This Devil Fruit granted her power and physical might comparable to an ancient ferocious beast.
The giant form she had just displayed was precisely a manifestation of that ability.
Through tireless day-and-night development, she could even transform into a mountain-like giant dozens of meters tall—and that was still far from her limit.
This was one of the hidden trump cards of the Amazon Lily stronghold, a blade that had yet to be revealed to the world.
"So these people are the disposable pawns Lord Tenma plans to throw out?"
Sandersonia lowered her gaze to the unlucky men lying unconscious on the ground, her expression indifferent.
No matter how strict Wano's governance was, with such a large population, a few scum blinded by greed would always slip through.
These people could at least be put to use—sent off as self-destructing foot soldiers for Big Mom.
"I wouldn't know. That's for Sister Robin to decide."
Baby 5 spoke as she kicked the men a few times without mercy. "But breaking into a forbidden zone and bribing guards—that's a capital crime to begin with. Even a kid like me knows that. How can these adults be so stupid?"
"People die for wealth, birds die for food. The temptation of immortality is enough to make people flush their brains down the toilet."
A calm, intellectual voice came from the doorway as Robin stepped in gracefully on high heels.
"Sister Robin!"
"Lady Robin!"
The two girls immediately reined in their banter and saluted respectfully.
"Well done. I saw everything."
Robin nodded with a smile, wisdom gleaming in her eyes. "With this little performance, whether it's the pure gold or the human gigantification experiment, it'll be more than enough to make that old hag Big Mom bite the hook."
"As long as we can lure Big Mom into making the first move, the initiative in this war will be in our hands, and our losses can be minimized."
Hearing Robin's praise, Sandersonia scratched her head shyly. "As long as it helps Lord Tenma."
Whether it was the life-saving grace from years ago, her responsibility as a member of Wano, or that slightly awkward "brother-in-law" relationship, she was willing to go through fire and water for Tenma.
By contrast, Baby 5's thoughts were far simpler and more direct.
"As long as I'm needed, I'm happy!"
"Compared to these little skirmishes, the coming great war—that's the stage where I'll prove myself to Lord Tenma!" Baby 5 pumped her fist, brimming with confidence.
Don't be fooled by her age—she was only thirteen. Immersed in the research base among a group of scientific madmen, her horizons and knowledge had long surpassed those of her peers. Coupled with mastery of both Armament and Observation Haki, she was already a rising star.
"Our Amazon Lily won't fall behind either!" Sandersonia declared, unwilling to be outdone.
"I'll convey your resolve to Lord Tenma."
Robin smiled and offered a few reassuring words. Then she walked to the control console. After a series of complicated fingerprint and iris verifications, she sank the specially prepared trap room back into the subterranean core.
A play had to be played through to the end. Some secrets couldn't be seen by even the outer-circle scientists.
After tying up the loose ends, Robin turned to the "bait" on the ground. "Alright, I should go report back. You two go enjoy the festival—days this relaxed won't last much longer."
With that, Robin used her ability to take the unlucky men away.
As Wano's chief strategist, Robin was pushing herself to complete a brilliant transformation—from head steward to wartime tactician.
This chain scheme targeting Big Mom was the icing on the cake she had meticulously planned under Tenma's grand strategy.
Intelligence from the shadow guards in Totto Land indicated that Big Mom's thirty-fifth daughter, Pudding, was a user of the Memo-Memo Fruit.
This was the key link in the plan.
Big Mom's obsession with human gigantification was common knowledge in the New World.
If she could witness—through Pudding's extracted memories—the double temptation of "successful gigantification experiments" and "pure gold," that greedy old hag would undoubtedly go mad.
Once she left Cake Island, Totto Land's advantage in soul reserves would be greatly diminished.
Robin firmly believed that her infallibly calculating general would secure victory in this emperor-level war.
Her role was to make that victory easier—and more elegant.
After all, Tenma's appetite this time was to swallow all of Totto Land, skin and bones included.
The Fire Festival's revelry continued, while a massive net aimed at the Four Emperors quietly spread.
With Tenma's approval, a floating airship equipped with the latest electromagnetic propulsion engine shot out of Wano's waters under cover of night, like a streak of black lightning.
Target: the edge of Totto Land's waters.
With technological power behind it, a voyage that would normally take days was compressed to the extreme.
In just half a day, the airship carrying its "bait" had already approached the gates of Totto Land—Cacao Island.
Though it bore the name of an island, in terms of actual size, it was at most just a slightly larger town.
For that reason, when the massive floating vessel pierced the clouds and appeared high overhead, the townsfolk below noticed the anomaly almost instantly.
Someone pointed skyward in shock, his voice trembling with disbelief.
"Look at the sky—what the hell is that thing?!"
The person beside him squinted, pupils shrinking sharply. "That's… a flying ship? Could it be—"
Before the residents of Cacao Island could recover from their shock, the previously clear sky seemed to have its light wiped away by an invisible hand, plunging abruptly into gloom.
Yamato stood hundreds of meters above the ground, violent winds howling around her, whipping her signature gradient-white hair into a wild dance.
In stark contrast to her vibrant, striking appearance, the gaze she cast downward now was as cold as eternal ice.
She slowly raised her right arm, palm facing upward, as if forging a mysterious connection with the roiling storm clouds deep in the heavens.
Crackling explosions rang out as high-voltage currents surged instantly across her skin.
Countless blinding arcs of electricity converged wildly. Yamato seemed born as the sovereign of lightning itself, completely immune to the backlash of such violent energy.
When the lightning sphere in her palm compressed to its limit, she swung her arm upward in a sharp, decisive motion.
The condensed lightning transformed into a roaring thunder dragon, howling as it shot straight into the clouds.
Whoosh—BOOOOM!!
Scorching, dazzling lightning tore through the darkness, forcibly kneading the scattered storm clouds into a terrifying mass of thunder and lightning.
Deep within the clouds, thousands upon thousands of intertwined currents gathered in an instant, weaving the entire sky into a net of death.
Lightning flickered across nearly the whole firmament, suffocating everyone on Cacao Island with overwhelming visual pressure.
The guards stationed on the island turned pale, terrified screams erupting one after another.
The captain roared himself hoarse. "Enemy attack! Everyone scatter and find cover! Send a distress signal to Cake Island—NOW!!!"
Yet the moment his desperate shout rang out, Yamato did not hesitate in the slightest. Her raised arm swept downward without mercy.
This move was called—
Ten Thousand Thunderbolts!
BOOOOM—!
The accumulated thunderous power broke free in an instant, transforming into countless ferocious lightning serpents that plunged downward with world-destroying fury.
The earth shattered the moment it touched the lightning. Solid buildings collapsed like paper.
Countless fragments of stone and rubble were blasted into the air, only to be struck again by dense follow-up bolts, pulverized into dust midair.
A terrifying shockwave erupted from the impact point, forming an almost tangible blast that mercilessly swept across everything on the ground.
Charred smoke and the stench of destruction spread across the island at an alarming speed.
In just a few minutes, under the carpet-bombing devastation of Ten Thousand Thunderbolts, more than half of the once-prosperous Cacao Island was reduced to a silent wasteland.
...
New World — Cake Island.
This was the absolute core stronghold of the Big Mom Pirates, a place that struck terror into countless pirates.
"That damned brat Tenma! How dare he send people to stir up trouble on my turf! Is he trying to start an all-out war?!"
Charlotte Linlin's furious roar rolled across the entire island like thunder, even throwing the sky's weather into chaos under the weight of her rage.
Inside the massive cake castle, the Homies imbued with life by the Soul-Soul Fruit were acutely sensitive to their creator's emotions. One by one, they curled up in corners, trembling in fear.
The usual singing, dancing, and eerie fairy-tale cheer was nowhere to be found. Every living thing feared drawing her attention and being stuffed straight into Big Mom's mouth.
Outside the hall, her children—led by eldest son Perospero and eldest daughter Compote—stood with grave expressions, fear impossible to hide in their eyes.
No one spoke. All eyes were fixed on the terrifying figure deep within the hall.
At this moment, the mother who had given them life no longer felt like family—she was a prehistoric beast ready to devour its prey.
In a daze, they could almost see visible black miasma pouring endlessly from her body.
It was a sign of Charlotte Linlin's emotional collapse—the terrifying intimidation made manifest when the Soul-Soul Fruit combined with Conqueror's Haki.
At times like this, anyone foolish enough to rush in would likely be greeted by that infamous soul incantation and have their lifespan mercilessly stripped away.
Someone muttered in a hushed, shaken voice, "It's rare… Mom's this angry again…"
Another swallowed hard. "Last time was when Brother Katakuri failed his mission at Fish-Man Island, right?"
"Good thing Lola isn't an adult yet and wasn't assigned as Cacao Island's minister. Otherwise, we'd probably be preparing to collect a sister's body today."
"All of this is that Flying General's fault! Why does he always have it out for us? It's like he's got his sights set on us!"
Under such suffocating pressure, many of the siblings could only vent their fear by quietly cursing the culprit.
Seeing her brothers and sisters in such disarray, Smoothie crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, speaking coldly.
"In a place like the New World, where the weak are prey, isn't everything we do for benefit? Instead of whining like resentful wives, why don't you use your brains and think about how to calm Mom's anger?"
Though her blunt words drew displeased looks from some of the older siblings, not one dared to confront her directly.
In the Big Mom Pirates, even among blood relatives, authority was determined entirely by strength.
Just like last time—Katakuri had angered Mom with his mistake, but in the end, his strength spared him any real punishment.
Smoothie might be only middle-aged among the siblings, but her power was undeniable, firmly occupying the second seat among the Sweet Commanders.
At the mention of the Sweet Commanders, the image of a man who served as the family's stabilizing pillar surfaced in everyone's mind.
Almost the moment the thought arose, a tall man with short maroon hair stepped in through the main doors.
In his hand, he dragged several men bound tightly in resilient mochi, hauling them along like dead dogs.
Under the gazes of his siblings, Katakuri raised the captives with one hand and calmly announced, "These are the culprits behind this incident—the trash that dared to cause trouble on our territory."
Perospero's eyes widened as he blurted out, "Katakuri… you actually captured them alive? These are men under the Flying General!"
"After some intensive interrogation, they can no longer be considered his people."
Katakuri swept his gaze across the crowd, voice flat. "Besides, anyone who dares to run wild on Totto Land— even if he were Whitebeard's own son—has no reason to leave here in one piece."
There was a hidden concern he had noticed long ago but kept unspoken to maintain morale.
Ever since the Tea Party incident on Cake Island, the name "Tenma" had planted a seed called fear in the hearts of his family.
—Thump! Thump!
Heavy footsteps shook the floor as Charlotte Linlin, still seething with rage, finally noticed the mochi-bound captives tossed into the hall.
"Katakuri."
Her voice echoed through the hall, cold and piercing. Katakuri immediately replied respectfully, "Mother, these are the ones who caused trouble in our waters a few days ago."
At that, Charlotte Linlin's bloodshot eyes locked onto the prisoners. Veins bulged across her forehead like writhing earthworms.
—Bzzzz!
An invisible, terrifying pressure spread outward. Then the captives' bodies began to change grotesquely, as if white spectral forms were slowly being peeled from their flesh.
The men were instantly terrified out of their wits, screaming in agony.
"We didn't destroy the island! We're innocent!"
"Please! Don't kill me! Lady Big Mom, I'll defect to you! I'll do anything!"
"That's right! We know a shocking secret—you'll definitely be interested!"
Knowing Big Mom's horrifying ability to extract lifespan at will, they desperately threw out bargaining chips to beg for their lives.
Hearing their pleas, Charlotte Linlin didn't immediately drain their souls. Instead, she forcibly suppressed her rage and barked coldly,
"What exactly happened? Explain everything—clearly!"
The captives exchanged glances, then as if reaching an unspoken agreement, pushed forward the sharpest, most eloquent among them to speak.
Trembling, he said, "A few days ago, we happened to come into contact with a mysterious researcher. He had information about something called 'pure gold.' It's said that even a tiny piece can grant true immortality."
"..."
To save his life, he kept things concise, conveying the core clearly.
Charlotte Linlin fell into brief silence. After a moment, she called out heavily, "Pudding!"
At her summons, a young girl with bangs covering her forehead and twin pigtails timidly stepped out from behind the crowd.
"Extract all of their memories and let me see them!"
In this family, no one dared disobey Charlotte Linlin. Pudding hurried forward and plunged her hand directly into their heads, pulling out memory fragments like film reels.
After extracting and carefully organizing the reels into a coherent narrative, she cautiously presented them to Charlotte Linlin.
Charlotte Linlin eagerly reviewed the memories—impossible to falsify—and even cross-checked them with the others' recollections.
As she read on, the fire of rage in her eyes slowly faded, replaced by a tangible greed rising from the depths of her heart.
What did she see?!
Charlotte Linlin gasped aloud, "Pure gold! And… human gigantification experiments?!"
If there were a ranking of dreams in Charlotte Linlin's heart, human gigantification would be firmly at the top, rivaling even her ambition to build Totto Land.
Deeply influenced by Mother Carmel in her childhood, she had never forgotten that vision of a land where everyone was equal, without racial distinction, treated the same.
[One day, I'll make everyone in the world bigger, so we can all sit equally around one table and eat together.]
This was the warped dream she inherited from Carmel—a final aspiration no less important than pursuing the One Piece itself.
Perospero and Katakuri, who both understood their mother's deepest desires, couldn't help but turn their eyes toward the remaining memory reels when they heard those words.
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