novelnext Chapter 176 All things in the universe, reduced to ashes, utterly destroyed.
Chapter 176 All things in the universe, reduced to ashes, utterly destroyed.
Chapter 176 All things in the universe, reduced to ashes, utterly destroyed.
In just a few breaths, the once overwhelming Charlotte family's besieging army was reduced by more than half. Those who were still able to move were terrified and retreated in disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons. They looked at Unohana Retsu as if they were looking at a demon god of slaughter who had emerged from hell.
Unohana Retsu stopped in her tracks, the crimson blade light slowly receding. She looked down at her fingertips, the blood-red killing intent in her eyes still intense, and the smile on her lips growing even more delightful: "Not enough—more, more opponents, only then will I be truly satisfied."
Meanwhile, Kanna's lightning continued to ravage the battlefield. Brûlée had already been blasted to the ground by the lightning, her body charred black, unable to move, her eyes filled only with endless fear and despair. Uchiha Hakuba's Susanoo, wielding the Dry Fist Sword, clashed fiercely with Big Mom's Napoleon Greatsword. Each clash caused the land of Totto Land to crack. Hakuba's cold and domineering voice once again resounded throughout the heavens and earth: "That's it?"
Artoria's Wind King Sword Aura condensed once more, and the golden sword light tore through the sky, forcing Katakuri to retreat step by step. What made Katakuri most uncomfortable was that his Observation Haki could not predict Artoria's future. More importantly, Artoria's Observation Haki seemed to be more powerful than his, and he was completely unable to attack Artoria.
What he didn't know was that besides her powerful Observation Haki, Artoria also possessed innate Intuition, making it difficult for her to be attacked even if the opponent's Observation Haki was stronger than hers.
On the battlefield, a bloody wind, accompanied by thunder and sword energy, howled wildly, and the Charlotte family's proud siege formation had long been torn to pieces.
Just moments before, the overwhelming pirate army had become a scene of carnage, with severed limbs and crimson blood staining the land of Whole Cake Island into a horrifying inferno. The surviving members of the Charlotte family were ashen-faced, their legs trembling uncontrollably, their weapons clattering to the ground, and they had lost all courage to even look up at the figure in plain clothes.
Unohana Retsu slowly stepped into the pool of blood. Her clothes, which resembled a Shinigami uniform, were embroidered with simple patterns and were now splattered with crimson, but this did not diminish the violent and elegant aura that came from her very bones.
She slowly raised the flesh-and-blood blade in her hand. The sharp, crimson light of the blade seemed to retract along its edge as if it were alive, yet the bright red blood still appeared to flow on it. She lowered her eyes slightly, her slender fingertips gently brushing the bloodstains on the blade. The pleasure surging in her eyes grew even more intense, like a bottomless sea of blood. The curve of her lips held a morbid joy and greed, and her soft murmurs echoed through the deathly silent battlefield: "Not enough—too few. Opponents like these aren't even a warm-up. More, more, so I can truly enjoy myself—"
Before the words were even finished, the remaining members of the Charlotte family's upper echelons finally snapped out of their extreme fear.
Charlotte Daifuku, Charlotte Oven, Charlotte Perospero, Charlotte Galette and other core fighters exchanged glances, their eyes filled with ruthlessness and resentment. They were the pillars of the Big Mom Pirates, the Charlotte family, one of the three emperors who dominated the New World. How could they be defeated and routed by a woman of unknown origin?
"Everyone! Form a formation! Use your Devil Fruit abilities to seal off her movements!"
Charlotte Cracker, wielding a massive sword, roared and unleashed the full power of her Cookie-Cookie Fruit, summoning multiple Cookie Men to restrict Retsu Unohana's movements. Daifuku followed closely behind, with a Lantern Demon bursting forth from his body, wielding a giant scimitar and slashing furiously at Unohana's lower body. Meanwhile, Owen activated his Heat-Heat Fruit, his body engulfed in flames that distorted the air within a radius of several feet, creating a scorching domain that blocked Unohana's escape route.
Galette's Butter-Butter Fruit transformed into a solid butter barrier, blocking both the front and back, and together with dozens of other Charlotte Family executives and elite pirates, formed an impenetrable encirclement.
Knowing the terror of the woman before them, they dared not hold back in the slightest. All their tactics and Devil Fruit abilities were unleashed in a fierce attack on Unohana Retsu's defensive blind spots. Blades, flames, cookies, butter, physical attacks, and swordplay clashed, weaving a web of destruction that left Unohana Retsu with no chance of survival.
A hint of amusement flashed in Unohana Retsu's eyes. Instead of immediately unleashing her power to counterattack, she slightly turned her body, seemingly wanting to test the limits of these fakes.
That moment of relaxation became a weakness in the eyes of the Charlotte family!
"Now!"
Charlottesnag roared, wielding her great sword with the power to cut through everything, and slashed straight at Unohana Retsu's left shoulder;
Daifuku's lamp demon scimitar slashed cunningly towards her waist and abdomen;
Meanwhile, Charlotte Montord, hidden in the crowd, used the Book-Book Fruit to create an illusory space that instantly immobilized Retsu Unohana's feet, rendering her unable to move an inch!
Dozens of attacks landed on Retsu Unohana simultaneously, without any deviation, all hitting her precisely!
"Pfft—!"
A piercing cutting sound tore through the air as Snag's Zan-Zan Sword sliced through Unohana Retsu's defenses as easily as cutting tofu. It slashed diagonally from her right waist to below her left chest, instantly reopening a deep wound that exposed bone. Crimson blood gushed out, completely soaking her Shinigami armor.
The immense impact caused Retsu Unohana's body to bend into an arc, almost severing her at the waist, leaving only a thin layer of skin connecting her to her body. The gruesome wounds caused the Charlotte family members around her to ecstatically smile.
"Hahaha! Finally, we hurt her! This monster isn't invincible after all!"
"Kill her! Now!"
Owen stepped forward, laughing maniacally. The scorching flames burned the air as he pointed at Retsu Unohana, who lay sprawled on the ground, covered in blood. He sneered, "Didn't you want more opponents? Weren't you having a good time? Now you're lying on the ground like a dead dog. The Charlotte family isn't a place for you to run wild. Today is your death day!"
Snag leaned on his sword, a smile playing on his lips: "Those who dare to slaughter our people in this land of nations will pay the price. We'll take your life!"
The remaining Charlotte family members roared, their fear turning into smugness and violence. They thought that the devil who had just slaughtered half of their clan was finally going to fall.
However, the next second, something happened that terrified everyone.
Right at the spot where Retsu Unohana's body was almost severed at the waist, a crimson tide suddenly erupted, and the domain of Bankai: Minakatsu silently enveloped the entire battlefield.
That is the absolute domain of Retsu Unohana, a forbidden power that controls life and death and heals all things!
Visibly, the deep, bone-revealing wound on her body, which had almost split her body in two, was healing at an abnormal speed. The severed muscles, blood vessels, and bones instantly reassembled, and the gushing blood flowed back into her body. In the blink of an eye, the terrible wound disappeared without a trace, leaving not even a scar, as if the fatal blow had never happened.
Unohana Retsu slowly straightened up, her head, which had been slightly lowered, slowly raised, and the killing intent in her eyes instantly surged tenfold, a hundredfold!
That was no longer a simple lust for killing, but a genuine smile from hell!
The joyful smile on her lips reached its peak!
"What did you guys just say?"
The gentle voice rang out, yet it was like a chilling wind from the deepest hell, sweeping across the eardrums of every member of the Charlotte family, freezing their blood and making their hair stand on end.
"How dare you use such offensive language to mock me—"
Retsu Unohana slowly tightened her grip on the Minazuki in her hand. The domain formed by her Bankai transformed into an even purer power, which was completely poured into the blade. The blood-red blade light no longer subsided, but instead transformed into a blood-red torrent that blotted out the sky, dyeing the entire battlefield a crimson of despair.
"Originally, I wanted to play this game called Deathmatch with you a little longer—but now it seems you no longer have the right to."
The moment the words left her lips, Unohana stirred violently.
This time, she held nothing back, made no attempt to test the waters, and instead revealed the true strength of the original Kenpachi!
His figure transformed into an elusive, blood-red afterimage, the flesh-slicing blade's light like the Grim Reaper's scythe, each swing accompanied by the fall of countless lives.
Some soldiers didn't even have time to react before their necks were slashed by the blade, their heads flying high into the air, their eyes still filled with extreme fear.
Dafu's lamp demon was instantly shattered by the blade's light, and his right hand was also split in two.
Owen's flames were no match for absolute power; the blade pierced through the flames and went straight through his lungs.
Mondor was speaking one second, and the next second he was cleaved into vaporized blood mist.
Galette's Butter Barrier was torn apart like paper. Dozens of Charlotte Family executives and hundreds of elite pirates were all defeated by Unohana Retsu's blade.
Where the blade flashed, blood and flesh flew everywhere, screams, wails, and pleas for mercy rose and fell, but they could not shake Luan Zhihua's fierce spirit in the slightest.
She was like the Grim Reaper walking among men, each step treading on blood, each slash taking countless lives. The Charlotte family attackers who had just been mocking her were now falling like mowing grass, none of them able to escape this desperate slaughter.
In just a few breaths, all the Charlotte family members who had besieged Retsu Unohana fell into pools of blood, none of them surviving.
On the entire battlefield, only Retsu Unohana remained standing alone. The crimson sword light around her slowly dissipated, and her plain shihaka uniform was stained with blood, yet she still stood tall and straight, like a demon god emerging from a sea of blood, quietly standing atop the mountain of corpses.
On the other side of the battlefield, Charlotte Linlin, who was engaged in a fierce battle with Uchiha Hakuba, witnessed the entire scene.
The clash between Napoleon's greatsword and the Totsuka sword came to an abrupt halt. The old woman's massive body trembled violently, and her originally furious face instantly turned purplish-red, her eyes bloodshot. Watching her children and clansmen being slaughtered in an instant, she almost went mad on the spot!
"Rabbit Flower Retsu!!"
The old woman's heart-wrenching roar echoed throughout the entire world, causing the dark clouds in the sky to churn and the earth to tremble violently. Her Conqueror's Haki erupted like a tsunami, her eyes bloodshot, as she frantically pounded her chest, appearing like a madwoman: "My children! My people! How dare you harm them! I will tear you to pieces! I will annihilate your soul!!"
She flung away Susanoo's Totsuka Blade, and the Napoleon Greatsword burst into flames, charging headlong toward Unohana Retsu without regard for anything else. Her boundless hatred and rage nearly burned the entire world to ashes!
On the other side of the battlefield, the viscous airflow from the Mochi Mochi Fruit and the golden light of the Wind King's sword aura were still colliding violently. Katakuri's tall figure stood steadily in mid-air, his indigo scarf fluttering in the gale. His face, which had always been calm, indifferent, and in control of everything, was now twitching violently.
His extraordinary Observation Haki, capable of foreseeing the immediate future, clearly captured everything happening around Retsu Unohana—
Dafu's agonizing screams, Owen's painful groans, Snag's terrified pupils, Mondor's vanishing figure, Garrett's shattered butter barrier—one after another, his most familiar brothers and sisters fell like mowing grass under that blood-red blade of light, without even a shred of room to resist.
The core combat force of the family, who had just been joining forces and roaring to kill the enemy, were all turned into cold corpses in just a few breaths, lying haphazardly in pools of blood, lifeless.
"Aaaaaah!!"
Katakuri let out a roar that had been suppressed to the extreme, his perfectly calm state of mind shattered, and the peaceful future he had envisioned in his Observation Haki was instantly engulfed by overwhelming blood and fury.
He could no longer maintain his composure. The power of the Mochi Mochi Fruit surged wildly through his body, and Armament Haki erupted from within him like a tsunami, wrapping around his arms and transforming into an incredibly hard, sharp-edged giant mochi blade.
His eyes were bloodshot, and bulging veins stood out on his forehead. The oppressive aura emanating from his body was several times stronger than before. It was a Conqueror's Haki mixed with endless grief, rage, and killing intent, which slammed into the surroundings like a tangible force. Even the air groaned under the weight of this violent aura.
Artoria gripped the golden sword, the Wind King's Barrier slowly swirling across its blade. She could clearly sense that her opponent had completely lost control.
He was no longer the calm, predictive, and flawless top expert he once was, but a trapped beast who watched his brothers and sisters fall.
"Retsu Unohana—I'm going to kill you!! Everyone with you—must die!!"
Katakuri's voice was hoarse and violent. He no longer tried to anticipate Artoria's attacks, nor did he try to dodge them. Instead, he poured all his strength and all his anger into the most violent and savage attack.
He pushed the power of the Mochi Mochi Fruit to its limit, his arm instantly growing tens of meters long, and the giant blade formed from the mochi mochi, carrying a terrifying force that tore through space, slashed down towards Artoria!
This attack lacked any technique or maneuvering; it was purely an outpouring of power and rage. The air was forcefully cleaved in two, and a sharp, piercing sound echoed throughout the heavens and earth. Armament Haki was even solidified to its ultimate form, enough to instantly shatter a mountain into dust!