The Gale Calamity Tigress Arrives
Too bad for Whiteflame, Kizaru had already noticed his intent—and he had absolutely no desire to die together with him. He chose to retreat immediately.
"What a pity…"
The corner of Whiteflame's mouth lifted as he commented.
When it came to trading lives, Whiteflame wasn't targeting anyone in particular—
he'd trade with anyone.
"Bastard! Come on! If you've got the guts, come again!"
"I don't care how many times you come at me, I'll kill you every single time!"
Right then, the furious roars of the Wind Calamity Queen echoed out…
She had once again wiped out all twenty-three IBMs, every last one scattered to nothing.
After biting down and crushing the final IBM's head, causing it to collapse on the spot, the Wind Calamity Queen glared daggers at Whiteflame. Her expression twisted, her gaze vicious and beast-like growls rumbled from her throat.
"You're the one who asked for another round. It's not like I forced you."
"So I'll grant your wish."
Whiteflame waved his hand, and twenty-three humanoid bandage monsters reappeared behind him once more!
The nearest claws hissed as black sheen crept over them—Whiteflame's Armament riding the bandages like lacquer. He couldn't give them minds, but he could lend them will; as long as he kept feeding life-energy, he could call them back again and again.
They were exactly the same as the ones the Wind Calamity Queen had just killed—not a single difference.
"You…!!"
The feral light in her eyes froze.
She couldn't help but take a step back.
It had looked easy when she dealt with those twenty-three IBMs, but the Wind Calamity Queen had taken damage too… Still, as a Zoan Awakening user, her toughness and self-recovery were outstanding. To her, those injuries were nothing.
But no matter how strong her recovery was, stamina loss was unavoidable.
And if those humanoid bandage monsters really could respawn endlessly…
then this was going to be a serious problem.
Just then, a long, distant sound cut through the heavy air.
Whoo—
A cannonball from far out at sea traced a perfect arc through the sky, dropping straight toward the Nine Dragons!
"Xiao Hei!"
Whiteflame gave the order at once.
An IBM immediately surged forward, its long, sharp claws slicing the incoming cannonball into several pieces!
Boom!
The cannonball exploded midair, its blast failing to reach the Nine Dragons.
But now, everyone's eyes had shifted to the ship that had fired on them.
"So they've arrived this quickly too?"
"Looks like the heavens are on my side."
When Kizaru saw the flag flying from that massive ship, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
Desserts, cakes, cream, candy, ice cream… On that ship—bigger than even the Beasts Pirates' vessel—a particularly ridiculous-looking Jolly Roger was flying.
Yet no one who saw that flag could even think about laughing.
Because it represented one of the Emperors of the Sea—
Big Mom.
A crowned skull with lipstick and candy-bone crossbones: not cute—jurisdiction.
The ones who'd arrived were none other than the Big Mom Pirates' senior officers, under orders to capture Whiteflame!
"Big Bro Perospero, look! Those over there are all warships!"
The massive figure whose face sagged like soft cream, with some unknown fluid dripping constantly down, leaving only a vague sense of his features—he was Charlotte Opera, Big Mom's 5th son and one of the Charlotte Family's 34 Ministers, the Minister of Fresh Cream.
"Forget the warships. Don't you see? The people on that floating island are the real targets of our mission."
Charlotte Perospero licked his enormous candy cane as he spoke in a sinister tone.
"Admiral Kizaru, and that annoying Wind Calamity Queen from the Beasts Pirates are here too."
"Mom sending me to this little war was an absolutely flawless decision!"
The Minister of Juice, Charlotte Smoothie, stood up and drew the long sword from her back.
"Let's go. It's about time we avenged that useless brother Cracker."
Chapter 96 – All of You, Come at Me Together!
"It's the Big Mom Pirates!"
"I see them—that's one of Big Mom's Sweet Commanders!"
"What do you mean 'one of the Four'? Cracker's already been taken out! There's only three left now!"
"These guys are definitely gonna give Lady Wind Calamity Queen trouble… Should we jump in and stop them?"
"Stop them? That's not a bad idea!"
"Don't be stupid! Our target is the bastard who killed Lord Jack the Drought, not them! Besides, they're probably here for the same reason we are—to make that bastard pay for killing Cracker… We've got the same goal. No need to rush in."
The members of the Beasts Pirates stared fixedly at the Big Mom Pirates' approaching ship and its officers.
The Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates had always been mortal enemies. They'd clashed countless times over territory. Normally, the second they saw each other, they'd be at each other's throats.
But now they shared a common goal.
Old grudges could be set aside for the moment. There would be plenty of time to settle scores after today.
"Whiteflame, look at the mess your rotten reputation has brought down on you."
"The Beasts Pirates, the Big Mom Pirates… Two Emperors of the New World sending such overwhelming forces just to hunt down one man… and even I was dispatched personally. This kind of thing has never happened before."
Kizaru said gloatingly.
His mood couldn't be better.
He'd thought Whiteflame was an easy mark he could casually crush—but turned out he was a steel bone that almost cracked his teeth.
Even with the Wind Calamity Queen joining the fray, nothing had changed. She'd been pushed to the edge repeatedly by those undying bandaged monsters. Now that the Big Mom Pirates had shown up—with their wide array of bizarre abilities—and that they all had a shared target, Kizaru certainly didn't mind cooperating for once to get rid of this dangerous anomaly.
"So you're Whiteflame, huh."
"The one who butchered my worthless big brother."
Just as Kizaru's voice faded, a new group of uninvited guests arrived on the floating island.
At their head was the Minister of Juice and one of the current Sweet Commanders, Charlotte Smoothie, resting a long sword on her shoulder—a warrior whose power surpassed Cracker's.
Behind her stood the Minister of Candy, Charlotte Perospero. His exact bounty wasn't widely known, but no one doubted his strength.
On her other side was the Minister of Fresh Cream, Charlotte Opera, his body constantly oozing syrupy cream.
Following them was the 18th daughter of the Charlotte Family, one of the 34 Ministers, the Minister of Butter, Charlotte Galette.
Then came the 19th son and Minister of Cheese, Charlotte Mont-d'Or, a Paramecia-type Book-Book Fruit user.
And finally, the 16th son and Minister of Ice Cream, Charlotte Moscato.
Six of them in total—every one a high-ranking minister of the Big Mom Pirates!
For so many of them to move together—under normal circumstances, this level of lineup only appeared when Emperors fought Emperors.
But now, just to bring down Whiteflame, one of the Sweet Commanders, Charlotte Smoothie herself, had been sent to lead the team. It showed just how determined Big Mom was to avenge her child.
"Fufufu…!!"
"Looks like this guy's in a foul mood. He must be scared stiff seeing all of us show up together, right?"
Perospero chuckled darkly.
"You serious?"
"Hard to believe this little guy has the strength to kill Big Bro Cracker…"
Mont-d'Or hovered on his flying book, eyeing Whiteflame up and down.
"Carelessness leads to disaster."
"Don't underestimate this one."
Galette slipped off her gloves, golden butter dripping from her fingers as she spoke seriously.
"So what if we underestimate him?"
"We've got him outnumbered, don't we?"
Opera's creamy face continued to ooze as his eyes gleamed eerily.
Marine Admiral Kizaru.
The Wind Calamity Queen, one of Kaido's Three Calamities.
Six minister-level cadres from the Big Mom Pirates…
Every one of them was a terror in the New World, strong enough to rule and intimidate entire seas.
And yet today, they had all gathered here for a single man.
Their goal was the same—
to take Whiteflame's head, or drag him away for a far more painful execution.
For three major powers to deploy such a terrifying lineup for just one individual… this was a first in pirate history.
"So everyone's finally here?"
Seeing the Big Mom Pirates arrive, Whiteflame showed no hint of fear or anxiety at all. On the contrary, he looked utterly calm, as if he had been expecting this from the start.
"Idiot. Are you so scared you've gone stupid?"
"Do you even understand what 'finally here' means? It means your life ends today."
"Wind Calamity Queen, Admiral Kizaru—you two aren't planning to stand on his side today, are you?"
Perospero asked with a sinister smile.
"What kind of nonsense is that… Since when could Marines and pirates stand on the same side?"
Kizaru cast him a lazy glance.
"You lot from the Big Mom Pirates… I still haven't settled the score from last time with you."
"But I can't be bothered to waste strength on you today… No matter what, his head is mine."
The Wind Calamity Queen chomped down and crushed another IBM's head, roaring furiously.
"The matter of who gets his head can be decided after he's dead."
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