Originally, Kaguya had planned to set out for the New World immediately. The warship was ready, food and fresh water were stocked—everything was set for departure.
But just then, something seemed to shift within the New World, forcing her to reconsider.
Earlier reports had mentioned that the four major pirate crews had gathered in the New World, deploying large fleets in a tense standoff. The atmosphere was thick with gunpowder, seemingly on the verge of war.
Yet just when everyone thought an epic battle was about to erupt, all four pirate crews inexplicably chose to withdraw, as if by prior agreement. This confused not only the Navy but also left Kaguya scratching her head.
Logically, tensions that reached such a boiling point wouldn't be so easily defused.
To get all four pirate crews to back down simultaneously? Not even the World Government could pull that off.
Unless—
A wild thought suddenly occurred to Kaguya.
Could it be Shanks' "Face-Face Fruit"?
It sounded absurd, but there wasn't a better explanation.
Of course, that was just Kaguya's random guess. A more likely reason was that a full-scale war between the four would inflict tremendous damage. The ever-watchful Navy could easily take advantage of such chaos to wipe them all out—surely the pirates understood this too.
Perhaps that was why they all pulled back at once.
But Kaguya wasn't about to give up. She was going to the New World—sooner or later, it had to be done.
The New World, the second half of the Grand Line, was drastically different from the first half. Here, the environment was far more extreme, and danger lurked everywhere. Even the strongest could end up battered if careless.
No sooner had Kaguya entered the New World than she was greeted with a bizarre hailstorm. At first, it didn't seem strange—until the hailstones turned out to be the size of football fields.
Fortunately, Kaguya was there. Without her, the whole ship would have likely ended up as fish food.
The New World was divided among four major pirate crews: Big Mom, Kaido of the Beasts, Red-Haired Shanks, and Whitebeard. These were their respective territories. Any outsider sailing in would likely be destroyed.
The Four Emperors might not have officially earned that title yet, but they were already legendary.
On the deck of the Navy warship:
"Inspector Ma'am, ahead is Big Mom's territory," a marine reported respectfully.
Kaguya nodded. "How far to the nearest island?"
"Roughly thirty nautical miles," the marine said. "Any closer and we risk being spotted by Big Mom's patrol scouts. Should we disguise ourselves?"
"No need," Kaguya waved her hand. "I'm going alone. Stay here and wait for me."
The marine was startled. "You're going alone, Ma'am?"
"Why not?" Kaguya replied.
"Ah—not that, it's just—it might be dangerous. Should we notify Rear Admiral Carlos who is undercover nearby? He could back you up."
"No need," Kaguya said. "Just inform HQ that I'm proceeding in."
With that, she tapped her foot and soared into the sky, flying swiftly toward the distant island.
In a small town on the island—
It was an unusual town, unlike anything one might expect. The buildings and streets were made entirely of chocolate and biscuits. Even fountains, bathhouses, and clothes were crafted from chocolate, filling the air with a sweet aroma.
Walking into it felt like entering a dreamlike fairytale world—reminding Kaguya of the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Unfortunately, Kaguya wasn't fond of chocolate, especially not the kind exposed to the open street. She had no desire to eat something so dirty and had no taste for scavenging.
"Monster! Monster! Big ugly monster! Hahaha!"
"Three-eyed freak!"
"So ugly! I'm not playing with you!"
"Who would play with someone like her?"
"Don't mind her! She's gross!"
On the street, a few young children were gathered around a little girl, hurling cruel insults.
The little girl surrounded in the middle had red-rimmed eyes, biting her lip hard as tears dripped steadily from her eyes. Her body trembled slightly, like a withered leaf in the autumn wind.
Three eyes.
Kaguya paused.
Sure enough, beneath the girl's long bangs was a third eye. Not only did it look strange, it was even a bit eerie.
However, if one ignored the third eye, the little girl was actually quite pretty—a budding beauty.
To be bullied so young must be very painful.
It might even leave behind childhood trauma.
Kaguya looked at the little girl with some pity.
These bratty kids were being too much. Even if someone had a physical difference, that didn't mean they deserved ridicule.
She decided she couldn't just stand by and let the girl be bullied. That would be far too cruel.
So Kaguya turned around and left.
This kind of thing had nothing to do with her.
It's not like she was so full she had nothing better to do than meddle in others' business.
Besides, who hadn't been bullied as a kid?
She herself had once been bullied by a guy who looked—and even acted—a lot like Fat Tiger from that one cartoon. And in the end, didn't she beat the guy so bad he cried for his mom?
At that moment, a commotion suddenly broke out.
"Not good! Mama's episode is starting again!"
"Quick! What's the craving this time?!"
"Caramel croquembouche!"
"You mean that towering pastry made of stacked cream puffs?!"
"But the hotel's out of stock, and there's no time to make a new one!"
"We're doomed! Once Mama gets like this, she completely loses control!"
"She won't stop until she eats that caramel croquembouche!"
Just as Kaguya was puzzling over what was happening, a monstrous, hideous figure suddenly appeared. With a sweep of her massive hand, she cleaved a tall tower in half like it was nothing but paper, turning it into rubble. She grabbed pieces of the collapsed building and stuffed them into her mouth, crunching down loudly.
"No! Wrong! All wrong! I want caramel croquembouche! I want caramel croquembouche!"
Kaguya frowned as she looked at the rampaging, deranged giantess.
If she wasn't mistaken, this monstrous, gaping-mouthed woman had to be none other than Big Mom—Charlotte Linlin.
She hadn't expected to run into her here.
As the thunderous crashes continued, Big Mom raged through the city, devouring chocolate-built houses like a rabid beast. Her crazed state made her look like a total lunatic. In fact, Kaguya even suspected she had escaped from some mental asylum.
This woman was absolutely disgusting—covered in cream, chocolate, and drool. Kaguya didn't even feel like making a move. She didn't want to dirty her hands.
But just then, Big Mom suddenly started charging in Kaguya's direction, shouting, "I want caramel croquembouche! I want caramel croquembouche!"
Kaguya furrowed her brow.
She was about to dodge, when she suddenly realized that the little girl from earlier was still standing in the street.
The girl's face was deathly pale, her limbs frozen in fear. Her wide eyes stared ahead, completely paralyzed.
At the same time, Big Mom had already reached her, lifting her enormous leg to stomp down like a falling mountain.
The girl was too frightened to move.
And the rampaging Big Mom hadn't even noticed the girl beneath her foot—or if she had, she simply didn't care. To her, anyone in her way deserved to die.
Just as the little girl was about to be crushed into pulp, at that critical moment, a figure suddenly appeared, flashing past her feet, and in a split second rescued the girl from beneath the elephant-like leg.
Boom!
A thunderous roar rang out as the elephant-like leg slammed down, shattering the ground and cracking it like a spiderweb.
Had she been stepped on, the consequences would have been imaginable.
Yeah, probably would've had her guts squashed out.
"Hmm?" Charlotte Linlin seemed to notice Kaguya, turning her massive, bloodshot eyes toward the street.
There, standing calmly, were Kaguya and the little girl she had just rescued.
"Who are you to dare block me!" Charlotte Linlin roared, baring her massive mouth in fury.
This earth-shaking roar was like the howl of a dragon or tiger—majestic and terrifying.
Well, that's the flattering version.
In reality, when she opened her mouth, all sorts of disgusting things sprayed out.
Like crumbs of cookies, chocolate, cream...
Hey hey, drooling is crossing the line, you know?
Kaguya frowned, nauseated by the mess of saliva-mixed residue spraying from that filthy mouth.
Disgusting.
Hey, is your mouth a garbage disposal?
"Enough, enough!" Charlotte Linlin, who had momentarily calmed down, erupted again. "Anyone who dares stop me from eating must die!"
She twisted her gigantic body and swung her greasy hand like lightning toward Kaguya.
If that greasy hand caught her, Kaguya might be traumatized for life.
Raising her arm, Kaguya's eyes narrowed, and an immense force burst from her palm, surging like a tsunami.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Boom!
With a massive muffled thud, Charlotte Linlin's fat chest caved inward, and her gigantic body was lifted off the ground, sent flying like she was hit by a freight train. She crashed heavily into a tower made of chocolate, completely demolishing it.
"Mama!"
Everyone present stared in shock, their jaws nearly dropping.
"She actually knocked down Mama!"
"That's impossible!"
"Is she crazy? She even dared to hit Mama!"
"Utterly insane!"
"She looks familiar... I think I've seen her before."
"Ah! I remember now—that's her! That's the World Government's inspector, Kaguya!"
The crowd erupted.
She was the one hailed as the world's most beautiful and most powerful woman?
Why was she here?
Was war about to break out?
Their gazes toward Kaguya shifted drastically.
"You dare show such disrespect to me? Very well."
A deep voice, like one rising from the depths of hell, echoed. Charlotte Linlin's hulking form slowly rose from the rubble.
The crowd turned pale.
"This is bad. Mama is about to rage."
"What do we do? The city will be destroyed!"
"Mama's angry! Run! If we don't, it'll be too late!"
In a panic, the crowd turned and fled in terror like stray dogs. They had all seen what Charlotte Linlin was like when enraged—last time, she had completely destroyed a city. And this time seemed even worse.
Charlotte Linlin's bulging eyes were bloodshot. She snarled savagely, "I want you dead! DEAD!"
With that, her massive, plump body shot forward like a cannonball. It was hard to imagine such a large mass could move so fast. It reminded Kaguya of a "Meat Tank" as Linlin's enormous fist crashed down.
BOOM!
Crackers and chocolate flew everywhere as her fist slammed into the ground, which crumbled instantly from the impact.
Kaguya, holding the little girl in her arms, had already dodged away.
"You look like a pig, and you run like a wild boar," Kaguya said playfully. "Are you part boar or something?"
Charlotte Linlin's forehead veins bulged, her face turning bright red as she growled through gritted teeth, "You—want to die!"
She clenched her left hand into a fist, and blinding electricity sparked to life, arcing across her knuckles with a crackling sound as a terrifying aura burst forth.
"This is bad! Mama's using her lightning powers!"
"We're doomed! Mama's lost it completely!"
"Run! If we don't, it's over!"
"Help! I don't want to die!"
Charlotte Linlin grinned menacingly, then flung her arm forward. A lightning bolt, as thick as a barrel, burst from her fist like a silver serpent, roaring toward Kaguya.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions echoed across the battlefield, shattering the ground, sending rubble flying, and raising a massive cloud of dust like a tsunami.
"Anyone who blocks my path must die! Hahahaha!" Charlotte Linlin laughed maniacally.
"Isn't it a little early to be laughing like that?" a calm and elegant voice rang out.
"What?"
Charlotte Linlin's laughter froze. She turned toward the voice, her eyes narrowing.
As the dust slowly settled, Kaguya's figure appeared—completely unscathed.
"That level of attack is only good for scratching an itch," Kaguya said condescendingly, standing tall and aloof.
To others, such lightning might be deadly, but for someone with the Shinra Bansho constitution like Kaguya, it was nothing.
After all, lightning was just another elemental force. With her mastery of Lightning Release, it was easily nullified.
Before the lightning even reached her, it had already dissipated.
This was precisely the ninjutsu: "Lightning Release Body Protection."
Charlotte Linlin's expression darkened. "Who the hell are you?!"
Kaguya brushed back her silver hair. "Geez, I thought I was famous enough already."
Suddenly, Charlotte Linlin's eyes widened in realization. She gritted her teeth. "You—could it be—?!"
"Oh? Looks like you figured it out." Kaguya beamed. "In that case, shouldn't you kneel and greet me?"
"Arrogant brat!" Charlotte Linlin's face turned livid. Her fury boiled over as she bellowed, "I'll crush you, you insolent girl!"
With a roar, she raised her massive hand. Lightning sparked in her palm and shot into the sky.
"Thunderstorm!"
In an instant, the once-clear sky darkened with rolling clouds. Thunder boomed overhead, releasing an oppressive aura.
This was none other than Big Mom's "Thundercloud Zeus."
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