A shockwave of dust exploded across the shoreline, rippling outward like waves on a lake.
As fierce winds blew the cloud of dust apart, a five-meter-tall candy wall stood firm before them. Perospero had one hand pressed to the surface, his entire right arm transformed into shimmering pink candy.
When the two brothers saw what had struck, their pupils shrank in unison.
A razor-sharp longsword—wrapped in fierce, ghostly gales—was buried deep within the candy wall.
Fine cracks spidered out from the impact point, spreading in all directions across the thick candy barrier.
The jet-black Armament Haki faded from the blade, revealing its silver sheen beneath.
Both Perospero and Daifuku froze.
They recognized it instantly.
It was one of the auction items—sold at over 100 million Berries to the occupant of VIP box 3A: a Skillful Grade Blade—Kariumi.
And the man who’d bought it—the one in VIP 3A...
They exchanged a glance, a flicker of uneasy shock in both their eyes.
—Commodore Rogers Darren.
The Marine monster who had summoned ten thousand supercannons in an instant and obliterated Golden Lion’s Flying Pirate Fleet in a single, brutal sweep!
"Not a bad reaction..."
A cold, deep voice rang out from the distant sky.
It paused for a beat, followed by a mocking chuckle.
"Then how about this time?"
There was no visible attack.
Yet, without understanding how or why, both Perospero and Daifuku suddenly felt the hair on their necks rise.
It was the sensation of being locked in place by something unimaginably powerful—like a beast with its jaws wide open or the barrel of a giant cannon trained on their hearts.
"Execute them... Enma."
A flash of black tore through the sky like a demonic bolt of lightning—piercing everything in its path.
The clouds burst open. The air split apart. The sea was carved like paper.
Faster than the naked eye could follow—faster than even Observation Haki could track—it screamed toward its target.
Perospero’s heart seized.
The moment he was locked in by that streak of black light, he felt... death.
Color drained from the world. Only the shadow of death remained.
Eyes bulging with red veins, Perospero clenched his teeth and thrust both arms forward. Torrents of golden candy erupted.
In an instant, a massive golden statue appeared with a thunderous crash.
Perospero roared, eyes bloodshot.
The black light struck the ground.
For half a second, silence.
An ear-shattering explosion tore through the air, sending waves of pressure surging skyward.
Everything around the point of impact—within hundreds of meters—was shredded, flattened, broken. The earth cracked open in an enormous gash.
The entire island trembled.
And the coastal waters surged into towering waves, roaring like sea dragons.
Dust and ash rose in thick clouds.
Only after several seconds did the swirling debris settle under the sea breeze.
The towering golden statue had melted into a puddle—nothing left but semi-solid lumps of ruined candy.
"Brother Perospero!!"
Daifuku gasped, still shaking. He turned toward his brother—only for his face to go pale with horror.
A severed arm, blood-soaked, fell to the ground.
Perospero clutched the stump where his arm had been, blood gushing through his fingers. His face had turned ghostly white.
Not far behind him, a pitch-black blade burned with ghostly purple flames, embedded deep in the earth.
Its tip pointed directly into the heart of the jungle, where a massive gash—nearly a kilometer long—tore through the terrain like a scar from a god.
Perospero wheezed, clutching his bleeding stump. The blood pooled beneath him, forming a deep crimson puddle.
Yet he ignored the pain. His eyes fixed firmly on a point in the sky.
"Daifuku... Don’t argue. When the time comes, get on the candy boat and retreat."
"This island is close to Whole Cake Island. If you’re fast, you can reach it in half an hour. Find Katakuri... I’ll hold him off."
Daifuku blinked in disbelief.
"What? No! Just you alone—"
He twisted his head sharply, eyes bloodshot with fury as he unleashed the full authority of the eldest Charlotte son.
"If you stay, you’ll die too!!"
"This isn’t the time to argue. That man’s power is beyond terrifying! Even Katakuri might not stand a chance!"
"He hasn’t even shown himself yet—two blades alone took my arm. And we’re both already wounded..."
Perospero’s words dragged Daifuku’s heart down into a pit of despair.
"Do you think you can run?"
That cold, godlike voice rang out again—closer this time.
Both brothers looked up—and their eyes widened in horror.
A towering figure descended from the clouds.
No vehicle. No wings. No tricks.
Just a man suspended in air—his white Marine cape billowing in the gale behind him.
Without a gesture, the two blades embedded in the earth flew back into the sky.
They spun—one black, one white—streaking across the coast, slicing the candy raft into a thousand shards.
Lightning crashed in the brothers’ minds.
Their last escape route—destroyed.
The blades returned to Darren’s side in streaks of light.
Once more, their tips pointed directly at the two pirates—locked in.
"I’m sorry," Darren said, cold and commanding, looking down at them from the sky.
"But you will die here."
"Charlotte Perospero, officer of the Big Mom Pirates—bounty: 210 million Berries."
"Charlotte Daifuku, officer of the Big Mom Pirates—bounty: 180 million Berries."
"I, Commodore Rogers Darren of Marine Headquarters, hereby declare, in the name of justice..."
"...you are to be executed on the spot."
His gaze was as merciless as the divine.