*Chapter 173: Certain Death*

  In the middle of the two Tailed Beast Balls, not even the Four-Tails or Five-Tails anticipated this. Someone actually had the nerve to stand in front of them, and a slight miscalculation could have led to being engulfed by the cataclysmic explosion.

But Smoothie was different from the others; after all, Charlotte Linlin was her mother.

No matter what, she had to rely on her mother this time!

It didn’t matter if something happened to her, but she couldn't let anything happen to her mother.

If something did happen, and they returned to the sea, the entire Big Mom Pirates could descend into chaos.

“Argh!”

Smoothie let out an angry roar, and the massive blade in her hand slashed forward instantly.

In a flash, a scorching white light streaked across the sky.

It collided directly with the Tailed Beast Balls in front of her.

“Boom!”

The clash of two powerful forces caused the entire Iwagakure to tremble.

The next moment!

A violent earthquake rocked Iwagakure!

Boom!

In Smoothie's terrified eyes, she realized that her slash had failed to stop the two energy blasts.

The power unleashed by these two monsters was far beyond what she had expected!

At this moment, Smoothie regretted not having stored more moisture beforehand.

If she had stored enough moisture, she could have unleashed the full might of her Giant Tribe's "Weiguo" attack.

But now, Smoothie’s slash appeared utterly weak and powerless.

Compared to the strength of the Giant Tribe, it was like night and day.

There was no comparison at all!

Smoothie could only cover herself entirely in Armament Haki, hoping that the explosion wouldn't be too powerful.

As long as she could withstand this attack, her mother could easily handle the rest of the battle.

Even if she got injured, it wouldn’t matter in the slightest.

“This person…”

Onoki's face turned extremely grim. He couldn't believe this woman had the guts to block a Tailed Beast Ball with her body. He wondered where this confidence came from.

The explosive power of a Tailed Beast Ball was so immense that even a mountain could be reduced to rubble before it.

To think of relying on one's body to block it, this person clearly didn’t fear death at all.

She clearly doesn’t know what it means to die!

A cold glint flashed in Onoki's eyes, and his figure quickly took to the air.

If Smoothie was shielding Charlotte Linlin, there might be no way to successfully kill her.

This woman’s physical strength might be far beyond their expectations!

Even a slightly weaker attack wouldn’t even scratch her.

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

A searing white light burst forth, instantly breaking through into red flames.

A group of Iwagakure ninja stood at a distance, watching the scene in the sky.

What they witnessed was a rare sight in their lives.

After all, seeing such a thing on the battlefield, it was either one of their own or their enemy.

And with this level of terrifying power, the scale was massive.

So, for most of them, they might only ever witness such a thing once in their lives.

“How is it? Did we get her?”

Roshi couldn't wait any longer and asked.

In the previous power struggle, he had actually been overpowered.

This monster could even withstand the power of a Tailed Beast.

If even the Tailed Beast Ball didn’t work, Roshi couldn’t think of any way to deal with this monster.

Roshi never imagined that, as a Jinchuriki, he was already considered a true monster.

He couldn’t believe that there was someone even more powerful in the ninja world.

“It’s probably not that simple!”

Han’s deep voice rang out. The King of the Six Tails within him informed him that Charlotte Linlin hadn’t been taken down yet.

She couldn’t have come out unscathed from such a powerful Tailed Beast Ball.

But they couldn’t be sure what extent of injuries she had sustained.

However, with two Tailed Beast Balls hitting her, not even Hashirama Senju could withstand it.

Could this person really endure it?

Han felt that there was probably no one in the ninja world who could do that.

“She’s not down yet? Just how strong is this person? I thought the impact alone would have been enough to take her out.”

“This person must have a body that surpasses human limits, reaching an unbeatable level.”

Roshi stared seriously at the center of the explosion, surprised that it wasn’t over yet.

He had originally thought that just the Tailed Beast Balls alone would be enough to finish off this woman.

Could it be that this woman wasn’t dead either?

A feeling of unease crept into Roshi’s heart!

If neither of them were taken down, wouldn’t this mean the Tailed Beast Balls were just fireworks?

As the flames gradually dissipated, two figures could be seen falling from the sky.

Several ninjas immediately rushed forward to confirm, not daring to delay even a moment.

But before they could approach the two figures—

“Roar!”

A terrifying sound wave erupted.

The ninjas immediately dropped to their knees, their eardrums bleeding profusely.

Their eyes became dull, and they swayed a few times before collapsing to the ground.

“Mama-mama-mama, you fools have succeeded in angering me.”

Charlotte Linlin’s sinister voice emerged from the smoke, sending a shiver down everyone’s spine.

They couldn’t believe that even after two powerful Tailed Beast Balls exploded, they hadn’t affected this woman at all.

She was still as lively as ever, sounding even more energetic, as if she hadn’t been injured at all.

Charlotte Linlin reached out and picked up the severely injured and unconscious Smoothie, a bloodthirsty smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

“Zeus!”

Charlotte Linlin tossed Smoothie into the air, and Zeus hurriedly flew over to catch her.

He was unable to fight; half of his soul had been cut away by Onoki earlier.

Now, all he could do was sniffle and cower nearby.

The battlefield was now entirely under Charlotte Linlin’s control, and he was of no use at all.

But he could at least stay with Smoothie and shiver in fear together!

That way, he wouldn’t feel so alone.

“Napeleon!”

Charlotte Linlin shouted, and a large sword immediately fell into her hand.

Prometheus also wrapped around her back, merging with her hair.

In her enraged state, Mama is most ruthless toward her enemies, but this also excites them the most.

With flames swirling behind her and a giant blade in her hand, Charlotte Linlin slowly emerged from the smoke.

Her clothes were only slightly dusted, with nothing else affected.

She had a gaping mouth full of sharp teeth, drooling, and her eyes filled with a primal fury.

She looked like a demon crawling out of hell.

"The Tailed Beast Bomb had no effect at all. Just how strong is this creature's defense?"

"Even with two Tailed Beast Bombs exploding together, they had no effect on this creature!"

"If that's the case, how are we supposed to defeat this thing?"

Roshi's confidence took a hit, not expecting his proud strength to have no effect on her.

It's one thing to be overpowered, but even his strongest move failed.

In that case, they, the Jinchuriki, might as well be toys in front of her.

"It wasn't completely ineffective. The explosive force was entirely blocked by that woman. This monster probably didn't take much damage."

"If we tried again, it might work, but the difficulty of pulling it off has just increased."

Han's face was grim, and in his heart, Son Goku urged him to flee.

They managed to succeed in sneak attacks twice, but the upcoming battle wouldn't be so easy.

This woman was already wary, so her vigilance would be greatly increased.

"You two, once I capture you, I'll keep you in my collection. You two should be able to turn human, which would make you easier to carry."

Charlotte Linlin glanced at Roshi and Han, the two Jinchuriki. Although she didn't know what a Jinchuriki was, their transformations had caught her attention.

They must be using some special power or Devil Fruit ability.

But it didn't matter; she planned to display them in her country later.

"Boom!"

Charlotte Linlin stomped hard, and her massive body disappeared.

Her huge frame swept toward the two like a violent wind.

"What speed!"

Roshi's pupils shrank as his Tailed Beast form tried to lean back to dodge.

But it was as if the sword had already anticipated his dodge.

The blade slashed precisely where he was trying to evade.

"Shlunk!"

A massive gash appeared from Roshi's chest to his abdomen.

Though no blood sprayed, Roshi immediately reverted from his Tailed Beast form.

This strike returned Roshi to his original form!

"Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma, just as I thought. Now I can take you back."

"I'll put you on Cake Island, and Mama will host a tea party so more people can come and see you."

Charlotte Linlin looked down at Roshi, picked him up, and placed him in her bosom.

A smile crept onto her face; she didn't care whether he lived or died.

She was confident in her strike. For a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit user, most could recover quickly from such a blow.

Roshi wasn't on the brink of death just yet.

Charlotte Linlin found Roshi interesting—after all, she had never encountered such power before.

This was ninja power; it couldn't be measured by ordinary standards.

"Roshi!"

Han froze momentarily, watching Roshi being picked up by Charlotte Linlin.

He hadn't expected the woman's movements to be so quick, even in Tailed Beast form, he couldn't react in time.

Had this monster not been using her full power earlier?

"And you, little one! It's easier to carry you if you change back."

Charlotte Linlin heard Han's shout and suddenly turned to look at him.

This creature also interested Charlotte Linlin; she wanted to add him to her collection.

"Mama, these guys have strong recovery abilities! You can slash anywhere you want."

Napoleon, the sword, spoke up, casting a fierce glance at Han.

"The sword talked!"

Han stared in astonishment at the sword in her hand, surprised it could speak.

Could this thing be related to Kirigakure?

After all, Kirigakure had a living blade.

If Kirigakure dedicated themselves to studying this technique, they could certainly make another one.

"That's good!"

Charlotte Linlin nodded and swung her sword down.

"Boom!"

One of Han's horns was chopped off!

Mu's speed was incredible, barely managing to dodge Charlotte Linlin's attack.

He hadn't expected this monster to strike so suddenly.

There was no sign at all.

He couldn't even see her movements.

"Han, hold her off! Ōnoki is up there!"

Mu urgently spoke in Han's mind.

Han hesitated; Ōnoki was waiting for the right moment above.

But the sword in her hand could slice through iron like it was nothing!

Even Mu's hardest horn was chopped off!

"Ma-ma-ma-ma, be a good little addition to my collection."

Charlotte Linlin leaped into the air and came down with a powerful strike.

But unexpectedly, Han charged forward as Charlotte Linlin moved.

"Boom!"

With Charlotte Linlin's immense strength, part of Han's horn was chopped off.

But he wasn't on the verge of death, as she still intended to add him to her collection.

She threw the sword into the air, turning it back into a hat that returned to her head.

Then Charlotte Linlin's massive body sat on top of Han.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

A pair of massive iron fists continuously pounded downward.

The force of a mountain crashed down on Han's body.

Mu's massive frame was crushed to the ground.

"Hurry up and change back! Quickly!"

Charlotte Linlin's frenzied fists kept raining down!

The terrifying power made Han feel like all his bones were about to be shattered.

"Mama! Those two guys up ahead..."

Prometheus, wrapped around her, noticed something in front and quickly spoke.

But before Charlotte Linlin could react, two slightly chubby ninjas had already appeared right in front of her.

It was the Third Tsuchikage and Akatsuchi.

"Earth Style: Rock Golem Jutsu!"

Two loud roars echoed as two massive rock giants suddenly rose up.

As soon as they appeared, they swung their fists at Charlotte Linlin.

She crossed her arms in front of her to block.

But the monstrous strength sent her flying.

Ōnoki quickly flew after her, his figure darting through the air.

As Charlotte Linlin landed, a massive cubic crystal appeared in his hand.

"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"

The giant cubic crystal completely enveloped Charlotte Linlin.

Her pupils contracted, and her Observation Haki frantically warned her.

It was as if it was telling her that being hit by this attack would be fatal.

(End of Chapter)