their head.
Moreover, he wasn't some bloodthirsty person.
Just as killing didn't cause him any psychological burden, killing also didn't bring him joy.
He wasn't a chaos-worshipping thug.
For Lucci, these were just things he had to do to achieve his goals.
Like 'work'.
But Kaku and Kalifa were clearly more 'humane' than Lucci.
They didn't resist this order.
On the other side, after hearing Karin's mockery, Orochimaru wasn't angry… instead, he lightly nodded.
"You're right. Sasuke-kun is truly formidable. Even I couldn't escape from his hands."
Before Karin could show a puzzled expression because of these words, the two short horns originally on Orochimaru's head began to rapidly grow. Simultaneously, the scales on his body quickly became denser.
"If it weren't for him, I wouldn't need to use this body so early."
Orochimaru's voice gradually became rough, his figure began to stretch and lengthen, and his nails turned sharp.
Soon, a scaled monster standing on two legs appeared before everyone.
"To be honest, I'm quite satisfied with this little one's potential..."