"Zehahaha~~ Straw Hat boy,"
While the other Straw Hats were holding off Blackbeard's fleet, they were also being pinned down in return. Meanwhile, their strategist, "The White Knight" Neo, had been banished into the darkness. At this point, just staying alive was a miracle— escape was out of the question!
Which meant—
"Today is the day you die—!!"
Blackbeard Teach had recruited Ace, taken in Aokiji, and even tried to win over Katakuri. But when it came to Straw Hat Luffy, he had nothing but pure killing intent! Because Luffy was just like him— a man who would never waver, no matter the circumstances.
And so, there could only be one ruler. Teach had to take him out!
"Quake Fist: Destruction!"
As Teach threw his punch, his fist was wrapped in a dazzling sphere of energy. It carried immense force, stirring up sand and debris as it shot toward Luffy with terrifying speed!
With each second, the quake's vibrations surged millions of times, shattering the air itself into glass-like cracks, obliterating everything in its path.
"Damn it—"
Luffy had no choice but to counter with his own punch, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki and reinforced with Armament Haki!
But compared to Teach, who had been honing his Haki for decades, Luffy was clearly at a disadvantage. And with Teach's Quake-Quake Fruit nullifying his Conqueror's Haki—
Boom!
"Wahhh—!!"
Luffy was sent flying! The violent shockwave made him cough up blood— his internal organs had definitely taken a hit.
"If only I could use Gear Fourth…"
If Luffy could activate Gear Fourth, he wouldn't fear fighting Teach head-on. But the moment he tried to use Gear Fourth—or even Gear Second—Lia's Dark-Dark ability would immediately shut him down!
His powers were sealed, while Teach could use his Devil Fruits freely. This fight was completely unfair—
"Peerless Mochi Barrage!"
Katakuri transformed his arms into six rotating Gatling guns, coating them with Armament Haki! An endless barrage of "mochi bullets" rained down on Teach, forcing Lia to raise a wall of darkness to block them.
"Attack from a distance, Straw Hat!"
Katakuri's voice rang out.
"Uhh… about that… I don't really have any long-range attacks…"
Luffy's punches in Gear Second looked like "air cannons," but in reality, they were just incredibly fast strikes!
And the moment his attacks entered Teach's range, his rubber powers would be suppressed, instantly canceling his Gear Second.
This was bad. Against the triple threat of Teach, the Straw Hat Crew really needed Roman, Nami, and Zoro to handle him.
Roman's "Electromagnetic Sword 3.0" had incredible physical power, Nami could unleash a relentless storm of lightning from a distance, and Zoro—
As a non-Devil Fruit user, Zoro wouldn't be affected by Teach's power at all. In theory, he was the best choice to fight Teach.
But the three people best suited for this fight weren't here.
Which was why the Straw Hat Crew and the Charlotte family were being pushed back, step by step.
---
"Luffy, hold on, Nami and the others are coming!"
Although Jinbe's Fish-Man Karate was somewhat suppressed by Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit abilities, it was still much stronger than other Devil Fruit users who wouldn't dare to even get close. Now, it was up to him and Luffy to hold off Teach.
"Katakuri—"
At the same time, Jinbe turned to look at Katakuri, who gave a small nod.
"Understood, we will fully cooperate."
The ability to predict the future with Observation Haki was truly useful. As soon as the conversation started, the other side already knew the upcoming information. However, Teach laughed, "Ha ha ha~~ I don't know what you're trying to delay for, but there are no 'miracles' in this world! Katakuri, I'll ask you one last time, do you want to join my crew?!"
Facing Teach's question, Katakuri raised his new 'Earth Dragon' and showed his response through action.
"That's truly... too bad! Annie—"
"Eh?"
The black-haired girl sitting on Teach's right shoulder sighed.
"Actually... I really didn't want to use this move."
With a light wave of her hand, the rocks surrounding the girl, representing the 'earth element,' flew forward, forming limbs and a head, gradually taking the shape of a human before landing.
The stone figure seemed to move slowly, but its imposing force instantly surpassed the three other 'Homies' of lightning, fire, and ice! The figure generated a massive gravitational pull, dozens of times stronger than normal gravity, constantly attracting everything around it: dust, pebbles, stones...
This caused its size to rapidly grow like a snowball, and as it grew, its pulling force increased, creating the illusion that this stone giant had become the core of the earth, attracting everything toward it. It charged and crashed relentlessly toward the Straw Hat Crew and the Charlotte family! The most crucial part was:
"How is this possible?!"
"Mom..."
"Could it be you—"
Even the usually calm Katakuri's expression darkened! As the substances continued to be absorbed, the once vague and large stone giant slowly became 'clearer.' A fat body, fierce features, a pirate headscarf, and a huge stone scimitar in hand—it seemed as though:
"Eh! Isn't this 'Big Mom'? How could it be?!"
Luffy was shocked as well. After all, Big Mom's terrifying presence was just as strong as Kaido's. Even if Luffy had trouble remembering people, he could never forget the mighty old lady, the strongest woman in the world!
"Damn it, using Mom's soul—"
"Pirates are winners who take it all, and losers get nothing."
Facing Smoothie, who was distracted by the sudden appearance of Big Mom's 'Homie,' Shiryuu sneered coldly. He vanished from Smoothie's sight in an instant, and even her Observation Haki couldn't sense him! In a fight between experts, this brief moment of distraction was enough: *thunk*! A flash of a blade, and a stream of blood shot from Smoothie's waist!
"Don't fall down so quickly, I haven't cut you enough~~"
"Then come and try!"
Smoothie quickly wiped the blood from her waist and smeared it onto her sword to enhance its power. She swung her sword at Shiryuu once again! Though her strength was already weaker than Shiryuu's, now she was injured and exhausted... But at this moment, it wasn't about whether she could withstand it—it was about the fact that only she could hold her ground!
Whether it was the Straw Hat Crew or the other members of the Charlotte family, they were all caught in the Blackbeard Pirates' siege! If she couldn't hold off Shiryuu, the entire battle would collapse in an instant.
On the other side: "Charge! Biscuit Army!"
With Cracker's sword raised, a group of biscuit soldiers wielding swords and shields rose from the ground. They charged toward the enemies around them, blocking them fiercely! However, Cracker's face turned pale, because:
"Heh heh heh, how does it feel facing off against your former brothers and sisters?"
In the low, mocking laugh of the Grim Reaper, 'Doc Q,' the group surrounding Cracker was none other than the Charlotte family members! Among them were the Charlotte quadruplets: Charlotte Cant, Charlotte Cadence, Charlotte Cavalier, and Charlotte Gala.
"Bastard! I'm going to kill you!"
Cracker gritted his teeth, holding his long sword tightly. Even though he was afraid of pain, he charged forward, swearing to personally slay Doc Q.
Killing isn't anything special for pirates; who among them doesn't have blood on their hands? Even if they fail and get killed, there's nothing to complain about. But these members of the Charlotte family were covered in stitches, their muscles twitching, shaking, and swelling. The weapons of the Biscuit Generals, which had already cut into their bodies, were blocked and caught by the muscles stretched to their limits, making it hard to push them any further!
As their muscles expanded grotesquely, their strength multiplied several times in an instant. With a sudden grab, they forcefully tore apart the Biscuit General who was wrapped in Armament Haki, turning him into a pile of broken pieces.
"How dare you use my family as puppets? I won't forgive you!!"
"Kill... kill me..."
"Krija... do it..."
Not all the Charlotte family members who had been turned into battle puppets by Doc Q were dead. Some of them still held onto their last remnants of will, but after their muscles and nerves were completely altered, there was no chance of saving them.
That's right:
'Grim Reaper' Doc Q's main job was actually as an undertaker; being a doctor was just his side profession.
"Heh, they are nothing but the dying and the dead."
"Even if I treated them, death would be the only option. So, I gave them the power to stand again—"
Doc Q, wearing a black feathered coat and a wrinkled round hat, with a sickly appearance, smiled at Krija, who was being suppressed.
"Struggle as much as you want. Once you're seriously wounded and no longer useful in battle, you will join my 'Legion of the Dead.' That is your fate~~"
"What an ugly battle,"
Catarina Devon gave a scornful glance at Doc Q's army of dead. Although it seemed similar in principle to Moria's zombie army, these bodies were still 'alive'! Doc Q's bioengineering techniques gave these expert fighters' bodies temporary life. Even though they were nothing more than walking corpses, their refined bodies were more than enough as tools.
"Die!"
When Charlotte Castade suddenly attacked with a sword from the side, Catarina Devon only placed her hand on the hilt of her rapier, then: *whoosh*,
The two figures crossed paths. Charlotte Castade, the sixth daughter of the Charlotte family, suddenly froze, and then felt a sharp pain in her chest and abdomen—she had been stabbed.
The sword strike came without a trace and disappeared without a sound, almost impossible to catch. Not only did it cleanly slice through Castade's Armament Haki, but it was also a counterattack while dodging her assault! This showed that the opponent's Haki and swordsmanship were superior to hers.
"Without strength, don't talk about revenge; you can't even protect your own life. Mmm—huff huff~~"
——————
"Ka! Ka! Ka!!"
In the sky, a flock of birds desperately flapped their wings, flying away in the opposite direction of Whole Cake Island! That place was too terrifying. Thunder, storms, flames, ice, and gravity surged up, and a mental force that could instantly destroy one's sanity swept across, forcing all living creatures to flee as fast as they could, except for:
Whoosh—
A strange 'lion' passed by these panicked birds.
On the Sunny, flying through the air, Nami watched the distant flames rising from Cake Island and couldn't help but frown. Although she had informed the Charlotte family of their plan, she wasn't sure if it would succeed... "Don't worry,"
Zoro, holding three swords at his waist, and Usopp and Franky, both fully armed, stood nearby.
"Roman has never let us down."
And this time was no exception!
(End of chapter)
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