— — — — — — —
It was a massacre!
Charlotte Daifuku was really unstoppable!
The battle had raged on for nearly five hours.
And in that time...How many had fallen at Daifuku's hands? At least 300,000 people!
At this moment, his hands were completely drenched in blood. Fortunately, Daifuku had always been a ruthless and merciless person. Otherwise...If it were someone else...They would have already broken down by now.
"Ha~~ ~ ~"
Daifuku sat on a massive rock, looking visibly drained.
They weren't 300,000 ants, but 300,000 people!
And yet...He had done it.
Using the unique abilities of his Stand, he had accomplished the impossible.
But now...He could barely hold on.
Step! Step!
A hand rested on Daifuku's shoulder.
Startled, he turned his head.
"Daifuku," Joey said warmly. "What's wrong? Feeling exhausted? Seriously! You little brat, your stamina is awful. So young, and already this worn out?"
Hearing his brother's teasing...
"I....boohoo!"
Daifuku couldn't take it anymore and burst into tears.
He threw himself into Joey's embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.
Killing wasn't easy. It wasn't as simple as just moving one's lips. It was 300,000 lives!
If he couldn't get past this mental barrier...He would be ruined for life.
Joey spoke gently, "This path… I left it for you to guard. So those 300,000 lives—I will bear them for you. You don't need to be afraid. You don't need to hesitate. No one can judge you. Their lives… I'll take the blame for them."
Listening to his brother's soothing words...Daifuku's sobbing slowly subsided.
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled heavily, his body gradually calming down.
With difficulty, he lifted his head.
Wiping away his tears, he spoke resolutely: "Big Bro! No. I don't need that. I'll carry this burden myself. This was my decision, my actions. If I make you take responsibility for it… then what does that make me? Trash?"
"No! I'm Charlotte Daifuku"
Lifting his head with determination in his eyes, he declared, "I will never back down! I chose this path, and I will walk it to the end! No matter who stands in my way, I won't hesitate!"
Joey didn't say anything more. He simply looked at his brother.
He patted Daifuku's shoulder one last time. Then...He turned and walked away without another word.
There was no need to say anything more. His little brother had already made up his mind. What else was there to say?
At that moment, Scáthach stepped forward from the side, chuckling softly. "Daifuku! Impressive mental strength. But listen, if you've chosen to protect the family, then the whole world will be your enemy. You won't be a hero. You'll only be a good brother, a good son. That's all that matters."
Daifuku responded firmly, "Master Scáthach! I couldn't care less about titles. All I want is to be a brother, a son—to protect the family! Heroes? What does that have to do with me?"
With encouragement from his brother and teacher...Daifuku's eyes regained their sharpness.
"Mhm."
Scáthach smiled warmly and nodded. She truly admired the Charlotte Family.
This family...Was not made for heroes. And none of them would ever become heroes.
Because their sole purpose was to make the family stronger.
Joey had grand ambitions, but in the end, they all led back to the family's growth. Everything they did was for their family.
That was their goal. That was their ambition.
Everything else was meaningless.
Taking another deep breath...Daifuku stood firm, waiting.
Waiting for anyone trying to invade again.
— — —
Meanwhile, in other parts of the battlefield, things were changing as well.
Oven, Zuccotto, and many subordinates, were searching relentlessly.
They had practically turned the entire island upside down.
So many forces had been mobilized for this. If the World Government hadn't actually placed the Sand-Sand Fruit here…Heh. That would be a real problem!
"Heat Fist!"
With a single punch, Oven obliterated an enemy in front of him.
Creak!
After finishing his fight, Oven opened a box he found.
A smirk appeared on his lips as he stared at the grayish-yellow fruit inside. "This should be the Sand-Sand Fruit, right?"
Ziklot quickly walked over, examined it carefully, and confirmed, "Oven-nii, no doubt about it. This is the Sand-Sand Fruit."
"Excellent!"
Without hesitation, Oven stored the fruit.
Finally, through the family's emblem, he sent out the news of their success.
"The Sand-Sand Fruit is secured!"
Everyone received Oven's message.
— — —
Meanwhile...
Perospero and Amande faced off against Chinjao.
Together, they had gradually pushed him into a corner.
Chinjao was struggling.
His Hasshoken Secret Art was terrifyingly powerful.
But! Amande's Nut-Nut Fruit ability was excellent for defense.
Not to mention...Her slow yet unbreakable swordsmanship completely blocked Chinjao's assaults.
Even though he could overpower Amande in strength—He couldn't ignore Perospero.
Today—Perospero's Brush-Brush Fruit was fully unleashed.
Earth-shattering quakes! Swarms of beasts! Elemental attacks!
In short—Whatever he could imagine, he could bring to life.
Their battlefield now looked like a meteor crater, with massive holes forming all around.
The reason? Ink Meteor Shower!
Perospero had simply painted a barrage of small meteors, raining destruction down upon Chinjao.
Under this relentless assault—Chinjao was covered in wounds.
"Hah… Hah…!" Chinjao gasped for air.
Perospero and Amande weren't unharmed either.
They weren't gravely injured, but they had definitely taken some damage. Even in a two-on-one battle, victory wasn't guaranteed.
"This is....!"
Chinjao observed the movements of the Charlotte forces—they were beginning to retreat.
After a brief moment of thought—He understood.
Realizing what was happening, he made a swift decision.
"Jiyahohoho—"
He laughed. "I guess that's it for now! Seems like you got the Sand-Sand Fruit. What a shame, looks like our plan failed!"
Perospero smirked. "Against the Charlotte Family, wasn't failure inevitable?"
"Hmph!" Chinjao grinned. "Such arrogance! But fine, I'll let this one slide. Just know this—it's not over yet! You may have won today, but the others won't give up so easily. See you around!"
With that, Chinjao retreated.
Neither Perospero nor Amande pursued him.
Chasing a cornered enemy wasn't wise.
Besides—Who knew if Chinjao had backup?
— — —
"Ugh!" "
Cough, cough—" Kaido spat blood.
If Chinjao had a rough time fighting two opponents—Then Kaido was even worse off.
He was facing five monstrous brothers, each with Mythical Zoan abilities, hammering him relentlessly.
And to make it worse—Their teamwork was on a whole different level compared to Perospero and Amande.
"Hey!"
"What's wrong?"
Counter sneered. "You're done already? I'm just getting started! I'll cut you down, you damn beast!"
"ROAR!"
Kaido let out a furious roar and attacked.
Cadenza and Cabaletta intercepted him from both sides.
"Phoenix Kick!" Gala swooped in from above and landed a devastating blow.
BOOM!
"ARGH!"
Kaido's body shook as he spewed blood.
There was no denying it—His body was extremely durable, just like Linlin's.
A special kind of physique.
But—That didn't mean he was invincible. More importantly—His Zoan wasn't the Azure Dragon Fruit, which provided strong scales for defense.
Instead, he had the Griffin Fruit, a Mythical Zoan focused on speed and storm manipulation.
Its defensive properties weren't as strong. And in this battle—That made all the difference.
Kaido was getting crushed by the five brothers.
"ROAR!"
With a furious snarl, he shot into the sky, transforming into a mighty griffin.
He locked eyes with the five of them—And without a single word—He turned and fled.
He didn't even bother leaving a threat behind.
His griffin form's speed was insane.
The five brothers knew they couldn't keep up.
Counter scoffed, "Forget it! Let him go. Our mission is complete. Now we need to prepare for the next move."
"Agreed!" The others nodded and left.
With Kaido and Chinjao retreating—The remaining battles reached their conclusions.
"Tch!" Roger smirked. "So they already got the Devil Fruit? Alright, boys, we're outta here!"
For someone like Roger—This was all just entertainment.
Did he care about the Sand-Sand Fruit? He just came for the fun of it.
As for Edward and Shiki? They had hoped to grab an opportunity.
But after five to six hours of intense battle—It seemed things were wrapping up in a disappointing way.
After all—The prize was already taken.
.
.
.