Looking at Chiffon, who was trembling from crying, and the surrounding brothers and sisters who had lowered their heads into a deathly silence, Katakuri was the first to break the heavy quiet.
He began issuing orders, stabilizing the chaotic situation.
After arranging all the defensive matters, he turned to Oven and the others.
"You lot, come with me. We're stopping Mama."
…
The scorching smoke kicked up by the explosion was still rolling through the air.
Inside the charred crater, Big Mom was roaring wildly, searching for the kitchen's location.
"I… survived?"
Bege lay on the rubble at the edge of the crater, gasping heavily. Every breath pulled at his chest and sent sharp pain through him.
He struggled to lift his head and looked at himself, now lying near the edge of the explosion, his face filled with disbelief.
At the final moment, he had clearly intended to take Big Mom down with him and detonated every cannonball inside his castle body.
Even if the explosion could not kill Big Mom, he wanted to use its force to buy Chiffon enough time.
By his calculations, he should have been blown to pieces.
So why was he still alive?
While Bege was still filled with doubt, a calm voice came from beside him.
"I saved you."
A figure wearing a white spotted hat landed on the rubble. Trafalgar Law raised a hand and pressed it against Bege's bleeding waist and abdomen.
Pale-blue light gathered at his fingertips, stopping the blood that had been gushing out.
"The moment the explosion went off inside you, I used my ability to pull you out of the center."
Law's tone remained steady as he quickly treated the wounds on Bege's back.
"That was seriously close. If I'd been half a second later, your body would have been torn apart by the blast."
"You… Trafalgar Law?"
Bege gritted his teeth and forced back the groan of pain that had almost escaped his mouth.
"Weren't you looking for Cain? Why are you here?"
"Don't talk so loudly! Save your strength if you want to live."
Law glanced at him and quickly examined his injuries, making a judgment.
"The external wounds look bad, but they're not fatal. What's really dangerous are the tears in your internal organs and the multiple fractures…"
While Law was speaking, Bege suddenly shouted, "FORGET ABOUT ME! BIG MOM'S COMING!"
Big Mom, who had been smashing the ruins to vent her rage, had now discovered them.
Her crimson eyes, maddened by her craving fit, were locked firmly onto the two people at the edge of the crater.
Drool dripped from her mouth as she repeatedly muttered "cake" and "kill you."
Her massive body carried an overwhelming pressure, and the ground beneath her feet cracked layer by layer as she charged straight toward them.
At that critical moment, a broad blue figure suddenly appeared in front of them. His feet slammed into the ground, forcibly blocking the pressure of her charge.
"FISH-MAN KARATE: SHARK TILE TRUE PUNCH!"
Jinbe gave a deep shout.
His right fist, wrapped in tremendous water pressure drawn from the air, struck forward with crushing force.
The highly compressed water pressure created a massive impact that slammed accurately into Big Mom's chest, forcing the rampaging Emperor to stagger backward again and again.
She lost her balance and crashed into the ruins behind her, kicking up clouds of dust.
After calming the runaway mechanical shark earlier, Jinbe had been searching for Cain together with Law.
They had only just arrived here and happened to catch this moment.
"Jinbe, I'm leaving this to you. I need to take him for treatment!"
Law did not hesitate and immediately bent down to support the badly injured Bege.
At that moment, the Heart Pirates crew members who had gone to ready the ship came rushing over with a stretcher. Several of them took Bege and turned toward the submarine hidden by the coast.
Bege's consciousness was wavering between clarity and darkness.
He kept blinking, trying to stay awake.
But when his gaze swept past, he suddenly caught sight of the purple-haired woman tied tightly to Law's back with rope.
It was Charlotte Brûlée.
She struggled fiercely, finally spitting out the towel stuffed in her mouth.
The moment she looked up and saw the familiar figure rushing over from the distance, she shouted with all her strength, "KATAKURI-NII-SAN! SAVE ME!"
Katakuri, who was moving at high speed on a mass of mochi, saw his pupils shrink sharply.
He clearly saw Brûlée tied to Law's back.
He clearly saw the fear on her face.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Why had Brûlée been captured?
Weren't these people the ones who had come with Cain and Uta?
Why would they suddenly do something like this?
Was it betrayal between pirates?
If Brûlée had been captured, then what about Uta, who had been with her?
Had something happened to her too?
On one side was his own sister.
On the other was his future sister-in-law.
The line Katakuri could least tolerate being crossed was completely touched.
The next second, terrifying red-black Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body.
Red-black lightning crackled and leapt, sweeping across the entire open space.
…
Why had Brûlée been captured?
And where exactly had Uta gone?
Let us turn time back to half an hour earlier.
After receiving Katakuri's message and confirming that he temporarily did not need support, Brûlée sent the people who had been transferred into the Mirro-World earlier to other islands one by one.
While doing so, Brûlée began thinking more and more.
At this moment, Cain had not given any orders, and Katakuri had not given any follow-up instructions.
The situation with the cake had already been confirmed. Chiffon was busy preparing it, but there was no way she could finish it in a short time.
Mama was still out of control.
Under these circumstances, tomorrow's wedding clearly could not proceed normally.
Yet Uta still wanted to go out and provide support.
Brûlée, however, felt that outside was far too dangerous. She absolutely could not let anything happen to Uta.
With that thought in mind, after sending away the last resident, she waited until Uta was not paying attention, left the Mirro-World, and trapped Uta inside alone.
Although it was a decision she made on her own, she believed it was for Uta's good.
After all, without Brûlée herself acting as the ability user and medium, no one could enter or leave the Mirro-World.
Facing Uta, who kept slapping the mirror and shouting that she wanted to go out, Brûlée said apologetically,
"I'm sorry, Uta. It's too dangerous outside. Please stay inside for now."
What Brûlée did not expect was that Law, who was searching for Cain and Uta, heard that sentence perfectly.
After that, she was captured by Law.
No matter how Law questioned her, Brûlée swallowed every word for Cain and Uta's sake, refusing to say even a single thing.
Law could not bring himself to use heavy force against her.
Although he did not know the exact situation and did not understand the details of Brûlée's ability, he first had the others carry the mirror trapping Uta onto the submarine.
After that, he and Jinbe continued questioning her, using both threats and temptations. They spent a long time on it, but Brûlée still refused to say anything.
Only then did Law tie Brûlée up, carry her on his back, and withdraw toward the shore together with Jinbe.
Immediately afterward, they encountered Bege, who was covered in blood and preparing to detonate the cannonballs inside his body.
Law acted at once to save him, while also contacting Bepo and the others, telling them to bring a stretcher over.
That was how everything had unfolded.
…
Back to the present.
At this moment, Katakuri's face was dark.
After seeing Mama temporarily held back by Jinbe, he turned and stared fixedly in Law's direction.
He raised the trident Mogura in his hand and shouted coldly, "HOW DO YOU WANT TO DIE?"
---------
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