"No way in hell this old lady dies here!"
"I won't die such a pitiful death!"
"I still haven't built the paradise where all races live together in harmony!"
"Totto Land is far from complete! The Giants!"
"Mother… your dream, my dream... has yet to be fulfilled!"
Big Mom was covered in blood. Even the infamous "Iron Balloon" couldn't withstand the combined assault of two great swordsmen—Wright and Issho.
Her massive body bore brutal scorches from Sakazuki's molten magma, and her left flank was torn open by a gaping wound where magma had pierced through.
The explosive force of Sakazuki's magma proved no less deadly than the blades of Wright and Issho.
"Mama!"
In just half a day, the Emperor of the Sea, Big Mom, had been brought to the brink. The Charlotte siblings, locked in a deadlock with Navy officers, were already drowning in despair.
As expected—no one could stand against three top-tier powerhouses.
If Mama fell… they were all doomed.
Mont-d'Or braced himself behind a barrier of countless books, desperately fending off the Navy's onslaught. Clutching a Den Den Mushi in his hand, his expression was even more despondent than his siblings'.
As Mama's chief scribe, Mont-d'Or was responsible for coordinating the defense across the islands.
But now, Brûlée, who controlled the transport "passage," was missing and unreachable. Reports from Whole Cake Island were even worse—half the island had already fallen within hours.
Only a handful of Chess Soldiers were still mounting resistance. But their defeat was only a matter of time.
Even worse, the outer 34 islands of Totto Land were being taken over at a terrifying speed under the command of Admiral Kuzan—more than half had already fallen!
Mont-d'Or had never even heard of such a thing as a "Flying Fortress."
Not even Golden Lion Shiki moved entire islands this efficiently.
With such fantastical mobility, the Navy was pushing inward like a slow, unstoppable wave.
Escape through Whole Cake Chateau had been considered, but with over ten thousand Marines blocking every exit, not even that was possible.
And unbelievably, the castle's original defenses had been completely neutralized by an unknown force without anyone noticing!
But the most outrageous part—the Marines weren't even that strong individually. Yet their coordinated battle formations were terrifyingly efficient.
Far beyond anything they'd ever faced in past skirmishes with the Navy.
Worst of all, unless they managed to instantly kill the Marines in one hit, their formations would immediately absorb the wounded and protect them.
And with Fleet Admiral Wright's absurd healing ability, those wounded soldiers would bounce right back into the fight in no time!
Unfair doesn't even begin to describe it!
Cheating! This is cheating!
Mont-d'Or wanted to scream. This wasn't a war—it was a slaughter!
But he knew better than anyone…
"There's no such thing as fairness in war."
The Navy wasn't holding back. Three Admirals and even the Fleet Admiral himself had personally joined the operation just to crush them.
"The teleportation device!"
Mont-d'Or's eyes locked onto Snack, still struggling to overcome Cavendish. He grit his teeth.
If we can just capture that teleportation device… understand its workings… we might be able to strike directly at Navy HQ!
And then—no matter how strong Fleet Admiral Wright is—he'd have no choice but to pull back to defend!
Even one Admiral withdrawing would relieve the pressure on Mama!
If this keeps up… she won't last!
We must break through!
"Peros-nii!"
Mont-d'Or shouted to get Perospero's attention. Perospero always trusted his meticulous younger brother.
"Our only shot now is helping Snack seize that Navy teleportation device!"
Mont-d'Or roared, "Peros-nii! I'll hold off these two Vice Admirals! You go help Snack!"
Countless enchanted books surged forward, trapping Doberman and Onigumo in burning pages. Mont-d'Or poured every ounce of power into this gamble, buying Perospero a sliver of time.
"Got it!"
Perospero disengaged swiftly. Caught off guard, the Vice Admirals scrambled to fend off the flaming barrage.
"Damn!"
They were about to break free, but all the Charlotte siblings had heard Mont-d'Or's cry—and in a rare moment of complete trust, they all pulled back their defenses.
Each sibling unleashed large-scale attacks with their unique Devil Fruit powers, recklessly holding off the Navy forces and stalling the formation-based battle arrays.
For a moment, the Marine formations were paralyzed. All support for Cavendish was completely cut off.
"Don't worry about me!"
Cavendish let out a hearty laugh.
"To think I'm being double-teamed by a 600 million and a 700 million bounty... what an honor!"
"Maybe my popularity will soar after this!"
"Idiot! If you die, popularity won't mean squat!"
Vice Admiral Momonga, clashing with Charlotte Daifuku, shouted angrily. This damn Cavendish—still thinking about fame at a time like this!
"No worries… with the Fleet Admiral backing me, I can fight better than I ever imagined!"
His "White Horse" persona had been honed to near perfection. His blade flowed like mercury—smooth and deadly.
Even with Snack and Perospero joining forces, they couldn't crack his defense for the time being!
"You won't last long. Lickity~"
Perospero sneered, his eyes gleaming as he gazed at the softly glowing Lightforged Beacon behind Cavendish.
If we can crack the secret of the Navy's teleportation tech…
The Big Mom Pirates would become unstoppable!
"Snack! Push harder! We need to take him down!"
"Yes, Peros-nii!"
Suddenly, a tremendous pressure swept across the battlefield.
Everyone—pirates and Marines alike—froze and turned toward the source.
It came from the epicenter of the battle between the four top-tier combatants.
The three Marine powerhouses had halted their assault. And at their center—Big Mom...
Something was wrong.
"What's happening!?"
Perospero, Katakuri, and the others were stunned. Even they had never seen Mama in this state before.
If in the past she had shown destructive power through her "strange tantrums" or hunger pangs, those could still be managed with effort…
But now…
This state struck true fear into the hearts of her children.
Like when she invoked her Soul-Soul Fruit powers to rip souls away from her enemies—
It was the same chilling aura of death.
"Ma… ma… ma…"
From Big Mom's blood-soaked mouth came a low, guttural laugh.
Her three main Homies—Zeus, Prometheus, and Napoleon—flared with new power, rapidly recovering from the damage dealt by Wright.
Sakazuki and Issho frowned.
Something about Big Mom felt… completely different.
But what exactly?
Wright's voice broke the tension.
"Up until now, she's only been using the derivative abilities of the Soul-Soul Fruit—manipulating elements, plus her formidable swordsmanship and brute strength."
"But it looks like… the true power of the Soul-Soul Fruit is finally about to take the stage."
—————————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanPiece [remove the parentheses ( )]
Note: This fanfic has been completely translated and is available on my Patreon.