บท 39: CHAPTER 39

Cracker is someone who hates the pain of injections and despises even the slightest discomfort.

He had already noticed that Alastor's Haki was very peculiar, capable of achieving effects similar to hitting cattle across mountains.

Even if he defended with his hard biscuit knights, he would probably be injured, which was something Cracker had always wanted to avoid.

"Hateful!"

The self-confidence he had when leaving the island had long since evaporated. Cracker felt extremely aggrieved, as he had never fought such a frustrating battle.

He suddenly roared:

"Since you want biscuit knights, then I'll do as you wish and completely overwhelm you with my biscuit army!"

Clap clap clap clap!

Cracker clapped his hands frantically, and biscuit knights appeared around him.

3, 4, 5, 10, 20, 50... 100!

He had summoned a hundred biscuit knights!

The giant biscuit knights stood in a neat, uniform formation, resembling a legion, and the sight was intimidating.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Cracker laughed, gasping for breath.

These one hundred biscuit knights had consumed most of his physical strength, but they were worth it.

He intended to use crowd tactics to prevent Alastor from eating and recovering.

"Die!"

Cracker commanded all hundred biscuit knights to attack simultaneously.

Boom boom boom!

The ground shook.

Alastor pushed his Haki to the extreme. In the state of returning life, his consciousness and body were perfectly in sync, and every movement was precise.

He dodged left and right, avoiding attacks, while searching for a suitable opening.

"Found it!"

Alastor noticed a weak link among the biscuit knights.

He swung his saber, unleashing a streak of black and red sword energy.

"You won't succeed!"

Cracker, who had been observing from behind, quickly controlled five biscuit knights to move behind Alastor, stabbing with his Roll Pretzel.

This time, Alastor didn't dodge. There was no need to dodge anymore.

Five iron-awl-like swords pierced directly from his back to his chest.

[The host is seriously injured, defense +100]

This was the first time Alastor had been seriously injured twice in a row since awakening the system.

A lot of blood spilled onto the ground.

Alastor smiled faintly.

Whoosh!

His figure suddenly vanished and reappeared next to several biscuit knights that had just been shattered by his black and red sword energy.

Cracker yelled, "I won't let you eat any more!"

He quickly ordered his other biscuit knights to stop Alastor.

Alastor narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and a massive aura erupted from him.

This aura actually terrified Cracker.

"Such Haki... does this guy have it too?"

"No, it's impossible!"

Cracker was shocked.

Alastor ignored him and poured all his Haki from ryou into Sandai Kitetsu, merging it with the ghost aura.

"Ghost Sword Style, One Sword Style, Purgatory, Funeral!"

A huge black and red sword light, several feet long, shot out, turning all the biscuit knights attacking Alastor into dust.

Taking advantage of the moment, Alastor grabbed the biscuits around him and began devouring them hungrily.

He ate quickly, swallowing without chewing, letting the food be digested automatically by his stomach.

As his body absorbed a massive amount of food and energy, the scars on his body healed at a visible speed.

It didn't take long before Alastor had fully recovered to his peak state.

Cracker was on the brink of insanity. Ignoring Alastor's previous aura, he roared in anger:

"Do you know how to eat? I'm going to kill you!"

Dozens of biscuit knights rushed forward.

Alastor remained fearless. In his eyes, these biscuit knights were not a threat, but a treasure!

The two serious injuries he had suffered allowed him to gain 200 defense points. Combined with his previous defenses, Alastor's defense had now surpassed 2,000!

Cracker was basically a treasure trove for him.

Alastor fought against dozens of biscuit knights. Though outnumbered, he always found opportunities to crush several knights while still heavily injured.

Cracker desperately tried to prevent Alastor from recovering by eating his biscuits, but he failed.

Every time Alastor unleashed his powerful black and red sword light, it bought him time, and his energy and injuries would recover with each bite of biscuits.

After seriously injuring Alastor once, twice, and even three times, Cracker still couldn't stop him from healing. Instead, the number of biscuit knights rapidly dwindled, and within moments, fewer than ten were left. Cracker finally broke down.

"You shameless guy, I won't fight you anymore!"

Cracker turned around and fled.

He had completely lost his composure. How could he keep fighting? It was impossible!

His strongest move, the biscuit knight army, had become a resource for his opponent's recovery, keeping Alastor at full strength, while Cracker's own physical strength had been depleted by more than half!

The outcome of continuing to fight was obvious!

But Cracker wasn't an idiot. Though he felt unprecedented shame and frustration, he had no choice but to retreat, unwillingly, or else he would face complete annihilation.

"Leave them all to me!"

Cracker roared, jumping onto the warship anchored off the shore with a swish.

The members of the Big Mom Pirates, who were fighting the Beast Pirates, were left confused.

Retreating? Why were they withdrawing before the outcome had been decided?

But when they saw Cracker, pale-faced and disheveled, they immediately understood—

The invincible Cracker-sama had been defeated!

The members of the Hundred Beasts Group also saw this and immediately displayed ecstasy on their faces, shouting excitedly:

"Cracker from the Big Mom Pirates lost, but Master Alastor won!"

"As expected of Lord Alastor! He's truly too powerful!"

"Long live Master Alastor! So strong!"

Even Page One shouted Alastor's name excitedly.

In contrast to the excitement and jubilation on the Hundred Beasts Group's side, the Big Mom Pirates were dejected, fleeing to their warship with their helmets and armor removed.

"Lord Alastor, should we continue to chase and annihilate the Big Mom Pirates?"

Someone saw Alastor walking slowly and hurriedly approached to ask for orders, their eyes filled with infinite worship and awe.

"Let the Big Mom Pirates go!" Alastor replied. "After this battle, the Big Mom Pirates will never dare to invade this mine island again."

When Alastor spoke, no one contradicted him, and everyone obeyed without hesitation.

At that moment, Alastor's status in the hearts of the Hundred Beasts Group was unparalleled.

As for why Alastor let Cracker and the others go, it was simple: he didn't want to create deep animosity between the two Emperors.

Given the relationship between Kaido and Big Mom, it was likely that the two Four Emperors might form an alliance in the future. For any future battles against the Navy and the World Government, the Big Mom Pirates were an indispensable force.

Moreover, Alastor was reluctant to kill a "treasure boy" like Cracker, who later turned out to be a perfect source of experience for boosting his defense.

The battle for the mine island ended with the defeat of the Big Mom Pirates and the victory of the Hundred Beasts Pirates.

Alastor glanced at his system panel.

[Host: Alastor]

[Age: 20]

[Defense Power: 2350]

So, Cracker is truly a rare "treasure boy." After the fight, Alastor gained over 500 defense points. He was really reluctant to let this "treasure boy" escape.

"I look forward to meeting you again, Biscuit Man!" Alastor called out.

Cracker, who was in a state of embarrassment aboard the warship, immediately spat out blood when he heard this, a trace of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Master Cracker!"

The Big Mom Pirates' cadres looked at him with concern, wondering if Mr. Cracker had suffered such severe internal injuries from Alastor.

Cracker gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. He roared at his subordinates:

"What are you looking at? I'm not dead yet! Get the ship moving!"

Amid endless frustration and rage, Cracker returned to the "Totto Land."

Upon hearing of his defeat, Big Mom immediately released the soul coercion of the Soul-Soul Fruit:

"Cracker, LIFE OR DEATH?"

Cracker was so frightened he broke into a cold sweat, terrified, as his soul seemed to leave his body.

At the critical moment, when Big Mom was about to deprive Cracker of his life, Katakuri stepped forward and shouted:

"Mom, let Cracker explain the failure first!"

A powerful aura burst from Katakuri at the same time, slightly offsetting Big Mom's soul coercion.

It was the domineering aura of Conqueror's Haki!

Big Mom screeched in anger: "Cracker, give me a reasonable explanation, or I won't spare you!"

Cracker trembled all over, then explained that Alastor could recover his injuries and physical strength by eating his biscuits.

As soon as the words were out, the pupils of Katakuri and Perospero, who were present, shrank.

Perospero stuck out his long tongue and said, "I've never heard of such a strange ability. If that's true, wouldn't this guy named Alastor be able to defeat our Big Mom Pirates?"

What Perospero said was accurate. Many members of the Big Mom Pirates were food-based Devil Fruit users, such as Katakuri with his Mochi-Mochi Fruit and Perospero himself with his Candy-Candy Fruit.