Kuja Island, coastal waters.
The prisoners who had been fishing all this time stopped work that day and returned to the main camp, completely out of character.
It was not because they had suddenly grown reckless enough to defy orders. Rather, this was Ren's command.
Today, Kuja Island was filled with an unusually murderous atmosphere, as though it were waiting for some enemy to arrive.
In truth, an enemy really had arrived.
At a certain moment, a black line appeared across the distant horizon of the Calm Belt.
Looking closely, one would discover that it was a mass of sails in all kinds of colors.
Beneath those sails were great ships of varying colors and materials, all of them looking as if they had come straight out of a kitchen.
On board were countless Homies soldiers, as well as the monsters of the Big Mom family who led them!
"So this is Kuja Island?"
Cracker stood at the bow, his expression somewhat puzzled. "After we got within a few dozen nautical miles of this place, the Sea Kings stopped attacking. Is there something special about this area?"
"The fact that people can survive in the Calm Belt is strange enough already. There's nothing surprising about this place having something special."
The one who answered him was Katakuri, who held a blood-red trident in his hand. His sharp gaze was fixed on the outline of the distant island. "You should return now. You'll take the lead in the landing battle.
"Probe out as many of the enemy's trump cards as possible. It would be best if you can figure out their Devil Fruit abilities.
"Don't try to fool anyone by bringing out only one or two examples. The opponent we're facing cannot possibly be weak, no matter how you look at it."
"Understood."
Cracker grinned, then leapt back onto his own great ship.
On the deck, he began clapping—or rather, applauding.
A dark-yellow wave of air rose from nowhere. What looked like sand, but was actually powdered cookie crumbs, gathered within the current, combined together, and finally formed into a rough, burly warrior holding a shield and sword.
If an outsider were here, they would discover that the face was exactly the same as the one on the wanted poster—the great pirate with a bounty of 860 million Beli who called himself the Biscuit Soldier!
However… this was only the beginning.
As Cracker continued clapping, after every sharp clap, a brand-new Biscuit Soldier appeared aboard the ship, occupying the deck at astonishing speed.
Yes.
The Biscuit Soldier known to the world was not truly him.
Or rather, it was merely a creation he had made with his Devil Fruit ability.
Paramecia-Type Biscuit-Biscuit Fruit!
This was Cracker's Devil Fruit ability.
It allowed him to create Biscuit Soldiers of any hardness almost endlessly, control them freely, and even cover the soldiers in Haki!
"So the landing will be left to Cracker? Brother Katakuri really is cautious. It's a little different from the domineering impression in the rumors."
Smoothie's eyes flickered. She subconsciously placed a hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist, but soon suppressed the urge to request battle.
Although she had no intention of interfering in certain internal struggles, she also had no intention of stopping Katakuri from displaying himself.
Since this was the "captain's" order, she would simply watch and do her part.
In any case, she would not be bored next.
She looked toward the island drawing closer and closer. Within her Observation Haki perception, she had already caught the incoming "attack."
First, a single point of brilliant light appeared in the sky. Then, as if erupting, it formed a dazzling cluster of crimson "stars."
Streams of roaring crimson flame pierced across the heavens like sharp swords, racing over as though they intended to ignite and burn all enemies to ash.
The long-range strike from the Angels of Glory crossed the sea at this moment and arrived over the region where the great fleet was located!
"Smoothie."
Katakuri did not make a move. He merely called his younger sister's name expressionlessly.
In the next instant, Smoothie suddenly drew her blade. Her Devil Fruit ability wrung moisture from the surrounding air and plundered it into her own body.
Paramecia-Type Wring-Wring Fruit: Moisture Plunder!
Her body and weapon expanded together, and in the blink of an eye, she transformed into a giant nearly half the length of a three-masted ship.
Enhanced: Juice Giant!
Heavy Haki wrapped around her giant sword. In the next moment, she unleashed a beam-like slash that soared into the sky.
The incredibly violent flying slash nearly filled the heavens, splitting apart the incoming crimson flame torrents with a single strike!
Boom—!!
A violent explosion erupted. Heat waves rolled outward, making the flags snap and flutter.
Amid the blustering hot wind, the battle cries of the Angels of Glory arrived over these waters along with their low-altitude assault.
Dense ranks of angels skimmed across the surface of the sea, flying forward at extreme speed. The chainsaw swords in their hands glowed with scorching red light, their rotating teeth roaring loudly!
"So this is the army Mama wants?"
A strange light flashed through Katakuri's eyes. Then he called another person's name.
"Oven!"
"Leave it to me!"
Oven, who had long since been ready to act, jumped onto the sea. His entire body instantly turned fiery red, like a piece of eternally burning lava, releasing terrifying heat in all directions.
The seawater turned into steam the instant it touched him. Immeasurable heat spread into the sea.
Paramecia-Type Heat-Heat Fruit!
It could generate heat out of nothing and transmit that heat into anything he touched, instantly heating it.
And this so-called "anything" also included… the sea!
The blue seawater boiled in an instant. The controlled heat turned into countless spreading "tentacles." A small portion surged behind the great fleet.
Most of it surged toward the front of the great fleet, then transformed into towering steam geysers.
Thousands of heat geysers rose like a forest of spears thrusting up from the ground, melting and piercing through the approaching Angels of Glory.
The angel squadron skimming over the sea was almost annihilated in an instant.
Only a small number broke through the field of heat geysers and began their attack on the great fleet.
The chainsaw swords roared as they spun, transforming into razor-sharp slashes that chopped downward.
A Biscuit Soldier raised its shield to block. The whirring saw-toothed blade sliced into it, sending a large spray of crumbs flying.
At the same time, the knight's sword hacked into the angel's armor, which looked as though it had been forged from metal. A crisp clang rang out, and then a wound deep enough to reveal bone was left behind.
The angel gave a muffled grunt and retreated. At the same time, the chainsaw sword roared once more.
This vicious strike landed on the sword this time, leaving behind a glaring notch.
The Biscuit Soldier seized the opportunity, swung its shield, and knocked the angel to the deck. It raised its sword and drove it down, pinning her dead to the planks.
Almost at the same time, the other angels who had survived by chance also met their end.
However… Cracker, who was controlling them from the rear, did not feel happy.
Instead, he walked directly to the Biscuit Soldier and carefully examined the traces left behind by the battle just now.
Both shield and sword had been notched. During the battle just now, the Biscuit Soldier had also felt a trace of strain.
That was not especially rare. The Biscuit Soldiers' combat power could not be considered too high.
But Cracker looked toward the angel wreckage sinking into the sea.
If he had not seen wrong, those things seemed to be… an army as well!
For Cracker, who specialized in army-based warfare, this was a somewhat frightening discovery.
With his Devil Fruit ability, creating several hundred or even a thousand Biscuit Soldiers was already his limit.
However, the number of winged angels that had launched that assault just now was almost several hundred.
That was definitely not the limit of the enemy's military strength. It might even have been only a small portion.
If every one of them possessed the same combat strength as the Two-Winged Angel that had been pinned to death, then… no.
"They should be elite individuals… right?"
Cracker denied his own thought. The future that extended from that idea was somewhat terrifying.
Even he could not do something like that. How could someone else possibly do it?
This worry was not baseless.
Or rather, only someone like him, who played with army-based force, could sense it.
What was the most important element of an army?
A large, cheap, and rapidly producible basic combat force, as well as the quality of that basic combat force!
These were the two most core elements.
He could create hundreds or thousands of Biscuit Soldiers, each of them with quality equivalent to a pirate worth one or two hundred million Beli.
But because of the upper limit of how much Haki could exist, as well as the nature of his personal ability, that level was already his limit.
Then what was the situation with these Angels of Glory?
They were very likely on the scale of several thousand, and in quality, they were only one tier weaker than his Biscuit Soldiers.
At a glance, they seemed inferior to him.
But in an army, numbers were also an extremely important factor.
If the enemy's number was not several thousand, but tens of thousands, then his side would be the inferior one!
That was the true root of the unease Cracker felt.
However, precisely because of this discovery, he suddenly felt that what they could obtain from this operation might bring great benefit to the family.
"Whatever. I don't believe the other side can maintain this level of quality and still form a scale above several thousand."
As Cracker spoke, his hands moved faster, and he began creating large numbers of Biscuit Soldiers.
At the same time, huge waves suddenly rose behind the waters where the great fleet was located.
It was not the wind stirring the sea. Rather, the heat Oven had released behind the great fleet had heated the seawater, forming a swelling wave that surged forward.
The entire great fleet began advancing toward Kuja Island at extremely high speed.
"They were completely wiped out."
Nami rested her chin on her hand, then turned to look at the calm man behind her.
"After all, they were only the batch of Angels of Glory that had just been born. If they hadn't strongly requested to enter the battlefield, I wouldn't even have given them the chance to go out."
Ren shrugged. "But the enemy really is strong. The Big Mom Pirates are a Yonko force, after all.
"For them to stand tall in the New World for decades, their members naturally wouldn't be weak."
"And you still plan on matching soldiers against soldiers? Aren't you afraid the losses will be too heavy?"
"The Angels of Glory need tempering sooner or later. Battle is the best medicine for their growth.
"Even if they die, it's nothing more than a trip through reincarnation. Besides, there's temporarily no place where we need a large army next.
"Rather than that, we might as well use this opportunity to let them fight a battle."
As Ren spoke, he reached out and gave Nami's perky rear, which had been sitting on his lap, a firm slap. "Once the battle starts later, pay a little attention to the overall situation. If anything goes wrong, intervene directly."
"Got it."
Nami pursed her lips, got off Ren, then said, "What about you? This time, you haven't said anything about what kind of plan you're going to use. It's completely different from before."
"Because this time, there's no need to scheme."
Ren slowly rose to his feet. His gaze seemed to pierce through space and land on a certain person within the great fleet. "They're nothing more than vanguards. They're not worth the effort of painstaking calculations.
"If Big Mom had come herself, that would be another matter. But it seems she's going to meet Kaido.
"Among those people, the only one truly worth paying attention to is Katakuri, who can see the future."
At this point, he revealed a somewhat malicious smile.
"I'm very curious. When someone who can see the future meets me, what kind of reaction will he have?"
(End of Chapter)