After being cut by Zoro, Big Mom was completely enraged.
She released an utterly terrifying burst of Conqueror's Haki. Under the sheer pressure of her overwhelming power, Zoro was quickly subdued.
At that moment, there was no one else to interfere in their battle—the six Charlotte siblings had all been swept away by the raging current—and Luffy simply watched the fight unfold calmly.
Uta was singing on the grand open-air stage.
After finishing New Era, she switched to another song to cheer Zoro on.
"Hey~~ Uta, bring me something to eat!" Luffy shouted up at her at least ten times.
"Okay~~!"
Uta replied energetically.
Then, right before Luffy, a white table and chairs appeared out of thin air.
Desserts and coffee were neatly arranged on the table, complete with little packets of sugar—a thoughtful touch.
"Thanks," Luffy said with a grin, sitting down to eat sweets and sip coffee.
While enjoying Uta's performance, he kept his eyes on the fight between Zoro and Big Mom.
"Hey! Luffy!"
As soon as Zoro caught a whiff of the sweet aroma in the air, he couldn't help shouting.
"You want some too?"
"Who the hell wants that?!"
Yelling back, Zoro swung his sword once again, blocking Big Mom's punch head-on.
BOOM!
Black and red lightning crackled wildly, and their clash continued to overflow with Conqueror's Haki.
Thunder-like roars echoed again and again.
Zoro was being completely overpowered—it didn't look like he stood a chance at all.
Even though his Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki were both at level 5, roughly equal to Big Mom's in intensity, the gap in sheer physical power was an unbridgeable gulf.
"Think you can really handle this, Zoro?"
Luffy took another sip of coffee, his words deliberately meant to provoke.
Big Mom hadn't even used her Devil Fruit powers—just raw, physical combat.
"Don't you dare mock me!"
Gritting his teeth, Zoro caught Luffy's taunting full force.
Seizing a brief opening in Big Mom's attacks, he immediately drew his second katana.
"Nitoryu—Nigiri…"
Holding both blades behind his back, Zoro dodged Big Mom's massive fist and swung upward in a powerful slash.
The strike, coated in Armament Haki, was barely avoided by Big Mom.
Zoro instantly shifted the next move into a downward slash.
Big Mom scoffed, raised her arm, and blocked it easily.
"Roronoa, your Haki's gotten weaker!"
She swung her other arm and smashed her fist straight into Zoro's gut.
THUD!
Zoro spat up stomach acid and was sent flying, crashing off the suspended platform.
He shot straight toward Luffy.
Without hesitation, Luffy stretched out his arms and caught him by the shoulders midair.
"Careful not to spill my afternoon tea," he said.
Zoro: "…"
Clutching his stomach, he was so furious he could've killed someone.
"Mamamama… Straw Hat, that green-haired brat's Haki is decent, but his swordsmanship still falls short!"
Big Mom's Conqueror's Haki surged toward Luffy. "He'd need another hundred years of training to beat me!"
Luffy calmly sipped his coffee.
Zoro's current strength could match someone like Charlotte Katakuri—and his odds of winning would be pretty high.
But compared to a Yonko's power, he still had a long way to go.
At first, Luffy had thought Zoro had reached the level of a Yonko, but that had only been due to his recently awakened level 5 Conqueror's Haki.
Zoro's Haki was indeed powerful, but his physique still lagged behind. His swordsmanship was incredible—yet still far from Mihawk's.
"Still want to keep fighting?"
Luffy had been training Zoro deliberately, wanting him to truly become his right-hand man.
Letting him face Big Mom was part of that plan.
Sanji, on the other hand, didn't receive this kind of training—nor did he need it. He only had to wait for his "plug-ins" to fully activate.
The poor rely on hard work; the royal rely on science.
Among his entire crew—aside from the women—the ones Luffy believed had the greatest potential to reach Yonko level were Zoro and Sanji.
As for Bartolomeo… his faith in him was far below what he placed in Zoro.
"Hmph… I finally got to experience a Yonko's power. I wonder if Mihawk's that strong too," Zoro muttered under his breath.
"Zoro, Mihawk's the world's greatest swordsman. Of course he's as strong as a Yonko," Luffy murmured back, still munching on a donut.
"You should say that after you're done eating! Don't choke to death, idiot!" Zoro roared, sitting up. "Uta, bring me some sake!"
He had realized the difference and knew it was pointless to keep fighting.
"Shishishi, you can have the leftovers," Luffy laughed.
As he stood up, his body shifted into his Nika form. "I'll take your place, Big Mom!"
The moment he spoke, he charged forward.
Upon closing in, he threw a punch that carried the power of pure vibration!
Faced with such a ferocious attack, Big Mom didn't dare be careless—she countered with everything she had.
BOOM!!
The deafening impact overturned the entire tea table in front of Zoro.
His hand froze midair as he reached for the dessert basket.
Ignoring him, Luffy grinned. "Your Haki's weak—fighting my vice-captain for so long drained too much of your energy!"
Barely ten minutes passed.
"Who are you calling weak, Straw Hat?!"
Big Mom unleashed even more Haki.
The sky above them split apart from the clash of their Conqueror's Haki—literally, not just the clouds.
"Kyaaaaa!!"
Uta screamed, stopping her dance mid-step and focusing entirely on repairing the torn sky.
She was scared out of her mind.
(End of Chapter)