"KataKuri!"
Katakuri used his future sight to dodge a tricky slash from an unexpected angle, then immediately countered with a thrust.
At this moment, he no longer had the energy to give more detailed orders.
Although he had long been aware of the strength of these clones, facing such monsters in person still made him feel immense pressure.
"Understood!"
Upon hearing Katakuri's shout, Cracker immediately understood and activated his ability to create one Biscuit Soldier after another.
At the same time, even more Biscuit Soldiers emerged from all directions.
These Biscuit Soldiers had already been deployed around the venue, precisely for this moment.
With so many Biscuit Soldiers now present, Cracker's confidence soared.
However, two black figures suddenly charged in from the side, violently crashing into the Biscuit Soldiers.
In an instant, one Biscuit Soldier after another was shattered.
"What!"
For a moment, Cracker doubted his own eyes.
The two clones, Ray 1 and Ray 2, rampaged through the Biscuit Soldiers, each punch destroying one.
It was as if these Biscuit Soldiers were truly made of fragile biscuits.
"Damn it!"
Smoothie bit her lip and slashed with all her strength at Ray 1, who was wreaking havoc.
Clang!
Ray 1 blocked Smoothie's slash with an arm coated in Armament Haki, only retreating half a step.
"So strong!"
Smoothie's expression changed drastically.
She had only heard that these clones were powerful, but now that she was actually fighting one, she realized they weren't just strong—they were overwhelmingly strong.
If not for the advantage of a surprise attack, Smoothie even doubted whether her full-power strike could hit the target.
Although Smoothie's attack didn't achieve much, it still gave Cracker some breathing room.
"Hold him off!"
Cracker shouted loudly, doing his utmost to create more Biscuit Soldiers.
These two clones might be monsters who could destroy a Biscuit Soldier with a single punch, but that was all.
One punch destroyed one Biscuit Soldier, so ten punches were needed for ten Biscuit Soldiers.
A hundred Biscuit Soldiers required a hundred punches to destroy them all.
As long as he could create them fast enough, he and Smoothie could stall these two clones!
"Not good enough!"
Reddy laughed wildly.
Another black figure appeared on the battlefield with his laughter, rushing toward Cracker at high speed.
"Stop him!"
Cold sweat poured down Cracker's forehead, his heart leaping into his throat.
With Smoothie's help, his Biscuit Soldier production speed barely matched the rate at which the two clones destroyed them.
If this clone got close, he knew without a doubt that the situation would collapse.
"I'll handle it!"
Opera flung out a large mass of cream.
However, the clone strangely transformed into a shadow, slithering along the ground, bypassing the Biscuit Soldiers and quickly approaching Cracker.
Opera was shocked and immediately activated his ability to produce more cream, erecting a high wall in front of Cracker.
The shadow clone then abandoned its target, reverting to its original form and joining the battle to destroy Biscuit Soldiers.
"Cake..."
At this moment, Big Mom's voice reached everyone's ears.
"Oh no..."
Hearing her tone, Katakuri's expression changed slightly, but Invis seized this opening to deliver a swift slash.
Fortunately, Katakuri only lost focus for a split second and managed to block the slash with his trident, though the impact sent him flying back over a dozen meters.
"Not good, Mama's hunger pangs are acting up!"
Cracker was nearly despairing.
When Big Mom's hunger pangs acted up, she became indiscriminate, viewing everyone in her line of sight as enemies preventing her from eating cake.
And the group with the most people on the battlefield was clearly them.
Reddy's side, including himself, only had seven people in total.
Who Big Mom would target was obvious.
"Cake!"
Big Mom's eyes glowed with a sinister red light, drool dripping from the corners of her mouth as she let out a roar.
The massive shockwave sent dirt and debris flying, making everyone pale.
Even Reddy was no exception.
"As expected of Big Mom!"
Reddy soon revealed undisguised greed in his eyes.
Big Mom in her hunger-pang state was undoubtedly at her peak combat strength.
Snap!
Without hesitation, Reddy snapped his fingers.
Two black figures instantly appeared on the battlefield, one on each side, charging toward Big Mom.
Big Mom's red eyes glowed even brighter as she grinned and swung her sword horizontally, sweeping both clones, Control and Specter, into her attack range.
The two clones simultaneously coated their arms with Armament Haki, crossing them to forcefully block Napoleon.
The next second!
Both clones were sent flying.
Mid-air, the two clones—Control and Specter, who had absorbed the shadows of CP9 members Kaku and Jabra—pushed off the air with Moon Walk to cancel their momentum before lunging at Big Mom again.
The two sides quickly engaged in battle once more.
Big Mom clearly had the upper hand, almost completely suppressing the two clones.
However, thanks to Control and Specter, Big Mom ignored everyone else on the battlefield.
Seeing this, Daifuku and the others secretly sighed in relief.
As for why Reddy would stop Big Mom during her hunger pangs, they no longer had the energy to care.
The five clones—Pyo and the others—were overwhelming them.
All the Big Mom Pirates officers present had joined the battle, but they could only barely stall the clones with the help of the Biscuit Soldiers.
The only one performing well was Katakuri, who barely managed to hold off Invis thanks to his top-tier Observation Haki that allowed him to see the future.
"He still hasn't gone all out..."
Katakuri blocked another thrust from Invis, his peripheral vision catching two female clones retreating to Reddy's side, filling him with a sense of powerlessness.
Big Mom had deployed almost all her main forces, yet Reddy still had two clones in reserve.
How were they supposed to fight this?
Katakuri was once again grateful that Reddy was "cowardly" and hadn't sent those two clones into battle, or the situation would have collapsed long ago.
"Life or cake!"
Big Mom, annoyed by the two clones pestering her, activated her Soul Pocus.
But it had no effect.
The control chips completely suppressed the clones' emotions, leaving no concept of fear.
Big Mom's Soul Pocus left a huge opening.
Control and Specter struck simultaneously.
Two fists coated in Armament Haki slammed heavily into Big Mom's bloated abdomen.
"Huh?"
Big Mom flew backward again, her face filled with confusion.
From a distance, DuFeld watched as Big Mom was sent flying again and shook his head in disappointment. "The Big Mom Pirates are probably going to lose."
For him, the ideal outcome was for the two Emperors, Big Mom and Reddy, to be evenly matched.
That way, he could lend money to both Emperors and profit from it.
But now... his money-making opportunity seemed to be slipping away.
"That's Linlin for you."
Stussy smiled sweetly, her gaze fixed on Reddy, who stood at the rear of the battlefield, not too far from her.
A one-sided battle didn't suit her interests.
A stalemate was what she wanted.
Outwardly, she appeared to be admiring the battle between the two Emperors, but her mind was racing as she weighed how to intervene to help Big Mom regain the advantage.
At this moment, Katakuri lost focus again and was slashed away by Invis.
Fortunately, he used his trident and Devil Fruit abilities to mitigate the damage in time.
"I have no choice but to gamble!"
Katakuri had always believed in his ability to handle any threat, but now... Reddy's displayed strength far exceeded his expectations.
After stabilizing himself, Katakuri's feet left two shallow trenches in the ground. He then took out a flare and fired it into the sky.
The red flare soared upward.
At a large standing mirror in the town square, a Chess Soldier standing guard saw the flare and immediately approached the mirror.
"Brulee, Katakuri has sent the signal..."
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