Cracker was taken aback for a moment — but as one of the Three Sweet Commanders, he quickly calmed himself and regained composure.
The tactical goal had simply changed.
This was no longer a raid — it was now about holding the Mirror World passage at all costs.
Cracker remained certain that victory would still be theirs.
He raised his voice in a thunderous roar:
"Big Mom, Katakuri, and Smoothie's reinforcements are on the way! Don't panic! Hold formation — and kill every last one of these wretches! Avenge our fallen family!"
"Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!"
His troops roared the chant in unison, brandishing their weapons high.
Across from them, the pirates of Davy Jones's crew stared coldly back, unmoved by the show of morale.
Instead, they surged forward head-on, fangs bared, ready for blood.
Under the wavering glow of bonfires and torches planted in the ground, the two sides clashed in a storm of steel and chaos — murderous aura flooding the field!
"Hahaha! They really jumped into the sack on their own!"
From a high vantage point overlooking the battlefield, Buggy grinned broadly, rubbing his bright red nose.
"Kuro was right — set enough traps, and they'll blunder into one eventually!"
From the intel Alvida had gathered, they'd learned about Charlotte Brûlée, the Mirror-Mirror Fruit user — and everyone had agreed she was a troublesome one.
Any Devil Fruit power that manipulated space or time was inherently terrifying — not necessarily in direct combat, but in the kind of tactical horror it could unleash.
Of course, such powers weren't invincible. They often came with drawbacks — weaknesses that could be exploited if one was clever enough.
Brûlée's Mirror-Mirror Fruit was one such ability.
To open a Mirror World passage, she needed at least two mirrors — both within her ability's range.
If she wanted to enable spatial travel, she'd have to move closer to her destination — which meant risking exposure.
Even if the Mirror World link was successfully established, it was two-way.
If the Big Mom Pirates could travel to Silent Island…
Then the Davy Jones Pirates could travel to the Charlotte Archipelago as well.
Moreover, Brûlée's field of vision through mirrors inside the Mirror World was limited — her reconnaissance ability had its bounds.
Though her face was hideous, Brûlée ranked as the third most beloved little sister in the Charlotte Family — just after Flampé and Pudding.
That was because she knew everyone's secrets — and was kind enough to keep them.
Her empathy had earned her great favor among her siblings.
But that very popularity was a double-edged sword — it made her Devil Fruit ability widely known.
And so, Davy Jones and his subordinates had used her own ability against her.
They had deliberately smashed most of the mirrors on Silent Island, leaving only one intact — placed at the base of the very tower where Davy Jones had met with Red-Haired Shanks.
The tower itself was indeed empty and unguarded…
But mounted upon the wall was a visual Den Den Mushi, through which sentries continuously monitored that lone mirror.
So when Bobbin was thrown through — and later, when Cracker led his troops in — every movement was seen in real time.
The watchers immediately relayed the situation to nearby forces.
To avoid delays from chain-of-command reporting, Davy Jones had already given standing orders:
Any mirror activity was to be reported directly to surrounding "Paradox" or "Cursed" officers.
Buggy was one of those officers — and had rushed to the scene at once.
Rather than joining the encirclement below, he'd chosen to command from above, directing his men — some handling rifles, others adjusting cannons.
Not long after the melee broke out, Buggy gave the order:
"Open fire! Blast 'em to bits for Captain Buggy!"
The air erupted with the roar of cannon fire and gunshots.
Shells and bullets screamed through the sky, raining down into the midst of Cracker's troops.
One shell exploded right beside Cracker — yet the valiant commander raised his biscuit shield, hardened with Armament Haki, and stood firm against the blast!
Meanwhile, the Charlotte family members and their fighters retaliated, unleashing one bizarre technique after another, their combat prowess far beyond that of ordinary pirates.
Among them, five brothers and five sisters of the Charlotte family gathered together.
Their bodies shimmered — and in a burst of strange light, the ten merged into one enormous figure:
a giant wielding a scythe!
With a mighty swing, the giant reaped through Davy Jones's pirates, sending fountains of blood spraying across the ground.
"The Fusion-Fusion Fruit ability?"
Buggy immediately recognized the group — those infamous ten siblings whose attack style was so peculiar he'd remembered them from past reports.
"Only one of the ten has the Chaos-Chaos Fruit, but that ability lets him merge with the other nine into one!"
Buggy remembered it clearly — though he didn't think much of the ability.
To him, it lacked the freedom and versatility of his own Chop-Chop Fruit.
"Their strength barely increases, and they just make themselves a bigger target. Idiots!"
Shoving aside a nearby gunner, Buggy manned the cannon himself.
He took aim at the scythe giant, squinting one eye, gauging the distance with his thumb, then confirming the trajectory with Observation Haki.
Once satisfied, he adjusted the cannon's angle.
"All in one shot! One shot, one soul!" Buggy shouted gleefully, lighting the fuse.
BOOM!
With a deafening roar, the cannonball struck the scythe giant dead-on and exploded, flames surging high into the night sky.
Though Buggy dared not use his custom explosive shells — fearing friendly fire — even an ordinary shell was powerful enough for the job.
The scythe giant let out a terrible scream, toppling backward —
but before he hit the ground, his massive body split apart into ten once more, collapsing as scattered, broken forms.
Buggy froze — then broke into delighted laughter.
"See? Captain Buggy's Lucky-Color Haki never fails! Did I just nail the Chaos-Chaos user himself?!"
Peering down from the parapet, he sighed dramatically.
"And of course — when Captain Buggy performs such heroics — Apoo and Bege are nowhere to see it!"
He truly wished there were witnesses to his glory.
Just then, his Observation Haki flared — and his face went pale.
He turned, eyes widening at the sight before him.
Cracker had seen his ten siblings blasted apart, several mangled beyond recognition — clearly beyond saving.
His eyes burned red with fury.
He had lost too many of his kin already — and dared not count how many.
At this rate, far from earning redemption, he would only deepen his guilt.
Focusing his Observation Haki, Cracker locked directly onto Buggy's position amidst the chaos.
He began clapping his hands rapidly, forming a series of biscuit fragments that hung suspended in the air —
a floating bridge between himself and the parapet above.
Then, with explosive force, he leapt —
charging across the midair biscuits faster than falling bullets, straight toward Buggy's perch.
He's coming for me?! Buggy's heart lurched.
He stumbled backward — recognizing the rugged face instantly.
Cracker, the "Biscuit Minister," one of the Three Sweet Commanders.
How the hell am I supposed to fight him?!
In a blink, Cracker was already upon him — one foot on the parapet, shield raised before him, sword lifted high.
"Die!"
Buggy couldn't dodge in time — the blade cleaved him clean in two.
Yet no blood spilled.
Instead, Buggy's body split apart neatly, each half flying off in opposite directions.
"A Devil Fruit user?" Cracker muttered, startled.
Then his eyes narrowed, recognizing the man's red nose.
"So, you're Davy Jones's officer — 'Thousand-Two Transformations' Buggy!"
Buggy shouted back in exasperation:
"Where the hell are you looking to recognize me, you bastard?!"
Cracker sneered.
"Fine then. To avenge my fallen kin, I'll start with you!"
But instead of striking with his sword, Cracker raised his shield —
coating it with Armament Haki for a crushing Haki Shield Bash aimed to pulverize Buggy.
He charged toward Buggy's left half.
"Why this side?!" Buggy's left half screamed as he tried to flee.
The parapet descended into chaos as Buggy's men fired volleys at Cracker,
but every bullet and cannonball bounced harmlessly off his hardened biscuit armor.
With a thunderous leap, Cracker slammed his shield down —
pinning Buggy's left half against the floor despite his frantic struggling.
"Hoho…" Cracker's Haki flared, suffocating the air around him.
He laughed coldly, victory burning in his eyes.
"Let's see how you run back to the sea this time!"
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