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"That Arthur... he's insane!" Katakuri muttered, his Mochi Mochi no Mi activating, a wall of sticky mochi forming before him, shielding them from the lightning while he simultaneously activated the ship's coating, preparing to dive.
The lightning, however, surged through the mochi, burning it black.
A Den Den Mushi rang—one of the five they carried.
"It's Mama!" Compote quickly retrieved the snail.
"ANSWER IT! TELL MAMA WHAT THAT PUNK DID! MAKE SURE HE NEVER SETS FOOT IN THE NEW WORLD AGAIN!!" Oven seethed, his fury barely contained.
Compote answered the call.
"Compote, have the invitations been delivered? I can't wait for my wedding cake..." Big Mom's voice, amplified by the Den Den Mushi, boomed, the snail's face transforming into a grotesque caricature of her own, complete with heavy makeup.
"Mama, we were just inviting 'Thunder God' Arthur to the Tea Party. That lunatic—he...he burned your invitation!" Perospero shrieked, his voice filled with indignation.
Silence—then the sizzling sound of acid, Big Mom's corrosive saliva, dripping onto the floor.
After a long, tense moment...
"Mamamama...Give him the Den Den Mushi. Then leave. I want to speak with him." Big Mom's laughter was cold, menacing.
Her children knew that tone—it was the calm before the storm.
"Arthur—" Katakuri called out, his voice muffled by the mochi wall. "Mama wants to speak with you."
He tossed the Den Den Mushi towards Arthur.
Arthur stopped his lightning barrage, the electric aura around him fading. "Big Mom wants to talk to me?"
He caught the Den Den Mushi as the Queen Mama Chanter, its coating complete, submerged, disappearing beneath the waves.
He watched them go, uninterested in pursuing them. The escape of weaklings didn't concern him.
"Charlotte Linlin? This is Seabury D. Arthur. You called at just the right time—saved your children's lives." His tone was flat, disrespectful.
Big Mom's voice, after a long silence, was low, menacing. "Seabury D. Arthur... I know your name—the Rookie who stole the Heavenly Tribute and escaped Impel Down. You've reached the New World, I see..."
"I was going to offer you a marriage alliance with one of my daughters. It seems you don't know how to appreciate a good offer—"
Her words sent a chill down Arthur's spine.
"Don't mistake the New World for Paradise, kid. Only the strongest survive here. The Emperors reign supreme. You're too young. You're not ready. You're not even close!"
Arthur chuckled, his voice laced with a chilling arrogance. "Ready? You don't talk about being ready. You earn it—through strength. Decades of eating, marrying, and breeding—how much stronger has that made you? YOU CAN'T BEAT SHIKI. THAT DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T."
"MAMAMAMA! I'm weak? Very well. You've got guts, kid." Big Mom sat up, her voice laced with a dangerous amusement, her Conqueror's Haki exploding outwards.
Across Whole Cake Island, those unable to withstand the mental assault collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
"Very well... Once you leave the starting islands—venture deeper into the New World—you'll learn what true power is. You'll understand what it means to face an Emperor." Big Mom's voice was tight with barely suppressed rage, the blood vessels in her eyes bulging.
The weather shifted, thunder echoing in the distance.
"Mama, that brat will die soon enough! Don't get upset!"
Those still conscious on Whole Cake Island tried to appease her. Another outburst, and the island would need rebuilding—again.
"Seabury D. Arthur! I'll be waiting for you on Whole Cake Island!" Big Mom's voice was ragged, her fury barely contained.
"I'll be there. Sooner than you think." Arthur hung up, crushing the Den Den Mushi.
Whole Cake Island, Totto Land.
Big Mom, her massive form clad in a pink dress, her eyes bloodshot, her lips painted a garish red, corrosive drool dripping from her mouth—
"That conceited little brat!"
Her rage was palpable, her crew trembling before her.
"Spread the word—Arthur killed Whitebeard's son, Squard."
"Boyoyoyoyoyo! Let him feel the wrath of an Emperor!" A short, stout man wearing a feathered top hat and a round, grinning mask, a massive cutlass strapped to his back, waddled out of the room, his head bobbing with each step.
In Whitebeard's territory—
Two old rivals, reunited after three years—
The Moby Dick and the Oro Jackson faced each other on the open sea. Roger, grinning, his black mustache twitching, stood at the bow.
"Whitebeard! Long time no see!" he called out.
Rayleigh, Gaban, Crocus—his crew, weapons in hand, stood behind him, even Shanks and Buggy, their faces filled with excitement, fully armed.
On the Moby Dick, Whitebeard, a massive sake gourd in his hand, glanced at Roger's ship, barely a hundred yards away.
"Are you looking for a fight, Roger?"
Marco, Jozu, Vista—his commanders, stood ready.
"Wahahaha! After all these years, I thought I'd bring you a little welcoming gift, Newgate!" Roger laughed, raising his sword.
"My sons! ATTACK—!" Whitebeard set down his sake gourd, his usual jovial demeanor replaced by a steely gaze.
The two legendary ships clashed, their crews engaging in a fierce but controlled battle.
The two captains, knowing each other well after decades of rivalry, held back, letting their crews test each other's strength.
Shanks and Buggy, however, slipped away from the main battle, sneaking onto the Moby Dick, their eyes fixed on Whitebeard, who was drinking deeply from his massive gourd.
Buggy, several small knives clutched in his hand, and Shanks, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword—they approached the Emperor, their youthful bravado evident.
"Wahahaha! You're finished! You've run into the Great Captain Buggy!"
"I'm going to dye your beard red!"
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