"Mama... Mamamama! What... what kind of place is this!?" Big Mom bellowed, staring out at the endless expanse of floating, rectangular stone monoliths with a face full of utter bewilderment.
Her memory had cut out at the exact microsecond her blade clashed with Drake's. Their dual pressures had spiked to their absolute limits, and it had been years since she had enjoyed a fight of that caliber. But just as she prepared to exert her full strength and engage in a devastating duel to the death, the screen of reality had flickered, and she had materialized here.
Furthermore, Drake was nowhere to be found.
Initially, she assumed it was a standard optical illusion—a localized sensory distortion generated by some specialized application of Drake's spatial techniques. But after executing several counter-measures to shatter the illusion, she had achieved zero results. No matter how far she walked, the horizon simply extended indefinitely.
BOOM!
In a fit of mounting rage, Big Mom slammed her foot down, completely disintegrating a massive stone monolith as Napoleon swung wildly through the air.
BOOM!
Every single blind slash unleashed a catastrophic concussive roar.
"Come out! I know you're lurking somewhere in this void, show yourself right now!" she shrieked, systematically obliterating the structures around her.
There was no sunlight here. No vegetation, no terrain variations, no running water... It was an entirely sterile environment, a void devoid of vital signatures. Even an entity of Big Mom's caliber, who had navigated the vast parameters of the world, felt a lingering chill of unease. The space was mathematically infinite, extending past all observable limits.
A significant distance away, perched atop a massive monolith, Vale D. Drake stood with his hands tucked casually behind his back.
He classified this sector as a Class-1 Dimension—the baseline, unrefined sub-space layer he could currently perceive and traverse at will. Within his operational framework, miniature pocket dimensions like Brûlée's Mirro-World were merely crude prototypes of sub-space. They didn't qualify as true dimensional realms.
Manipulating the pure fabric of space went far beyond the standard mechanics of a conventional Devil Fruit. Even so, successfully dragging an entity as massive and powerful as Big Mom into this pocket had consumed a considerable amount of internal stamina.
Lying completely motionless on the stone surface beside Drake's feet was none other than Brook. For a master of spatial manipulation like Drake, extracting an object stashed on an opponent's person was as simple as reaching into a pocket.
"My esteemed friend, are you truly Luffy's older brother?" Brook asked, his jaw clicking as he spoke.
"Of course I am," Drake nodded smoothly. "Ace, Sabo, Luffy, and I are four brothers who grew up together."
"I see."
A brief silence settled over the monolith before Drake took the initiative to break it, his voice dropping to a casual whisper. "I have a highly specific data query for you, if you don't mind."
"You are my savior and the older brother of my captain. As long as the data exists within my memory banks, I will hold nothing back. Please, ask away."
"Excellent!" Drake's eyes lit up with a brilliant glint. He cleared his throat twice, trying to adopt a clinical, detached demeanor. "Ahem... so, you've recently executed an infiltration of Big Mom's personal treasury, correct?"
"I have."
"And... what exact assets are currently secured within that vault?" Drake asked, trying to remain poised, though his expression betrayed a heavy hint of anticipation.
"Eh?" Brook paused, mentally cataloging the vault's inventory. "There is a vast accumulation of gold and precious jewels, the Road Poneglyph, and... ah, yes! Several highly ornate treasure chests!"
He completely failed to notice that as he spoke, Drake's eyes grew blindingly bright, and his fingers began to twitch with restless excitement. Since he had already invested the stamina to infiltrate this territory, leaving empty-handed would represent a massive economic deficit. He had to balance the books.
"Ahem. Let's move."
With a soft cough, Drake seized Brook and vanished from the sub-space dimension in a split second, leaving Big Mom entirely isolated within the infinite gray void.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"WHAT IS THIS PLACE!?" Big Mom shrieked at the pitch-black, lifeless sky that offered no reflection.
BOOM!
"SHOW YOURSELF! COME OUT AND FIGHT ME!"
BOOM!
But no matter how violently she roared or how much stone she shattered, her words could no longer traverse the dimensional barrier. Drake was entirely out of range.
Meanwhile, inside the Mirro-World, Nami and her group were preparing to utilize the mirrors' network to transport themselves directly to Capone Bege's designated hideout.
Right at that moment, space rippled, and Drake deposited Brook cleanly onto the cart.
"I've successfully extracted your crewmate. I have an exceptionally time-sensitive matter to handle elsewhere, so I'll take my leave first."
Before the group could even process Drake's physical form, the spatial parameters shifted, and he vanished from the sector, leaving a thoroughly bewildered Brook sitting in the cart.
What just happened? How did my spatial coordinates change so drastically?
"Brook!" Nami, Chopper, and Carrot screamed in unison, their faces shifting from panic to overwhelming joy.
"It's so wonderful that you're okay! We saw you trapped in Big Mom's grasp and our hearts nearly stopped, Brook...!"
It took Brook several seconds to re-calibrate his cognitive functions. "Yo-ho-ho-ho... That was indeed a rather harrowing experience. But... what exact sector are we currently occupying?"
A brief explanation followed.
"What!? We are inside a mirror dimension!? How is that mathematically possible? How did we enter the glass?"
A few more moments passed as they laid out the mechanics.
"I see. This is the interior of the mirror world, and her Devil Fruit capability allows her to traverse the reflective boundaries between this space and the physical world... Understood."
"Mmm, mmm!" The others nodded in unison, their faces full of deep conviction.
"By the way, Brook, what kind of time-sensitive matter did Captain Drake have to rush off to?" Chopper asked, his curiosity piqued.
"The gentleman you refer to as Captain Drake... he specifically requested a comprehensive inventory of Big Mom's personal treasury. I suspect... ah, of course!" Brook paused, his hand reaching up to smoothly slide his skull cap open, extracting a thick stack of folded papers from his hollow head.
"Brook, you worked so hard," Pedro said, walking over to pat the skeleton's shoulder with a sympathetic expression. "Even though the mission to secure the Poneglyph failed, we all know you fought to your absolute limit." Given that Brook had been captured personally by an Emperor, everyone had logically deduced that the operation had been compromised before completion.
"W-Wait... are these... rubbings of the Road Poneglyph!?" Nami stammered, her hands trembling as she unfolded the sheets Brook had just produced.
"Seriously!? Let me see...!" Chopper and Carrot immediately swarmed the papers.
"What!?" Pedro's jaw literally dropped in sheer shock. He forced his way through the cluster. "Let me look at that!"
"This... this is undeniably the text of the Road Poneglyph..."
Basking under the reverent, awe-struck gazes of the crew—who were staring at him as if he were a literal deity—Brook slowly extended three bony fingers. "A total of three sheets..."
"Kyaah!" Nami lunged forward, throwing her arms around his skeletal frame in an ecstatic hug. "You are absolute perfection, Brook!"
Experiencing the sudden, soft embrace of a beautiful woman, a heavy blush practically materialized across Brook's nonexistent skin. But before the sentiment could last more than three seconds, he blurted out, "Yo-ho-ho-ho... Under these parameters, would it be possible for me to see your panties?"
"WHO WOULD SHOW YOU THAT!?" Nami delivered a flawless spinning heel kick straight into Brook's skull, snorting coldly as she stepped away to inspect the rubbings.
"Alright, Brook, our next operational objective is to rendezvous at Capone Bege's sector..." Chopper quickly brought the skeleton up to speed regarding their current strategy.
"Sanji is willing to come home!? Is that verified data?" Brook shouted, his spirits soaring.
"Mmm! It's entirely true! But before we can secure his extraction, we have to systematically wreck tomorrow's wedding ceremony and rescue his family."
"Excellent! Let us move to Bege's coordinates immediately!" Brook declared, his entire frame vibrating with renewed vigor and energy.
"Right! Let's go!"
On the physical side of the castle, Drake stepped out of the mirror dimension with a brilliant, self-satisfied grin plastered across his face. He had arrived precisely outside the massive entrance of the treasury vault.
Staring at the newly replaced, heavy doors, Drake let out a quiet chuckle. Barrier structures of this nature possessed zero strategic value against his spatial manipulation.
With a sub-second flicker, he teleported clean through the metal, stepping directly into the interior of the vault.
But in the next microsecond, his smile completely froze.
The entire treasure vault was packed to the brim with elite guards, every single one of them armed to the teeth, their glares locking instantly onto his position as an uninvited intruder...