"Aha! Those Beasts Pirates bastards sure know when to grovel—they've come crawling to us for help!"
"Well then, in my boundless generosity, I shall grant them protection! Perorin~"
Watching the Beasts Pirates' warship approach from afar, the candy lord Perospero naturally assumed they had come to form an alliance.
Even though Beasts and Big Mom's crews had clashed in the past, the priority now was clearly to defeat the Marines.
But reality always has a way of catching you off guard—
"Something's coming!!!"
Snack, one of Big Mom's generals, shouted in alarm.
A second later—
A scorching wave of steam erupted from the Beasts Pirates' warship.
Out of the mist burst a massive, muscular figure resembling a bronze dragon—
Charging directly toward Perospero's candy ship with overwhelming momentum!
"Damn it! Have the Beasts Pirates lost their minds?! What are they doing?!"
Perospero panicked, nearly biting off his own tongue.
Gone was his usual calm and composed demeanor—
for it was crystal clear—
This was not a friendly visit.
Far from offering an alliance, the Beasts Pirates were outright attacking them—
even with the Marines lurking nearby.
It was madness. Stupid. Completely irrational.
As Luffy in Gear 4 Boundman form barreled in—
Perospero couldn't stop to analyze the situation.
He raised his hand instinctively—
A towering candy wall, as hard as steel, materialized in front of him.
But it was too late.
Luffy's massive right fist, pumped with compressed Armament Haki, smashed forward—
"Gomu Gomu no... KING KONG GUN!!!"
CRACK!
In an instant—
web-like fractures spread across the surface of the candy wall.
One second later—
with a thunderous crash, the wall—crafted by Perospero's steel-hard candy powers—shattered into pieces.
Luffy's Kong Gun didn't slow down in the slightest—
It punched a gaping hole straight through the candy ship's hull, nearly tearing the ship in half.
---
"Whoa! That was crazy strong!!!"
Several hundred meters away, in the Marines' guerrilla submersible—
Blue-haired Ain watched in awe.
"That's... one of the Beasts Pirates' officers? Never heard of this guy before!"
"And why on earth are they attacking the Big Mom Pirates of all people?!"
Binz, the fruit user of the Mosa Mosa no Mi, stood in shock and confusion.
"Was that... Garp?"
The purple-haired old man stood momentarily stunned.
Former admiral Zephyr had once grown up in the same era as Garp—both legends of the Marine.
They had fought side by side for years.
He knew Garp better than anyone.
That one moment—
the silhouette of Boundman Luffy made Zephyr instinctively think of a young Garp.
Even though Gear 4 looked completely different from the norm—
That association alone was enough to raise his suspicions.
Still, Zephyr needed more observation to be sure.
---
"Teacher Zephyr, what was that about? Did you say Vice Admiral Garp?"
Ain asked curiously.
"It's nothing! All units: maintain surveillance. Wait for the right moment—then wipe out all the pirates at once!"
Zephyr ordered coldly.
"Yes, sir!"
Ain and Binz responded immediately.
The pirates attacking each other first?
Perfect for them.
They could sit back, watch the chaos unfold, and swoop in at the end for the spoils.
---
But none of them—
Not Zephyr's squad,
not Perospero,
not even the Straw Hats aboard the Beasts Pirates' warship—
expected what came next.
After Luffy's overwhelming Boundman charge shattered the candy ship—
For nearly thirty seconds…
Silence.
Then—
"Lord Perospero! Something terrible has happened! The intruder… the intruder is eating Mama's wedding cake!!!"
A Big Mom pirate came tumbling out of a storage room, screaming.
"WHAT?! How DARE he!!"
Perospero was enraged.
"So it's come to this, huh?"
On the Beasts Pirates' warship, the Straw Hats exchanged exasperated looks.
Nami smacked her forehead.
Law's temples throbbed in fury.
"Captain! Don't you dare eat it all by yourself!!"
Usopp and Chopper wailed in protest.
"THAT'S your concern?!"
Nami exploded.
"Classic Luffy, I see!"
Jinbe laughed heartily.
"Jinbe, don't spoil him like that!"
Robin chuckled, shaking her head.
"Yohohoho! I'll go back him up!"
Brook, now reduced to just bones, leapt into the sea.
Thanks to his feather-light skeleton body, he skimmed over the surface like the wind.
---
"General Franky! Switching to naval combat mode!"
Franky followed right after Brook.
Hidden within General Franky, he didn't need to worry about revealing his identity.
---
"Let's go too!"
The two Yamatos spoke at the same time.
They charged forward together—
Using the powerful leg strength of the Oguchi no Makami, they leapt a hundred meters and landed atop Big Mom's warship.
---
"Hah."
Eustass Kid smirked.
"Captain Kid! Your Devil Fruit ability is too recognizable—you'll blow your cover!"
Trafalgar Law shouted, trying to stop him.
"Whether my identity's blown or not—I don't care!"
Kid had never been one to take orders.
In his eyes, there was only one thing left—
Revenge.
Years ago, he had reclaimed what was rightfully his—
but it was at the hands of Cracker and his overwhelming biscuit army that he had suffered the most humiliating defeat.
Now was the time to settle the score.
---
"Tch, one after another... you're all a bunch of fools."
Law was about to lose his mind amid the chaos.
"Don't worry. You'll get used to it."
Zoro patted him on the shoulder.
"Let Luffy and the others do their thing. The more chaos, the more confused the Navy gets."
Robin said with a serene smile.