86. Straw Hats Vs Emperor

When Big Mom joins mealtime, things get pretty scary.

Her big mouth drips saliva, eating away at the ground.

Her eyes turn dangerous, like a hungry beast.

Under her command,

a massive cake, like a hill, is brought before her by huge Homies.

But Big Mom hasn't started yet.

Katakuri, sitting nearby, suddenly looks up, his eyes glowing red.

"It's too late to stop."

Katakuri decides quickly.

Even if they try to stop it, the force is too strong.

"Flowing Mochi Balls."

Katakuri slams the ground.

The ground ripples like soft mochi.

The mochi wraps around Big Mom and the others, pulling them away from the cake.

Then, a huge black shadow crashes into the cake and mochi.

As the smoke clears,

black figures emerge.

"Haha, that was close."

A man with a straw hat laughs.

"Let's not do this again."

"Come on, Usopp, wasn't that fun?"

When the smoke settles,

Luffy sees a group of strange people.

Some have long tongues, legs, or arms.

There's a fat woman staring at him.

"Where are we? Cake Island?"

Luffy asks, confused.

"Hey, do you know where Big Mom is?"

"Hey, Luffy, this is Big Mom and her crew," Jinbei says quietly, embarrassed by the situation.

"I see, sorry."

Luffy apologizes.

"Oh, by the way, no need to apologize. We're here to find them."

Luffy says, clueless.

"What were you thinking?"

Usopp smacks Luffy's head.

"The Straw Hat Crew!"

The Big Mom Pirates are shocked to see the huge ship and Luffy's crew.

"I heard they're unpredictable. I didn't expect them to arrive like this," Perospero says, surprised.

Though they don't know how they did it,

the Straw Hats descended from the sky on a pirate ship.

And they dared to come to Big Mom's territory with so few people.

Luffy adjusts his hat, ready for a fight.

"Aren't you going to fight us? We're here now."

The sound echoed far in the empty space, momentarily silencing the Big Mom Pirates.

Does this straw hat kid really know who he's up against? How dare he talk like that.

They haven't heard such boldness in a long time.

"What's this? Good stuff."

After Luffy spoke, he licked his lips.

He tasted the fluffy and sweet cake, the soft bread paired with high-quality cream. It was the best cake he'd ever had.

"Cake? Yummy, got any more? Another piece."

Luffy licked his lips, craving more.

"Did you think this was a game? Straw hat brat."

Seeing Luffy reaching for more cake, the Big Mom Pirates couldn't help but shout collectively.

"Great cooking, top-notch ingredients, damn, it's even better than my dessert."

Sanji squatted down and ate a piece of cake, despite it being smashed during their sky-drop.

Most of the cake ended up on the bottom of the Sunny, making Sanji, who treasures food, a bit sad.

"Straw Hat Kid."

Suddenly, a huge storm swept through.

Big Mom's eyes burned with anger.

He smashed all her cakes from the sky, then ate them in front of her.

Now, he's provoking her again.

Big Mom couldn't bear it. Madness spread from her like a storm.

The ground cracked beneath her, and black lightning flickered around her.

"Is this the spirit of the top Four Emperors? So strong."

Luffy grinned excitedly.

This courage rivals Whitebeard's.

"This pressure is intense, stronger than an Admiral's."

Sanji casually smoked, eyeing the courageous aunt nearby.

"I wonder what it feels like to be cut by a Four Emperors."

Zoro smirked, arms crossed.

Unfortunately, this opponent isn't his. It's Luffy's.

"Daring to eat my cake, you're very bold."

"A little pirate who doesn't know their place, don't get too cocky."

Big Mom roared, the sound alone sending powerful shockwaves.

"Napoleon."

"Here, Mama."

The hat on Big Mom's head turned into a long knife.

"Zeus."

"Yes, Mama."

Lightning flashed across the sky, enveloping the blade, which expanded under the lightning's force.

"Napoleon."

"Coming, Mama."

The sun turned into flames, engulfing the blade.

In an instant, a massive sword appeared in Big Mom's hands, crackling with fire and lightning.

"Emperor's Sword, Thunderstorm Fury."

Big Mom swung the sword, moving at an unexpected speed for her size.

In an instant, she reached Luffy.

"Meet your end, kid."

Big Mom swung the sword down hard.

"Spear of Elbaf, Ikoku Sovereignty."

Boom.

Unmatched sword energy, a terrifying force infused with thunder and flames.

Like divine punishment, it's unavoidable and irresistible.

"Run, Mom's furious!"

Terrified cries echoed from the Big Mom Pirates.

A full blow from a Four Emperor would erase them instantly if they're hit.

"Interesting."

Facing this world-shattering strike, Luffy laughed.

A surge of liberation pulsed through him, engulfing him in a gentle white light.

"Gommu Gommu no."

Luffy raised his fist high.

"Bajrang Gun."

Boom.

With a punch, a massive white shockwave erupted silently.

The fist expanded rapidly, larger than any giant's, imbued with conqueror's haki.

Boom.

The god-sized fist clashed with the immense shockwave of thunder and flames.

An unparalleled storm swept Cake Island, creating huge waves in the waters around.

The clear sky turned dark, split apart by the impact.

Boom.

In the centre of the collision, the twisted conqueror's haki and sword energy shattered.

An invisible shockwave spread across Cake Island, trembling the entire land.

Behind Big Mom, distorted airwaves demolished buildings.

Behind Luffy, scattered sword energy struck the ground like doomsday.

Luffy withdrew his fist, staggering but grinning.

Big Mom remained unmoved, her terrifying power evident.

In this direct clash, Big Mom clearly had the upper hand, putting Luffy at a disadvantage.

"Huh, Luffy's actually at a disadvantage in a head-on clash. Is this for real?" Sanji was surprised.

Luffy's power in fifth gear is immense.

During the Summit War, he penetrated Marineford and defeated Akainu with brute strength alone.

Yet now, he's being pushed back in a frontal collision.

"What? The kid in the straw hat took his mom's hit head-on?" Smoothie was shocked.

That's their mom.

Physically and strength-wise, she's a monster among the Four Emperors.

Except for Whitebeard, who used his fruit ability to match her, even Kaido can't match her strength alone.

But now, the Straw Hat Boy actually blocked her full-strength blow head-on.

"Is this the power of a pirate with a bounty of 5.1 billion?" Perospero said seriously.

This collision made it clear.

Though the newspapers may exaggerate, the Straw Hat Boy is definitely on the level of the Four Emperors.

He's a king of the sea, standing at the pinnacle of power.

"As expected of the Four Emperors, their power is truly formidable."

Though at a disadvantage, Luffy showed no signs of giving up.

He hadn't even pushed himself to his limit yet.

His willful and exaggerated abilities seem to have no bounds, growing stronger as his will explodes.

He's never felt his rubber in fifth gear stretch to its limit.

"Let's go again."

Luffy seemed like a character from a funny cartoon, running on air toward Big Mom.

This type of air-running wasn't like Moonwalk, but a real special flying ability of fifth gear.

"Is this all you've got? A brat who doesn't know his place," Big Mom roared, swinging her emperor sword effortlessly, unleashing terrifying shockwaves of thunder and fire.

Bang, bang, bang.

The fight between Luffy and Big Mom wasn't fast-paced, but the destructive power was immense like two ancient giants battling.

The shockwaves from their collisions alone could shatter the earth into pieces.

Countless pirates screamed and fled for their lives.

Pirates, objects infused with Big Mom's soul, had no choice but to run from this battle.

"Let's stay back and avoid interfering with Luffy's fight," Jinbei said calmly, shielding Robin and Nami from the aftermath.

Though Nami had evolved, her strength still fell short of handling a battle at level 570.

This kind of battle could turn a large area into a danger zone.

Jinbei had confidence in Luffy as their captain. He wasn't just any Four Emperor to be beaten easily.

Meanwhile, the Big Mom Pirates' officers stayed away from the battle, except for Katakuri.

Katakuri was the only one capable of intervening, but his pride as a veteran pirate prevented him.

He wouldn't interfere in one-on-one battles, nor would he allow others to intervene in his.

That was his pride as the most perfect man in the Charlotte family.

They had confidence in their mother, a seasoned sea king who couldn't be defeated by a newcomer.

Franky decided to move the Sunny away to avoid it being destroyed.

Sanji helped him, ensuring a safe future for their ship.

"Hand it over to me," Franky said, propelling the Sunny into the sky with a burst of wind.

"Now we can focus on the fight," Sanji said, observing the Big Mom Pirates retreating from the Four Emperor's battlefield.

Perhaps due to their declaration of war or their coincidental arrival, most of the Big Mom Pirates' officers had gathered.

Though Big Mom claimed to look down on Luffy, they cautiously transferred most of their officers back in response to his declaration.

But not all of them were here.

The strongest desert generals and the mightiest sons of the ministers weren't present.

Luffy and his crew of ten faced a formidable force indeed.

"That's the toughest one," Sanji said, eyeing Katakuri, "I'll take him."

"What are you saying? A strong guy like that is mine to chop up," Zoro retorted, his blood boiling.

"Ha, I said he's mine. Believe it or not, I'll take him down before you," Sanji shot back.

"What did you say? You pathetic cook, your fighting skills are nothing," Zoro challenged.

Their faces clashed, veins bulging as their intense Conqueror's Haki turned the surroundings into a battleground.

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