Leno's words instantly drew the attention of everyone around him, and BIGMOM's patience finally snapped.
She spun around and glared viciously at Leno. "You bastard Thunder God, what exactly are you here for today?!"
From the very beginning, this jerk had been toying with her, not taking her seriously at all.
It was utterly infuriating!
"You're getting worked up again." Leno shot her a sidelong glance, his tone casual and lazy. "At least let me finish."
"I heard that back then, Roger took something from you…"
"Bastard! Don't mention that shameless thief in front of me!"
The violent roar cut Leno off. BIGMOM looked like a raging bull.
Her massive body leaned forward slightly, heaving with anger.
Her hands clenched into fists, bloodshot veins crawling across her fierce eyes.
Leno hadn't expected that merely bringing up Roger's name would set BIGMOM off like this.
How was he supposed to know that she had never gotten over Roger secretly making a rubbing of her Poneglyphs all those years ago?
She had always believed that if not for Roger, she would have been the one to become Pirate King.
Now that Leno had ripped open that old wound, of course she exploded.
After all, becoming Pirate King had always been her dream—only for Roger to cut it off completely.
After venting her rage for a moment, BIGMOM seemed to realize something and turned a cold gaze toward Leno.
"Thunder God brat… are you trying to imitate Roger and set your sights on my treasure?!"
"That's right. I need the Poneglyphs in your possession. How about we make a deal?"
"So that's it. You damn brat, you've been eyeing it from the start, haven't you? Don't even think about it!"
Now she understood. From the very beginning, Leno had come for the Poneglyphs.
She had thought he was just here to stir up trouble for fun. Instead, he had come to compete for her chance at becoming king.
Unforgivable!
"I see." Leno sighed helplessly and slowly stood up. He turned toward his companions and asked, "Everyone full?"
"Full!"
"I've been waiting for this!"
"Wasn't the plan to talk first, fight later?"
"Bullshit. He just wanted to eat!"
"…"
As Leno's words fell, the members of the Adventurers all rose to their feet, excitement shining uncontrollably in their eyes.
Of course, there were a few nervous ones—like a certain reindeer and a certain little rabbit…
Seeing that his crew was itching for action, Leno nodded slightly and looked at BIGMOM, whose face had already darkened.
"You fat hag. I've put up with you long enough!"
Buzz—
As his voice rang out, Conqueror's Haki erupted like an abyssal inferno, sweeping across the entire rooftop plaza in an instant.
Black-purple arcs of lightning flickered wildly, tearing through every corner.
The weaker ones collapsed in rows like harvested wheat. Tables and chairs were sent flying, scattering across the ground as chaos exploded throughout the venue.
BIGMOM hadn't expected that in a mere moment of distraction, her tea party would be reduced to this. Fury surged through her instantly.
Her eyes widened as her own Conqueror's Haki burst forth, clashing head-on with Leno's.
On the other side, with BIGMOM drawing most of the pressure, Katakuri barely managed to shield his younger siblings behind him with his own Haki.
He stared in horror at the figure confronting his mother, waves crashing violently within his heart.
He had believed he was finally strong enough to fight that man.
Yet just from a single Haki shockwave, he had nearly failed to hold on.
Is he even human? How old is he? How can his Conqueror's Haki be this overwhelming?!
On the Adventurers' side, Yamato's eyes lit up when she saw Katakuri still holding out.
Without hesitation, her own Conqueror's Haki surged forth and charged straight at him.
Hancock and Kuina exchanged a glance, then released their Conqueror's Haki as well.
Buzz—
Buzz—
Buzz—
Three distinct waves of Conqueror's Haki descended like Mount Tai collapsing, crushing down upon the struggling figure.
Crack—
Katakuri's Conqueror's Haki barrier burst like a balloon under the crushing pressure.
His siblings behind him were ravaged back and forth by the overlapping waves of Haki. In the blink of an eye, they collapsed one after another.
The few who remained standing trembled violently, barely maintaining their footing, as though they would fall at any second.
Meanwhile, the Emperors of the Underworld were suffering in silence—except for Morgans, who had been deliberately spared.
Everyone else dropped to their knees, as if a thousand-pound weight pressed down on their backs. They couldn't even straighten their waists.
All their former arrogance was gone. At this moment, each of them wished they could slap their past selves.
Who had given them the courage to look down on such monsters?
Peclo braced himself against the ground with trembling hands, all previous bravado gone. His lips quivered as he muttered repeatedly,
"A monster… this is a monster… How can he be this strong?!"
"We—we didn't even provoke him. Isn't this bullying?!"
Feld's cigar had fallen from his mouth at some point. Behind his sunglasses, his pupils contracted violently.
His obese body could barely hold on. His head was nearly touching the ground.
He felt wronged beyond belief. He hadn't offended anyone—how had he ended up like this?
Unlike the others, Morgans was ecstatic, clutching his camera in his wings without pause since the moment it began.
The flash burst repeatedly as he exclaimed excitedly,
"Big News! Big News!"
For the first time in his life, he was experiencing an event of this magnitude up close. His blood was boiling.
Shooting from afar had never been this thrilling.
Of course, he knew he had Leno to thank. If not for Leno deliberately sparing him, he would be kneeling like the others.
He wouldn't have the strength to take pictures. He'd be lucky not to be flattened against the ground.
As the camera kept clicking, Morgans felt shock rising within him.
He hadn't expected that among the Adventurers, besides Captain Leno, there were several more monsters.
Four separate waves of Conqueror's Haki alone. Just imagining it was terrifying.
One glance at the scene made it clear— the BIGMOM Pirates were being utterly crushed, mercilessly overwhelmed.
If Leno defeated BIGMOM as well, their crew would be completely wiped out.
Hearing Morgans' excited whispers, Stussy—also kneeling on the ground—wore a pale, resentful expression.
That damn lecherous brat. After taking advantage of her so many times, couldn't he at least show a little consideration?
Wasn't he rumored to be someone who cherished beauty?
Then what was this situation supposed to be?
Had something gone wrong somewhere?
…
…