Cracker originally wanted to mock Sherwin longsword, but when he saw that the other side didn't even say a word before directly slashing at him, he couldn't bother with that anymore. He controlled the Biscuit Soldier to raise its left arm, bringing up the biscuit shield to defend.
Of course, he didn't forget to coat the biscuit shield with Armament Haki.
Only…
Crack.
Accompanied by a sound that wasn't crisp at all, Sherwin longsword cut through the biscuit shield as if slicing tofu.
The shield, even covered with Armament Haki, was effortlessly split in two. Along with it, the Biscuit Soldier arm was severed, and the slash carried on, splitting open the soldier stomach, exposing part of the real Cracker face hidden inside.
Cracker, hiding within the Biscuit Soldier, froze for a moment. He had always been confident in his "armor." Even though he knew Sherwin had made a bit of a name for himself on the Grand Line, he hadn't taken it seriously. After all… that was just in the first half of the so-called "Paradise."
Besides, it wasn't like he had been careless, right? Didn't he use Armament too?!No matter how he thought about it, Cracker just couldn't figure out why Sherwin was able to cut through his "armor" so easily…
In any case, he refused to believe Sherwin Armament Haki had reached such an absurd level.
Cracker was confident that even his own mother, Charlotte Linlin, could only crush his biscuits with brute strength, but she could never so effortlessly slice through them like Sherwin had, as if it barely took any effort.
On the other side, Sherwin himself was also a little stunned after doing all this…
Is the Big Mom Pirates Armament really this weak? From the feeling transmitted back through his sword just now,
apart from a slight resistance at the very beginning, the rest felt no different from slicing through a layer of hard cardboard—maybe even easier. Sherwin had almost stumbled just now from using too much strength.
"Hmph! So you're a Devil Fruit user too?"
Coming back to his senses, Cracker quickly repaired his "armor" and at the same time summoned several more biscuit soldiers.
Each biscuit soldier held a "Pretzel" in its hand. From within the stomach cavity of the rearmost soldier came his sinister voice—clearly, he no longer intended to hide.
"Let me guess what your Devil Fruit power is. The Severing Fruit? The Sharpness Fruit? Or maybe the Corrosion Fruit?" Cracker tested him with words while commanding the biscuit soldiers to attack. "But in front of my army of biscuits, none of that matters!"
"You guessed wrong. I ate the Roast Meat Fruit, I'm a Roast Meat Man!"
Sherwin spouted nonsense while swinging the Longsword, spinning into motion.
Monster Hunter Style · Waltz of Savage Chaos!
"Who the hell would believe that?!"
Cracker cursed furiously from inside the rearmost soldier as he watched Sherwin once again easily slash his biscuit army into pieces.
"Damn it! Just what is with this guy Devil Fruit power?!"
Although Cracker could continue to create more biscuit soldiers, it was meaningless—only a waste of his stamina.
Sherwin looked at the biscuits. Those hit by flying slashes merely chipped off a few crumbs, while those struck directly by the Longsword crumbled apart like paper. It seemed he was beginning to understand what was going on.
Sherwin couldn't quite remember the exact stats of his sword from the game, but there was one thing he was sure of… this weapon had the Water element, and if he recalled correctly, it was the longsword with the highest Water attribute value of that generation.
And Cracker biscuits had a huge weakness—when they touched water, they became soft.
Did that mean… Crocodile would be countered by me too?Sherwin looked at the longsword in his hand and couldn't help but grin.
Because before, whether he was cutting down sea beasts or pirates, the Water attribute attack of longsword had simply mixed into their blood.
That was why Sherwin had never noticed this trait. If it weren't for Cracker, who just happened to be hard-countered by longsword, throwing himself in front of him, who knew when Sherwin would have discovered this unexpected bonus.
What more, Sherwin now had another thought—if he could control the Water attribute from White Nagi to become seawater in the One Piece world, then maybe it could evolve from being Cracker bane and Crocodile bane… into a Devil Fruit users bane altogether.
Oh, wait—that wrong. Seawater itself doesn't affect Devil Fruit powers directly, and if the amount isn't enough, it useless against the user anyway.
Tch! Got excited for nothing.
Sherwin curled his lips and then happily went back to dismantling Cracker biscuit soldiers.
After sending out several more soldiers to test things, Cracker seemed to realize that the true problem lay in the longsword Sherwin was holding.
"A sword that can unleash water attacks?!"
Cracker voice sounded full of gritted teeth. He hadn't expected that what was supposed to be a simple capture mission would end up running into a weapon that was the natural enemy of his ability.
No way, I can't let this weapon fall into anyone else hands!If at first Cracker was only carrying out the mission Big Mom gave him, now he had another reason—to seize the Longsword for himself.
Coincidentally, Sherwin had the same thought about the Pretzel in Cracker hands.
"Oh? Not dodging anymore? I thought you'd keep wasting time hiding behind those biscuit soldiers."
Sherwin looked at Cracker, who had dismissed all the biscuit warriors and now stood before him wielding the real "Pretzel," and mocked him in a taunting tone.
"Hmph! I've already discovered the secret of your blade. The game ends here!"
Cracker leveled the enormous twin-edged sword, taller than a man, and thrust it fiercely toward Sherwin.
"Wave—Pretzel!"
Sherwin mimicked the motion, raising the Longsword horizontally—
Monster Hunter Style · Crimson Horn!
The tail of the longsword clashed with the tip of Pretzel blade. After a brief deadlock, the force of the Longsword knocked Pretzel aside. Seizing victory in the clash, the Longsword drove straight forward, piercing toward Cracker chest.
"Puchi!"
"Ahhhh! It hurts, it hurts so muchhh!"
Although Cracker tried his best to dodge, Sherwin blade still pierced through his shoulder. Afraid of pain, he immediately let out a loud wail while wildly swinging Pretzel in an attempt to force Sherwin back.
With a light backward step, Sherwin retreated out of the range of Cracker frantic swings, his expression growing slightly complicated.
How should he put it…
A little disappointing.
After all, this was a high-ranking officer of a Yonko with a bounty of over six hundred million. Yet, without the protection of his Devil Fruit ability, his combat strength had fallen off far too sharply.
And a pirate, of all people, being this afraid of pain…
Just how did he even train his Armament Haki?
"To think you actually hurt me! I usually don't even dare get an injection!"
Clutching his wounded shoulder, Cracker glared at Sherwin viciously.
And that something to be proud of? You're really disgracing the title of "Thousand Arms."
Sherwin curled his lips speechlessly, then stopped bothering with words. He raised the Longsword again and swung at him.
Cracker reaction once more surprised him…
Because the man actually began dodging around while fighting, even going so far as to summon biscuit shields or biscuit soldiers to block Sherwin strikes—though he knew full well that his biscuits couldn't hold up.
Sherwin instantly lost all interest. With several consecutive strikes, he sent the already spiritless Cracker stumbling and staggering. Then, swiftly sheathing his blade, Sherwin took the stance of Iai…
Link Time + Monster Hunter Style · Secret Art · Scarlet Heaven End!
Although by using Link Time Sherwin could almost instant-cast Scarlet Heaven End, this came with a drawback.
This accelerated version of Scarlet Heaven End was relatively weaker in power. But against Cracker, whose combat ability had plummeted after losing his Devil Fruit powers, it was more than enough…
"D-damn it! How is this possible?!"
Sensing the threat, Cracker no longer had time to keep dodging. He raised Pretzel in front of him with all the speed he could muster and poured his Armament Haki into it, desperately trying to block Sherwin strike—the kind of strike that reminded him of Big Mom when she went berserk.
Clang!
The two uniquely named and shaped swords clashed together, releasing a violent crash.
But that was all. In the very next instant, Sherwin strike sent Cracker—sword and all—flying through the air, smashing straight into a nearby building…