Davy Jones stepped out from the rippling, mirror-like surface without the slightest hesitation, walking straight into the encirclement of Big Mom's pirate forces.
The densely packed army had long been assembled, waiting anxiously for their commander's order.
Perospero, visibly tense, shouted, "Open fire!"
Bang bang bang bang—
In an instant, bullets and cannon fire rained down upon the "Demon King of the Deep Sea."
Yet none of it worked.
Davy Jones slowly walked out of the drifting gray-white smoke, giving his long-stemmed pipe a small shake—almost as though the smoke around him was nothing more than a ring he had exhaled himself.
What?!
Everyone's eyes widened in shock, and they instinctively stepped backward.
"You're already done? Then… I suppose it's my turn."
Davy Jones reached to his barnacle-covered waist and drew an old, weathered pistol, pointing the barrel at Perospero and his subordinates.
The entire crowd sucked in a cold breath, unsure what would happen next.
I can't fear him. I can't retreat. I can stop him.
Perospero forced himself to stay calm. I already failed once—I cannot fail again. And with Mama in such a dangerous state… If I lose and force her to step in, all of us will die.
He swallowed hard. There was no longer any path of retreat.
Bang!
Davy Jones fired. A flash of light burst from the muzzle—yet no physical bullet could be seen.
Even so, Perospero's Observation Haki screamed in warning. His hair stood on end as he instantly lifted his candy staff.
A wall of candy surged up from the ground like a wave, coated in his Armament Haki.
Under normal circumstances, even Katakuri's attacks couldn't easily break it.
But that invisible "bullet"—no, that shockwave—did not merely shatter the candy wall in an instant, it swallowed Perospero and his men entirely.
How…
How could it be this easy…?
Perospero's eyes widened in disbelief, just as the shockwave tore through him.
Boom—
His face twisted grotesquely as flesh ripped away in an instant.
His gray-white bones were exposed—then pulverized—before he dissolved into drifting ash, scattering over the ground.
The subordinates behind him suffered the same fate, reduced one by one into dust.
The shockwave carved a deep trench into the earth, becoming their grave.
The remaining pirates trembled violently at the sight.
Perospero… killed just like that?
Under normal circumstances, it would be unthinkable—yet the truth lay horrifyingly before them.
They looked at each other, panicked. With Perospero dead and Mama in her current state—who was left to command them?
No one had an answer. No one dared speak.
Finally, someone sighed and stepped forward.
"No wonder they call you the 'Demon King of the Deep Sea.' Now I understand why even Katakuri couldn't stop you."
A frail voice spoke. From within the crowd emerged an elderly, hunched man dressed in pink.
The pirates recognized him and their faces lit up with hope: the Big Mom Pirates' elder… was he finally going to fight?
The old man raised his longsword and stared at Davy Jones with burning eyes, his expression sinking into grim resolve.
"'Gourmet Knight' Streusen is here!"
Davy Jones looked intrigued.
From the intelligence he collected through Alvida, he knew this man had stayed by Charlotte Linlin's side longer than anyone.
But despite this, Streusen had never been romantically involved with Linlin, nor did he harbor affection for her.
He watched her marry countless men and give birth to countless children—all without batting an eye.
For him, the only thing that mattered was Linlin enjoying his cuisine. That was the bond between them.
No matter how many dishes he cooked, Linlin would always eat them with shining admiration—and that was his greatest satisfaction.
But today, even Streusen could not satisfy her endless hunger.
Because all the ingredients for sweets had run out in the afternoon, and what little stock they had left was lost to the ocean during the morning's naval attack.
Linlin was picky—extremely so. Without the right ingredients, she would not accept even Streusen's cooking.
And no matter how skilled he was, without proper ingredients he could not make anything that pleased her.
Linlin's temper flared; she would sooner starve than accept anything less than perfect. And so, she had gone hungry for hours.
The longer she starved, the more terrified Perospero and Katakuri became. Everyone knew exactly how bad things would become.
Mama would go berserk.
She would attack indiscriminately.
She would rip away the "souls" of anyone in her sight.
And when she reached the peak of starvation—
she would eat people as though they were sweets.
That was why Katakuri ordered Cracker to lead a pre-dawn raid.
They needed to seize Silent Island and secure supplies.
But since Davy Jones was here, that meant their mission had failed.
Perospero had already died. Streusen—the Big Mom Pirates' veteran—had no choice but to step forward now.
I must win…
Remembering his days as a fighter in the Rocks Pirates, Streusen slowly regained his old instincts.
He was no longer merely a "head chef"—he was a knight once more.
At that moment, Davy Jones raised his pistol again, pointing it at Streusen. The dark barrel seemed to swallow all light, brimming with lethal intent.
Bang!
He fired a second time.
The shockwave launched forth, reaching Streusen almost instantly—far too fast to evade.
It's here!
Streusen shouted, slashing his longsword with full force—and miraculously cleaved the shockwave in half.
The split blasts shot to either side of him, ripping through the pirates nearby and reducing them to a spray of blood mist.
As smoke filled the air, Streusen seized his chance, sidestepping and dashing up to Davy Jones in a flash.
But to his horror, Davy Jones' eyes never lost track of him. They had followed him flawlessly from start to finish.
Streusen's breath nearly stopped.
I cannot retreat. I cannot!
Gritting his teeth, he lunged forward with everything he had, driving his sword toward Davy Jones' chest.
Davy Jones didn't even bother letting the blade reach him—he simply reached out and grabbed Streusen's sword.
Crack!
The sword snapped cleanly in his hand.
Streusen's eyes bulged.
His Armament-coated sword, strengthened further by his Cook-Cook Fruit… broken so effortlessly?!
Fwish fwish fwish fwish—
Before he could react, countless tentacles burst from Davy Jones' cloak.
They shot out like spears—and Streusen rushed straight into them.
Squelch—
Dozens of holes were punched through his body, blood spraying in every direction.
Despair filled Streusen's eyes.
His broken sword fell from his hand, clattering onto the ground as he whispered one final word:
"Linlin…"
Davy Jones withdrew his tentacles, letting Streusen collapse into a pool of his own blood.
Silence fell.
Even Streusen…
The one who had stayed by Mama's side the longest…
Even he had fallen.
W-What do we do now…?
Who can possibly step forward next?
Davy Jones turned toward a massive tent, sensing the enormous presence inside. Then he began walking toward it.
Suddenly, someone screamed, drawing their weapon in desperation and charging at him. More followed, until a tide of pirates surged at him from all directions—like waves crashing back to shore, like opposing currents smashing together on Reverse Mountain.
Davy Jones didn't even look at them.
When they approached, tentacles shot out, sometimes like spears piercing through them, sometimes like blades cutting them apart.
Within moments, the area around him was a field of mangled flesh, indistinguishable limbs and bodies piled together.
Boom—
Finally, the giant tent shook violently—then exploded entirely.
Charlotte Linlin stepped out.
But she was far thinner than usual, even showing hints of the beauty she had in her youth.
She rose from a destroyed banquet table, her expression wild as she staggered toward Davy Jones.
"Sweets…
Why are there still no sweets?
What are you all doing?"
No one alive remained to answer her.
Linlin ignored the corpses of her children scattered across the ground. She didn't even look at the dead Streusen, who had followed her for decades.
She was consumed entirely by her own frenzy.
This was the tragic result of the food fleet Perospero oversaw being sunk—most ingredients lost to the sea, stockpiles already depleted.
And Linlin, having personally fought to retrieve Perospero, was severely drained. After returning to the island, she demanded more sweets immediately.
She ate more and more—far beyond her usual appetite—and grew ever more demanding.
Eventually, even Streusen couldn't keep up. There were simply no ingredients left to satisfy her.
And then, Linlin fell into hunger.
Seeing her "eating disorder" approaching, Perospero and Streusen had no choice but to take drastic action and order Cracker to attack Silent Island immediately.
With that, they hoped to secure the food they desperately needed.
But the assault failed. Katakuri, Smoothie, and Cracker all lost their lives.
With hours of starvation behind her, Linlin's mental state collapsed.
She stole several people's souls right in front of Perospero and Streusen.
Then she went berserk, unleashing Conqueror's Haki through the "mirror" toward Davy Jones.
It was obvious—Linlin's eating disorder had already erupted.
Perospero and Streusen barely had time to worry about her.
The moment they felt that terrifying Haki, they understood:
Davy Jones was coming through the mirror.
They gathered all remaining forces at its entrance.
The result was total annihilation.
And inside the tent, unable to obtain satisfaction for so long, Linlin finally exploded.