"Candy Slug!!!"
Perospero stood at the ship's railing, his candy cane staff oozing a massive amount of thick, viscous orange liquid into the sea. The syrup rapidly congealed and reshaped itself, molding into a gargantuan candy gastropod.
The orange Candy Slug floated upon the waves, towering dozens of meters high, massive enough to rival half the size of a standard Germa warship.
"What a massive slug!"
"As expected of Perospero-sama!"
"So this is the power of the Charlotte Family's eldest son!"
"..."
Exclamations of awe erupted from the surrounding forces, including several prominent members of the Vinsmoke family.
"Judge, your Germa forces aren't half bad either. Come along!" Perospero called out with a wave before stepping onto the broad back of the Candy Slug.
In immediate succession, Katakuri, Oven, Smoothie, and over a dozen other high-ranking officers and combatants stepped aboard. Every single one of them represented the core military might of the Big Mom Pirates.
"Father…"
Ichiji looked toward Judge, his eyes silently asking for instructions.
Judge deliberated for a mere second before making his decision.
"Reiju, stay behind to command the fleet," Judge commanded in a strict, heavy tone. "Ichiji, Niji, Yonji, the three of you go. Do not bring shame to the name of Germa!"
"Understood!"
"Heh, don't sweat it!"
"Leave it to me!"
The three brothers flashed sinister, feral grins before turning to leap onto the back of the Candy Slug.
"Well then, let us depart! Perorin~"
Perospero scanned the gathered crowd, giving his candy cane staff a theatrical flourish accompanied by a wicked chuckle.
Because Big Mom was not present to infuse it with a soul via her Homie abilities, this massive Candy Slug required Perospero's active, manual manipulation to move. Under his direct control, the construct surged forward, slicing through the waves at high speed toward Unzan Port.
Right on its heels, the various warships of the Germa Kingdom accelerated into formation. They engaged in a fierce, thunderous exchange of artillery fire with the coastal batteries of Unzan Port while desperately maneuvering to evade the unpredictable, devastating long-range strikes from the railgun hidden somewhere in the distance.
…
Unzan Port – Coastal Docks.
"Damned Fish-man! Armament Hardening—Shigan: Eagle Claw!!!"
Shuzo roared as he lunged forward, his hands curved into predatory talons coated in a metallic, pitch-black sheen of Haki. He unleashed a savage barrage of thrusts toward the figure before him, the sheer velocity of his strikes kicking up a howling, oppressive gale.
BOOM—!!!
Jinbe nimbly pivoted on his heel, slipping past the trajectory of the strike. The heavy utility pole directly behind him was sheared cleanly in half by the residual force of Shuzo's claw.
"Seven Thousand Brick Roundhouse Kick!!!"
In the span of a single heartbeat, Jinbe spun into the opening, whipping his leg out in a sweeping arc that slammed heavily against Shuzo's crossed forearms.
With a dull, resounding THUD, a shockwave exploded from the point of impact, forcing Shuzo completely off-balance as he skidded backward across the pavement.
"You have my sympathies, but I must do what needs to be done!" Jinbe muttered, watching Shuzo steady himself on the ground. Jinbe cupped his webbed hands, compressing a dense sphere of seawater the size of an adult's head before throwing it forward with explosive force.
SWOOSH—!!!
The high-pressure droplet traveled with the lethal velocity of a sniper bullet, tearing through the atmosphere with a piercing shriek.
"Imbecile!"
Shuzo gasped in shock, frantically twisting his torso to the side to dodge.
BOOM—!!!
An instant later, the reinforced concrete wall a hundred meters behind him was cleanly punched through, leaving a head-sized cavity as shattered stone and billowing dust erupted into the air.
Taking advantage of the opening created by his ranged attack, Jinbe closed the distance in a flash. He materialized directly in front of Shuzo, chambering his arm to drive a devastating straight punch directly into the Marine's skull.
"Shark Brick Fist!!!"
"Tekkai!!!"
Shuzo growled, crossing his forearms defensively in front of his face as a fleeting, metallic luster rippled across his skin.
BANG—!!!
The collision sounded like a sudden crack of thunder in an open field. A violent, concussive shockwave erupted, generating a dense cloud of dust that instantly obscured the area.
Driven by Jinbe's monstrous strength, Shuzo's feet plowed several meters back through the concrete. Yet, the exact moment his momentum halted, he snapped his leg upward, unleashing a vacuum slice directly at Jinbe from mid-air.
"Rankyaku!!!"
A crescent-shaped vacuum blade tore through the dust, nearly splitting the air itself as it flew.
Without shifting his ground, Jinbe let out a low shout: "Arabesque Brick Fist!!!"
He thrust a single fist straight out into the incoming projectile. The raw kinetic energy of his punch compressed the very air before him, rippling into a visible shockwave that expanded outward in dense, concentric rings.
BOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion echoed across the harbor like a clap of thunder, and a howling gale swept violently across the heavens and the earth.
As the dust cloud slowly began to disperse, two figures emerged from the haze, both breathing heavily as they locked eyes from roughly a dozen meters apart.
"Damn it all!"
Shuzo muttered through gritted teeth. He could hear the thunder of Germa's naval artillery drawing closer by the second. Darting his eyes toward the shoreline, he spotted the approaching silhouette of the Germa fleet relentlessly pressing toward the Unzan Port docks.
Worse yet, a colossal, orange sea slug carrying over a dozen elite figures had already breached the perimeter and was coasting right up to the pier.
THUD—
Yonji vaulted off the back of the Candy Slug, landing heavily onto the stone dock with a resounding impact. He wore a twisted, mocking smirk. "Well, well. To think that the Knight of the Sea, Jinbe, a former Warlord of the Sea, would be pinned down here. I wondered who could possibly have the strength to match him. So it's you, Shuzo!"
Following his lead, the rest of the vanguard leapt down from the slug one after another, quickly populating the pier.
"What a nightmare... Katakuri, Smoothie, Perospero, Oven... Ichiji, Niji, Yonji..." Shuzo muttered, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead as he stared down the newly arrived coalition.
The primary military core of both the Big Mom Pirates and Germa 66 was now fully assembled on the docks. This was an overwhelming force that no single individual could ever hope to hold at bay.
"Talk about an absurd lineup... The monsters of the Big Mom Pirates have actually made landfall."
A heavy, solemn voice echoed through the area. Backan strode out from the opposite side of the harbor, his face exceptionally grim as he unslung a massive, wheel-shaped battleaxe from his back.
Marching closely behind him were Ain and Binz, Caribou and Coribou, and over a dozen allied pirate captains operating under the banner of the Chris Pirates.
"Perorin~ If it isn't Backan. It makes sense that you'd be here; after all, this harbor is your assigned jurisdiction!" Perospero hissed, extending his exceptionally long tongue as he leveled a sinister glare at the commander.
"Cut the chatter, Perospero! If you want to reduce this port to rubble, you'll have to answer to my axe first!" Backan cold-snapped, tightening his grip around the haft of his massive wheel-axe.
"This is merely a matter of courtesy," Katakuri stated, his eyes cold and devoid of emotion as he looked down at them. "Lest you forget, your forces nearly brought Whole Cake Island to ruin."
"Heh, a fair point," Backan sneered, a mocking glint flaring in his eyes. "Though it's a shame our Captain and Enel didn't manage to put you in a grave back then!"
Hearing those words, Katakuri's gaze darkened significantly, a thick, palpable murderous intent surging from his form.
Suddenly, just as Katakuri was about to make his move, a crimson flash flickered across his eyes. A vision of the immediate future forced him to abruptly halt his advance. He snapped his head around, staring intently out toward the dark horizon of the open sea.
"What is it?"
Smoothie asked, her brow furrowing into a tight frown as she followed Katakuri's fixed gaze out into the distance.
It wasn't just the Big Mom Pirates who reacted; Backan and his subordinates also looked toward the ocean in sheer bewilderment, thrown off by the sudden shift in tension.
Deep within the pitch-black expanse of the dark sea, a faint golden glimmer manifested. The light intensified with staggering speed, rapidly materializing before the eyes of the gathered combatants as a colossal, golden hull ripped through the dark waves.
It was an unparalleled, gargantuan golden vessel, a floating metropolis on the ocean, ablaze with neon lights and shimmering brilliance. Built entirely of solid gold, it looked less like a ship and more like a floating palace of the gods descending upon the mortal realm.
Every single warrior on that dock recognized the city-sized vessel immediately…
"That's... Gran Tesoro!!!"