Cudius's figure appeared in front of Linlin at some point, his legs seemingly ent as he floated midair like a ghost.

  The Shinsō bde in his hand gleamed ominously, and as the words left his mouth, the bde extended, shooting out with incredible speed.

  Linlin's face twisted in arm. Without hesitation, she released her grip on her Sword. Her Observation Haki, hoo the utmost, guided her movements. Tilting her head just in time, she mao catch the trajectory of Shinsō.

  Even so, the razor-sharp tip of the bde stopped mere millimeters from her left eye, its iergy radiating so intehat beads of cold sweat formed on her skin.

  If she had been just a fra slower, her left eye would have been pierced through.

  What a fast bde… Linlin thought to herself, a rare twinge of fear fshing in her heart.

  Her remaining eye darted toward the figure holding the on. She didn't reize him. The golden hair, the strong build, the bck feathered coat—there was something about him that vaguely resembled Dofmingo, but this man was no one she had entered before.

  From the moment Cudius unleashed Shinsō, only the span of a single breath had passed. Though Linlin's Observation Haki allowed her to react, everything still happened so quickly it felt like an illusion.

  Linlin's gaze locked onto Cudius's faotig the fident, almost smug smile tugging at his lips. Her heart sank further. She had caught the bde, so why did he look so self-assured? What had she missed?

  Her thoughts were interrupted by an ominous chill spreading through her hand. A moment ter, an icy mist erupted from the tip of Shinsō, enveloping her left eye in a burst of freezing energy.

  Linlin's senses dulled, and within moments, her left eye lost all sensation.

  "Frost Breath," Cudius murmured quietly.

  The bde retracted bato its inal short sword form, the icy vapor dissipating as Shinsō returo its scabbard. Only then did Linlin unleash a pained scream, her voice eg across the battlefield.

  When she lowered the fist that had shielded her face, the extent of the damage became apparent to all. Borsalino and the oward her, their expressions shifting as they saw her left eye.

  It was pletely frozen.

  The eye, locked wide open, was encased in frost, uo close. As Linlin thrashed and wailed, the frozen eyeball began to crack, fragments falling away like shattered gss.

  Charlotte Linlin, one of the Four Emperors, had been blinded in one eye.

  Overwhelmed with fury and pain, Linlin smmed her massive fist into the ground. The force of the blow shattered the terrain, sending a powerful shockwave outward that forced Cudius, Borsalino, Enel, and Gion to retreat.

  Cudius nded lightly, brushing dust off his coat. With a smirk, he said mogly, "It's just one eye. If I had driven the bde deeper and unleashed more frost, your brains might have frozen solid. Look at the bright side, now with a blindfold, you'll look even more like a proper pirate."

  Borsalino nded nearby, his usual nont expression briefly giving way to surprise as he g Cudius. The attack had been undeniably effective—but also undeniably underhanded.

  As the smoke cleared, Linlin clutched her ruined eye with one hand, gring at Cudius with her remaining eye. The fury in her gaze was almost palpable.

  "You bastard!" she roared. "Who the hell are you?!"

  For someone who had spent decades ruling the seas, Linlin could accept defeat or even injuries—though not easily—but to lose ao someone she didn't even reize? That stung her pride more than anything else.

  Cudius calmly shrugged off his bck feather coat, rolling his neck as he offered a faint smile. "First time meeting, isn't it? Charlotte Linlin, allow me to introduce myself. Cudius, of the Wover. Leader of CP-X. I'm here t you to justice."

  Linlin's eye widened in shock. Then her expression twisted inte. "Cudius… You mean that Cudius? The Celestial Dragon?!"

  "Ah, yes, that's me," Cudius replied with an easy nod.

  Though she didn't reize his face, his name sent arm bells ringing in Linlin's mind. The man before her was no unknown upstart—he was a legend in his ht.

  Ba her days with the Rocks Pirates, Linlin had rubbed shoulders with some of the era's most powerful figures: Ochoku, Captain John, Golden Lion Shiki, and Whitebeard Edward e. Among them, she had been far from the most remarkable.

  But over the years, most of those giants had fallen. Captain John was arrested in aion led by Cudius. Shiki, the Golden Lion, had also been taken down by him. Even the Red t- Redfield, and the Pirate King himself, Gol D. Roger, had been captured or killed with Cudius pying a signifit role.

  In the eyes of the world's greatest pirates, Cudius's name carried immense weight.

  And now, with her eye gone and his abilities on full dispy, Linlin dared not uimate the man standing before her.

  "CP-X…" Linlin murmured, her Observation Haki spreading outward as she tried to grasp the situation across Totto Land.

  Sure enough, she realized Dofmingo and Crocodile had blocked her Sweet anders, Smoothie and Cracker. Her reinforts wouldn't be ing.

  "All of this was your scheme, wasn't it?" Linlin growled.

  Cudius casually touched his , gng toward Borsalino. The Admiral caught his look and shook his head slightly, silently signaling that Sakazuki had yet to rejoin the fight.

  Cudius sighed inwardly. He had been hoping for Sakazuki to step in as the vanguard. Between Gion and himself, both capable of holding their own, Cudius was ined to let Sakazuki bear the brunt of the battle. After all, wasn't that what Naval Headquarters was for?

  Though he erfectly capable of fighting, Cudius saw no reason to exhaust himself unnecessarily when someone else could do it instead.

  "Well," he thought with a wry smile, "I suppose I'll o stall her a little longer."

  Out loud, he said, "Yes, Charlotte Linlin, everything you see here has beeiculously pnned by CP-X. Wele to your own funeral."

  Linlin's fury reached its peak. Raising her arms, she growled, "Soul Absorption!!!"

  With her and, an overwhelming pull emanated from her body. The Homies surrounding her crumbled, their essence drained as she absorbed their life force. The power of souls surged into her body, amplifyirength further.

  Cudius's expression turned grim as he quickly drew his bde. Frost-coated energy surged along the bde's edge as he unleashed a ssh, aiming to disrupt her.

  Before the attack could nd, the grouh Linlin exploded, molten magma erupting violently and throwing her into the air. Sakazuki's imposing figure emerged from the molten pit.

  "Great Eruption!!!" he bellowed, his voice filled with fury.

  A massive magma fist unched upward, striking Linlin and sending her hurtling high into the sky. Moments ter, the fiery fist erupted like a volic explosion, briefly lighting up the battlefield.

  When the fmes subsided, Sakazuki stood breathing heavily, blood dripping from the er of his mouth. His injuries from earlier were evident, his movements slightly strained.

  Cudius regarded him with mock . "Sakazuki, are you alright? o take a break?"

  Despite his exhaustion, Sakazuki's fiery will remained unshaken. He waved Cudius off, his voice resolute. "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I ha!"

  Cudius smirked inwardly. "That's perfect. As long as he's willing to keep fighting, I don't o step in."

  Outwardly, he nodded and said, "Very well, but be careful. Don't push yourself too hard."

  ***

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