"So this is the true power of the Soul-Soul Fruit..."
Issho spoke, his tone pensive.
"Indeed, the legendary soul-controlling ability of Big Mom—what we've seen so far is merely the manipulation of elements through souls."
"Soul, by its very nature, is one of the most mysterious forces in existence. Without the aid of external mediums, what abilities the Soul-Soul Fruit truly possesses… we've never fully understood."
"Hmph! Smash her body to bits, and her soul won't be able to stir up much of a storm!"
Sakazuki sneered, molten magma coursing across his arms and shoulders.
"That so-called Soul Pocus of legend? Does she seriously think we'd be scared of an old crone like her?!"
The most infamous ability of the Soul-Soul Fruit was the Soul Pocus.
When Big Mom recited the Soul Pocus to a target, if that person harbored fear toward her, their soul would fall under her dominion. She could then extract it with ease—and kill them on the spot.
But if the target held no fear toward Big Mom...
Then the whole spectacle would turn into a farce—just empty words with no effect.
To put it plainly, the Soul Pocus was a test of willpower. The moment even a sliver of fear surfaced in one's heart, Big Mom's soul pressure would take hold, reducing the opponent to a puppet at her mercy.
Using Soul Pocus against a Fleet Admiral or an Admiral?
At that level—who fears whom?
Especially under the current circumstances... it's Big Mom who should be afraid.
To them, the Soul Pocus might as well be a dramatic monologue—utterly useless.
"No... Big Mom wouldn't overlook that."
Wright furrowed his brow. Something about Big Mom's state was deeply unsettling.
A powerful spiritual pressure surged around her—a nearly tangible force—something even more oppressive than Conqueror's Haki. It felt... like her very existence belonged to a higher tier of life.
Wright recalled something—on Whole Cake Island, Homies infused with Big Mom's own soul exuded an unrivaled, supreme intimidation. Their mere presence subdued other Homies completely.
Even Vivre Cards carrying a trace of her soul essence could trigger this effect, rendering ordinary Homies incapable of resisting her will.
Why? Because ordinary Homies were created using fragments of the souls of regular citizens of Totto Land. Their soul essence was innately inferior to Big Mom's.
But no matter how strong she was, Big Mom was still human. If her soul possessed absolute dominion over others simply because of her status as a Soul-Soul Fruit user... then that could explain the disparity.
Big Mom had created three extraordinarily powerful Homies from her own soul. In battle, she infused soul fragments into elements like waves and fire, creating sentient elemental constructs.
Logically, that should mean Big Mom's own soul was incomplete—yet her physical strength was still monstrous.
Ordinary people wouldn't notice the contradiction. After all, for a Soul-Soul Fruit user, a powerful soul was to be expected—fragmented or not, it would still far exceed that of any regular being.
But Wright—who had studied Brook's Revive-Revive Fruit—noticed something off.
Throughout their skirmish, Wright's Holy Light powers had grievously wounded Big Mom's Homies, but had no effect on Big Mom herself.
That fact implied something critical—
Big Mom's soul was completely intact.
Holy Light couldn't harm a fully intact soul that hadn't separated from its body.
"But why is that the case?"
It was a question Wright had pondered since the battle began.
And now, the answer seemed within reach.
"Navy scum... you all deserve to die!!"
"You ruined everything I worked for!"
"You crushed my dreams!"
"And now you barge into my home to kill me?!"
"Admirals? A Fleet Admiral? You know nothing—nothing—of true terror!!"
"All of you will die!!!"
Big Mom's growl deepened into a wrathful roar. The flame crown atop her head—Prometheus—flared wildly, as though injected with more of her soul power. Her longsword Napoleon elongated and grew sharper, while Zeus, the thundercloud, crackled with uncontrollable fury, unleashing bolts of lightning across the sky.
"Her aura... and her presence—they've both intensified."
Wright frowned. His Observation Haki clearly sensed Big Mom's altered state.
Her eyes, now brimming with primal rage, had taken on a ripple-like, dual-pupil form—the Soul-Soul Fruit unleashed to its extreme.
"This pattern..."
Cavendish had once displayed a similar ripple-eyed form.
It was long ago—when Cavendish first visited Marineford, Wright had asked him to demonstrate his 'White Horse' state.
Back then, "White Horse" or "Hakuba" was a separate persona—an entirely distinct second personality from Cavendish's own.
Cavendish's usual gaze was bright and focused—a testament to his formidable will.
But in "White Horse" mode, his eyes went vacant and blank—a sign of his fractured, chaotic second self.
Yet when Cavendish forcibly awakened while in the "White Horse" state, clashing with that alternate self...
His eyes would take on that same ripple-eyed, dual-pupil form!
Since Wright helped Cavendish reconcile with his other half and turn the White Horse state into a controllable power boost, those eyes had never resurfaced.
"This isn't like Mihawk's 'Hawk Eyes,'" Wright murmured, gripping his longsword tighter. "Mihawk's eyes are sharp due to perception. This... this is something deeper. A problem of the soul itself."
"Could it be... multiple personalities manifest through the eyes?"
"If that's true—then the current Big Mom… is a second personality?!"
"Apart from the violent and cruel side... could she also have an innocent persona? That gentle child 'Linlin'?!"
Wright recalled the time in the original timeline when Big Mom lost her memory during the Wano arc, rescued by Chopper...
She even beat up Queen the Plague just to bring some oshiruko back to the townsfolk.
"No way…"
And thinking of the bizarre circumstances surrounding how Big Mom acquired the Soul-Soul Fruit, Wright couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
"Could it be... that what happened on this very Whole Cake Island all those years ago—a truth that even Elbaf doesn't know—was actually a massive conspiracy?"
"I've been misled this whole time... but now, it all finally adds up."
"She's been hiding this... all along. A power this twisted and strange—it was always the most unpredictable kind!"
"DIE!!!"
Big Mom, wielding Napoleon, howled toward the heavens like a wrathful deity.
"SOUL SCREAM!!!"
"AAAAAHHHH——!!"
It was a sound like a spear plunging into the soul—a piercing shriek that burst from Big Mom's mouth. This wasn't just some mindless scream.
This was her ultimate move—the finisher of the Soul-Soul Fruit.
Wright stood firm, unaffected. But both Sakazuki and Issho were already breaking into cold sweat.
As for the other marines and pirates still engaged in battle—
The weaker ones had already collapsed on the spot.
Even the strongest among them—the Sweet Commanders, Vice Admirals, and even Ace—were writhing in pain, unable to move, kneeling under the unbearable pressure!
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