Sunny Island, North Coast:
"Nothing happened? Who would believe such a thing!"
Black smoke billowed from the chimney on top of Dizel's head as he fixed his sharp gaze on the Hitmen before him.
"My apologies, but that's exactly what Lady Spider reported." The Hitmen maintained a cold, unyielding demeanor.
"Are her words entirely trustworthy?"
"She's Lord Drug Peclo's confidante, and she uses a dedicated parent-child Den Den Mushi. There's absolutely no room for error."
Hearing this, Dizel's gaze darkened.
But at that moment...
Tap. Tap.
Accompanied by the sound of crisp footsteps, Baron Tamago gently gestured for Dizel to step back.
He then stepped forward to face the Hitmen's leaders.
"Gentlemen," he said, holding a teacup and appearing impeccably polite.
Yet his words carried a sharp edge: "We are the Big Mom Pirates. Our previous reluctance to land on this island stemmed from our respect for the 'King of Hitmen,' but that doesn't mean we fear you!"
His single eye swept over the Hitmen.
"In truth, we are the ones who should be feared on this sea. Step aside! We need to confirm Lord Cracker's safety, or else..."
He set the teacup back on his head, and his gaze sharpened. "Though you are all well-trained Hitmen, none of you would willingly start a war with us."
The Hitmen fell silent.
Even their leader fell silent after hearing this.
The atmosphere stiffened.
But at that very moment...
"Hey, what's all the commotion?" A sudden voice froze everyone in their tracks.
Baron Tamago's gaze turned toward the two figures emerging from the jungle: Cracker and Miss Spider.
"Lord Cracker?" But Baron Tamago's expression shifted instantly.
Cracker appeared to have just emerged from battle. His biscuit shield was cracked, but fragments of biscuit continuously floated up to repair it.
However, the reconstruction was noticeably slow.
"Lord Cracker, what happened?"
"Hmph. I had a little "talk" with that Hanafuda." Cracker snorted coldly. "If that woman hadn't interfered, I would have slaughtered him."
Upon hearing this, Baron Tamago finally understood that the tremor earlier was the result of their clash. He was no longer surprised to see Miss Spider with them. She had probably come along to stop Cracker from chasing Hanafuda again and causing trouble for Lord Luo.
Baron Tamago removed his hat and bowed respectfully to Miss Spider. "My apologies for the rudeness."
Miss Spider nodded in acknowledgment.
But at that moment...
[Devil Fruit User Detected: Baron Tamago.]
[Devil Fruit Confirmed: Zoan-type Egg-Egg Fruit." Analyzing and storing to the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia."]
As the voice of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia rang in his ear, Inu, the incarnation of Miss Spider, thought to himself, "Just as I suspected."
"As expected, only Roy Amos can analyze Devil Fruits. The clones created from Fox Tail can't."
He felt a pang of regret.
In truth, he had already suspected this.
The Devil Fruit Encyclopedia's internal records listed the holder's name as "Roy Amos," so only Roy Amos and his "Slice Clone," created using the Slice-Slice Fruit, could access the encyclopedia.
The Fox Tail clone produced by the Nine-Tails Devil Fruit lacked the ability to replicate the original body's unique traits and could not use the encyclopedia.
Though disappointed, Inu remained unhurried.
"Once I confirm that these two fox tail clones can deceive Big Mom and Kaido and successfully infiltrate their ranks, I can spare the time to have Zishu send Inu to pull a switcheroo. We'll still be able to analyze the Devil Fruits of the Beast and Big Mom Pirates—it'll just take a little longer."
"Even if those two Sea Emperors discover the ruse, it won't matter. At most, I'll only lose two Fox Tails."
He mused to himself, but outwardly, as Drug Peclo, he apologized to Cracker, standing beside him.
Soon enough, the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia chimed with a notification:
["Egg-Egg Devil Fruit" analysis complete.]
"Let's go," Cracker said, ending the conversation immediately. He turned to Baron Tamago. "Set sail for Totto Land at once and report to Mama."
Baron Tamago naturally didn't suspect a thing. "Yes, Lord Cracker!"
...
Meanwhile, aboard the Tyrannosaurus Rex Ship...
"Captain Hanafuda, what's this?"
The pirates on deck grew uneasy as the Tyrannosaurus rex strode onto the ship, radiating a murderous aura.
BANG!
Hanafuda's massive dragon tail slammed into the deck, leaving a deep dent. "That brat Cracker..."
He snorted coldly, clearly displeased with Cracker.
Then, as if reining in his temper, he transformed back into his humanoid form. "Forget it. Set course for Dinosaur Island immediately!"
"Return?"
His subordinates scrambled to obey but then hesitated and asked tentatively, "Captain, back to Dinosaur Island? Shouldn't we report this to Kaido in Wano Country first?"
After hearing this, Hanafuda glanced at him with a cold look in his eyes before saying. "First, we're returning to Dinosaur Island to retrieve my treasure and move it to a safer location. Then, we'll head back to Wano Country!"
With a sinister smile, he added, "This time, we might be staying in Wano Country for quite a while."
The subordinate froze in shock.
"Why suddenly retrieve the treasure? And why stay in Wano Country longer? Lord Kaido has invited you countless times, but you always refused, claiming it was inconvenient to prepare your plans in Wano Country."
Seeing Hanafuda's icy, tyrannical expression, however, the subordinate didn't dare voice these questions. Apart from this subordinate, none of the other pirates present objected. In fact, they seemed rather pleased.
After all, as mentioned earlier, "Fire Fist" Ace has been attacking them like a madman lately. Staying on Dinosaur Island might not even be safe.
However, going to Wano Country would be a different story altogether.
It was the stronghold of Kaido of the Hundred Beasts. Even if Ace had a lion's guts, he couldn't chase them there.
The pirates cheered up at this thought, stopped asking questions, and immediately set about preparing the ship for departure. At that moment, however, the pirate responsible for repairing the deck felt a nagging doubt.
"Usually, when Lord Hanafuda is angry, a single tail strike can pierce the deck. Today, it only left a dent."
He pondered this but quickly dismissed it as an insignificant matter. Just as both pirate crews were raising anchor and departing, heading their separate ways...
"All right," Miss Spider said, addressing the gathered Hitmen. "Let's head back, too."
"Back to Coffin Island?" the Hitmen asked.
But...
"No," Drug Peclo said, emerging from the shadows. A brilliant, sinister grin was visible beneath his clown mask. "To the Drug Peclo Company. I need to check on my Treasure Vault."
...
Meanwhile, deep underground in the pitch-black darkness:
"You Bastard!"
Accompanied by a deafening bang! Bang! A towering figure swung his giant blade, hacking relentlessly at the surrounding rock.
It was Charlotte Cracker.
Yet, beside him stood dozens of identical towering figures, all hacking at the rock with the same ferocity.
"Do you think you can trap me here with this trash? You underestimate me!" Cracker roared as he watched the rock crumble beneath his strikes.
But at that very moment...
"No." A voice echoed through the once-silent underground cavern.
"You're hardly a formidable opponent, but you're still a General Star among Big Mom's subordinates. I don't believe I can simply trap you to death."
As these words faded away, Zishu's figure slowly materialized within Cracker's line of sight.
"If I had confronted you earlier, there might have been too much commotion," he said calmly.
"But now it doesn't matter. I can kill you now."
The moment the words left his lips,
Swoosh!
Cracker heard the sharp, piercing sound of a blade slicing through the air next to his ear.
"Hah... you arrogant fool!" Cracker scoffed, finding Zishu's words laughable. "Just because you killed Snack, you think you're strong now?"
He sneered and raised his hand. "Don't get confused. I'm not on the same level as that idiot. A sword strike?"
He remained utterly unfazed. "That kind of thing is useless against me!"
With a flick of his wrist, he raised his biscuit shield.
Cracker felt supremely confident.
After all, he was a "Biscuit Man" who had consumed the Biscuit-Biscuit Fruit, which granted him the ability to create extraordinarily hard biscuits.
Even the strongest Great Pirates who had ventured into the New World had found it nearly impossible to damage his biscuits.
In fact, Cracker hadn't felt "pain" in years.
The only weakness of his biscuits was that they were vulnerable to water. However, it was clear that the man before him was unaware of this.
"Trying to cut through my biscuits with a slash? Do you think you're Hawk Eyes?"
Before he could finish taunting him, the next moment... the slash was upon him.
Sizzz!
Cracker felt his biscuit shield being cleaved apart.
No, "cleaved" was hardly the right word. The slash met no resistance as it sliced through his shield as if it were empty air. Yet, in an instant, both the biscuit shield and the massive man's body were cleaved apart.
"What is this...?"
Cracker's expression twisted abruptly into shock.
As one of the Three Sweet Commanders, Cracker had lightning-fast combat instincts and reaction speed.
"It doesn't matter. He doesn't know where my real body is."
This thought arose instinctively in his mind.
Indeed, the hulking figure was merely Cracker's Biscuit Soldier, a Stand made entirely of biscuits. His true form remained safely hidden inside.
Even if the biscuits were sliced apart, his opponent would never suspect it. By the time they realized the truth, they would be so stunned by the timing that it would give Cracker the perfect opportunity to counterattack!
He had already used this method in the past to kill several powerful opponents who could break through his Biscuit Soldiers.
But then...
"!!!"
In a split second, Cracker's expression froze.
Because...
Swoosh!
His Kenbunshoku Haki screamed at him. After shattering the shield and slicing apart the Biscuit Soldier, the countless slashes didn't hesitate for a moment. They continued straight toward his true form.
His opponent knew exactly where he was!
Panic finally gripped Cracker.
"Hard Biscuit!" "Hard Biscuit!" "Hard Biscuit!"
Without hesitation, he activated his ability, and hardened biscuit walls surrounded him.
Busoshoku Haki covered the walls.
But...
Sss!
The continued slicing sound the next moment told Cracker that it was futile.
Void Slash: Judgment - All-Cutting.
Yes!
In the Judgment state of the Judgment Devil Fruit, any defense of nonliving matter was meaningless.
"No!"
In this desperate situation, Cracker unleashed his full Haki, completely surrounding himself with it. It was nearly the last struggle of a cornered beast.
The next moment...
Sss!
A hand landed on his neck, and the slash struck. For a moment, Cracker felt a flicker of hope. Unlike his biscuits, this blade hadn't cut through his head. It seemed to have been blocked by Busoshoku Haki.
"His ability can only cut through matter. It can't directly force a cut when facing a person."
For a moment, Cracker dimly sensed his opponent's ability.
But his excitement lasted only that instant. Because in the very next moment, he felt a long-forgotten pain.
Yet, strangely, he could clearly sense that the pain of the slash was erupting from within his body!
"Void Slash: Judgement - Internal Decapitation!"
[Judgement: When facing living creatures, this slash deals amplified damage and pierces through the body's surface to destroy internal structures.]
Bang!
In the next instant, his head flew through the air.
"You said you and Snack weren't on the same level?"
As Cracker's severed head lingered in its dying moments, Zishu's calm voice seemed to echo in his ears.
"I'd say you're about the same, in my current state, you're both... pathetically weak."
(End Of This Chapter)
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