After all the tree madness was finally over, Luffy and Nami took a moment to breathe.
"Okay," Luffy said, standing with a serious face—which usually meant something dumb was coming. "Let's go punch Sanji and bring him back!"
Nami smacked the back of his head. "Idiot! First we save Chopper and Carrot! They were taken by that mirror witch!"
"Ow! Fine, fine…" Luffy rubbed his head. "Then we punch her first!"
Nami sighed but held up the vivre card Lola had given her. "Hey, tree guys! Take us to where they're keeping Chopper and Carrot!"
The plants, still scared of the card, saluted like soldiers. "Yes, ma'am! This way, great holder of Mama's soul!"
One talking bush even made a little hat out of leaves and called Nami "Your Leaf-ness."
???
With the plants guiding them, they marched through more twisty forest paths and soon reached a weird-looking shack made entirely of cake and candy. It was Brulee's hideout.
Inside, Brulee laughed like a witch over a bubbling chocolate cauldron while Chopper and Carrot banged on the inside of her mirror prison.
"Help us!!" Carrot cried. Big fat tears rolling down her face. Chopper was no different.
"I don't want to be deer stew!!" Chopper wailed.
Nami burst through the door. "I found you!"
Brulee spun around. "You again!? How did you find me!?"
Nami waved the vivre card. "Magic paper."
"CURSE THAT PAPER!" Brulee screamed.
But before any more shouting could happen, a towering figure stepped out from the shadows. Tall, calm, with a scarf over his mouth and an intimidating aura—it was none other than Charlotte Katakuri.
"Oh no," Nami whispered. Of course, she didn't know who this person was, but being more than three times her height and looking sick as fuck, she knew he was bad news. And rightfully so, because this was none other than Katakuri.
Luffy cracked his knuckles. "Oh? You look strong. Let's fight!"
Katakuri said nothing. He just summoned a giant mochi arm and tried to punch Luffy through the wall. Luffy dodged with a bounce and grinned. "Yep, strong!"
The two clashed instantly—Luffy stretching and punching, Katakuri morphing his body with mochi and dodging almost everything before counterattacking. Each punch made the ground shake and the walls crack.
Meanwhile, Nami used the chaos to chase after Brulee.
"Get back here, you cackling marshmallow witch!" she shouted.
"I'M A LADY!" Brulee yelled back as she tripped over a lollipop stool and landed face-first into her own chocolate cauldron.
Taking the chance, Nami kicked the mirror prison. "Don't worry guys, I got you!"
"You better not break the mirror or we'll shatter too!" Chopper warned.
"Oops." Nami paused, then carefully pulled open the mirror like a zipper. "Okay, come on out." In reality, they wouldn't have shattered. Chopper was just a little too hyped to realize that he was just in another dimension and not exactly in a single mirror.
Carrot hopped out first. "You came!"
Chopper followed. "We thought we'd be trapped there forever!"
"Yeah, yeah, come on—let's go help Luffy before he wrecks this whole island."
They turned to see Luffy flying across the room, slammed by a giant mochi fist.
"I'm okay!" he yelled mid-air before crashing into a giant pudding sculpture.
Katakuri stepped forward calmly, already predicting Luffy's next attack before he made it.
"I can see your moves," he said. "I'm not like the others."
Luffy wiped chocolate off his face. "Then I'll just hit you before you see!"
He charged in again, and their battle lit up the room like fireworks.
Nami grabbed Chopper and Carrot and started dragging them toward the exit.
"We're leaving now! Luffy can handle this!"
"But he's getting beat up!" Carrot yelled.
"He always gets beat up!" Nami shouted back.
Outside, the plants waved as they escaped. "Come back soon, Queen Leaf-ness!"
Nami rolled her eyes. "Never again."
Behind them, Luffy laughed even as he fought. "Now this is fun!"
And so, the rescue mission was a success… kind of. Chopper and Carrot were free, the forest was destroyed (again), and Luffy was busy having the time of his life fighting a mochi man.
While this was happening, a little further away in the heart of Whole Cake Island, the ground shook with every step. Buildings crumbled like candy blocks and terrified chefs and soldiers ran for cover.
"BIG MOM'S HAVING ANOTHER HUNGER PANG!!" one of the chefs screamed while throwing his hat away.
Charlotte Linlin—aka Big Mom—was rampaging through the palace, knocking over giant cake towers and screaming, "WHERE IS MY CROQUEMBOUCHE?! I WANT MY CROQUEMBOUCHE!!!"
Several of her children tried to calm her down, but nothing worked.
"Mama, please!" Charlotte Smoothie pleaded, holding up a platter of fruit. "How about a juicy pear?"
Big Mom punched it through five walls. "I DON'T WANT FRUIT, I WANT CAAAAKE!"
Just as the situation looked hopeless, a strong voice echoed from the side.
"Oi, Mama!"
Everyone turned. It was Jinbei.
He stood proudly, holding a giant plate stacked with the very cake Big Mom was crying about.
"You wanted croquembouche? Here. Now calm down before you sink the whole island."
Big Mom sniffed the air, her eyes sparkling. "CAAAKE!" She zoomed like a missile and swallowed the whole thing in one gulp. Silence followed.
Then suddenly—poof! The crazy aura disappeared. Her eyes cleared. She blinked like someone waking from a dream.
"Hmm? What was I doing?"
Everyone sighed in relief and collapsed.
Later, Jinbei went to meet Big Mom again. He had made up his mind. "Linlin, I've decided. I'm leaving the Big Mom Pirates."
Big Mom glared. "You want to leave without paying the price?"
But before anything more could be said, a loud alarm rang through the palace.
"INTRUDERS IN THE PONEGLYPH ROOM!"
Big Mom's eyes widened. "WHAT?!"
Elsewhere, Brook and Pedro were sneaking around like amateur spies.
Pedro whispered, "We're almost there, Bone-man. Quiet!"
"I am always quiet," Brook whispered back. "Because I have no lungs! Yohohoho!"
They finally reached the Poneglyph room and were about to snap some pictures when—CRASH!
The wall exploded.
"MAMA'S HERE!"
Big Mom stormed in with a flaming Prometheus and slashing Napoleon sword.
"INTRUDERS!"
Pedro yelped, "Abort mission! Abort mission!"
Brook stood firm. "No can do my friend. I gave Luffy my word that I'll bring back the copy of the Poneglyphs. It's a skeleton's word. I'll protect the Poneglyphs with my bones!"
Jinbei suddenly jumped in between them. "Go! I'll hold her off!"
Big Mom didn't care. "ALL OF YOU GET SMASHED!" All Might would be proud.
She slammed her sword down and the floor cracked. The three dodged and tried to fight back—Pedro throwing bombs, Brook using his Soul Solid, and Jinbei using Fishman Karate.
But it was like throwing popcorn at a rhino. Big Mom tanked everything and kept attacking.
Jinbei shouted, "We need a plan!"
Brook replied, "I was hoping you had one!"
Pedro was busy rolling under furniture. "We can't fight, we have to retreat."
Big Mom summoned Zeus and zapped the entire room with lightning. The trio were fried like fish sticks.
Just when it looked like all was lost, a loud voice came from behind the smoke.
"That's enough!"
A huge fist punched through the wall and a figure stepped in, casting a tall shadow.
It was Yuta.
"I knew following the noise would lead to something interesting," he said, cracking his knuckles.
Pedro gasped, "How did he even get here?!"
Brook added, "Who cares, we're saved!"
Jinbei grinned. "Guess the tide's turning now."
All of them believed that. Why? Because this is the man who knocked even Kaido.
"You." Big Mom squinted her eyes. She had a feeling she had seen this boy before. It's just that she couldn't recall where.
"A curse spirit," Maki muttered. She couldn't help it. Even after knowing that she wasn't, Maki, after seeing the giant monster in pink, couldn't help her mind from relating 'it' to a curse spirit.
Yuta smiled. "No. But not better either. Hey, stay out of this fight. You had your fun, now my turn." He said as he saw Maki was ready to fight.
"That's no fun."
"It is... for me." Yuta grinned.
xxx
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