"Are you ready yet?" Hathaway was sent flying by Charles's palm strike, crashing into the ground. She stood up and looked at Rosen. If there was no other way, she would have to give up.

Her injuries and the peak of her burst period were about to pass. She was already fighting beyond her limits, and her consciousness was starting to blur. After all, she was still human.

Her fight with Eric and Kuma had already left her wounded, and Charles's sudden attack had made things worse. If it weren't for her burst period, with her blood boiling and her potential activated, effectively suppressing her injuries, she wouldn't be able to fight at all. But if Rosen didn't act as he had just promised, she would have no choice but to abandon targeting Charles, even if it meant future dangers.

"Here I come." Rosen stood up, and Charles noticed immediately. But how much combat power could a severely injured person have? If Rosen were truly strong, he should have joined forces with Hathaway earlier.

The two had teamed up before, and while Charles wasn't afraid of them, he didn't want to face them head-on. It would be a drawn-out battle with no clear outcome. Now, Charles could sense Hathaway's weakening presence.

Though there was some risk, he wasn't in a hurry to leave. He saw the light of victory. Heather's aura was similar to his, and her strength was formidable. Consuming her would make him more perfect and powerful—an instinctual drive for evolution.

Rosen had been waiting for Hathaway to exhaust Charles in her frenzied state. Even though Charles was an immortal monster, using his abilities would drain his physical strength. He might not feel it, but his defenses and attacks would gradually weaken.

Charles consumed mutated humans to maintain his powerful demonic body, as those mutants enhanced his strength. But Hathaway in her rampage state was terrifying, and facing her unscathed was nearly impossible.

However, it seemed she was nearing her limit.

"Uncle," Natalie looked at Rosen with concern. Although his wounds had stopped bleeding, they were still horrifying, with bomb injuries and skin tears still visible.

"Room, Shambles"

Rosen's expression was grave. This was his first time facing such a powerful monster, and it was impossible not to feel tense. But he knew the upcoming battle required calmness.

Rosen flicked a stone toward Charles, who hesitated. What threat could a mere stone pose? He didn't even bother to raise his hand. But in the next moment, the stone transformed into Rosen.

"Roar!" Charles was startled and immediately launched a black mist shockwave. Rosen was prepared and countered with a sandstorm punch. The two collided, resulting in a massive explosion.

"Take these. Find a chance to inject them into its body. This monster doesn't understand Haki. Its strength lies in its abilities..." Rosen tossed a few Seastone bullets to Queen Hathaway.

She caught them. Was this his plan? It seemed too simplistic. She knew Seastone could suppress ability users, but Charles wouldn't give her such an opportunity. They had tried this too many times in past battles, and Charles had grown wary.

"Is that it?" Hathaway frowned.

"Do as I say," Rosen smiled. Of course, this was just a ploy to use Hathaway as bait to distract Charles. Sure enough, when Charles saw the Seastone bullets in Hathaway's hand, he quickly distanced himself. He was cautious about anything that could pose a threat.

"I hope you have other methods," Hathaway said indifferently. Since he was here, even if there was no other way, the odds were better with two against one.

But Charles suddenly decided against fighting. After retreating, he called upon the surrounding zombies to charge forward, but these creatures were like nothing to the two of them.

"He's trying to run again. This thing is slippery and cautious," Rosen noticed Charles's half-step backward and glanced at the giant zombie bats circling above.

"Black Prison Bullets."

Pfft ,pfft, pfft...

The flying creatures in the sky were few, and Rosen's attack instantly killed them. If Charles tried to escape through the air, even if Rosen knew Moon Step, Hathaway didn't. That would eliminate their advantage. And if he fled on the ground, Rosen's sand abilities would dominate.

"Roar, roar, roar... Die!" Charles was furious seeing the flying creatures he had painstakingly cultivated wiped out in an instant. Although he could create more, it would take time. He hadn't thought to hide them, as he had been planning to escape and had gathered them in the sky nearby.

"Attack him!" Rosen charged first. Although he had recovered somewhat, he couldn't last long and needed to conserve energy for emergencies.

Boom, boom, boom!

Charles was enraged as Rosen and Hathaway launched a frenzied assault, quickly overwhelming him.

This was to be expected. Despite Rosen's severe injuries, his strength and defense had improved, allowing him to perform nearly as well as in his prime. If fully recovered, he would be even stronger. Hathaway, in the final stage of her burst period, was also unleashing her full power. In her current state, she was no weaker than Charles, and with Rosen's support and abilities, Charles found it nearly impossible to escape, tightly entangled.

Boom!

The devastating battle left everyone present somewhat numb. They had grown accustomed to battles of this magnitude, and their hearts had hardened over time.

"Hit him, hit him..." Natalie cheered softly on the sidelines. Charles had killed too many of their comrades and was a nightmare for Lantis.

Rosen's domain was still active, but sweat began to bead on his forehead. Maintaining his Devil Fruit ability for so long was exhausting.

As the battle raged on, Charles felt increasingly uneasy. No matter how fast he moved, Rosen always appeared instantly, blocking his path. This frustrated Charles greatly. He didn't understand how Rosen did it, but an ominous feeling grew stronger.

"Whoosh!" Hathaway slashed with a demonic prison strike aimed at Charles, flicking a Seastone bullet into the sword energy. Unbeknownst to her, Charles had already prepared and dodged the attack at top speed. But Rosen appeared instantly in that spot.

It seemed Charles, though intelligent, hadn't considered that Rosen's teleportation ability came from an unassuming pirate nearby.

"Black Prison Bullets!" Rosen fired 11 sand bullets. Charles was startled but didn't sense the hated Seastone aura, so he swatted at them.

"Sand Spear" Rosen shouted, not stopping after firing the bullets. He formed a sand spear, condensed from golden sand, and hurled it with force.

"Slaughterhouse!" At the moment Charles was about to strike the bullets, Rosen swapped them with 11 Seastone bullets.

"??" Charles was utterly confused. His outstretched hand instantly retracted.

But Rosen wouldn't miss this opportunity. The spear shot forward, aiming to exploit Charles's momentary confusion.

Even if the bullets were swapped, they might not pierce Charles's defense or even reach him. Hathaway's attack was a feint, the 11 Seastone bullets were a feint, and even the sand spear was a feint. The real purpose was to distract Charles.

The true killing move lay with Rosen. As the highly compressed sand spear flew toward Charles, its target wasn't Charles himself but the air above him.

The spear exploded in the air, breaking into segments of sand that rained down, not yet releasing a sandstorm.

"Whoosh!" Rosen vanished, swapping places with a falling segment of sand, appearing almost instantly behind Charles.

A golden sand sword, wrapped with a Seastone bullet, pierced into Charles's body. Though his body was incredibly tough and couldn't be instantly penetrated, the sword still managed to pierce through.

(End of Chapter)