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Chapter 398: Soul Pocus Fails!
The port of Whole Cake Island was deathly silent.
The massive Queen Mama Chanter slowly docked, its sails snapping loudly in the sea breeze. On the pier, tens of thousands of Homie soldiers shivered in terror, not even daring to breathe loudly. Because standing at the very front was the monster who ruled the New World, Charlotte Linlin.
"Ma~mamamama! My good son! My greatest masterpiece!" Mama's colossal body jiggled with her laughter. Saliva dripped from the corner of her mouth, hitting the ground and corroding it with a sizzle of white smoke. "Hurry down here! Let Mama see what good things you brought back! Is it the power to become a god? Or is it the head of that little merchant named Blake?"
Mama greedily reached out her large hand, covered in jewel rings, her eyes blazing with the fanaticism of impending power.
However, no one on the ship responded. There were no cheers, no presentation of gifts. Only a suffocating silence.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the deck. A towering figure resembling a Demon God slowly walked to the bow. The sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating his current appearance.
The entire crowd instantly erupted into an uproar!
Smoothie's eyes widened, and the juice glass in her hand dropped to the ground, shattering into pieces. Cracker was so shocked his jaw practically hit the floor, his face filled with sheer disbelief.
The man hailed as the "Greatest Masterpiece of the Charlotte Family" was actually standing there with his muscular upper body completely bare. The scarf that never left his person was nowhere to be seen. That terrifying mouth, lined with fangs and splitting open to his ears, was exposed to the air without any concealment whatsoever!
"Brother Katakuri… his face…"
"Oh my god! Doesn't he hate it when people look at his mouth the most?!"
The surrounding younger siblings covered their mouths in horror, looking as if they had just witnessed the end of the world.
But what shocked them even more was Katakuri's expression. There was no shame, no evasion. There was only a cold, resolute indifference as hard as steel.
Behind him stood Brulee, her face full of worry yet her eyes resolute. That face, once covered in scars, was now smooth as jade and breathtakingly beautiful.
"Katakuri?" Mama paused for a moment. Then, her brows knitted together, and a hint of displeasure tainted her tone. "What the hell are you doing? Where is your scarf? And where are the things I asked for?"
Mama's bulging eyes swept across the deck, only to find it completely empty. Even Perospero, who was usually a sycophantic follower, was kneeling in the corner of the deck, shivering violently and not even daring to lift his head.
Katakuri tightened his grip on his trident, Mogura, looking down at his mother from his high vantage point.
"Mama." His voice was deep and hoarse, yet it echoed clearly across the entire port. "I didn't bring back the power you wanted. Nor did I bring back that merchant's head."
Mama's smile froze on her face. The surrounding temperature plummeted drastically, and the air seemed to congeal.
"Hah?" Mama tilted her head. The greed in her eyes was swiftly replaced by tyrannical fury. "Are you saying… you came back empty-handed? Are you playing me for a fool, Katakuri?!"
BOOM!
A terrifying pressure erupted from Mama's body. The surrounding Homies' eyes rolled back as they fainted. That was the wrath of a Four Emperor!
"Don't be so hasty, Mama." Katakuri remained entirely expressionless, not even blinking an eye. He slowly raised his hand, pointing at Brulee behind him, and then at the group of siblings shivering in the corner. "While I didn't bring back the things you wanted, I did bring back a decision."
Katakuri took a deep breath. Within his crimson eyes, an unprecedented battle intent burned fiercely.
"From today onward, I am leaving the BIG MOM Pirates. I am taking Brulee, and all the younger brothers and sisters who are willing to follow me… and we are leaving this hell!"
Silence.
A deathly silence.
It was as if someone had pressed the pause button on the entire port. Everyone wondered if there was something wrong with their ears.
The most perfect, most loyal, most powerful Katakuri… was actually betraying Mama? He was taking people and running away from home? This was even more absurd than hearing Marine Headquarters had been blown up!
"Ma… mama…" Mama lowered her head, a low, beast-like growl rumbling in her throat. Her hair began to ignite, and her eyes instantly became bloodshot.
The bicorne hat on her head, Napoleon, snapped its eyes open and transformed into a massive broadsword. Beside her, Prometheus flared into a blazing sun, and Zeus morphed into a crackling thundercloud.
"You're saying… you want to leave?" Mama violently jerked her head up, her face twisted into the visage of an evil demon. "You want to betray the mother who gave birth to you and raised you?! You want to destroy Totto Land?! I worked tirelessly to raise you! To cultivate you into my greatest masterpiece! And you dare say such things?! Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!"
RUMBLE!
The sky instantly changed color. Lightning and fire intertwined, looking like the descent of the apocalypse.
"Since you want to leave…" Mama raised her giant sword, the blade pointing straight at the center of Katakuri's brow. Her soul-trembling voice resounded through the clouds. "Then give your lifespan and your soul entirely back to me! Life or Dead?!"
Soul Pocus!
This was a judgment that struck directly at the soul! As long as the target held even the slightest sliver of fear in their heart, their soul would be instantly sucked dry!
Perospero laid on the deck, having already soiled himself in terror, frantically kowtowing. "Spare my life, Mama! Spare me!"
The surrounding children collapsed to the ground in fear, closing their eyes in utter despair.
However.
Facing that soul judgment capable of making the very ocean tremble, Katakuri smiled.
He split open that terrifying maw, revealing a row of razor-sharp fangs. The smile was ferocious, yet it carried an unprecedented sense of freedom and exhilaration.
"Sorry about that, Mama."
Katakuri stomped his foot violently, instantly shattering the deck beneath him.
Bzzzt!
Black and red Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body like a volcanic eruption, shooting straight into the sky! Mingled within that Haki was a nauseating stench of blood and a chilling aura straight from hell. This was the "Demon God's Might" evolved from integrating the Demon King Muzan's cells!
Two terrifying bursts of Conqueror's Haki collided violently in mid-air!
CRACK!
It was as if a gaping tear had been ripped into the sky. An invisible shockwave swept outward, instantly leveling every building on the pier to the ground!
Under Mama's shocked gaze, Katakuri slowly raised his trident, cloaked in pitch-black lightning, and pointed it directly at the arrogant Empress.
"Right now… I don't hold even a sliver of fear toward you! I am a 'Demon God' who exists to protect his family! I am not a tool for your political marriages!"
BOOM!
Before his words even finished echoing, Katakuri's figure vanished into thin air.
A second later, a sky-piercing burst of Conqueror's Haki severed the sky!
"I am taking them away! No one can stop me! Not even a Four Emperor!"
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