The burly man before them was Linlin's tenth son, Charlotte Cracker.
Buggy's two short swords had grown almost dull from continuous strikes, yet not one blow pierced even the slightest fragment of Cracker's hard biscuit armor. But the armored man could not harm Buggy either, because Buggy had eaten the Chop‑Chop Fruit, and his body could split and evade like water around blades.
Cracker was not foolish. After canvassing Buggy's inability to harm him even with Haki‑infused slashes, he switched tactics. Raising his shield, he slammed it into Buggy's face with full force.
Two streams of blood spurted from Buggy's round red nose. Seeing Cracker lift the shield again, Buggy panicked. He split his body into pieces and scattered through his Emergency Escape ability.
The attack missed. Seizing the moment, Shanks appeared behind Cracker and slashed toward his neck with a deadly blow.
Shanks enhanced the output of his Armament Haki this time, but the result fell short of expectation. His strike only left a shallow mark on the back of Cracker's neck.
Then Shanks noticed something odd. The area he cut was clearly bare skin, not protected by Haki, yet no blood flowed. Instead, yellow crumbly dust fell like flour from the cut.
Cracker reached back to feel the mark, then turned to face Shanks.
"Red‑haired brat, are you trying to tickle me?"
Cracker's voice was mocking, confident. Though he was only six years older than Shanks, his tall, bearded form made him appear much older beside Shanks' youthful figure.
Shanks hated being belittled. He swung his sword again and again, but Cracker simply braced and let Shanks continue slicing him.
After a long series of strikes, Cracker was barely damaged, losing only scattered biscuit crumbs, while Shanks began to tire.
Above them, Buggy floated by his Devil Fruit ability, staring at the battle.
"Stop fighting, Shanks! We can't break his defense! Let Uncle Rayleigh handle him! Wait, where's Uncle Rayleigh?"
Buggy looked around only to find Rayleigh had vanished without a trace.
Shanks ignored him. Determination flared in his veins. His grip tightened, and the Armament Haki flowing through his blade intensified, gleaming with a heavier, metallic sheen. It was clearly a higher level of Haki than before.
Cracker raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Interesting, red‑haired brat. You have talent."
Shanks' expression hardened. "You're just a coward hiding inside your shell, stop judging me."
Combat instincts flared. Shanks' keen mind deduced that the bulky biscuit figure could not be Cracker's true body — the armor itself must be a shell.
Cracker's eyes flickered with irritation at being taunted. He lifted his long sword, which he called "Pretzel," and charged.
"Bastard! I'll cut you in two!"
Shanks did not panic. Remaining calm enhanced his Observation Haki. Predicting the attack path, he dodged and then stabbed toward Cracker's side.
Cracks spread outward from the tip of Shanks' blade through the biscuit armor. In the next instant, with sharp fragmentation, the biscuit shell shattered.
Revealed beneath was Cracker's real form: a young man with purple hair and a cruel, ruthless look.
"Nice job, Shanks!!!" Buggy shouted with glee, dropping down and swinging his twin swords at Cracker's now‑exposed body.
Shanks transformed his stab into a sweeping strike. Cracker instinctively tensed, covering his waist with Armament Haki to defend. Buggy's slash was brushed aside casually.
But Shanks' Armament Haki had stepped up in intensity. With Cracker's brittle armor gone, his own Haki‑coated blade carved a clean cut into Cracker's side.
Cracker recoiled, face twisting with pain. He slammed his hand into Shanks' body in a desperate counterattack, forcing Shanks back and retreating sideways, clutching at his bleeding wound.
Seeing blood for the first time, his expression warped into ferocity.
"Good, good, good! I wanted to play with you two brats longer, but it seems that's unnecessary now. Prepare to know true despair!"
Cracker thrust the Pretzel into the ground beside him with ferocious intent.
Buggy, having just flown back, flapped over to Shanks.
"Hey, Shanks! Why did he throw his blade away? Is he planning to surrender?"
Shanks stayed focused, eyes locked on Cracker.
"Buggy, that guy isn't simple. The fight isn't over. This is…"
Buggy interrupted with a pout.
"Alright! Are you going to say this is Uncle Rayleigh's teaching again?"
"No."
Shanks shook his head slowly as an image of his mentor surfaced in his mind.
"This is what Black Dragon taught me."
Buggy's expression froze, confused.
"Okay, you two really are in some deep stuff…"
Suddenly Buggy shivered, hairs standing on end as if singled out by a terrifying presence.
Far off atop a distant tower, Xebec slowly lowered his finger, a faint arc of electricity still lingering at its tip. He shook his head slightly.
"Forget it. If I killed him, that kid would probably cry."
Back beside Shanks, Cracker — having put down Pretzel — began to clap unexpectedly, confusing both Shanks and Buggy.
But confusion turned to horror. As Cracker applauded, a multitude of burly figures in biscuit armor materialized behind him, each identical to the armor Cracker had once worn.
With a sinister grin, Cracker controlled the biscuit soldiers forward in unison.
Shanks and Buggy had no choice but to brace themselves. What shocked them most was that these biscuit soldiers possessed nearly the same impenetrable defense as the original form.
Buggy was cut into pieces by their blades, screaming angrily.
"What the hell?! What kind of Devil Fruit is this?! What kind of ridiculous ability!!!"
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