— — — — — — —
At this moment!
Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino...The three of them were absolutely losing their minds.
They had one though about Katakuri: Is he even human?!
The fight was going well!
Victory was within sight!
And then what happened? He fully awakened his Devil Fruit. Wasn't his future Observation Haki enough?
What the hell?!
Right now, all three of them just wanted to curse out loud.
Unfortunately...Their status and pride wouldn't allow them to do such a thing.
"Unstoppable Donuts!"
"Nine-Headed Mochi!"
"Power Mochi!"
"Unstoppable Handclap Mochi!"
Katakuri clapped his hands together.
That moment—It was like a ninja casting jutsu, summoning attacks one after another.
Boom!
A relentless barrage of attacks rained down.
Close combat? Heh! Katakuri was bored with it now.
These three Logia Devil Fruit users were now stuck in a rather humiliating situation, getting completely outplayed.
BOOM!!!
The three of them quickly dodged the attacks coming at them.
No way! If these Armament Haki-infused attacks like that landed on them—Who knew what would happen?
Clang!
And then—A crisp, chilling sound rang in everyone's ears.
For a moment, everything froze.
"Cough... cough..."
Gion knelt weakly on the ground, her face pale, her hands and feet covered in small cuts.
But those wounds weren't just ordinary cuts. They had severed the tendons in her arms and legs.
There was no doubt about it.
Gion was crippled by Cracker.
Though the medical advancements in the pirate were astonishingly high. Injuries like these could be treated, restoring someone to perfect condition.
But for now—Cracker had made Gion completely powerless.
Cracker smirked. "Sister Mondée, take her away."
Mondée appeared beside him, chuckling. "Cracker, I didn't expect you to actually pull it off."
Cracker replied confidently, "It's just a Vice Admiral. Beating someone like that is nothing special."
He snorted arrogantly. Cracker had absolute confidence.
Mondée grabbed Gion, and in an instant, they both vanished.
But at that moment—Cracker felt an overwhelming force crashing down on him.
"Pretzel Roll!"
He didn't dare to be careless. He felt the attack coming at him was on another level.
In the blink of an eye—
Boom!
Cracker was sent flying.
"Tch!"
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
His face darkened. "I'm completely outmatched... This guy is on a whole different level!"
Linlin roared in fury. "Garp! How dare you lay a hand on my son?!"
Before she could act—Zephyr had already stepped in front of her.
His gaze was sharp. "Taking another step forward is not an option!"
Linlin was furious. "Zephyr! You're looking for death!"
At the same time—Sengoku and Garp moved in unison.
On the battlefield Cracker, Perospero, Amande, and the others...All of them were staring at their enemies.
After all, they were Sengoku and Garp.
These two old monsters.If they made a move, they wouldn't stand a chance.
At the very least—With just the people present, they had no hope of winning.
If they were fighting Silver Rank 1 opponents, sheer numbers could overwhelm them.
But now? They were up against Silver Rank 3 fighters—
And worse yet—Like Linlin herself, these two were on the verge of reaching Silver Rank 4.
At that level, sheer numbers wouldn't make a difference.
The tension in the air grew unbearable.
In an instant—The atmosphere became explosively volatile.
Everyone locked eyes, fully aware—If a battle broke out now—It would be a war to the death.
"ROAR!"
A deafening Roar echoed through the sky at that time.
Whoosh!.
A massive Azure Dragon coiled in the sky. Not far behind—An eight-headed serpent and a Sphinx appeared.
Following them—A Phoenix soared overhead.
Not only that, Oven, Zuccotto, and others...They had all arrived.
Even the little ones ran over.
The entire battlefield had shifted.
And that wasn't all!
Splash!
As the waves roared—Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr's expressions turned razor-sharp.
From all directions—Over a hundred warships emerged.
Each one massive. Each carrying hundreds of thousands of warriors from various races.
In an instant—The Navy's advantage had completely flipped.
No, It was worse than that. They were now at a crippling disadvantage.
Snap!
Joey walked forward, stepping off the Azure Dragon's head, his voice calm. "Navy, what exactly are you trying to do by attacking my Charlotte Family?"
Perospero sneered, "Do you really think our Charlotte Family is that easy to bully? The Navy dares to pull something like this?"
Hearing the two brothers speak, it was clear they were twisting the narrative to play the victims.
But the problem was—They weren't wrong if you looked at the scene.
The Navy had tried to block Big Mom's crew. But...They were still pirates.
And now? Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr were speechless.
Big Mom, Katakuri, Cracker, Mondée and the other pirates...all disappeared suddenly.
They were gone. Even the Queen Mama Chanter had disappeared.
At that moment—The Navy's expressions darkened.
This was a classic case of destroying all evidence.
With abilities like Mirror-Mirror Fruit, Clear-Clear Fruit and Book-Book Fruit at their disposal—Getting away was ridiculously easy.
Right now…Sengoku and the others felt a stabbing pain in their hearts.
They didn't see a family this shameless before?!
"Hah—" Sengoku took a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress his anger.
His tone was cold. "Charlotte Joey, the Navy never attacked first. We were merely acting on reports of pirates in the vicinity of your territory. Surely, this is just a misunderstanding."
Perospero chuckled. "Admiral Sengoku! This Gion attacked our Charlotte Family—how do you explain that? A navy attacking us without cause—imagine how that would sound if word got out. Hehehe…"
At that moment, a photograph was tossed into Sengoku's hands.
It showed Gion, mid-attack. And her target…Was Broyé!
Sengoku, Garp, and Zephyr's expressions immediately darkened.
This photo shouldn't exist.
After all…Broye hadn't even participated in the battle.
And yet…How was this possible?
Joey smiled calmly. "Admiral Sengoku, I understand that the Navy fights for peace and justice on the seas. However, baseless aggression against the Charlotte Family—surely, that's not in anyone's best interest?"
Sengoku fought to keep his temper in check. He spoke slowly, "What do you want?"
Joey's smile remained warm. "Don't worry. We'll simply have Vice Admiral Gion stay as our guest for a while. Nothing bad will happen to her."
Sengoku's expression turned cold.
He knew exactly what this meant.
But Gion's position in the Navy was no small matter.
She was the sworn sister of Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Grand Strategist of the Navy.
As a hostage, her value was more than sufficient.
"Hah—" Sengoku exhaled deeply, nodding. "I understand. I only hope that nothing happens to Gion."
Joey's tone remained pleasant. "Admiral Sengoku can rest assured. Vice Admiral Gion is merely our guest. If you wish, you may even visit her within Totto Land."
With that, Joey stepped aside as if inviting them to enter.
But the problem was…They could fight all they wanted outside.
But stepping into Totto Land? That was out of the question.
Who knew what kind of traps lay within?
Entering recklessly…Would mean death.
"Heh…" Joey chuckled as he observed the tense expressions around him. "It seems our discussion has reached its conclusion. Admiral Sengoku, I won't keep you any longer."
The sound of waves crashing filled the air. One by one, ships began to turn back.
Only the grim faces of the three Navy legends remained.
Zephyr's expression was dark. "Sengoku…"
Sengoku's face was equally heavy. "I know, Zephyr. I know! But what else can I do? If this photo leaks, do you understand what will happen to the Navy?"
"Charlotte… Broyé!"
"Totto Land may not be a nation yet…"
"But…That woman is officially the Minister of Protein for Tanega Island and Seed Town."
"The authenticity of this photo doesn't even matter anymore."
"Whether it's real or fake, the Navy will be in deep trouble."
"I had no choice."
Hearing Sengoku's words, everyone understood.
There was nothing they could do.
The enemy…Had planned this far too well. In fact…They had complete control over the situation.
Garp remained silent, his voice cold. "We're withdrawing."
"Understood."
And so, the Navy slowly retreated.
---
At that moment…Within Totto Land.
Ships rapidly returned to Cake Island.
Joey smiled warmly. "Mission accomplished."
"Yes!" Everyone grinned, their expressions filled with triumph.
It was a complete success. They had secured the Sand-Sand Fruit.
And…With zero casualties. Of course…Minor injuries didn't count.
As for Katakuri? His Devil Fruit had fully awakened.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this a massive victory.
However…Joey looked at Cracker in confusion. "Cracker, why did you bring this woman back?"
Honestly…He had been more focused on Daifuku and the Sand-Sand Fruit (Suna Suna no Mi).
He hadn't paid much attention to Cracker's side.
Now, looking at Gion seated in a chair, he was puzzled.
Her severed tendons had been reattached, but she had been injected with a special paralyzing agent. Right now, she was no different from an ordinary person.
Paralysis drugs…A widely used tool on the seas. It was specifically designed to suppress powerful individuals. And it worked wonders.
"Hehehe…"
Cracker scratched his head, grinning. "Big Bro! I thought you should have a wife. This woman—her status, strength, looks, and figure…
Everything checks out! So I brought her back as your bride!"
Joey's lips twitched.
So Cracker had basically kidnapped him a fiancée?
.
.
.