Because of the dense steam, he could roughly determine the opponent's movements by tracking the direction of the vapor's flow.
Before losing consciousness, Charlotte Daifuku caught a glimpse of nothing but a leg swinging toward his head.
BAM!
Another body was sent flying, vomiting blood as it crashed into the distance.
Charlotte Oven's pupils trembled violently.
This is absurd!
It's like watching a grown man beat a child!
Although his mother possessed overwhelming combat power, the strength that Straw Hat Luffy was displaying right now was on a completely different level—
a terrifying blend of unimaginable speed and devastating power.
Just as that thought flashed through Oven's mind—
a white figure appeared in front of him.
Kick!
A rising kick struck him squarely under the chin.
In the blink of an eye, Charlotte Oven lost consciousness and was launched hundreds of meters into the air.
At that moment, the biscuit soldiers hidden within the mist finally locked onto their target.
One by one, they rushed desperately toward Luffy, attacking without fear of death.
"Shishishishi..."
That familiar laugh echoed through the air.
Black and crimson lightning exploded outward as Luffy's Conqueror's Haki erupted like a physical storm, sweeping away every biscuit soldier nearby as if caught in a hurricane.
"Impossible…!"
Cracker's face twisted in disbelief.
Just as his mother would emit a strange roar when overcome by emotion, Luffy's Conqueror's Haki seemed to grow even more violent whenever he laughed.
BOOM!
Black and red thunder cracked across the sky, flooding the sea with blinding light.
"Two left."
Luffy raised his right hand high, condensing his Armament Haki in his palm before hurling it forward like a cannonball toward Cracker.
BOOM!!!
The explosion swept across everything within several hundred meters.
The sheer force of the blast even reached the user himself—
and rippled through to where Zoro and Big Mom were still fighting.
"...!"
Charlotte Linlin trembled all over, her head boiling with fury.
In the blink of an eye, all six of her children had been defeated.
"Your opponent is me, Big Mom."
'Santoryu Ogi: Ichidai Sanzen Daisen Sekai!'
Distracted, Big Mom instinctively raised her hand to block the attack.
A shallow cut appeared across her palm—
and for the first time, a hint of surprise flashed across her face.
"So tough...! But..."
Zoro looked up, grinning fiercely.
"I'm ending this right here!"
BOOM!!
His Conqueror's Haki flared violently.
Big Mom's aura shifted—her eyes burning blood-red,
her entire body exuding the presence of a raging demon.
"Don't get cocky, brat!"
The wound on her hand healed almost instantly.
Seeing that, Zoro froze for a split second.
What just happened? He had managed to cut her—
but she'd already recovered?
Luffy chuckled from nearby.
"A wound like that won't even slow her down. You'll have to do better, Zoro."
After saying that, he simply stood back and watched.
Zoro's face darkened.
---
—xXx—
Meanwhile, at the same time as the battle on Whole Cake Island...
Mariejois.
"What did you just say?! The Straw Hats have made contact with Big Mom!?"
Before the Five Elders—who had momentarily lost their composure—
the head of the CP organization nodded grimly.
"Our spies infiltrating Whole Cake Island just reported it. The exact reason remains unclear,
but it appears to be connected to something... about a 'wedding.'"
Spies are pitiful creatures.
They must offer up a certain number of lives each month to remain in that kingdom.
And to avoid revealing their identity, they cannot take any initiative—
forced to live disguised as low-ranking citizens.
The report he received contained only a few fragments of information.
At this point, it was still unclear why the Straw Hats had made contact with Big Mom—
or how Katakuri had ended up being captured by them.
The only certain piece of information was that word: wedding.
Whether true or not, they couldn't say.
The Five Elders waved their hands, dismissing everyone else from the room.
"The Straw Hat crew has grown far too powerful. It's becoming nearly impossible to deal with them. If they were to form an alliance with Big Mom, it would be catastrophic."
"Sabaody was our best chance to capture him. After that failure—once they entered the New World—everything became exponentially harder."
"Don't worry. Even in the worst situation, opportunities always present themselves.
All we need is patience... and the right moment."
"Contact Vegapunk."
---
New World — Egghead Island
Inside the vast laboratory,
Bartholomew Kuma lay motionless on the operating table.
Vegapunk let out a long sigh.
"A scientist with five hundred years of experience in cutting-edge technology,
and this is what I've been reduced to doing..."
"The modifications to Kuma are complete. He no longer possesses consciousness."
Beside him, Kizaru slurped noodles from a ramen bowl,
until the Den Den Mushi suddenly began to ring.
A voice came through the receiver:
"It's me. Saint Marcus Mars. Hand the snail to Vegapunk."
Kizaru complied, passing it over.
What followed was a heated discussion about the Seraphim Project, "that weapon," and research funding.
In the end, Marcus Mars relented—agreeing to quintuple the funding—
while Vegapunk promised to "deliver results as soon as possible."
When the conversation ended, Kizaru took the Den Den Mushi back.
"Kizaru, the Straw Hats have made contact with Big Mom. The location is Whole Cake Island. Go there and investigate immediately."
The call cut off right after the order was given.
Kizaru took another sip of his ramen,
then rose slowly from his seat.
"Man... an admiral's work is never done."
His tone carried the same lazy indifference as Aokiji's.
"Then why did you even want to be promoted to admiral?" Vegapunk asked dryly.
Kizaru scratched his head with a finger,
glanced at his half-finished bowl of ramen,
and walked out of the lab with a faint smile of satisfaction.
Vegapunk said nothing for a long moment.
After Kizaru left, he pulled out a wanted poster from his pocket—
Luffy's bounty notice.
In the photo, Luffy appeared in his Nika form.
"So that's it... the Sun God. Hurry, boy.
If you don't come soon, those Five Elders might actually do something reckless."
---
(End of Chapter)
It's kind of annoying to admit this, but the updates will continue every two days until around January 2nd or 3rd.