Chapter 79: Ch 79. Ace’s Admiration, Gate of Death - Open
Big Mom's voice echoed in everyone's ears.
It sent a chill down countless spines.
Especially her children, who knew better than anyone that Big Mom was truly furious this time!
"Prometheus!"
"Zeus!"
As her words fell, the two entities floating at her sides—a thundercloud and a sun, both given life by the Soul-Soul Fruit—transformed instantly.
The aura they emitted grew increasingly terrifying.
"Zero… Let me taste how delicious your soul really is!"
"Heavenly Fire!"
"Thunderbolt!"
With fire in her left hand and lightning in her right, the sky seemed to be swallowed by her power.
Thunder dragons roared as clouds of flame intertwined, painting a picture of the apocalypse.
But as these terrifying elements surged forth again, Roman calmly raised his hand and softly muttered:
"Fluid air, rigid air, strung as gold, worn as silver. Precious treasures, iron will, immovable plinth. Bridge the perilous path between reality and dreams, and coalesce into a single point before the throne of the king."
"Bakudō No. 81: Dankū (Splitting Void)!"
BOOM!!!
Big Mom's combined fire and lightning struck Roman's transparent, massive defensive wall.
The crackling flames and lightning crawled across the surface of Dankū, but they couldn't harm Roman in the slightest.
His relaxed demeanor left the crowd completely stunned.
"What… what kind of Devil Fruit is this guy using?!"
"There are too many abilities—how is this possible?!"
"Is there even a Devil Fruit like this in the encyclopedia?"
"Could he be from some ultra-rare race—even rarer than Giants or Lunarians?"
Everyone had theories, but no one was right.
Up in the sky, Ace watched this entire scene unfold, his eyes sparkling like stars.
He stared at Roman, face full of admiration.
For the first time in his life, he realized—there was someone this powerful in the world! But Roman didn't care what others thought. He was here for one thing:
To make a scene—and the bigger the better.
Roman smirked and mocked her:
"BIG MOM… You seriously think you can beat me? What a joke."
As the thunder and flames dispersed, Roman canceled Bakudō No. 81: Dankū, then suddenly appeared before Big Mom, lowering his voice:
"Tell me… do you want to know how the nun and all your old friends really died?"
Big Mom's entire body trembled violently.
Then—an explosion of pure rage.
The rage of an Emperor of the Sea.
"ZERO! What do you mean by that?! What do you know?! TELL ME!!!"
"If you want to know…" Roman smiled coldly. "Then defeat me."
With that, Roman's body vanished from the air and reappeared on the ground.
Slamming his palms into the earth, he whispered:
"Wood Release: Nativity of the World of Trees (Mokuton — Jukai Kōtan)!"
Vast vitality surged through the soil, awakening the life underground. The earth trembled. Cracks spread across the island like spiderwebs. Dust filled the air, and panic swept the crowd.
"What the hell did he do?!"
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this…"
"Hey! I don't wanna die here!!"
Vines, roots, and branches grew wildly, devouring low-level pirates in a flash.
In mere seconds, a lush forest towered in place of the battlefield.
Morgans' eyes, crazed, looked on with uncontainable excitement.
He shouted to Stussy:
"Stussy! Even if I lose to you today, I don't care! This is the biggest news scoop EVER—HAHAHAHA!!!"
Stussy only smiled faintly. She knew Morgans' nature.
For news, he would risk everything. And this-this was a moment he had dreamed of, but never dared to imagine.
"Damn it, that guy actually changed the entire Totto Land…"
"Protect the guests! Whatever happens, we must keep them safe!"
Nearby, Katakuri was nearly pulling his hair out.
Roman and Big Mom could go all out… But the aftermath? That was all on them to clean up! If the honored guests died during this chaos, they'd never recover from it. The second Tea Party… would be a total disaster.
As Katakuri and others rushed to contain the damage…
Big Mom finally exploded with fury.
"ZERO!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
Her shriek pierced the air with deadly rage.
Even people outside the island could sense the murderous intent.
She stomped forward—
CRACK.
The ground split apart. Eyes bloodshot, she stood on the edge of madness.
"NAPOLEON! Mighty Nation!! (Ikoku)"
The bicorne on her hat, Napoleon, responded—its blade bursting forth from the top.
Big Mom gripped it tightly.
Armament Haki surged across the blade from top to bottom as she brought it down on Roman with wild fury!
Before the slash even connected—
WHOOSH!
A gale whipped up, chunks of earth blasting toward Roman.
A semi-circular shockwave roared across the battlefield, tearing through vines and roots.
FWOOOM!!
A dazzling arc of power lit up the sky, stealing everyone's breath. They stood dumbfounded, wide-eyed, frozen. But Roman remained unmoved.
"I'm starting to think… is that all you've got? And you call yourself an Emperor?"
Then, he took a deep breath and shouted:
"Eight Gates Formation: Gate of Death (Hachimon Tonkō no Jin — Shimon) - OPEN!!"
No hesitation—he opened the final gate right away!
His body erupted in red steam, like blazing flames. Roman felt weightless—his body surging with warmth and overwhelming force. Even a single step could launch him dozens of meters. This power… made his eyes narrow sharply.
Then—
Roman vanished. A ghostly silhouette appeared before the shockwave slash.
He didn't even bother using Armament Haki. His fists blurred at high speed, hammering at a single point on the attack! The air compressed rapidly, then exploded outward in a shockwave.
The burst of air looked like a tiger leaping forward!
This was—
Eight Gates Formation - Daytime Tiger(Hirudora)!!!