"Give me back the nun!" Charlotte Linlin roared, riding Zeus beneath her feet as she charged straight at Rosinante.
"An aerial battle? I'm not afraid of you!" Rosinante stepped on the very air itself, his body turning into a streak of light, flashing ceaselessly around Charlotte Linlin.
With both hands gripping his blade, he slashed at her again and again, each strike bursting into showers of sparks.
Rosinante, able to nullify gravity at will, could freely sprint through the sky. In midair, there were few—if any—he had ever feared.
"Who brought up the nun?" Streusen asked with a frown.
"It was Rosinante," Daifuku replied, pointing at the figure darting through the air. "He said that over sixty years ago, Mama destroyed a giant village and mentioned the name of the nun, Sister Carmel!"
"Chef Streusen, what exactly is going on with Mama right now? Is this her eating disorder again? Why didn't she call out for any specific food?" Perospero asked.
"Perospero, what happened to you?" Streusen finally noticed his weakened breath and battered body and exclaimed.
"I'm fine. Just some old wounds acting up again. More importantly, think of a way to bring Mama back to her senses quickly. Otherwise, the consequences will be unthinkable," Perospero said worriedly.
"This isn't her eating disorder—it's her mania of reminiscence. I haven't seen Linlin have an episode like this in many years," Streusen expRyand.
"Mania of reminiscence?" everyone echoed in confusion.
"In Linlin's memories, there's a period she treasures deeply. It shaped her entire life. Whenever she recalls it, she's overcome with longing, and it triggers this mania. But it hasn't happened in so many years that none of you have seen it before," Streusen said.
"Then what do we do? How do we stop Mama and bring her back to her senses?" Owen asked anxiously.
"Semla," Streusen said.
"Semla?" the Charlotte family repeated, puzzled.
"It's a kind of food Linlin ate as a child—a specialty of Elbaf, the giants' kingdom. Only that food can draw out the happiness she felt back then and bring her satisfaction. That's the only way to awaken her," Streusen expRyand.
He couldn't help but recall the days right after they had first set out to sea together.
Back then, Linlin often had episodes of mania, but rarely her eating disorder. To calm her down, Streusen had the idea to make her Semla. It worked—her mania eased.
Because Semla carried with it her yearning for her old companions, it made her feel happy… and that happiness smoothed away her madness.
"So… do we have to go to the giants' kingdom to get this Semla?" Daifuku asked.
"No, that's not necessary. I'll have the chefs prepare it right away. We have the ingredients on hand—it just takes a little time," Streusen said.
"Chef Streusen, hurry and get the chefs started!" Perospero urged.
"Understood! I'll go and direct them right now!" Streusen said, dashing toward the kitchen of the Cake Chateau.
"Let's hope we're not too late," Perospero muttered as he watched Streusen leave.
"What's there to worry about? Once Mama regains her senses, no matter how strong Rosinante is, he won't be her match!" Daifuku said.
"Let's hope so…" Perospero said, turning his gaze back to the battlefield.
Thunder roared. Flames raged.
Charlotte Linlin commanded her three great Homies to relentlessly assault Rosinante. Zeus beneath her feet unleashed lightning, Prometheus clung to her hair to feed Napoleon with fire, and Linlin swung the flaming sword again and again.
Rosinante's figure flickered endlessly—phantom-like, a streak of flowing light. He moved so fast that the eyes of those watching could no longer follow. With both hands gripping his blades, he unleashed Heaven-Shattering Slashes one after another. The moment Charlotte Linlin's reaction slowed, she was struck.
Rosinante's Heaven-Shattering Slashes grew ever more refined. His strikes still looked as wild and chaotic as before, but the power within each cut became more contained… and more lethally sharp.
When his blade struck her, it now carried the faint tendency to break through even Charlotte Linlin's Armament Haki defense.
In this battle, Rosinante's offense only grew fiercer and fiercer, making Perospero's worry deepen.
Then—swish!—Rosinante flashed past Linlin again, but this time his strike didn't land on her body. Instead, his blade cleaved straight into the thundercloud, Zeus.
With a single swing, Zeus was sliced cleanly in two.
Losing her footing, Charlotte Linlin stumbled and plummeted.
"Release—Double-Handed Heaven-Shattering Slash!" Rosinante roared. Both hands gripped his blade as he raised Ziming high above his head. An endless aura surged from him like a rising storm.
The sheer force of it made every member of the Big Mom Pirates gape in shock.
"This aura… Impossible! How can Rosinante have such presence? It's still not on Mama's level, but it's several times stronger than before!" Daifuku exclaimed.
"That means his next attack is going to be no ordinary blow!" Baron Tamago said in alarm.
"This is bad… Mama's in a frenzy right now. I don't know if she can withstand this strike!" Perospero muttered.
"I'll shield Mama!" Cracker declared.
Clapping his hands together, he began forming biscuits.
He knew his earlier biscuit soldiers had been sliced in half by Rosinante with a single blow, so if they were just ordinary ones, they wouldn't even last a moment against what was coming.
Pouring out his strength, he made biscuit soldiers far tougher than before.
Each one stood with four sturdy legs for stability, and four arms for defense—three gripping biscuit shields, the last wielding a longsword.
They lined up in dense layers before Charlotte Linlin, shields raised toward Rosinante.
At that moment, the blade in Rosinante's hands flared—the aura rising from it shot straight into the sky, condensing into a massive blade of light.
That light blade stretched twenty to thirty meters long.
With both hands, Rosinante swung it down in a single, devastating strike toward Charlotte Linlin.