Big Mom let out a maddened roar before charging forward, clashing with Kong. Her overwhelming power came at a price—her mind slipping in the process. Ten years of her lifespan, all condensed into a temporary surge of strength… she was far from weak.
Kong staggered backward from the impact, surprised she managed to overpower him. But then he grinned, and with his sword in hand, he lunged forward. Big Mom, gripping her weapon, fed it a piece of her soul, restoring it instantly. Then, with a flick of her hand, she commanded the cloud and sun to fuse into one.
But this wasn't a temporary fusion—the three became one being for good. Once more, she fed the new creation a piece of her soul, forcing it to grow even stronger. Then, it fused with her completely, wrapping her in burning red-silver armor.
A sword, forged from the fusion of lightning and fire, formed in her hands. With a furious roar, she met Kong's incoming attack head-on. The resulting impact obliterated the entire island. Fortunately for Big Mom, she could still fly—thanks to her fusion with the living cloud.
Big Mom soared through the air, clashing with Kong again and again. Her overwhelming speed battered him, forcing him to stumble back with each strike. But Kong didn't mind—in fact, he welcomed it. He used the pressure as a chance to refine his swordsmanship.
With every clash, his technique sharpened. Rather than meeting her brute strength head-on, he began to rely on skill, precision, and control. Slowly, he stopped being pushed back. Soon, he stood firm, his feet rooted in place as only his sword hand moved, effortlessly intercepting her attacks. Even when she appeared behind him, his blade was there, blocking her strike with perfect timing.
"Everything has its rhythm…" Kong said softly, feeling the pulse of the world for the first time. As the sensation washed over him, it was as if everything around him—water, diamond, even the air—had a pattern he could now perceive. And if he could feel that rhythm, he could cut it.
To test it, he swung his sword gently toward the sea.
A sword slash shot forward. It wasn't a powerful strike—just a light, effortless motion. Yet the slash traveled far, slicing through everything in its path without the slightest resistance. It didn't slow, didn't waver. It simply cut.
The sea split in two, and the most terrifying part was that it didn't move to fill the gap. Kong hadn't just parted the water—he had cut it. And what was cut didn't simply come back together.
"The sword's not for me… too much control and focus," Kong said lightly. His personality didn't suit swordsmanship. He preferred clashing head-on, not slicing things apart.
"…" Big Mom stared at the attack Kong had unleashed without even trying. Though she hesitated, she ultimately drew out another ten years of her lifespan. It wasn't a real loss—she was practically immortal. She could reclaim the time by stealing the life span of others. The backlash from pushing her body this far would be brutal, but she had to win.
Once again, Big Mom grew—this time reaching a monstrous 65 feet. With a demonic roar, she shot forward so fast that flames erupted in her wake from the friction alone. Her massive sword came crashing down toward Kong, who dodged in an instant, not daring to believe that skill alone could save him from that blow. If it landed, every bone in his body would surely shatter.
"Bararaq," Kong said softly as his Conqueror Haki and Armament Haki focused into his sword. Lightning erupted from the blade, arcing wildly through the air before suddenly pausing—then compressing, pulled back into the weapon. For a moment, the sound of a thousand birds crying out echoed from the sword.
Kong pointed the blade at Big Mom, who was charging straight toward him.
A beam burst from the tip of the sword—narrow at first, but rapidly expanding until it was large enough to swallow Big Mom whole. But she reacted fast, unleashing her own attack, and the two forces collided in a thunderous clash.
The New World instantly felt the clash, drawing countless eyes toward the battlefield between Big Mom and Kong. It had been ages since a battle of this magnitude shook the seas—last seen during the legendary duel between Shanks and Mihawk.
Whether Emperor, pirate, or marine, all paused, their attention pulled toward the overwhelming presence of that clash. But for the two combatants locked in the heart of it all, the outside world meant nothing. Their focus remained solely on each other as they clashed without end.
Kong rocketed away, sliding across the water as if surfing. He winced, feeling the pain in his dislocated arm from the countless clashes with Big Mom, then popped it back into place with a quick motion.
His gaze dropped to his sword, now falling apart, unable to maintain its shape after so many heavy blows. With a sigh, he reshaped it into something simpler—a rod. The moment it took form, a strange sense of familiarity washed over him. It felt right, like this was the weapon he was meant to wield all along.
With a smile, Kong set another plan into motion. With a thought, his arm expanded rapidly, growing many times over before breaking apart and transforming into multiple clones of himself. He frowned—this technique drained a lot of his strength, and controlling them all was harder than he expected.
Shaking his head, he reabsorbed the clones, deciding to train the skill later. Having billions of clones at his command sounded impressive, but it would be useless if each one was too weak to serve any real purpose.
Boom
Kong suddenly swung the staff with his full might, clashing with Big Mom. The force sent him rocketing backward, but he quickly extended the staff forward at incredible speed. Big Mom, charging in to follow up her attack, was caught off guard—struck square in the chest, she was sent flying.
Without wasting a second, Kong kicked off the water and launched himself after her. Big Mom managed to slap the staff aside, but Kong leapt into the sky, gripping the staff with both hands and pulling it back over his head.
"Second Gear!" Kong roared.
In an instant, his body reshaped—first enlarging, then compressing itself to the absolute limit. Every muscle, every fiber, even his blood vessels tightened and condensed, amplifying his power.
He moved. With blinding speed, he slammed the staff into Big Mom's sword. Her pupils shrank in shock as the blade shattered on impact. She tried to push him back, but before she could react, the air was blasted from her lungs—Kong's staff struck her square in the stomach, driving the wind out of her with brutal force.
Like a rocket, Big Mom was launched across the sky—but Kong didn't stop there. With a powerful step, he used Soru and shot after her, closing the distance in a blink. Just as Big Mom appeared above a nearby island, Kong appeared above her, bringing his staff down with full force into her stomach.
The entire island trembled from the impact. Big Mom lay in a massive crater, her eyes rolled back, completely unconscious.
Even after pushing herself past her limits—even after giving everything she had—she had still lost. Deep down, she knew it. If Kong had simply waited a little longer, her body would've given out on its own. But he hadn't. He'd chosen to defeat her at her strongest… and the moment he used that transformation, the battle had been decided.
Kong landed beside the crater, breathing heavily. That new form took more out of him than he expected. As he sat down to catch his breath, he looked around, realizing something: Enel and the others were no longer within range of his Haki. He had no idea where he was.