Linlin

"IT'S YOU!" Big Mom roared, her voice shaking the battlefield.

Without hesitation, she summoned glowing pink orbs into the air and hurled them toward Imai. The attack radiated a malevolent energy, the kind that drained the very essence of life.

Imai stood motionless, letting the orbs hit her directly.

"AH-HAHAHA!" Big Mom's cackling laugh echoed across the battlefield. "YOU'RE DEAD! I'LL STRIP AWAY YOUR ENTIRE LIFESPAN!"

A moment passed.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Eh?" Big Mom's triumphant grin faltered as she saw Imai standing there, unharmed.

"Don't you remember your own ability?" Imai asked, her calm voice cutting through the noise. Big Mom's eyes widened in dawning realization.

"That's right—it doesn't work on those who don't fear you. And I, Linlin, do not fear you."

"DIE!" Big Mom screamed, launching a massive ball of fire from Prometheus toward Imai.

Without missing a beat, Imai darted to the side, weaving through the chaos of the battlefield. She used nearby pirates and marines as shields, their bodies absorbing the fire meant for her. Ruthless but effective, it was the law of the battlefield.

Then, with a burst of energy, she transformed into a streak of lightning, zipping through the air and landing directly on Big Mom's arm.

Unsheathing her Haki-coated blade, Imai plunged it deep into the giant limb.

"AAAAAGH!" Big Mom's scream was deafening, reverberating across Marineford. The sheer force of her cry knocked nearby combatants unconscious and sent others flying.

From the wound, pink orbs began to leak—years of Big Mom's lifespan spilling into the air like blood. Though she had centuries left, the sight was enough to momentarily stun even her fiercest homies.

"Mama!" cried Prometheus and Zeus.

"We'll protect you!"

But their words proved hollow. Their fire and lightning strikes were useless, dodged or deflected effortlessly by Imai. It was as if she had eyes in the back of her head.

"Linlin," Imai said as she stepped back, her tone cold and commanding, "do you remember the day I saved your life? Along with the lives of the other Emperors? Out of all of us, I alone stand as the rightful sovereign."

Her figure levitated before Big Mom, streaks of purple lightning crackling around her form. Blade in hand, she raised it high, the dark energy radiating from it forming a crescent shape.

Big Mom's eyes widened in horror as she realized what was coming. She swung her massive arm in desperation, but it was too late.

"Sovereign's Secret Technique: Splitting Sea!"

A slash of dark purple energy cut through the air, striking Big Mom directly in the eye.

"AAAAAAAH!"

Blood—or rather, more pink orbs—spurted from the wound as a jagged scar marred Big Mom's face. The once-invincible Emperor reeled back in pain, her homies shouting in panic.

"Mama!"

"We'll save you!"

Imai paid their cries no mind. She dodged a retaliatory punch with ease, her form shimmering like lightning as she reappeared a distance away.

"You don't look any different, Linlin. Perhaps you were even beautiful once—before the souls, the gluttony, and the obsession with power twisted you into this." Imai smirked, her blade resting on her shoulder.

Big Mom opened her injured eye, her fury eclipsing any pain. "NAPOLEON!"

"Yes, Mama!"

Her hat morphed into a massive blade, its wickedly sharp edge grinning with eyes filled with malice.

Imai's smirk widened. "Now that's more like it. Show me your full power!"

"GET READY TO DIE, FIFTH EMPEROR!"

Thunder boomed and lightning streaked across the darkened sky. Heavy rain began to fall, soaking the battlefield and turning it into a perilous warzone.

Prometheus and Zeus transformed, their power intensifying. Prometheus became a raging inferno, while Zeus swirled into a storm cloud crackling with violet lightning.

The homies charged first, with Big Mom close behind, Napoleon poised to strike.

Imai raised her hand. A wall of lightning erupted around her, deflecting fire and lightning alike. Though their attacks couldn't harm her true form, their persistence was an annoyance.

Napoleon came crashing down, its monstrous edge seeking to split Imai in two. She raised her blade to meet it, bracing with her free hand. The impact forced her feet into the ice below, but her grin never wavered.

With a calculated tilt of her blade, she redirected Napoleon's force, sending it crashing into the ground beside her.

BOOM!

The ice shattered, forcing Imai to transform back into lightning and zip through the crowd. Her movements were erratic yet deliberate, drawing Big Mom away from the chaotic mêlée of marines and pirates.

"STOP RUNNING!" Big Mom roared.

"Who said I was running?" Imai replied, reappearing in front of her foe in a flash of purple lightning.

Napoleon swung again, but Imai anticipated the attack. She leaped onto the blade mid-swing, her momentum carrying her forward. With a deft movement, she dug her blade into Napoleon's flat side, carving a deep gouge into its surface.

"MAAAAMA! IT HURTS!" Napoleon wailed, tears spilling from its eyes.

"SHUT UP!" Big Mom bellowed, her voice shaking the heavens.

Imai chuckled. "As expected, Linlin. You only care about yourself. That's why you'll lose."

Big Mom's rage reached a boiling point as she swung wildly, her attacks growing more erratic. Imai, ever composed, danced around her strikes.

"All of you are the same—marines, pirates, emperors. You're slaves to your emotions, driven by greed and pride. You never think, only act."

"DIE!" Big Mom screamed, her blade descending once more.

"And that," Imai said, her voice calm and measured, "is why you're going to lose."