Pokémon-ization was an ability Luffy had already mastered long ago.
Moreover, unlike Zoro and Sanji, Luffy—who primarily aligned with the Normal type—didn't need to worry about figuring out how to apply Pokémon energy to other states.
After all, the effects of Normal-type energy fundamentally represented enhancements to physical strength.
It could be said that among the three of them, Luffy was the only one who had used his Devil Fruit ability correctly from the very beginning.
Normal-type energy strengthened his body, while Fairy-type energy amplified his Devil Fruit itself.
Simple. Direct. Incredibly efficient.
One could say it was perfectly suited for Luffy.
Whoooosh—
The light of evolution instantly enveloped Luffy's massive, Nika-transformed body.
That sacred radiance blazed brilliantly against the pitch-black night sky.
"That brat… what tricks is he pulling now?!"
Seeing this, Big Mom—now transformed into a Demon King—narrowed her eyes slightly.
Even though she believed that, in this state, defeat was impossible, Luffy's reality-shattering abilities forced her to remain fully alert.
Raising the thunder-and-flame Emperor Sword once more, she slashed fiercely at Luffy while he was still evolving.
Boom—!!
Terrifying sword energy, accompanied by blazing flames, surged outward like raging tides.
Endless lightning crackled along the blade, adding terrifying sharpness to the strike.
"Die, Straw Hat brat!!"
Big Mom roared the words she had already shouted countless times that day.
The blade, carrying world-ending might, cleaved straight toward Luffy's head.
But at that very moment—
Smack!
A completely inexplicable slap landed squarely on Big Mom's face, instantly shattering her fearsome momentum.
At the same time, it sent her already-not-so-sharp mind into total confusion.
The light of evolution slowly faded.
And when Luffy reappeared, he looked no different than before—still in his white Gear Fifth form, facing Big Mom.
Yet before she could even process what had happened, a massive fist imprint suddenly appeared on her abdomen, forcing her huge body to hunch forward as if she'd been punched head-on.
The next instant, it was as if countless fists and kicks materialized out of thin air, raining down on Big Mom from every direction.
Even though her Demon King form had granted her astonishing physical boosts, the attacks came far too suddenly, catching her completely off guard.
Under the void-like night sky, Big Mom was blasted clean off Malphite's head, her entire body sent flying into the depths of space.
"Mother!!!"
Feeling the weight atop his head vanish, Malphite hurriedly looked up and screamed in alarm.
Fortunately, Big Mom wasn't without Homies at her side.
Sensing danger, Prometheus disengaged from the Emperor Sword on his own, rushed behind Big Mom, and erupted with scorching heatwaves, using his body to halt her trajectory.
"Damn it!"
After regaining her balance, Big Mom immediately locked her gaze back on Luffy—only to see him still standing in the distance, unmoved, grinning broadly in triumph.
"What kind of power is this?!"
Her expression changed drastically as she snapped out of her earlier arrogance.
Luffy's bizarre ability made her feel as though she had been dragged back to three minutes ago.
Why?!
She was the one who powered up—so why was she still the one getting beaten?!
This script was completely wrong!
Meanwhile, in response to Big Mom's questioning, Luffy—taking Red's advice to heart—didn't pick up the bad habit of explaining his powers to enemies.
"You really think I'd tell you?!"
He laughed, stretched out his arm again, and suddenly shouted:
"Limbo: Border Jail! Gum-Gum Gatling!!!"
Boom—!!!
In an instant, a violent maelstrom erupted in front of Big Mom, surging straight toward her.
This time, however, she was prepared.
She immediately circulated all her vitality, forming a hardened suit of Armament Haki armor in front of herself.
In the next second, countless invisible fists slammed into her body—only to crash against the solid Haki armor instead.
Though several craters were blasted into the thick coating, they ultimately failed to break through her god-steel-like defense.
"So that's it!"
After enduring the barrage for dozens of seconds, Big Mom finally realized what had been attacking her.
She abruptly lifted her head, sharp eyes locking onto Luffy, and let out a cold laugh.
"I never imagined you were hiding power like this!"
"Did you use some special method to create invisible clones?!"
"To think they can even deceive my Observation Haki… what a truly eerie ability."
"Huh~? You figured it out already?!"
Hearing Big Mom expose the truth so directly, a flicker of surprise flashed through Luffy's eyes.
After all, when he practiced this move, Zoro and Sanji had to be ambushed three times before they figured it out.
That's right!
This was Luffy's brand-new form after Pokémon-ization!
After mastering Fairy-type energy and Gear Fifth, Luffy's Pokémon-ization underwent a fundamental change.
The original enhancements to his vitality and physical body—whether influenced by Fairy-type energy, the power of Nika, or both—
Meant that in Nika form, Luffy no longer strengthened himself.
Instead, like Pokémon such as Exeggcute, Klink, or Magneton, he generated two identical clones of himself!
And perhaps due to Fairy-type influence, these clones gained extremely powerful invisibility.
At the very least, no one in the Straw Hat Pirates could detect their existence with Observation Haki.
Even Big Mom—who possessed Emperor-tier Observation Haki—still couldn't perceive them.
"So Red's guess was probably right…"
Luffy lightly licked his lips, recalling how Red had adamantly rejected the move name "Gum-Gum Clone" and forcibly renamed it—
Limbo: Border Jail.
Though Luffy didn't understand the meaning at all, he still accepted the change.
And after using it, he began to see Red's point.
At the very least, when he shouted "Limbo: Border Jail," the enemy had no idea what kind of move was coming.
Combined with the clones' incredible concealment, it often dealt completely unexpected damage.
Unfortunately…
The Pokémon-ized clones weren't without drawbacks.
For instance, although they could temporarily move away from Luffy, after a certain amount of time, they had to return to him—almost like recharging.
If an enemy discovered this weakness and exploited it, the clone would weaken from being away too long and eventually vanish.
Luffy would then have to expend a large amount of Pokémon energy to summon new ones.
Secondly, the number of clones must always be exactly two.
No more. No less.
Meaning even if one clone was destroyed, Luffy had to immediately create another.
This wasn't something he could control.
And if he lacked the energy to do so, he would be forced to exit Pokémon-ization entirely.
Still…
Despite all the restrictions, the power of the clones made it more than worthwhile.
Each clone possessed strength and combat ability equal to Luffy's own—effectively tripling his base combat power!
And although the clones couldn't independently use Nika's power—
Nika itself was freedom.
Whenever he wished, Luffy could let his clones become Nika and unleash Nika-based techniques.
What just happened was merely a warm-up—getting used to controlling three bodies at once.
The real fight was only just beginning.
"Why does this brat's ability never end—solve one problem and another appears?!"
Big Mom thought grimly, her eyes flashing with even greater malice.
"Brat!" she suddenly shouted at Luffy.
"I admit—you possess power far beyond my expectations!"
"But if you think you can challenge me, then you've chosen the wrong opponent!!!"
Boom!!!
Big Mom swung one hand.
In an instant, flames, lightning, a meteor, and a greatsword Homie reappeared around her.
Stepping once more atop Malphite's head, she laughed arrogantly.
"Come and die, Straw Hat brat!"
"Tch~ You're the one who came after us first!"
Unimpressed by her grandstanding, Luffy shattered the mood outright.
"And besides—"
"Red said you're the weakest of the Four Emperors! So going after you is the smartest choice!!!"
"What?!"
Hearing Luffy's casual words, Big Mom's eyes turned blood-red as she swung the greatsword Napoleon straight at him.
Flames and lightning surged once more, intertwining across the shining blade, condensing into two dazzling arcs—one pale gold, one deep azure.
"Mamamamama…"
"Keh keh keh keh…"
Big Mom and her Homies laughed together, their chilling voices echoing through space.
Yet Luffy simply waved his hand again.
"Limbo: Border Jail… Gum-Gum Intercept Rope!!!"
Whoosh!
As his words fell, the two clones—unnoticed by anyone—linked hands and blocked Big Mom's charge.
Their target wasn't Big Mom herself—
But the meteor Homie beneath her feet: Malphite!
Boom!!!
With no surprise at all, the two invisible clones intercepted Malphite mid-flight.
This creature wasn't just Big Mom's foothold in space—it was the key to her terrifying speed.
Remove it, and Luffy would already be invincible in this cosmic battlefield.
"Mother!!!"
The sudden collision sent Malphite into panic.
But the one who had sacrificed ten years of lifespan was Big Mom—not Malphite.
Under the clones' combined strength, Malphite was halted instantly, its hardened face deeply indented by their stretched arms.
Thrown off by inertia, Big Mom's expression changed drastically as she was flung forward.
Waiting directly along her path, Luffy had already cocked his fist.
Boom!!!
A massive punch slammed into Big Mom, blasting her enormous body backward once again.
Then—without anyone appearing behind her—she was suddenly launched in another direction.
The same thing happened again.
She was struck. Sent flying. Returned.
A new cycle had begun.
This time, Luffy didn't even need to worry about being overwhelmed—because the entire loop was created by his two clones.
Though—
Due to the clones' limitations, an infinite combo was impossible.
And with Malphite and other powerful Homies still present, Big Mom would eventually break free from this humiliating loop.
But the moment she realized that even after sacrificing ten years of lifespan, she still couldn't crush Luffy—
The outcome of this battle was already decided.
…
…
At the same time—
While Luffy and Big Mom clashed in the depths of space—
The Straw Hat Pirates had completely seized control of Whole Cake Island and the entirety of Totto Land.
At the former Tea Party venue—
All of Big Mom Pirates' top officers and children were shackled in Seastone handcuffs, their hands and feet tightly bound.
Including the Sweet Commanders, every single one of them hung their heads low.
Many bore visible bruises across their faces and bodies.
Clearly, not everyone had submitted peacefully.
But now, none of that mattered anymore.
"Well then, members of the Big Mom Pirates…"
Red somehow produced a luxurious chair, sat down before the captured executives, and smiled gently at the Sweet Commanders.
Yet after everything they had endured, that smile made them shiver.
To them, this man's smile promised only worse horrors.
The inexplicably defeated Katakuri raised his head.
Despite being a prisoner, his thick scarf and imposing presence remained unchanged—his injuries doing nothing to diminish his charisma.
Staring directly at Red, he finally spoke on behalf of the Big Mom Pirates:
"Straw Hat Pirates…"
"What is your true objective?!"
(End of Chapter)