While Ace and his bizarre entourage blazed a trail towards the East Blue, a different, far more sinister meeting was taking place in the heart of the New World.
Whole Cake Island, Chateau Throne Room...
"Maaama-mamama! Bakkin! You old witch, you're still alive!"
Charlotte Linlin, the Yonko Big Mom, roared with a laughter that shook the foundations of her castle. Before her stood the small, cunning figure of Miss Bakkin, and the hulking, simple-minded brute, Edward Weevil.
"It has been a long time, Linlin," Bakkin said, her voice a saccharine-sweet coo that didn't hide the greed in her eyes. "You're looking well. And so... big."
"And you're still as greedy as ever!" Big Mom cackled. "I heard about your little monster, the one you claim is Newgate's son. What do you want? Here to beg for a piece of my territory?"
"Oh no, dear," Bakkin said with a sly smile. "I'm here to talk about an old promise. A promise we made back in the days of Rocks. A promise to unite our families, to make our children the strongest force the world has ever seen."
Big Mom's smile faltered, replaced by a look of sharp, calculating interest. "The marriage pact," she rumbled. "I remember. You said if you ever had a worthy son..."
"And I have," Bakkin said, gesturing to Weevil, who was busy trying to lick a frosting off the wall. "He has the strength of his 'father' in his prime. A perfect match for one of your lovely daughters, don't you think? Perhaps... the lovely Charlotte Angel?"
"Maaama-mamama! A wedding!" Big Mom roared, her mood instantly shifting to one of childish glee. "A perfect party! But why now, Bakkin? What's your angle?"
Bakkin's sweet smile turned into a venomous sneer. "My angle is the same as yours, Linlin. We have a pest problem. A boy named Gol D. Ace. He stands in the way of my son's inheritance, and he's about to play a ridiculous game to steal Fish-Man Island from you."
She leaned forward, her voice a conspiratorial whisper. "But I have a better idea than some childish game. I have been in contact with another interested party. The one they now call 'Davy D. Teach'."
The name "Teach" made Big Mom's grin widen. She had heard of his humiliation.
"The three of us," Bakkin explained, "have a common enemy. And we all want something. You want Fish-Man Island and the 'Big Eater' girl. Teach wants Whitebeard's and his crew heads and their Devil Fruits. And my son wants his 'father's' treasure and territories."
She laid out the trap. It was a masterpiece of treachery. They would let the Davy Back Fight proceed. Let Ace and his crew walk directly into the trap at Elbaf. But waiting for them wouldn't just be the Big Mom Pirates. Waiting in the shadows would be the Blackbeard Pirates, with their army of the dead. And waiting to deliver the final blow would be the monstrous Edward Weevil.
"Teach will kill Newgate and take his power," Bakkin cackled. "He has promised to then bestow the Gura Gura no Mi upon my son, Weevil. We will destroy the Burning Crown Pirates in one fell swoop, and the three of us will divide the spoils of the Whitebeard empire."
Big Mom listened, her massive grin stretching from ear to ear. "A three-way alliance to crush that brat... A wedding... A new Devil Fruit for my future son-in-law... Maaaama-mamama! This is the greatest party I've ever heard of!" She looked down at Bakkin. "But I was already going to win the game. I don't need their help."
"Of course not, dear," Bakkin cooed. "This isn't help. This is just... insurance. And a chance to get everything you want with none of the effort."
Near the Moby Dick's Last Known Location...
"There! That's their heading!"
Sabo stood at the prow of a Revolutionary ship, but one thing was crystal clear: his brother was alive, and he was in the center of the world's chaos.
"Are you sure this is wise, Sabo-kun?" Koala asked, her face a mask of worry. "Charging in like this..."
"I'm not losing him again," Sabo said, his voice an unbreakable vow.
Nico Robin just watched, a small, curious smile on her face. "The son of the Pirate King, who has declared davy back fight on big mom and direct war on blackbeard's pirates and the World Government simultaneously," she mused. "He sounds... interesting."
Aboard Ace's Small Ship, Approaching the East Blue...
"So, let me get this straight," Bullet growled, his voice a low rumble of pure disgust. "You have me, this former admiral and yonko level crew members and Weaker but whitebeard himself, And our grand strategy... is to fly to the weakest sea in the world to pick up a cook?"
"A legendary cook," Ace corrected, not looking up from his map. "And it's not our only stop."
Kuzan, who had been listening from his ice-chair, raised an eyebrow. "Ara ra? You didn't mention another stop, Captain."
Ace finally looked up, a strange, nostalgic, and almost sad expression on his face. He pointed to a small island on the map of the East Blue. An island with a single, large mountain. Dawn Island.
"Baratie was just a excuse, still we will complete as we need chef too," Ace said, his voice quiet but firm. "But first... I have to go home. I left something in the mountains behind my village when I first set sail. Something I think we're going to need."
The ship fell silent. They had no idea what he was looking for. But the look in his eyes told them it was the one of the important thing in the world.
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