Baron Tamago stood in place, stunned. His single visible eye widened, and his mustache curled upward from the gust of wind.
"W-What just happened?!"
"How did Lord Snak fly out?!"
"Marine! What did you do?!"
The surrounding BIG MOM Pirates were frozen in shock, their eyes darting between their fallen officer and the unshaken Marine before them.
Wasn't this supposed to be a simple snack pickup?
Why had things escalated into an outright battle?!
Carl tilted his head slightly, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "When did I ever say you were here to pick up snacks?" he asked in a bemused tone.
A wave of confusion passed over the pirates.
"But… didn't you say to hurry up?"
That was a clear invitation to collect the confections, wasn't it?
Yet, to their horror, Carl's idea of hurrying up seemed vastly different from their own.
— CRACK—CRUNCH—
The rubble shifted as Charlotte Snack pushed his way out of the shattered rock formation. His muscular frame was lined with Armament Haki, the dark sheen covering his body like armor.
However, the deep, smoldering fist print embedded in his chest was impossible to ignore. Stray arcs of black lightning crackled around the wound—a clear sign of advanced Haki.
"Pfft—" Snack coughed violently, spitting a thick glob of blood onto the ground. His expression darkened as he clutched his chest.
"His—" Baron Tamago sucked in a sharp breath.
That was Charlotte Snack—one of the Sweet Commanders of the BIG MOM Pirates!
One of Mama's elite fighters, second only to Katakuri!
Yet, in a single exchange, he had been sent flying!
"…Solomon Carl, isn't it?" Snack rasped, wiping the blood from his lips. With a slow, deliberate motion, he unsheathed his massive nodachi. His eyes gleamed with restrained fury. "Today, you die."
— SHING!
The katana slid from its sheath, its blade immediately coated in advanced Armament Haki, taking on a jet-black hue.
Carl scratched his chin, deliberately mimicking a certain admiral's slow drawl.
"Ohhh… A Sweet Commander, huh? So scary~"
His lips curled into a smirk.
"Looks like we'll be needing a Three Sweet Commanders soon~"
"Attack together!" Baron Tamago gritted his teeth. He had originally hoped to avoid direct combat, but with Snack already lunging forward, retreat was no longer an option.
— FOOM!
Their figures blurred as they launched themselves at Carl with blinding speed.
"Stop underestimating us, Marine!"
Snack's nodachi came crashing down, carrying the full weight of his monstrous strength and Haki reinforcement.
— CLANG!
Carl's blade, Shusui, met Snack's head-on. The blackened edge gleamed ominously, crackling with the telltale arcs of Black Lightning Haki.
The sheer force of the clash sent a shockwave rippling across the battlefield.
Tamago seized the opening, stabbing his cane rapier straight for Carl's side.
— TING!
A single finger stopped the blade in its tracks.
"…What?!"
Tamago's eye bulged in disbelief.
Snack gritted his teeth and bore down with all his strength, trying to force Carl's sword back.
But it didn't budge.
It was as if he was trying to move a mountain.
"This can't be happening…" Snack's grip tightened. He was physically larger, stronger, and wielding a blade far heavier than Carl's. By all logic, he should have had the advantage.
Yet, the blade in Carl's hands felt immovable.
— BOOM!
Carl's knee shot up, burying itself into Tamago's abdomen.
— CRACK!
Baron Tamago was sent hurtling backward, slamming into the rock formations behind him. Dust and debris exploded outward from the impact.
Carl's scarlet right eye gleamed as he cast a glance toward the wreckage.
Then his gaze sharpened.
"…Huh?"
The lifeforce aura he had sensed from Tamago just moments ago—flickering on the edge of unconsciousness—suddenly spiked.
— CRACK—CRUNCH!
A massive egg-like shell had formed around Tamago's body.
Hairline fractures spiderwebbed across the surface before—
— BOOM!
The shell shattered.
From within, Baron Tamago emerged—transformed.
His head had morphed into that of a rooster, his arms now resembling feathered wings. His entire body radiated raw vitality, as if he had undergone an evolution.
His new form exuded an even greater presence than before.
"…Hoooo~" Carl exhaled slowly, taking a moment to process what he was seeing.
"That's… quite the ability."
A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
He shifted his stance slightly, preparing to engage again.
How many times could Tamago evolve?
Was there a limit?
His curiosity was piqued.
Carl stepped forward—
"WAIT! SOLOMON CARL!"
Tamago quickly raised his wings in surrender.
"We can negotiate!"
As one of the BIG MOM Pirates' most diplomatic fighters, his instinct in this situation wasn't to keep fighting.
It was to talk his way out.
Although this operation appeared to be led by Charlotte Snack, one of the Four Sweet Commanders, he was merely the field commander.
The true decision-making power rested elsewhere.
However, despite his status, Snack truly did not want to fight this Marine.
Because fighting Solomon Carl…
Would mean death.
"Oh?" Carl raised an eyebrow, eyeing Baron Tamago with mild curiosity. "You want to negotiate?"
"We came here only for Fish-Man Island's sweets—not to pick a fight with the Marines," Baron Tamago stated firmly.
"There's no reason for us to battle."
Of course, he left one crucial detail unsaid.
Had he known in advance that the Marine stationed on Fish-Man Island was Solomon Carl, one of the most dangerous rising figures in the Marines…
He never would have let Snack act so recklessly.
At the very least, he would've sent a report to Totto Land first.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Snack roared, his blade still gleaming with Haki.
"We are the BIG MOM Pirates! How dare we back down from a mere Marine?!"
His blood boiled with rage.
Tamago's words were a clear display of weakness.
They were members of the Four Emperors!
Why should they compromise with a single Marine?
"…" Baron Tamago sighed internally, but he looked at Carl expectantly.
If Carl agreed to a negotiated settlement, then no matter what—
He would restrain Snack.
Carl stretched, lazily scratching his hair.
"Well, I do hate unnecessary trouble," he admitted.
"But…"
His gaze sharpened.
"…You don't seem to be much trouble."
The words had barely left his mouth when—
FWIP!
Carl's figure vanished.
His afterimage lingered in the air.
By the time Snack reacted—
He barely managed to lift his arm to block.
SLASH!
A streak of crimson sprayed into the sky.
A severed arm fell to the ground with a wet thud.
"GAH—!!"
Snack's face twisted in agony as he stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding stump.
Carl nonchalantly flicked the blood off Shusui.
"The old man Redfield's speed techniques are really something," he mused aloud.
From the distance, Baron Tamago's expression shifted drastically.
"Snack!!"
His grip tightened.
At this rate—
There was no choice.
He had to act!
His body blurred as he launched forward, his speed noticeably faster than before.
Carl's scarlet eyes gleamed.
"I'm really curious about your fruit…"
His figure flashed—
BOOM!
The earth shattered beneath them.
"What category is it, I wonder?"
Carl's fingers closed around Tamago's wing-like arms, holding him in place with an iron grip.
"Zoan?" he mused. "Paramecia?"
This Devil Fruit ability…
Even the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia didn't classify it properly.
It was an anomaly.
"Damn you…!"
Baron Tamago's expression darkened.
This casual attitude—
Carl treated him with complete disregard!
How could any normal person be this nonchalant in battle?!
BOOM!
Tamago flapped his wings violently, forcing Carl back.
At the same time—
CLANG!
Snack swung his nodachi down with all his might.
Carl didn't even look.
His blade, Shusui, met it effortlessly.
Carl's gaze flickered.
"A pure swordsman, huh?"
He found it ironic.
Despite Totto Land being filled with Devil Fruit users, one of the Four Sweet Commanders—
Had no Devil Fruit.
Snack relied solely on his swordsmanship.
Unlike Katakuri, Cracker, or Smoothie…
He was an anomaly among Big Mom's top fighters.
"Damn it…!!"
Snack gritted his teeth, his attacks becoming increasingly aggressive.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Sparks danced as their swords clashed repeatedly.
But—
A specialist in one field will always struggle against someone superior in that same field.
And at this moment—
Snack was experiencing that firsthand.
Carl's red eye flickered.
His Observation Haki sensed Baron Tamago attempting another attack from behind.
But—
He didn't move.
Instead—
His left hand gripped the second sword at his waist.
A sharp, invisible sword aura began to condense.
Tamago's eyes widened in alarm.
"This is…!"
"Snack—!!"
Tamago's voice rang with panic.
"RUN—!!"
Snack's pupils contracted.
As a swordsman, he immediately recognized the lethal threat before him.
"Sky-Cleaving Draw—"
Carl's blade flashed—
SLASH!
A ripple tore through the void itself, spreading outward in an instant.
A deadly silence followed.
Then—
BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted, sending shockwaves through the battlefield.
Carl flicked his wrist, sliding Kogarashi back into its sheath.
A faint crimson glow flickered in his eye as he surveyed the aftermath.
"Interesting."
Snack had collapsed, a deep gash carved across his torso.
But—
Not far away, Baron Tamago was…
Transforming again.
His body morphed, encased once more in a massive egg-like shell.
"…As expected."
Carl exhaled slowly.
"This fruit isn't registered in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia for a reason."
— TAP. TAP. TAP.
Carl walked up to the dome-shaped egg.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
He casually tapped it with his knuckles.
Then, rubbing his chin, he muttered:
"…Pretty hard."
— CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
Thin fractures webbed across the eggshell.
What would hatch this time?
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