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Chapter 36 - chapter 36

Screen 1 — Whole Cake Island Begins

The moment Luffy's rescue squad sets sail, the mood shifts.

Everyone's excited… except Sans.

The ocean around Totto Land feels strange — sugary air, twisted weather, islands shaped like candy and faces.

Luffy points ahead like it's nothing:

> "We'll just grab Sanji and go!"

Sans doesn't match his energy. He folds his arms, eye glowing faintly.

> "Luffy… this won't be easy.

You're walking into a Yonko's nest."

Luffy laughs, but he still listens. He knows Sans never gives warnings without reason.

Sans taps his skull lightly.

> "Big Mom's territory is built to trap you.

Every island watches you.

Every road leads to her."

Nami turns serious immediately. She knows that's not a joke.

Chopper gulps.

Brook nods slowly.

Carrot's ears twitch.

Even carefree Luffy takes a breath and says:

> "Yeah… I get it. But we're still getting Sanji back."

Sans shrugs.

> "Then stay sharp.

This place eats people alive…

literally."

Screen 2 — Entering Big Mom's Territory

The moment the rescue crew crosses into Totto Land, the sea itself starts talking.

Trees hum.

Flowers giggle.

A giant donut-shaped island sings its own welcome song.

Nami shivers.

Chopper hides behind Brook.

Carrot is fascinated.

Luffy just laughs.

But Sans?

He stops walking, hands in his pockets, eye glowing with a quiet calculation.

He scans the living terrain — the way the homies move, the unnatural soul signatures drifting through the air, every object watching them.

> "Yeah… this is dangerous.

But I kinda like it."

His voice stays flat, but everyone can tell he's serious.

This isn't Thriller Bark's playful spookiness.

This is something older, hungrier, built from stolen lifespans.

Brook tightens his grip on his cane-sword.

> "These souls… they're real. All of them."

Pekoms warns:

> "Stay alert. Mama's eyes are everywhere."

Sans smirks.

> "Good.

Let her watch.

If she wants a fight… we'll give her a show."

It's the first moment the crew realizes that Totto Land isn't colorful — it's a trap wearing bright colors

Screen 3 — Luffy and Sans Search for Sanji

The rescue team splits up across Totto Land's bizarre landscape, and as usual, Luffy and Sans end up wandering off on their own.

The trees whisper directions that lead nowhere.

Candy roads shift under their feet.

Every living object tries to confuse them.

Luffy pushes through the forest shouting:

> "Sanji! Oi! Where are you?!"

The homies laugh in the bushes.

Sans walks a few steps behind him, hands in his pockets, listening to everything the island mutters.

> "This place doesn't want us finding him,"

he says calmly.

A group of edible soldiers — biscuit men with candy armor — ambush them.

Luffy charges in immediately.

> "Outta my way! I'm here for Sanji!"

He punches through the biscuit squad like it's nothing.

Sans stays still until one of the homies whispers a lie to mislead them.

Then his eye flares.

BLAM

A precision blaster shot vaporizes an entire candy platoon.

Sans sighs.

> "Yeah. Getting lost is part of the adventure.

But these guys are annoying."

Luffy grins at him.

> "Good! If they're in the way, we just beat 'em and move forward!"

Sans nods once.

> "Then let's go.

Sanji's not far… but this forest's gonna get weirder."

The two continue deeper into Totto Land — one running with reckless hope, the other reading the island's twisted logic like a puzzle waiting to be cracked.

Screen 4 — Cracker vs Luffy & Sans

Cracker unleashes wave after wave of Biscuit Soldiers, each one harder, sharper, and faster than the last. The forest shakes with every strike.

Cracker:

> "You'll never reach me. I can fight for days!"

Luffy rushes in, trading blows, but Cracker's armor keeps reforming instantly.

Sans just watches for a moment, hands in pockets.

Sans:

> "Eleven hours, huh?

Not today."

He snaps his fingers.

Eleven Gaster Blasters materialize in a circle above the battlefield, glowing with haki-infused light.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!

The entire biscuit army evaporates in seconds.

Cracker is stunned.

Cracker:

> "W-WHAT—?! You can't destroy them that fast!"

Sans teleports behind him.

Sans:

> "Buddy. I'm a skeleton.

I don't do long fights."

Cracker panics and charges in, forcing Luffy to finally see his real body.

Luffy grins.

Luffy:

> "There you are!"

He activates Gear Fourth: Tankman — his expanded, compressed version fueled by eating Cracker's biscuits.

Cracker tries to cut through the balloon-like mass of haki and muscle, but his sword can't dent it.

Luffy pulls him in:

Luffy:

> "Full…

TANK…"

Sans adds:

Sans:

> "Aim assist."

He teleports Cracker right in front of Tankman's punch.

Luffy:

> "CANNONBALL!!!"

The combined hit sends Cracker flying straight through the Seducing Woods, breaking trees, armor, and his pride in one shot.

He's knocked out instantly.

Screen 5 — Luffy & Sans vs. Big Mom's Armies (10 Hours)

Luffy and Sans push deeper into Totto Land, but the moment Cracker falls, the entire Charlotte Family reacts like a hive waking up.

Snack troops. Biscuit soldiers. Chess soldiers. Homies made of trees, pastries, and weapons.

Dozens of Big Mom's children rush out to stop them.

Luffy cracks his knuckles.

> "Bring it on! I'm not leaving without Sanji!"

Sans adjusts his jacket, eyes glowing faintly.

> "Ten hours, huh?

Good time for a warm-up."

---

The Battle Turns Into a Marathon

What starts as a fight becomes a siege.

Luffy:

Gear 2, Gear 3, dodging, sprinting, smashing through living food armies.

Sans:

Teleporting between attacks

Launching blasters in wide arcs

Using Observation Haki to read ambushes

Keeping Luffy from getting overwhelmed

Anytime Luffy gets slowed, Sans clears a path with a clean, surgical hit.

---

Big Mom's Reaction

Homies tremble as she screams:

> "WHOEVER LET CRACKER LOSE…

MAKE UP FOR IT!"

Army after army closes in, but Luffy refuses to stop.

Sans doesn't let his energy dip for a second.

Even when it becomes night and then morning again, they keep going — step after step, wave after wave.

---

After 10 straight hours

Thousands of homies defeated.

Dozens of Charlotte siblings knocked aside.

More than half the forest destroyed.

Luffy finally stops, hands on his knees, panting.

Sans stretches his neck.

> "Not bad.

But we're still far from Sanji."

Luffy grins wide.

> "Good. Then we keep going."

Screen 6 — Sanji's Breakdown, Luffy's Stand, Sans Watching

Sanji finally steps out of the carriage to face Luffy and Sans.

He forces himself to act cold, pretending he no longer cares about the crew.

He calls himself a prince now.

He says the Straw Hats were just "a small detour."

Then he kicks Luffy again and again, each blow heavier than the last.

Sans is frozen for the first time.

He knows Sanji is lying, but the way Sanji is crushing himself inside leaves him speechless.

He glances at Nami — she's furious, but she can't even speak.

Sanji keeps shouting:

> "Go home! I don't belong with you!"

But Luffy doesn't fight back.

He takes every hit, barely staying on his feet.

Finally, he mutters:

> "You're the one who's hurting more, Sanji…"

Those words stop Sanji for a second… then he forces himself to walk away.

Luffy collapses from hunger, exhaustion, and the ten hours of nonstop fighting.

But even lying in the dirt, he screams with everything he has:

> "I'm not leaving!

I'll stay here and wait!

Because you're my cook…

and I'm your captain!"

Sans kneels beside him, quiet for once, just keeping Luffy alive with a soft glow of magic — refusing to leave him too.

Screen 7 — Luffy, Nami, and Sans Get Captured

After the Cracker fight, Luffy, Nami, and Sans reach Sweet City… but Big Mom's forces are already waiting.

Mont d'Or traps them inside his book world.

Opera surrounds them with living cream.

Galette locks down the ground with her butter.

Brûlée uses her mirrors to cut off every escape route.

Daifuku's genie swings a blade that fills the street.

Luffy tries to power through all of them at once — but he's exhausted, starving, and still hurt from Cracker.

Nami gets pinned down.

Sans fires a few blasters, but he's nearly drained after 10 hours of nonstop fighting.

He sighs, annoyed but resigned:

> "Not this again…"

The trio is overwhelmed and captured, dragged deeper into Big Mom's control.

Screen 8 — Trapped Inside Mont d'Or's Book

Mont d'Or steps forward, calm and confident, book in hand.

The air around him ripples like paper being flipped.

His Book-Book Fruit activates.

The floor beneath Luffy, Nami, and Sans bends like a page.

They try to resist:

Luffy grabs the ground.

Nami panics and swings her Clima-Tact.

Sans tries to teleport out — but the moment he opens a shortcut, the page snaps and collapses on him.

It's like the book itself cuts off his escape route.

> fwshhh

All three get sucked into the pages.

The book slams shut.

Mont d'Or chuckles as he lifts it up, placing it neatly onto a shelf.

> "Straw Hat… the navigator… and that skeleton…

This chapter ends here."

Screen 9 — Inside the Book Prison

The prison is a twisted paper world.

Bars made from layered pages bend around them like a cage.

Every time Luffy stretches an arm through, the paper reshapes, trapping him again.

> "Grrr— I can't even move right!"

He slams the bars. They don't budge.

Nami shivers as strange creatures stare at them from nearby "cells," each trapped in their own page windows.

Some roar.

Some hiss.

Some whisper.

> "We're inside a library of living things…"

Nami keeps her voice low. "This place feels wrong."

Sans sits cross-legged in one corner, eye glowing faintly. He's silent at first, scanning the structure.

He taps the paper floor once.

> "Yeah… this isn't normal magic.

It's layered dimensions.

The more you fight it, the tighter it closes."

For Luffy, that's the worst news possible.

Hours pass.

Food runs out.

The book stiffens around them.

Mont d'Or casually stores the book on a massive shelf filled with hundreds of trapped creatures stacked like trophies.

Luffy grips the bars, teeth clenched.

This is one of the very few times he's completely immobilized… and he hates it.

Sans keeps calculating, eyes narrowed.

He knows escaping this place won't be simple—

but he also knows they won't stay here forever.

Screen 10 — Big Mom Interrogates Nami

Big Mom's footsteps shake the entire floor as the book cages tremble.

She opens the page-door to Nami and leans in with a smile that's too wide to be friendly.

> "Where is my daughter, Lola?"

Nami stays firm, even shaking a little.

> "She ran away because she wanted freedom.

That's all."

Big Mom's eye twitches.

> "Then you're useless to me."

She slams the book shut.

> "You'll stay in that book forever."

She doesn't even glance at Luffy.

She turns her massive back and leaves.

The room falls silent.

Nami's breathing shakes.

Luffy grips the bars, trembling with anger.

Sans just watches the doorway Big Mom left through.

His expression doesn't change… but something behind his eye flickers.

He doesn't shout.

He doesn't panic.

He just thinks.

> "She's strong. On her own ground. And she thinks we're stuck."

He taps the cage wall with a knuckle.

"Fine. Let her think that."

Screen 11 — Pudding Enters the Book Prison

The book dungeon rustles like it's breathing.

Every page whispers fear.

Nami hugs herself. Luffy glares at the bars like he could burn through them with rage alone. Sans… sits in silence. Eye half-glowing. Thinking. Planning.

The cell door creaks.

Pudding steps into the narrow book corridor, her shadow stretched and warped by candlelight.

She walks slowly… too slowly.

Her voice is soft, but it cuts like a blade:

> "Mama will slaughter the Vinsmokes at the altar."

Nami goes pale.

Luffy's jaw tightens hard enough that blood runs from his bitten lip.

Pudding smiles wider as she continues:

> "Sanji will die pretending he's happy.

And the rest of you?

You'll die screaming in front of him."

Luffy roars:

> "Say that again—!"

The paper cage clamps down tighter, halting him mid-lunge.

He can't move. He can barely breathe.

Pudding kneels near Sans now. He doesn't look at her. He stares down, hands shaking… just slightly.

She tilts her head.

> "Aw… is the little skeleton scared?

Your jokes won't save you here."

She taps the bars beside his skull.

> "Soul magic… that's Mama's specialty.

She'll rip out whatever you have left and wear it like jewelry."

Sans finally lifts his eye to hers.

No joke. No sarcasm. Just a single line that sounds like a threat carved into stone:

> "Touch my crew…

and I'll show you hell."

Pudding's grin curves sharper.

> "Then you'll be the first one I break."

She stands, brushing the ash of burned-out emotions off her dress.

Her expression shifts into that cold third-eye glare.

> "Enjoy your last night alive.

The wedding curtain rises at dawn."

She leaves the door open behind her.

Not out of kindness. Just confidence.

She knows they can't escape.

---

The candlelight fades.

Nami sinks to her knees, shaking.

Luffy still claws at the bars until his nails break, whispering Sanji's name like a plea.

Sans presses his hand to the ground, magic flickering uncontrollably. For the first time since he arrived in this world…

He's afraid.

Because this time…

failure means watching his family die.

He looks at Luffy.

> "We have to stop that wedding.

No matter what."

Screen 12 — Jinbe Frees Luffy, Nami, and Sans

The prison floor is quiet until a massive shadow steps forward.

Jinbe Arrives

Jinbe shows up without hesitation, eyes sharp.

> "I knew you three would get yourselves caught."

Luffy:

> "Jinbe!! You came to help!"

Sans (arms folded):

> "heh. took you long enough."

Nami:

> "Thank goodness… we couldn't move at all."

---

Opera Tries to Block Him

Opera spreads his arms dramatically.

> "Stop! Big Mom ordered them to stay locked!

Touch that book and you'll face her rage!"

Sans gives him a flat look.

> "buddy… you're already sweating through your fancy coat."

Opera tries to bluff.

> "I-I already told Mama everything!

I… confessed!"

Sans raises an eyebrow.

> "that's a lie."

Opera freezes instantly.

---

Jinbe Forces the Truth Out

Jinbe steps forward, towering over Opera.

> "You haven't spoken to Big Mom… I can smell your fear. Open the book."

Opera shakes, tries to argue, but Jinbe won't budge.

> "Do it. Now."

Opera breaks completely.

---

The Book Is Destroyed

Jinbe grips the enchanted book, channels Fish-Man Karate, and tears it apart in one clean strike.

FWASH—!

The pages explode into white light.

Luffy shoots out first.

> "FREEDOM!!"

Nami rushes out behind him.

Sans steps out calmly, brushing off paper dust.

> "finally. i was starting to think i'd need to eat the book."

---

Jinbe Joins the Rescue Team

Jinbe bows slightly.

> "From this point on… I stand with you, Luffy."

Luffy grins.

> "Then let's go get Sanji!"

Sans:

> "and maybe punch that opera guy again on the way out."

Be continued

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