"Hurry up!"
Brulee was panicking inside, constantly urging the chess soldiers to move faster.
These chess soldiers were the troops stationed on various islands.
The BIG MOM Pirates had gathered all their officers to scheme against Reddy, leaving the armies stationed on the islands as the only force defending Whole Cake Island from external threats.
But now, that no longer mattered.
"If I send the signal, it means the BIG MOM Pirates are in their most critical moment. You must quickly deploy the troops from each island to Whole Cake Island."
Brulee's mind echoed with her brother Katakuri's instructions before the tea party began, leaving her in turmoil.
The most critical moment?
Did that man already possess the power to destroy the BIG MOM Pirates?
Even her brother Katakuri had lost confidence, pinning his hopes on these pawns. Could they really turn things around?
Thinking of this, Brulee desperately wanted to return to Whole Cake Island to see for herself, but she didn't dare.
Katakuri had long emphasized her importance.
Without her, the Mirror-Mirror Fruit user, the BIG MOM Pirates would lose all hope.
Brulee watched as the endless stream of soldiers passed by, her face blank as she muttered softly, "Brother Katakuri, is there really still hope?"
...
On the plaza.
The chess soldiers marched out of the full-length mirror in an orderly fashion, but before they could even regroup, an exasperated Perospero sent them straight to the venue.
"Mom will never lose."
Perospero turned to look in the direction of the venue, forcing himself to stay calm.
He admitted that Reddy's clones were indeed strong, and Reddy himself possessed the Lunarian race's talents, but there was one hurdle they couldn't overcome.
Reddy's group was too small in number!
The chess soldiers might be like ants in the face of strong fighters, but even the strongest could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Moreover, the venue wasn't just guarded by BIG MOM—there were also Katakuri and the other officers.
Five thousand!
Ten thousand!
Fifty thousand!
Aside from Whole Cake Island, there were 34 islands in Totto Land.
The New World was essentially a bloody coliseum set up by the World Government.
While BIG MOM was an Emperor of the Sea, there were still ambitious individuals who wanted to overthrow the BIG MOM Pirates.
Thus, each island was garrisoned with a considerable number of troops.
But now, aside from a minimal force left to maintain basic order, all the troops from the 34 islands had gathered on Whole Cake Island.
This was a high-stakes gamble they had no choice but to take!
Perospero didn't wait for all the troops to arrive. Once roughly ten thousand soldiers had assembled, he led them to reinforce the venue.
However, he didn't know that a pair of eyes was watching him.
"Found you."
Reddy, hidden in another dimension, watched as Perospero and the others rushed to reinforce the tea party. He then turned his gaze to the large full-length mirror standing on the plaza.
Aside from BIG MOM, who remained nearly invincible, the clones had already gained the upper hand, completely suppressing Katakuri and the other officers.
Katakuri and the others hadn't even noticed that Reddy had quietly slipped into another dimension and had been lying in wait here all along.
"Let's go."
Reddy, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face, walked toward the plaza.
The Secretary and the Maid followed closely behind.
Bringing up the rear wasn't Mon, but one of the five clones originally assigned to Mon.
Brulee was nothing special—even without the Maid and the Secretary, Reddy was confident he could capture her himself.
Before long, Reddy arrived in front of the full-length mirror.
From within the other dimension, he carefully examined the mirror.
The mirror's surface was like a calm lake, rippling whenever a chess soldier passed through.
Under the power of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit, the mirror appeared transparent, allowing a clear view of the Mirror World inside.
Reddy first tested something.
The other dimension created by the Door-Door Fruit's power clearly had a rule-based separation from the Mirror World, meaning he couldn't directly enter the Mirror World from the other dimension.
But Reddy didn't care.
At this point, did he really need to worry about someone stopping him from entering the Mirror World, which was right in front of him?
The answer was obvious.
The moment Reddy appeared before the full-length mirror, the other Charlotte family members responsible for guiding the chess soldiers were stunned.
"Re... Reddy..."
Mascarpone, the 34th son of the Charlotte family and the Minister of Tableware, muttered in despair, his eyes filled with hopelessness.
It wasn't just him—the other Charlotte family members left on the plaza also stared at Reddy in despair as he casually stepped into the full-length mirror with the Maid and the Secretary.
The chess soldiers passing through didn't hinder him in the slightest.
Laurin, the 18th son of the Charlotte family and the eldest present, was the first to react. He shouted, "Quick, notify Brulee! Tell her to leave the Mirror World immediately and trap that man inside!"
The other siblings immediately understood.
That's right!
If Brulee left the Mirror World and deactivated her ability, Reddy would be trapped inside until he starved to death.
Who would have thought that the turning point of this war would be decided by them?
...
Brulee stared blankly at Reddy and his group walking toward her.
In the end, she couldn't resist worrying about her brother Katakuri and had secretly come here, planning to sneak a peek at the venue.
But the moment she arrived, she saw Reddy and the other two entering the Mirror World.
They ran into each other face to face.
"What a coincidence."
Reddy couldn't help but laugh.
He truly hadn't expected to run into his target the moment he entered.
The Maid and the Secretary immediately took action.
Facing two clones, the cramped Mirror World severely limited the chess soldiers' numerical advantage.
In just one clash, the army of chess soldiers was routed.
The Maid guarded the exit, while the Secretary drove the fleeing soldiers further away.
"Wh... What do you want?"
Now alone against Reddy, Brulee was panicking inside.
Reddy smiled without answering and snapped his fingers.
A clone codenamed Puppet appeared out of thin air and walked expressionlessly toward Brulee.
Before long, a puppet fell to the ground.
Reddy picked up the puppet, his eyes gleaming.
The most important target had been captured. Now, it was time to clean up.
...
"Where did Reddy go?"
Stussy was the first to notice Reddy's absence from the venue, and her heart skipped a beat.
"Dr. Reddy?"
Umit looked around but couldn't spot Reddy anywhere in the venue, making him nervous. "We're just guests. He wouldn't target us, right?"
DuFeld lit a cigar and laughed boldly. "Even if he's recognized as an Emperor of the Sea, he wouldn't dare lay a finger on us."
He had every reason to be confident.
There were only a handful of underground bosses.
If anything happened to them, Reddy wouldn't just face assassination—the forces they controlled would launch the most brutal retaliation against him.
Umit thought DuFeld's confidence was utterly ridiculous.
The underground world held immense power, but it was still just a dark force that couldn't operate openly.
If Reddy wasn't afraid of the Marines—or even the World Government—why would he care about some loan shark king?
But he didn't want to offend this big shot either, so he shut his mouth and quietly distanced himself from DuFeld to avoid being dragged down if things went south.
Stussy, no longer bothering to maintain her persona to reassure the two bosses, had a bad feeling.
"Could something be wrong... No, they're holding back!"
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