A Narrow Victory, a Ruthless Turn
As dusk approached, it was already twilight.
"Roman— "
?!
"It's almost over."
Roman, having snapped out of his daze, nodded at Zoro, whose upper body was wrapped in bandages, arms crossed, staring at Luffy's battlefield.
"That's right, it's almost over."
Both Luffy and Katakuri were panting heavily during the battle, as they were not fighting, eating, and running around like in the original story, but rather engaging in continuous high-intensity combat.
At the same time, Luffy wasn't just being overwhelmed. His increasingly refined "Armament Haki" and newly acquired "Future Sight" also caused Katakuri a lot of trouble. It wasn't visible on the outside, but his internal organs were already covered with tiny wounds.
"Aaaaaah!! Lie down, Katakuri!!"
Using Gear Fourth Gear: Snake Man form Luffy significantly increased his speed again. Combined with his Observation Haki, which also grants him the ability to Future Sight, he suppressed Katakuri for the first time in battle. However:
"You're the one who'll be lying down!"
The battle has reached its final stage, with Luffy's fists zigzagging and deflecting through the air! They continuously attack from the blind spots of the 'future,' while Katakuri's right hand transforms into a giant spiked club, wreathed in dark Armament Haki, and crashes down upon Luffy.
"Rubber King Snake!"
"Chop Rice Cakes!"
Despite being battered and bruised, with their Haki and Haki less than a tenth of their peak, their aura only intensified! Their fists radiated an indomitable will, pressing down on their Armament Haki to a solid, iron-like density! Even Roman, watching from the sidelines, unconsciously clenched and unclenched his fists.
Katakuri's massive, spiked club-like arm seemed to reverse the landscape, causing the heavens and earth to collapse, leaving no room for escape; Luffy's relentlessly extending and deflecting fists were unyielding and unstoppable, determined to change the future! In a flash, their strongest and final Electric Light landed on each other simultaneously.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Wilder and more violent than thunder and lightning, more powerful and domineering than tsunamis and landslides, the impact of this domineering Haki caused the entire battlefield to shatter inch by inch. Even the air was shaken open with countless long, dark, Inazuma- like cracks, creating the illusion that the 'world' was being torn apart!
"Katakuri!"
This exchange of attacks exceeded Perospero's expectations, causing the eldest son of the Charlotte Family to grip his lollipop cane tightly. He wasn't unfamiliar with powerful opponents—having grown up in the Knox Pirates, he had been exposed to the demeanor of one of the strongest on the seas since childhood. And now:
"How could that be? That Straw Hat Kid..."
In Luffy, Perospero seemed to see the figure of that person: Rocks D. Xebec.
A wildly ambitious man who has brought legendary pirates like 'Mother', Kaido, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Captain John, and Ochoku under his command!
No, no, no, I must be seeing things.
If we're talking about similarities, then it should be the shadow of that old guy Monkey D. Garp, right?
"Ha, what a terrifying man."
On the other side, Charlotte Smoothie, whose abdomen was also wrapped in bandages, suddenly had layers of azure blue appear in front of her. Faced with the violent impact of the domineering Haki, she trembled violently like water, neutralizing the aftershocks of the collision between the two.
It's unclear whether the 'terrifying man' she mentioned refers to her Katakuri, or something else entirely.
Luffy?
"It's over,"
Although he looks the same as before, Roman's various abilities are ready to be unleashed.
As the tremors subsided and the dust settled, two figures facing each other appeared in the eyes of Roman, Zoro, Smoothie, Perospero.
Snake Man Luffy, positioned beneath the giant spiked club 'Mochi Slicer', stopped his Gear Fourth Gear punch at Katakuri's abdomen! Neither attack touched the other, because they both simultaneously unleashed their Armament Haki! Then:
Snap, snap,
The two simultaneously deactivated their abilities, and in the next instant:
Boom!!
Blood gushed from Luffy's mouth and nose, his eyes rolled back, clearly indicating that his injuries were beyond repair. The ground beneath him was also caught in the crossfire, completely shattered by Katakuri's Armament Haki! With a deafening roar, a bottomless crater suddenly appeared, and Luffy lost his footing and fell into it.
"You won?"
Perospero even forgot his signature verbal tic, "lick~", and his gaze fell on Katakuri.
Thump,
The towering Katakuri crashed forward, managing to brace himself with one hand while clutching his stomach with the other. —Luffy's Luffy had nearly turned his internal organs into mush!
But in any case, just like the 'future' he saw, what lay beneath was the road—
Snap,
The next second, from the pit hundreds of meters deep, an arm suddenly stretched out and grabbed the edge of the pit, and then:
Brush,
Having exited Gear Fourth Gear, Luffy sprang out of the crater, completely devoid of any Haki, stumbling and falling like a noodle, but in the end:
Stand firm.
"... It seems you see a future even further than mine."
Click,
?!
The faint sound of the Camera Den Den Mushi caught Roman's eye. In the ruins of a forest far from the battlefield, a pregnant figure... no, a bird's shadow flashed by.
Isn't this Big News for Morgans...?
"Roman, the cake will be ready soon."
Sanji's voice rang in Roman's ears, urging Roman to head into the battlefield. Meanwhile, Perospero immediately moved closer to Katakuri —both sides' key figures were exhausted, and a sudden attack at this moment would be disastrous.
"Luffy, the cake is ready."
Luffy nodded in response to Roman's words.
"Big guy, let's fight again next time!"
In response to Luffy's words, Charlotte Katakuri had stood up from the ground, nodded and uttered a single word.
"Good,"
But next time, I might... no, I probably won't be your match anymore.
What a terrifying man!
"Let's go, Luffy."
Splash—
The fluttering white paper wrapped Luffy, stabilizing his injuries as it flew towards Zoro. After also enveloping the Three-Sword Style swordsman, the white paper transformed into a streamlined fighter jet and sped towards Cocoyasi Village!
"Brother Katakuri,"
Katakuri calmly nodded as Smoothie approached.
"I lost."
"This isn't the time to talk about these things,"
Perospero licked the lollipop cane in his hand, comforting his brother who claimed to be 'never defeated'.
"Who hasn't lost? Whether it's Kaido, Mom, Whitebeard, Roger, or even Captain Gibbek, everyone loses! Except for that 'god'... Alright, let's hurry to Cocoyasi Village. If Mom wakes up after eating the cake..."
I'm afraid this isn't over yet!
"This is the wedding cake?"
"It's simply a miracle! They actually replicated 'Streusen's' masterpiece, which took Master 'Long Bread' several days to make, in just two hours..."
"No, this is definitely not a copy!"
The short, 90-year-old man took a bite of the wedding cake made by Sanji and burst into tears on the spot.
"This is far beyond my culinary skills... I'll just abandon the title of 'chef' and start all over again from kneading dough."
"Head Chef, don't be discouraged!"
"Just thinking about Big Mom's satisfied smile after eating the cake," Sanji smiled as he lit a cigarette, "Makes me feel smug."
Sanji is so handsome!
The steam billowing from Brulee's head was so exaggerated that it blew her chef's hat off...
?!
When Roman, carrying Luffy and Zoro, arrived at Chocolate Town in Cocoyasi Village, this was the chaotic scene he witnessed. Sanji Brulee, and a group of cooks were pulling Streusen.
If you didn't know better, you'd think some kind of family drama was playing out here!
"Sanji, I'm starving!"
As soon as Luffy landed, he lunged at the giant cake, startling a group of chefs who quickly grabbed him.
"Shut up! That's a cake for 'Mom'—"
"Don't even think about it, this is the hope of our Whole Cake Island..."
Luffy,
Sanji shook his head and brought out a plate of cakes from the nearby cake factory. Although it wasn't as huge or elaborate as the previous cake, the care put into it was evident.
"I knew you'd be hungry after a fight. This is for you, eat up."
"Hehehe, Sanji understands me best."
"What about mine?"
Upon hearing Zoro's words, Sanji, who had been smiling just moments before, instantly turned sullen and arrogant.
"Sorry, this isn't Liquor Island; we don't have your kind of liqueur here!"
·········
"Okay, everyone get ready—"
"Wedding cake!!"
Before Roman could finish speaking, Big Mom, emaciated from hunger and bearing a striking resemblance to her younger self, burst forth from a giant mirror that Charlotte Custard had ordered to be moved there. She lunged at the enormous cake. Behind her was a group of exhausted Charlotte Family executives.
Glug!
He reached out and grabbed a handful of cake, stuffing it down his throat. The starving BIG MOM was stunned, and Perospero's expression changed!
"Damn it, could it be that I've been poisoned again..."
"This happiness, this sweetness!"
In an instant, Big Mom's fierce face revealed a satisfied and happy expression, and tears even streamed down her face, causing Roman to turn his head in confusion to look at Sanji beside him.
"Sanji, did you put some kind of hallucinogen on him?"
?!
Are you underestimating my dignity as a chef?
No, no, no, your chef... that guy Liu Maoxing just openly puts poppies and stuff in his food...
"This is... the wedding cake!!"
"It's so delicious, this sweetness... this feeling of longing..."
As Big Mom returned to normal, the flowers and plants around her immediately began to sing for their Queen.
"Soft~~"
"Stuff it in~~"
"Swallow it~~"
"This dreamlike flavor, what kind of flavor is this?!"
The lead vocals came from Big Mom's mouth, but it was clear that Big Mom, who was engrossed in eating cake, had no time to sing. The real singers were:
Even a rotting puppy is dancing!
"This is a grand stage for the corpses of flavors~~"
Behind Big Mom's throat, from which the song originated, lay a mass of corpses! A dense multitude of souls! The souls of countless lives devoured by Big Mom, offering a hymn to their 'Queen'!
What a terrifying Devil Fruit!
Roman lowered his eyes. And this Devil Fruit had fallen into the belly of a monster, a wanton monster...
"Sweet~~"
"It smells so milky~~"
"So fragrant~~"
"Danger!!"
Suddenly snapping back to her senses, Big Mom's gaze fell upon the Straw Hat crew, and the rising killing intent pierced through the sky above like a sword blade! The cold moonlight fell upon her.
"Mmm, this is so delicious~~"
The next second, the fat man swept his hand and grabbed the pirate hat 'Napoleon' on his head, which quickly transformed into a giant Sailor's Knife.
"Thank you for your hospitality!"
Along with Big Mom's 'thank you' came a burst of sword light that shot into the sky!