After casting one last glance at Fatty.
Li Xiaokong, no, it should be Kong Tai now, stood up. His entire body twisted, and he vanished from this space.
And after Kong Tai disappeared, this space shattered like a mirror.
Yet, unnoticed, the eyes of the orange cat, which had been filled with contempt, seemed to move with a spark of life, and a human-like smile appeared in its eyes.
However, the space shattered too quickly, and no one knew if they had merely seen it in a fleeting glance.
Hmm...
Even if it were true, as the space vanished, the orange cat also disappeared. No one would know, would they?
Outside.
Although it seemed like a long time had passed for Kong Tai in the illusion, in reality, only a few seconds had elapsed.
The moment Guina sensed something was wrong with Kong Tai, she called out to him in her voice, imbued with the sound of thunder.
Hoping to awaken Kong Tai.
According to Kong Tai, the power of thunder not only made sounds more penetrating but could also dispel certain obscure things.
And her perception of Kong Tai's current state was as if he were ensnared by something.
This was why she had used her thunder-infused voice to call out Kong Tai's name.
"Well! You must be Blue-Haired Guina!"
Just then, Kuzan's figure suddenly appeared beside Guina. He stared at the small sparks of electricity on her body.
"Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"
As soon as the words fell, an overwhelming chill radiated outwards from his body.
He then raised his right hand, his right side completely turning into ice-blue ice, exuding an extreme cold. Without hesitation, he swung it towards Guina.
"Ice Block: Pheasant Beak!"
In the air, the chill formed a giant ice bird. With a silent roar, it swiftly flew towards Guina.
The space the ice bird traversed was instantly frozen, forming patches of ice-blue snowflakes that drifted downwards.
Red light flashed in her eyes.
The clang of her sword echoed through the heavens.
Wado Ichimonji, entwined with blue lightning, seemed to have foreseen the attack and appeared directly in front of the ice bird.
Bang—!
Amidst the crackling sounds, Guina's body was pushed back continuously by the impact of the ice bird, only stabilizing after retreating dozens of meters.
Through the chilling aura emanating from the ice bird and the power transmitted from the blade, Guina knew that her current strength was no match for Kuzan.
Lightning crackled all over her body. She dodged to the side, her body angled, then gripped Wado Ichimonji in her right hand, slightly rotating the blade so that her body and the sword brushed past the ice bird.
Just as the ice bird was about to charge forward, she raised her sword again, with even greater speed and power, and slashed down at the ice bird.
A blue light flashed, and the ice bird froze in place.
It then exploded, turning into a sky full of ice flowers.
Guina performed a sword flourish with her right hand, swung it to the right, pointed the tip downwards, and turned to face Kuzan, the ice flowers reflected in her pupils, lightning entwining her body, dispelling the surrounding chill.
"Admiral."
A clear, cold voice resonated through the falling ice flowers.
"Well! No need to be so serious!"
Kuzan exhaled a puff of cold air, stretched, and yawned. He looked at Guina floating in the air and chuckled, saying, "You are lightning, I am ice. It won't be a quick victory for us, so let's just fight casually while they settle their own battle."
Guina seemed to sense Kuzan's reluctance to fight to the death. She glanced deeply at Kuzan, then raised Wado Ichimonji, pointing the tip at Kuzan. The coldness in her eyes was as piercing as her blade.
She wouldn't pass up the opportunity to spar with an Admiral. Even if Kuzan wanted to play it down and muddle through, that wasn't what she wanted.
"Hmm..."
Just as she was about to make a move, she seemed to sense something. Her head snapped to the side, her gaze fixed on the two figures battling in the center of the ruined church.
First, a flicker of joy flashed in her eyes, followed by a hint of worry.
Although she knew Kong Tai wouldn't get hurt, facing Cartheles' unknown abilities, she couldn't help but be a little concerned.
In the center of the ruined church, Cartheles was holding his right hand up, locked in a stalemate with Kong Tai's Zankou Dao blade.
His left hand was rapidly swinging towards the head of the dazed Kong Tai. As soon as Kong Tai fell into the illusion, he had raised his enlarged left hand.
He could feel that although Kong Tai was still resisting him, it was merely a reflex of his body. His spirit had already entered the illusion, and at this moment, Kong Tai would be unable to dodge his attack.
He hadn't immediately struck with his raised left fist; instead, he was gathering his strength. He intended to end the opponent's life with a single blow.
As the energy in his left hand accumulated, the entire space occupied by his left hand turned black.
It was like a black hole, causing the surrounding space to collapse inwards.
"Hmm!"
"I can't wait any longer."
Following Guina's shout just now, he could clearly feel that Kong Tai seemed to have broken free from his illusion. He didn't know why the boy hadn't emerged immediately, but even if he had, it would be of no avail.
He raised his left hand, his legs enlarged, and black fur grew on his body, covering him entirely. From his original height, which was about the same as Kong Tai's, he grew to be twice Kong Tai's height.
His face was also covered in black fur, leaving only his eyes, nose, and mouth exposed.
Behind him, a thick black tail swayed constantly, like a whip, swatting away the debris that flew up from the ground.
An even more powerful, overwhelming Haki and a ferocious aura rose from him, making the surrounding air dense and suffocating. Looking at the towering figure exuding an aura of supreme dominance, one couldn't help but tremble and feel fearful.
"Die, brat."
His orange-yellow pupils, bloodshot, Cartheles roared, opening his mouth. His left fist, from top to bottom, smashed directly towards Kong Tai's head.
At this moment, the stagnant nebula in Kong Tai's eyes resumed its flow, and his dazed expression regained its liveliness.
"Awake? But so what? You'll still die."
Bang—!
An earth-shattering sound echoed through the sky.
Crackling—!!
This was the groaning of space, unable to withstand this power and constantly shattering.
Unlike Whitebeard's spatial distortion, this sound was like a bullet piercing a mirror, crackling with the faint sound of clashing metal.
Then, a massive explosion, accompanied by a torrent of shockwaves, erupted.
Rumbling through, the entire highland, from the center of the battle, exploded outwards.
Rocks and dust were swept outwards by the shockwaves.
From afar, it looked like the end of the world.
It wasn't over yet.
Bang—!
A louder, stronger impact sound emanated from beneath the ground of the highland.
Then, the entire island began to shake violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
And the ground beneath the highland, as if struck by a meteorite, erupted with smoke and dust. The soil on the ground churned like giant waves, surging outwards in all directions.