"Ray, thank you for holding back."
Katakuri was now absolutely certain that Ray had significantly restrained his earlier attack.
Someone possessing Conqueror's Haki of such intensity must have also reached extremely high levels in both Armament and Observation Haki.
Upon reflection, Ray hadn't even used Armament Haki in that final strike, yet he had easily shattered Katakuri's Armament Haki-infused Mochi Fire Fist.
At this moment, Katakuri knew he could no longer probe Ray's true strength—the gap between them was simply too vast.
"No need to continue fighting. I'll bring you that dog first thing tomorrow morning."
"Mm."
Hearing Katakuri's promise, Ray ceased his offensive completely.
Based on Katakuri's words, he formed an impression of the man: Katakuri hadn't actually confirmed Ray possessed the capability to kill Big Mom.
At most, their fight had only demonstrated a high probability that Ray could suppress her.
So why was Katakuri unwilling to continue?
Ray suspected Katakuri intended to leave a path of survival for his siblings within the Big Mom Pirates.
The man had willingly endured injuries to test him, all to protect his younger brothers and sisters.
Whether this was truly Katakuri's thinking, Ray didn't particularly care—these were just passing thoughts, intuitive guesses.
Although Katakuri chose to end the fight, they still needed to wake Brulee to exit the Mirror World.
Otherwise, they would have to dismantle the entire dimension.
Forcibly destroying the Mirror World would cause every mirror across Whole Cake Island to shatter; the commotion would be too great and could negatively affect Ray's plan to rescue Chouchou.
"Wake her up," Ray instructed the now-recovered Smoothie.
Smoothie nodded in acknowledgment.
She stepped forward and kicked the unconscious Brulee high into the air, sending her plummeting downward.
The sudden weightless sensation from the fall jolted Brulee awake.
"Waaah, Brother!"
Instinctively twisting her body mid-air, she managed to right herself.
"Phew~ Safe landing."
Weak as she might seem compared to the others, Brulee was still a cadre of a Yonko crew—she wouldn't lose her footing from a simple fall.
After landing steadily, she patted her chest to calm her nerves.
"That was terrifying! Wasn't I unconscious? Why was I jumping from a building?"
On the high ground behind Brulee, Smoothie's lips curled slightly upward as she offered what appeared to be a serious explanation.
"Sister Brulee, after you fainted earlier, you somehow rolled down on your own. By the time I noticed, it was too late to save you—I have no arms right now remember?"
Brulee, still suffering from the aftereffects of being knocked unconscious by Ray's Conqueror's Haki, didn't question the logic.
She hadn't realized that if she had truly rolled down from the high ground, she would have landed directly below it, rather than being so far away from Smoothie.
Katakuri smiled wryly in the distance.
Smoothie always maintained her Sweet Commander persona with that cold expression, yet she was still so mischievous at heart.
And Brulee was still as clumsy as ever.
Though she wasn't as clingy as she used to be in their childhood, these scenes of his sisters playing and bickering were exactly what Katakuri wanted to protect for his entire life.
Take his sister's life? Not even their mother would be allowed to do that!
"Brulee, come quickly and open the mirror. It's time to go back."
"Okay, Brother Katakuri. Smoothie, you come too."
Just as Brulee was about to reach the mirror that led to Smoothie's bedroom, she realized Ray was standing right there.
With her nearsighted vision, she finally got a clear, close-up look at Ray's appearance for the first time!
"Pfft—"
A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from Brulee's nose and mouth.
"Brulee, what's wrong?"
"Brulee!"
Both Katakuri and Smoothie were startled by Brulee's sudden bleeding.
Smoothie, in particular, worried she might have injured her sister with that kick earlier.
But Brulee just waved her hand, indicating she was fine.
Internally, she was filled with regret, realizing she had been speaking ill of such a handsome man earlier.
'It's over, I'm totally unworthy of hitting on him. Strange, why are my hands moving on their own? If I touch him, he'll definitely kill me.'
Overwhelmed by fear while trying to restrain her desires, Brulee felt a sudden warmth in her nose, and a massive amount of blood gushed from her long, red, hooked nose.
Katakuri was even more confused now.
This didn't make sense.
Since when had his sister's body become so fragile? What serious illness could this be?
Smoothie, however, understood immediately.
'Great, another poor woman seduced by Ray's looks.'
Watching her sister become infatuated with Ray, Smoothie felt somewhat displeased.
But remembering Ray's personality, she could only shake her head helplessly.
'There was no need to be jealous—Ray was definitely a man no one could ever have.'
...
Finally, with one hand trembling as she covered her nose and mouth, Brulee opened the mirror passage, and the four of them returned to Smoothie's bedroom one by one.
Before parting, Katakuri spoke very seriously to Ray.
"Ray, as the Sweet Commander responsible for the Big Mom Pirates' external expansion, I have the authority to supervise newly captured animals or humans. Tomorrow, after Mother returns, I'll request custody of that little dog. She won't refuse me. So, you can rest assured."
He handed Ray a piece of paper. "Here is a map for you—the red dot marks the safe location I've chosen. Meet me there tomorrow at noon for the handover."
Ray responded simply. "Fair enough. Smoothie, bring your frozen arm tomorrow."
"Yes, Ray-sama!" Smoothie replied.
"Ah—"
Smoothie quickly tried to adjust her expression, but the damage was done.
The scene fell into complete silence.
When Smoothie said those words, there hadn't been the slightest hesitation in her tone—instead, it carried a noticeable excitement.
Smoothie immediately regretted it!
'So embarrassing... I want to cover my face... but I don't have hands right now!'
Katakuri finally understood what was going on.
Brulee was currently hiding behind the door crack, secretly peeking at Ray.
In front of Ray, Smoothie resembled a tamed big cat.
'They've both taken a liking to him? You guys... are making things really difficult for me as your brother.' Katakuri felt utterly speechless.
'Smoothie, didn't you always say you weren't interested in men? That even if you did look for one, it would only be for his genes to produce offspring? Weren't you sworn you'll never fall in love? Then what was that expression just now?'
'And Brulee... although i think you're quite good-looking and i'm confident in finding you a husband, to be honest, when you stand next to Ray, it's like you're from two different art styles.'
'Plus, i can't even beat him in a fight—forcing it isn't an option.'
Katakuri firmly believed that as long as he was strong enough, he could fulfill all his sisters' desires.
Want money? Rob!
Want food? Rob!
Want handsome men? Kidnap him!
But if they had set their sights on Ray? He... couldn't do it.
He wasn't that strong!
...
Early the next morning, Ray headed straight for the location marked on Katakuri's map. On his way to the marked spot, he happened to run into Cavendish.
"Boss Ray, I bought a lot of food. Let's eat while we wait!"
Ray didn't respond and continued walking forward.
'Hehe, if he didn't tell me to get lost, that means he accepted me!' Cavendish thought.
'Hmph, when it comes to tsundere bosses like him, I, Cavendish, have it all under control.'
Thinking this, Cavendish grabbed the large and small bags filled with chocolate desserts, chocolate drinks, and other chocolate products, and followed Ray.
Just then, Ray suddenly stopped.
He sensed it—a powerful presence about 20 kilometers away.
Big Mom... was finally back.
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