13: Charlotte sisters vs Vice Admiral Swamp fist Grodiger. Toshi Toshi no Mi

December 8, 1495, Age of the Sea Circle

An hour before Orion was "rescued" by the marines.

On Crescent Island, the ship commanded by Charlotte Compote lowered its anchor in the large bay.

"Okay, sisters, I've contacted the vendor, and he's already waiting for us on the island. Let's finish this quickly so we can go get the ingredients for Mom," Compote said in her typical solemn tone.

As the eldest sister and captain of this ship, she had to maintain a certain solemnity during the journey. Otherwise, her arrogant younger sisters might be tempted to ignore her orders, potentially leading to a dangerous situation in a battle or other similar conflict.

"Come on, come on! It's time for me to get my Devil Fruit!" said little Galette, raising her arms in the air with joy.

They boarded a small boat and headed straight for the deserted island used by Underworld smugglers who specialized in trafficking weapons and prohibited items. Big Mom's crew had already made similar transactions and had obtained many Devil Fruits thanks to these traffickers.

Usually, the point of sale changed to avoid problems with the marines and the World Government. It was said that several Underworld forces were secretly developing a large black market, which would be operational in the future. For now, however, there were only rumors.

The Charlotte sisters disembarked on the island and saw the group of smugglers waiting for them in the distance, with annoyed expressions.

Compote approached the leader of the traffickers, whom she had met on another occasion, and after some minor formalities, they proceeded with the purchase.

The trafficker, a blond man with a sexually depraved face, received a small chest from one of his subordinates and opened it, revealing its contents.

Inside the small chest was a Devil Fruit, and just as agreed, Compote handed him the money and took the fruit without further delay.

Galette, who could no longer wait to gain her new powers, jumped up and snatched the Devil Fruit from her sister. Then, before everyone else's eyes, she ate it in three large bites.

The leader of the traffickers paid no attention to the girl's actions. He simply displayed a hideous smile and prepared to leave with his subordinates.

But just at that moment, several cannon shots suddenly rang out.

The expressions of the Charlotte sisters and the traffickers changed immediately. Compote grabbed her two little sisters, Galette and Smoothie, and moved at high speed, escaping the cannonballs that landed right where she had been standing a few moments before.

Broyé, on the other hand, simply drew his sword and slashed the cannonballs in midair, destroying them before they could get too close.

The smugglers also reacted quickly, although they didn't have the same skill level as the Charlotte sisters, so they couldn't avoid being injured in the surprise attack.

"Damn it! It's the Marines! They arrived early! That's why I told you it wasn't a good idea to change the delivery time!" said the smuggler's leader, reproaching Compote for her last-minute decision to reschedule the fruit sale.

"Hmph! What kind of man are you?! All you know is how to complain? They're just marines, let's finish them off and get on with our lives," Compote replied, not liking the trafficker questioning her in front of her younger sisters.

The marines launched a massive attack against both groups. Three large ships had suddenly appeared in the bay to block their escape route. It seemed the marines had been planning to trap them on this island all along.

Compote narrowed her eyes, a ruthless look on her face.

A large group of marines landed on the island and began besieging the sisters, while the ship they had left anchored in the bay was also under attack.

Broyé, who was slashing at one marine after another with her sword, suddenly opened her eyes in shock and leaped forward, using all her speed. She appeared behind Smoothie, who was carelessly fighting a pair of marines, and grabbed her by the neck, pulling her out of the way of the shot.

The bullet grazed her arm, but it didn't cause any damage. With her use of Haki, she could easily avoid being hit by an attack of that intensity. However, if she hadn't used her Observation Haki to help her little sister, she probably would have been injured by that shot.

Compote realized the situation and her eyes grew even colder.

"What do you think you're doing, Stein?"

Stein, the leader of the traffickers, had a pistol in his hand, which was still smoking from the shot he had fired at little Smoothie.

"I guess the surprise attack didn't work. That's the level of skill you'd expect from Big Mom's daughters," Stein said with a sly smile.

At first, Stein wanted to sell the Devil Fruits he had brought and return without further inconvenience. However, Compote had decided to move up the time of the sale, which made the marines notice the sisters' presence and completely changed the situation.

Originally, Vice Admiral Grodiger had contacted the Underworld traffickers on his own, having learned that they were in possession of a fruit that someone from the World Government was seeking.

He had no ulterior motive; he simply wanted to obtain the fruit to present as tribute to said World Government official and thus gain merit that could give him a better chance of rising to the rank of admiral in the future.

However, when he learned of the Charlotte sisters' presence, his greed spiraled out of control. If, in addition to the fruit, he were also to hand over the daughter of one of the most powerful pirates, the merit he could gain would undoubtedly be even greater!

For this reason, he met with Stein and convinced him to join him in his attack against the Charlotte sisters. After all, the other party was simply an Underworld criminal, he couldn't resist the temptation of obtaining more money, even if it meant offending Big Mom.

Now, the Charlotte sisters were being besieged jointly by the Marines and the traffickers, yet they were able to maintain a balance that was difficult for their enemies to break. The blood of the famous pirate Big Mom ran through their veins, and they demonstrated the power of their lineage during this battle!

Compote was fighting while keeping a close eye on her little sister Galette, who was still only 6 years old and definitely not prepared for a battle of this magnitude, even if she now had a Devil Fruit.

Suddenly, a large amount of mud covered the sky above her head, falling heavily to the ground and threatening to drown her.

Compote kicked the ground and picked up little Galette, dodging the great wave of mud.

Looking at the man who had suddenly emerged from the crowd of Marines, wearing his uniform that indicated his rank as vice admiral, Compote couldn't help but feel a headache.

"Swamp Fist Grodiger," Compote whispered solemnly.

"Hello, Compote, long time no see. The last time we met was in the New World, right? I didn't expect to find you in this remote place. I guess it's my lucky day," Vice Admiral Grodiger said with a sardonic smile.

Grodiger had eaten the Numa Numa no Mi, a Logia-type fruit, and had turned into a swamp man. His power level was similar to Compote's, and now that he had the help of his subordinates and the Underworld traffickers, the situation was completely in his favor.

"You're very brave to ambush us like that. Aren't you afraid my mother will come find you and tear you limb by limb?" Compote said in an icy tone. She was completely enraged by the navy's surprise attack.

"Ugh, how scary. If looks could kill, I'm afraid I'd have met my end by now, haha. But to answer your question," he paused, his face serious, "don't forget that I'm a member of the marines! My job is to get rid of damn pirates like you. How can you be mad at me for doing my job?! How arrogant can you be?!"

Grodiger exploded with anger at Compote's questioning and began attacking frantically.

The battlefield became chaotic. The four sisters were doing their best to stay in control of the situation, but there were simply too many variables. Even so, the battle was tipping in favor of the Charlotte sisters. The power they wielded was truly terrifying.

Seeing that the situation was getting worse and worse, Vice Admiral Grodiger made a drastic decision.

He used a big attack to distract Compote, and then, before she could regain her composure, he took the little Galette who had been left completely unprotected, and fled from the beach in the direction of one of the navy ships.

The other three sisters saw Grodiger trying to kidnap Galette and immediately began to attack frantically, enraged. The marines around them dropped like flies, one after another. After all, they were common soldiers, and they couldn't withstand the brutal force of the Charlotte sisters.

Grodiger didn't stop. He continued to escape with Galette as his captive, and gave orders to his subordinates.

"Marines! Buy me time so I can retreat with the prisoner. It's an order! Don't allow the Charlotte sisters to leave this beach, even if you have to lose your lives trying! For justice!"

The marines under Vice Admiral Grodiger's command had no choice but to follow their superior's orders, otherwise they would be charged with contempt and shot.

Shouting "For justice!" They began to block the Charlotte sisters' path, and they could only watch in frustration as their little sister Galette was kidnapped by the despicable vice admiral of the marines.

On the other hand, the Underworld traffickers were completely pale. Grodiger had clearly decided to abandon the battlefield, leaving his subordinates to face certain death. And now that they lacked the Vice Admiral's might, they too would perish along with the unfortunate marines. After all, their combat level wasn't very high, or at least not high enough to face the Charlotte sisters' wrath.

"Damn it! We've been betrayed by Grodiger, retreat!" Stein shouted, trying to escape while the Charlotte sisters were busy fighting the marines.

However, when they tried to flee, they were stopped by bullets from the marines themselves, who had received prior orders not to let the traffickers leave the island alive.

That's right, Grodiger had no intention from the start of letting the traffickers go free. From the start, their fate had been sealed. That was the navy's way.

The battle continued for some time, until finally, only the three sisters remained standing on the battlefield.

The number of mutilated bodies around them was terrifying.

Compote held Stein by the neck, his eyes bulging from the pressure the woman was exerting on him and from the lack of oxygen.

"I just want you to know before you die, that you have made the biggest mistake. Not only will I erase the existence of your entire faction, but everyone who has ever had a relationship with you will join you in hell very soon."

Compote finished uttering his prophecy and exerted force on the trafficker's neck. Only the dull sound of breaking bones resounded on the now, once again, deserted island. She tossed Stein's body aside like a dirty rag. Then she looked in the direction Grodiger had escaped and couldn't help but worry about her little sister Galette. Where was she now? She had to find her as soon as possible and bring her back to her side!

Broyé approached and placed her hand on Compote's shoulder.

"It's time for us to get going, Sister. Grodiger shouldn't be that far away. If we chase him, we might be able to catch him in time."

Compote nodded solemnly and gave her orders.

"Let's go! Let's return to the ship and chase Grodiger as soon as possible."

"Sister, should we inform Mother about what happened?" Smoothie asked cautiously. Knowing her mother's personality, chaos would break out if she found out Galette had been kidnapped by the Navy.

Compote hesitated for a moment, but finally shook her head.

"We won't inform her for now. If we can't rescue Galette before Grodiger escapes… then we'll have no choice but to admit our mistake and call for help," Compote said worriedly. She knew that if her mother found out what had happened here today, she'd be in deep trouble when she returned home.

The three sisters boarded their ship and set off in search of their little sister, along with the rest of their crew. On the horizon, the sun was about to set, and a long night was about to begin.

...............…

Orion watched nervously as Galette's location on the system map grew closer and closer to him.

After a few minutes, he could see a ship on the horizon. It was a marine vessel, although smaller than the one he was boarding now.

When the ship was close enough, a large wave of viscous liquid appeared, flying through the sky and landing on the deck of the large ship he was on. Orion, who was witnessing the powers of a Logia-type Devil Fruit for the first time, was startled by the strange scene unfolding before his eyes and involuntarily placed his hand on his sword, ready to strike if necessary.

However, there was no opportunity for him to make a move. Almost immediately, the large wave of viscous liquid began to gather in one place until it took the shape of a person.

It was, of course, Vice Admiral Grodiger, who had returned, bringing little Galette with him as a prisoner. The marines present solemnly saluted their superior officer, and in response, Grodiger simply nodded, somewhat wearily, and gave a few orders.

"Take this prisoner to the confinement room, and don't forget to use Kairoseki handcuffs. She is a Devil Fruit user. She may not look dangerous at first glance, but you'd better not underestimate her, or you'll end up dead."

Grodiger threw Galette, who was completely immobilized by the power of his Swamp Fruit, to the ground and instructed his subordinates on how to proceed, while rubbing the bridge of his nose to remove some of his fatigue.

Fighting the Charlotte sisters had truly exhausted him.

He was among the lowest-ranking vice admirals on the power ladder. It was for this very reason that he did his best to obtain a greater number of merits that would facilitate a future promotion to a higher rank. He was an ambitious man, but he didn't have enough power to back up that ambition, and this was a fact that put great pressure on him on a daily basis.

"Also, contact Cipher Pol. Tell them I've recovered the Toshi Toshi no Mi."

Grodiger took a small chest from his clothes and gave it to one of his subordinates, while continuing to give them orders.

Then, without pausing, he continued walking toward his cabin, intending to take a short nap to regain his energy.

"Set a course for the nearest base. Advance at full speed; there are enemies pursuing us. I'm going to rest a bit; I don't want to be disturbed unless it's an emergency."

Grodiger, who had left a large portion of his men behind to buy time even at the cost of their life, felt no remorse and only wanted to take a good nap.

And it was only natural that he felt no guilt; after all, he was Justice.

The marines on deck saluted the vice admiral and began to carry out his orders.

Meanwhile, Orion was completely ignored by everyone present, who were too busy to even notice the little boy's presence.

He sat in a corner, away from the marines' gaze, and watched the map on the system screen.

There were two markers moving in opposite directions.

Galette had been handcuffed and was being taken to the interrogation room.

Meanwhile, the power source the system had sent him to retrieve was inside the chest the vice admiral had given to his subordinates and was currently being taken in another direction, likely to be stored.

Orion weighed his options. He currently had two objectives to accomplish on this naval vessel. He had to help Galette escape to complete the mission, and he also had to seize the power source.

Finally, he decided it would be best to go in search of the power source first. If he managed to obtain a power-up, it might be easier to save Galette later. And even if he failed to save the little girl, if he went for the power source first, he would at least make sure he didn't leave empty-handed.

Orion saw that the position of the power source on the map had stopped at a specific location within the ship, and decided not to delay any longer and take action as soon as possible.

He stood up, trying not to attract attention, and cautiously headed toward the room where the marines had brought the chest containing the Devil Fruit.