Totto Land, Whole Cake Island, Whole Cake Chateau.
"Mama, excluding the 12 pirate groups dispatched to the Fernal Archipelago, the remaining 37 allied pirate crews have all successfully assembled on the island!"
"Furthermore, according to reliable intelligence, the Chris Pirates have also gathered a force of 36 subsidiary pirate fleets..."
Mont-d'Or stood in the center of the chateau's grand hall, holding his open book as he reported directly to the towering figure of Big Mom seated upon her throne. Scattered around the chamber stood Smoothie, Daifuku, Oven, Moscato, Compote, Jinbe, Capone Bege, Bobbin, and a host of other prominent officers and combatants.
"Ma-ma-ma-ma! 36 pirate groups? It seems that little brat has managed to scrape together a decent amount of influence over the years!" Charlotte Linlin let out a bizarre, grating cackle, her bloody maw stretching wide. Above her, the thundercloud Zeus and the miniature sun Prometheus drifted lazily in mid-air.
"Additionally, Vinsmoke Judge has officially led the Germa Kingdom into that man's service. They are currently on standby at Unzan Port!" Mont-d'Or snapped his book shut, his voice dripping with malice. "The moment the Fernal Archipelago falls, or once the battle lines grind into a stalemate to fix the Chris Pirates' attention, we can launch a devastating surprise assault directly on the Clifford Kingdom. We will wash away our prior disgrace in a single stroke!"
"Exactly! We must avenge our honor!"
"Once I breach the borders of the Clifford Kingdom, I'll personally tear the heads off every single one of those bastards!"
"With Cracker-sama's overwhelming might, crushing those outlying islands will be as easy as flipping a hand!"
"The biotechnology on Alvis Island will finally make Mama's dream a reality!"
Laughter rippled through the gathered assembly. As they began to fantasize about the utter ruin of the Chris Pirates, the atmosphere inside the grand hall grew exceedingly jovial.
However, amidst the celebrating crowd, Smoothie and Jinbe did not share the prevailing optimism. Instead, both stood with grave, shadowed expressions, locked deep in their own thoughts.
Tap, tap, tap, tap...
Suddenly, a flurry of hurried, frantic footsteps echoed from outside, rapidly approaching the heavy doors of the grand hall.
"Mama!"
"Something terrible has happened, Mama!"
Perospero burst through the entrance, his face completely pale and drawn.
The moment they caught sight of Perospero's wretched expression, the smiles vanished from the faces of the officers and combatants. The cheerful atmosphere inside the hall instantly bottomed out into a suffocating chill.
"Perospero, what is the meaning of this? Has that bastard Kaido come to cause trouble again? Or is Blackbeard trying to take advantage of the chaos to pillage our borders?" Charlotte Linlin's brow furrowed, the grin fading from her massive face.
"Mama... Cracker, he..." Perospero swallowed hard, his voice trembling with grim disbelief. "He was defeated!"
"Defeated?!"
Big Mom froze, staring down at him.
"Yes... the vanguard fleet sent to conquer the Fernal Archipelago has been thoroughly routed. Our personnel and warship losses exceed two-thirds!" Perospero confirmed with a dark, sullen nod, dropping a piece of news that was catastrophic to the core.
Instantly, his words acted like a boulder dropped into a placid pond, throwing the entire hall into a roaring uproar.
"Defeated?! How is that even possible?!"
"How could Cracker-nii lose? Could it be that the 'Golden Ring' Aeridar was personally stationed in the Fernal Archipelago?!"
"Are you mocking me?! That was a massive fleet numbering dozens of grand vessels! How could the casualties be so catastrophic?!"
Neither Charlotte Linlin nor her officers could wrap their heads around it. That was a grand armada of over sixty ships, spearheaded by one of their supreme Sweet Commanders. Accompanied by nine seasoned officers and combatants, alongside twelve subsidiary pirate crews totaling over fifteen thousand men, they had been utterly decimated in their very first engagement!
"Silence!"
Big Mom roared. The deafening outburst instantly choked the life out of the clamoring hall. Her face twisted into a dark, terrifying scowl as she glared down at Perospero. "Tell me exactly what transpired! By my calculations, Cracker's fleet should have only made landfall at the Fernal Archipelago today. How could they break so quickly? And how could the losses be this severe?!"
The surrounding executives and combatants turned anxious, disbelieving eyes toward Perospero, desperately waiting for an explanation.
"The defenses of the Fernal Archipelago far exceeded our estimates. Their large-caliber heavy artillery can punch through our hulls with ease, and the performance of their warships surpasses even the top-tier vessels of the Marines!"
Perospero's face was so dark it looked ready to drip ink. Gritting his teeth, he hissed, "But worst of all... the man commanding the defenses of the Fernal Archipelago was Oliver. Furthermore, the former Seven Warlords member, Sir Crocodile, has officially defected to the Chris Pirates. Cracker was severely wounded by a joint assault from the two of them. His left eye was slashed through by Oliver's blade... it's completely destroyed."
…
Meanwhile, within the Clifford Kingdom, the Royal Capital of Nakor.
"We completely sank five main officer capital ships and thirty-four minor tart ships belonging to the core Big Mom Pirates. Over half of their twelve subsidiary pirate ships were also sent to the bottom."
"Furthermore, two prominent officers of the Charlotte Family have been confirmed KIA: Charlotte Opera and Charlotte Raisin. Eight subsidiary pirate captains were also slain. In this single engagement, the Big Mom Pirates have suffered upwards of ten thousand casualties!"
"As for Charlotte Cracker, though our forces failed to capture or execute him, he was left critically wounded by the joint efforts of Oliver and Crocodile. Oliver sent word that he successfully blinded one of his opponent's eyes!"
Inside the central war room, Gilbert Arlan spoke with a radiant, triumphant smile, excitedly reading aloud the battle reports freshly transmitted from the Fernal Archipelago. In front of him, a projection Visual Den Den Mushi broadcasted his every movement, gesture, and word to the various officers stationed across the kingdom's territories.
Aeridar and Arlan had received Oliver's field report moments prior. The moment they confirmed the monumental victory, the two had immediately convened this emergency trans-ponder conference to connect the far-flung command structure.
After all, this was their definitive opening gambit against a Yonko. The psychological weight of this victory was astronomical!
Their adversary was one of the four legendary Emperors of the Sea ruling the New World, a tyrant whose monstrous reputation preceded her. She was not a foe that standard Great Pirates could even be compared to. Before the clash, countless factions across the world openly doubted the Chris Pirates' survival. Even within the Clifford Kingdom and the lower ranks of their own crew, those who harbored deep, latent terror toward Big Mom were by no means a minority.
Winning this initial clash wouldn't just skyrocket the morale of the entire Chris Pirates; it would stabilize the hearts of the Clifford Kingdom's citizenry and serves as a brutal warning to any opportunistic vermin slinking in the shadows!
"Tremendous! Brilliant work!"
"Sweet Commanders? The Yonko? The Big Mom Pirates are nothing more than paper tigers!"
"What a crying shame! If only they could have kept Cracker's head right there on the beach!"
"Pffft—! I bet Big Mom's face right now looks even worse than when the Captain turned Whole Cake Island upside down! Pwahahaha!"
Predictably, before Arlan could even finish summarizing the casualty reports, the officers connected via the Den Den Mushi erupted into a frenzy of laughter and rowdy cheering. Facing a Yonko like Big Mom had cast a shadow of immense pressure over everyone; this overwhelming initial victory was the ultimate shot of adrenaline for their confidence.
Bam!
Hancock slammed her hands on the conference table, rising to her full height as she turned a burning gaze toward Aeridar. "Since the Big Mom Pirates have taken such a massive blow to their strength, why waste our time playing defense? We should launch a direct offensive into Totto Land and take that old hag's head ourselves!"
"Fuffuffuffuffu... what an incredibly ferocious proposition."
"Though, I must admit, it sounds like an absolutely splendid idea."
Accompanied by a strange, mocking laugh, a tall figure walked with a swaggering, bow-legged stride into the war room, hands casually shoved into his pockets.
"Doflamingo, you're here…"
Aeridar began, but the moment his eyes locked onto the figure entering the room, his pupils narrowed to fine points. The smile completely vanished from his face, replaced by a sudden, freezing chill and a brewing undercurrent of absolute fury.
Hummmmm—!
In the next fraction of a second, a cataclysmic surge of Conqueror's Haki erupted violently from Aeridar's body, enveloping the entire war room in an instant. The very air groaned under the pressure, and spiderweb fractures ripped across the solid stone floor and walls, buckling under the raw, physical weight of his aura.
Aeridar glared at the intruder, his voice dropping into a lethal, quiet register. "I don't recall you ever losing your taste for sunglasses, Doffy. Now tell me... who the hell are you?"