"Vane, what are you here for?"
Big Mom's voice cut through the air like a blade. Although she occasionally left Totto Land, she never went out of her way to meet the other Emperors. There was no need. Pirates of their level were equals, yes, but that didn't mean friendship—or drinking over idle talk—was possible between them.
Vane's answer came calmly, without hesitation. "I came for your Poneglyph."
His words froze the air itself. Before arriving on Cake Island, he had assumed Big Mom would still be lost in her madness, which would have made things simpler. If that were the case, he could have simply taken it—no one here could have stopped him. But now, facing a sharp and lucid Big Mom, things had grown far more complicated.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
"Poneglyph…?" Big Mom's brows furrowed. The atmosphere turned heavy, oppressive, and the very air seemed to shudder.
In an instant, her presence erupted like a storm. Crimson bolts of Conqueror's Haki crackled around her body, splitting the space with jagged lines of energy. The ground trembled beneath her overwhelming pressure.
Her children froze in place. Even from a distance, the aura was crushing.
"Mom's Haki is terrifying!" one muttered through gritted teeth.
"Is she… going to fight him again?" another whispered.
But Big Mom said nothing. She simply sat there, her monstrous power saturating the air.
Vane, however, remained perfectly composed, completely unfazed. His gaze was calm, his breathing steady, as though he were immune to the crushing tide of her willpower.
Zeus and Prometheus stirred anxiously at Big Mom's sides, their sparks and flames flickering with bloodlust. Napoleon, perched atop her head, opened its eyes, ready to join the fray if its mistress moved.
But Vane merely tilted his head, his tone casual. "Big Mom, are you sure about this? Your children look like they can barely stand under your pressure. Some of them are about to collapse."
Big Mom's glare lingered on him for several seconds more before, at last, she withdrew her Haki. The storm dissipated, leaving only an oppressive silence in its wake.
Then her voice thundered again, deeper than before. "Vane… do you want to die? Do you really think you can take my Poneglyph?"
The word struck her children like a lightning bolt. Katakuri and the others widened their eyes. So that was his purpose!
The Poneglyph—a Road Poneglyph, one of the four most precious stones in the world, each a key to reaching Raftel. To lose it would be to lose one of the core pillars of the Big Mom Pirates' future. It was unthinkable.
And yet…
Vane's smirk cut through the tension. "Can you stop me, Charlotte Linlin? Or to put it another way… are you even my opponent?"
The casual challenge sent a shiver down the spines of the children watching. Everyone in Totto Land knew what those words meant.
Big Mom was silent, her eyes narrowing. She hadn't forgotten—Vane had already defeated her once. That humiliation still burned inside her, and though she hated to admit it, she knew he had grown even stronger since then. This boy, this upstart, had become a monster beyond imagination.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Finally, Big Mom broke the silence. "Why do you want it? Are you chasing Raftel?"
Vane's reply was sharp, confident. "You can't even read it. You have one stone, but not the other three. I, on the other hand, have a way to collect them—and the means to read them. For you, it's just a rock. For me, it's a path."
Big Mom's eyes widened slightly. "You… you already have another?"
She knew Kaido possessed one, but the whereabouts of the other two remained a mystery even to her. If Vane had one in his possession already, then his claim was far more dangerous than she had imagined.
"That," Vane said coolly, "is a secret. So, will you lend it to me?"
"And if I refuse?"
"Then we'll let strength decide."
Big Mom leaned back, her lips twisting into a feral grin. "You think I'll be afraid?"
"I'm not afraid of you either," Vane replied, shrugging casually. "But I can make you afraid of me."
The tension between them grew heavy again.
"How long do you want it for?" she finally asked.
"Less than a month," Vane said.
Her grin deepened. "Fine. I'll lend it to you. But when the time comes, you'll tell me what it says. Otherwise…" Her tone dropped to a chilling growl. "…I'll tear this deal apart with my own hands."