Chapter 38: Big Mom vs. Elbaf III

Chapter 38: Big Mom vs. Elbaf III

I stared at the lavish spread before me. Roasted meats, rich creams, and an array of dishes that Streusen had expertly prepared were laid out like a feast. To most, this would be a mouthwatering sight, but to me, it was revolting. My stomach churned, and bitterness welled up in my throat. Streusen was enthusiastically explaining each dish, but his words drifted past me as my mind wandered.

I felt so nauseous that my face turned pale, despite the eager anticipation of the crowd. Each dish was labeled with the abilities it would grant if eaten, rumored to contain devil fruits baked in to mask their infamous bitterness.

But all I could think about was how Big Mom had acquired her Soul-Soul ability — by literally consuming the previous owner. A chilling thought crossed my mind: Were these meats from the previous owners of these fruits?

The rules of the second game, the Heartbreaker's Duel, required both participants to be Devil Fruit users, ensuring no escape once one drowned in the seawater. Hela met the requirement, so it was now my turn before the duel could begin. Big Mom had prepared for this, offering me a choice from a vast selection of food-themed devil fruit abilities.

"And here we have the Cake-Cake Fruit, granting the power to manipulate cakes," Streusen continued, gesturing to a small birthday cake as he moved along the table.

I leaned closer to Galette, who stood beside me, looking slightly less pale but still stubbornly close and clingy. "Is this how you got your ability?" I whispered.

Galette stiffened slightly, her eyes darting away from the table. Without replying, she instantly shifted the topic, her voice trembling as she spoke.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't know Mama's punishment would be this harsh."

"It's okay, Galette," I chuckled, trying to ease her worry more than my own. "You were just recalling what happened on Ice Island, how your soul was held hostage by the Demon Bear. Mama filled in the rest of the details herself. You didn't sell me out in any way."

"But she sentenced you to death for taking me to Ice Island and provoking the Bear," Galette cried, her voice full of emotion. "What if the worst actually happens? You're so young, but so invaluable to us."

The fork in my hand slipped from my grasp, clattering against the plate, betraying the fear I tried to suppress. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself.

"First of all, it's not a death sentence," I said, forcing a smile. "I'm Mama's favorite. She wouldn't want me dead — just punished, to teach me a lesson about prioritizing my siblings' lives." My words were more for my own reassurance than hers. "Besides, this is the only game where she's given permission to triumph over the giants. Things could go either way. And I'd rather get a heart-attack than let that wicked witch drown me again!"

I forced a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "You get what I mean."

Galette didn't respond, but her grip on my arm tightened, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

I adjusted my napkin, retrieved the fallen fork, and interrupted Streusen, who was introducing the next dish.

"Got anything powerful in combat, like Mochi or Candy?"

Streusen glanced at me, his expression unreadable. "All Devil Fruits are powerful. It depends on your mastery," he replied, his words carrying a hint of wisdom that felt more like a dismissal. I couldn't imagine how the Cake-Cake Fruit could be of any use in combat.

From the array of devil fruits, the only one that caught my attention was the Banana-Banana Fruit — more because it amused me than anything else. The others, like the Soup-Soup Fruit, seemed like a waste of time.

"Don't you have anything fiery, icy… or maybe something Avatar-like? Or a Mana-Mana Fruit that could turn me into an all-powerful mage?" I mused, my thoughts wandering through all the abilities I wished I could find.

Kaiju-Kaiju, which might resemble Kaidou's dragon fruit. Or Steel-Steel, Model: Kryptonian. Even Mahoraga-Mahoraga, Model: Sukuna… All those sounded far better than Grain-Grain… Oh! A Saiyan-Saiyan Fruit would be amazing!

"Whatever fruit you eat today won't matter in this duel. It's only a requirement. Mastery comes later," Streusen said, his wisdom wearing thin as I pushed my cutlery away.

"You're forgetting I'll be stuck with it for the rest of my life," I grumbled, rising from my seat and removing my napkin.

"I guess I'll just settle for the mysterious devil fruit in my pocket," I sighed, walking towards the Sea Arena as I dug into my pocket for the 'Mystery-Mystery' devil fruit.

"It looks like Keki has made his choice…" the commentator announced, describing the mysterious box I was unlocking while noting the sobbing figure clinging to my shoulders, begging me not to go yet.

"Keki!" I stopped at the sound of the familiar voice of my favorite sister.

"Pudding!" I called out, my voice booming before I noticed her sulking expression. "What's with the sad face?" I knelt to talk to her.

"Are you going to be okay?" Pudding asked, her voice barely above a whisper, as if afraid to hear the answer.

I forced a smile, ruffling her hair gently. "I'll be more than alright after I get revenge for what Hela tried to do," I said cheerfully, promising to make Hela pay.

"Why don't you take care of Galette while you cheer for me?" I smiled, nudging Galette towards her.

Pudding hesitated, then nodded, taking Galette's hand. "Come, Galette," Pudding said gently, her voice soothing. "You don't have to worry about Keki. Mama is always with him in his heart. He will never die!"

As Galette reluctantly stepped down with my help, Pudding looked up at me, her eyes filled with concern. "What fruit have you chosen?" she asked.

I grinned, trying to reassure her. "I'm sure it's one of the most powerful in the world," I said confidently. "Wanna guess?"

Pudding's eyes brightened slightly, a small smile playing on her lips. "If it's the most powerful… I say it's the Sun God," she replied with certainty.

"You still remember," I remarked proudly, feeling a warmth in my chest at her words.

Pudding nodded, reminding me of a promise I had made to her before allowing me to walk away.

—

"With the Love String tied, the only thing left is to confirm the devil fruit abilities," the commentator announced, his voice echoing through the arena. The crowd buzzed with anticipation, eager for the duel and curious about the twist that might save both participants from a fatal end.

Optimism ran high among both the giants and the pirates. The reason was clear: the two champions of love were the most precious to their respective captains. Loki would lay down his life for Hela, and Big Mom would obliterate the world for Keki. There was just no way either of them could die!

Everyone could smell a grand twist in the horizon.

The referee approached Hela first, asking her to display her ability. With a sly grin, Hela's eyes gleamed with a supernatural light. The sea around the arena rippled as a shark fin broke the surface, circling menacingly. A mist rolled in, adding an eerie atmosphere that sent chills down the spines of the onlookers.

Murmurs spread through the pirate section of the audience as the Consent panel, responsible for tracking the progress of the duel, confirmed Hela's ability as a manifestation of the Sea Devil's power.

The referee then turned to Keki. The crowd fell silent, all eyes on him as they awaited his demonstration. Keki shot an angry glance at Hela before taking a decisive bite of the mysterious, golden-glowing, one-shaped devil fruit he had found the night Galette died. The bitterness hit him like a wave, causing his face to contort in discomfort as he forced himself to swallow.

He closed his eyes, trying to block out the unpleasant sensation, but the darkness only intensified his awareness of what was happening. When he reopened his eyes, the world around him seemed to spin violently. Everything appeared larger, and Hela's towering form loomed even more ominously. A searing pain flared in his scalp, and when he reached up to scratch it, he felt his hands had softened, and there was a strange, wet warmth atop his head.

Gasps of awe erupted from the crowd. The commentator's voice cracked with excitement and shock, struggling to find words to describe the scene unfolding before him. It was as if reality had been torn apart, leaving everyone breathless.

Big Mom's furious screams filled the air, her voice a terrifying mix of anger and desperation. "Nooo, Nooo, NOOOOOOHHHH!" Her roars shook the arena as she cursed the universe, the Devil Fruit, everything that had led to this moment.

Hela, now a towering figure above Keki, let out a triumphant, sinister laugh. The cruel grin she wore seemed to reflect the inevitability of Keki's defeat. Keki tried to process what was happening, but his mind raced as his body betrayed him. His knees buckled, and he fell forward, catching himself just before hitting the ground.

"GGHHHHhhhaaaarh!" Keki gasped when he noticed the momentous change, his shock tangible.

The commentator finally found his voice, trembling as he declared, "Keki has lost all that made him the magnificent Prince of Totto Land!…"

"He has shrunk to the size of a five-year-old human child!"

—-

The crowd's reactions were immediate and varied. Gasps, cries, and shouts of disbelief filled the night air, mingling with Hela's mocking laughter. The scene was in chaos as everyone struggled to process the sudden upheaval.

For me, the shock of shrinking by over 300 cm from a single bite was extremely overwhelming. However, I forced myself to focus through the confusion. "Okay, okay…" I muttered, trying to steady my breathing despite my racing heart. "This has to be reversible, whatever this ability is."

After years of towering over most beings, the sensation of being small again was absurd. I frantically willed my size to return to normal, but the effort distracted me from the cold sensation that began creeping over me. The world started to shrink once more, and I realized I was growing back into a giant.

"Whoa… a bit too much!" I exclaimed as my size quickly surpassed my usual 450 cm and continued growing, dwarfing the giants around me.

"Keki has become bigger than a fully grown giant! Big Mom's eyes are practically shining with the stars of admiration!" the commentator shouted, above the crowd's excitement.

My feet expanded so much that I had to step off the platform, but the ground beneath me remained eerily still. Despite the growing unease, I was still at a loss on how to halt the transformation.

"Is that pale-white flame around him causing this massive change?" the commentator speculated, his voice tinged with curiosity.

"Flame? What flame?" I looked around in confusion, but before I could grasp the situation, the commentator's voice faltered, his words catching in his throat.

"The flame has turned into a glowing brown, and…" His voice trailed off as something unfathomable began to unfold.

"W-aa-aa-tttt— i-ii-i-sssss ha—pp-p-pen-i-n-ngggggg!!" I stammered as my body suddenly began to collapse. I was plummeting from a height that stretched miles into the sky.

The sensation of falling was intense. My body felt engulfed in a warmth that reminded me of a chocolate bath, but it was far from comforting. Each cell in my body seemed to be splitting apart, transforming me into a liquid mass as I fell towards the platform.

When I finally hit the ground, there was no splash, despite the state of liquefaction, just a strange and unsettling stillness.

I couldn't see it, but I could feel it. I lay in a pool of—

"JESUS CHRIST!!! Keki has turned into a soup of bones!" the commentator screamed in shock, barely able to compete with the crowd's horrified reactions.

Every part of my body, except for my bones, had liquefied. I was sprawled across the ground in a grotesque display, my skull separated from my sternum, ribs scattered away, femur far from the fibula, all floating in a bubbly red fluid. I couldn't help but think I looked like a grotesque pizza.

Oddly, despite the grotesque appearance, there was a bizarre comfort in not having heavy shoulders or tired joints. However, the shock still left me reeling as I thought, "What kind of devil fruit did I eat that turned me from giant-to-human, human-to-Oars, and now into a bubbling soup of bones… oh, something's happening."

"There's that cold flame again," the commentator said, his voice now a mix of anticipation, confusion, and awe. "It's transforming Keki back into a human child."

As the transformation completed, I struggled to stand up, trying to make sense of the chaotic events that had just transpired.

"What in the world did I just eat?"

Had Streusen secretly replaced my 'Mystery-Mystery' devil fruit with the Soup-Soup? Or was this something entirely different?