The battle ended as quickly as it began.
The blizzard, whipped into a frenzy by the shockwave, slowly settled back into the ground.
Silence returned to the winter island, broken only by the crackling of burning timber.
Cavendish, who was busy tying a crude bandage around his waist, finally got a clear view of the battlefield.
He froze.
A silver-haired man was slowly rising to his feet, dusting snow off his knees like he'd just tripped, not fought a Sweet Commander.
And beneath him?
Charlotte Smoothie.
The invincible Giant-leg woman.
The monster who had toyed with Cavendish like he was a toddler.
She was lying face down in a crater. Both her arms were gone, severed cleanly at the shoulder.
Blood was gushing from the stumps, staining the white snow with a vibrant, horrifying crimson.
Cavendish felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs.
His brain, which had been in shock, rebooted and started racing a mile a minute.
'Wait. What?'
'That high-ranking officer... defeated? Just like that?'
'She didn't even last a minute!'
'And her arms... both of them chopped off by this guy?'
Cavendish squinted, trying to remember something.
'Why does he look so familiar? Who in the world is he?'
Then, true to form, Cavendish's narcissistic brain found the only logical explanation.
'Could he be... my fan? One of my obsessed followers who heard of my plight and rushed here to rescue me?'
'Yes! That must be it! My charm transcends gender! He came to save his idol!'
Just as Cavendish was sinking into this comforting delusion, a voice cut through the cold air.
"Ray..."
It was Smoothie.
She was still conscious.
With great difficulty, she turned her head, her cheek pressed against the frozen ground.
Her eyes were wide, filled with pain and disbelief, staring intently at Ray's retreating back.
"Do you realize the consequences of attacking me?" she rasped, coughing up blood. "You will die! Mama will kill you! Every last one of your crew will die screaming!"
Smoothie wasn't just rambling.
The severe beating had jolted her awake, completely freeing her from the effects of the "hormonal buff."
She was lucid now.
And she was terrified.
As a veteran of the New World, Smoothie knew the score.
Her arms were gone and she was bleeding out. Her chances of survival were virtually nonexistent.
'Death is just a matter of time,' she thought grimly.
'Either Ray kills me now to finish the job, or I return home crippled and Mama kills me for being useless.'
Big Mom didn't tolerate failure.
She would extract Smoothie's soul to make a new Homie without batting an eye.
So, she provoked him.
It was a desperate probe.
'I need to know his motive,' Smoothie analyzed. 'Is he here for the dog? Or is this just revenge?'
From her brief clash with Ray, she had realized a terrifying truth: This man wasn't just a pretty face.
His strength was close to a Yonko.
He was a monster in human skin!
'If Ray only wants to rescue his pet', she reasoned, 'then no matter how much I insult him, he likely won't kill me immediately. He needs leverage and he needs information.'
If she were in his position, she would keep a high-ranking officer alive as a bargaining chip.
But if he doesn't care about the dog... if he's here purely to burn the Big Mom Pirates to the ground...
The thought sent a chill down her spine.
That would be a nightmare.
'A powerhouse like him, loose in Totto Land with nothing to lose? He could assassinate us one by one.'
All members of the Charlotte Family would live in fear.
Smoothie didn't care about her mother.
She didn't care about the disposable crew members. But she cared about her siblings.
Katakuri. Oven. Daifuku.
'I have to warn them.'
She glanced toward the mountains. Her surveillance team was hidden there
They would relay everything back to Whole Cake Island. As long as Katakuri got the message, he would make the right call.
Smoothie was tense, sweat dripping down her face, mixing with the blood.
She waited for Ray to turn around and finish her.
But Ray completely ignored her.
He didn't even look back. He just walked slowly toward the narcissist Cavendish.
Watching this, Smoothie's heart hammered against her ribs.
'He's ignoring me? Why? He's too calm. I can't read him at all.'
...
Ray had his own considerations.
He knew Smoothie was valuable.
She was a Sweet Commander and a favored daughter.
But he also knew Big Mom.
'That woman is a psychopath,' Ray thought coldly. 'She wouldn't trade a bag of candy for a failure of a daughter, let alone a valuable hostage like Chouchou.'
Using Smoothie as a bargaining chip for a trade was a dead end.
Big Mom would probably just laugh and tell him to kill her.
'No. I won't trade her.'
'I'll use her.'
Ray planned to use Smoothie not as a hostage, but as a compass.
He needed her to lead him to Big Mom. He needed to bypass the security, the Homies, and the traps of Totto Land.
Killing her now would vent his anger, sure. But Chouchou's life was more important than revenge.
Ray stopped in front of Cavendish.
At that moment, the gears in Cavendish's head finally turned.
'Silver hair. Red eyes.'
'Wait...'
The instant he recognized Ray, Cavendish exploded.
"YOU!"
Cavendish pointed a trembling finger.
"You're that bastard Ray! The one who stole my spotlight!"
Before Ray's bounty poster went up, it was universally acknowledged that Cavendish was the most handsome man on the seas.
He was the "Pirate Prince."
But ever since "Cold Prince" Ray hit the scene, things changed.
Whenever Cavendish was drinking in a bar or flirting with a waitress, he would hear whispers.
"He's cute, but Ray is better."
"Ray has that bad boy vibe, you know?"
It drove him insane!
Cavendish refused to accept it.
He convinced himself the posters were edited.
But now...
Cavendish looked up at the real deal.
The aura and the face.
It was annoying!
'Why is he approaching me?' Cavendish thought, panic warring with vanity.
'Is he a fan? Is he coming to help me? No, his eyes are too cold.'
Ten seconds later, Ray stood over him.
"You," Ray said simply. "I have a request."
He leaned down and whispered something in Cavendish's ear.
Cavendish's eyes popped out. He scrambled backward, wincing as his wounds stretched.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Cavendish shouted, his voice cracking. "Are you insane?! You want me to help you persuade that monster Smoothie? And have her take us to Big Mom territory?!"
"You're out of your mind!" Cavendish ranted, waving his arms. "This is our first meeting! I don't know you! What gives you the right to order me around?!"
"Who do you think you are?!"
"You're very handsome? Okay, fine! But does being handsome give you the right to boss people around?! Am I not handsome too?! Or are you relying on your strength? What good is being strong if you have no manners!"
"I, Cavendish, live for my dignity! My aesthetic! I'd rather die than submit to a rude brute like you!"
Cavendish was hopping mad, literally.
He jumped up and down, cursing, grimacing in pain, and spitting blood, but he didn't stop yelling.
Ray just stared at Cavendish with those cold, red eyes.
Eventually, Cavendish ran out of breath.
He realized he was shouting at a brick wall.
A brick wall that could chop off a Sweet Commander's arms!
He gulped.
"Can't... can't win with words so you resort to intimidation?" Cavendish stammered, trying to regain his bravado.
"Fine! Come on then! Kill me! In eighteen years I'll be reincarnated as the heartthrob of the seas again!"
He closed his eyes, bracing for the blow.
But what happened next completely shut Cavendish's mouth!