Cracker vented his fury on Bobbin with a flurry of punches and kicks before finally letting him go.
Even after Cracker left, Bobbin stayed curled up on the floor, trembling, too afraid to move.
Cracker returned to his quarters, grabbed a Den Den Mushi, and took a long moment to steel himself before making the call.
As expected, he woke Mama from her sleep—a thing she detested—and when she learned that the fleet on Cracker's right flank had been attacked, costing her four children, her rage erupted like a storm.
For nearly half an hour, Charlotte Linlin roared through the Den Den Mushi.
Cracker could only stand there with his head bowed, enduring it, muttering the occasional acknowledgment when required.
When Mama finally slammed the receiver down, dawn was already approaching.
Cracker, left restless and seething, paced back and forth in his cabin.
The room, normally spacious, now felt suffocatingly small, pressing the air from his lungs.
I need some air, he thought.
Then, suddenly—he heard it again. That same groaning, splintering sound from the night before.
Cracker froze. His expression hardened. Without a second thought, he charged out of the room.
Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it—!
Before he even reached the rail, he saw another of their ships not far away being seized by massive orange tentacles.
With sickening cracks, the vessel was torn apart, breaking into several pieces that drifted across the black waves.
A bruised and battered Bobbin stumbled onto the deck, fearfully awaiting orders.
"Bastards!" Cracker roared, leaping onto the rail. "Bobbin! Send the fish-men and merfolk into the water—have them tear apart those sneaky cowards!"
Totland was called the Land of Ten Thousand Nations because it was home to nearly every race in the world—except giants.
That included fish-men and merfolk.
Several of Mama's own children were merfolk, and her army naturally had many such soldiers.
Cracker issued the order without waiting to see if Bobbin could carry it out. He sprang into the air, soaring high above the sea.
He stepped through the sky—Geppo.
The Navy's "Six Powers" were no longer secrets.
In the New World, countless strong fighters had mastered those techniques—especially Moonwalk and Soru.
Using Moonwalk, Cracker crossed the raging waters in seconds.
He had left his shield behind, wielding only his twin-bladed sword, Pretzel.
With a thunderous roar, he swung it down toward the sea!
A ten-meter crescent of blade energy sliced through the air, cleaving several orange tentacles in one stroke. Dark ripples spread eerily across the surface.
From beneath the waves came a deep, rumbling roar—like thunder rolling through the deep.
"Come on!" Cracker bellowed into the surf. "If you've got the guts, come up here and fight me one-on-one, you beast!"
But the severed tentacles quickly slipped back into the depths.
The lurking "drowned ghosts" that had been swimming nearby vanished with them.
Cracker's fish-man and merfolk soldiers surfaced, bewildered, unsure of what to do next.
"Damn it!" Cracker cursed, veins bulging on his forehead—utterly powerless.
The depths were not a place for Devil Fruit users like him.
He turned on the soldiers and shouted, "Don't you dare fall asleep again! Patrol every inch of these waters. If there's another sneak attack, I'll gut every last one of you myself!"
The fish-men and merfolk went pale and nodded in terror.
Cracker was boiling with frustration.
He stomped his way back to the ship using Moonwalk, and instead of returning to his quarters, he paced the deck, eyes bloodshot, unable to calm himself.
The sailors stood rigid with fear, fighting off exhaustion, too terrified to even ask for a change of shifts—no one wanted to draw Cracker's wrath.
But someone still had to deliver bad news.
Bobbin returned once again, clutching another list of the dead and missing.
The third ship they'd lost had claimed two more of Cracker's brothers.
One was Moscato, whose sword hilts resembled ice cream cones.
The other was Barbarua, the boxing enthusiast.
The night wasn't even over yet, and six of Cracker's siblings were dead—two of them ranked among Totland's Thirty-Four Ministers.
He didn't even know whether to call Mama again—or what he could possibly say to her if he did.
Damn it… why is Davy Jones targeting my flank? he fumed. Why use such vile, cowardly tactics?!
He couldn't even tell whether what burned in his chest was more rage, grief, or fear—fear of her.
Cracker didn't sleep that night. He didn't dare. He stayed on deck until dawn, pacing beneath the pale light of morning.
Yet when the sun finally rose, its warmth did nothing for him. He still felt cold to the bone.
Before long, Mama's call came through.
Cracker hesitated, dread filling his gut—but not answering would only make things worse. So he forced himself back to his room and took the call.
As expected, Mama already knew that two more of her children were dead.
Before even clashing with Davy Jones' main forces, Cracker's flank had suffered repeated disasters. Mama's faith in him had completely crumbled.
The Big Mom Pirates would dock at a nearby archipelago to regroup, and Mama ordered Cracker to report to her the moment his ship landed.
He agreed, and the line went dead.
Cracker felt like he'd fallen into an icy abyss.
He hadn't slept properly in nearly a day, had survived two surprise attacks, and now—exhaustion finally hit him like a wave.
He forced himself to stay awake, splashing cold water on his face.
Rage. Fear. Shame. He didn't know which dominated anymore—or what kind of punishment awaited him when he faced Mama.
But he could guess.
On deck, he ordered Bobbin to direct his fleet leftward toward the nearest island.
Before long, the islands came into view—Mama's chosen rendezvous point.
The Tartes Ship, Katakuri's fleet, and Smoothie's ships were already docked at the harbor.
Only Perospero's fleet lagged behind.
Cracker's ship sailed into the bay and moored at the edge. He leapt ashore.
To face Mama, he reverted to his true form.
The docks were crowded—his elder brothers and sisters, his younger siblings—all of them talking at once, demanding to know what had happened during the night.
Cracker couldn't bring himself to answer.
He pushed through the throng, expression cold and grim, storming toward Mama's tent.
This time, Mama wasn't snacking on sweets as usual. She sat silently in her seat, eyes hard as steel.
Not a good sign, Cracker thought bleakly.
Katakuri and Smoothie sat at her sides. Both glanced at Cracker, then lowered their heads.
Cracker knelt before Mama, about to speak—but she cut him off.
"Silence!" Charlotte Linlin's eyes bulged like bronze bells. "Charlotte Cracker! You should be ashamed! Your incompetence cost the lives of your brothers and sisters!"
Cracker wanted to defend himself—but the words died on his tongue. He knew anything he said would only fuel her fury, so he swallowed them all and hung his head.
"You owe me an explanation."
Linlin leaned forward in her seat, her massive frame straining the chair beneath her—her presence alone was suffocating.
"Choose," she said, voice colder than a demon's. "Will you pay with your lifespan… or forfeit your title as one of the Sweet Commanders?"
Cracker's forehead touched the ground. Despair consumed him.
When Mama demanded lifespan, it was never just a few years—it was decades.
He was already in his forties. If she took that much… how many years would he have left?
But if he refused to pay, if he gave up his title—he'd lose everything.
For someone as proud as Cracker, that was a fate worse than death.
Mama always gave her children "choices." But in truth, almost no one could ever choose the second option.
Cracker was no exception.
"Mama… please… I beg you…" Cracker lifted his head, pleading, but saw no trace of mercy in her eyes. "I… I'll pay with my lifespan…"
Linlin snorted coldly and raised her massive hand, ready to extract the soul from his body.
At that moment, Katakuri rose from his seat and knelt before her.
Cracker and Smoothie both froze, staring in shock at their brother's back.
Linlin's gaze turned sharp. "Are you defying me, Katakuri?"
"Please, Mama," Katakuri said firmly, meeting her glare without flinching. "Give Cracker a chance to atone. The battle with Davy Jones is upon us—we can't afford to destroy ourselves before it even begins. That's exactly what he wants."
PS: Access the complete/finished chapters/series at Patreon: NanamiTL
Please drop some power stones support me at my Patreon