Chapter 363: Neutral Good – The So-Called Conclusion

"This… We…" 

"What are you standing around for? Let's go, let's go!" 

BIG MOM, completely out of control, was still rampaging. The Charlotte family didn't know whether to stop her or let her be—leaving them looking like a bunch of people trying to calm down a giant baby. 

The Straw Hats could only stare in shock, while Roman let out a relieved sigh. 

Taking on a Yonko right now… was still too much of a stretch. 

"Does anyone here actually want to try taking a punch from BIG MOM?" 

It wasn't just that even Roman, going all out, had barely managed to scratch BIG MOM while she didn't even fight back. The problem was also the members of the Charlotte family around her and the three powerful Homies—Zeus, Prometheus, and Napoleon—who had already regained their senses. Germa and the Fire Tank Pirates had no chance of challenging them. 

"Retreat! Get back to our 'territory'! Everyone—" 

Vinsmoke Judge turned to the Straw Hat Crew. 

"You don't have a ship, do you?" 

"If you don't mind, we can take you out of Whole Cake Island." 

The tall man with golden hair flowing from beneath his metal helmet glanced at Sanji. 

"Don't get the wrong idea. Germa never owes anyone a favor, especially not to a... 'failure.' This is our principle." 

Vinsmoke Judge—proud and cold as a king, hypocritical and selfish as a father, but at the same time, a man who repays his debts and keeps his word. 

"I said it before: until the Straw Hat Crew has safely left, Germa will not leave first." 

"Yohoho! What's going on outside?" 

Brook, who had just escaped the chaos of the Whole Cake Island, looked shaken. 

"We were almost buried alive... Though I guess that wouldn't make much difference for a skeleton like me." 

"Nami! Carrot!" 

A rabbit-like figure crashed into Nami's arms. With teary eyes, Carrot clung to Nami's hand and cried out. 

"Waaaah! I almost got eaten by a crocodile! It was hiding—" 

"Enough, Carrot!" 

Pedro, ever calm, interrupted the panicked rabbit girl before giving a nod to Luffy and Roman, signaling that everything had gone smoothly. 

"We need to leave quickly. Who knows when they'll react and come after us." 

"Yeah, we do need a break." 

Nami let out a long sigh. Even though she had been supporting from the back as a "mage," the enemy's strange abilities and relentless ranged attacks—arrows, bullets, and all sorts of projectiles—had kept her on edge the whole time. She needed a moment to breathe. 

"Right, right! Rest is important!" 

Chopper and Usopp nodded furiously in agreement. 

"That battle was insane. My 'Franky General' needs some repairs too." 

"A cup of tea to relax would be nice." 

Franky and Robin were both unharmed—the difference being that Franky's "Franky General" was covered in damage, while Robin had completely drained her stamina. 

"Tch. I still haven't finished my fight with that long-legged woman." 

Zoro grumbled in frustration, but he knew this wasn't the time for complaints. 

"So this is the power of the Four Emperors..." 

Having faced BIG MOM up close, Capone Bege now had a real understanding of her strength. Even when caught off guard, she was someone he couldn't hope to kill—no, not even scratch—with his reliance on external weapons. A whole year of planning the "Four Emperors Assassination" had been pointless. 

Realizing this, Capone Bege stored all his men inside his body, transformed his legs into tank treads, and rumbled away at full speed. 

"Farewell, Straw Hat Crew and Germa." 

The Castle-Castle Fruit sure was convenient... but since Capone Bege was neither an enemy nor a true ally, Roman had no reason to take his blood to record his ability—not that Roman particularly needed it anyway. 

"Alright, let's move out too!" 

The Germa soldiers were already rushing toward the docks. Roman tilted his head in that direction. He could fly everyone out if necessary, but why waste stamina when they had a free ride? 

Behind them, all they could hear was the sound of destruction and the Charlotte family desperately trying to calm BIG MOM down. 

"The wedding cake is—" 

"But Mama hasn't even tasted the real cake!" 

"Wait... Does that mean the new 'goal' is to find a wedding cake that Mama thinks is absolutely delicious?!"

"It's no use," said "Long Bread," the head chef, shaking his head. "It took us days to make this cake. There's no time to do it again. *Cough cough...*" 

Though "Long Bread" was once a powerful figure—one of the founding members of the pirate crew alongside BIG MOM and a former member of the "Knox Pirates"—those days were long gone. 

Now, at 92 years old, he was just an old man. A cake this size... even if he worked himself to death, there was no way he could make another one in such a short time. 

"It looks like, at the very least, Cake Island is doomed," Charlotte Katakuri stated calmly, laying out the harsh reality. "Evacuate the civilians. Get our younger siblings to my island first—make sure they don't get hurt." 

"Understood, Katakuri-nii." 

Several members of the Charlotte family immediately followed orders, moving to clear out the people and escort their weaker siblings to safety. Meanwhile, the remaining top officers were left in a dilemma. 

Stop "Mama"? Charlotte Opera's cold corpse was proof of how that would end. 

Do nothing? Then Whole Cake Island was as good as lost. 

—Might as well chase after the Straw Hat Crew. At least that way, no one could say they just stood around doing nothing. 

Compared to facing "Mama," most of them would rather deal with the Straw Hat Crew. 

However— 

"You guys actually dared to come back?!" 

Standing before them were Luffy, Roman, Zoro, Sanji, and Charlotte Pudding. 

"Perfect, capture them—" 

"Wait a moment." 

Pudding stepped forward, spreading her arms to block them. 

"Isn't the most important thing right now making sure 'Mama' gets the wedding cake? Or are you all just going to let her keep destroying everything until she wipes out the whole of Totto Land?" 

"..." 

For a moment, the Charlotte family's top officers fell silent. After all, they knew that the only way to stop BIG MOM's hunger rampage was to give her the food she wanted. 

Dragging this out any longer would only make things worse— 

"Pudding, have you really made up your mind?" 

Charlotte Katakuri stepped forward. 

Still dressed in her wedding gown, Pudding nodded firmly. 

She wasn't trying to be cryptic—she knew that Katakuri had already "seen" what she was about to say. 

But— 

"This is my decision, Katakuri-nii!" 

The three-eyed girl looked around at her older brothers and sisters. Many of them had left her with painful memories. Many of them had played a part in shaping the awkward, conflicted person she had become. 

Even so— 

"Thank you for taking care of me all these years, Katakuri-nii." 

Among the entire Charlotte family, the most respected was the man standing before her. Unlike "Mama," who was prone to violence and outbursts, Katakuri was the real pillar of the Charlotte family. 

But he had always been caught up in endless battles, never losing a single one. While he had protected his younger siblings from physical harm, he had never had much time to guide them in other ways. 

"I will make the wedding cake together with Sanji... and after that, I will leave the BIG MOM Pirates!" 

"This is my final decision, Katakuri-nii... and everyone else." 

Pudding swept her gaze across the faces of her brothers and sisters. Some were furious. Some looked heartbroken. Some remained expressionless. And some... had a hint of approval, even nostalgia. 

"What do you all say?" 

"...Fine." 

Katakuri nodded, accepting her decision on behalf of the BIG MOM Pirates. 

"Katakuri, but the Straw Hat Crew—" 

"I already know their answer." 

Katakuri cut off his brother Daifuku's concerns with a wave of his hand. 

"The rest of you, keep evacuating the people, hunt down the Fire Tank Pirates, and deal with Germa 66. Leave this place to me, Perospero, and Smoothie." 

His eyes locked onto Luffy and Zoro. As long as he remained undisturbed and fully focused, he could see even further into the "future." 

"So? Straw Hat Luffy, strategist 'The White Knight.'" 

"You've got some crazy Observation Haki," Roman sighed. "You even know what we were going to propose... what a total cheat. But—" 

Roman turned to Luffy. 

"Luffy, you make the call."

"Long-legs guy, our fight isn't over yet!" 

Hmph, what a stubborn guy. 

Roman rolled his eyes. As for why they turned back, there were two reasons. One was to settle things with Pudding. The other— 

Mixed in with the crashing sounds of destruction were the cries and screams of civilians. With BIG MOM's destructive power when she loses control, every step she takes is a disaster! Even the top officers of the Charlotte family didn't dare to approach her. To her, ordinary people were nothing more than ants. 

Weak lives that could be crushed underfoot without even noticing! 

Sanji, Luffy, Zoro, and the rest of the Straw Hat Crew would never drag innocent people into danger because of their own actions. That was why they turned back to face the Charlotte family. 

Of course, this was only because the rest of the crew was already safe. Luffy and the others weren't the kind of people who would sacrifice their friends for strangers. 

Helping when they could? Sure. 

Getting guilt-tripped into it? No way. 

That's what being a pirate is. 

—————— 

Germa 66, 

Inside the massive snail ship's castle. 

"Nami, will Luffy, Roman, and Sanji really be okay?" 

Hearing Carrot's worried voice, Nami waved her hand. 

"Don't worry. With Roman around, those idiots will be fine." 

Don't forget—Roman doesn't use it often, but he has a power that makes him practically untouchable. 

Swap ability. 

Even a Four Emperor wouldn't be able to catch Roman easily when he can teleport with 'The White Knight' at any moment. Sure, anyone caught and swapped by Roman would feel like they were being torn apart, but hey, if they wanted to play hero, that was their problem. 

Well, Nami hadn't stopped them either. 

Because she trusted Roman. 

And she respected her friends' decisions. 

(End of Chapter) 

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