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Chapter 400: The Iron Balloon is Breached
RUMBLE!
Pitch-black Armament Haki and that nauseating Demon God aura ran rampant through the air. The port of Whole Cake Island currently looked like a dead domain of black and white.
On the ground, countless pitch-black mochi spikes shot straight into the sky. Like a forest of thorns leading to hell, they tightly enclosed the massive BIG MOM in the center. Dark red lightning coiled around every single spike, emitting a sharp, chilling gleam capable of piercing steel.
This was Katakuri's current power. Combining the cells of the Demon King Muzan and the awakening of the Mochi-Mochi Fruit, he was no longer the perfect older brother who only knew how to imitate Mama and uphold the family's dignity.
Right now, he was an Asura protecting his family!
"Mama." Katakuri stood at the peak of a massive mochi spike, looking down from his high vantage point at the arrogant Empress. His voice was bone-chillingly cold, as if transmitting from the deepest layer of the underworld. "Do you want to keep fighting?"
"My stamina is infinite. My wounds heal instantly. But you…" Katakuri's gaze swept over the faint red mark on Mama's abdomen. Although this was merely a superficial flesh wound for the perverted physical constitution of a Four Emperor's Iron Balloon, it was the first time in decades—aside from when Mother Carmel's photo broke—that Mama had been injured in a head-on clash!
"I imagine even a Four Emperor would die if they bleed out, right?"
That sentence was absolute treason!
Perospero laid in the ruins, sobbing and blubbering wildly as he frantically kowtowed. "Katakuri! Are you insane? Shut your mouth right now! That's Mama! Are you trying to drag us all to our deaths?!"
However, contrary to everyone's expectations, the crazed old hag who should have erupted into a thunderous rage and sunk the entire island into the sea… actually calmed down.
"Ma… mamamama…"
A low chuckle squeezed out from the depths of Mama's throat. She didn't immediately swing the massive Napoleon sword. Instead, she stared dead at Katakuri's healing chest with an extremely greedy, almost perverted gaze.
The skin there, originally scorched by Heavenly Fire, was now as smooth as new. Without leaving even the faintest scar. That kind of life force… That terrifying constitution capable of instantly restoring one's state to full health as long as a single breath remained…
Gulp.
Mama swallowed hard. The fury in her eyes was instantly replaced by extreme greed.
As the user of the Soul-Soul Fruit, she knew better than anyone what "life force" meant. It meant lifespan! It was the fundamental key to realizing her dream of building Totto Land and enlarging all races!
"Infinite stamina… an immortal body…" Mama reached out her large hand, covered in jewel rings, and made a grabbing motion in the void, as if trying to seize Katakuri's power for herself. "Is this… what that East Blue merchant gave you? Merely going to that so-called 'dungeon' once… allowed an originally excellent 'mortal' like you to become this kind of monster?"
Mama's breathing grew rapid. A mad idea instantly flashed through her mind.
If… what if the person who acquired this power wasn't Katakuri, but her, Charlotte Linlin? She was a natural-born destroyer! A monster with the innate talent of an Iron Balloon! If she added this immortal, imperishable Demon God body on top of that… wouldn't she directly surpass Whitebeard, surpass Kaido, and become the true King of the World?! She could even flatten that damn Marine Headquarters all by herself!
Thinking of this, the fat all over Mama's body quivered with excitement.
"Ma~mamamama!!! Interesting! Too interesting!"
Mama forcefully shoved the giant sword back into her bicorne hat. That terrifying Conqueror's Haki instantly retracted, as if nothing had ever happened. She split her mouth into an abyssal smile, looking at Katakuri.
"Good son! Since you want to leave, then leave! Take those pathetic crumbs and scram as far away as you can!"
The area plunged into absolute silence. Everyone widened their eyes, refusing to believe their ears.
Mama… was letting them go? The Mama who would extract the lifespan of anyone who wanted to leave the crew was actually letting them go?!
Perospero opened his mouth so wide his jaw hit the floor. "Ma… Mama?"
"Shut up! You trash!" Mama kicked Perospero away without even sparing him a glance. Her gaze remained locked dead onto Katakuri, her eyes burning with terrifying heat. "But, Katakuri. You must tell me. That East Blue merchant… that brat named Blake. Is he still in that Foosha Village?"
Katakuri frowned. He understood his mother too well. This madwoman definitely wasn't showing mercy. She had her eyes on the power in Boss Blake's hands! Or rather… she wanted to just snatch Boss Blake back and turn him into her personal property!
"He is there." Katakuri didn't hide it, his voice still calm. "But let me warn you, Mama. The danger level of that place right now is even higher than Marine Headquarters. Whitebeard, Kaido, Red-Haired… even the legendary Marine Hero Garp is there."
"Furthermore…" Katakuri thought of the Caped Baldy who had blown up a planet with a single punch in the dungeon. He thought of the Demon King Piccolo who had pierced through Imu with a single finger. A deep sense of apprehension flashed in his eyes. "Boss Blake's own strength is unfathomable. If you try to take things by force… I'm afraid you will die there."
"Let's go, Brulee." Katakuri turned around, his back facing the Emperor of the New World. He didn't even leave a lingering glance behind.
"Wait for me! Brother Katakuri! I'm leaving too! I've had enough of this hellhole!"
A few more figures dashed out from the crowd. They were the younger siblings who were usually neglected or had long since harbored fear toward Mama's brutality. Trembling, yet resolute, they ran to stand behind Katakuri.
But far more people—like Perospero, Smoothie, and Oven—simply stood in place, looking at the departing backs with extremely complex gazes.
There was envy. There was fear. And mostly, there was the sorrow of being caged birds. They didn't dare to leave.
Perospero watched the stolen small boat drift further and further away, muttering to himself.
The Charlotte Family… Totto Land, which had stood tall on these seas for decades… had irreparably shattered today.
The man known as the greatest masterpiece, taking his true family with him, had left this hell without ever looking back. All that remained was a group of souls dominated by fear.
T/note:
Totto land: [Big Mom's territory consisting of many islands. an archipelago in the New World]
Whole Cake Island: [Big Mom's main island or central, fortified base of operations for the Big Mom Pirates]
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