Boom!
A wave of dust exploded across the coastline, spreading out like ripples.
As the wind swept the dust aside, a thick candy wall—five meters tall—stood firmly in front of them. Charlotte Perospero pressed a hand to the wall, his entire right arm having transformed into solid pink candy.
When the two finally saw what had attacked them, their pupils shrank in unison.
A sharp, menacing blade had embedded itself deep into the candy wall, shrouded in a swirling aura of killing intent.
Crack... crack...
Fine fractures spread outward from where the blade struck, crawling across the surface of the candy barrier like spiderwebs.
The dark Haki slowly receded from the blade, revealing a gleaming silver sheen beneath.
That sword...
Both Charlotte Perospero and Charlotte Daifuku stiffened in shock.
They recognized it instantly.
It was one of the weapons auctioned off earlier—one of the Fifty Skillful Grade Meito, Kariumi—sold for over 100 million Belly to the mysterious guest in VIP Box 3A.
And the one who had won the bid for this famous sword... the man behind the 3A VIP box...
Perospero and Daifuku exchanged glances, seeing the unease mirrored in each other's eyes.
Commodore Rogers Daren.
The Navy monster who had created 10,000 supercannons and, in a single instant, reduced Shiki's sky fleet to ashes!
"You're quick on the draw..."
A low, cold voice echoed from the distant sky.
There was a pause... followed by a sneering edge of mockery in the tone.
"So how about this one?"
Before they could react, a sense of creeping dread seized them.
They saw nothing. No sign of an attack. But something made the hairs on their necks stand on end, like they were being locked onto by a monstrous beast—or targeted by a superweapon.
Their hearts pounded wildly.
"Shoot them... Enma."
Silence.
A streak of dark light suddenly carved across the sky.
Like a bolt of black, demonic lightning—everything in its path was torn through.
Clouds parted, the air split, the sea sliced down the middle. It moved too fast for the eye to follow. Even with Observation Haki, it was almost impossible to detect. It was already there.
"No!!"
Perospero's mind reeled.
The moment that black flash locked onto him, he felt an overwhelming sense of death, like his soul itself was being extinguished.
The world around him seemed to vanish—all color drained, leaving only a suffocating black.
Eyes bloodshot, Charlotte Perospero clenched his teeth and raised both hands, unleashing a torrent of golden candy.
Whoosh!
In a flash, an enormous golden Iron Maiden statue slammed into place before him.
"Candy Maiden!!"
"Block it!!"
He roared, voice hoarse with desperation.
The next instant—
The black flash struck.
For half a second, everything went still.
Then—BOOM!!!
A deafening sonic boom shattered the silence. A towering shockwave blasted outward.
The sheer force obliterated everything it touched. The earth within hundreds of meters crumbled into massive fractures.
The island itself shuddered. Off the coast, the sea exploded into a storm of towering waves, crashing like enraged dragons.
Dust billowed across the battlefield.
Several seconds passed before it finally began to settle in the sea breeze.
Where the massive Candy Maiden had stood was now nothing more than a melted pool of gold—a half-solid heap of sugary wreckage.
"Perospero Nii-san!"
Charlotte Daifuku was still gasping in shock when he instinctively looked to his brother—only for his face to go deathly pale.
A severed arm lay bloodied on the ground.
Charlotte Perospero clutched the bleeding stump at his shoulder, his face ghostly white. Not far behind him, a long black blade, wreathed in eerie purple-black flames, was deeply embedded in the earth.
The blade's path had cleaved a terrifying, thousand-meter-long gash straight through the island's jungle.
"...Cursed blade..."
Perospero staggered for breath, voice hoarse as blood gushed freely from between his fingers, pooling rapidly beneath him.
But he paid it no mind. His eyes remained fixed, full of unease, on a spot in the sky.
"Daifuku... When I give the word, don't look back. Get on the candy raft and escape."
"This island's close to Komugi Island. If you're quick, you'll reach it in about half an hour. Find Katakuri... I'll hold him off."
Daifuku froze at his words, instinctively shouting back, "No! Not on your own—"
"Shut up!!"
Perospero cut him off sharply.
He turned abruptly, red eyes glaring with the authority of the Charlotte family's eldest son. His voice was resolute.
"If you stay, you'll die too!"
"This isn't the time for arguments. That guy's power... it's monstrous. I doubt even Katakuri could handle him one-on-one."
"He hasn't even shown himself yet, and he's already taken my arm—just with those two swords. And we're both injured..."
Perospero's grim truth hit Daifuku like a lead weight, sinking straight into his gut.
"Think you can run?"
That cold, emotionless voice returned—closer now.
Both brothers snapped their heads up toward the sound, eyes widening as their expressions darkened.
A towering figure slowly emerged from the clouds above, aura heavy and ominous.
No ship, no flying device—he simply hovered in midair. The snow-white cape of the Marines billowed behind him in the wind.
He made no move, but on the island below, two blades suddenly tore free from the earth.
The black and white Meito swords shot through the air, slicing across the coastline. In a flash, they reduced the floating candy raft to a storm of fragments.
Perospero and Daifuku stood frozen in place—shocked and silent.
Their last escape route... gone.
The blades spun through the air and returned to the man's side, their tips aligning once more—this time, aimed squarely at the two of them.
"You're not leaving this place."
Daren looked down at them from the sky.
"Charlotte Perospero. Officer of the Big Mom Pirates. Bounty: 210 million Belly."
"Charlotte Daifuku. Officer of the Big Mom Pirates. Bounty: 180 million Belly."
"I am Commodore Rogers Daren of Marine Headquarters. In the name of justice—"
He narrowed his eyes.
"I officially declare your execution on the spot."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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