I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 359 The Bet

After the battle at Mary Geoise, Uchiha Hikaru and Esdeath are now considered prominent figures in the pirate world.

Their half-body photos, along with Bulma's, had already been circulated throughout the ocean via newspapers. Correspondingly, their nicknames changed from "The Three Witches" when the World Government initially placed a bounty on them to "The Three Celestial Gods"—namely "King of the Sky," "God of the Sea," and "God of the Underworld."

Um... the last one is Bulma.

Although rumors have circulated that the captain of the "Dimensional Crew" doesn't actually possess Haki and is merely a technician, this claim isn't widely accepted. The general consensus among pirates and marines is that Bulma must be terrifyingly strong; if she were to personally intervene, it would likely mark the moment the world is reduced to nothingness…

Right now.

People from the Kingdom quickly recognized them by their physical features and promptly reported it to their superiors.

During this process, Cracker, one of the "Sweet Commanders," wanted to show off a bit and scolded Uchiha Hikaru and Esdeath, telling them to stand still and wait. However, after being casually glanced at by Uchiha Hikaru, he froze on the spot, unable to move even a finger.

—Golden Binding Illusion Technique.

With Uchiha Hikaru's current eye power, he wouldn't even need a second glance to deal with an opponent of this level, who is just an ordinary Shichibukai.

after that.

Esdeath subtly activated her "Demon's Essence," creating a white vortex around her that then dispersed like a storm. In just a few breaths, most of Whole Cake Island was enveloped in a white blanket of ice shards. Everyone shivered, and even the clouds in the sky were shrouded in a leaden gray, plunging the island into a world of ice and snow.

"Disperse, everyone."

Uchiha Hikaru spoke softly, his voice carrying an aura of dominance to every pirate on the island: "Our target is not you. If you want to live, don't block our way."

"..."

Having learned from Cracker's experience, the other pirates hesitated briefly before obediently scattering to both sides, clearing a path.

far away.

The figures of the old woman, Katakuri, Smoothie, and others vaguely appeared in the field of vision, hurrying towards this side.

"...Is that fat woman in the pink dress the Big Mom you mentioned? Her size seems even more astonishing than that white-bearded one."

Esdeath closed her eyes slightly, seemingly carefully observing the old woman's appearance, before asking a question.

Uchiha Hikaru nodded: "Yes, it's her."

Speaking of which, women in the One Piece world generally experience middle-age weight gain, and this is especially pronounced in Big Mom. Looking at her current bloated, mountain-like appearance, it's hard to imagine that she was once a dashing and capable woman on Rocks' ship. The difference between these two images is probably greater than the difference between a person and a dog.

But that's not important.

After all, their purpose in coming here was to "persuade" the older woman to join the new government.

If verbal persuasion fails, then special methods must be used to force the older women to listen to their "reasoning".

"It's up to you, Xiao Ai."

Uchiha Hikaru stopped in his tracks and said casually, "This guy's strength is about the same as Kaido's, and his defense might be slightly stronger. The others next to him are probably on par with Jack... you know, the one with the tusks in his mouth. With your strength, Aiolia, you should be able to finish the battle within fifteen minutes."

"Oh?"

Esdeath stretched her neck and exhaled, then said, "If it's just someone like Kaido... I think half an hour should be enough. How about a bet?"

"...What's the stake?"

Uchiha Hikaru didn't rush to agree.

"Let's bet on one command. The loser must unconditionally obey one of the other's commands."

Esdeath said this.

Uchiha Hikaru raised an eyebrow, looked at her with a hint of doubt, and then nodded slightly: "Okay."

Back when she first took Esdeath under her wing, she would never have dared to agree to such a request, since who knew what kind of bizarre "order" it would contain? But now… at least she could be sure that Esdeath wouldn't make any demands that would be detrimental to her. Under that premise, she didn't mind playing along with Esdeath.

It's highly likely that this will be a prank-like command, similar to Truth or Dare?

"Then it's settled."

Esdeath exhaled softly, and when she raised her eyebrows again, her aura suddenly became sharp and fierce.

A giant ice and snow giant carried her, rising from the ground on the cake island. Then, it raised its arm towards the old lady and the others opposite, palm open, making a "grabbing" motion.

boom!!!

At that moment, a massive amount of ice and snow appeared out of thin air, forming thousands of swords, each over twenty meters long—a diameter rarely seen in reality. After a brief moment of preparation, all these swords rained down on the old woman and her companions like a raging storm!

Then, several huge ice meteorites condensed in the sky and plummeted straight down towards the ground of Whole Cake Island!

"The Great Burial of Ice!!"

……

Big Mom's strength is indeed similar to Kaido's; both are tough, resilient, and durable warriors.

Her status and dignity as one of the Four Emperors did not allow her to easily admit defeat.

but……

Faced with Esdeath unleashing her full firepower, the Emperor of the Sea quickly found himself at a disadvantage.

First, Katakuri and the others who followed her were severely injured one after another, losing the ability to continue fighting; then she herself barely managed to hold off for a while with the help of three special Hozumi, before being overwhelmed by the relentless bombardment of the ice and snow version, and her eyes gradually became clear, changing from the initial anger, arrogance and conceit.

"Is it possible to... reach a settlement?"

Bang——! !

The response to the old lady was a powerful punch delivered by the ice giant!

Even at this point, the old woman still wanted to try to control Esdeath using the "soul spell" ability of the Soul-Soul Fruit.

This is an almost rule-like ability that can decide the life of others by questioning them. If the other person shows even a hint of fear, their soul and lifespan will be instantly taken away.

However, for Esdeath, the emotion of "fear" clearly did not exist. At this moment, only a fiery fighting spirit swirled in her mind!

"Mokha...Padma!!"

The words fell.

A chilling frost burst forth, sweeping across the surroundings like an icy blue filter, instantly enveloping hundreds of kilometers in the distance! In this vast space, the entire world seemed to slow down; images, sounds, even the air... all these things were frozen solid, falling into a state of absolute stillness.

In the dead silence, Esdeath drew her longsword and glanced back at Uchiha Hikaru.

Detailed comparison.

Esdeath gave a playful smile, then turned and opened her right hand, calling out the name of another technique: "Ice Storm - Prison Suppression!"

Rumble—!

At this moment, the most powerful icy aura to date erupted from Esdeath, sweeping across the entire arena once again!

And this time...

The freezing effect of "Mochapotmo" was solidified. In other words, from the spot where Esdeath stood, the entire Whole Cake Island, the surrounding sea, and the scattered islands further away... the entire World of Warcraft, stretching for hundreds of miles, was completely frozen at this moment, and even after the "Mochapotmo" filter was removed, there was no sign of it melting!

"...Is this yet another new trick you've developed?"

Uchiha Hikaru frowned slightly.

When she saw Esdeath intending to use "Mahavamsa," she had already awakened the "Fire and Thunder God" artifact, transforming it into a thin veil that covered her body. But now, even this veil was somewhat unable to keep out the cold from the outside world.

It's clear that the power of this move, "Ice Storm - Prison Suppression," is probably much greater than that of "Mokhapadmo."

If it had been used during the "Marineford War," then in the entire Mary Geoise, probably only Im would have been exempt.

—It's only "possible".

I guess so.

Esdeath flickered, maneuvering the ice giant back to its original position, and then gracefully descended from mid-air: "I originally wanted to give you a surprise during our next sparring session, but... well, it doesn't matter anyway."

"The space frozen by 'Ice Storm: Prison Suppression' will not melt even after decades. Unless one possesses freezing power far surpassing mine, it would be possible to rescue the victim without harming them, but such a person should not exist in this world."

At this point, Esdeath paused, "So, this should be considered the end of the battle, right? The time was exactly within fifteen minutes."

"..."

Uchiha Hikaru paused for a moment, then sighed somewhat helplessly: "Alright, I'll consider it a win for now. So, what are your orders?"

"Well..."

Esdeath's lips curled slightly: "Then go on a date with me. I mean, a formal one."

"...Huh??"

(End of this chapter)