Totto Land.
While Allen and Big Mom engaged in a fierce battle outside Totto Land's waters, the elite fleet under the Demon Lion banner scattered and flanked behind the Big Mom Pirates' fleet. After a brief exchange of cannon fire, they sped away, drawing the enemy toward Totto Land's waters.
Sanji, transformed into a giant dragon, flew through the sky. Warships densely covered the entire sea. As he used Blast Breath to sink enemy ships one after another, he flew toward the distant waters of Totto Land.
After drawing most of the enemy fire, Nami and Robin also took action. Unfurling pitch-black wings from their backs, they grabbed Gin, Perona, and the others, taking to the sky to break through the Big Mom army's encirclement from another direction.
Soon, the group spotted the first island within Totto Land's territory—Liqueur Island.
On the sea near Liqueur Island, three massive warships led by Avalo Pizarro were exchanging cannon fire with dozens of smaller enemy vessels.
Although there was a massive disparity in numbers, the firepower of the three giant ships was not inferior to the enemy's in the slightest, sinking the opposing vessels one after another.
However, behind those dozens of small warships, an even larger fleet was rushing in as reinforcements. Standing on the lead ship was none other than Cracker.
Gin, who was being carried by the hand through the air, quickly said upon seeing this, "That's one of the main fleets led by the Four Sweet Commanders. They've probably brought quite a few experts. Please just drop me off there, Miss Nami."
"With so many enemy forces, will you be okay by yourself?"
"Don't worry. Once on the island, Pizarro can unleash even greater combat power. The enemies are far more than just what's in front of us; the other fleets still need your help," Gin replied in a calm tone.
Nami thought for a moment before saying with a serious expression, "I understand. Be careful, and fire a signal flare for backup if you need it."
With that, Nami accelerated forward, arriving above Liqueur Island and dropping Gin down.
"Captain Gin of the General Combat Division is here to back us up!"
"Great! Now we don't have to fear them at all!"
"Hurry, accelerate toward the island!"
Seeing Gin diving down from the sky at extreme speed, the pirates on the warships were ecstatic. This battle maniac, known to the world as the "Demon Man" for his ruthless methods, undoubtedly brought immense confidence to everyone.
The three giant ships, which had been fighting while retreating, reduced their firepower and instead advanced toward Liqueur Island at full speed.
Bang!!
Gin crashed down from the sky, stomping a massive crater into the ground. A dense web of cracks rapidly spread out from beneath his feet.
The moment he landed, he immediately drew two handguns from the waist of his armor.
Gin stepped forward, his cold gaze fixed on the distant enemy ships across the sea, and slowly raised the muzzles.
"More-More: Hundredfold Pistol."
As the ability activated, a strange blue fluorescence emanated from the guns.
Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!
Gunshots rang out in rapid succession! The muzzles spat tongues of fire as bullets blasted out, continuously expanding and accelerating mid-flight!
The bullets, boasting destructive power far surpassing naval cannons, arrived in an instant. Imbued with terrifying kinetic energy from traveling at dozens of times the speed of sound, they struck the warships head-on!
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!
The soccer-ball-sized bullets blasted massive gaping holes in the bows, effortlessly shattering the keels. They pierced entirely through the hulls, bursting out from the sterns with unabated momentum to smash into the ships behind them!
"Aaaargh—!!"
"Run! The ship is sinking!"
"Help! I don't want to die yet!"
In an instant, wails of agony filled the air, and countless wood splinters flew across the sky.
One warship after another was effortlessly obliterated, sinking into the sea amidst sky-piercing screams!
"Still as decisive and ruthless as ever. To his enemies, that guy is practically a demon."
Standing at the bow of the giant ship flying the Demon Lion's black flag, Pizarro couldn't help but sigh in awe.
A hint of wariness flickered in his eyes as he looked at Gin, his mind involuntarily recalling the terror of being dominated by him.
Back when he first encountered Allen's crew, as an Island-Island Fruit user, he had merged with an island to gain a colossal body. Even ordinary naval cannons could hardly inflict much damage on him.
However, using only a cannon shaped like a dog, Gin had brutally battered him to a pulp on the spot, nearly blasting a small portion of the island to pieces.
If Allen hadn't used Haki to knock him out of his merged state, Gin probably would have sunk the entire island into the sea if he kept firing.
"Good thing he's on our side now. As a teammate, he's ridiculously reliable, hahaha!" Pizarro grinned and threw his head back in laughter.
In a matter of breaths, Gin emptied the bullets in his two revolvers. He pressed his index finger to pop out the cylinders, dumped the empty casings, and began reloading bullet by bullet.
He stared expressionlessly at the remaining ships on the sea, as if looking at dead men. After reloading, he raised the muzzles again and pulled the triggers without a shred of hesitation.
"More-More: Hundredfold Pistol!!"
Bang!! Bang!! Bang!!
The bullets blasted out in response, rapidly expanding and accelerating mid-flight.
"The attacks are coming again!!"
"Hurry up and scatter!"
"Defend quickly!!"
Countless panicked screams erupted from the Big Mom Pirates' fleet. At the same time, a few executives hastily jumped out, attempting to intercept the bullets.
However, the bullets fired from the large-caliber revolvers under a hundredfold amplification were nearly impossible to intercept, even for experts who had mastered both types of Haki.
On a ship at the very front of the fleet, the third daughter of the Charlotte Family, the Snakeneck half-breed known as "Demon Lady" Charlotte Amande, stood at the bow holding the famed sword Shirauo.
Facing a projectile blasting toward her at dozens of times the speed of sound, her Observation Haki could barely even track its trajectory.
Demon Lady Amande gritted her teeth. Relying purely on instinct, she swiftly swung the famed sword Shirauo, clad in Armament Haki!
Clang!!
Fortunately, she actually managed to strike the bullet that had been enlarged to the size of a cannonball.
However, with her level of Armament Haki, she was completely unable to resist the terrifying kinetic energy attached to the bullet!
Boom!!
The famed sword Shirauo flew from her grasp, and Demon Lady Amande's body was sent flying backward. Her back slammed heavily against the ship's mainmast, and she slid down like a puddle of soft mud.
She half-knelt on the deck with a pained expression, gritting her teeth as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. The hands that had just been holding the sword trembled uncontrollably.
"What overwhelming power..."
Amande turned her head to glance at Shirauo, which had fallen and pierced into the deck. Her face was pale, her heart still pounding with lingering fear.
If she hadn't been wielding a famed sword, the blade would have likely snapped, and the bullet would have struck her body head-on.
If even someone of her strength could only manage this much, there was no need to mention the others.
Aside from Mama, the only ones capable of withstanding that guy's attacks were probably the Four Sweet Commanders and Perospero.
Amande thought solemnly, her eyes fixed on Gin with deep wariness.
Right at that moment.
A massive figure descended from the sky.
Thud!!
A Biscuit Soldier wielding a double-edged broadsword and a square shield landed heavily on the bow. Amande looked up in delight.
"Cracker!!"
"Big Sister Amande!!"
A voice rang out from inside the Biscuit Soldier's body. Two pieces of biscuit on its surface opened like doors, and a purple-haired man with three long braids jumped out from within.
Seeing the injured Amande, Cracker immediately glared furiously at Gin on the distant shore.
"Is that the guy who hurt you?! That bastard, I absolutely won't let him leave Totto Land alive today!"
"Be careful, Cracker. That guy is the user of the More-More Fruit. He inherited the power of Byrnndi World, the man once known as the 'World Destroyer'," Amande quickly warned.
"I don't care what kind of ability user he is! I'll drown him with my Biscuit Soldier army!"
Cracker shouted angrily. He quickly jumped back into the Biscuit Soldier, crouched down, and pushed off with explosive force, launching himself from the bow!
Bang!!
The immense force caused the bow to sink sharply, kicking up massive splashes of water on both sides.
The Biscuit Soldier flew at extreme speed, the wind howling around it as it crossed the distance of over a hundred meters, diving straight toward Liqueur Island.
Seeing this, Gin's eyes darkened. He immediately swung his muzzles around and took aim!
Bang!!
A bullet blasted out, transforming into an ultra-high-speed cannonball in the blink of an eye!
Cracker raised his square shield, coated it in powerful Armament Haki, and thrust it forward!
"Hard Biscuit!!"
Clang!!
The projectile, carrying immense kinetic energy, collided heavily with the shield. Cracker gritted his teeth. After a two-second stalemate, he forcefully swung his shield up, deflecting the projectile away.
The terrifying attack that could easily pierce through a warship had actually been blocked head-on this time!
Gin couldn't help but be slightly surprised.
For a biscuit, this hardness was somewhat beyond imagination. Of course, the main reason it could defend against the attack was that the opponent's Armament Haki was strong enough.
"As expected of one of the Four Sweet Commanders. Interesting."
The corners of Gin's mouth curled up as he looked at his opponent with keen interest.
On the other side, Cracker, who had blocked the attack, wasn't having an easy time either. After deflecting the projectile, he was pushed back several meters.
Just as he was about to fall into the sea, he controlled the Biscuit Soldier to drop its shield to use as a foothold. Landing on it, he crouched and pushed off, launching himself forward once again.
"Roll Pretzel!!"
Cracker roared furiously, quickly flying right in front of Gin. The double-edged sword in his hand spun at high speed, coated in Armament Haki, as he thrust it forward!
Gin raised his arms, turning his armored bracers outward and coating them in Haki to block.
Clang!!
The giant sword pierced against the bracers, emitting a metallic hum. Cracker pushed forward with all his might, and the high-speed spinning blade tip erupted with a powerful spiral sword aura!
Zing!!
Screech—!!
The powerful sword aura pushed Gin backward, his feet plowing two trenches into the grass. He only managed to come to a halt after sliding back more than twenty meters.
"Heh, not bad strength."
Gin smiled teasingly. After steadying himself, he quickly drew the twin tonfas with iron balls at their ends from his waist.
Cracker sneered coldly, "Hmph, I've got something even better. Let's see if you can still smile in a minute."
Clap! Clap!
With that, the sound of clapping suddenly echoed from inside the Biscuit Soldier. At the same time, a large amount of brown powder drifted out from behind it. Looking closely, it was actually biscuit crumbs.
The biscuit crumbs drifted in all directions, rapidly condensing into floating square biscuits.
"Come forth! Biscuit Soldiers!!"
Following Cracker's low shout, the square biscuits floating in the air quickly assembled into one towering soldier after another!
Three, eight, sixteen...
In the blink of an eye, over twenty Biscuit Soldiers were created, all uniformly wearing helmets and wielding swords and shields.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't tell me all these biscuit men are that strong."
Seeing this, Gin couldn't help but twitch the corners of his eyes.
The power behind that sword thrust just now was nothing to scoff at. Coupled with a defense capable of resisting the Hundredfold Pistol, if all these biscuit men were that strong...
Just thinking about it felt troublesome. He decided it was best to test the waters first.
Gin thought to himself as he slowly spun the twin tonfas in his hands, his gaze quickly locking onto the Biscuit Soldier closest to him.
The next second.
"Thirtyfold Multiply: Godspeed!!"
Swish!
Gin's feet continuously stamped the ground, erupting with ultra-high movement speed. His figure instantly vanished from the spot, flashing right in front of a Biscuit Soldier!
Activating his ability, the iron ball on his tonfa suddenly expanded. Gin let out a loud shout and fiercely swept his twin tonfas horizontally!
"Thirtyfold Multiply: Destructive Heavy Hammer!!"
Smash!!
Before the Biscuit Soldier could even react, the massive iron ball slammed heavily into its body. Carrying immense potential energy, it instantly cracked the biscuit chassis!
The moment of impact, the iron ball bloomed with an intense bright light and violently detonated!
BOOM!!!
A terrifying explosion of fire shot into the sky, mixed with billowing clouds of black smoke!
The Biscuit Soldier, which had already sustained cracks, was blown to pieces on the spot, its fragments sent flying in all directions by the shockwave!
"Is that all? But I suppose it makes sense. Aside from the one hiding the main body, the other biscuit men can't use Haki after all."
Amidst the smoke, Gin curled his lips into a smug grin. "In that case, this will be much easier."
"Stop talking big. I admit your ability is strong, however..."
From behind the ranks of Biscuit Soldiers, Cracker smiled coldly, as if he had already seen through everything. He said, "Activating your ability consumes stamina. If you use your power to enhance every single attack, how long can your stamina hold out?"
Hearing this, a strange glint flashed in Gin's eyes.
The opponent was right; the stamina consumption of the More-More Fruit was indeed significant.
Furthermore, among the three attributes of volume, weight, and speed, for every additional attribute amplified, the stamina drain didn't just double—it multiplied by the corresponding amplification factor.
It was the same principle as accelerating a 100-kilogram object by 10 times consuming 10 times more stamina than accelerating a 10-kilogram object by 10 times.
Because he possessed the Lineage Factor of the Buccaneer Tribe, his stamina was incredibly abundant, and his recovery rate was very fast. Under normal circumstances, he didn't have to worry about this issue.
But facing someone like Cracker, who excelled in wars of attrition, was different. If he couldn't finish off his opponent quickly, getting dragged into a prolonged fight would be highly disadvantageous for him.
However.
Having eaten the More-More Fruit for so long, how could he not have a countermeasure for such an obvious weakness?
The corners of Gin's mouth lifted slightly. He tapped his toes and leaped high backward.
"Don't even think about running! Get him, all of you!!"
Cracker shouted loudly, commanding all the Biscuit Soldiers to swarm forward!
Gin looked down at the massive number of Biscuit Soldiers charging up at him. The silver armor plates on his shoulders suddenly flipped open, revealing two pitch-black gun barrels inside each!
To deal with this kind of attrition warfare relying on numerical superiority, the best method was to unleash a full-power burst and wipe them all out at once!
"More-More: Hundredfold Shotgun!!"
Bang!!
Gin let out a deep roar. The four gun barrels on his left and right spat tongues of fire simultaneously, blasting out a dense swarm of countless steel pellets!
The steel pellets, amplified a hundredfold in all aspects, expanded to the size of fists mid-air. Carrying terrifying potential energy, they rained down fiercely like a torrential storm at a hundred times the speed of sound!
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!
Every giant steel ball that landed blasted a crater three to five meters in diameter into the ground. And there were over a hundred of these steel balls raining down in a scattered barrage!
In an instant, the entire island shook violently. The ground looked as if it were being carpet-bombed by cluster munitions, blasting open crater after crater and kicking up billowing clouds of dust.
The Biscuit Soldiers within a radius of several hundred meters were blown to pieces in this indiscriminate, devastating strike, sending biscuit fragments flying everywhere!
After landing from the air, Gin's chest heaved as he panted heavily.
Although the steel pellets were small and a hundredfold amplification didn't consume too much stamina, he couldn't ignore the fact that he had fired over a hundred rounds at once.
Taking advantage of the gap created by the annihilation of the massive Biscuit Soldier army, he immediately spread out his Observation Haki, locking onto the single aura amidst the billowing dust.
"Fiftyfold Multiply: Godspeed Shave!!"
Gin's eyes darkened. Gripping his twin tonfas, he erupted with terrifying speed, instantly plunging headlong into the dust cloud!
Cracker had just managed to extricate himself from the previous wave of attacks. Before he even had time to create new Biscuit Soldiers, Gin had already flashed right in front of him!
"What!!"
Cracker's expression changed drastically, clearly utterly shocked by Gin's explosive speed. He hastily raised his biscuit shield, coated in Armament Haki!
"Hundredfold Multiply: Destructive Heavy Hammer!!"
Gin roared loudly, his tonfa sweeping out with a howl. The iron ball suddenly expanded, reaching a massive diameter of one meter right before impact!
SMASH!!!
A deafening boom echoed through the clouds like thunder. Gin's full-power strike was far more powerful than ordinary firearms; under a hundredfold amplification, it was comparable to a falling meteorite!
The hard biscuit shield shattered upon contact! The iron ball brutally smashed the Biscuit Soldier's outer shell to pieces before heavily striking Cracker's actual body!
"Blergh—!!"
Cracker's face contorted hideously as if he had crashed into a wall. It felt as though a massive mountain was pressing down on him, rendering him completely unable to resist.
The next second.
In his horrified gaze, a blindingly bright light bloomed from the iron ball!
BOOM!!!
In this instant, the world seemed to fall silent. The sound of the explosion could no longer be heard; only a brain-piercing ringing remained in the ears as the entire space turned into a vast expanse of white.
On the distant sea, the shockwave of the explosion whipped up a fierce gale that swept outward, the surging seawater pushing the ships continuously backward.
Watching the coastline crumble apart, everyone's eyes widened. Their mouths hung open, but they were too terrified to utter a single word.
On the island, towering flames mixed with billowing black smoke transformed into a giant mushroom cloud that shot into the sky.
A completely charred Cracker flew out from the island, white smoke puffing from his mouth and his eyes rolled back in his head. He had clearly lost consciousness.