Chapter 10

The Whirlpool Pirates had been sailing beneath the surface of the water for a couple days now, only coming up for air when they absolutely needed it. Naruto and his crew were close to successfully navigating through Cracker's route to Whole Cake Island, where Big Mom resides along with what they think are the means to resurrect one of the ancient weapons.

"Alright we're at the end of our oxygen supply. Kiji bring us up!" Lucy spoke to Kiji who stood a few metres behind her

Kiji nodded, "Ok miss navigator!"

The ship was brought above the water and nothing could be seen in any direction except for some open sea. Each crew member made their way to the top and saw this for themselves.

Gem started to scratch the back of his head as he looked around in every direction, "Uhhh is it just me who thinks this or should there be an island in front of us right now."

"What do you mean there should be an island right here-" Lucy walked up onto the the front of the deck where Gem was looking out, but just like him spotted no such island.

"Did we not follow the map correctly?" Rose asked coming over to the two

"Probably not! Ever since I've met Lucy she's seemed to be a little thick-headed, so maybe all of that got in ther way of her being able to read a map properly!" Russ spoke

Lucy then grew a thick mark on her forehead and slammed her fist into the man's head, indenting him into the floor. Lucy then sighed as she spoke out, "That shitty marksman always has something to say."

"So Lucy do you know where we are or not?" Gem said as he laid back against the railing

She turned back sharply to face Gem, "I do so know where we are!"

"Then where would we be at this exact moment?" Gem spoke again, clearly getting under the navigators skin

The two then started to argue about where in fact the crew were at the present moment while Yuri walked to the other side of the ship to avoid the conflict. Though the man was towering over the whole crew with the exception of Kiji and had muscles to spare, he didn't crave conflict of any kind. Yuri, though unknown to most even Gem and Rose, enjoyed cooking far more than the pirate life. Even if nothing was stopping him from leaving at any time he chose to stay because of one person, Naruto. Not once in his life aside from his two friends Rose and Gem has he ever met someone so kind and so willing to accept and help his friends and himself.

Looking out to the sea on the opposite side of the ship Yuri spotted what looked to be a giant cake floating in the middle of the ocean. At first he thought it was insane that a giant cake be floating in the ocean but then remembered that the island they were searching for was called Whole Cake Island. It all made sense, Yuri then knew that must be the island they were looking for.

Yuri then ran back to the other side of the ship where Gem and Lucy were still arguing with one another and Russ was still knocked out cold on the deck with Rose and Kiji electing to stay out of this little scuffle. The giant man then waved his hands to try and get the attention of his crew mates but had no avail. He tried once again which felt like hours trying to get their attention, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't. Finally, Yuri then clasped his hands together creating a really loud noise which signalled everyone to look at him.

"What do you need Yuri?" Gem asked as he backed away from Lucy

Lucy then turned and faced the colossal man herself, "Make it quick Yuri I got to show Gem a lesson in manners!"

Yuri then signalled everyone to follow him as he ran back to the back of the ship where the island was. Everyone ran after the large man except for Russ who was dragged along by Kiji. One by one each of them saw the cake island and made the necessary adjustments on the ship to sail in that direction. Everyone had been manning their stations except for Naruto and Pedro who were no where to be seen.

"Hey guys does anyone know where the captain and that mink went off too?" Gem asked as he scratched the back of his head

Rose finished welding two pieces of metal together on her workbench before looking back at her long time friend, "I think both of them went down to one of the lower levels of the sub to train or something like that."

"Makes sense. He is trying to take on one of the Yonko, it's fitting that he try and get his skills at his peak." Russ spoke as he polished one of his revolvers

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In the training room. . .

"So you're telling me that it's possible for humans to use this ability as well as minks?" Naruto spoke as he looked at Pedro

Pedro brought his hand to his chin, "It is possible, but it's extremely difficult. The art of Electro is still very misunderstood, even from minks, none of us really know how the electric current is generated it just simply appears when needed."

Naruto thought for a second before he snapped his fingers, "It must be static electricity! All people of the mink tribe possess the ability of Electro along with lots of hair so that's how the strong electrical current must be created!"

Pedro nodded, "That seems like it checks out. But if that is true then how do you expect to use this ability yourself, let alone at the level of a mink?"

"I only just thought of it but what if I used the technique you taught me to get the spark but then amplified it using my Devil-Fruit. If I make the water I can generate become an even stronger conductor that would mean, in theory, that my spark's energy and overall attack damage could multiply." Naruto explained to Pedro (I know it may not be the most sound explanation but I'm not the best at physics so please let it slide)

"That. . . could work actually." Pedro smiled as he thought Naruto's words over carefully

Naruto then threw his arm around Pedro's shoulder, "Thank you so much for teaching me this Pedro! With this new ability you taught me to use with my Devil-Fruit, along with you guys to back me up there's no way we can lose to Big Mom!"

Within a moment Lucy had gone over the speakers of the ship and announced that the ship had arrived at its destination, Whole Cake Island.

Upon arriving at the shore Naruto and his crew were welcomed by the sight of many trees, rocks and streams that appeared to be made entirely out of sweets, nothing seemed to be natural. The crew had docked the ship and then took the supplies they might need for their journey to the Whole Cake Chateau where Big Mom had currently been residing in.

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A few minutes later. . .

The Whirlpool Pirates had made it to a village on the island and saw that the people living their where shaped in all different shapes and sizes. Multiple different races were present in the village which left the group a little puzzled.

"Since when was the inside of a Yonko's territory common ground for every single species on the planet!?" Gem yelled as what he saw was far different from his expectations of the island

Rose nodded her head too, "Yea wasn't this island suppose to be some kind of scary place that only the bravest of souls would voyage too, not some countryside village? I spent the last couple of days hard at work in my workshop for this."

"Enough you two. We're on Big Mom's main island and at the heart of her territory and we need to remain focused if we are to succeed with our objective of taking her down." Kiji explained as Yuri nodded in agreement

Gem sighed, "I know our reason for being here Kiji, and I know what our objective is. It's just I'm confused as to why everyone seems to be so joyful when Big Mom is nothing but a sadistic, cruel leader of this country."

"You're right Gem she is. I've came through this country before and the reason the people here act as they do is out of fear not joy. Members of the Big Mom Pirates watch the streets and the city looking for anyone who would upset their captain and then do away with the problem. Which reminds me, we should probably undergo an outfit change. Most of this group has high bounties, especially you Naruto, and to stay under the whether we should disguise ourselves." Pedro explained as he pointed out a place where the group could have the opportunity to get some new clothes

Naruto looked at his crew and then exclaimed, "I too agree with Pedro. A change of clothes could allow us to attract less attention and be able to slip closer and closer to the Whole Cake Chateau without anyone batting an eye."

The crew then walked over to the clothing shop that contained anything from blouses to tuxedos. Upon arriving in the shop itself the Whirlpool Pirates were greeted by the sight of an empty shop along with an older man manning the counter. The man wore a plain light blue shirt along with having a very inviting smile on his wrinkled face.

"How can I be of service to you gentlemen and ladies on this fine day." He spoke with great manners

Lucy stepped forward and looked slightly down at the smaller man, "We are in need of new clothes sir and we were wondering if you could supply some for us?"

The man let out a chuckle before he grabbed a cane beside the counter and used it to walk over to the group, "Of course I can help you youngsters out, now just look around and pick out what you'd like and I'll fit it to you."

They all nodded before taking off into separate directions.

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A few minutes later. . .

Everyone had been fitted to what they wanted to wear and met back at the front of the store. Lucy had selected a light yellow blouse that went down to her knees and was decorated with a few ribbons of the same colour across the blouse itself. She had also done here hair into a braid which stretched all the way down to her mid back.

Rose also decided to get a blouse but hers adorned in the colour of pink. The dress was quite simple compared to Lucy's, the only really decorative part about it was the stitching that stretched from one end of the blouse to the other. Rose had decided to just put her hair into a messy bun, not really caring too much about the way people thought of her.

Reeve had gotten a simple black suit with a white undershirt adorned with a black tie, he had also gotten some black shades which all of the boys had decided to get because they thought it looked cool. Kiji went for an ocean blue suit jacket with a black undershirt along with an ocean blue fedora, feeling like it fit him better, and finished off his look with a white tie. Russ had decided to wear a mustard yellow suit which matched his hair colour along with a mustard yellow fedora. The gunman had also worn a black undershirt along with a black tie. Pedro had decided to wear a green suit, pants and along with a green fedora; he also wore a much darker green undershirt along with a red ascot. Gem had picked out a very dark purple dress coat which went down to just below his knees. He too decided to go with an ascot like Pedro, but went against the rest of the boys and stuck with his own shades and didn't get a fedora. Gem also got a black dress shirt and tie which complimented his dark purple overcoat perfectly. Yuri had settled on getting a white suit jacket and pants with a black dress shirt with a white tie, and he too wore a fedora though his was white in colour.

Finally, Naruto had gone with a black suit jacket along with black pants, he had bought some new sleek shoes along with a red handkerchief which resided in the pocket on his suit. Underneath the jacket he had gone with a black dress shirt along with a black suit vest which went over top of it. He had also topped off his look with a red tie which matched his handkerchief perfectly.

Each crew member then paid for their things and began to make their way out of the shop until they were stopped by the shopkeeper. "I haven't seen any of you people around here before. Would you be happen to be attending Big Mom's tea party?" The clerk spoke out

Naruto turned back to the man at the counter with a little bit of confusion, "Um yes yes we are! Why do you ask?"

The relatively cheery nature of the shopkeeper then changed to one of seriousness. "Be careful of Big Mom. She is known to lash out when she doesn't get what she desires and is even known to kill her own children."

"I-I see." Naruto responded hesitantly

"So keep safe around her." The shopkeeper explained

The crew nodded as they walked out to the street and continued towards where Big Mom's tea party was held.

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At the tea party. . .

Many guests had arrived at the grand party held at the base of the Whole Cake Chateau with a few being very esteemed. Many of the guests were allies of the Big Mom pirates with a few being from the World Government itself. The party was in full swing and Big Mom could be seen at the head of the main table laughing and talking t her many guests.

"Ma-ma! This pastry is simply delightful!" Big Mom exclaimed as she ate her sweets

"I-it's fantastic that you enjoy it milady!" The chef bowed, thanking Big Mom for the compliment while also feeling relief that he hadn't screwed up at all

Big Mom then lifted her plate above her head and struck it down against the table creating a loud noise. She then barked, "Now go get me some more! I'm still craving some sweets and make it fast or I'll kill you!"

"I'd say Linlin, you truly are hard on your chefs." Spoke a giant bird wearing a fancy suit. This giant bird in question was known as 'Big News' Morgans, the president of the world news paper in charge of showcasing all of the big news to the whole world.

Big Mom then looked at Morgans, "Watch you beak Morgans, or I'll have you killed as well."

The bird man then shut his beak as he began to drink more tea, fearing Big Mom's wrath. The party continued on smoothly for a little while until a few guests spotted a giant bird carrying a man in the sky.

"W-what is that!?" Spoke one of the guards looking into the sky

Another one ran to his side, "I have no idea but Mama has to be alerted!"

Big Mom kept eating her sweets, seemingly unaware of the bird circling above until one of her guards approached her, "MAMA MAMA! There's a giant bird carrying a person above us! And we suspect them to be an intruder!"

"What! I will not stand for this! Have it shot down immediately!" Big Mom yelled, but as she finished her words the person atop the bird began to drop vials of red liquid which exploded once they touched the ground.

People then began to run in every which direction to ty and escape the explosions, however, only the guests that were directly apart of the Big Mom Pirates were targeted.

"Sound the alarm! Call in reinforcements! Shoot that bird down!" Screamed Big Mom as explosions echoed all around her

"We've called all of the Big Mom Pirates here Mama! But we're losing men fast!" A guard informed her

"Mama! They've destroyed all of the turrets! We can't seem to hit-" One of the guards said before he was shot

The Emperor of the Sea looked behind where the guards body fell to see a blond-haired man aiming a revolver at where he once stood. "Why have you come here stranger!"

He sighed, "It wasn't my choice. I just follow my captain's orders!" Russ then ran off and started to create havoc once again

One by one more and more of the Whirlpool Pirates began to join Russ, including Lucy who flew down from the sky with Gem on her back. The crew was creating chaos and Big Mom did nothing except looking onto the crew with shock, seeing that all her sweets and her party was now ruined.

"ENOUGH!" Linlin yelled as she sent out a wave of conquerors haki

All of the members of the Whirlpool Pirates stopped what they were doing and looked upon Big Mom.

She then continued, "Who is your captain!? Who is the man that I am going to tear limb from limb!"

"That's me!"

Big Mom turned behind her to see none other than Water-man Naruto standing atop the chateau.

"And I'm here to take you down Linlin!"