Afternoon.
The Queen Mama Chanter arrived at Whole Cake Island.
The island—constructed from towering cakes and layers of cream—looked like a massive multi-tiered dessert stacked upon itself.
Stussy disembarked first. She glanced back at Karl, now dressed in a bodyguard's outfit, and let out a soft laugh.
"Miss Stussy, Mama has been waiting for you for quite some time. Please get in the carriage. Oh? And this gentleman is…?"
"This is my bodyguard. Pay him no mind."
"O–oh! Understood!"
Karl followed Stussy into a pumpkin-shaped carriage, which headed toward the island's interior.
Once inside, Stussy scanned their surroundings and whispered,
"I'll say it again—no matter what you plan to do, do not expose your identity."
"Relax. I'm a professional."
"I— You'd better remember that," she said through clenched teeth, then turned away, clearly done talking to him.
They soon arrived at the castle—the residence of the sea overlord herself.
Karl exited first and moved to Stussy's side, opening the carriage door for her.
The corner of Stussy's lips lifted slightly as she placed her hand in his. Karl gently guided her down.
"Miss Stussy, Mama will be here shortly. We need to go welcome the other guests first. Farewell!"
"Farewell—and thank you."
Stussy waved with a radiant smile, every movement perfectly befitting a refined lady. At a glance, no one would guess she was actually the Queen of Pleasure Street.
Not long after—
Boom… boom… boom…
The ground shook as if a magnitude-four earthquake had struck. A colossal figure slowly emerged.
Pink, long curly hair; heavy lipstick and pale purple eyeshadow; a pirate hat perched atop her head; a loose pink dress stretched over her massive frame.
The instant she saw Stussy, her face split into a grin, revealing a cavernous mouth.
"Stussy! So it's you! Mama-mama-mama—how wonderful! It's been ages!"
"Linlin, it really has been a long time. You're as beautiful as ever."
Big Mom covered her mouth and laughed ominously.
"Mama-mama-mama~ You're still so sweet-tongued! Stay here and rest today! The tea party won't begin until tomorrow!"
"Of course. I wouldn't dream of being polite with you."
Big Mom burst into laughter again, her rolls of flesh jiggling violently. Karl quickly lowered his head—this was seriously hard on the eyes.
"Oh? And who is this?"
Stussy shot Karl a sharp look, signaling him to stay silent, then smiled faintly.
"This is my bodyguard."
Big Mom eyed Karl up and down. He looked oddly familiar—like she'd seen him somewhere before. The papers, perhaps? No… she couldn't quite recall.
Under Big Mom's intense stare, Karl felt cold sweat bead down his back.
It wasn't fear of being beaten to death—it was fear of something far worse.
…Nope. Not thinking about it. Even he found it disturbing.
Big Mom chatted with Stussy for a while longer. Only when the next guest arrived did Stussy finally get a reprieve.
Throughout it all, Karl played the role of a stone-faced bodyguard—silent, unobtrusive, minimizing his presence as much as possible.
"These are the rooms Mama has prepared for you," a Homies chirped as it bounced away. "Please wait here until the tea party begins. You're free to explore anytime, of course!"
With that, it hopped off, leaving Stussy and Karl alone.
Stussy pushed open the door. As she stepped inside, she warned,
"There are hidden sentries everywhere. Don't act rashly."
Karl nodded helplessly. Is she really that afraid I'll cause trouble?
"Alright, alright, I get it. Stop nagging."
Click.
Karl entered his room, shut the door, and flopped onto the bed, closing his eyes. At his waist, Raven slowly transformed into its animal form and slipped out the window.
Shadow Vision—activated.
Raven circled above Whole Cake Island. Through their shared sight, Karl carefully memorized the terrain, mapping out the island piece by piece.
Then Raven descended, slipping into the depths of the cake castle—Big Mom's lair.
The moment it landed by a window, a Homie noticed it and scratched its head.
"Scared me! Just a crow, huh?"
After a brief pause, Karl directed Raven to move on and observe another area.
His goal was clear—
Big Mom's secret chamber.
After about half an hour, Karl finally spotted something unusual.
"That's it."
A door that didn't look especially hidden—but guards passed through it from time to time. Karl had only noticed it after passing by twice.
The only question was—
How to get inside?
He waited for a long time. No opportunity appeared.
With no choice, Karl withdrew Shadow Vision and recalled Raven.
It was still early. Raven's racial advantage couldn't be used yet.
I'll wait until nightfall.
Totto Land Waters
Lucky Roux pointed excitedly at the desserts in the distance.
"Captain! So this is Totto Land? Just like the legends—food everywhere!"
Shanks laughed.
"Hahaha! But it's all sweets. Aren't you more into meat?"
Lucky Roux scratched his head and chuckled.
"True—but sweets once in a while aren't bad either!"
"Shanks, it's getting late. Should we keep sailing?" asked a man in sunglasses with ash-blue hair and a white shirt, a red dragon tattoo on the right side of his neck—the Red-Haired Pirates' navigator, Bonk Punch.
Shanks shook his head.
"No rush. Let's stay here for the night, Snake."
Bonk Punch nodded and ordered the crew to drop anchor.
Soon, a banquet broke out on the ship—laughter and cheer filling the air. Nothing could stop them from throwing a party.
"You really aren't worried at all, are you?" someone teased. "Are you confident you can leave Big Mom's territory unharmed?"
Shanks laughed heartily.
"Not confident—but I want to try. And besides, I've got you guys, don't I?"
Benn Beckman laughed in response.
That's right.
They were one.
Nightfall
After dinner, Karl went straight to bed. Raven slipped out the window once more under his control.
Pitch-black feathers blended seamlessly into the night—no, the night itself was Raven's domain.
It returned to the window near the secret chamber and waited patiently.
Ten minutes…
Thirty minutes…
An hour…
Two hours…
Finally—at 2 a.m., the chance arrived.
As a guard failed to shut the door fully, Raven dove in, transformed into blade form midair, slipped through the gap, then instantly reverted to animal form and hid in the corner.
Perfect.
No one noticed a thing.
Raven crept deeper into the chamber, stopping in an inconspicuous corner. From there, everything inside the secret room lay bare before Karl's eyes.
Back in his bed, Karl sighed with his eyes closed.
"Tsk, tsk… there really are a lot of good things here."
Unfortunately—
He couldn't take a single one.
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