Inside HQ

"Sir! We got report of prison break!"

"Aaahh! Big Mom Pirates! They are here!"

Both his subordinate and transponder snail reported at the same time.

"Execute Plan Damned!" Tirius grinned as he gave the order.

"Yes, sir!"

"Are you sure it will work?"

"Just relax and enjoy the show."

Somewhere within the island

"Fire! Fire!"

*Bam bam!*

"Candy Wall!"

*Ting! Tang!*

"Haaa!"

*Slash!*

"Kyaaa!"

"Huff!"

*Crack!*

"Brother Mont-d'Or. We secured the prisoners," it was Vert who called her brother through the snail.

"Good job, girls. We are already wreaking havoc as planned. Just be careful on your way out."

"Understood."

"It looks like they secured hostages. Let's clear a way for them."

"Rogers!"

Big Mom Pirates kept their momentum and destroyed any opposition. Normally, pirates would avoid making mess around Celestial Dragons, but Big Mom Pirates were totally different league. They were one of the most powerful pirate groups that the world government wouldn't dare to lay finger on. The fact these pirates were bold enough to come here gave chill on their spines.

"Don't they know who they are dealing with?"

"Well, this is secret area, so they probably have no idea…"

"We already heard about the celestial dragon being here. Kukuku~"

"Shit! Hu…" a soldier was engulfed in candy.

"We must protect Saint August at all cost!"

"Heat Beating!"

*Smack!*

"Ugh!"

"Ha!"

*Swing!*

*Crack!*

"Well… this is too easy," Smoothie sighed as she sliced nearby buildings in half.

"Sis Smoothie! We are here!" Noire flew toward her.

"Good. Boys! Secure the hostages!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the goons surrounded the hostages and began to escort them to exit.

"Not so fast!" Someone suddenly crashed down from above and sent shockwave around him.

*Stomp!*

"Uwaaa!"

"Who's that?" Blanc shouted.

"Commander Ironfist. At your service," he smirked.

"Kyaa!"

"You pirate scums came to your own grave," Commodore Onigumo stared at them while stepping on one of the goons.

"It just keeps getting better," Noire readied her weapon.

*Clash*

"Tch!" Smoothie clicked her tongue.

"Doberman!" Neptune said, looking at Smoothie's opponent.

"Fire!"

*Boom*

*Waaah!"

Suddenly, laser was fired. Its impact blew away BMP.

"W-wait… is that Bartholomew Kuma?" Vert murmured.

"Two…. Three… four… there are more than one Kuma!" Blanc shouted with a shocked face. "What the hell is going on!?"

"Reeeheehee! Welcome to my trap, Big Mom Pirates!"

"He is!"

"Yeah, vice-admiral Tirius!"

Tirius was standing with arms crossed. He was looking down on his enemies with a haughty face.

"You all got into my trap. Do you think we would leave pirates to plunder from us?"

"We are here to take back our people!" Oven objected.

"Then, try it."

Pacifistas started overwhelming the pirates while other high ranking officers got BMP executives busy.

"Ugh… guys! Fall back!" Perospero ordered as he watched his candy wall getting melted by laser.

*Clang!*

Blanc's axe was bounced off.

"Is he made of steel?"

"Watch out!

After Vert warned, Blanc barely moved out of laser's path.

"Tch! There are too many!"

"Tornado Sword!"

"Delta Slash!"

*Clank! Slash! Clank! Slash!*

Neptune and Noire made them flinch, but they fired back.

*Pssst!*

"Ugh!"

Laser penetrated Neptune's shoulder.

"Neptune!"

"Why you!"

"I'm your opponent!" Ironfist intercepted Oven.

*Chang!*

"Damn it! I am all locked up!" Smoothie shouted as she blocked Onigumo's several blades.

"My power is not working on those Kumas!" Mont-d'Or grumbled. "How are they ignoring my illusion!?"

"Then focus on other guys," Perespero ordered.

"BTW, do you truly think I'm just brain? I'm brawn as well!"

After Tirius snapped his finger, many towers suddenly rose up around them.

"Behold my devil fruit power! Tower tower fruit! I can summon and control any kind of tower at will! I can transform myself into a tower as well!"

*Tututu!*

*Boom! Boom!*

There were so many towers with great variety. Cannon tower, arrow tower, gun tower, fire tower, etc… Tirius' towers began to bombard BMP.

"Brother! We are surrounded! Our escape route is caught off!" Vert said.

"We just got into their trap… scrap destruction plan! Fall back!" Perospero shouted as he created candy wall to buy some time.

*Poison tower!*

Suddenly, a large tower rose up among them and began to pour out poisonous gas.

*Cough*

"Huff! Watch out! Don't inhale it!"

Perospero blocked the holes, but more towers kept coming up. He had to focus both inside and out. It was too much for him.

*Clank!*

"Damn it! These shitty towers are sturdy as well!" Blanc complained as her axe bounced off one of the towers.

"Haaaa!" Smoothie pushed away her foe and sliced towers with one swing.

"Nice work, sis!"

"Don't get excited yet! They are still coming!"

The enemies didn't show any sign of slowing down. Tirius' towers made it very difficult to focus on Pacifistas and marines. The enemies slowly closed in and harassed them from all sides. Still, BMP didn't lose fighting spirit. They relaxed and quickly came up with strategy.

"Brother Peros! We will take care of the towers! Help Sister Smoothie!" Neptune shouted as she fought with Noire next to her. It looked like they figured out weak spots on towers. After hitting them many times, both girls found weak points to exploit. Then, they informed others to do so. Still, the towers took large effort for them to take down. It was still tiring.

"Brother!" Smoothie asked for support.

"Candy grip!" Perospero stretched out his candy to capture Onigumo.

"Like hell I would fall for that!" he jumped out of the way.

"Gotcha!" Blanc quickly intercepted and smashed him.

"Grrrr!" his other blades blocked her axe, but…

"Sylhet Spear!"

Vert's giant spear hit right at his back.

"Kuk!"

"This is it! Haaaa!" Smoothie attacked him with all she got.

*Slash!*

*Crash!*

He was sent all the way back. Thanks to hard practice and bond among family, they took out Onigumo in blink of eyes.

"Commodore!"

"Ignore him! Press on!"

"Uooooh!"

The enemies kept relentless assault. Although BMP reduced number, it still took toll on their stamina.

*Ptzzz!*

"Ugh!" Vert screamed as one of the laser went right through her leg.

"Vert!"

"Where do you think you are looking at?" Ironfist suddenly got in front of Noire. "Ironfist style: Iron Drill!"

"Tch!" Noire blocked his attack with her blade, but was pushed away.

"You dare get away from me and attack my little sister!?" Oven shouted and punched Ironfist.

"That was never my intention," he quickly turned back and countered. "In battlefield, there is no fair game!"

"Shocking Tower!"

*Ptzzzz!*

"Kyaaa!" Neptune was zapped by electric shock from one of Tirius' towers.

"Lady Nep- aaaah!" one of the goons also got shocked.

"Haaaa!" Smoothie sliced the tower along with few Pacifistas nearby.

"Retreat! Fall back to the cave!" Perospero signaled as he kept dealing with the towers.

"What cave?" another tower abruptly rose up and blocked the exit.

"Why you!"

"Not on my watch," Doberman kept her busy.

*Clank! Clank!*

"Sir! Our number is getting smaller!"

"We aren't gonna make it!"

"Shut up and just do your part!" Blanc growled as she finally dented one of Pacifistas.

"Fire!" On Tirius' command, the marines fired special nets aimed at specific targets.

"What?"

"What the?"

Perospero and Oven were caught off guard. Tirius looked for opening, and it finally paid off.

"This kind of puny… uh… my power…" Oven tried to melt the net, but fell on the ground.

"I feel… getting weaker… sea stone!?" Perospero figured out source of power drain as he watches his candy collapsing.

"That's right! These are special metal nets made of sea stones! It's super effective against devil fruit users. You have no idea how much I waited for this moment!"

Ironfist and Doberman decided to gang up on Smoothie.

"Haaa… haaa…" she panted heavily as she kept parrying their attacks.

*Bam!*

Another net was fired at her.

"Sis!" Noire tried to catch the net, but…

*Ptzzz!*

"Kyaaa!" She was zapped by electric wall suddenly formed by two electric towers. Intensity of electricity grew stronger. Eventually, Noire feel unconscious.

"Noire!"

"Lady Noire!"

Fellow pirates couldn't even catch breath as the enemies kept their onslaught and marched toward them.

"Noi- ugh!" Vert tried to get up, but she was smashed by one of the pacifistas. She looked at Noire and Smoothie getting arrested with blurry vision.

Neptune did her best to resist, but it was all futile. She was shot by Pacifistas. After that, she reverted back to her human form and fell unconscious. One by one, Big Mom Pirates were all subdued. Eventually, the place became silent… then followed by cheer from the marines. Then, they cleared paths for certain individuals… Tirius and August… they slowly walked toward the pirates with smug on their faces. They stopped in front of fallen Smoothie.

"Well well… look who we have here…" Tirius giggled. "These will be fine additions to your slave collection, don't you think?"

"Hmm… not bad…" August looked around. Then, he stumbled upon Blanc who was reverted back to her normal self. Cute little girl… she would be a good slave."

"Screw you!" Blanc spit on his face.

*Smack!*

"Kuk!" she was kicked in her face.

"Why you lowlife trash dare spit on me!? You will experience fate worse than death!"

"Don't worry, Saint August. We will make sure she will get that."

"Don't think you will get away with this! Mama will come for your head!" Noire shouted.

"Oh~ scary! This is outside of Big Mom's territory! You were just lucky enough to be even here!" Tirius stepped on Noire's head. "She wouldn't risk coming here… that would leave her land vulnerable to others."

"I can't believe you actually captured them all…"

"You underestimated me greatly. That's all. With this, Big Mom will lose significant powerhouse."

"Hey, at least let me stab her here and there. They should know what it means to insult creators of this world."

"Sure, be our guest~"

August took out a sword from his sheath and drew it near Blanc's back.

"I would like to hear your scream!"

"Fuck you!"

He raised his sword and slashed with fury.

*Kang!*

"What?"

When he looked at his sword, it was broken.

"Argh!" he was already smashed in his belly. His belly looked deeply pushed in. Anyone could see mark of the impact.

"Who's there?"

People started looking a cloaked figure next to the fallen Celestial Dragon.

"Hey… is that?" Neptune murmured.

"I-it's you again!" Vert pointed at him.

"I see you guys decided to stir up a hornet's nest. Should I say bravery or foolishness? I would like to say… bravery by look of this plan."

"You dare attack the Celestial Dragon!"

"Huff!"

Doberman and Ironfist jumped on him at the same time.

*Clank!*

However, the cloaked man casually blocked their attacks. Then, he quickly spin and delivered deadly counterattacks.

*Crack! Smash!*

"Aaah!"

"Ugh!"

Both of them were taken down with one hit each.

"With just one hit!"

"Who is this guy?"

People around them couldn't help but look at him with awe.

"That attack pattern… I know who that is!" Tirius stared at him and ordered his towers to rain fire on him.

*Tututu!*

*Boom! Boom!*

*Ptzzz!*

The cloaked man avoided the attacks and dashed toward Tirius. As he approached, his cloak got torn apart.

*Thud!*

*Swoosh!*

"Wow!"

The impact was so powerful that it generated shockwave and air pressure big enough to be felt by people around them.

Tirius blocked his attack with a small, portable tower on his arm with armament haki. By the time, he connected his fist, his cloak was already gone.

"It's been awhile… Thanatos!" Tirius smirked.

"Yeah… it brings back memory," Thanatos grinned and jumped back.

"Who is he?" Vert whispered and asked Perospero who was shackled with the sea stone net.

"He is a famous figure within underground and black market… most importantly… one of ex-husbands of mama."

"What?"

"Hello, my beautiful daughters," he looked back at Four Heart Sisters.

"Now… it all makes sense… the reason the cloaked guy helped us all this time…" Noire mumbled.

"There is no time to chat," he quickly took out the marines holding Neptune and Noire down and helped them get on their feet. "That guy is very strong. I've fought him before. I cannot guarantee your safety while trying to free your brothers and sisters. It's up to you to take care of them. Understood?"

"Yes!" Neptune and Noire answered and proceeded to free others.

"Like hell I will…"

"Your opponent is me, Tirius!" Thanatos sent strong shockwave punch from afar.

*Swoosh!*

*Crack!*

"Tch!" Tirius clicked his tongue and summoned another tower, but it was crushed to smithereens. The blow even cracked additional tower armor Tirius was wearing and pushed him away.

"Now is our chance!" Neptune clenched her fist.

One by one, they released their comrades, and other members helped them defeating the marines and releasing the rest as they moved on.

"Watch out!" Smoothie quickly pulled Blanc out of laser's path and sliced the pacifista clean in half.

"Sis! You are pretty beaten up…"

"Don't worry about me. Get the others!"

"Got it!" Blanc thumbed up.

"Bro Oven. Is he our father?" Vert asked.

"Yeah. Father to only four of you," Oven answered as he witnessed fierce battle between those two.

"So, our father has watched over us whole time…" Neptune murmured while freeing others.

"He's right. Tirius is totally different league. We should focus on getting people out of here!" Noire added.

As Tirius and Thanatos raged on, surrounding area was devastated as side effect. BMP tried to get out the place. But…

"Like I will let you leave!" Tirius could still concentrate on two fronts at the same time. He summoned more towers to surround them.

"Tch… Out of my way!" Smoothie swung her sword, but this time, the towers withstood her slash.

"What!?"

"Did they just get stronger?"

"Yeah. Previous towers were just appetizer. Now, I'm dead serious now with Thanatos getting involved!"

"Great… I guess we have no other choice, but join the fight," Perospero sighed.

"That's right!"

"What the!?" Blanc freaked out.

It was Tirius. He was on one of his towers. But, Tirius was also fighting Thanatos… which meant there were two Tirius at the same time in different spots.

"How? He is there fighting our father!" Noire gasped.

"I can spawn doppelganger on towers I create!" After he snapped his finger, two Pacifistas popped next to the tower. "I can also teleport myself and my allies between each tower!"

As he snapped his finger one more time, marines and Pacifistas were teleported around the towers that surrounded BMP.

"There is no end to this!"

"We should find Tirius' true body. That's the only way to be sure," Mont-d'Or said.

"Easier said than done," Oven grunted.

"Here they come!" Smoothie shouted and readied her weapon.

The enemies resumed their onslaught. Although high ranking officers were taken care of, many of BMP were seriously injured during their capture. Not to mention, they already fought hard before that. Their reduced battle performance clearly reflected that.

"Haa… haa… get lost!" Blanc panted heavily as she took out several marines in one swing.

"Behind you!" one of the goons warned her.

It was a giant arm sprang from the tower. It was as if the towers were actually alive. Its fist headed straight at Blanc.

*Kang!*

"I got you covered!" Vert got behind her and deflected the punch.

"Thanks, Vert!"

"Don't celebrate too early. Haaa!" she deflected another punch, but this time, she guided it to hit the marines and Pacifistas.

*Crash!*

"Waaaaah!"

The marines were pulverized and scattered apart. Pacifistas got cracked, showing electric spark around them. Vert's timing and reaction sense were top notch. It was getting two birds with one stone.

"Uh… why are there walking giraffes? Huh? Guys! Where are you?"

"I can hear you, but can't see… what just happened? Where are we?"

"In my book illusion!"

"Critical Edge!"

"Tornado Sword!"

"Aaaah!"

The marines were dropped like flies by Neptune and Noire. Mont-d'Or's ability worked well with their skills. His devil fruit power was well suited for crowd control.

"At least, my power works on small fries like these," he grinned.

"Heat Beating!"

*Crush!*

"Kyaaa!"

"Candy Wall!"

*Boom!*

"Thanks, Peros bro."

"We have to take out Tirius. His multitasking skill is no slouch. He is taking on mama's ex-husband and all of us at the same time."

"How?"

"We have to figure out his weakness! Examine his pattern. There has to be something we should be able to exploit!"

"Roger! We're on it!" Neptune thumbed up and stared at the tower with the doppelganger. "Do you see something fishy, Noire?"

"Not yet…"

"Maybe, damaging the tower with the doppelganger will inflict damage to Tirius himself… It looks like that tower is sturdier than other ones," Vert came back and explained.

"Has anyone tried attacking that tower?" Blanc asked, sending back a cannonball back to the enemies. "It looks like he can summon his pals only through the tower with himself."

"Then, we have to force him out… at least make him stay on one spot."

Four Heart Sisters fell back and briefly discussed their next course of action. Then, they informed their brethren about their plan. They all nodded and began to work in unison. Smoothie was the first one to take action.

"Haaaa!"

Her mighty water swing left clear mark on the ground and impacted the tower with him.

*Clank!*

"Grrrgh!"

She managed to leave a mark on that tower. This caused him to falter, and that was more than enough for Thanatos to get some clean hits.

"Dragnaught Impact!"

*Crack! Boom!*

"Ugh!"

His spinning and exploding punch connected to Tirius' belly. Tirius coughed off some blood. As a result, his towers slowed down.

"Now is time! Hit him hard with all we got!" Perospero gave signal.

Four Heart Sisters, Oven and Smoothie all attacked at the same time. Even his reinforced tower couldn't stand up to their combined might. The tower shattered as its debris scattered all over the place.

"Kuk…. Not bad… I have to admit… those brats have fighting spirit," Tirius spit out blood.

"They are my daughters after all," Thanatos grinned as he avoided attacks from all sides. Tirius surrounded Thanatos with a bunch of towers, but Thanatos avoided with slim margin for effective maneuver.

"I see… you got better since the last time we fought."

"I can say the same to you."

"But this isn't the best I can do."

"You took words out of my mouth!"

On the other hand, BMP were close at finishing off the clone.

"Get him!"

"Uryaaaa!"

They all jumped at the clone lying on the ground. But, there was sudden light emitting from it.

"Don't underestimate me!" After shouting, the clone and Tirius himself sent out powerful shockwave blowing away his foes.

"Aaaaah!"

"What power!"

"Playtime is over! Now is time to get serious!"

The clone went back to the original, merging with him. Then, Tirius started summoning the biggest tower he ever did. It sprang out and grew higher… crushing the ceiling and revealing the sky. People around the gigantic tower watched it with awe.

"Behold! Babel Tower! What you saw before was just fraction of my true power!"

"So, he's been hiding the trump card…" Blanc clicked her tongue.

"So we are basically fighting a tower size of an island…" Oven mumbled.

"But wouldn't that make him a bigger target?" Neptune pondered.

"No, he can freely move within the tower. It will be tough to get his true self," Thanatos landed near them and explained.

"Heh… it's kinda refreshing to talk to you like this, father," Noire giggled.

"It's good to see you, my daughters… fine girls you've become… I'm proud that you've grown this much…" he smiled and almost shed tear. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be with you four for all these years…"

"We are all grown up, now. We understand everything," Vert got close and tried to cheer him. "Family affair and history…"

"Your mother is ruthless, but she still has good intention. I just couldn't win you back… The fact that you girls are all safe and sound is all that matter to me. And I will make sure it stays that way after this!"

"That sounds really assuring, but do you have a plan?" Perospero asked him.

"Yes, but it all depends whether you guys follow my lead or not."

"I'm all ears," Smoothie smirked.

"Like most devil fruits, his power also has limit. We have to distract him, so his focus will be all over the place."

"They won't be too hard," Neptune said.

"But he unleashed his full potential. His reaction and sense should be much faster. So, be on your guard. We need to spread apart!"

"What about our people?" Vert asked.

"I will protect them," Perospero came forth. Then, he began to move people to safety with his candy.

"You are not getting away!" Tirius fired several large cannonballs at Four Eternal Hearts.

"Candy Wall!"

*Boom! Crack!*

His candy wall was shattered. But thankfully, it served its purpose by absorbing most of the impact.

"He broke bro's candy wall!" Noire gulped.

"I don't think he can hold much longer…" Blanc added.

"Well… there is saying… the best defense is good offense," Oven clenched his fist and heated it up.

"Alright… here we go!"

"Uooooooh!"

On Thanatos' signal, everyone prepared for battle like they never had before.

A/N

Sorry for long hiatus. I kinda lost will to continue in middle. Even after trying to get back, I have been pretty busy with many stuff. My gaming backlog piling up... and my recent job on top of that, I've had little time and focus on this one. But, I promise I will try to get back as soon as possible.

Another reason for delay was that I was having difficulty with writing Tirius. What ability he should have... how they should deal with him... I was originally trying to end the fight in this chapter, but I decided to go for that in later chapter. While the manga progresses, I will try to come up with story idea to fill in. I don't believe it's good time to catch up to modern time.