On Cake Island...
"Hm?" Big Mom frowned.
Naturally, she had no idea that Dreamland Island and the Phantom Dream Legions had descended, nor that all of Totto Land had been sealed off. From her perspective, she had simply noticed that no Homies or Charlotte Family members were arriving through the Mirror Channel.
At the same time, as the user of the Soul-Soul Fruit, she could clearly sense that large numbers of Homies throughout Totto Land were being systematically destroyed.
"I see... so it's not just the three of you?" She looked up toward the dreamlike island floating in the sky.
Although it was extremely far away, she could still vaguely make out the sheep-headed figure gazing down at her from the island. She could even faintly see the giant tree standing atop Dreamland Island, continuously scattering a brilliant blue light.
[Dreamland Legion · Tree of Dreams · Infinite Vitality Bestowal]
As that blue radiance fell, huge Mirrors of Dreams materialized across the surface of Dreamland Island below. Countless Dreamland creatures, bathed in the blue glow, passed through the mirrors and rushed toward the battlefield.
"So this is your plan?" Big Mom grinned and muttered quietly.
"Part of it, anyway," Youji grinned back.
Meanwhile, Inu spoke seriously. "The Leader said it himself, when making plans, there's no harm in being thorough."
That was true. In Roy's view, Big Mom was arguably the weakest of the Yonko due to her volatile personality flaws. But a Yonko was still a Yonko. No Emperor of the Sea could ever be underestimated, especially not in Totto Land, the sea she ruled.
Big Mom's defeat in the original story had seemed surprisingly straightforward, but a huge reason for that was the unfavorable battlefield. Had the fight taken place in Totto Land, she never would have died so easily.
So the Big Mom Pirates, the countless Homies, and even outside reinforcements had naturally been taken into account by Roy from the very beginning. And without question, the plan had worked perfectly.
The Homies were cut off. The Big Mom Pirates were cut off. Outside reinforcements were cut off.
At this point, there was only one thing left to do.
"Kill you, and the mission is complete," Zishu said coldly.
But while the three of them were talking...
"You three... stop talking like you've already won."
A hoarse, dangerous voice rang out. In an instant, an overwhelming aura and crushing pressure exploded outward.
Crackle!
Stray electricity reduced shattered chunks of stone to dust.
Whoosh!
Flames distorted the surrounding air.
The Big Mom standing there in a nun's habit, long sword in hand, now had eyes glowing a crimson red.
"Talking about killing me a second time. Talking about your plan succeeding... Hey, hey, hey, don't get carried away." Her long tongue, savage expression, and terrifying aura all perfectly demonstrated what it meant to be an Emperor of the Sea. "Do you really think that just because my children and Homies can't support me, I'm helpless?"
"Have you forgotten who I am?!"
The moment the words left her mouth, she exploded forward at a speed completely at odds with her massive body.
Whoosh!
In a single instant, she was already right in front of them.
"I am BIG MOM! MAMAMAMAMA!"
"Heavenly God Sword: Blade Mother Thunder Flame!"
Flames and thunder roared together as Kronos came crashing down. The giant blade was so sharp that the air itself screamed as though space were being torn apart. Before the blade even arrived, its violent shockwave had already descended.
This was Conqueror's Haki Infusion.
That's right. Although the one currently dominating this body and soul was Charlotte Carmel, after sharing the same soul for so long, the boundaries between them had vanished. They were effectively different personalities of the same person. Their combat skills, battle experience, and even Haki were identical.
And if there was one true difference, it was this...
"Compared to that naïve idiot Linlin, who was born a monster but never understood what that meant..."
Conqueror's Haki erupted. The already ruined surface of Cake Island began collapsing and vaporizing on a massive scale. Lightning became silver serpents, flames became raging tides, and her giant sword came crashing down.
At that moment, the entirety of Cake Island sank inward. Even this island, the capital of Totto Land, reinforced countless times over, seemed on the verge of falling apart.
"I am the real BIG MOM!"
"I'm stronger than she ever was!"
The savage grin on Big Mom's face made her seem like a genuine evil god.
Yes. This was it. The power to shatter mountains with a casual swing. The power to erase villages with a single strike. It was this innate, monstrous strength that had made her completely unwilling to return to the life she once lived as Sister Carmel. Greedy and evil by nature, she had always craved this power. And now, at long last, she possessed it completely.
"I'll sit upon the throne of the Pirate King and claim the entire world as my own!" She burst into mad laughter. "Perfect timing. My birthday Tea Party is almost here. I'll use the blood of the Twelve Zodiac as my birthday present! Mamamama… huh?"
But in the very next second, the laughter abruptly stopped.
Because she realized the feeling coming from the other side of her burning blade wasn't the sensation of destroying everything in its path. Quite the opposite.
At that moment, three tremendous forces were surging back up the blade toward her.
"How is that possible...?" Her crimson eyes widened in shock. The smug confidence on her face instantly froze, replaced by pure disbelief.
As the dust cleared, the figures of the three men emerged.
Whoosh!
A doorway opening in space swallowed the flames.
Bzzzt!
Radiant light shining through the air erased the lightning.
Crack!
And a hand wrapped in Flame Clouds, empowered by the equivalent of eighteen hundred shadows, crushed the slash itself.
The three of them had caught the blade with their bare hands.
"Impossible..." Big Mom stared in disbelief.
They had blocked it! That's right, her attack, powerful enough to split an island apart, had been stopped dead in midair. And that was only the beginning.
The next moment, all three counterattacked without hesitation.
Shing!
Zishu's hands remained locked on the blade, but with a sharp ringing cry of steel, a slash emerged from a Space Gate and came down directly above Big Mom's head.
Bang!
The fist Youji had braced against the sword suddenly erupted with dazzling light. Without moving his hand, he twisted his body sideways, sending a light-speed kick sweeping toward Big Mom's face with the movement of his wings.
Bang!
Inu opened his mouth, and a pitch-black Shadow Blade shot out toward Big Mom's abdomen.
Big Mom's eyes widened at the sight. But in an instant, she suppressed her surprise and sneered as the slash, kick, and shadow blade struck her massive body without mercy.
The collision of terrifying power and Haki exploded outward, creating an even greater shockwave. The sea surrounding Cake Island shook violently.
But...
"Mother... I'll protect you!"
The kick, slash, and shadow blade were all stopped by the nun's habit she wore. From the clothing itself, Kronos's twisted, evil face emerged.
"Mamamama!" Big Mom's sneer grew even wider. "Sorry, but your attacks are meaningless. I already told you...I am BIG MOM."
Her monstrous physique, the Steel Balloon, was already extraordinarily difficult to injure. Combined with Conqueror's Haki Infusion and Armament Haki, her defenses were absurdly powerful. And most importantly, there was Kronos, the strongest Homie she possessed. After fusing three high-level Homies together, its power and durability had reached an unbelievable level.
But then...
"So noisy..." Youji's voice rang out. "Shut up, old hag!"
His eyes burned with blazing battle intent. The moment he spoke, Big Mom's sneer vanished. Because she felt it, a strange, indescribable chill had begun spreading around her.
"Mother! Something's wrong!" Kronos screamed.
The nun's habit, formed from soul power and natural elements and supposedly nearly indestructible, was slowly crumbling under Youji's kick.
Crackle... crack!
An invisible aura was surrounding Youji. Wherever that aura passed, the lightning and flames formed from Kronos's soul seemed to lose all vitality.
"This is..." Big Mom's expression changed immediately. She hesitated for a moment and tried to retreat.
But...
"Youji's right." She suddenly discovered she couldn't move. Countless hands had appeared around her body, locking down her joints. "The one who's been talking like you've already won this whole time... wasn't it you?"
Zishu's slash landed on the nun's habit as well.
"AAAH!" Kronos cried out in pain as another tear opened across the clothing.
And then...
"We admit you're an Emperor of the Sea," Inu spoke with a low chuckle as layers of gravity gathered around him. "But who do you think we are?"
The same chilling aura was erupting from his body as well.
Slash!
The next instant, all three attacks pierced through the nun's habit simultaneously and struck Big Mom directly. The overwhelming force blasted her away.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Her body smashed through building after building in the distance. And as though responding to the clash below, the sky itself echoed with thunderous roars.
Naturally...
Bang!
A moment later, she rose from the rubble. But now, even the mighty evil god stood stained with unmistakable blood.
"How...?" The pain made her eyes widen as she stared at the three figures in the distance.
Yes. Even the Steel Balloon could be broken by sufficient power. There were only a handful of people in the entire world capable of that, and without question, the three standing before her were among them.
"A mere Yonko." Their voices seemed louder than the thunder itself.
"We are..."
"The Twelve Zodiac."
(End of Chapter)
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