At that moment, two women from the Snake-Neck Tribe stepped forward and blocked Flampe's escape route, successfully cutting off Vice Admirals Onigumo and Doberman. They were Charlotte Hachee, the fourth daughter of the Charlotte Family, and Charlotte Effilée, the fifth daughter.
"Sisters!" Flampe cried out, tears pouring down her face as she saw them.
Without hesitation, Hachee shouted, "Run!"
Flampe did not waste a second. She scrambled to her feet and sprinted toward the city. The battle had not lasted long, yet the losses suffered by the Big Mom Pirates were already staggering. A heavy sense of foreboding filled her heart. Whether it was Beehive Island or Wano Country, anywhere was better than here. Only by leaving Cake Island could she hope to survive.
Regret gnawed at her relentlessly. Why had she insisted on staying behind? If she had retreated with Brulee and the others, how could she have ended up like this? Why did she have to endure such terror and despair?
Onigumo immediately recognized the two women and let out a cold snort. "Hmph. The Charlotte Family sends two more children. And they do not seem weak."
Doberman's expression remained stern as he replied, "As long as they are pirates, there is no reason for them to live."
Onigumo nodded. "Well said."
The four clashed almost instantly. Hachee and Effilée were skilled swordswomen, but they possessed no special abilities. Seizing an opening, Onigumo and Doberman launched a ferocious joint assault. Their blades flashed, reinforced with Armament Haki, and in a single overwhelming exchange, both sisters were cut down.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, another Sweet Commander was fighting desperately.
Cracker stood amid an army of biscuit soldiers, endlessly summoning reinforcements as he battled Admiral Candidate Tokikake. Even as he fought, Tokikake still found time to speak, his tone growing impatient.
"How long do you plan to keep this boring game up?" he said. "My patience is wearing thin. Are you going to face me properly and finish this, or not?"
Cracker sneered faintly. "If you want to reach me, you will have to break through my biscuit army first."
Tokikake froze for a brief moment, then frowned. "So you intend to use these toys against me the whole time? Are you mocking me?"
Before his words fully settled, Tokikake swung his saber downward. A massive, conical slash erupted outward, spinning like a violent storm. Every biscuit soldier in its path was pulverized into dust as the attack surged straight toward Cracker's true body.
Sensing the danger through Observation Haki, Cracker's expression finally changed. The biscuit knight beneath him was erased in an instant, forcing him to leap backward. He gripped his greatsword, Pretzel, tightly and met the incoming attack head-on.
The impact drove him back dozens of meters before he managed to stabilize himself. With a powerful swing, he redirected the slash upward, where it detonated and dispersed.
"So strong…" Cracker thought grimly. "That sword pressure…"
Before he could regroup, another circular Haki-infused slash erupted from the distance, tearing through the remaining biscuit soldiers like a hurricane and cutting them cleanly in half.
Tokikake stepped forward, his gaze sharp and serious. "I suggest you show your true strength. Do not underestimate me. I am a Marine Admiral Candidate. If you treat me like an ordinary Vice Admiral, you will regret it."
At that moment, another presence joined the battlefield.
Momousagi, also a Admiral Candidate, approached with measured steps. She had just defeated Charlotte Oven and immediately noticed Tokikake still locked in battle.
"Kake," she said coldly, "why is this not finished yet?"
Tokikake stiffened slightly, then replied quickly, "Gion, I was just testing him. I will end it right away."
Momousagi's expression darkened. She drew her famed sword, Konpira, her voice firm and commanding. "There is no time for delays. Marines are dying every moment. We end this now."
Tokikake nodded at once. "Understood."
The two moved simultaneously. Faced with the combined assault of two Vice Admiral Candidates, Cracker was completely overwhelmed. In a blink, two deep wounds split across his body, blood spraying as he collapsed heavily onto the ground.
"Brother Cracker…"
Flampe, who had fled into the area moments earlier, stood frozen behind cover, staring in horror.
She had always believed Cracker was invincible. As a Sweet Commander, he was a monster in her eyes, someone who could protect her no matter what. She knew how terrifying his biscuit soldiers were, so durable that even firearms barely affected them. That was why she had chosen to hide nearby, believing that staying close to Cracker was safer than running blindly.
Yet now, she watched as he was defeated almost instantly by the coordinated attack of two Marines.
Her mind refused to accept it.
First Snack, and now Cracker.
Why did the Four Sweet Commanders, the very pillars of the Charlotte Family, seem so fragile before the Marines' Vice Admirals?
The moment Cracker fell, something inside Flampe shattered. She turned and ran again, tears streaming down her face as fear completely consumed her.
Momousagi and Tokikake watched her flee but made no move to pursue. Neither of them could bring themselves to strike down a girl barely in her teens. Even with Fleet Admiral Sakazuki's absolute order, they hesitated.
Momousagi turned to her subordinates. "The battle is not over. Stay alert."
"Yes, ma'am!"
At the same time, the Shichibukai were cutting through the battlefield from the outskirts of Cake Island, forcing their way deeper into the city. The pirates' defenses crumbled completely, leaving them with nowhere left to retreat.
Dracule Mihawk, having just cut down another pirate, glanced over the collapsing battlefield with cold eyes. "So this is the end," he muttered. "Even a Yonko like Big Mom falls when facing the Marines, the true rulers of the sea."
As for Flampe, she stumbled and collapsed once more. There was nowhere left to run. Marines had already penetrated deep into the city, and battle raged in every direction. No matter where she turned, escape was impossible.
The screams of her brothers and sisters echoed endlessly in her ears, driving her deeper into despair.
Through her tears, she looked toward the distant battlefield where the Phoenix Pirates and her brother in law Fossa were desperately holding back an Admiral. They were the very reason she had chosen to stay behind instead of leaving with Brulee.
Yet she did not dare run toward them.
That battlefield was even more terrifying.