Reward: Soul Card
???
Yuta had no idea what this was. What was he supposed to do with it?
But somehow, he did see this connecting to Big Mom. Her Devil Fruit power was soul-based after all. Did it work the same way?
Yuta could only wonder. Where was he going to use this? Perhaps put a soul into his own weapon. Maybe.
After knocking Big Mom into the pudding-filled horizon, Yuta stood in the middle of the wrecked Cake Island. The ground was covered in melted chocolate, whipped cream, and half-destroyed buildings. Everything was silent… except for the occasional groan of a collapsing cookie tower.
He looked around.
Maki, Brook, Pedro, and even Jinbei were still out cold, lying in all sorts of weird positions. While Jinbei wasn't part of the group, since Yuta knew that later he'd join the Straw Hats, Yuta was just considering him as one.
"Dang," Yuta muttered, scratching his head. "What do I do now?"
He walked over to Maki and poked her cheek.
No response.
Brook was twitching in his sleep and mumbling something about panties.
'What's this obsession with panties?' Yuta had no idea, but he wasn't going to point it out. He wasn't any better with his hyper-focus on certain parts of the opposite gender.
'Legs, of course... nothing perverse about it, right!'
Jinbei was snoring like a whale.
'Wait a minute, maybe he really is a subspecies of whale? I mean, I never searched about it. Arlong was similar to a shark, that was clear, but what about Jinbei?'
"…Whatever," Yuta sighed. "What now? I can't carry all of you. I mean, I could, Hana Hana powers are pretty convenient like that, but I don't wanna. That's a complete wastage of HT," he grumbled.
That's when his eyes fell on something floating nearby.
Trying to sneak away quietly was a small chubby cloud with a round face and stubby arms, which were almost invisible in his fluffy body. If not for his Sharingan, he wouldn't have seen it. It wore a little cap and had a lazy, sleepy expression as it hummed to itself.
"Oi," Yuta called out, pointing at it. "You. Come here."
Zeus froze mid-hum and turned slowly. "Ehhh? Me?"
"Yes, you. You're one of Big Mom's flying things, right?"
Zeus nodded nervously. "Well, yes, but I have to go to Mama—"
Yuta suddenly smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Ah... you need your mama, huh? You know, back in school, I used to get bullied a lot. I remember exactly how they did it. This reminds me a little of that. Wanna know how it went?" Yuta somehow had a bloodthirsty smile on his face, staring at the little cloud like a predator. Creeping the hell out of him.
Zeus's face turned pale. "W-Wait, hold on!"
"Don't worry. I learned from the best, you won't be disappointed," Yuta said, stepping closer with a dark aura around him. "Or... you can carry my unconscious friends… However, I'd rather start remembering every insult and shoe-throwing technique I've stored in my brain."
"OKAY OKAY I'LL DO IT!!" Zeus wailed, already spinning in circles.
A few minutes later, Yuta was comfortably riding on top of the massive fluffy Zeus cloud, with all his unconscious companions tied gently on board like luggage.
"Cha La. Hey Challa..." With a big grin on his face, he was humming to himself.
Zeus groaned. "It's heavy…"
Yuta just smiled. "More than your mama's fat arse."
"…N-no, sir."
"Thought so..."
While this was going on...
Far across the chaos of Cake Island, inside the fancy but half-destroyed Germa guest mansion, Sanji sat sipping tea with a frown on his face. His brothers were talking about pointless things, and his father was busy bragging about the upcoming wedding. Sanji wasn't listening. His mind was elsewhere.
That's when a loud explosion shook the entire building.
"What now?" one of Sanji's brothers groaned.
However, before they even knew it, a terrifying pressure fell on all of them. Since they were pretty far away from the origin of the Conqueror's Haki, they didn't fall unconscious. At least, most powerful people with strong will didn't.
A Germa soldier ran into the room, panting. "Prince Sanji! There's been a big commotion outside! A huge battle just took place near Mama's palace!"
Sanji's eyes widened. "What kind of battle?"
"From what we heard… Straw Hat Luffy and his crew are here!"
The teacup shattered in Sanji's hand. "Luffy?! What is that idiot doing here?!"
He stood up, panic rushing through him. "They came here for me... I told them not to! Oh god, Nami-swan must have come to save me..." His imagination never fails to amaze.
Meanwhile, deep inside the Mirror World, Luffy was still fighting with Katakuri. Their fists clashed, Haki against Haki, the shockwaves rocking the mirror space around them. While Katakuri's Observation Haki gave him a clear edge in the beginning, Luffy was improving fast—faster than expected.
"You're adapting," Katakuri said, narrowing his eyes.
Luffy grinned, panting. "Heh… I've got no choice! I will not lose."
But then… it happened.
A massive wave of Haki blasted through the world like a storm. Both fighters froze. Their eyes widened as they felt it.
Outside the Mirror World, the unconscious bodies of soldiers, trees, and living buildings were scattered all over. The source was obvious: the full power of Yuta's combined King's Engine and uncontrolled Conqueror's Haki.
Katakuri was shocked. "What was that...!?"
Even Luffy was blinking. "Yuta… did that?!" He wasn't sure—he never knew Yuta had Conqueror's—but he heard the beats. A sudden feeling of familiarity spread over him. He felt his own heart starting to beat louder upon hearing this beat.
A big smile appeared unconsciously on his face, almost threatening to unleash something more primal than even he knew of.
The Mirror World cracked. They had to pause the fight. Luffy grabbed Nami, Chopper, and Carrot, who were still unconscious nearby, and escaped through a mirror before it fully broke.
Katakuri didn't follow. Instead, he rushed toward the source of the Haki.
That's when he found her.
His mother—Big Mom—was half-buried under a giant broken cake structure. Her hat was tilted. Her mouth was twitching. Her eyes half-closed.
"Mama!" Katakuri called out, landing beside her. "What happened?!"
Big Mom didn't answer right away. She was breathing, but her entire body twitched strangely. The steel-hard defense of her body had weakened—something Katakuri had never seen happen.
A very faint trail of blood was lingering around her mouth.
It wasn't just pain.
She was paralyzed—not fully unconscious, but completely unable to move.
"Who… did this to Mama?" Katakuri was stunned. Even before being worried for his mother, he was stunned that there was someone capable enough to do this in the first place.
'Was one of the other three Emperors here? But even if they were, which other Emperor was capable enough to do this to Mama?'
A cold feeling spread across his body, a chill going down to the very depth of his spine. He snapped his head around, now very worried about his other siblings.
While a pirate, Katakuri was among the very few who valued his family and relationships deeply. He was a good man—and an even better sibling.
He already knew the answer.
xxx
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