Dark, heavy storm clouds churned above the ruined walkway.
Descending from the sky, Big Mom radiated unbridled fury. The giant Emperor stood atop the crackling thundercloud, Zeus, while the miniature sun, Prometheus, hovered near her right shoulder, spitting embers into the freezing night air. Her pink dress was scorched and torn from the earlier skirmishes, but the damage only seemed to fuel her rage.
Grasping the hilt of her massive bicorne sword, Napoleon, the giant woman glared down at the three pirates standing on the broken precipice.
"You dare stand in my way again?" Big Mom roared, her voice echoing over the crashing ocean waves far below. "I will grind your bones into flour!"
Leaning heavily on his nodachi, Trafalgar Law breathed in ragged, shallow gasps. Blood dripped from his chin, staining his torn white scarf. The surgeon required time to prepare his final, decisive technique.
Stepping in front of the injured captain, two figures moved to block the Emperor's path.
Lighting a fresh cigarette, Sanji exhaled a thin stream of gray smoke. The cook kept his hands tucked into the pockets of his dark suit. Beside him, Zoro adjusted his stance, resting Wado Ichimonji between his teeth and gripping his other two swords tightly.
"Here she comes," Zoro mumbled around his blade.
"Stay out of my way, moss-head," Sanji replied, taking a slow drag from his cigarette.
Commanding her elemental homies, Big Mom launched the first assault.
"Prometheus! Burn them to ash!" the Emperor shrieked.
The miniature sun expanded rapidly, transforming into a roaring wave of searing fire. The flames washed over the broken stone walkway, threatening to incinerate the three pirates. The heat warped the air, turning the freezing night into a blazing furnace.
Sanji stepped forward.
Ifrit Jambe.
Swinging his leg in a wide, sweeping arc, Sanji met the incoming inferno head-on.
The intense heat of the blue flames far surpassed the temperature of the Homie's fire. The sweeping kick created a vacuum, catching the incoming wave of flames and redirecting the blast over the edge of the cliff.
"Hot! Hot! Hot!" Prometheus wailed, shrinking back in fear of the superior heat.
Exploiting the cleared path, Zoro did not hesitate.
Bounding off the cracked stone, the swordsman launched himself toward the floating Emperor. Channeling Armament Haki into his three blades, the metal gleamed with a dangerous, blackened edge.
One-Sword Style: 360 Pound Phoenix!
Thrusting Enma forward, a twisting wave of flying force shot across the gap.
Seeing the incoming slash, Big Mom swung Napoleon. The massive, living sword clashed against the flying attack, shattering the compressed air into harmless wind. The strength behind her block sent a shockwave rattling through the precipice.
"Zeus! Strike him down!" Big Mom commanded.
The dark thundercloud beneath her feet crackled violently. A jagged, blinding bolt of lightning shot toward the airborne swordsman.
Before the electricity could connect, a blur of motion intercepted the strike.
Leaping into the air, Sanji positioned himself between the swordsman and the lightning bolt. Coating his torso in dense Armament Haki, the cook took the full force of the elemental attack directly on his chest.
The electricity discharged illuminating the night sky.
Dropping back to the stone walkway, Sanji landed lightly on his feet. The dark suit smoked slightly, but the cook simply brushed a stray spark from his lapel, unfazed by the high-voltage strike. His modified exoskeleton absorbed the shock without suffering any internal damage.
Landing a few paces away, Zoro glared at the cook.
"I could have cut that," the swordsman grunted, annoyed by the unnecessary intervention.
"You would have been roasted, you idiot," Sanji retorted, keeping his eyes locked on the Emperor. "Just focus on swinging your overgrown knives. I will handle the defense."
Furious that her elemental attacks had failed Big Mom decided to rely on brute force.
Stepping off the thundercloud, the giant woman dropped heavily onto the stone walkway. The impact shattered the masonry, cratering the ground beneath her boots. Gripping Napoleon with both hands, the Emperor coated the blade in dense Haki, preparing to cleave the cliffside in half.
"Die!" Big Mom screamed, bringing the heavy sword down in a vertical chop.
Holding his ground, Sanji raised his right leg horizontally.
The cook met the descending, building-sized sword with the heel of his shoe.
The clash generated a deafening explosion of sound. The stone walkway cracked beneath Sanji's standing leg, splintering under the immense downward pressure. Yet, the cook's knee did not buckle. The structural integrity of his enhanced skeleton, combined with his willpower, held the Emperor's strike at bay.
Using the locked weapons as a ramp, Zoro sprinted forward.
Running up the flat side of Napoleon's massive blade, the swordsman closed the distance instantly. Reaching the hilt of the giant sword, he leaped toward the Emperor's face, bringing his blades around in a rapid, cross-shaped slash.
Purgatory Onigiri!
Reacting with instinct, Big Mom raised her free hand. Coating her thick forearm in Armament Haki, she blocked the incoming slash.
The three swords bit deeply into the Haki coating, drawing a thin line of blood from the Emperor's skin, but failing to sever the limb.
Swatting her arm forward like she was brushing away a fly, Big Mom forced the swordsman backward. Zoro flipped gracefully through the air, landing back on the walkway several yards away.
Frustrated by the resistance, the Emperor swung Napoleon horizontally, aiming to sweep the cook off the cliff.
Ducking smoothly beneath the massive blade, Sanji planted his hands on the floorboards. Spinning his legs like a helicopter, he aimed a barrage of heavy kicks at the flat side of the sword, constantly redirecting the weapon's trajectory and preventing the giant woman from landing a clean hit.
Watching from a safe distance, Zoro narrowed his single eye.
"Hey!" Zoro shouted, slicing a stray fireball out of the air. "What are you doing?!"
Evading another heavy swing from Napoleon, Sanji glanced over his shoulder. "I am keeping her busy! What does it look like?!"
"You had a clean shot at her ribs!" Zoro yelled, pointing a sword at the giant woman. "Why didn't you kick her?!"
Landing softly on a broken pillar, Sanji straightened his tie. The expression on his face hardened, devoid of his usual playful demeanor.
"I don't kick women," Sanji stated, his voice flat.
Silence hung over the ruined walkway for a second. The cold wind howled, carrying the absurdity of the statement across the battlefield.
Zoro stared at the cook, his visible eye twitching.
"She is an Emperor of the Sea!" the swordsman roared, abandoning his usual stoic composure. "She is a monster! She just tried to flatten you into a pancake!"
"I don't care about her title!" Sanji yelled back, dodging a jagged bolt of lightning from Zeus. "It is a matter of principle! Zeff taught me never to raise a hand against a lady, and I will not break that rule!"
"A lady?!" Zoro shrieked, gesturing wildly at the towering, bloodthirsty, twenty-foot-tall woman currently attempting to murder them. "Look at her! Does that look like a delicate flower to you?!"
"All women deserve respect!" the cook argued stubbornly, kicking another fireball off the cliff. "I will defend against her attacks, but I will not strike her! That is your job!"
Listening to the bizarre conversation, Big Mom halted her advance.
The giant Emperor blinked, looking back and forth between the two pirates. Napoleon, Prometheus, and Zeus floated nearby, sharing the same look of bewilderment.
"What are they talking about, Mama?" Prometheus whispered, the flames on his head flickering in confusion.
"I... I think the blonde one is refusing to hit you," Zeus replied, scratching his cloudy head.
A ugly flush of rage slowly crept up Big Mom's neck. Being challenged in combat was one thing; being treated as fragile or requiring chivalrous protection during a war was an insult of the highest magnitude.
Ignoring the confused Emperor, the argument between the two pirates continued to escalate.
"You are going to get us both killed!" Zoro scolded, dodging a heavy chunk of debris. "If you won't fight back, get out of the way!"
"I am fighting back!" Sanji defended, "I am blocking every single attack she throws! Without me, you would have been turned to ash five minutes ago!"
"I can block my own attacks!" the swordsman growled, stepping closer to the cook. "Your stupid principles are a liability! I am telling you right now, a woman will be the cause of your death in the future!"
A smile broke across Sanji's face.
"If a beautiful lady is the cause of my demise," the cook declared proudly, placing a hand over his heart, "then I will happily die with a smile on my face!"
A vein throbbed on Zoro's forehead. The stupidity of the statement pushed him past his breaking point.
"You hopeless ero-cook!" Zoro shouted, raising his swords.
"What did you just call me, you lost marimo?!" Sanji snapped, his blue eyes flashing with familiar irritation.
"I called you a worthless, love-struck idiot!" the swordsman yelled.
Abandoning the battle against the Emperor, Zoro lunged forward. Swinging Enma and Sandai Kitetsu, he aimed a rapid, aggressive cross-slash at the cook's chest.
Reacting with equal hostility, Sanji did not back down.
Igniting his leg in blue flames, the cook met the incoming swords with a sweeping kick.
The blades and the leather shoe collided in a shower of sparks. The resulting shockwave cracked the stone between them, sending a rush of wind blowing across the precipice.
"I'll carve that stupid eyebrow right off your face!" Zoro threatened, pressing his weight against the block.
"I'll fillet you like a third-rate fish!" Sanji shot back, pushing his heel harder against the steel.
Standing a few yards away, Big Mom watched the scene unfold in silence. The giant Emperor gripped her sword tightly, her knuckles turning white. The two insignificant rookies had stopped fighting her. They had turned their backs on a Yonko to settle a petty dispute in the middle of a warzone.
The disrespect shattered her remaining patience.
"Mama is getting angry," Zeus whimpered, floating slowly backward to avoid the radiating heat.
"Very angry," Prometheus agreed, his flames turning a dark, threatening red.
Dark, jagged streaks of Conqueror's Haki began to spark violently from Big Mom's skin. The sky above the walkway darkened further, swirling into a massive, unnatural vortex of storm clouds and searing heat.
"You insolent, disrespectful little brats!" Big Mom roared, her voice vibrating with enough force to shatter the remaining glass in the distant windows of the fortress.
Still locked in their struggle, Zoro and Sanji paused, glancing over their shoulders simultaneously.
The giant Emperor had combined her elemental homies. Napoleon, glowing with intense Armament Haki, was wreathed in the searing flames of Prometheus and crackling with the jagged lightning of Zeus. The combined energy formed a blinding sphere of destruction at the tip of the giant sword.
"Maser..." Big Mom bellowed, pulling the weapon back.
The two pirates felt the suffocating pressure of the incoming attack. The air grew too heavy to breathe. Escaping the blast radius in time was impossible.
"Ah," Sanji muttered quietly, dropping his flaming leg.
"We messed up," Zoro agreed, lowering his swords.
"...Cannon!"
The Emperor swung the massive sword forward. A blinding beam of fire, lightning, and spiritual energy shot across the walkway. The attack carried enough destructive power to vaporize a mountain.
Zoro crossed his three swords in front of his chest, channeling every remaining ounce of Armament Haki into the blades. Sanji raised his right leg, coating it in black Haki and blue flames, creating a shield directly beside the swordsman.
The massive beam struck them head-on.
The explosion swallowed the edge of the cliff. Blinding light turned the night sky white. The deafening roar of the blast shook the skull dome, sending massive shockwaves rippling across the ocean below. The heavy stone walkway disintegrated instantly, vaporized by the intensity of the combined elements.
Standing a safe distance away near the interior corridor doors, Trafalgar Law watched the blinding explosion.
The surgeon leaned heavily on his nodachi. A thick, dark shadow fell over his face. Several prominent, cartoonish black lines appeared across his forehead, indicating a state of exasperation.
"Idiots," Law muttered under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I am allied with idiots."
The blinding light slowly began to fade. The deafening roar died down, replaced by the sound of crumbling rock falling into the sea.
A thick cloud of dark smoke hovered over the missing section of the walkway.
As the wind blew the smoke away, two figures slowly became visible, standing on a tiny, remaining spire of cracked stone.
Zoro's green wamajiri was heavily singed. Blood dripped from a fresh cut above his eye, and he breathed in ragged gasps. Beside him, Sanji's pristine dark suit hung in ruins. The jacket was burned away on the left side, and a dark bruise blossomed across his jaw.
They had barely survived the impact, relying on their combined, desperate defense.
Lowering his swords slowly, the pirate swordsman coughed up a small cloud of soot. He turned his head, glaring at the battered cook.
"Ero-cook," Zoro gasped, his voice raspy from the smoke. "We will finish our fight later."
Wiping a streak of blood from his cheek, Sanji adjusted his ruined collar. "Yeah. Whatever you say, marimo. Let's take care of her first."
The domestic dispute was officially postponed.
Stepping off the crumbling stone spire, the two pirates landed back on the main section of the walkway. The atmosphere around them shifted. The bickering vanished. The petty insults ceased.
Across the gap, Big Mom panted heavily. The expenditure of energy required for the Maser Cannon left her momentarily drained. Seeing the two pirates still standing infuriated her further.
"You pests just refuse to die!" the Emperor growled, resting Napoleon on her shoulder.
"I am the shield," Sanji stated quietly, blue flames reigniting on his leg.
"I am the spear," Zoro agreed, the black lightning returning to his three blades.
Big Mom charged again, abandoning long-range attacks for brutal, close-quarters combat. Swinging Napoleon horizontally, the giant woman aimed to cut them both in half with a single, sweeping motion.
Sanji moved first.
Sliding gracefully under the massive blade, the cook did not attempt to stop the momentum. Striking the flat side of the giant sword with a rapid flurry of fiery kicks, he slightly altered the trajectory of the weapon. The heavy blade missed the swordsman by mere inches, burying itself deeply into the stone floor.
Exploiting the opening provided by the parry, Zoro bounded up the Emperor's massive arm.
Two-Sword Style: Tower Climb.
Slashing upward in a rapid, twisting motion, the pirate aimed for the joints in her shoulder. The Haki-coated blades struck the thick skin, finding purchase. The strike lacked the power to sever the limb, but the shallow cuts drew fresh blood, forcing the Emperor to flinch in pain.
"Get off me!" Big Mom shrieked, swatting at her own arm.
Jumping backward, Zoro landed safely behind the cook's defensive guard.
"Zeus!" the Emperor commanded, recovering her weapon.
A massive shower of lightning bolts rained down from the sky, covering the walkway.
Moving with blinding speed, Sanji intercepted the barrage. Flipping through the air, the cook met every single lightning strike with a precise, Haki-coated kick. The electrical energy grounded harmlessly against his enhanced exoskeleton, neutralizing the elemental assault.
"Your turn," Sanji called out, landing softly.
Zoro dashed forward through the fading sparks.
One-Sword Style: Lion's Song.
Drawing Wado Ichimonji in a rapid, blinding iaido strike, the swordsman aimed for the Emperor's exposed chest.
Anticipating the attack, Big Mom brought Napoleon up to block. The steel clashed loudly, but Zoro did not commit to a prolonged struggle. Using the momentum of the block, he spun rapidly, drawing Enma and Sandai Kitetsu simultaneously.
Three-Sword Style: Crossing the Crossroads.
The unexpected follow-up strike caught the giant woman off guard. The three blades sliced across her midsection. The advanced Haki penetrated her natural defenses, leaving three deep, bleeding gashes across her stomach.
Stumbling backward, Big Mom gasped. The accumulated damage from the rapid, relentless assaults began to take its toll. The flawless synergy between the two pirates created a suffocating pressure. Every time she attacked, her strength was redirected. Every time her guard dropped, she suffered a lethal counter.
"Prometheus!" the Emperor ordered desperately.
The miniature sun expanded, preparing to unleash another wave of searing fire.
Sanji was already there.
Collier Strike.
A devastating, blue-flamed kick struck the homie in the center of its fiery face. The immense heat and force scattered the miniature sun, temporarily neutralizing the fire threat.
With her elemental support disrupted and her physical attacks continuously parried, Big Mom found herself being herded. The two pirates systematically forced her backward, pushing her step-by-step toward the center of the ruined walkway.
Standing near the interior doors, Trafalgar Law finally opened his eyes.
The required preparation was complete. The stamina had been gathered. The opening created by the two bickering idiots was flawless.
"K-Room," Law whispered quietly.
A faint, pale blue sphere expanded from the surgeon's hand, coating the entire length of his nodachi. The spatial energy concentrated along the edge of the blade, humming with power.
Seeing the blue glow from the corner of his eye, Zoro understood the timing.
Zoro lunged forward.
Three-Sword Style: Great Dragon Twister.
Swinging all three blades in a continuous circle, the swordsman generated a razor-sharp tornado. The fierce winds caught the stumbling Emperor, trapping her in the center of the vortex. She could not advance, and she could not swing her massive sword without losing her balance.
She was pinned in the center of the walkway.
"Now, Torao!" Zoro yelled, stepping back to avoid the incoming strike.
Trafalgar Law vanished from the doorway.
Shambles.
Teleporting instantaneously, the surgeon materialized high in the air, above the trapped Emperor. Pointing his nodachi straight down, Law aligned the blade with the center of her chest.
Looking up, Big Mom saw the falling surgeon. Her eyes widened in genuine, sudden fear, recognizing the fatal threat of the glowing blue sword.
"Trafalgar!" the giant woman roared, attempting to raise her weapon.
She was too late.
The nodachi descended. The blade did not slice through her skin. Utilizing the spatial properties of his awakened Devil Fruit, the metal sword passed harmlessly through her flesh, bones, and organs as if she were made of water.
The blade continued downward. It passed through the stone walkway, piercing the foundation of the skull dome itself.
Law continued to extend the sword's length, pushing the blade deeper and deeper. The metal traveled through the entire fortress, breaking through the bottom of the floating island and extending deep into the very earth of Wano Country far below.
Hovering in the air, holding the hilt of the impossibly long sword, Law glared down at the Emperor.
"This ends your reign," the surgeon stated coldly.
Law squeezed the hilt tightly.
Puncture Wille.
The silence broke. A devastating shockwave of spatial destruction traveled down the length of the extended blade. The attack bypassed all physical defenses, delivering internal damage to the Emperor's organs, and continuing downward to shatter the bedrock of the country below.
The giant woman's eyes rolled backward into her skull.
A horrific, gurgling gasp escaped her lips. Blood sprayed from her mouth as the internal shockwave pulverized her insides. The pain shattered her consciousness.
The mighty Emperor of the Sea collapsed.
Hitting the cracked stone walkway with a deafening thud, Big Mom lay motionless. The terrifying aura that had radiated from her vanished, replaced by the quiet stillness of total defeat.
Slowly pulling his nodachi free, Law landed heavily on the stone.
The surgeon dropped to one knee, leaning on his sword for support. His breathing was ragged, and his vision swam with exhaustion. The awakened technique had drained every final drop of his stamina.
A few yards away, Zoro and Sanji stood near the edge of the crater.
The blue flames faded from the cook's leg. The black lightning ceased dancing across the swordsman's blades. Both pirates stared down at the fallen giant, processing the reality of the victory. They had successfully brought down one of the strongest beings in the world.
Sheathing his swords with a soft series of clicks, Zoro let out a long sigh.
"Not bad, Torao," the swordsman noted, wiping a smear of blood from his eye.
Reaching into his pocket, Sanji pulled out another cigarette, lighting it with a shaky hand.
"A little flashy," the cook commented, exhaling a cloud of smoke, "but it got the job done. Good work, surgeon."
Struggling to stay conscious, Law glared at the two pirates. Despite his exhaustion, the annoyance he felt toward the duo returned in full force.
"Never," Law rasped, coughing weakly, "never speak to me again. Both of you."
Ignoring the surgeon's irritation, Sanji turned toward the swordsman.
"Now then," the cook stated, cracking his knuckles. "I believe we have some unfinished business, marimo."
Zoro rested a hand on the hilt of Wado Ichimonji, a familiar, aggressive smirk crossing his face. "I was just thinking the same thing, ero-cook."
Watching the two idiots prepare to resume their domestic dispute right next to the unconscious body of a Yonko, Law finally let his eyes drift closed, deciding that dealing with the Straw Hat crew was far more exhausting than fighting any Emperor of the Sea.