The Ever-Changing Battle Situation

"Not bad..." Big Mom looked at Luffy approvingly. "I really never expected the Straw Hat Pirates to be anything more than that. I originally thought you so-called Supernovas were just a bunch of nobodies, but I never expected you to actually provide me with a little amusement. You're not bad..."

"What are you talking about? I just came to take my companions back..." Luffy looked at Big Mom. "I didn't come here to fight you..." That had truly been Luffy's intention from the start. They were already about to go to war with one of the Four Emperors. Luffy might have been simple-minded, but that did not mean he had no brains.

"Is that so?" Big Mom looked at Luffy. "But that strategist of yours—or perhaps vice captain? That Explosion Mage certainly looked like he came here looking for a fight. It seems your captain isn't taken seriously at all..."

"What are you talking about?!" Sanji was unwilling to watch his idiot captain get so easily driven apart from his companions by the enemy, but the facts proved that Sanji had worried too much.

"I know..." Luffy picked his nose irritably. "Of course I know that guy keeps a lot of things from me, but does that affect the fact that he's my companion? And I'm not good at those things to begin with. Actually, there are lots of things I'm not good at. I can't use a sword, I can't navigate, I can't cook, so every one of my companions is incredibly important to me!"

"Really now..." Big Mom looked at the brat before her, someone favored by Red and someone who had once participated in the Marineford War. Though she inwardly sighed at the fearlessness of a newborn calf, he had ruined her Tea Party. That was a