— — — — — — —
Silence.
Utter stillness.
The atmosphere between both sides turned eerily tense.
Standing with his hands behind his back, Joey looked as if he were just a nobleman on vacation, a faint smile on his lips as he gazed warmly at the people in front of him.
But—No one dared to underestimate this man.
What he was capable of could be terrifying beyond imagination.
No one knew just how much power this man truly held.
Joey's smile deepened as he spoke calmly, "Whitebeard, it's time for you to leave. This ends here."
"Gurararara!" Edward laughed heartily.
"You think this is where it ends? I'm Whitebeard! If I just gave up without even trying, what kind of pirate would I be?"
"Sigh..." Joey let out a helpless breath. "This is such a hassle..."
But even as he spoke—
Swish!
Edward lunged at him like a storm, but Joey didn't even flinch.
Boom!
The two figures clashed.
Murakumogiri.
Napoleon.
In an instant, a terrifying shockwave exploded into the sky, parting the heavens themselves.
Powerful energy rippled outward, spreading across the sea.
Waves were sliced apart as the two unleashed their full strength.
Still despite their might, neither had reached their peak yet.
Based on Joey's calculations, Linlin's peak power was likely around Silver Rank 5.
Edward or Roger—These monsters at their prime were likely around Silver Rank 6.
But over time, due to various factors, their strength had stabilized at Silver Rank 5.
Still, at this moment, the sheer intensity of their battle was enough to shake the entire battlefield.
Crackle!
The fight had begun in full force.
"Naginata Rasetsu!"
"Cognac!"
Swish!
With a flick of their wrists, they unleashed overwhelming power.
The force of their attacks was enough to shake the world, tear the sea apart, even obliterate entire islands.
Yet, in their hands, such destructive power felt natural.
The clash of blades continued at a blistering pace.
"Gurararara!" Edward laughed excitedly. "Crazy woman! I'm not interested in you. It's your son I'm after!"
"Mama~~mama" Linlin cackled with a twisted grin. "You dare go after my Joey? I'll kill you, Whitebeard! You bastard, how dare you target my precious son?!"
The sky crackled with thunder as her rage ignited.
Her hair turned into blazing flames, and dark clouds swirled above, unleashing a torrent of lightning.
The ground itself erupted into an inferno.
And then—She swung her sword down with full force.
Linlin wasn't holding back.
Edward cursed under his breath. "Crazy old hag!"
But he didn't dare be careless. He immediately went all out to counter her attack.
"Kaishin (Seaquake)!"
Their battle erupted anew.
All around them, everyone else quickly retreated.
Who in their right mind would want to get caught between these two maniacs?
That would be suicide!
Other than Katakuri, no one dared to linger too close.
Even enduring the shockwaves from their fight was dangerous.
Swish!
Katakuri moved smoothly through the battlefield, effortlessly cutting down Whitebeard's men.
Holding back?
Ha! Not a chance.
Katakuri was ruthless. Every strike was meant to kill—no mercy, no hesitation.
"Damn it!"
"Stop, you bastard!"
"You son of a—!"
Thatch, Vista, Blamenco, and Rakuyo charged at him all at once.
But—
Boom!
With a deafening crash, Daifuku and Oven intercepted them.
Daifuku smirked sinisterly. "Hey, hey! Don't you dare lay a hand on our brother."
Oven's body radiated intense heat, his fists colliding with each other as he grinned viciously. "Yeah! Your opponents are us!"
"Genie-uine Rage Split!"
"Heat Beating!"
Daifuku and Oven launched their attacks in unison.
Against their combined assault—Rakuyo and Blamenco exchanged glances and immediately countered.
Boom!
The moment they clashed, Rakuyo and Blamenco were instantly at a disadvantage.
Joey observed the battle and muttered, "The power gap isn't huge, but there's still a difference. Talent matters, after all. That's not surprising. Besides… Daifuku and Oven are still too inexperienced. They're being stalled?"
Despite having the upper hand, they weren't able to break through.
This was the difference in battle experience.
They were still too young.
Compared to them, their opponents had years of experience.
Marco was around the same age as Perospero. That alone showed how much older the others were.
Age meant experience. And experience made a difference in battle.
Under these circumstances, it wasn't strange that they were being held back.
"Hmm?" Katakuri glanced at his two younger brothers, seeing them struggling.
But he said nothing.
He didn't step in to help.
They needed to figure this out on their own.
Experience could only be gained through real combat.
"Damn it!" Daifuku roared. "Genie-uine Rage Hunt!"
From his Puff-Puff Fruit, a massive genie appeared, its body made of swirling smoke.
It was nearly indestructible unless its core was attacked. And the smoke regenerated quickly.
Swish!
The genie moved with incredible speed, slashing dozens of times in mere moments.
"Hmph!" Rakuyo sneered, unfazed by the attacks.
His flail spun rapidly, coated in Armament Haki, blocking every single strike with ease.
Rakujo sneered, "Hey, hey! Talking big, but is that really all you've got? That's just boring! Not even worth my attention!"
"Damn it!" Daifuku fumed, burning with rage. Though he was usually cold and calculating, at the end of the day, he was still just a young man.
How could he tolerate such blatant provocation?
"Genie Clones!" The genie instantly split into dozens of smaller copies.
In the blink of an eye, Rakujo found himself completely surrounded.
At the same time, Daifuku drew his serrated blade, his expression twisted with fury. "You bastard! You should just die! Die! Die!"
A chilling, ruthless aura erupted from Daifuku, his true nature fully on display.
For a brief moment, his mind wavered.
But he didn't care. Clenching his blade tightly, he lunged forward without hesitation.
"Hmm?"
Joey quickly noticed the shift, observing Daifuku with a small smile. "This brat... he's actually starting to grasp something. His nature is pushing him forward, making him improve little by little. But if he wants to take the next step, he still needs time. No rush."
With that, Joey shifted his focus away from Daifuku and Oven.
They had at least a 60% chance of winning against their opponents.
It was just their lack of battle experience that had them on the back foot.
But they wouldn't lose.
As for Katakuri?
Heh—Jozu, Thatch, Vista!
Three of Whitebeard's top fighters had teamed up against Katakuri.
And yet. They were struggling.
Their individual power levels hovered around Bronze Level 8.
Even with three of them working together, facing Katakuri?
Just holding their ground was already an achievement! That was only because their combined abilities were decent.
And because Katakuri was focusing more on honing his combat skills rather than going for the kill.
Otherwise, finishing them off wouldn't take long.
The full-scale battle hadn't erupted yet.
And honestly, Wiping out the Whitebeard Pirates?
With the people present here, that would be extremely difficult.
If you're going to kill someone, do it in one strike.
Don't leave any room for retaliation.
That was what Joey excelled at.
And now? This wasn't the right opportunity.
Compote and Mondée joined the battlefield as well.
Clap!
Watching Cracker clapping his hands, rapidly producing more and more biscuit soldiers, Joey sighed, "This brat actually turned the Biscuit-Biscuit Fruit into a full-on summoner skill!"
Joey wasn't criticizing him.
Devil Fruits. Their abilities depended entirely on how they were developed.
Or rather— It was a glimpse into the concept of "laws." The more one trained, the more they could grasp these fundamental principles.
Laws came in many forms.
Biscuit Law? It sounded ridiculous.
But really, It was just a subcategory under the greater "Food Law."
Not that it mattered. Any law could be developed and mastered.
Sure, it might not be as overwhelming as Time or Space.
But with enough effort, it could still reach incredible heights.
There were no weak laws—only weak users. Just like Devil Fruits!
"Damn it!"
"So many biscuit soldiers?!"
"Cracker is such a pain!"
The Whitebeard Pirates were growing increasingly frustrated.
They had the numbers advantage, boasting nearly two to three hundred fighters.
Meanwhile, the Big Mom Pirates had most of their elite members deployed elsewhere, searching for Devil Fruits.
Yet—Cracker alone had completely flipped the battlefield.
With an army of biscuit soldiers, he had single-handedly neutralized their numerical advantage.
And even worse—As time passed,
The number of biscuit soldiers only continued to grow.
"Now then!"
"Hehehe."
Cracker grinned cruelly. "If you can't dodge this—"
Crouching slightly, his eyes gleamed with a sinister light.
"Pretzel~! Pretzel Biscuit Soldiers!"
At his command, Hundreds of biscuit soldiers simultaneously created swords.
A spiral of sword energy exploded outward.
"Holy shit!"
"Is he serious?!"
"That guy... is terrifying!"
For a moment, everyone was stunned.
Cracker's sheer combat ability was beyond shocking.
The Big Mom Pirates only had six major fighters—Katakuri, Daifuku, Oven, Compote, Mondée, and Cracker.
The Whitebeard Pirates, on the other hand, had nearly twenty powerhouse combatants. Each one ranged from Bronze Level 5 to Bronze Level 8.
As terrifying as Cracker's attack was, It didn't do as much damage as expected.
Their strong fighters combined their efforts to block the assault.
"Hmm—"
Joey murmured in thought, "No wonder Whitebeard and Golden Lion were so powerful. In such a short time, they've gathered an incredible number of strong fighters. The strength they showed in the original story was just a fraction of their true power. These guys are seriously strong."
Scanning the battlefield, Some of these fighters had never appeared in the original story.
Others were future captains under the Whitebeard Pirates.
Some would eventually leave Whitebeard's crew to build their own crews.
The strongest era of the Whitebeard Pirates—Was likely during their time of roaming and recruiting.
When all these powerful individuals were still together under one banner.
Observing the battle, Joey murmured, "Victory? Seems difficult. But… winning isn't impossible."
"It's just that I'd have to reveal too much."
"And that's not necessary."
After weighing the situation, he dismissed the thought of wiping them out completely.
.
.
.
(Is there still people like this ff or should I drop it?)