One Piece: New Order

New World, Tako Island.

The base under the Big Mom Pirates was completely gone.

The massive mountain that once took up half the island had been sheared down to a broken stump. Atop the remaining peak, a colossal crater had been blasted deep into the rock.

This was the power of the Pressure Kill: Steam Burst.

Yet Knox showed no joy. Standing at the edge of the pit, a shadow flickered in his eyes. He had hoped to find a chance to slip away, to avoid facing Big Mom directly. But Sakazuki had brought something unknown that blocked Observation Haki. The man was locked onto him without giving any room to escape.

Now, he could already feel Big Mom's furious presence approaching.

He glanced toward the distant shadows where Sakazuki lingered, killing intent radiating faintly from the darkness.

'Damn it...'

From the far horizon, a wave of savage Conqueror's Haki rolled in. Along with it came a thunderous roar that echoed across the sky, shaking the heavens and earth as clouds twisted overhead.

"KNOX! IKOKU SOVEREIGNTY!"

A massive slash of sword energy tore through the air, heading straight for him.

Knox snorted. His body exploded into steam, scattering across the sky.

The sword energy split the steam in half, slamming into the ground behind him and carving a deep trench all the way to the sea, where it exploded violently.

A towering wall of water hundreds of meters high surged up from the blast.

As the steam began to gather again and reform, Big Mom was already upon him.

Knox activated his ability, summoning a longsword made of steam in his hand, coated in Armament Haki.

Clang!

Their weapons clashed, and he was forced back, step after step, under the sheer pressure.

Big Mom's blood-red eyes locked onto him.

"You're dead!"

She pushed harder, sending shockwaves rippling around them.

Knox gritted his teeth, veins bulging across his body as he struggled to hold back the enormous blade.

"Listen to me! It was the Marines—!"

Boom!

Before he could finish, a tremendous force sent him flying like a meteor into the mountain.

Big Mom charged in after him.

Boom!

With a deafening explosion, compressed white steam erupted outward like a massive disc from the impact site. The resulting waves of destructive wind blasted everything in its path.

The entire island was blanketed in a wall of thick white steam, splitting the sky and land.

Big Mom hovered in the air, Prometheus blazing above her head, standing on Zeus who had taken the form of a thundercloud.

Suddenly, the steam below began to swirl and condense. Huge figures took form—massive steam giants rising one by one and lunging at her from every direction.

She swung Napoleon in response.

Prometheus's flames and Zeus's lightning wrapped around the blade, forming a loop of energy.

"Mother's Visit Cannon: 3000 Leagues of Misery!"

A female giantess made of fire and lightning appeared. It moved like it had a will of its own, chasing down the steam figures below.

With every strike, one steam giant after another exploded.

Knox took a deep breath, holding back his frustration.

'Power. Power. Power! One after another... Damn it all!!!'

But he knew he couldn't keep this up. He had to talk to her somehow.

With that thought, he shifted his ability. The steam giants stopped charging at Big Mom. Instead, they shot upward and exploded.

White steam surged layer by layer into the sky. Before long, several massive steam clouds the size of islands had formed above. Inside them, streaks of lightning, fire, and sword strikes clashed again and again.

The battle continued in the skies.

* * *

On the island below.

Sakazuki stood hidden in the shadows, eyes narrowed. He let out a cold snort. The raging Conqueror's Haki above had completely disrupted Observation Haki.

He couldn't sense anything clearly.

"Old fox..."

To be honest, Knox's strength was impressive.

Although his fruit powers and body were countered by Sakazuki and Big Mom, if he were fighting someone like Shiki or Rayleigh, the result might not have been so one-sided.

Pressure Kill: Steam Execution—that was the version of the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, strengthened hundreds of times. If someone didn't have the physical strength to withstand it, just the shockwave alone would be nearly impossible to handle.

Unfortunately for the pirate, he met Sakazuki. From fruit ability to Haki, from power to endurance, he countered all of it completely.

The vice admiral waited silently for the right moment as the molten spear in his hand continued to condense, with endless magma surging into it.

It was the same move he used in the Battle of Sgri. But this time, it was to test Big Mom's defense.

Time passed slowly.

No one knew how long it had been when a thunderous explosion erupted from the white cloud of steam in the sky.

A violent blast of wind scattered the giant steam cloud, and the powerful impact sent Big Mom crashing toward the ground.

From above, Knox's voice rang out weakly:

"Sakazuki!!!"

Sakazuki gripped his spear tightly. With a roar, he turned into a blazing meteor and shot toward the falling pirate.

In the blink of an eye, he was in front of her.

Just as the magma spear was about to pierce her body, she abruptly spun around. A terrifying killing intent burst out from her as her cold voice followed.

"I knew it was you!"

Sakazuki sneered. He wasn't surprised. After all, there was no device that could truly control someone's heart. Knox betraying him was only natural.

However, his hands didn't stop. The magma weapon, wrapped in both types of Haki, stabbed straight at Big Mom's heart.

Sizzle!

Lightning flickered at the point where their Haki clashed, and the spear sank deep into the pirate's body. But Sakazuki knew it had only pierced the surface. It hadn't broken through her skin at all.

In the next second, he increased the magma output and poured more Haki into the spear.

Big Mom's face showed a trace of pain, but it didn't stop her. Her left hand moved with a blur and grabbed Sakazuki's shoulder. Her right hand, holding Napoleon wrapped in Haki, slashed at his neck with force.

Clang!

Sparks flew as the vice admiral, covered in powerful Haki, blocked the strike.

Still, the blade bit into his skin slightly and a small stream of blood flowed out. The two of them locked together as they plummeted from the sky.

Then, a cruel smile appeared at the corner of Big Mom's mouth.

"Knox!!!!"

As they crashed to the ground, they tumbled through numerous massive boulders. Before they could even come to a stop, a deadly sense of danger surged from behind Sakazuki.

His pupils shrank as he sensed Knox appear right behind him. The source of that lethal threat… was the short dagger in his hand.

'Seastone... When did he...'

There was no time to think. Just before the dagger could strike him, Sakazuki self-destructed.

Boom!

The explosion sent magma blasting out in all directions.

Knox and Big Mom unleashed their Haki, forcing their way through the wave of heat. They charged at Sakazuki, who was already reforming his body nearby. His right arm, which had been held by the latter, had taken a heavy blow.

Blood flowed, but he didn't stop moving. A magma longsword formed in his hand, wrapped in surging Haki, and clashed directly with Big Mom's Napoleon.

A powerful shockwave exploded between them as the ground cracked open and countless pieces of shattered rock flew out.

Knox held his short dagger tightly. His entire arm was covered in Haki. Sharp sword energy burst out as he stabbed at the vice admiral.

Sakazuki released his longsword mid-clash and vanished in a blur, kicking at the pirate. Already exhausted from being beaten by the two of them, Knox couldn't react. He was sent backward by the kick.

By the time he staggered back to his feet, the three of them stood in a triangle, facing each other.

Sakazuki's lips curled slightly as he stared at Big Mom, but his words were for Knox.

"Your best option now is to help me take down Big Mom."

Knox let out a cold laugh. "I think killing you sounds pretty good too."

As he spoke, his power surged.

Big Mom also laughed cruelly. "Looks like today's the day you die... magma brat."

Sakazuki chuckled, his magma longsword forming again and aiming straight at her. "Oh? Is that so? Then what if...Golden Lion isn't dead? Knox."

He didn't wait to see the pirate's pupils shrink in shock. He charged at Big Mom.

BOOM!

Their clash of Conqueror's Haki and devastating abilities lit up the sky like the end of the world. Hundreds of meters of sword energy tore through the air. Lightning and magma raged across the battlefield, reducing everything nearby to ash.

In the distance, Knox forced down the panic rising in his chest and began weighing his options.

Just like Sakazuki said, If Shiki was still alive, then killing Big Mom was the only smart move. He'd already made an enemy of the former. If the latter survived, he'd be caught between two monsters. But even if he did try to kill her... would he make it out alive?

This Marine... he wasn't just ruthless, his heart was pitch black.

Then a terrible realization struck Knox. What if the news of Shiki's death... came from him in the first place?

'Damn it.'

Knox gritted his teeth and reversed his grip on the Seastone dagger, aiming it at Big Mom.

The Marines couldn't get into the New World right now, and he'd already pissed off two of the worst monsters in it. If he could just take down the harder one, Big Mom, he still had a real shot against Shiki. After all, his defenses weren't nearly as monstrous.

Although this dagger may have looked small and unimpressive, once it landed a hit, it would drain an enemy's strength in an instant.

That was why Sakazuki had risked blowing himself up earlier. He couldn't afford to get stabbed by it.

If he fell into a weakened state, he'd really die.

Knox took a deep breath, and shouted, "Pin her down!"

Big Mom roared in fury. "You fool!!!"

Before she could retaliate, Sakazuki took action. From beneath the earth, thick magma spears shot out and locked down her body.

It lasted only for a split second, but that was enough. A steam-powered fist, holding the Seastone dagger, shot toward Big Mom's chest.

Cautious as ever, Knox didn't risk getting close. He sent the dagger flying with his powers, staying safely in the distance. As long as it struck, Sakazuki could follow up immediately and go in for the kill, while he made his escape.

But… he underestimated just how shameless the vice admiral was.

In the female pirate's stunned eyes, the dagger was just about to pierce her skin when Sakazuki bent his knees slightly.

Steam also exploded from Knox's body as he prepared to flee.

Big Mom's right arm twisted, trying to swat the dagger away, but it was too late.

DING!

The dagger struck, and a wave of weakness swept through her entire body. Her strength drained rapidly.

Before anyone could react, Sakazuki smirked, and stomped.

BOOM!

He vanished.

Yes. He completely vanished, soared into the sky and disappeared into the distance.

A moment later, the dagger clattered to the ground, and Big Mom regained control of her body.

She stared at Knox as the battlefield fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.

Then she roared.

"GOD OF LIGHTNING TENJIN!!!!"

Her thunderous hatred exploded like divine retribution, crashing down upon the fleeing Knox...

But by then, it had nothing to do with Sakazuki anymore.

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