Aleus VS Big Mom

Become BIG's son-in-law?

That was a path Aleus had never considered before.

But, on second thought, it wasn't entirely a bad choice. Setting aside BIG's habit of slaughtering indiscriminately when her hunger pangs struck, gaining the protection of a Four Emperor in the New World was something many would kill for.

Of course, among the four Pirate Emperors, BIG wasn't the optimal pick. Her erratic hunger pangs posed a latent threat to ninety-nine percent of the BIG Pirates' crew, with only a few like Katakuri unafraid of her rampages.

In short, such matters had both pros and cons, varying by person. Some would flock to it, others would flee from it—all perfectly normal.

As for Aleus's choice—

It was fated from the start.

"I refuse."

Aleus said, word by word.

His tone was resolute, leaving no room for ambiguity.

Though many of BIG's daughters were stunning beauties, and honestly, letting such a gift slip away stung a bit, there was no helping it. As a member state of the World Government, Ekmondo Kingdom could secretly dally with pirates behind the scenes, or even borrow the Whitebeard Pirates' flag for protection within reason.

But, if it openly pledged allegiance to a Pirate Emperor, the World Government's tolerance had its limits.

Marrying into the BIG Pirates was tantamount to surrendering to them. In the original timeline, the Germa Kingdom's dalliance with the BIG Pirates was the spark that, through a chain of events, led to its expulsion from the World Government and loss of its allied status.

Compared to throwing in with BIG the Pirate Emperor, sticking with the World Government offered more benefits for now.

And even if he did eventually fall out with the World Government, cozying up to Dragon would be a better bet than hitching himself to the Mad Emperor!

What's more, the most crucial point—

with the Hogyoku in his possession, why on earth would he need to find himself a master?

"Prometheus, burn this ungrateful brat!!!"

Rejected, BIG naturally flew into a rage. Her fury, savage to the extreme, erupted like a volcano, the quivering flesh on her face packed with murderous intent. She let out a thunderous roar, as terrifying as a lightning bolt cracking in a clear sky.

Amid that bone-chilling bellow, a blazing, bright fireball wearing a huge, malicious grin rose from behind BIG. Yes, a fireball that could smile, and its smile was so full of ill intent, its blood-red eyes fixed on Aleus like a hungry coyote eyeing a stray lamb that had wandered from the flock.

Sun Prometheus.

A name that thundered in the ears. In the New World, unless they were fresh-faced rookie pirates, which local power didn't know BIG was the Queen who commanded the weather? Her left hand wielded "Thundercloud Zeus," her right hand "Sun Prometheus"—these two weapons symbolized her unmatched brutality.

Over the years, BIG had used these weapons to destroy countless enemies, and victory after victory had earned them a fearsome, infamous reputation.

The grinning, blazing fireball opened its mouth, and a thick stream of flame shot down at Aleus like lightning.

But, this time, its ever-victorious attack didn't achieve the desired result.

Facing Sun Prometheus's assault, Aleus didn't dodge.

He looked up, fearless, at the descending inferno, raising his right hand to meet the falling flame's trajectory. Just as the fire reached him, a flash of emerald light sparked on his index fingertip.

"Cero!"

High-density Spirit Pressure gathered at his fingertip, then shot out as an emerald flash.

This was—

Cero.

The emerald light pierced the orange blaze, splitting the flowing fire down the middle like a hot knife through butter, and appeared before Prometheus in an instant. An unprecedented sense of crisis forced Prometheus into a dodge it had never made before.

You see, Prometheus's existence was bizarre—so bizarre that no one knew how to harm this terrifying weapon of BIG's. It had the elemental nature of a Logia, yet couldn't be caught by Armament Haki—because it had no physical form.

So, Sun Prometheus and Thundercloud Zeus always advanced without retreat when fighting alongside BIG. Dodging an enemy's attack like this was a first.

But soon, Prometheus felt grateful for its evasive move.

The emerald light grazed the edge of Prometheus's body. For the first time, Prometheus, who had never known pain, tasted its sting. It immediately let out an earth-shattering cry of agony: "Mother, Mother, it hurts! It hurts!"

Shouting, it shrank back fearfully toward BIG.

"Prometheus!"

BIG had never encountered this before either. Prometheus, wounded by someone—an unprecedented situation.

"Green-eyed brat, what did you do?"

Grabbing the injured Prometheus to inspect it, BIG turned an even more furious glare on Aleus. An overwhelming aura, like a typhoon, roared from her mountain of flesh.

Conqueror's Haki.

Enraged to the limit, BIG instinctively unleashed this power, hailed as proof of kingly aptitude.

"Damn it! Too late."

Katakuri, standing on the deck of the Queen Mama Chantilly, clenched his fist.

Even the BIG Pirates couldn't have every member withstand the wash of Conqueror's Haki. Most of the lower-ranked fighters crumpled cleanly under the sudden surge of that pressure, and on the Tart Ships, the fighters toppled like wheat at harvest, row after row.

The shock didn't just hit the BIG Pirates themselves.

On this island, Saiboy Island, the residents who hadn't fled far enough were cursed with the worst luck of their lives. Under the impact of BIG's Conqueror's Haki, they collapsed en masse, and quite a few didn't even survive that single wave, their lives snuffed out on the spot.

But just then—

"Boom!!!"

A colossal roar swept through the void.

Malachite-green Spirit Pressure surged from beneath Aleus's feet like a tide, spilling outward, then spread like mist in the wind, rising into the sky. It formed a visible cloud of malachite-green haze floating overhead, blotting out the bright sunlight.

"What the hell is that?"

BIG gripped the injured Prometheus, using the power of her Soul-Soul Fruit to mend his wounds. She hadn't even gotten around to teaching Aleus a lesson when he pulled out this bizarre thing that could match her Conqueror's Haki.

"Drip!"

A malachite-green raindrop fell from the sky.

Then, in an instant, the sound of a torrential downpour—shhhh—filled the entire dock. This whole space was dyed in that malachite-green glow.

"This is... the power of souls?"

The malachite-green raindrop landed in BIG's open palm. The strange rain didn't pool into a puddle in her hand; instead, it evaporated and vanished at incredible speed. But in that brief contact, it was enough for BIG to recognize what it was.

After all, she had eaten the Soul-Soul Fruit—she was the world's greatest expert at toying with souls.

The malachite-green downpour didn't last long.

Soon, the rain stopped.

The malachite-green clouds in the sky dissipated completely, leaving only Aleus, who had spread a pair of enormous black wings and flown into the air. He looked down from above at BIG standing on the ground. The sea breeze blew past, stirring the hair at his temples, but it couldn't shake the pale, curved horns atop his head.

Unlike his earlier incomplete form, where he'd only extended his wings, this time Aleus revealed the full form of the Devil Fruit he'd eaten—one sublimated by the Hogyoku. This enemy wasn't like the small fry before; if he got careless, he'd pay for it.

"Hollow Bullet."

Aleus reached out his hand.

He struck first, as a sort of greeting.

A crimson Hollow Bullet shot toward BIG's face at nearly lightning speed, but it didn't hit her twisted features. Instead, her raised palm smacked it away with a sharp slap.

"Green-eyed brat, your ability is interesting. A Zoan-type Devil Fruit, and probably a Mythical Zoan, right? And it's a power tied to souls. But... anyone who defies my will dies!"

BIG let out a massive roar. She reached up and grabbed her hat—the yellow-trimmed red pirate hat on her head transformed at her will into a giant sword, which she hefted in her hand. Then she shouted, "Zeus, get over here!"

A white cloud answered the call, chirping happily, "Mother!" as it scurried to BIG's feet. It lifted her massive, hill-sized body into the sky.

And then, a magnificent, sweeping sword aura tore across heaven and earth.

Every time BIG swung the giant sword in her hand, a razor-sharp sword aura ripped through the atmosphere, chasing after Aleus as he flapped and dodged. She kept using the sword aura to restrict his speed and space, while the Thundercloud Zeus beneath her feet closed in at top speed.

Aerial combat—BIG was no amateur at it either.

From childhood to today, over fifty years of battle experience had no padding. As long as her hunger pangs didn't strike, her combat intelligence was far from low. Her status as a Pirate Emperor was something she'd carved out in the slaughterhouse of the New World.

Born with the monstrous strength to kill giants, an innate body as tough as an "Iron Balloon," swordsmanship at the level of a grandmaster, and a Devil Fruit ability pushed to its absolute limit.

BIG's strength was flawless from every angle.

Especially that naturally formidable body—it was the finest gift heaven had given her, keeping her combat power perfect even at over sixty years old. In comparison, Whitebeard, whose strength had waned with age and injury, was downright pitiful.

"Rip—!"

Another sword slash came down from the sky. The sweeping sword aura grazed past Aleus's wing, forcing him to brake his wings and change direction, flapping off to keep skirmishing with BIG.

But, it was clear that this kind of hit-and-run wouldn't last long under BIG's relentless pressure.

And if he wanted to test where he stood now, he'd have to clash head-on to truly gauge his own weight.

"Moonlight Sword."

Extremely dense Spirit Pressure condensed in Aleus's right palm. A bluish-white light sword, about two meters long, was gripped tightly in his hand. There was no visible hilt or guard, and even where the blade was left him a bit confused.

He genuinely couldn't tell where the blade edge was, because this was a light sword formed from high-density Spirit Pressure. Except for the spot where Aleus held it, every part was a blade.

"That's enough warm-up."

Aleus, still in flight, rolled his shoulders. He'd never gone all-out in this form before, so to get a better feel for it, he'd skirmished with BIG for a while, using the terrifying sword aura that tore through the clouds and sky to help him warm up.

And now, the warm-up was over.

His pitch-black wings gave a sharp flap. Aleus stopped dodging and weaving, instead swinging the Moonlight Sword in his hand to meet the incoming sword aura head-on.

The Moonlight Sword touched that magnificent, sweeping sword aura. The impact sent tremors through Aleus's entire body, and his black wings flapped repeatedly before he finally managed to withstand the shock of that sword aura, which made even the atmosphere wail in protest.

The next moment, without giving Aleus any time to rest, Big Mom, stepping on Thundercloud Zeus, finally caught up, closing the distance between herself and Aleus. She raised the giant sword "Napoleon" high in her hand, and beside her, the recovered Sun Prometheus suddenly blazed with brilliant light, igniting the greatsword in roaring flames.

"Emperor Sword · Baha Baha no Mi!"

This was Big Mom's full-force strike, the Pirate Emperor's wrathful blow.

The giant sword wrapped in scorching flames was so massive it filled most of Aleus's field of vision. The battered atmosphere was once again torn apart by absolute violence, churning out visible shockwaves that slammed left and right, while at the center, a bright sword light slashed down.

"Flicker Slash!"

In perfect sync with Big Mom, Aleus also struck. Gripping the Moonlight Sword, he assumed a drawing stance, shooting upward at terrifying speed to clash midair with the crushing giant blade.

The so-called Flicker Slash

is a swordsmanship technique akin to iaijutsu.

It was a skill Aleus had developed by synthesizing the strengths of multiple sword schools, tailored to the Moonlight Sword's traits. In the instant of drawing the blade, he compressed high-density Spirit Pressure within that fleeting moment, forging it into an edge of extreme sharpness that could only exist for an instant, aiming to unleash a peerless slash that cleaves all in two.

The hum of clashing sword lights rang across the sky.

The sound waves stirred the air, eventually turning into shockwaves laced with sharp sword energy that spread in all directions, scattered sparks of fire drifting up and down with the wind.

The giant sword "Napoleon" let out an excited shriek. The Moonlight Sword's edge had not severed this blade, which Big Mom had imbued with a soul; instead, it was roused by the sharpness it hadn't seen in ages. Big Mom, swinging the sword, also looked somewhat surprised—she hadn't expected this brat to wield such fierce swordsmanship.

But still, his physique was a bit lacking, even though he was a Zoan Devil Fruit user.

Aleus was sent flying.

In the contest of swordsmanship, he hadn't lost to Big Mom, but her terrifying monstrous strength overpowered him, a Zoan Devil Fruit user. The immense force from her giant sword hurled Aleus away like a baseball hit for a home run, hurtling into the distance at breakneck speed.