Meanwhile, in the central region of the island.
Big Mom's ferocious figure came hurtling through the sky from afar.
"Napoleon!"
The pirate hat leaped upward, and a giant blade emerged from the opening of the hat.
"At your service, Mama."
Gripping the sword's hilt, Big Mom unleashed her Conqueror's Haki.
Crimson lightning erupted across the heavens, colliding directly with the Haki surging from Kaido below.
"KAIDO!!"
Her terrifying roar swept across the entire island.
Leaping downward, Big Mom brought her blade crashing down.
BOOM!
Scarlet lightning exploded in midair.
The violent shockwave shook the entire island.
The ground at the center of the battlefield shattered, making it seem as though the end of the world had arrived.
With a single strike, Kaido, who had just been trading blows evenly with Katakuri, was blasted into dust.
However, only three seconds later, the ashes gathered together and reformed.
But by then, streams of mochi had already wrapped around his newly restored lower body.
Coated in Armament Haki, the mochi had turned pitch black, like hardened asphalt.
Layer upon layer of Haki-coated mochi piled upward, leaving only three holes around Kaido's head while completely sealing the rest of his body.
"Worororo! You got here fast, Linlin. But my objective has already been achieved."
Big Mom tossed Napoleon aside, and the blade transformed back into a pirate hat before settling onto her head.
Beside her enormous figure floated Prometheus and Zeus, both glaring angrily at Kaido.
"What exactly are you trying to do, Kaido?!"
"Don't forget you owe me a debt!"
Kaido replied,
"Don't talk to me about debts!"
"You old hag pushing fifty! The will carried by that Devil Fruit almost made me lose myself!"
"Lose yourself?"
Big Mom's eyes turned cold.
Then she fell silent.
Back during the Rocks Pirates era, she had already been one of the crew's top combatants when Kaido first joined.
For certain reasons, she had once offered him advice and, in a way, helped him secure his footing within the Rocks Pirates.
Because of that, Big Mom understood Kaido quite well.
So...what could possibly have caused Kaido to say something like that?
To completely deny the person he used to be.
After a long silence, Big Mom threw a punch and shattered Katakuri's Armament-Haki-coated mochi prison in a single blow.
Freed from confinement, Kaido picked up his spiked kanabo and rested it on his shoulder.
Then he turned toward Big Mom.
"Still want to fight, old hag?"
Big Mom clenched her fists.
"You brat. Even pirates have their own code of honor."
"We've known each other for twenty years."
"That makes us old acquaintances."
"What exactly happened to you in Wano?"
Nearby, Katakuri was also paying close attention to the conversation.
Big Mom breaking his mochi prison hadn't surprised him in the slightest.
With Mama present, even an immortal Kaido could only be shattered and restored over and over again.
However...
Mama had noticed the strange changes in Kaido and the Beasts Pirates as well?
"You want to know too?"
Kaido paused.
Then he planted his spiked club into the ground and sat down heavily.
"Linlin, I remember your dream."
"You wanted every race to live together peacefully in the same nation, right?"
"The current Totto Land is the prototype of that dream."
At this point, Kaido's face filled with ridicule.
"But a Totto Land like that only exists because of your strength."
"And its peace only exists because of your strength."
"Do you really think those people, trading one month of their lifespan every year for the right to live there, enduring your periodic hunger pangs and living in fear because they have no other choice, are truly living in harmony?"
Big Mom's fists clenched even tighter.
"You little brat... what exactly are you trying to say?!"
Kaido continued to look directly at Big Mom.
"Wasn't it you who asked what happened to me in Wano?"
"I found my purpose in this world."
"To change this world. To create a world where no race is discriminated against, where everyone can truly live."
"I saw hope that such a world could become reality."
"And I also saw how hideous I used to be."
As he spoke, Kaido glanced at Katakuri nearby.
"Linlin. I heard you've had thirty-four children already, and you're currently carrying another set of ten."
Big Mom's expression suddenly changed.
Moments ago, she had been listening seriously to Kaido's words, but now she gently rubbed her stomach with a face full of tenderness.
"Mama mama... They will all be good children. I'll raise them properly."
Kaido sighed.
So even though they were old acquaintances, and he understood her dream better than most...
Sometimes this mental condition of hers really made him feel like talking was a waste of breath.
"Linlin!"
"Hm? Kaido, are you coming to my tea party? It'll be held when these children are born, you know..."
"Linlin, do you think the feelings your grown children have toward you are love... or fear?"
Kaido stood up as he spoke.
"A Totto Land built through overwhelming strength, gathering everyone beneath your rule, will eventually collapse the moment you're defeated."
"That future isn't the future I want."
"I want to change this world."
"For a long time, all I ever received was fear and submission."
"But genuine gratitude and sincere smiles... I've never received those."
"Surrounded by negative emotions, consumed by darkness."
"The Rocks Pirates. The World Government's laboratories. This chaotic sea."
"Back then, it had been a very, very long time since I had seen the light."
Light?
Big Mom was stunned.
Kaido, a former member of the Rocks Pirates and a man who had awakened Conqueror's Haki, was talking to her about light?
Kaido smiled.
"Linlin, how long has it been since you've seen real light?"
Absurd.
The scene before her felt utterly absurd.
The Kaido who had once stood out even among the monsters of Hachinosu, where villains were everywhere...
Was now asking her whether she had ever seen the light?
This world...
Ever since Mother Carmel disappeared...
There had been no light.
Her thoughts drifted.
An overwhelming aura erupted from Big Mom's body as fragments of the past flashed through her mind.
As a child, she had been abandoned because she ate too much.
She had waited on that island for a very, very long time.
All of her favorite snacks had been eaten.
Yet her father and mother never returned.
They had promised they would come back soon!
They had promised!
At the Sheep's House, her friends had prepared such a huge croquembouche for her.
But when she woke up, every one of them was gone.
And...
And Mother Carmel!
Mother Carmel...
BZZZZZZZ!
In an instant, a powerful sonic shockwave burst from Big Mom's mouth.
Hurricane-force winds swept across the area.
The already shattered candy houses were blown apart once more.
Even Zeus and Prometheus were thrown into the air by the shockwave.
Their eyes filled with terror.
Katakuri had already withdrawn far away the moment Big Mom lost focus, so he was still able to endure the situation.
"How did this happen?"
"Just because of a few words from Kaido, Mom had an episode."
Katakuri looked toward Kaido.
His body had been shattered by the sonic shockwave, yet he showed no intention of dodging.
His entire body was rapidly reconstructing itself without showing any sign of injury.
Fortunately, because of the Beasts Pirates' raid, the citizens of Totto Land on this island had already been evacuated.
Otherwise, in Big Mom's current state, the entire island might have been destroyed.
At that moment, three figures rushed over from the distance.
Their ears were plugged with candy earplugs.
Katakuri himself had stuffed his ears with mochi, which was the only reason his heart felt somewhat better.
Because their ears were blocked, Perospero, Cracker, and Oven who had just been fished out of the sea didn't say a word after arriving.
Instead, they all looked toward the raging Big Mom in the distance.
From the eyes of his elder brother and two younger brothers, Katakuri saw nothing but fear and terror.
There wasn't the slightest trace of concern.
So...was this the light Kaido had been talking about?
Because of her past experiences, Mom was incredibly tolerant toward newborn children and those under eight years old.
But that wasn't love.
Even her own children lost that privilege after reaching eight years of age.
Sometimes, Mom would even take away all of their lifespan, killing them on the spot.
That was the source of their fear.
Kaido was right.
There was only terror and fear in Totto Land.
There was no light.
Soon, Big Mom's screams finally ceased.
After fully restoring his body, Kaido glanced at her and turned toward the harbor.
He might be reckless, but he wasn't stupid.
Once the strategic objective had been achieved and it was time to leave, staying behind would be a sign of brain damage.
After Big Mom's screaming ended, Perospero and the others removed their earplugs.
"What do we do now?"
"Mom, she's..."
Cracker looked toward his three older brothers.
Perospero's ear still throbbed painfully.
Frowning, he said,
"Perhaps this is an opportunity."
"An opportunity?"
Katakuri looked at him and quickly understood his meaning.
"Let the Beasts Pirates take away all the relatives from Pudding Island?"
Cracker immediately waved his hands.
At twenty-seven years old, he was still deeply afraid of Big Mom.
"If we do that, Mom will kill us once she wakes up!"
"But this can't continue."
Oven added,
"The Beasts Pirates' goal is obvious."
"It's not like we haven't considered attacking Pudding Island directly."
"But if we do that, it'll become a full-scale war."
Images of the sniper from earlier flashed through Perospero's mind.
Since Big Mom no longer bothered with these matters, he and the other older siblings had become responsible for intelligence and strategic analysis.
Because of that, they were often forced to act cautiously.
The Beasts Pirates' intelligence reports were strange.
Everything they had done since leaving Wano and expanding their territory was strange as well.
Their high-end fighters weren't limited to Kaido and King.
Even their ordinary combatants had mastered both Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
And more importantly...
Perospero looked at Katakuri.
Every single time they discussed invading Pudding Island, this younger brother—who had possessed extraordinary Observation Haki talent since childhood—would sense tremendous danger.
"Mhm."
Before the discussion was even finished, Katakuri headed straight toward the harbor.
He directly stepped in front of Kaido.
Under the guidance of Observation Haki, Kaido tightened his grip on his kanabo and looked at Linlin's second son.
"Want to keep fighting?"
Katakuri replied,
"Have your people enter Totto Land within a day and take away all the relatives from Pudding Island."
"Mom's condition won't last long."
"Before she recovers, you can take everyone with you."
"Mm?"
Kaido frowned, but quickly understood what this younger generation member of the Charlotte Family was planning.
"No problem."
As he spoke, Kaido patted himself down, only to realize his Den Den Mushi had already been destroyed.
"I'll have to go back and notify them. There should still be enough time."
As the two passed by each other, Katakuri's voice sounded.
"The light you spoke of... is it the light children feel toward parents who truly love them?"
Kaido stopped and looked back.
"Rule through force can never last forever."
"Only by liberating people at the level of thought can this world change its current miserable state."
"It's not just the light of family affection..."
He looked directly at Katakuri.
"When the citizens of Totto Land genuinely show you kindness and gratitude, what do you feel?"
With that, Kaido headed toward the harbor.
Katakuri remained where he stood, deep in thought.
As a child, everyone mocked him because of his terrifying jagged teeth and fierce appearance.
Only one of his younger sisters had never cared.
Later, he began wearing a scarf to hide his face.
During his mother's hunger pangs, he had saved many ordinary citizens.
Afterward, they would thank him.
That feeling back then...
At that moment, Oven, Perospero, and Cracker hurried over.
"Are we really going to do this?"
"If Mom finds out, we're dead."
"Then don't let her find out."
"When Mom wakes up, we'll just say the Beasts Pirates took everyone away. Then she won't ask—"
"Oven!"
Katakuri's voice immediately stopped him.
What he had just said was taboo.
A mother who could casually take away even her own children's lifespans and kill them...
Such a mother inspired only fear in her children.
"If Mom discovers it, tell her it was my decision."
Katakuri's words stunned the others.
A day later, all the relatives of Pudding Island's residents living throughout Totto Land were brought back.
Countless families wept tears of joy upon being reunited.
Kaido, who had returned with them, was hailed as the greatest captain imaginable.
That night, a grand celebration was held.
Kaido couldn't drink alcohol, yet he was still surrounded by countless citizens at the center of the feast.
Food and wine were continuously offered to him voluntarily.
Though he couldn't truly enjoy them, the joy, gratitude, and appreciation of the people he had helped made him laugh loudly as he boasted nonstop.
Just then, Rowan arrived via teleportation.
Seeing the scene, he was momentarily stunned.
It was already the middle of the night, and they were still holding a banquet.
Nothing about this looked like people who had recently been imprisoned by Big Mom.
Besides, Kaido wasn't even covered in layers of mochi and candy as he usually was after getting captured.
"Sir."
Hearing the voice, Rowan turned around and saw Ahu.
"How did your First Division commander get back?"
"Did Big Mom let him go?"
Ahu explained what had happened and then handed Rowan a cup of alcohol.
However, under Ahu's expectant gaze, Rowan removed his mask, revealing a face identical to Ahu's own.
After finishing the drink, Rowan sat beside a bonfire and grabbed a large chunk of meat.
The disappointed Ahu sat down beside him.
"The future you spoke of back then is slowly becoming reality."
"In just a few years, we've become much stronger."
Rowan smiled.
"You're one of the Revolutionary Army's veterans."
"But it's still far too early to realize our ideal world."
"We need time, and this world needs time as well."
He remembered Ahu.
Five years earlier, after meeting Dragon in Loguetown, Ahu had been among the very first students to attend the Revolutionary Army's lectures.
Born in a non-member nation, Ahu had watched his country be invaded and plundered by a neighboring World Government member state whenever the time came to pay the Heavenly Tribute.
The king was killed.
The entire nation was looted.
His parents also died amidst the chaos of war.
"Sir."
"Hm?"
"Will it really come true?"
"The world we're dreaming of?"
Rowan set down the large wooden mug in his hand.
"Aren't we already working toward it?"
"People who do nothing but complain about fate without ever trying aren't Revolutionaries."
A smile appeared on Ahu's face.
Compared to the person he used to be, he had become much stronger.
One day...
They would change this world.
"Purururu... Purururu..."
The Den Den Mushi in Rowan's pocket began ringing.
The call was quickly disconnected.
Rowan stood up and brushed the dust from his pants.
"I'm leaving, kid. I've still got things to do."
"And now that all of Pudding Island's relatives have been brought back, tell Kaido to settle down for a while."
Ahu immediately straightened and stood at attention.
"Understood, Sir."
The next moment, Rowan vanished from the spot.
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