[Get the reward and obtain the realm: Demon-Fighting Chef! (Note: This ability is extracted from the world of conjuration.)]
[The reward has been issued. Host, please check the system panel for details!]
Carl's eyes flickered with a trace of contemplation.
CLANG!
Charlotte Linlin's titanic slash struck 'Sakura Ten' once more, the force launching Carl's entire body backwards like a cannonball.
BOOM!
He crashed clean through a massive wedding cake tower in the distance, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
"Well now, what's the matter, you little brat? Out of stamina already?" Charlotte Linlin sneered, her mouth twisting into a wicked grin.
"Running out of steam that quickly?" she mocked.
Her gaze shifted toward the two clusters of hovering sakura blossoms nearby—the blades restraining Zeus and Prometheus—and with a roar, she hoisted Napoleon, her living bicorne sword, unleashing a double cross slash.
BOOM! BOOM!
The sakura spheres exploded, petals scattering.
The thundercloud Zeus and miniature sun Prometheus, whose forms had been riddled with hundreds of microscopic blade piercings, finally caught a moment to regenerate.
"Damn it! DAMN that Marine!!"
"It hurts! Mamaaa!!"
The two Homies wailed in sync.
For them, being trapped in Carl's Senbonzakura Kageyoshi-style torment—stab, mend, stab again—was a hellish loop they couldn't escape from.
"Get over here!" Linlin bellowed.
The Homies trembled, shrinking like scolded pets, then replied, "Y-Yes, Mama!"
Lightning and hellfire surged back onto her arms, coiling like serpents preparing to strike again.
Amid the rubble, Carl calmly processed the new reward data displayed on his system panel.
[Domain Ability Gained: Demon-Fighting Royal Chef]
This was an active skill—originally dependent on mana from a sorcery world—but here, it had been adapted to run on physical stamina instead.
The domain type was a mobile field—unlike standard domains that rooted themselves to a fixed location, this one followed its caster wherever they went.
It was akin to conjuring a barrier without boundaries—like painting in midair without a canvas.
"Now that's interesting," Carl muttered with a half-smirk as he stood up from the crater his body had left behind.
SWOOSH!
A towering figure landed before him with a thunderous thud.
Charlotte Linlin's massive body bristled with fury. With a roar, she swung Napoleon once more, flames and thunder cracking across the air like a stormfront.
CLANG!
'Sakura Ten' rose to meet the blow. Sparks exploded from their clash. The swords locked midair in another deadlock.
CRACK CRACK—
The ground under Carl's feet fractured again, unable to bear the tension of their clashing armaments.
"Well, well, I knew you were running on fumes, runt," Linlin growled, grinning like a mad tyrant.
By now, the ominous black liquid armor Carl had worn—likely a Haki-based enhancement—had dissipated entirely.
She assumed, naturally, that Carl was no longer able to sustain such an energy-intensive form.
"No matter how hard you flail… You're dead meat!"
"How many more times can you block attacks like this?!"
Her combination of Raijin-grade thunder and Prometheus's sunfire infused her sword strikes with unmatched lethality—worse now than during her clash with Kaido on Onigashima.
But Carl didn't flinch. He kicked off the ground and blitzed away, his form vanishing in a blur.
"Hmph! Think you can run from me?!"
Charlotte Linlin charged after him, Napoleon raised high, shaking the heavens.
Yet outside the next clearing, Carl was simply standing there—calmly lighting a cigar with a matchstick.
He took a long drag.
Fwooo… A smoke ring curled through the air.
Charlotte Linlin stopped mid-step, brow twitching.
"Well, well… so you've given up, brat?"
"Huh?" Carl scratched his ear. "Old hag, I'm just using you to test my new tricks."
"Huh?" Linlin's face twitched. Something didn't feel right.
Before she could process it, Carl's crimson right eye glowed, and he brought his palms together.
Thumb, index, and pinky fingers pressed—an unusual mudra gesture.
Then came the surge—an overwhelming force of physical power unlike any Haki.
"Domain Expansion—Demon-Fighting Royal Chef!"
Drip.
The distinct sound of water hitting stone echoed across the battlefield.
Behind Carl, a shrine-like temple materialized from thin air.
Its grotesque structure featured four massive mouth-shaped gates, facing all directions—its design warped, uncanny, like something out of an eldritch scroll.
"W-What the hell is that…?" Linlin's sword arm hesitated.
Carl had displayed multiple powers during this war—each more bewildering than the last.
And now this?
What kind of monster were they truly dealing with?
This is simply not something an ordinary human can accomplish.
It's a monster-class feat—like something only those standing at the peak of the sea could produce.
"That's it." Carl's voice was low, expression dazed yet focused.
This was the Domain of Birth—a power that seized control over all matter within a specific area. Within this territory, everything was his to command.
"Then let's try it." Carl's eyes narrowed sharply, locking onto the Yonko before him. Murderous intent brewed in his gaze.
His fingers drew together—index and middle extended—and swept in her direction.
"Solution—[Kai]!"
Shlick!
No sound. No wind pressure. No flash.
The cut was already there.
Charlotte Linlin's pupils contracted as her Kenbunshoku Haki—advanced observation—screamed in her mind. Danger.
Blood flowed—thin, sharp lines across her left arm.
"Wha…"
Her vision caught up a second too late—invisible slashes had already made contact.
"So this is your new move, brat?" she licked her lips, amused.
It was invisible, yes. Nearly undetectable. But her Haki gave warning.
Now that she knew the rhythm, she'd be ready next time.
Besides, this kind of wound? Superficial. Nothing to someone whose body was compared to a steel balloon by the Marines.
"Don't get cocky. That was just the appetizer," Carl said softly. His breathing deepened as physical energy began draining at an accelerated pace.
Charlotte Linlin's danger sense—honed from decades on the battlefield—flared red in her mind.
"How?! How can a human push it this far?!"
Bzzzt—
The atmosphere trembled.
A surge of slashing energy built in the void.
The space itself cracked in Carl's domain as a new slash erupted with an ominous hum.
Carl dropped to one knee, fatigue washing over him. Even with his trained body and enhanced endurance, the toll was crushing.
Still, knowing the nature of [Jie], he felt a grim satisfaction.
Now, that pressure—an unrelenting, piercing aura—filled the space.
Even Perospero and the Big Mom Pirates out at sea felt the killing intent claw at their spines.
They would die.
Even just grazing this slash meant death.
Because this technique's power was based not on the user…
But on the target's own power.
In other words, the stronger the opponent, the more powerful this slash became.
And Charlotte Linlin? She was one of the Four Emperors. One of the strongest beings alive.
That was the price Carl had to pay—the heavier the slash, the greater the stamina drain from the Demon-Fighting Royal Chef domain.
[Kai (Solution)] was fast and versatile—but [Jie (Purge)] was pure destruction.
Now it came.
The invisible force swept toward the Yonko—erasing everything in its path.
Air. Stone. Earth. Sky.
All dissolved into ash.
"Don't you dare!" Charlotte Linlin roared. Her eyes widened, veins bulging across her forehead.
"How could Mama lose to the likes of you?!"
Her Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror's Haki) exploded outward, shattering the surrounding debris with a ripple of invisible force.
Lightning and fire burst from her frame. Zeus and Prometheus reinforced her body, while Napoleon stretched into its long-sword mode—twice its original size.
With monstrous strength, she swung directly at the incoming slash.
"GET LOST!!!"
All of her strength, flame, lightning, and Haki focused into that one mighty cleave.
BOOM!
Thunder roared across the sky. The sea around Whole Cake Island boiled, waves rising like tsunamis.
Even pirate ships in the distance were tossed about.
Onboard, Perospero and the others opened their eyes in shock.
"…Mama…"
They had never seen her go all out like this before.
Beneath her attack, the entire island shook, like a toy boat in a hurricane.
Too small.
Even an island felt insignificant when monsters like these collided.
Two unprecedented slashes met in midair.
CRACK CRACK CRACK—
Reality seemed to bend, as if space itself couldn't handle the impact.
Charlotte Linlin's overwhelming slash clashed against Carl's invisible blade.
She pressed forward with her wild grin, Napoleon sparking and hissing. Her white hair whipped behind her like a banner of war.
Flames blazed. Lightning arced.
But [Jie] did not falter.
It pushed forward—inch by inch—tearing through her steel-like skin.
Even her monstrous natural defense—the same that had shrugged off cannon fire and missiles—began to crack.
Her hands twisted grotesquely from the strain, muscles splitting.
But she refused to fall back.
Bleeding. Screaming. Laughing.
She was like a devil risen from hell.
Blood poured from her mouth, but her teeth grinned madly.
"MMMMMM! Old lady's the strongest!"
She roared defiantly.
"This kind of attack—it can't stop Mama!!"
SWISH!
But just then—Carl appeared right in front of her.
"Did you forget about me?"
'Sakura Ten' in hand—Carl pushed past his exhaustion and summoned the last of his strength.
"Extreme Ghost Sword Art: Storm Style—Shift!"
Charlotte Linlin's pupils dilated. She couldn't react.
Too late.
The scarlet-black slash erupted from beneath her. It rose like a lightning bolt from the underworld—piercing sky and earth in a single arc.
It cleaved straight through her.
From neck to abdomen, a hideous wound was carved across her torso.
The sheer force sent her hurtling backwards—slammed straight into the sea.
SPLASH!
One of the world's greatest monsters had been pushed into the ocean—by a single man.
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