'g... g...'

  'Boom... Boom...'

  The earth rumbled with tinuous explosions as Linlin, in her hybrid form, looked ferocious and terrifying. Wielding the sharp and intimidating Napoleon, each of her strikes was forceful and filled with murderous i as she relentlessly swung at Sengoku.

  Over the years, uhe guidance of the formidable swordsman Streusen and through personal training from El—who had surpassed Streusen to bee a true great swordsman—Linlin had developed extraordinary skills. Despite her youth, she was no longer just a brute force. Her swordsmanship was refined, arikes were both powerful and fierce.

  Even Garp and Tsuru, who were from a distance, couldn’t help but feel armed by the iy of her attacks.

  'g! g!'

  The sound of metal g against metal echoed through the air. Sengoku’s golden fists and palms, as solid as cast gold, were ed in Armament Haki, exuding a dark golden glow as they repeatedly collided with Linlin's rapid and powerful sword sshes. Sengoku's golden Buddha form boasted a near-imperable deferong enough to withstand even Linlin's overwhelming force. Despite her monstrous strength, which surpassed even the full might of Little Oars Jr., Sengoku was able to endure her onsught without being overpowered.

  Their battle was fierd uing.

  'Swish...'

  However, Linlin’s speed in her hybrid form was ghostly fast, catg Sengoku off guard.

  'Whoosh—' Sengoku's golden palm smmed down with incredible force, but it passed right through its target, meeting ahe tall figure had been a mere afterimage.

  "What? An afterimage!"

  Sengoku’s face darkened as he realized that what he had struck wasn’t the real Charlotte Linlin, but just an illusioed by her incredible speed. His Observation Haki gave him a sudden warning, sending a chill down his spine.

  The giant golden figure instinctively moved to defend, but it was already too te.

  "Phantom e!" Linlin's t and fearsome figure suddenly appeared behind the golden Buddha. "You let yuard down!"

  Her sword, already poised, sshed down without giving Sengoku a ce to react.

  "Mighty Nation!!!"

  With a terrifying sound of air being torn apart, a massive wave of sword energy tore through the atmosphere, r toward Sengoku with blinding speed.

  "What!?"

  Sengoku’s eyes widened in horror as he realized he had been caught off guard.

  "Watch out, Sengoku!!" Tsuru shouted in shock, her face pale with fear as she saw what was about to happen.

  'Swish!' Just then, a powerful young figure appeared like lightning behind Sengoku's Buddha form. A massive, pitch-bck fist, covered in Armament Haki, struck out violently.

  "Gaxy Impact!!!"

  'Boom... Boom...'

  A blinding fsh of white light exploded, sending shockwaves in all dires.

  Sengoku, who had barely mao defend himself, broke out in a cold sweat but couldn’t help feeling relieved and grateful.

  As expected, he could always t on his brother-in-arms, Garp, to cover his ba critical moments.

  But at the same time—

  "You bastard! Don’t interfere with Linlin’s fight!"

  A green-skinned figure roared in fury and charged at Garp.

  'Bang!!' A fierce punch, ed in powerful Armament Haki, smashed into Garp’s face before he could react.

  Garp’s face twisted in pain as he spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a onball.

  'Crash... Crash...'

  Several massive trees snapped in half as Garp hurtled through the forest, finally embedding into a giant tree beled “1.”

  "Garp!!"

  Sengoku and Tsuru’s faces turned pale as they looked at the figure that had suddenly appeared otlefield. It was a ferocious, green-skinned creature with horns, standing about two to three meters tall and radiating immense power.

  "Ma-ma-ma-ma, well done, Oars!" Linlin praised the small Oars with satisfa. She gnced mogly in the dire Garp had bee flying and added with a chilling smile, "Jumping into someone else's fight without an invitation is the height of rudeness!"

  Had Garp not interfered just now, Linlin’s strike would have seriously injured Sengoku. That was the advantage of her Mythical Zoan Vampire form, which granted her both ghostly speed aened reflexes, pensating for her rge size and lesser agility pared to other top-tier fighters. bined with her monstrous strength, near-invulnerable body, and El’s releraining, Linlin’s full potential as a born monster was being unleashed.

  Though she was still a teenager, her power was enough to make aremble. When El had subdued her during her berserk fits, it was because she had fought like a mindless beast. Now, with her intelled strategy intact, her strength was doubled.

  “War isn’t child’s py. We’re Marines, and you’re pirates..."

  Sengoku, in his golden Buddha form, spoke coldly. "This is a battlefield, not an arena! Besides, there’s o talk about fairness with pirates as cruel and treacherous as you!”

  He eyed Linlin warily, his respect for her growing. Her speed was terrifying, and even his golden Buddha form couldn’t keep up. Had Garp not intervened, he would’ve been severely injured.

  The Buddha’s golden body was strong, yes, but not invincible. A powerful attack like Linlin’s 'Mighty Nation' could indeed break through his defenses.

  “You’re right,” Linlin said, nodding as she g Tsuru standing nearby. She grinned menagly and anded, “Nef, Rock, Jien—capture that woman.”

  “Uood!”

  “Leave it to us!”

  At Linlin’s and, Nef, Rock, and Jien stepped forward, their eyes fixed on Tsuru like predators stalking their prey. Though they treated Linlin casually most of the time, in the Fallen Angel Pirates, Linlin’s strength and status pced her among the highest-ranking officers.

  “You won’t succeed!”

  Sengoku’s face darkened with anger as he lunged forward.

  “Hybrid form!”

  In the blink of an eye, his massive golden Buddha body shrank and densed into a muscur, five-meter-tall golden figure. pared to his previous form, this one was more pad powerful.

  “Hybrid form? Or maybe… Buddha-Man form?” Linlin raised an eyebrow, not too surprised. Most Zoan users, including the Mythical ones like Sengoku, had at least three transformation forms. His previous gigantic Buddha form must have been his plete beast form. Acc to El, Zoan users could use special drugs to manipute their transformations, creating additional forms.

  Currently, Nef, as the ship’s doctor, was tasked with researg this ability. Though her research had only just begun, there hadn’t been any major breakthroughs yet.

  “e at me if you want to catch me…” Tsuru stood tall and fident. “I’m no pushover!”

  With her hands raised defensively, Tsuru kept her eyes on Nef, Rock, and Jien, unafraid and ready to fight. As one of the brightest stars of the new Marine geion, she wasn’t as powerful as Sengoku arp, but she had absolute fiden her abilities. There was ation or fear iance.