Fleeing in Defeat, Killing with a Borrowed Knife

"Chase them! Chase after them!"

"I'm going to extract the souls of everyone in the Straw Hat crew and turn them into powerful 'Homies'!!"

Above the now-vanished Cocoyasi Village, atop the spreading 'Zeus,' Big Mom, already in a frenzy, was nearly driven mad with rage! Had she not controlled the entire island's soil to withstand the explosion, the BIG MOM Pirates' crew would likely have suffered heavy losses, with more than half of their officers immediately gone.

This consumed one powerful soul and several thousand ordinary souls stored in her possession. How could she not go crazy?

Even so, the poor Cocoyasi Village disappeared into the sea due to the explosion and the removal of most of its soil by Big Mom, leaving only a huge whirlpool and countless debris to tell the story of an island that once existed there.

Fortunately, Roman had anticipated that if this place became a battlefield, the entire island would be in grave danger, so he had already instructed Brulee to evacuate the civilians. —In fact, the Charlotte Family did the same thing, after all:

With BIG MOM's temperament, she wouldn't care about 'civilian casualties' when she's fighting.

"Mother····"

Charlotte Mont-d'Or, who was in charge of liaising with various locations, stepped forward with a cold sweat on her face.

"None of the 'Sea Slugs' responded, so... so we couldn't track them..."

Stare!!

"I'm sorry, Mom! We'll check what happened right away, please give us a little time—"

"Why aren't you going yet?!"

Amidst Big Mom's furious rebuke, Mont-d'Or felt a great sense of relief and hurried off to find his 'Fish-Man' siblings to investigate what was going on with the slugs in the ocean.

Those slugs are unique to Tales of Whole Cake Island, capable of monitoring the entire seabed of Tales of Whole Cake Island in conjunction with Image Den Den Mushi. Then, patrol ships controlled by 'Homies' engage in surface battles, forming Tales of Whole Cake Island's defense system. However:

"What happened? What does it mean that all the 'Sea Slugs' have disappeared?"

"With so many of them, even if they lined up to be killed, how long would it take to kill them all!"

It's no wonder Mont-d'Or couldn't understand it. After all, the fact that the seabed was covered with 'Sea Slugs' for surveillance was a secret known only to the Charlotte Family executives. Now, the entire surveillance network had failed. The only explanation was:

Come on, let's all sing together!

"Put aside your work and sing happily~~"

"Work? I don't need it~~"

"Be on guard? No need~~"

In the vast ocean, a mermaid wearing a top trimmed with floral patterns and a skirt with lace trim, her hair styled into two horizontal buns, with purple eyeshadow, freckles, and sharp teeth beneath her red lips, leads a group of Sea Slugs in a graceful dance with an alluring song.

Her personality is just like her appearance: seductive yet wild, dangerous yet passionate.

It was her singing that attracted all the 'Sea Slugs' in the entire Whole Cake Island, rendering the Whole Cake Island's tight surveillance network ineffective.

"Praline, if you do that, you've betrayed Big Mom, and there's no going back."

A long-bearded man with a spiky ponytail and the number '1TC' tattooed on his left arm spoke apologetically. He wore a long vest with the Sun Pirates' logo, had a fishtail lower body, and held a trident.

Aladdin, a fin-tailed Fish-Man. Formerly the doctor First Mate of the Sun Pirates, he is now the Sun Pirates. The female mermaid singing nearby is Charlotte Praline, the 21st daughter of the Charlotte Family and a hammerhead shark half-mermaid. She serves as the Design Minister and manages Unique Island in Whole Cake Island. Also:

She was also Aladdin's wife.

Incidentally, she also has a fellow countrywoman who is a 'half- Octopus Fish-Man '. All I can say is:

Big Mom really doesn't discriminate between raw and cold foods!

"Shake, shark, shark~~ Compared to my fear of 'Mom,' what I care about more is, darling."

Although it was just a 'political marriage,' they were fortunate to love each other deeply, and she even rebelled against Big Mom for her husband.

"I can't promise anything, but as long as I have a breath left, I will never let Big Mom hurt you."

Snap,

She wrapped her arms around her husband, and the dashing hammerhead shark mermaid revealed a girlish side:

Swish swish swish~

"I love your manly spirit, darling~~"

So enthusiastic!

The merfolk and Fish-Man of the Sun Pirates nearby were completely impressed by their "sister-in-law's" bold and passionate spirit.

"I hope Jinbe and the others are safe and sound."

"Let's go back to the Dragon Palace!"

Having 'defected' from the BIG MOM Pirates, they're bound to face Big Mom's revenge. The Sun Pirates don't care, but Fish-Man Island, their birthplace...

So it's time to go back and protect our homeland. With the advantage the Fish-Man hold in the sea, as long as those experts don't land on Fish-Man Island, they are confident they can keep the enemy out of the naval battle.

"Don't throw it away!"

On the Sunny Merry, Jinbe took over the helm. Roman was receiving treatment in the medical bay, Franky was converting an empty cabin into a double room, and on deck:

Luffy and Usopp were so heartbroken they rolled on the ground in tears.

"If you throw it away, I'll go to Haidilao and get it—"

"You're a Devil Fruit user, are you expecting Usopp to rescue you on the side?!"

Sanji weighed the metal can marked with the number '3' in his hand, looking disgusted. This was the Vinsmoke family's 'magical girl transformation'... cough cough, 'high-tech combat suit'. Simply attaching it to the belt would instantly transform him into a full-body high-tech gear, but:

"I never intended to become stronger through the power of science, especially not the Vinsmoke family..."

"No!!"

"Once you put on this combat suit, you might be able to fire lasers!" X2

Sanji looked disdainful at Luffy and Usopp's reasons.

"One oddball on the ship, Franky, is enough. I don't want to be seen as a pervert."

If this thing weren't 'genetically bound,' Sanji would have just tossed it to Usopp and the others to play with long ago.

"Sanji ~~ He looks handsome no matter what he wears~~"

Brulee next to her was completely smitten, her eyes sparkling with hearts.

"Actually,"

The white dove that landed on the deck opened its mouth.

"This combat suit is very famous in Beihai; it's known as the Stealth Black Suit. — That's right, wearing it allows you to become invisible and go wherever you want, like a woman..."

?!

In an instant, Sanji ape form was revealed! His tongue was practically hanging down to his chin, and he gripped the transformation device tightly in his hand, as if he were grasping the future!

"Ahem, since it's an apology from those guys, I'll reluctantly accept it..."

"Mr. Sanji!!"

Brulee, standing beside her, smiled, but her anger was palpable.

The fist hardened!

········

Tsk, that feels much better.

"Honestly, could you not be a little more careful..."

In the medical room, Roman rolled his eyes as Chopper treated Nami's complaints.

"That's Big Mom, and one of the Sweet Commanders launched a sneak attack. I'm already lucky I came back alive, and besides, an arm..."

"Alright, Mr. Roman, you try it first."

As Chopper bandaged Roman's shoulder, Roman moved his fingers, bent his arm, and stretched.

"Yes, although I'm a little rusty, I can still move around without any problems. Once I use Armament Haki to assimilate this arm, it will be just like before."

This is the arm Roman created using Mr. 2 Bon Clay's 'Mane Mane no Mi', and it's practically identical to his previous arm. The only difference is that it lacks the years of training and Haki infusion, making it much weaker.

But these are not problems; I'll recover quickly through training. And:

"My arm isn't so easy to cut off. Prepare to pay the price, BIG MOM Pirates!"

This trip to Whole Cake Island resulted in Zoro's Saber Technique improving to a new level, a small gain for him; Luffy learned to Future Sight, a huge gain for him; Sanji gained the coveted ability to become invisible and acquired a beautiful wife, a truly extravagant gain! But only Roman...

If you lose a hand in a fight, wouldn't that be a huge loss?

How could that be!

As Roman himself said, was his hand so easily cut off? Wouldn't it be tarnished to call him a 'strategist' if he didn't pay some price?

If you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust.

In the place where the vanished Cocoyasi Village once stood, only a pile of various building ruins and wooden barrel fragments floated on the water. And from beneath a wooden plank, a hand suddenly reached out and clung to it.

Splash!

"Hahaha~~"

With a weak yet arrogant laugh, Gizzas Burgess emerged from the sea, lying on a wooden plank and greedily inhaling the air.

"Straw Hat crew, White Knight, you didn't expect that, did you? I'm still alive—"

A smile of relief at surviving a near-death experience appeared on Gizzas Burgess's face; after all, even he himself thought it was impossible to survive. In Dressrosa, he was defeated by Sabo, the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army, and then swallowed by the Straw Hat crew's strategist, the "White Knight," using his powers.

Half-dead and unable to move.

I was truly left with no choice but to wait for death; I had already given up hope. Who knew...

"Hahaha, it seems there's a reason why Vajirus and Oka keep talking about fate all the time." If he hadn't been ambushed, and if Burgess hadn't been imprisoned in the White Knight's severed hand, he would probably still be a dead pig by now.

"Bru bru bru~~ bru bru bru~~~"

The sound of Den Den Mushi came from his pocket. While taking out the Den Den Mushi, Burgess broke off a piece of food from the wreckage of a building floating on the sea and stuffed it into his mouth.

"It's me, Burgess."

"Hahaha!! I knew you were alright! — Burgess, where are you now?"

From the Den Den Mushi came Blackbeard's arrogant laughter, his commands to direct the ships, and the sound of sailors running by.

"I'll come pick you up right away!"

"Haha, Captain, you have no idea what I've been through."

The tall, muscular Burgess excitedly shouted into the Den Den Mushi, ignoring Lafitte's words on the other end. "You should address him as Admiral." After calming down, the wrestling champion immediately realized this was a golden opportunity, a chance to redeem himself.

"I'm currently on BIG MOM Pirates' territory. The Straw Hat crew just caused a huge ruckus here!"

Although Burgess was imprisoned in Roman's hand using his 'swallowing ability', he still had some awareness of what was happening outside. After all, despite his muscular physique, he was also proficient in Observation Haki.

"That Straw Hat crew is amazing! Not only did they defeat Charlotte Smoothie and Charlotte Katakuri, two of the Sweet Commanders, but they also destroyed an island with a giant explosive device, and many of the BIG MOM Pirates' officers were seriously injured..."

"Hahaha, so that means the BIG MOM Pirates are at their weakest right now?"

"That's right, Captain!"

Burgess also had his own considerations. If he were to ask Captain Teach to rush into Whole Cake Island to rescue him, he might not necessarily come. But if they were facing a damaged BIG MOM Pirates...

"Hahaha, I was indeed the one destined for us!"

Blackbeard's arrogant and confident laughter came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"Burgess, my dear subordinate. Hide well, I'll be right there with my men—"

However, before that, some planning is needed. Presumably:

The BIG MOM Pirates must be very interested in the Straw Hat crew's whereabouts, right?