Big Mom’s head smashed into the ground.

The earth beneath cracked into a massive spiderweb crater with a diameter of several thousand meters.

In that moment, Big Mom was completely dazed.

Her eyes rolled back, and she could only see golden stars as she struggled to process what had just happened. Her vision was filled with disbelief and confusion.

As her gaze drifted upward, she saw Kuke, his hand still pressing down on her head.

Tears instantly filled her eyes.

“Ugh… ugh…” she whimpered.

Big Mom wanted to cry.

“I quit. I don’t want to bet anymore.”

Admitting defeat, she tried to bow out of the challenge.

For just an instant, Big Mom had felt as if a massive mountain had crashed down onto her head.

No, that wasn’t right.

A mountain of iron? Even an iron mountain would be something she could move.

Maybe an island?

No—it felt like the entire world was pressing her down, and she couldn’t move a muscle.

“Quit?” Kuke smiled.

Big Mom tried to nod, but she couldn’t move. She could only blink.

Yes.

She wanted to quit.

It was just too terrifying.

Big Mom thought that Kuke’s explosive strength would at most match Whitebeard at full power. She had believed she could hold on and endure it.

She never expected…

Kuke’s strength was on a level beyond anything she could have imagined.

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

Kuke let go of her, but gave her the harshest reality of all.

Quitting?

Impossible.

Big Mom’s head spun, buzzing with confusion as she shakily got to her feet. Her body, despite everything, bore little visible damage—her constitution was unnaturally tough.

Big Mom patted her head, trying to clear it, her eyes full of dread as she looked at Kuke, who had offered her no way out.

She clenched her teeth.

What could she do? She was panicking.

Then Kaido’s words replayed in her mind.

Kaido had told her that Kuke could momentarily increase his strength—a burst of power, but only for a short time. If she could hold on long enough, he would exhaust himself.

Kaido’s voice.

It rekindled Big Mom’s hope and confidence.

“Just hold on?”

Big Mom swallowed hard.

Could she endure it?

Yes.

She had to.

Big Mom’s eyes took on a manic gleam.

“Mama… you scared me for a second there—I almost lost my nerve. But it seems you haven’t hurt me much after all. My iron balloon body is still intact; it’s the strongest in the seas.”

“How long can you keep this up? If you can’t finish me in time, then you lose. You refused when I wanted to call it off—now it’s my turn to refuse.”

Unfazed by her earlier defeat, Big Mom started boasting again.

“?”

Kuke stared at her, puzzled.

Who told you I couldn’t keep this up?

With his physical conditioning maxed out, who in the world could outlast him?

“Did Kaido tell her this?”

That seemed to be the only possibility.

Kuke’s expression turned a little strange. He hadn’t thought Kaido would do something so underhanded.

“Zeus, Prometheus!”

Big Mom roared.

The flames and clouds in the sky instantly came to her side.

Big Mom stood on Zeus.

Fire draped around her like a cloak.

With Napoleon in hand, she merged with her three strongest Homies into a unified form.

“Emperor Sword – Flaming Blade!”

The massive, flame-wreathed sword swung towards Kuke.

“BOOM!”

Kuke raised his Haki-covered arm to block the blade. The ground beneath him sank rapidly, and a fiery gorge spread from his position to the distant horizon.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Big Mom kept slashing madly.

But Kuke effortlessly blocked all her blows with his Haki-armored limbs.

With his other hand, Kuke clenched his fist and struck towards Big Mom from a distance.

The air seemed to explode.

An invisible blast struck Big Mom in the chest.

Big Mom flew backward like a shooting star.

“Mama!”

Zeus rushed to catch the hurtling Big Mom.

“That hurt, that hurt!”

Big Mom grimaced, rubbing the spot where Kuke had struck her.

Then she felt a fierce wave of energy engulfing her.

Big Mom looked up.

She saw Kuke rushing towards her, fists ready, his figure blending with countless punches and turbulent air.

BAM BAM BAM!

Kuke’s punches landed everywhere on Big Mom’s body in a relentless barrage.

In just an instant.

Hundreds of punches fell on Big Mom’s flesh, forcing her bloated body to cave in.

“Bleugh!”

She spat out blood.

Big Mom’s body crashed through the entire island, punching through from one end of Cake Island to the other, splitting cities in two.

Her momentum did not slow.

“Wh-what is this?!”

Perospero, Cracker, and the others were terrified.

The fight that was supposed to be evenly matched, or perhaps even tilted in their mother’s favor, simply wasn’t happening. It was utterly one-sided.

Just like Katakuri had been against Gion.

Completely powerless.

“But this is our Mom! No one should be this strong!”

“They’re both Emperors of the Sea. Why is Kuke this much stronger?!”

They were trembling in fear.

Desperately watching as that golden-streaked figure tore through their shattered cityscape.

He caught up to Big Mom.

“Damn it.”

Flying backwards, Big Mom couldn’t control her body.

She could see herself nearing the edge of Cake Island…

Her heart was in turmoil.

If she fell beyond the island,

It would mean defeat.

“Zeus!!”

Big Mom screamed for Zeus to save her.

But Zeus couldn’t catch up.

Just as Big Mom was about to fly beyond the island, Kuke arrived, grabbing her by the ankle, spinning her around, and smashing her into the coastline.

A blast of air erupted from the impact, soaring high into the sky.

In the crater,

Big Mom found herself questioning everything again.

She stared blankly at Kuke.

“Why?”

Big Mom’s muddled mind couldn’t comprehend why Kuke had done this.

If I fell out,

I would have lost.

You would have won. Why help me?

“If I don’t beat you down today and make you fear me, it’ll be troublesome on the ship later.”

Kuke let go of her again.

He let her go freely.

If Big Mom didn’t fully submit, if she didn’t fear him deeply, she would definitely cause problems on the Radiant Eclipse. She might hurt others. That would be bad.

“You bastard, what do you take me for?!”

Big Mom furiously got up.

Do you think I’m some pet you can just tame?!

“Who wins and who loses isn’t decided yet!”

With a hideous snarl,

Big Mom charged again.

Swinging Napoleon.

Kuke threw a punch.

Big Mom’s eyes lit up. She was waiting for this exact moment—she wasn’t afraid of being hit. If he had the guts to make his body as durable as hers…

Big Mom braced herself to take Kuke’s punch directly.

Then she swung her sword towards him.

BOOM!

Both were hit at the same time.

Kuke landed a blow to her chest, while Big Mom’s sword, Napoleon, struck Kuke’s shoulder.

Big Mom went flying again.

Rolling across the ground for hundreds of meters, she came to a stop, sitting up in disarray, yet her expression was full of excitement.

He must be hurt, right?

He has to be hurt.

Big Mom had focused all her attention on her attack, sure that Kuke hadn’t used Armament Haki to defend himself—he had taken her blade with his bare body.

There was no way he wasn’t injured.

Big Mom’s gaze zeroed in on Kuke’s left shoulder.

“Huh?!”

Her eyes widened, rounded.

Kuke casually took off his tattered coat, revealing an unharmed shoulder and collarbone.

“Didn’t Kaido tell you? My constitution is invincible.”

Kuke looked at Big Mom’s stunned expression.

She had chosen the same tactics as Kaido.

Foolish.

Big Mom’s mouth turned as round as her eyes.

She stared blankly for a long time.

Then burst into a furious shout:

“Damn you, Kaido! I’ll kill you!!!”

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DONT FORGET POWER STONE

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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up 40+ chapters at patreon.com/Emik01.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep