Chapter 293 - 293: Drums of Liberation

In the haste, two clones of Hera wearing white military uniforms appeared behind her, blocking Big Mom's attack.

Kuina and Ain's figures flashed, catching Hera in mid-air.

Kuina looked distressedly at Hera, whose face was bleeding from seven orifices; after exchanging a glance with Ain, she wanted to leave.

Hera's two clones were sent flying by Big Mom's emperor sword, and amidst a cloud of smoke, Big Mom's figure re-emerged.

The originally bloated Big Mom, who appeared somewhat obese, actually became somewhat thin; as the smoke cleared, her originally massive body completely disappeared.

In its place was a tall and upright figure without a hint of excess fat; her originally loose pink dress, infused with gray mist, had been replaced by a sleek leather shirt.

Under the rampage of this soul power, the fat around her body, her bloated silhouette, and the aged wrinkles on her forehead completely vanished.

The aura about her was even more terrifying; in extreme anger and sorrow, that monster of the Rocks Pirates who could destroy a Giant Race village at the age of six, the natural God of Destruction, had returned.

"Don't think about running."

Cold words spat from her mouth as she pushed off hard with her feet, wanting to catch up to Kuina and Ain who were carrying Hera.

Kuina handed the weakened Hera to Ain and turned to point her wado ichimonji at the pursuing Big Mom.

The golden throne manifested at Kuina's call, decomposing into fragments that wrapped around the wado ichimonji to form the 'Sword of the End', attempting to halt Big Mom's steps.

But at this moment, Kuina was no match for Big Mom at all; she was sent flying in a single exchange.

Big Mom aimed at Hera, who was being carried by Ain in the sky; Haoshoku entwined around Napoleon's blade, and a ultimate move from the Land of Giants erupted from her hand: "Spear of Elbaf: Ikoku Sovereignty."

Seeing Hera in danger, three auras mixed with Haoshoku erupted from behind her.

"Gum-Gum Kong Gun", "Perfume Femur", "Thunder Bagua"

Luffy, Hancock, and Yamato struck simultaneously; Yamato, having directly entered her Okuchi-no-Makami form, crushed Big Mom's attack with her kanabo.

Hancock and Luffy attacked Big Mom from different directions.

In Ain's arms, Hera slowly opened her eyes, looked at the anxious Ain, and raised her hand: "I'm fine, I just overexerted myself for a moment. The burden of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit on the body is still a bit too heavy."

Ain's Observation Haki swept through Hera's body, seeing the wounds inside her constantly splitting and healing; a tear fell from her eye.

"Hiss, but to be honest, it really hurts."

As Hera's consciousness gradually recovered, the constant rupturing and restructuring of the blood vessels inside her body made even the battle-hardened Hera suck in a breath of cold air.

Assessing her physical condition, several of Hera's clones jumped out of the City of Devouring Time, actually pulling out a small cafeteria from within it.

Several clones wearing chef hats began to get busy, taking out food from the City of Devouring Time and starting to cook.

While eating food and using Life Return to restore her condition, Hera said to Ain, "Hold on for another 10 minutes. In 10 minutes, I'll be able to recover."

King, who had been blown far away by the previous shockwave, flew back; finding Kaido's figure missing, he anxiously asked Jack and Queen: "What happened with that blow just now? Where's the boss? Why is the boss gone?"

Queen and Jack recounted the situation; hearing that Kaido might have died at Hera's hands, King became enraged.

At this moment, only battle could quell the fury in the hearts of the Three Disasters.

The combatants remaining on Onigashima disregarded their own lives, wanting to join the battle to avenge their boss, Kaido.

But with the release of Hancock's charm, they were captivated by the Empress's beauty and turned directly into stone statues.

Only the Three Disasters, relying on their Armament Haki and hatred, failed to turn into stone statues.

Luffy, in his Snakeman form, said to Hancock and Yamato: "You guys go stop the others. I'll handle Big Mom."

Hearing Luffy's words, Yamato was a bit worried; she didn't want Ace's brother to die in front of her: "Is it really okay? That's one of the Four Emperors."

Luffy laughed and pressed down on his straw hat: "No problem. After all, I'm the man who will become the Pirate King. How can I let a Four Emperor block my path?"

Hearing Luffy's words, Hancock and Yamato stopped trying to hold him back and instead sought out other enemies.

Big Mom looked at Luffy blocking her path, her gaze also falling on the straw hat around his neck: "That guy's straw hat? I didn't expect it to be in your hands."

"However, arrogance isn't a good habit. Let me see where your confidence in blocking me alone comes from."

With that, Haoshoku erupted from her body and was infused into the sword in her hand.

Luffy was not to be outdone; Haoshoku also erupted from his body, entwining around his form.

Having witnessed Haoshoku infusion like Hakai and Rising Dragon: Flame Bagua, he gradually grasped the application of Haoshoku power; thuds of a heartbeat like drumbeats rang out from his chest along with the infusion of Haoshoku.

Feeling his own heartbeat, Luffy felt his condition was better than ever, as if the shackles that had originally bound him no longer existed.

Before he could adapt to this feeling, Big Mom's attack arrived.

Napoleon, imbued with Big Mom's power, smashed heavily into Luffy's chest, sending him flying backward.

White smoke rose from the fallen Luffy, and red-and-black Conqueror's Haki continuously seeped out from his collapsed body along with his twitching.

On the distant sea, an elephant walking on the water seemed to hear the sound here and turned its head toward the direction of Wano Country.

"That sound... there's no mistake. It's the sound of the Drums of Liberation. There's no mistake. Joy Boy has returned."

With the beating of his heart, Luffy jumped straight up from the ground, his laughter ringing out alongside the white smoke: "I don't know why, but it seems things have become fun."

In the white smoke, a pair of red eyes lit up; the pinnacle that no second person had reached in 800 years, the Mythical Zoan Type: Human-Human Fruit, Model: Sun God Nika, was once again revealed upon this sea.

The ground beneath Luffy's feet was affected by his fruit power, turning into rubber: "This is my peak, Gear 5. Right now, I feel like I can do anything."

Luffy leaped into the air, his fist expanding as he blew into it, smashing toward Big Mom:

"Hahaha, round two! Let's keep going!"

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