Chapter 62: Lingling Turns into a Pouting Fish

I must admit, Aunt Linlin looking angry was rather cool.

Dark thunderclouds crackled with electricity on the left, while towering flames raged atop a massive fireball on the right.

Holding a long, heavy blade in one hand, dark lightning danced frantically across its razor-sharp edge.

Combined with her figure that had yet to completely lose its shape, she truly cut the imposing figure of a Valkyrie descending upon the mortal world.

Black fur began to sprout all over Roa's body, a pair of sharp horns on his forehead pointed straight toward the vault of the heavens, and pitch-black wings unfurled behind his back, sending fluttering black feathers swirling through the air.

"Still, good thing I look pretty cool too!"

"Oh, oh, oh! Is this the power possessed by Calamity Roa?"

Morgans accelerated his photography even further, the lenses of his Den Den Mushi blinking so fast they practically smoked. "A Zoan-type Mythical Zoan fruit, an ability rumored to be even rarer than Logia! This is my first time seeing it with my own eyes!"

"I think it would be wise for us to stay a bit further away."

Stussy gracefully chimed in. "Whether it's Linlin or that brat Roa, once they get serious, the destruction they cause is nothing short of catastrophic."

"Wah哈哈哈! What does it matter?!"

Morgans responded with a hearty laugh instead. "How often do you get to witness a battle between powerhouses? Even if I die here, the price of admission is well worth it!"

"I truly don't understand you people."

Stussy sighed softly.

Morgans was not the only one; the other underworld magnates were equally stirred into a frenzy.

Even for powerful and influential figures like them, opportunities to witness monsters bearing infamous titles tear into each other firsthand were exceedingly rare.

"I'll make you realize right now, Roa!"

Charlotte Linlin's voice turned chillingly severe. "What happens when you defy the master!"

"Is that so?"

Roa's lips curled upward. "Then I am truly looking forward to it."

"Still just as arrogant,"

Stussy murmured softly. "That little punk has been like this since he was a kid."

"Isn't that even better?"

Morgans beamed with anticipation.

The angrier Charlotte Linlin became, the more spectacular this battle would be!

I've already reserved tomorrow's front-page headlines for you two—don't you dare disappoint me!

"You're about to witness it firsthand!"

Charlotte Linlin roared at the top of her lungs. "Prometheus! Heavenly Fire!"

"Yes! Mama!"

The sun, Prometheus, suddenly ballooned in size, transforming into a colossal fireball resembling a miniature sun. Then, scorching flames surged forth to engulf everything.

"Fire?"

Roa couldn't even be bothered to move, merely offering a bizarre smile as intricate patterns crawled across the horns upon his head.

The next instant.

"Mama!"

Prometheus let out a sudden, piercing shriek. "I can't control the flames anymore!"

Charlotte Linlin didn't even have time to turn her head before the blistering fire crashed directly into her, erupting into a massive pillar of flame soaring into the heavens.

Simultaneously.

"Mama! Look out! I'm losing control too!"

Zeus the thundercloud also screamed in absolute terror.

Lightning!

A colossal bolt of lightning shot forth from his body, slamming straight into Charlotte Linlin, who was still enveloped in raging flames.

"Gahhh!"

Even with Charlotte Linlin's legendary iron-hard physique, taking two such powerful elemental attacks head-on forced a miserable cry from her lips.

Her body was indeed impervious to ordinary harm, boasting maximum resistance to blunt force and slashing attacks. If Roa's Hupo hadn't been sharp enough, and if Enma hadn't been imbued with Haoshoku Haki during his slash, his previous strike wouldn't have been able to scratch her.

However, such resilience dropped significantly against elemental attacks like lightning and fire.

"Mama shouldn't have expected to defeat Roa using Zeus or Prometheus."

Katakuri, watching from the sidelines, pointed out with a serious expression. "As long as you give Roa any sort of environment, he can summon the corresponding natural disaster!"

Is this really the time for a lecture?

Owen, standing beside him, gritted his teeth.

That bastard Roa's ability really is a royal pain in the neck!

"That hurt like hell!!"

The blazing fire detonated the very next moment, and a dark shadow shot forward. "Emperor Sword!"

Roa raised his twin blades without a trace of fear, the crimson lightning crackling along both edges stretching taut. "Breaking Destruction Blade!"

Heavy blade versus twin blades.

Haki-infused lightning surged skyward instantly, sending a visible shockwave sweeping across everything on the platform. Tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks flew wildly through the air, and some unlucky fellows who had been knocked unconscious by the earlier clash of Haoshoku Haki were blown clean off the edge.

"Wahahaha! Is this what a clash of monsters looks like?"

Morgans was blown away by the gale-force winds as well, but it didn't dampen his booming laughter in the slightest. "Magnificent! Truly magnificent!"

"Mochi Rescue!"

At the critical moment, white tentacles of mochi shot forth, precisely snagging every single member of the Charlotte Family who had been caught in the crossfire.

Katakuri, who had stepped in at the nick of time, shouted loudly, "Mama! Roa! If you're going to fight, take it somewhere else!"

"I've got no objections!"

Roa soared backward through the air. "Katakuri, do me a favor and look after my two subordinates."

Aunt Linlin's strength was monstrous.

She was by no means weaker than a younger Kaido utilizing his Zoan transformation.

In fact, her Haki was even more formidable.

As expected, Aunt Linlin at this stage was stronger than Big Brother Kaido, though she still fell somewhat short of the true apex realm of monsters.

Leveraging the momentum of being blown back, Roa flapped his wings and shot straight out of the platform.

Charlotte Linlin pursued relentlessly, closing the distance almost instantly with a single massive leap.

"Elbaf Spear: Hakoku!"

Roa immediately flicked his twin blades, unleashing a massive crimson slash wave that roared forward.

"Spare me your sickening tricks, Roa!"

Aunt Linlin bellowed. "Mama Raid!"

Her massive blade, wrapped in Busoshoku and Haoshoku Haki, cleaved straight through Roa's slash wave, its momentum completely unchecked as it descended toward him.

"Then how about this!"

His twin blades suddenly morphed into a tempest. "Lion's Threat: Thousand-Cut Valley!"

Countless colossal crimson slashes converged into a storm that swallowed everything in its path.

Before such a tempest, Charlotte Linlin, standing nearly nine meters tall, looked practically as small as an ant.

"You brat!"

Charlotte Linlin roared in fury.

All of her large-scale attacks relied entirely on her two homies.

Yet Zeus and Prometheus were utterly useless liabilities when facing a bastard like Roa.

Therefore.

"Get lost, you brat!"

The woman spun like a top, her heavy blade moving so fast it formed a whirlwind, continuously shattering every single incoming slash.

"Mama is being suppressed!!"

At the edge of the venue platform, Charlotte Owen shouted in disbelieving shock.

Katakuri stated with a solemn expression, "Roa's ability completely counters Mama! Mama's abilities are entirely useless, leaving her no choice but to fight Roa purely through physical combat and Haki!"

"Are we just going to stand here and watch, Katakuri?!"

Owen gritted his teeth, glancing back at Barret and Abel, who remained as calm as ever despite being deep in enemy territory.

"Don't do anything reckless, Owen. Roa asked me to look after them!"

Katakuri warned sternly.

"Hey! Are you serious right now?"

Owen demanded irritably. "They're the enemy!"

"The enemy?"

Katakuri's lips curved upward. "Are they really the enemy? Whether Mama wins or Roa wins, under which scenario would they remain enemies?"

Owen froze.

"Neither, no matter who wins,"

Perospero walked over and added. "If Mama wins, Roa will likely join us, making them our companions. If Roa wins, we'll simply have to beg for their mercy."

"That's right. Besides,"

Katakuri paused. "Those two fellows aren't simple either."

Their auras were completely out of the ordinary.

Charlotte Linlin crashed heavily onto the plaza below. After all, she couldn't fly, and right now she didn't dare rely on her thundercloud or sun for transport.

"Aunt Linlin, the natural disasters are beginning!"

Roa flashed a grin.

Rumble!

Volcanoes began to erupt one after another, sending molten lava splashing through the air.

"..."

Charlotte Linlin gritted her teeth, dodging nimbly amidst the volcanic eruptions.

"Is this Roa's ability?"

Morgans's tone grew increasingly ecstatic. "Natural disasters! Wahahaha! It's a genuine natural disaster!!"

Roa took a slight breath.

What an annoying country this was!

Who would have thought that a nation ruled by a pirate would lack sufficient dark energy to draw upon!

Whatever, close-quarters combat it is!

He poured his Haki to the absolute limit into the twin blades in his hands, fully unleashing Enma's slash amplification and Hupo's bloodlust.

Crimson lightning no longer merely danced along the edges of the blades; it crackled and surged like a thunderhead.

Beating his wings, Roa plummeted downward like a crimson comet.

His speed was terrifying.

After all, anything red with horns moves three times faster!

"You brat!!"

Black and red Haki crackled wildly across Charlotte Linlin's heavy blade.

Three blades collided.

The ground instantly shattered, spreading dense, massive fissures in every direction.

The violent shockwave transformed into a gale that caused the high platform of the tea party venue to shudder violently, bending the trunks of tall trees deep within the distant forest.

"Wahahaha!"

Roa was blown backward, but he immediately flapped his wings and dove back down.

Yamato had been able to trade blows with Kaido for a prolonged period thirty-two years later.

His own direct combat prowess might not match Yamato's mastery of advanced Conqueror's Haki infusing, but Aunt Linlin was undoubtedly far inferior to prime Big Brother Kaido.

With her homies neutralized by his abilities and unable to use many of her signature combination ultimate attacks, what was there to fear?

The two of them thus plunged into a ferocious exchange of blows.

Blade clashed against blade again and again, while Haki-infused lightning danced through the air.

The entire island trembled, and even the concentration of dark energy in the atmosphere began to slowly rise.

"Are—are you kidding me?!"

Charlotte Daifuku was drenched in sweat. "Roa is actually able to fight Mama to this extent?"

"After all, he is Roa."

Katakuri sighed in admiration.

You're so strong, Roa.

Even though I've pushed myself to the absolute limit over the past six years, the distance between us has only grown further.

"Wahahaha!"

Morgans had reached a state of near-mania.

A big scoop!

An absolute blockbuster scoop!

Calamity Roa was no mere rising star!

He was already a monster capable of rampaging across the entire ocean!

With another descent from the skies, Roa and Charlotte Linlin locked blades once more.

"Is this the consequence of defying the master?"

Roa asked with genuine amusement.

"You brat!!"

Charlotte Linlin flew into a rage.

Yet it was a rage born of utter helplessness.

Roa countered her abilities too thoroughly.

She had never fought such a stifling battle in her entire life.

"Let's end it here, Aunt Linlin,"

Roa panted slightly. "My stamina is starting to wear a bit thin."

Maintaining high-intensity Haki consumption placed a heavy burden on him.

Charlotte Linlin's eyes lit up. Was this brat exposing his own weakness voluntarily?

"If we keep going,"

Roa's lips curled into a smile, "I'll have to find something to eat."

Charlotte Linlin's expression instantly stiffened.

She knew all too well what kind of "food" Roa had in mind.

If that brat were truly left to his own devices, Whole Cake Island would be reduced to ruins in a matter of minutes.

The grip on her sword softened noticeably.

"How about we talk about an alliance instead, Aunt Linlin?"

Roa said with a smile. "Not only do I have a Lunarian among my subordinates, but I also know the whereabouts of a Buccaneer. Furthermore, when I visited the Giants' Kingdom with the captain six years ago, I even forged a deep friendship with the giant prince Loki."

"..."

Charlotte Linlin paused.

Then.

The lightning crackling along her blade vanished in an instant, and the heavy blade transformed back into her bicorne hat, which she placed back upon her head.

"Mamamamama! Little Roa, you really have grown up! Seeing you grow up so healthy sets my mind at ease. Come, come, let me properly host you!"

Aunt Linlin, I actually preferred you when you were acting all untamable just now.

……