Cover Story Serial – Straw Hat Arc: "Stop right there, you brat!"
In the peaceful Windmill Village, two old men burst out of the orchard, faces red with fury, chasing after a tiny figure ahead of them.
But somehow, that little rascal—barely two or three years old—ran like the wind, so fast they couldn't catch up no matter how hard they tried…
In the end, they stopped at a fork in the road, gasping for breath, glaring as the little boy turned around, stuck out his tongue, and strutted off smugly—biting into an apple with a grin.
...
"There's no mistake about it," Perospero said lazily, licking the candy off his lips. "By my count, even if everything goes smoothly, that guy will be stuck in the North Blue for at least a month."
"Of course it's exciting," Katakuri replied evenly, "but I don't think this is a good idea."
"Hey, hey, come on~" Perospero let out his trademark creepy chuckle. "Katakuri, if we send this news back to Whole Cake Island right now, don't you think Mama would love to hear it?"
"Hm?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Perospero suddenly realized something. He looked at Katakuri's calm gaze and twitched the corner of his mouth uncomfortably.
"Why not?" he protested, frowning. "This is the best chance we've ever had! He's far from Marine Headquarters, no reinforcements can reach him in time. If Mama goes in person, we've got this in the bag—ninety-nine percent certain!"
"Ninety-nine percent certain…" Katakuri murmured, shaking his head. "Brother Perospero, don't forget—two years ago, that man fought Kaido to a draw. His strength must be even more terrifying now. Even Mama herself—"
"A draw?"
Perospero snorted. "You call that a draw? He just barely hung on for three or four days thanks to his physique. If Akainu hadn't shown up when he did, that brat would've been a corpse already. And don't you dare compare Mama to Kaido!"
Katakuri fell silent.
What Perospero said wasn't wrong.
No matter what outsiders believed, every child of the Charlotte Family knew: their mother's power surpassed Kaido's.
In the entire New World, the only one who could stand above her was Whitebeard himself.
Worrying that Mama couldn't take down Nao did seem… unreasonable.
"But still…"
Katakuri rubbed his brow, sighing. "I just have a bad feeling about this. It feels wrong to act so rashly."
"When did you get so hesitant, huh?!"
Perospero glared at him, voice rising sharply. "You're not the same brother I know, Katakuri! And don't forget—how has Mama lived these past two years?"
"That wedding back then—she still has nightmares about it! If we don't end this once and for all while we have the chance, do you really want to keep watching her suffer like this?!"
"..."
Katakuri froze for a moment, lifting his head to meet Perospero's angry gaze.
After a brief silence, he finally nodded.
"…I understand. We'll do as you say, Brother Perospero."
Of the Four Blues, the North Blue and the West Blue both bordered directly on the New World, separated only by the Calm Belt — no need to cross the Red Line.
And Whole Cake Island, Big Mom's territory, was located closer to the northern side of the New World.
A fleet couldn't be moved fast enough, nor could it cross the Calm Belt easily—but if Mama herself came… she could reach the North Blue in just one week.
After all—
The Charlotte Family had already suffered multiple humiliations at Nao's hands.
Hopefully this time, everything will go smoothly.
Katakuri lifted his head, his deep eyes gazing toward the distant sky outside the window...
———
More than ten days later.
North Blue, Sally Island.
This was a small island with a population of less than ten thousand — also the location of the Marine's 128th Branch base.
The Thunder Hawk slowly entered the island's harbor. Having received prior notice, the 128th Branch's Captain was already there waiting, personally and enthusiastically leading the way and coordinating the logistics to ensure this massive ship from headquarters could finish resupplying as quickly as possible.
Just two days earlier, when the King of the Arca Kingdom had safely returned to his homeland, most of the Thunder Hawk's escort mission had already been completed.
Once the resupply was done, they only needed to send the last king — Maurice V — back to his country, and then Nao's mission in the North Blue would be officially complete. After that, he could return to headquarters and finally enjoy a well-earned break.
———
Inside the branch base's reception room.
"Vice Admiral, this is the best black tea picked from the local mountain. It's quite famous across the North Blue — please have a taste."
The branch's commanding officer, Captain Garmore, was a man in his early thirties. With a polite smile, he respectfully presented a freshly brewed cup of tea to Nao.
"Thank you," Nao said, taking the cup casually and speaking with his usual warm tone. "If you have other duties, don't worry about me. Once the resupply's finished, I'll be leaving soon anyway — no need to go out of your way to entertain me."
"Understood, Vice Admiral. Then I'll take my leave," Captain Garmore replied, relieved to see Nao quietly sipping his tea.
Vice Admiral Nao really was just as the rumors described — unpretentious and easy to get along with. For someone considered a candidate for Admiral, that kind of humility was incredibly rare...
By comparison, the officers from the North Blue's 1st Branch — those Rear admirals and Commodores who came for annual inspections — always looked for excuses to squeeze out some "benefits." A bunch of parasites…
Especially that damn Rear Admiral Engel. But, since the 128th Branch was under the jurisdiction of the 1st Branch, there was nothing Garmore could do about his superiors...
Grinding his teeth in frustration, Garmore was just about to open the door when —
"Captain! Captain!!"
A young ensign burst in, drenched in sweat and panting hard. "Bad news! Bad news! The lookout at the harbor just reported — pirate ships have been sighted heading full speed toward the base!"
Garmore, who'd been about to scold him, froze in surprise.
"Pirate ships coming here?"
That was rare — when had North Blue pirates ever had the guts to attack a Marine base head-on?
Instinctively, he looked toward Nao, who remained calmly sipping his tea, showing no sign of concern.
"Take me there!"
Realizing what Nao intended, Captain Garmore didn't dare delay. He immediately led his men out.
A few minutes later—
At the harbor, the entire branch base was now mobilized. Large numbers of Marines had assembled and stood in full battle formation.
"So they really dared to come..."
Captain Garmore lowered his binoculars with a cold smirk, showing no sign of panic.
Judging by the pirate flag, the captain should be "Butcher Blade" Rocassa, with a bounty of 25 million berries. He commanded just over a hundred men, with only a handful of halfway competent officers. Maybe in the East Blue he could act like a king—but in the North Blue, he was nothing more than a third-rate thug.
Garmore had seen real battles before; guys like this didn't scare him at all.
However—
He soon noticed something was wrong and hurriedly raised his binoculars again.
Beyond Rocassa's ship, more shadows began to emerge from the mist on the sea—one after another, until a dozen more pirate ships appeared, converging from all directions.
"What the hell is going on!?"
"How could this be… When did a pirate alliance of this size appear in this area?"
The officers of the 128th Branch were thrown into chaos. Garmore's pupils shrank, and cold sweat began to drip down his temples.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a blur of movement.
A few figures suddenly appeared before him — Onigumo and Momonga among them, along with other officers from the Thunder Hawk. Each one wore a billowing cloak of justice, and even the lowest among them held the rank of Commodore. They stood staring coldly toward the distant ships, exuding overwhelming presence.
Now we're safe!
Garmore breathed a sigh of relief. Normally, repelling pirate attacks was the duty of his branch, but with over ten pirate crews converging at once, it was obvious this was beyond the 128th Branch's ability to handle. Thankfully, these high-ranking officers from headquarters were finally taking the field.
That meant most of the pressure was off him.
However—
His brief relief didn't last long. Because the moment he noticed one particular pirate ship among the fleet, he realized that the expressions of those "big shots" from headquarters had also turned grim and heavy.
A chill crept up Garmore's spine.
"Something's not right, Momonga…"
Onigumo lowered his binoculars, frowning as he muttered, "If my eyes aren't mistaken, that man standing at the bow of the ship — that's Perospero, eldest son of the Charlotte Family."
"No mistake," Momonga said, his tone grim. "And that young woman beside him is one of the Sweet Commanders — Smoothie. I don't know why the Charlotte Family is here, but it's clear they're not targeting the 128th Branch. They're coming for us."
"…Or rather, they're coming for me."
The calm voice came from behind them.
"Vice Admiral!"
Everyone — including Captain Garmore — turned their heads at once.
There stood Nao, who had been quietly drinking tea in the reception hall just minutes ago. Now he was at the harbor, his eyes fixed calmly on the approaching pirate ships.
"Other than those few from the Charlotte Family," he said softly, "the rest are just North Blue riffraff — probably minor crews under Big Mom's flag, or maybe they were just recruited as cannon fodder."
His gaze fell on the leading ship.
"To cross the Calm Belt safely — that's not something these people could do on their own. For them to appear here, there's only one possibility…"
"What possibility?" Onigumo asked, frowning.
Momonga's face went pale as the realization hit him. "Vice Admiral… you don't mean—"
"Ah. That's right."
Nao's tone remained composed, though his eyes had grown sharper. "That madwoman herself — Big Mom — has almost certainly come in person."
He hadn't even finished the word come—
BOOM!
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered over the sky. Thunder rumbled as Zeus transformed into a massive storm cloud, descending from above — carrying on its back a towering figure, as enormous and fleshy as a living mountain of meat.
It was unmistakable — even from hundreds of meters away, anyone could recognize her instantly.
It was BIG MOM!!!
For a moment, the entire harbor erupted into chaos. Countless marines stared up at that terrifyingly huge, plump silhouette in the sky, their faces pale and eyes filled with dread.
That was one of the Emperors of the Sea, ruler of the New World itself!
And she had come personally — all the way to the North Blue?
With several of her top officers in tow?
How could the marines of such a small branch possibly resist something like this?!
The elite marines of the Thunder Hawk, though not panicked, also looked grim.
They exchanged glances, drew in deep breaths, and unsheathed their weapons.
Even if their opponent was a Sea Emperor — so what?
They trusted their commanding officer.
They believed in Vice Admiral Nao.
Still… a bitter battle was inevitable.
"Mama Mama—Mama Mama!!!"
BIG MOM stood atop Zeus, crimson lipstick gleaming as she looked down over the harbor. Her bloated, layered face twisted into a monstrous grin.
"So the intel was right after all… waited three days, and here you are! There's no one left to save you now, brat! Let's see how you escape from me this time, Nao!!"
Compared to two years ago, BIG MOM's body had grown even fatter, her face even more wrinkled — but that only made her sneer more horrifying to behold.
"Escape?"
Nao stepped forward to the very edge of the harbor, meeting BIG MOM's gaze across the distance, his lips curling into a cold smile.
"You've got some nerve, Charlotte Linlin. After all these years… do you still think you have the right to talk to me like that?"
"Ma-ma-ma-ma… still as arrogant as ever, little brat."
BIG MOM's grin widened. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as a suffocating aura of power began to build around her.
Above her hat, the blazing sun-like homie roared — swelling several times larger in an instant, its fiery face contorted into a cruel snarl as it glared down at Nao.
"That's just fine. The more you act like this, the more excited and satisfied I'll be when I see you kneeling and begging for mercy later... Brat, it's time to finally settle the grudge between us today!"
With a guttural roar, BIG MOM thrust her massive arm upward and clenched her fist.
Crackle—!
Zeus's once-pure white body split apart, surging into the sky and turning a deep violet-black as it condensed into a storm.
Lightning rolled violently, roaring through the heavens.
"THUNDER!!!"
The moment her voice fell, a thunderous boom tore across the island, shaking the very air.
The swirling mass of black lightning gathered into a single enormous pillar — as thick as a ship's mast — and came crashing down toward Nao like divine wrath itself!