"Her again?"
Big Mom stared in disbelief as Yamato stepped into the ring once more, her shock evident as she directed a long look at Kuke.
"You..."
For a mont, she was speechless, even wiping the drool that had unconsciously gathered at the corner of her mouth.
"Let's begin," she finally said, her voice lacking the fury it held earlier, softening in an unusual display of calm.
"Although I respect your resolve, I can't turn down a victory handed to on a silver platter," Cracker admitted as he cast a quick, admiring glance at Kuke. Then, turning to his sister, his expression hardened. "Don't worry, I will win this ti."
Charlotte Custard looked at Cracker's back, her lips trembling as if she wanted to speak but hesitated.
Victory wasn't everything.
Boom!
Yamato raised her kanabo and struck Cracker's biscuit shield with imnse force, sending him skidding back dozens of ters before regaining his footing.
Though cracks appeared on the shield, they quickly nded.
"Her stamina is nearly depleted. This match shouldn't hold any surprises," a strong observer noted.
The effects of Yamato's previous battles were obvious to anyone who watched closely.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Yamato and Cracker clashed fiercely, their attacks echoing like thunder.
For a short ti, they were evenly matched.
As the fight dragged on, Yamato's earlier exhaustion began to show, and she gradually started losing ground.
From dusk until deep into the night, the battle raged.
"Hell King's Descent!"
"Divine Speed: White Serpent Drive!"
In her hybrid form, Yamato unleashed two devastating special moves in quick succession, finally shattering Cracker's biscuit armor.
"Did I win?"
Yamato leaned heavily on her kanabo, sweat streaming down her face. After nearly ten hours of relentless combat, she had reached her absolute limit. Even the restorative abilities of her Mythical Zoan fruit couldn't keep pace with the energy she had expended.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound of applause ca from the shattered remains of the biscuit armor.
"Too bad—what you destroyed was just my armor," Cracker revealed, stepping forward in his true form.
Yamato blinked, montarily stunned.
What? He changed?
"This kind of armor—I can produce it endlessly," Cracker said, clapping his hands.
Biscuits materialized in midair, while the shattered remnants on the ground reassembled into a fresh army of biscuit soldiers.
An endless legion of biscuit soldiers rose around them.
"I haven't lost."
Wiping the sweat from her brow, Yamato gritted her teeth, raised her kanabo, and charged into the army of biscuit soldiers, smashing them apart one by one.
But each ti Cracker clapped, the number of soldiers didn't decrease—they increased, filling the battlefield with an overwhelming, despair-inducing force.
"I can't waste energy on these soldiers," Yamato muttered as she smashed another biscuit soldier and locked her gaze on Cracker standing beyond them.
"Frost Fang - Hell King's Supremacy!"
Combining her Mythical Zoan abilities with techniques Kuke had taught her, Yamato unleashed a new move.
A freezing shockwave burst forth, carving a massive path through the biscuit soldiers.
Seizing the opportunity, Yamato darted forward, transforming into a blur as she closed the gap between herself and Cracker.
Her kanabo swung down with devastating force.
"That tactic worked on Perospero, but I'm not afraid of close combat!" Cracker countered, raising his twin blades.
"Ripple - Pretzel Roll!"
His spinning swords, enhanced by advanced Armant Haki, clashed against Yamato's kanabo.
The impact unleashed a terrifying shockwave, obliterating everything within a hundred ters.
Both combatants were flung backward.
Cracker skidded back a hundred ters, slamming his hands together to summon reinforcents.
Yamato landed with a stumble, and the biscuit soldiers quickly surrounded her again.
"Damn it!" Yamato growled as she smashed another soldier, frustrated at how every hard-earned opportunity was imdiately nullified.
"How can I win?" she thought as she struggled to hold her ground.
The longer the fight dragged on, the weaker she beca, the cycles of retreat and regroup taking a toll on her body and spirit.
By dawn, Yamato had made several attempts to approach Cracker and launch decisive attacks, but each was thwarted.
Her stamina dwindled with each failure, and even the strikes of the biscuit soldiers now pushed her back.
"Victory is ours," Katakuri muttered, his tense expression finally relaxing.
He couldn't see any path to victory for Yamato.
"Brother Cracker!!"
The Big Mom Pirates erupted in cheers, their voices booming with newfound hope.
After two humiliating losses, their despair finally lifted as they tasted the joy of an impending victory.
"This round was a gift from Kuke," News King Morgans scoffed. "I'll make sure the papers highlight that it wasn't Yamato's skill that faltered but an unfair battlefield that caused her loss."
Big Mom, elated, stuffed more cake into her mouth, her grotesque laughter filling the air.
"With this, I'll have two Road Poneglyphs! Halfway to the treasure, mama...mama…"
Amid the chaos, Yamato found herself overwheld by the biscuit soldier army, glancing desperately toward Kuke.
Captain…
Her exhausted eyes t Kuke's, but his calm smile held no trace of bla or disappointnt.
Having made his choice, Kuke was prepared to accept any outco as long as Yamato grew stronger.
Smoothie, observing Kuke, marveled at his serene confidence.
Even as Yamato seed poised to lose, Kuke radiated warmth, his smile inspiring rather than reprimanding.
For the first ti, Smoothie felt a pang of envy for Yamato. To have a captain like this… she realized she wouldn't hesitate to fight or even die for such a man.
Unconsciously, Smoothie began seeing herself as part of the Sun and Moon Pirates, pondering her future under Kuke's command.
As Kuke's gaze lingered on her, Yamato felt a surge of newfound strength.
mories of the past month surfaced—Kuke's patient, hands-on guidance, teaching her to control every muscle, refine her techniques, and master Haki.
"I can't lose," she whispered, her eyes hardening with resolve.
A burst of powerful Conqueror's Haki erupted from her, faint lightning crackling around her body.
"For the captain, I will win!"
Yamato roared as lightning danced along her kanabo.
Big Mom, mid-bite, froze in horror, the half-eaten cake tumbling from her jaws.
Kuke smiled, seeing Yamato's combat strength surging to a level that rivaled Yonko commanders.
"Golden Crow Skybreaker!"
Red lightning enveloped Yamato's kanabo as she swung it with overwhelming force.
Boom!
The strike obliterated the surrounding biscuit soldiers, its montum carrying toward Cracker.
"This… this can't be!" Cracker's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't have this much power left!"
Desperately, he raised his twin blades. "One last burst like this, and you'll be spent! If I block this, victory is mine! Ripple - Pretzel Roll!"
The explosive collision sent shockwaves ripping through the battlefield.
Cracker's swords flew from his hands as Yamato's kanabo struck his chest, sending him hurtling through the air like a missile.
One hundred ters… five hundred… a thousand… he smashed through the city and into a distant forest.
The battle was over.
Aside from the fading echoes of the shockwave, silence fell.
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